scholarly journals Empathic Humanitarianism: Understanding the Motivations behind Humanitarian Work with Migrants at the US–Mexico Border

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Gomez ◽  
Bryce Clayton Newell ◽  
Sara Vannini
Keyword(s):  
Community Organization ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Altruistic Behavior ◽  
Executive Summary ◽  
The Face

Executive Summary The growing numbers of vulnerable migrants seeking shelter and refuge in the United States and Europe are finding increased racism and xenophobia as well as renewed efforts by humanitarian volunteers to offer them aid, sanctuary, and protection. This article sets forth a typology to better understand the motivations of volunteers working to help migrants in need of humanitarian assistance. Why do people go out of their way to offer humanitarian aid to someone they do not know and, in some cases, they will never meet? What are the drivers of altruistic behavior of humanitarian volunteers in the face of rising injustice, nationalism, and xenophobia? In answer to these questions, we offer a typology centered on empathic concern, differentiating secular/faith-based motivations, and deontological/moral-virtue motivations, with particular behaviors in each of the four resulting categories: the Missionary Type, the Good Samaritan Type, the Do Gooder Type, and the Activist Type. We also suggest four additional self-centered (non-altruistic, or not-other-centered) types (Militant, Crusader, Martyr, and Humanitarian Tourist). The nuances offered by this typology can help organizations working with migrants and refugees better understand and channel the enthusiasm of their volunteers and better meet the needs of the vulnerable populations they serve. This is especially important at a time when migration is being criminalized and when humanitarian aid is deemed unpatriotic, if not outright illegal. In the face of increased nationalistic and xenophobic messages surrounding migration, we need to articulate the altruistic humanitarian motivations of volunteers in the context of migration aid. Our typology may also be used to understand altruistic behaviors in other contexts such as disaster relief, community organization and activism, international adoptions, or organ donations to strangers, among others, in which altruistic empathic concern can be an important motivation driving people to act for the well-being of distant others.

scholarly journals Approaches to Reducing Risk of COVID-19 Infections in Prisons and Immigration Detention Centers: A Commentary

2020 ◽  
pp. 073401682095770
Author(s):  
Kate Kelly ◽  
Nai Soto ◽  
Nadi Damond Wisseh ◽  
Shaina A. Clerget
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Correctional Staff ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Detention Centers ◽  
Fast Spreading ◽  
Returning Home ◽  
The Face

Although often left out of public health efforts and policy decisions, prisons, jails, and detention centers are integral to community health. With an average of 650,000 citizens returning home from prison each year in the United States, and thousands of correctional staff members returning home every night, there are millions of touchpoints between outside communities and carceral settings. For this reason, carceral communities should be central to planning and policy making in response to the spread of the COVID-19 illness. As social workers and clinicians, we are urgently concerned that efforts to prevent COVID-19 infections in prisons are underdeveloped and inadequate in the face of a fast-spreading virus. In this commentary, we outline a set of public health, policy, and clinical recommendations based upon the existing literature to mitigate various risks to the well-being of carceral communities.

scholarly journals Did Social Connection Decline During the First Wave of COVID-19?: The Role of Extraversion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dunigan Parker Folk ◽  
Karynna Okabe-Miyamoto ◽  
Elizabeth Warren Dunn ◽  
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Connection ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Face ◽  
Negative Effect

In two pre-registered studies, we tracked changes in individuals’ feelings of social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both studies capitalized on measures of social connection and well-being obtained prior to the COVID-19 pandemic by recruiting the same participants again in the midst of the pandemic’s upending effects. Study 1 included a sample of undergraduates from a Canadian university (N = 467), and Study 2 included community adults primarily from the United States and the United Kingdom (N = 336). Our results suggest that people experienced relatively little change in feelings of social connection in the face of the initial reshaping of their social lives caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory analyses suggested that relatively extraverted individuals exhibited larger declines in social connection. However, after controlling for levels of social connection prior to the pandemic (as pre-registered), the negative effect of extraversion reversed (Study 1) or disappeared (Study 2).

scholarly journals A Study and Analysis of the Treatment of Mexican Unaccompanied Minors by Customs and Border Protection

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-110
Author(s):  
Kiera Coulter ◽  
Samantha Sabo ◽  
Daniel Martínez ◽  
Katelyn Chisholm ◽  
Kelsey Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Summary ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Customs And Border Protection ◽  
Trafficking Victims

Executive Summary The routine human rights abuses and due process violations of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have contributed to a mounting humanitarian and legal crisis along the US–Mexico border. In the United States, the treatment of UAC is governed by laws, policies, and standards drawn from the Flores Settlement, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), and CBP procedures and directives, which are intended to ensure UAC’s protection, well-being, and ability to pursue relief from removal, such as asylum. As nongovernmental organizations and human rights groups have documented, however, CBP has repeatedly violated these legal standards and policies, and subjected UAC to abuses and rights violations. This article draws from surveys of 97 recently deported Mexican UAC, which examine their experiences with US immigration authorities. The study finds that Mexican UAC are detained in subpar conditions, are routinely not screened for fear of return to their home countries or for human trafficking, and are not sufficiently informed about the deportation process. The article recommends that CBP should take immediate steps to improve the treatment of UAC, that CBP and other entities responsible for the care of UAC be monitored to ensure their compliance with US law and policy, and that Mexican UAC be afforded the same procedures and protection under the TVPRA as UAC from noncontiguous states.

