The everyday emotional lives of aid workers: how humanitarian anxiety gets in the way of meaningful local participation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Amoz J. Y. Hor
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Aid Workers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Participatory Approaches ◽  
Local Participation ◽  
Meaningful Participation ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Common Practices ◽  
Emotional Resonance ◽  
The Way

Abstract Participatory approaches to humanitarianism, peacebuilding, and international development promise to listen to the voices of local aid beneficiaries. However, aid workers often listen to these voices through reductive narratives of aid beneficiaries, ventriloquizing their voice and inhibiting meaningful participation. Why do aid workers – despite humane intentions – continue to rely on reductive narratives? This paper inquires how the everyday emotional lives of aid workers make reductive narratives persist. Based on 65 semi-structured interviews in Singapore, Jakarta, and Aceh, and 40 aid worker books and blogs, I show how aid workers regularly experience emotional anxieties that question their complicity in the suffering of others and their powerlessness to do anything about it. Reductive narratives resonate and persist because they allow aid workers to cope with these anxieties. I illustrate the emotional resonance of three reductive narratives – civilizing; romanticized; and impersonal narratives – in three common practices of local participation in aid work: professionalized standards; visiting the field; and hiring locals. Given the emotional origins of reductive narratives, rational critique is insufficient for reforming or decolonizing aid work. Rather, change must also involve engaging the underlying emotions of aid workers.

Patients’ Perspective on the Psychological Impact of Multiple Sclerosis on Their Life

2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110068
Author(s):  
Chrysoula Baka ◽  
Kalliopi Chatira ◽  
Evangelos C. Karademas ◽  
Konstantinos G. Kafetsios
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Autoimmune Disorder ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychosocial Wellbeing ◽  
Positive Meaning ◽  
Patients Perspective ◽  
The Way

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that greatly impacts on patients’ physical and psychosocial wellbeing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the experiences of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in Greece (N = 30), with regard to the way they coped with the diagnosis and the symptoms, the psychological implications of the disorder and the meaning they attributed to it. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and they were analyzed using grounded theory. The findings showed that despite the negative implications of the disorder and the difficulty in managing the diagnosis and the symptoms, half of the patients attributed positive meaning to the disorder. Taking care of oneself, re-evaluation of life and a sense of liberation were described as the positive outcomes of experiencing multiple sclerosis.

scholarly journals Identity in transition: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of international humanitarian workers’ experiences of returning home

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Marie Wersig ◽  
Kevin Wilson-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aid Workers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Returning Home ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Humanitarian Work

AbstractThis interpretative phenomenological analysis explores aid workers’ understanding of identity and belonging through the transition from working in humanitarian aid to returning home. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants who had returned to the UK after working in recently founded non-governmental organisations in Northern France between 2016 and 2019. Analysis of interview data identified four superordinate themes: (1) shared humanitarian identity, (2) limits and borders, (3) holding on to humanitarian identity and (4) redefining belonging and identity. Aid workers’ belonging in humanitarian work settings is rooted in shared moral values and being able to fulfil a clearly defined role. Upon returning, aid workers struggled to reintegrate, manifesting as denial of having left humanitarian work, re-creation of the social setting and moral demarcation. Participants formed a new sense of belonging through redefining their social in-group. The study sheds light on a previously unexplored area of research, specifically characterised through the closeness of the international humanitarian setting and participants’ homes. Findings suggest organisations can assist aid workers’ re-entry by supporting professional distance in the field, and through opportunities that allow to sustain moral values post-mission. Future research should focus on the role of peer support in the re-entry process and the re-entry experiences of aid workers returning from comparable settings further afield (e.g. Greece).

scholarly journals Which triggers could support timely identification of primary antibody deficiency? A qualitative study using the patient perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisanne M. A. Janssen ◽  
Kim van den Akker ◽  
Mohamed A. Boussihmad ◽  
Esther de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Diagnostic Delay ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Primary Antibody ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Timely Treatment ◽  
The Way

