Empathy and evaluation: Understanding the private meanings of behavior

This paper makes three points. First, empathy cannot be considered an epistemic basis for qualitative research and evaluation. Second, it is, however, a valuable method for understanding the private meanings of words and deeds. Third, this method is not completely reliable for purposes of what Popper called refutation, but is useful in what he dubbed scientific conjecture or the generation of theory. Basic researchers will need to take the necessary steps to subject empathetic hunches to critical examination. However, owing to the exigencies of action settings and decision-making, disciplined conjectures are sometimes the most that evaluators can hope to record.An earlier version of this paper was printed in the Proceedings of the Far Western Philosophy of Education Society, 1989. This version is published with permission of the Far Western Philosophy of Education society. The author is grateful for helpful comments and critisism made by members of the California Association for Philosophy Education. Remaining errors, of course, are the authors responsibility alone.     

Inconsistencies in repeated refugee status decisions

Consistency in civil servant decisions is paramount to upholding judicial equality for citizens and individuals seeking safety through governmental intervention. We investigated refugee status decisions made by a sample of civil servants at the Swedish Migration Agency. We hypothesized, based on the emotional demands such decisions bring with them, that participants would exhibit a compassion fade effect such that refugee status was less likely to be granted over time. To test this, we administered a questionnaire containing brief presentations of asylum seekers and asked participants to judge how likely they would be to give refugee status to the person. Crucially the first, middle, and final case presented were matched on decision relevant characteristics. Consistent with our hypothesis, we saw a significant decline in ratings. These effects were accentuated by the amount of time a participant had worked at the agency, consistent with depletion of affective resources, and attenuated in workers with greater responsibility and additional training. We conclude that active regulation of empathic and affective responses to asylum seekers may play a role in determining the outcome in refugee status decisions.     

Stereotype content of refugee subgroups in Germany

Stereotypes of refugee subgroups are still understudied. We contribute to this body of research by investigating differences in stereotype content, meaning warmth and competence ratings, of refugee subgroups in Germany (N = 264). Most extant Stereotype Content Model research is based on observed warmth and competence mean values. We applied latent variable modelling using the alignment optimisation to ensure meaningful and reliable mean value comparisons. Generic refugees were rated as lacking warmth and competence. Warmth assessments of refugee subgroups varied depending on flight motives, geographical origin, and religious affiliation, implying that perceptions of threat and competition differed between these subgroups. Fewer differences emerged in competence assessments, indicating that refugee groups are generally regarded as lacking status. Our results enhance knowledge of the stereotype content of refugee subgroups and make a methodological contribution to stereotype content research.     

Family consequences of refugee trauma

OBJECTIVE: To construct a model on the consequences of political violence for refugee families based upon a qualitative investigation. METHODS: This study used a grounded-theory approach to analyze qualitative evidence from the CAFES multi-family support and education groups with Bosnian refugee families in Chicago. Textual coding and analysis was conducted using ATLAS/ti for Windows. RESULTS: A grounded-theory model of Family Consequences of Refugee Trauma (FAMCORT) was constructed that describes Displaced Families of War across four realms of family life: (1) changes in family roles and obligations, (2) changes in family memories and communications, (3) changes in family relationships with other family members; and (4) changes in family connections with the ethnic community and nation state. In each realm, the model also specifies family strategies, called Families Rebuilding Lives, for managing those consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Political violence leads to changes in multiple dimensions of family life and also to strategies for managing those changes. Qualitative family research is useful in better understanding refugee families and in helping them through family-oriented mental health services.     

Organizational context,sponsorship and policy research output

Over the last several decades a significant capacity to produce policy research has been institutionalized across government and academe and around their borders. Diverse organizational settings and sponsors yield a wide array of forms of policy research and analysis. Yet little is known about the influence of organizational context and sponsorship on research output. Implications for knowledge accumulation and the use of research in policy-making also are uncertain. In this study a random sample of 1,291 cases of policy research and analysis from 1975–1990 and the organizational conditions surrounding their production is described. Log linear analysis suggests that organization and sponsorship are directly related to the type and breadth of research performed. A considerable range of two-way interactions link specific producer and sponsor types to characteristics of research output. He is the author ofThe Impact of Policy Analysis (University of Pittsburgh Press) and assorted journal articles.     

Working with refugee families in Greece: systemic considerations

When refugee families leave their country of origin, they may also leave behind their culture and support systems but not their abilities to overcome the emerging adversities. This article addresses issues concerning the process of refugee families' ‘acculturation’ and adaptation to their new setting in Greek society. It attempts to develop culture‐sensitive approaches to family therapy based on narrative perspectives and inspired by Pike's ‘‐emic and ‐etic’ distinction. It discusses the innovative methods developed by the therapeutic team of the Greek Council for Refugees which included the use of ‘cultural therapeutic mediators’ and others in an endeavour to access the overlapping systems of refugee families in more effective ways.     

Intimacy,sport and young refugee men

This article is about research with a group of young refugee men from Sudan and their relationship to football (soccer) as they resettle in Australia. It provides evidence of the resilience, independence and autonomy that such young refugees possess and what these young men's intimate knowledge of these qualities can teach us. In other words, how can we as researchers learn from these young refugees about how they perform these qualities and how may we accommodate this during ethnographic research and in sports-based intervention programs aimed at empowering such young people? Further, the article explores the role of intimacy in this process by accounting for the role of affective connections on and off the sporting field. The argument is that intimacy can help those involved negotiate the power inequities present in sports-based intervention programs and in associated research.     