scholarly journals Hildreth Meière: Connections to Spain Before and During the Spanish Civil War

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-94
Author(s):  
Mónica Orduña Prada
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Spanish Civil War ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Vice President ◽  
The United States ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Art Deco ◽  
American Spanish

The prestigious American Art Deco artist Hildreth Meière provided humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Spanish Civil War and in the Second World War. Acting as the vice-president of the American Spanish Relief Fund created in 1937 and run by P. Francis X. Talbot, S. J. with the goal of helping people affected by the war in the Franco zone, and to also deliver medicine and medical supplies from the United States through diplomatic channels. She visited Spain in 1925, 1938 and 1961. On the first trip she came to see the works of Spanish painters and made contact with important aristocratic families of the time (the Duke of Sotomayor, the Marquises of La Romana and Arcos, the Duchess of Vistahermosa, etc.). In 1938 she started humanitarian aid, collecting money and donations from New York society for orphans of the civil war and acted as a propaganda distributor for the Francoist cause in the United States. On this occasion she met with people familiar with the situation in Spain to solve the problems of humanitarian aid: Luis Bolín, Pablo Merry del Val, Cardenal Gomá, Carmen de Icaza, and Mercedes Sanz Bachiller. Meière actively participated in providing humanitarian aid in the Franco zone during the years of the civil war while also acting as a staunch supporter of the Francoist cause. After the civil war she continued her collaboration to alleviate aid deficiencies in Spain by facilitating the transport of anesthetics, medicines, surgical materials, etc, but her perspective towards Francoism was changing and gradually her ties to Spain weakened. It was only three years before her death in 1961 that she made one last trip to Spain.

scholarly journals Socio-Economical Risks of the Pandemic Period and Practices to Overcome Them: Governments’ Policies and Citizens’ Strategies

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-88
Author(s):  
Nataliya Velikaya ◽  
Natalia Belova
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
The Face ◽  
Individual Strategies ◽  
Spread Of Infection ◽  
Economic Risks

The article is devoted to the reaction of the societies of four countries (the United States, Great Britain, Italy and Russia) to the global risks and challenges associated with the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, which has grown from a health problem to a global political and economic one. Considering the socio-economic risks of the pandemic as the most significant for the lives of citizens of different countries, the authors operationalize them through the fears of public consciousness. The events of the last year have shown that the increased fear and panic among the population in the face of "new infections" has turned into a global problem. The specifics of the life organization in the context of the spread of the pandemic have contributed to the emergence of new distinct socio-economic and socio-political practices that require analysis. The obvious request to the authorities from the population of different countries to ensure the adoption of timely and effective measures to prevent the spread of infection and minimize its consequences also actualize the study of public attitudes during the pandemic in a comparative context. Based on a comparative international online survey, the main socio-economic risks and fears of residents of the four countries were identified, which included both general threats to well-being (low incomes, unemployment, lack of prospects in life, housing problems, etc.) and threats actualized by the pandemic situation (difficulties in obtaining medical care, the high cost of medicines, the inability to go on vacation, difficulties with obtaining education). The differences in satisfaction with the socio-economic situation in the countries, including the response to the actions of governments and local authorities, were analyzed. The review of individual strategies for coping with crisis situations showed significant differences across countries. At the same time, in assessing the activities of the authorities, respondents demonstrate unanimity, showing dissatisfaction with the measures taken and concern for their well-being in the future. The conclusion is made about the actualization of socio-economic fears during the spread of the pandemic and the widespread deterioration of the social well-being of the population.

scholarly journals Did Social Connection Decline During the First Wave of COVID-19?: The Role of Extraversion

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dunigan Folk ◽  
Karynna Okabe-Miyamoto ◽  
Elizabeth Dunn ◽  
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Connection ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Face ◽  
Negative Effect

In two pre-registered studies, we tracked changes in individuals’ feelings of social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both studies capitalized on measures of social connection and well-being obtained prior to the COVID-19 pandemic by recruiting the same participants again in the midst of the pandemic’s upending effects. Study 1 included a sample of undergraduates from a Canadian university (N = 467), and Study 2 included community adults primarily from the United States and the United Kingdom (N = 336). Our results suggest that people experienced relatively little change in feelings of social connection in the face of the initial reshaping of their social lives caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory analyses suggested that relatively extraverted individuals exhibited larger declines in social connection. However, after controlling for levels of social connection prior to the pandemic (as pre-registered), the negative effect of extraversion reversed (Study 1) or disappeared (Study 2).

