A review of adolescent autobiographical memory and the implications for assessment of unaccompanied minors’ refugee determinations

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Given-Wilson ◽  
Matthew Hodes ◽  
Jane Herlihy
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Contextual Influences ◽  
Unaccompanied Minors ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
Psychological Evidence ◽  
Published Research

The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) is increasing, and unlike those who arrive with their parents, UASC are subject to interview to determine refugee status. The limited amount of objective evidence available in most asylum claims means that the UASC’s account of their experiences often becomes key in deciding whether or not the young person is granted protection. Research indicates that assumptions about human memory influence decision-makers’ views on asylum seekers’ accounts; however, these do not necessarily appear to fit with the published research on autobiographical memory and may lead to an unfair decision. Therefore, understanding the nature and limitations of autobiographical memory is key to a fair refugee determination process. A literature review of published research on autobiographical memory among adolescents was undertaken across four databases. In total, 45 papers were identified which were thematically organised into three areas: development of autobiographical memory, contextual influences and impact of psychopathology. From this review, conclusions are drawn about what can be reasonably expected of an adolescent’s autobiographical memory generally and more specifically when the unique characteristics of UASC are taken into account. We also discusss how commonly used credibility indicators in refugee status determinations for minors are problematic in light of this research. It is important that the psychological evidence on the nature of autobiographical memory in adolescents is considered in asylum processing of UASC.

scholarly journals The Use of COI in the Refugee Status Determination Process in the UK: Looking Back, Reaching Forward

Refuge ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-194
Author(s):  
Jo Pettitt ◽  
Laurel Townhead ◽  
Stephanie Huber
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Initial Decision ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
Effective Decision ◽  
Effective Decision Making ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Level ◽  
Primary Form

In the context of Refugee Status Determination (RSD), while the primary form of evidence is the testimony of the asylum applicant, objective evidence in the form of Country of Origin Information (COI) is recognized as an important— and potentially crucial—tool in decision making. A research project of the Research and Information Unit (RIU) of the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) examines the use of COI in the RSD process in the UK from initial decision to fi nal appeal. Th e fi ndings highlight the high level of inconsistency in the understanding of and the application of COI in RSD in the UK. It will demonstrate the need for this issue to be urgently addressed in the interest of just and effective decision making in the UK, and help inform discussions at the European and international levels.

scholarly journals Enhanced brain activity associated with memory access in highly superior autobiographical memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (30) ◽  
pp. 7795-7800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Santangelo ◽  
Clarissa Cavallina ◽  
Paola Colucci ◽  
Alessia Santori ◽  
Simone Macrì ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Functional Coupling ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Efficient Access ◽  
Sensory Cortices ◽  
Past Experiences

Brain systems underlying human memory function have been classically investigated studying patients with selective memory impairments. The discovery of rare individuals who have highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) provides, instead, an opportunity to investigate the brain systems underlying enhanced memory. Here, we carried out an fMRI investigation of a group of subjects identified as having HSAM. During fMRI scanning, eight subjects with HSAM and 21 control subjects were asked to retrieve autobiographical memories (AMs) as well as non-AMs (e.g., examples of animals). Subjects were instructed to signal the “access” to an AM by a key press and to continue “reliving” it immediately after. Compared with controls, individuals with HSAM provided a richer AM recollection and were faster in accessing AMs. The access to AMs was associated with enhanced prefrontal/hippocampal functional connectivity. AM access also induced increased activity in the left temporoparietal junction and enhanced functional coupling with sensory cortices in subjects with HSAM compared with controls. In contrast, subjects with HSAM did not differ from controls in functional activity during the reliving phase. These findings, based on fMRI assessment, provide evidence of interaction of brain systems engaged in memory retrieval and suggest that enhanced activity of these systems is selectively involved in enabling more efficient access to past experiences in HSAM.

