The populations of the Middle East have experienced particularly rapid socio‐economic change over the past 40 years, due largely to the consolidation of the nation‐state after the…
Abstract
The populations of the Middle East have experienced particularly rapid socio‐economic change over the past 40 years, due largely to the consolidation of the nation‐state after the break‐up of the Ottoman Empire at the close of WWI. The basic social, political and cultural rights of the pastoral populations (the Bedouin) of this region have been largely ignored, however, in part due to their remoteness and inaccessibility, but also because of the very fact of their mobility and physical marginality. With a few exceptions ‐ such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia ‐ cultural differences between the mobile Bedouin and the settled urban and agrarian populations have translated over time into development of discriminated minorities. The Bedouin way of life has come to be regarded as backward and primitive; in some places their very authenticity as part of the nation‐state has been questioned as they fail to ‘Modernise’ at the same pace as surrounding populations. Thus in Lebanon the majority of Bedouin are ‘stateless’ without papers and live beyond the ‘boundaries’ of government services. Their mobile way of life is largely a thing of the past, but their sense of tribal belonging remains strong. Their desire for nationality papers reflects a wish to end their marginalisation and statelessness and be able to access government services.
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Susan E. Zimmerman, Dawn Chatty and Marie Louise Nørredam
As immigration detainee numbers grow, doubts have arisen over the consistency, quality and suitability of the health care services provided among the UK detention estate and in…
Abstract
Purpose
As immigration detainee numbers grow, doubts have arisen over the consistency, quality and suitability of the health care services provided among the UK detention estate and in other Western countries. Detained immigrants, due to their past and present situations, may be especially vulnerable in terms of their health. They may simultaneously lack entitlements to care due to their legal situation. Health needs and access to health care services in immigration detention is understudied. Therefore, this exploratory study aims to test the usefulness of a questionnaire among former detainees examining perceptions of their health needs and access to care within immigration detention in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 30 former detainees completed questionnaires, and 27 of these also participated in semi‐structured interviews, in June/July 2010. Frequency analyses of questionnaire responses were performed.
Findings
The results showed that 66 per cent of the participants entered detention with pre‐existing mental or physical health conditions that required ongoing or new treatments. In addition, new mental/emotional (93 per cent) or physical (53 per cent) health problems arose for the majority of the participants within detention.
Research limitations/implications
Access to health care in detention was often problematic in its effectiveness or availability due to a variety of formal and informal challenges.
Originality/value
The results of this exploratory study cast doubt on how appropriately the mental and physical health needs of detainees are being provided for within the current UK detention estate.
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Agata Lisiak and Łukasz Krzyżowski
Purpose – This chapter explores the strategies and tactics employed by researchers when dealing with emotionally challenging situations, both in the field and in academia in…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter explores the strategies and tactics employed by researchers when dealing with emotionally challenging situations, both in the field and in academia in general.
Methodology/Approach – It draws on a qualitative longitudinal project investigating how recent Polish migrants from cities that are rather homogenous in terms of ethnicity and religion make sense of, and come to terms with, the much greater diversity they encounter in German and British cities. The project adopts a mixed-methods approach that includes social network analysis, focus groups, creative methods and in-depth interviews.
Findings – Moving beyond the inside–outsider binary in qualitative research, the authors reflect on their management of conflicting feelings about what happens in research situations. The authors discuss interview situations they found particularly emotionally challenging and the different ways they supported each other during and after fieldwork, for instance, when faced with situations in which research participants say things that are racist, Islamophobic, homophobic, xenophobic, classist or misogynist. They reflect on their use of electronic media, especially email and messenger applications, as tools which not only allow them to unpack the emotions that emerge in fieldwork, but also enable them to collaboratively reflect on their own positionalities in the field.
Originality/Value – The chapter argues that face-to-face and virtual interactions with colleagues can create spaces of care, self-care and solidarity. These relational spaces can form integral support systems for researchers and help them to deal with both the emotionality of social-science research and the wider emotional labour of academic work.
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Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda or the Aeronautical Research Council, Reports and Technical Memoranda of the United States…
Abstract
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda or the Aeronautical Research Council, Reports and Technical Memoranda of the United States National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and publications of other similar Research Bodies as issued
While the much‐maligned saying, “Business as usual,” has its imperative and very necessary application to the upholding of our commerce and financial position during the war, one…
Abstract
While the much‐maligned saying, “Business as usual,” has its imperative and very necessary application to the upholding of our commerce and financial position during the war, one is inclined to ask those patriots who day in and day out decry the loyalty of thousands who are carrying a double and sometimes even a treble burden to keep business going, what is to be done if the country is exhausted by the drying up of her resources, and the ruin of her industries, we cannot but feel that the time has come for all of us to put to ourselves the enquiry as to where our own duty lies? Many who have not the physical fitness or strength for the actual fighting line might yet, we believe, find room in the direct service of the State. We have a splendid list of men who, greatly loving home and honour, have sacrificed position and given themselves for service abroad. Are there not others who are great enough to follow in their train? The large places may be already filled, but the strain on the country intensifies month by month, and we can only come to full self‐realisation as the very thought of self is slain, and the splendid spirit in the line, “Who dies if England lives?” enters into our own hearts.
NO doubt the Tighe Report, which is condensed in The L.A. Record for July, will have the scrutiny of all librarians. It is concerned with working conditions as they affect working…
Abstract
NO doubt the Tighe Report, which is condensed in The L.A. Record for July, will have the scrutiny of all librarians. It is concerned with working conditions as they affect working hours, welfare and training and reads as if it were a series of excerpts from Brown's Manual. The “Scheme of Conditions of Service” under which public librarians work—the Report is confined to these; a further report on non‐public libraries is contemplated—makes no allowance for the late hours in comparison with those worked by other Council employees. “Some other” would be a more appropriate phrase as in many towns committee clerks, solicitors and accountancy officers have regular evening duties which are far later than 8 p.m. The report asks the framers of the “Scheme” to provide special pay for hours beyond normal office hours. Hours worked should, as far as possible, be continuous, and not “split,” and if they must by split have, between the shifts, a five‐hour interval. It is not explained how this excellent suggestion can be implemented on a day extending from, say, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Is 9–12, 5–8 contemplated? In any case the problem is to get two meals digestibly into the interval. Welfare provisions should include a staff room, where meals can be prepared and eaten, with the proper equipment, furniture and a clock; separate lavatory accommodation for each sex and again the necessary equipment of towels, etc.; first aid supplies; and protective overalls or dust jackets. “The wearing of uniform overalls on public duty”—where we suggest they would be most indicative and useful—“should not be compulsory.” We are not sure if this means that overalls need not be worn or that they need not be uniform in materials and pattern. Educational suggestions include the recognition of hours spent in attending professional meetings and week‐end and summer schools, an adequate staff library of books and periodicals; and every basic text‐book in a “sufficient number of copies to meet the full demands of the staff.” The Report does not indicate if this also means the class text‐book which the assistant uses throughout his course. Staff guilds or committees, on the familiar plan which has been usual in some libraries for forty years, should be encouraged. There is nothing in these recommendations which is new, but they are worth while, as their author implies, as a check which may be used to suggest minimum improvements.