Professional and social responsibility in Psychology and other mental health disciplines with reference to the Goldwater Rule

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-399
Author(s):  
Anthony L Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Ethical Guideline ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Face

The concerns of mental health professionals about the psychological characteristics and behaviour of political leaders forces a rethinking of their professional and social responsibility, especially in the context of the Goldwater Rule that applies to psychiatrists in the United States. Despite the fact that this ethical guideline does not pertain to Psychology professionals or the African continent, it is worthy of discussion and interrogation, considering the prevalence of poor leadership internationally, and the need for the previously colonised world to ensure independent and critical thinking on such matters. The article questions the traditional, narrow focus of psychologists and other mental health specialists in conceptualising professional and ethical roles, and raises the issue of their professional and social responsibility to help shape society and its democratic processes. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and others have much to contribute in this respect and they have to question the ethical and social responsibility impact of remaining silent in the face of behaviourally and psychologically maladjusted individuals being elected to high offices such as President and other influential positions. These professionals must adopt a public health approach that always has in mind the well-being of the broader society.

scholarly journals In the long shadow of our best intentions: Model-based assessment of the consequences of school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248509
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn E. Johnson ◽  
Madison Stoddard ◽  
Ryan P. Nolan ◽  
Douglas E. White ◽  
Natasha S. Hochberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Epidemiological Modeling ◽  
Disease Clusters ◽  
Student Safety ◽  
The Face ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Access To Food

As the world grapples with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a particularly thorny set of questions surrounds the reopening of primary and secondary (K-12) schools. The benefits of in-person learning are numerous, in terms of education quality, mental health, emotional well-being, equity and access to food and shelter. Early reports suggested that children might have reduced susceptibility to COVID-19, and children have been shown to experience fewer complications than older adults. Over the past few months, our understanding of COVID-19 has been further shaped by emerging data, and it is now understood that children are as susceptible to infection as adults and have a similar viral load during infection, even if asymptomatic. Based on this updated understanding of the disease, we have used epidemiological modeling to explore the feasibility and consequences of school reopening in the face of differing rates of COVID-19 prevalence and transmission. We focused our analysis on the United States, but the results are applicable to other countries as well. We demonstrate the potential for a large discrepancy between detected cases and true infections in schools due to the combination of high asymptomatic rates in children coupled with delays in seeking testing and receiving results from diagnostic tests. Our findings indicate that, regardless of the initial prevalence of the disease, and in the absence of robust surveillance testing and contact-tracing, most schools in the United States can expect to remain open for 20–60 days without the emergence of sizeable disease clusters. At this point, even if schools choose to close after outbreaks occur, COVID-19 cases will be seeded from these school clusters and amplified into the community. Thus, our findings suggest that the debate between the risks to student safety and benefits of in-person learning frames a false dual choice. Reopening schools without surveillance testing and contact tracing measures in place will lead to spread within the schools and within the communities that eventually forces a return to remote learning and leaves a trail of infection in its wake.

scholarly journals Age Advantages in Emotional Experience Persist Even Under Threat From the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1374-1385
Author(s):  
Laura L. Carstensen ◽  
Yochai Z. Shavit ◽  
Jessica T. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
The Face ◽  
Unavoidable Stress ◽  
Prolonged Stress

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented, sustained, and unavoidable stress for the entire population, and older people are facing particularly heightened risk of contracting the virus and suffering severe complications, including death. The present study was conducted when the pandemic was spreading exponentially in the United States. To address important theoretical questions about age differences in emotional experience in times of crisis, we surveyed a representative sample of 945 Americans between the ages of 18 and 76 years and assessed the frequency and intensity of a range of positive and negative emotions. We also assessed perceived risk of contagion and complications from the virus, as well as personality, health, and demographic characteristics. Age was associated with relatively greater emotional well-being both when analyses did and did not control for perceived risk and other covariates. The present findings extend previous research about age and emotion by demonstrating that older adults’ relatively better emotional well-being persists even in the face of prolonged stress.

Using humanitarian aid to ‘win hearts and minds’: a costly failure?

2011 ◽  
Vol 93 (884) ◽  
pp. 1035-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie A. Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
The United States ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Costly Failure ◽  
The Military ◽  
Hearts And Minds

AbstractThis article contends that the integration of humanitarian assistance in efforts to ‘win hearts and minds’ in counter-insurgencies has not been successful, and that the costs, both operational and legal, clearly outweigh any benefits. It demonstrates how such manipulation of humanitarian assistance runs counter to fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. In addition, a growing body of research suggests that the use of short-term aid and relief programmes as part of counter-insurgency has been ineffectual, and that, in places such as Afghanistan, it may even have undermined the overall military goal of defeating insurgents. With the United States and NATO military operations winding down in Afghanistan, it is time for the military and policy-makers reviewing ‘winning hearts and minds’ as a counter-insurgency strategy to draw the lessons and recognize the importance of a neutral and independent space for humanitarian aid.

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