Application of an artificial intelligence algorithm model of memory retrieval and roaming in sorting Chinese medicinal materials

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Chengbing Tan ◽  
Qun Chen
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Memory Search ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Keyword Query ◽  
Retrieval Cues ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Algorithm ◽  
Response Performance

In order to capture autobiographical memory, inspired by the development of human intelligence, a computational AM model for autobiographical memory is proposed in this paper, which is a three-layer network structure, in which the bottom layer encodes the event-specific knowledge comprising 5W1H, and provides retrieval clues to the middle layer, encodes the related events, and the top layer encodes the event set. According to the bottom-up memory search process, the corresponding events and event sets can be identified in the middle layer and the top layer respectively; At the same time, AM model can simulate human memory roaming through the process of rule-based memory retrieval. The computational AM model proposed in this paper not only has robust and flexible memory retrieval, but also has better response performance to noisy memory retrieval cues than the commonly used memory retrieval model based on keyword query method, and can also imitate the roaming phenomenon in memory.

scholarly journals The Use of Official Notice in a Refugee Determination Process

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 573-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
France Houle
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Status ◽  
Natural Justice ◽  
Decisionmaking Process ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Large Scope

Official notice allows members of administrative tribunals to take into account on their own motion a large scope of information in the decisionmaking process. With this rule of evidence, it is possible to reach a double objective of fairness and expeditiousness. In this article, the author examines the rule of evidence. She also studies the practice of the Convention Refugee Determination Division of taking official notice of « standardized country files ». These files compile information on conditions prevailing in refugee-producing countries. This study is important because the content of these files can be used to determine whether each of the 20 000 and more claimants for refugee status in Canada has a well-founded fear of persecution. The author concludes that standardized country files can be officially noticed as long as the Convention Refugee Determination Division discloses the information in conformity with the rules of natural justice.

scholarly journals Modelling Autobiographical Memory Loss across Life Span

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 1368-1375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Wang ◽  
Ah-Hwee Tan ◽  
Chunyan Miao ◽  
Ahmed A. Moustafa
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Memory Recall

Neurocomputational modelling of long-term memory is a core topic in computational cognitive neuroscience, which is essential towards self-regulating brain-like AI systems. In this paper, we study how people generally lose their memories and emulate various memory loss phenomena using a neurocomputational autobiographical memory model. Specifically, based on prior neurocognitive and neuropsychology studies, we identify three neural processes, namely overload, decay and inhibition, which lead to memory loss in memory formation, storage and retrieval, respectively. For model validation, we collect a memory dataset comprising more than one thousand life events and emulate the three key memory loss processes with model parameters learnt from memory recall behavioural patterns found in human subjects of different age groups. The emulation results show high correlation with human memory recall performance across their life span, even with another population not being used for learning. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first research work on quantitative evaluations of autobiographical memory loss using a neurocomputational model.

scholarly journals Seeking asylum : the process and procedures for unaccompanied minors claiming refugee status in Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Lapeyre-MacNeil
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Unaccompanied Minors ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Claim

This project explores the factors that come into play in the assessment of a refugee claim put forth by unaccompanied/separated minors when arriving in Canada. Designed as an exploratory research, the study delves into the procedural and evidentiary issues which emerge when such children cross our borders. The substantial literature that has emerged over the last decades on the issue serves to inform and guide the process of determining what has been accomplished, as well as what needs to be improved upon. Informed by the American and European models, the goal of this research is to sketch a seemingly Canadian model which would outline step by step the protocol in place, and would define our government’s role and actions in terms of addressing the plight of these children as they cross our border.

scholarly journals Refugeeness, Sexuality, and Gender: Spatialized Lived Experiences of Intersectionality by Queer Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Paris

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florent Chossière
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Subjective Effects ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Gender Minorities ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Sexuality And Gender ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

In the last few years, asylum claims based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity (SOGI) have received increased attention within migration and queer studies. Mostly focusing on the refugee status determination process, these works have emphasized how the expectations of asylum institutions about “genuine queer refugees” lead to the exclusion of many applicants from SOGI asylum. This paper aims at shifting the analysis perspective from the legal categorization process to the impacts of everyday experienced categories of “asylum seekers” or “refugees” on queer migrants in the Parisian area. Using a three-year long ethnographic fieldwork, completed through interviews with queer asylum seekers and refugees, this paper investigates how refugeeness, understood as the objective and subjective effects of migration and asylum policies on individuals, contributes to shaping lived experiences of sexual and gender minorities in France. By drawing attention to the ways that the multiple power relationships queer asylum seekers and refugees have to face are spatially grounded, this paper discusses how an intersectional understanding of sexuality, gender, and refugeeness allows us to emphasize the role played by migration status in the negotiation of hetero- and cisnormativity. This paper also argues that far from remaining passive toward the categorization process they are subjected to, queer asylum seekers and refugees strategically appropriate the administrative categories with which they are associated. Such an analysis of lived experiences of queer asylum seekers and refugees in the country of arrival thus highlights the complex reshaping of social location caused by migration.

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