Abstract Background Patients with predominantly (primary) antibody deficiencies (PADs) commonly develop recurrent respiratory infections which can lead to bronchiectasis, long-term morbidity and increased mortality. Recognizing symptoms and making a diagnosis is vital to enable timely treatment. Studies on disease presentation have mainly been conducted using medical files rather than direct contact with PAD patients. Our study aims to analyze how patients appraised their symptoms and which factors were involved in a decision to seek medical care. Methods 14 PAD-patients (11 women; median 44, range 16-68 years) were analyzed using semi-structured interviews until saturation of key emergent themes was achieved. Results Being always ill featured in all participant stories. Often from childhood onwards periods of illness were felt to be too numerous, too bad, too long-lasting, or antibiotics were always needed to get better. Recurrent or persistent respiratory infections were the main triggers for patients to seek care. All participants developed an extreme fatigue, described as a feeling of physical and mental exhaustion and thus an extreme burden on daily life that was not solved by taking rest. Despite this, participants tended to normalize their symptoms and carry on with usual activities. Non-immunologists, as well as patients, misattributed the presenting signs and symptoms to common, self-limiting illnesses or other ‘innocent’ explanations. Participants in a way understood the long diagnostic delay. They know that the disease is rare and that doctors have to cover a broad medical area. But they were more critical about the way the doctors communicate with them. They feel that doctors often don’t listen very well to their patients. The participants’ symptoms as well as the interpretation of these symptoms by their social environment and doctors had a major emotional impact on the participants and a negative influence on their future perspectives. Conclusions To timely identify PAD, ‘pattern recognition’ should not only focus on the medical ‘red flags’, but also on less differentiating symptoms, such as ‘being always ill’ and ‘worn out’ and the way patients cope with these problems. And, most important, making time to really listen to the patient remains the key.

scholarly journals The Role of Religious Fundamentalism in the Intersection of National and Religious Identities

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susilo Wibisono ◽  
Winnifred Louis ◽  
Jolanda Jetten
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Religious Fundamentalism ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Religious Identification ◽  
National Identification ◽  
The Way

Indonesia has seen recent expansions of fundamentalist movements mobilising members in support a change to the current constitution. Against this background, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, we explored the intersection of religious and national identity among Indonesian Muslims quantitatively, and in Study 2, we qualitatively examined religious and national identification among members of moderate and fundamentalist religious organisations. Specifically, Study 1 (N= 178) assessed whether the association of religious and national identity was moderated by religious fundamentalism. Results showed that strength of religious identification was positively associated with strength of national identification for both those high and low in fundamentalism. Using structured interviews and focus group discussions, Study 2 (N =35) examined the way that self-alignment with religious and national groups develops among activists of religious movements in Indonesia. We found that while more fundamentalist activists attached greater importance to their religious identity than to any other identity (e.g., national and ethnic), more moderate activists represented their religious and national identities as more integrated and compatible. We conclude that for Indonesian Muslims higher in religious fundamentalism, religious and national identities appear to be less integrated and this is consequential for the way in which collective agendas are pursued.

“I can come up with more things when I’m happy, or especially when I’m angry”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Venturin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
1.5 Generation ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Emotional Resonance ◽  
Expression Of Emotions

Abstract This study examines language preferences to express anger and happiness among 15 Russian Australians belonging to the 1.5 generation, who acquired Russian as first language (L1) and English as second language (L2), after migration during childhood. While most research into these topics has focused on L1-dominant bilinguals, this study offers a novel perspective, as 1.5-generation migrants are generally L2-dominant or multidominant (L1+L2-dominant), and possibly L1 attriters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and underwent qualitative thematic analyses. From the results it emerges that these speakers mostly express emotions in the L2 or both languages, in line with their language dominance, but their choices do not seem to relate to language emotionality, as the L1 maintains the highest emotional resonance for them. While research on multilinguals’ expression of emotions has mainly focused on anger, this study calls attention to the expression of happiness, and points to the importance of L2-dominant and multidominant multilinguals.

The “Lucky Money” That Started It All—The Reinvention of the Ancient Tradition “Red Packet” in Digital Times

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512110416
Author(s):  
Yusi (Aveva) Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Social Medium ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Virtual Groups ◽  
Gift Economy ◽  
Active User ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
The Way

In August 2020, President Trump attempted to ban WeChat, indicating the growing impact of the most widely used social medium in China. WeChat enjoys a monthly active user base of 1.2 billion, but the Internet giant’s story started with a humble function, “Red Packet.” The function of Red Packet paved the way for WeChat to intelligently integrate into the Chinese financial sphere. This study examines the cultural, economic, and relational implications of the digital reinvention of traditional red packet gifts, and monetary giving that represents good luck and well wishes in festive situations. Drawing upon Mauss’ conceptualization of gift economy within the context of contemporary China and the art of social relationships, “ guanxi,” the author closely examines Tencent’s annual report and conducts semi-structured interviews to study WeChat Red Packet (hereafter WCRP) gifting. This article concludes that (1) the obligatory feeling of guanxi management renders WCRP giving, receiving, and reciprocity compulsory practices; (2) WCRP facilitates “immediate reciprocity,” in which, instrumental guanxi may be produced and dissolved instantaneously; (3) the phenomena of social comparison and social hierarchy are mirrored in virtual groups; (4) with platformed sociality and monetizing connectivity, WCRP paved the way for alternative economic practices within Chinese authoritarian capitalism; and (5) WCRP contains characteristics of a personalized gift and materialist commodity.

