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Transitions: Journal of Transient Migration - Online First

Online First articles will be assigned issues in due course.

6 results

    • When disconnectivity becomes the key to living: The diasporic experiences of contemporary trans Chinese people in Europe

      https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00078_1
      Available online: 30 September 2025

      By focusing on the diasporic experiences of trans Chinese migrants who emigrated to Europe during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, this article illuminates the importance of recognizing the constitutive role that digital disconnectivity plays in queers’ negotiation and actualization of their queer aspirations. Findings presented in this article are drawn from qualitative data that I have collected from 2021 to 2023 through in-depth interviews with seven trans Chinese individuals residing in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This article illuminates how trans Chinese people attract increasingly intensified state censorship and unwanted familial attentions in both the online and offline realms during a time of crisis, hence perpetuating a sense of ‘otherness’ in relation to the purportedly Indigenously heteronormative Chinese society. In this context, escaping both the physical and digital territories of China become essential to circumvent state surveillance while producing alternative online images of self that cater to different audiences, so that trans Chinese migrants can actualize their desires of being/becoming queer in a nonpunitive way. In this sense, I argue that digital disconnectivity is not a symbol of backwardness but rather a tool delicately leveraged by trans Chinese migrants in their pursuit of queer life. It should therefore be conceptualized as an act of individual agency and an expression of grass roots resilience in the absence of institutional queer rights.

    • Comparing transient and non-travelling students’ health information-seeking behaviours during COVID-19: A study of Chinese international students in Australia and China

      Authors: Guanyu Wang and Shanton Chang
      https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00079_1
      Available online: 30 September 2025

      When transient migrants such as international students move to new countries, they are often confronted with new digital sources, digital environments and new communication norms. In the realm of health, this is even more complex and challenging because localized health information can often be the difference between well-supported individuals and those who might be isolated. The 2020–22 pandemic presented an opportunity to study the differences in health information-seeking behaviours of Chinese students who were transient and studied overseas vs. those who remained in China. Many Chinese international students had to stay in China to study online due to restricted borders during the pandemic, while others were already in their host countries. Therefore, this study investigated the experiences of 22 Chinese international students enrolled in Australian universities. Of these, ten were located in China and twelve were in Australia. The participants attended semi-structured interviews through Zoom. Thematic data analysis identified four key themes that highlight differences in students’ online health information experiences, related to their location, as well as the impacts of their new environments and social networks. Based on themes, a model was proposed to explain the transition of Chinese international students’ online behaviour during the pandemic.

    • Before the beginning: International students’ negotiation of moving to Australia through Reddit or Xiaohongshu

      https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00074_1
      Available online: 30 July 2025

      As transient migrants, international students draw on diverse online information sources. While existing research primarily focuses on the information behaviours of international students who have already moved to their host countries, less attention has been given to those in the preparatory phase. Further, less attention has been paid to the different experiences students have in seeking out information prior to departure. To address these gaps, this study examines how international students use two distinct social media platforms – Reddit and Xiaohongshu – to seek information prior to their move. Reddit is a predominantly English-language platform, and Xiaohongshu is primarily used by Chinese-speaking communities. These platforms differ in user demographics and the nature of the content shared. Posts were collected over a six-month period on both platforms. Our qualitative content analysis of the posts explores differences in these online information sources. We identify barriers to finding credible information the pre-departure phase. We also highlight how students use crowd-sourced tools to navigate uncertainty around information quality and emphasize the benefits of such practice. This article contributes to the field of information behaviour by showcasing unique information experiences of pre-departure international students.

    • Migrants’ knowledge sharing in ethnic mobile communities: Focusing on the roles of intra-ethnic trust, immigration status and community commitment

      https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00075_1
      Available online: 19 May 2025

      Ethnic online/mobile communities (EOMCs) refer to weakly tied online/mobile collectives formed by the same ethnic members in a foreign country to share knowledge via online/mobile networks. This study proposes two ethnic factors (intra-ethnic trust [IET] and immigration status [IS]) leading to knowledge-seeking and contribution (KS and KC) intentions and behaviours through the formation of affective and continuity commitment for the EOMCs. Statistical analysis is conducted with survey data from the members of WeChat communities formed by Chinese migrants in a metropolitan city in Nova Scotia, Canada. The results suggest that IET is positively associated with affective and continuity commitments, while IS, measured with a scale from study permit (1) to Canadian citizen (6), is negatively associated with affective and continuity commitments and that affective and continuity commitments have different effects on knowledge-seeking and contribution intentions in EMCs. Other cognitive (the usefulness of knowledge) and personal (reputation and enjoy-helping) factors are also tested for their impacts on knowledge-seeking and contribution intentions, which lead to knowledge-seeking and contribution behaviours. The findings of this study will provide the administrators and users of EOMCs with insightful implications for their sustainability and contribute to the literature on immigration studies, knowledge management and online/mobile communities.

    • Linking social capital accumulation and information-seeking practices of international students in Germany

      https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00071_1
      Available online: 11 March 2025

      While existing studies have extensively explored various facets of international students’ experiences, a gap remains in understanding the connection between their social capital accumulation and information-seeking practices that shape the incoming students’ extended transition process. Successful information-seeking is not solely related to academic outcome; it is also influenced by the social capital resources available within and beyond familiar cultural groups. This article sheds light on how international students’ social capital accumulation shapes their information searches across various online and offline social networks. A total of ten international students were interviewed at the beginning and the end of their first semester in Germany during the 2022–23 academic year. The findings demonstrate that the incoming students’ information-seeking strategies and social capital accumulation change over time. The students rely on their previously established social connections offline and online when preparing for their departure. Upon arrival in Germany, the students continue to search for information within their linguistic and cultural familiar groups, but their information-seeking process shifts to local in-person contexts. During the semester, lecturers and fellow students become useful information sources at the university while the students develop confidence in their foreign language skills.

    • Decoding impermanent narratives: A study of transient migrants as digital influencers on YouTube

      https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00069_1
      Available online: 13 February 2025

      Students migrate from India annually for higher education in large numbers. Social media has become an essential network for disseminating information related to aspects of migration like student visas, college applications, residence and finances. YouTube engages vigorously in this dispersion of information. Many times, the sources of these kinds of information are found to be transient migrants themselves. YouTubers and influencers like Tushar Bareja, Nidhi Nagori, Gursahib Singh, Bani Singh and Saloni Verma, among others, have made a niche, creating content and sharing information about the experience of being a transient migrant. Much like the status of being transient, creating one’s brand on social media is both dynamic and fleeting, which cannot be defined in a sense of permanence. The analysis of content created by YouTube influencers enables an insight into the definition of transient migrant identity. The topics that are covered in the content showcase the particular components of international student life that add to the concept of a transient migrant identity. The article attempts to ask the question of how the YouTube videos made by student migrants end up contributing to the transient migrant identity. It also attempts to decipher how the transient identity itself is packaged as a commodity to be monetized by these student migrant influencers on YouTube. Using theoretical frameworks of influencer culture, social media and migration, the article attempts to unravel the workings of YouTube in commodifying the transient migrant experience.

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