ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains a qualitative longitudinal study by default rather than deliberate design. Ageing is a socially constructed phenomenon, influenced by social, historical and cultural factors and like gender, age is continually performed. Viewing gender and age as social constructions emphasises the importance of place and location in the formation and subjective experience of them. Women's roles in influencing and changing spatial dynamics have been largely neglected in explorations of migrants. Factors such as widowhood or poverty may propel women into entering spaces that are male dominated and this may cause internal and social conflict. The first of much subsequent legislation which sought to limit the number of immigrants entering the country was passed in 1962 with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act and an employment voucher system was introduced to regulate numbers of immigrants.