scholarly journals Use of alcohol and other drugs among male university students and its meanings

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 785-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliza Maria Rezende Dázio ◽  
Márcia Maria Fontão Zago ◽  
Silvana Maria Coelho Leite Fava
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Public University ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sociocultural Environment ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
University Life ◽  
Alcohol And Other Drugs ◽  
Male University Students ◽  
Inductive Analysis

Abstract OBJECTIVE To understand the meanings that male university students assign to the condition of users of alcohol and other drugs. METHOD An exploratory study using a qualitative approach, with inductive analysis of the content of semi-structured interviews applied to 20 male university students from a public university in the southeast region of Brazil, grounded on the theoretical-methodological referential of interpretive anthropology and ethnographic method. RESULTS Data were construed using content inductive analysis for two topics: use of alcohol and/or drugs as an outlet; and use of alcohol and/or other drugs: an alternative for belonging and identity. CONCLUSION Male university students share the rules of their sociocultural environment that values the use of alcohol and/or other drugs as a way of dealing with the demands and stress ensuing from the everyday university life, and to build identity and belong to this social context, reinforcing the influence of culture.

scholarly journals Minor harassments: Ethnic minority youth in the Nordic countries and their perceptions of the police

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mie Birk Haller ◽  
Randi Solhjell ◽  
Elsa Saarikkomäki ◽  
Torsten Kolind ◽  
Geoffrey Hunt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Ethnic Minority Youth ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Police Interactions ◽  
Police Practices

As different social groups are directly and indirectly confronted with diverse forms of police practices, different sectors of the population accumulate different experiences and respond differently to the police. This study focuses on the everyday experiences of the police among ethnic minority young people in the Nordic countries. The data for the article are based on semi-structured interviews with 121 young people in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. In these interviews, many of the participants refer to experiences of “minor harassments” – police interactions characterized by low-level reciprocal intimidations and subtle provocations, exhibited in specific forms of body language, attitudes and a range of expressions to convey derogatory views. We argue that “minor harassments” can be viewed as a mode of conflictual communication which is inscribed in everyday involuntary interactions between the police and ethnic minority youth and which, over time, can develop an almost ritualized character. Consequently, minority youth are more likely to hold shared experiences that influence their perceptions of procedural justice, notions of legitimacy and the extent to which they comply with law enforcement representatives.

Soldier photography: visualising the war in Iraq

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIAM KENNEDY
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Visual Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
War In Iraq ◽  
Digital Generation ◽  
Everyday Experiences ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis article focuses on the production and dissemination of photographic images by serving US soldiers in Iraq who are photographing their experiences and posting them on the Internet. This form of visual communication – in real time and communal – is new in the representation of warfare; in earlier wars soldiers took photographs, but these were not immediately shared in the way websites can disseminate images globally. This digital generation of soldiers exist in a new relationship to their experience of war; they are now potential witnesses and sources within the documentation of events, not just the imaged actors – a blurring of roles that reflects the correlations of revolutions in military and media affairs. This photography documents the everyday experiences of the soldiers and its historical significance may reside less in the controversial or revelatory images but in more mundane documentation of the environments, activities and feelings of American soldiery at war.

scholarly journals Personalisation, customisation and bricolage: how people with dementia and their families make assistive technology work for them

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 2502-2519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Gibson ◽  
Claire Dickinson ◽  
Katie Brittain ◽  
Louise Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Technology Use ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Everyday Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Manage Care ◽  
Age In Place ◽  
Care Services ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
The Everyday

AbstractAssistive technologies (ATs) are being ‘mainstreamed’ within dementia care, where they are promoted as enabling people with dementia to age in place alongside delivering greater efficiencies in care. AT provision focuses upon standardised solutions, with little known about how ATs are used by people with dementia and their carers within everyday practice. This paper explores how people with dementia and carers use technologies in order to manage care. Findings are reported from qualitative semi-structured interviews with 13 people with dementia and 26 family carers. Readily available household technologies were used in conjunction with and instead of AT to address diverse needs, replicating AT functions when doing so. Successful technology use was characterised by ‘bricolage’ or the non-conventional use of tools or methods to address local needs. Carers drove AT use by engaging creatively with both assistive and everyday technologies, however, carers were not routinely supported in their creative engagements with technology by statutory health or social care services, making bricolage a potentially frustrating and wasteful process. Bricolage provides a useful framework to understand how technologies are used in the everyday practice of dementia care, and how technology use can be supported within care. Rather than implementing standardised AT solutions, AT services and AT design in future should focus on how technologies can support more personalised, adaptive forms of care.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document