Public-private partnerships in refugee resettlement: Europe and the US

This article describes the process of resettlement in five states (the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States). The different roles of private, non-governmental actors in the five systems are explored. The nature of the state as a provider of public welfare assistance is a factor that seems to determine the extent to which private actors play a role in resettlement. The article draws preliminary conclusions that could inform future social science research.     

Developing preventive mental health interventions for refugee families in resettlement

In refugee resettlement, positive psychosocial outcomes for youth and adults depend to a great extent on their families. Yet refugee families find few empirically based services geared toward them. Preventive mental health interventions that aim to stop, lessen, or delay possible negative individual mental health and behavioral sequelae through improving family and community protective resources in resettled refugee families are needed. This paper describes 8 characteristics that preventive mental health interventions should address to meet the needs of refugee families, including: Feasibility, Acceptability, Culturally Tailored, Multilevel, Time Focused, Prosaicness, Effectiveness, and Adaptability. To address these 8 characteristics in the complex environment of refugee resettlement requires modifying the process of developmental research through incorporating innovative mental health services research strategies, including: resilience framework, community collaboration, mixed methods with focused ethnography, and the comprehensive dynamic trial. A preventive intervention development cycle for refugee families is proposed based on a program of research on refugees and migrants using these services research strategies. Furthering preventive mental health for refugee families also requires new policy directives, multisystemic partnerships, and research training.     

Factors of regular sponsorship of African children: A cross-ethnic study

This study examined psychological well-being influences of personal factors on regular sponsorship of, or donation to, African children living in Africa. Study participants (N = 597) were 338 Koreans (50.3% female, n = 170) and 259 Chinese (56.8% female, n = 147). They responded to measures of psychological well-being, individual social responsibility, social impression management, and subjective norms. Following multiple group analyses applying structural equation modelling, subjective well-being influenced psychological well-being among the Korean donors; whereas social responsibility influenced psychological well-being among the Chinese donors. In both the Korean and Chinese groups, psychological well-being was associated with an increased regular sponsorship of African children. Latent ethno-cultural personal orientations appear to explain psychological well-being with donation activity.     

Sponsorship: Organizational,sponsor, and refugee perspectives

Canada inaugurated a unique sponsorship program through the Immigration Act of 1976. Twelve-month sponsor support creates both an initial bond and a friendship network projecting beyond the formal undertaking. Since the Southeast Asian wave in 1979–80, sponsorships have declined in frequency and in public visibility. More recently, variations of the sponsorship model involve shared responsibility with the federal government and local community organizations to widen the base of sponsor support and to alleviate burden in complex cases. Future policy directions may invite newcomers to assume a greater role in shaping their own resettlement pathways through transnational linkages. Also, centres such as places of worship should accommodate widely-used programs (health, labour market orientation) to bridge wider community services with newcomer idioms and customs.     

Predictors of depressive symptoms among resettled unaccompanied refugee minors

This study investigated the level and predictors of depressive symptoms among unaccompanied refugee minors after resettlement in Norway. Participants (N = 414) were resettled in 26 municipalities from all regions of the country. The average length of resettlement time was 3.4 years. They originated from 33 different countries, mainly Afghanistan (n = 116), Somalia (n = 74), Sri Lanka (n = 41) and Iraq (n = 43). Participants completed a self-report questionnaire administered in groups. Findings show that unaccompanied minors are a high-risk group for mental health problems also after resettlement in a new country. A multilevel model predicting depressive symptoms from individual and contextual demographic factors indicated that, controlling for post-traumatic stress, females had more symptoms than males and Somalis had fewer symptoms than participants from other countries. Variation in symptom levels as a function of gender and ethnic background indicates that some groups may have inherent protective or vulnerability factors that need to be further studied to understand differences in psychosocial adaptation among unaccompanied minors. Further, findings imply that researchers, policy makers and mental health care workers need to expand their attention beyond the first phases of arrival of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee minors to the continuing experience of mental health problems after resettlement.     

Secondary migration and relocation among African refugee families in the United States

The purpose of this study was to understand the secondary migration and relocation of African refugees resettled in the United States. Secondary migration refers to moves out of state, while relocation refers to moves within state. Of 73 recently resettled refugee families from Burundi and Liberia followed for 1 year through ethnographic interviews and observations, 13 instances of secondary migration and 9 instances of relocation were identified. A family ecodevelopmental framework was applied to address: Who moved again, why, and with what consequences? How did moving again impact family risk and protective factors? How might policies, researchers, and practitioners better manage refugees moving again? Findings indicated that families undertook secondary migration principally for employment, affordable housing, family reunification, and to feel more at home. Families relocated primarily for affordable housing. Parents reported that secondary migration and relocation enhanced family stability. Youth reported disruption to both schooling and attachments with peers and community. In conclusion, secondary migration and relocation were family efforts to enhance family and community protective resources and to mitigate shortcomings in resettlement conditions. Policymakers could provide newly resettled refugees jobs, better housing and family reunification. Practitioners could devise ways to better engage and support those families who consider moving.     

Understanding Narratively,Understanding Alterity

Phenomenology's systematic exploration of how a world comes into existence for knowers – knowers who are often conceptualized as individual and ostensibly isolated – requires that it provide some account of the constitution of alterity. In this paper, I address this issue by arguing that we apperceive alterity in terms of the intentionality of behavior. A corollary of this argument is that the apperception of an alter as specifically human is a secondary attribution, following the primary apperception of intention. I further argue that the intentionality of behavior is understood through the projection of a narrative frame, or a “protonarrative,” onto the alter's behavior. I suggest that protonarrativity is the form that experience takes as its ontological condition. Our living is not simply known to us reflectively as protonarrative; rather, experience is lived as protonarrative.This essay is based on a paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences, Memphis, Tennessee, October 28–30, 2004.