Reception Conditions Research Articles

Finding Ways to Spain: migration experiences in the navigation of Beni Ensar-Melilla border

Existing literature has examined transnational migration in the border zone of Beni Ensar (Morocco) and Melilla (Spain) from various perspectives. However, there is relatively little exploration of the experience of crossing this border. This article aims to address this gap by utilizing qualitative research conducted with migrants assisted by the Spanish Red Cross. The work employs a theoretical framework of migration trajectories and focuses on three types of border crossing experiences: by land, by sea, and as unaccompanied minors. The objective is to comprehend how participants describe the Beni Ensar-Melilla border area, the strategies they employ to navigate the border, and the significance of crossing it for them. I argue that, firstly, in order to navigate this challenging borderland, participants needed to cooperate with other migrants and demonstrate persistence. Additionally, unaccompanied minors relied on specific laws and reception conditions. Secondly, the act of migrating is linked to ideal plans in Europe that, if realized, have the potential to enhance the lives of participants and their families.

Legal regulation of the asylum granting and ensuring of the refugees’ rights in the European Union

The article is devoted to the study of the legal regulation of the asylum granting and ensuring of the refugees’ rights in the European Union. Within the framework of the article, the legal basis of the Common European Asylum System functioning, the creation of which is laid down in the constituent treaties of the European Union, is investigated. In particular, it is determined that the purpose of such a common system is to establish unified standards for determining the criteria for admissibility of applications for asylum or international protection, a similar procedure for considering such applications and the grounds for refusing or suspending the status of a refugee or a person seeking temporary protection, as well as determining the state, responsible for providing asylum, uniform standards for ensuring the rights of refugees, as well as common principles of cooperation between the Member States and partner states that are not members of the Union. The key provisions of the Directive on qualification criteria, on the procedure for granting asylum and international protection, on the conditions of reception and rights of refugees, as well as the Dublin Regulation and the Eurodac Regulation were analyzed. The authors put an emphasis on the fact that because of the full-scale invasion and emergence of the war on the territory of Ukraine, significant changes were made to the process and procedures for granting refugee status and providing asylum within the framework of the legislation of the European Union. The latest Pact on Migration and Asylum was analyzed, especially regarding changes in ensuring border security, quick and effective procedures for considering and obtaining the status of a refugee or a person seeking international protection, solidarity and responsibility among countries that are obliged to provide asylum, as well as strengthening international cooperation in the field of migration. The authors express their support for those concerns regarding alleged violations that may occur after the entry into force of the Pact, in connection with the threat of violations of fundamental human rights. It was concluded that ensuring dignity and respect for human rights is a priority, considering that refugees are recognized as persons who have already suffered violations and were forced to leave their homes.

GNSS-Based Narrow-Angle UV Camera Targeting: Case Study of a Low-Cost MAD Robot.

One of the key challenges in Multi-Spectral Automatic Diagnostic (MAD) robot design is the precise targeting of narrow-angle cameras on a specific part of the equipment. The paper shows that a low-cost MAD robot, whose navigation system is based on open-source ArduRover firmware and a pair of low-cost Ublox F9P GNSS receivers, can inspect the 8 × 4 degree ultraviolet camera bounding the targeting error within 0.5 degrees. To achieve this result, we propose a new targeting procedure that can be implemented without any modifications in ArduRover firmware and outperforms more expensive solutions based on LiDAR SLAM and UWB. This paper will be interesting to the developers of robotic systems for power equipment inspection because it proposes a simple and effective solution for MAD robots' camera targeting and provides the first quantitative analysis of the GNSS reception conditions during power equipment inspection. This analysis is based on the experimental results collected during the inspection of the overhead power transmission lines and equipment inspections on the open switchgear of different power plants. Moreover, it includes not only satellite, dilution of precision, and positioning/heading estimation accuracy but also the direct measurements of angular errors that could be achieved on operating power plants using GNSS-only camera targeting.

Constructive Refoulement as Disguised Voluntary Return: The Internalised Externalisation of Migrants

This paper purports to extend the concept of constructive refoulement in the context of externalised migration policies. This concept has been recognised in jurisprudence at the domestic, regional and international levels, and has developed through State practice as well as the practice of regional and international organisations. In the externalisation of migration policies, constructive refoulement becomes evident in both visible and invisible prisons: the United States-Mexico partnership in the Southern Border Programme creates a situation where asylum seekers eventually abandon the hope of continuing their asylum procedures and reluctantly return to other places. The Australian offshore asylum processing system, which has been remodelled by the UK, adopts the kyriarchical system where asylum seekers themselves control their self-return to their country of origin as a result of a combined situation of severe discipline and hatred between officials and inmates as well as between the inmates themselves. Meanwhile, the EU’s Reception Conditions Directive scheme incorporates migrants in a planned destitution scenario where they are forced to choose to leave Europe due to poor socio-economic conditions. The Japanese combination of karihomen and kanrisochi also creates a planned destitute environment which compels asylum seekers themselves to seek their return by depriving them of their basic needs. Such governmentality of internalising externalisation by the Global North must be critically assessed in terms of the developing concept of constructive refoulement implied under international refugee and human rights law.

The Politics of Taking No Position: Jay Chung and Q Takeki Maeda

Since the 1970s, thinking about the social dimensions of artmaking has been dominated by two lines of inquiry: firstly, regarding artists’ decisions to make one kind of work versus another, and secondly, concerning the curators, critics, collectors, and viewers who together determine art’s meaning and value. Works of Institutional Critique following in this lineage argue that artworks are permeated by the social relations that predominate in their immediate context. Works’ meaning and value emerge, immanently, in relation to this ground. Yet thinking about the social dimensions of artmaking has failed to account for the way that contemporary art’s representational conditions impact artistic production. In this paper, I fill a gap in art discourse surrounding the stakes of artistic production amid what Kobena Mercer calls “inclusionism.” Work by the duo Jay Chung and Q Takeki Maeda, I argue, reveals that––within contemporary art’s prevailing representational paradigm––of similar importance to the position one takes, is one’s position as subject. A series of exhibitions produced by Chung and Maeda between 2009 and 2021 prove that one of the primary meanings of Institutional Critique within the field of contemporary art production is the possibility of refusing the reduction of a work to its maker’s subject position. Chung and Maeda’s work can be seen as articulating insight into the objective conditions of contemporary artistic production, distribution, and reception––specifically regarding the gallerists who invited the duo to exhibit––and thereby pointing beyond contemporary art’s representational double bind.

Enhancing the Rights of Protection-Seeking Migrants through the Global Compact for Migration: The Case of EU Asylum Policy

Abstract This article argues that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is not only a breakthrough for a rights-based approach in international migration governance but also an asset to the international protection system. By way of example, three key issues of the European Union’s (EU) Common European Asylum System are discussed: access to protection, reception conditions, and detention. These examples illustrate that faithfully implementing the Migration Compact would require the EU and its Member States to make significant changes in their asylum policy. The parallel emergence of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) may suggest otherwise – namely, that the GCM is not relevant for refugees and other protection-seeking migrants. However, the legal construction that best serves the object and purpose of both documents is the assumption that the two Compacts have an overlapping scope of application. The GCM addresses specific protection needs of protection-seeking migrants who are not covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention, and it serves as an umbrella, strengthening the core human rights of migrants regardless of their status, including protection-seeking migrants. Hence, the GCM improves the international protection system as a whole and should be acknowledged as such.

Prayer Motifs and National Consciousness in Changing Conditions of Reception: As Exemplified by the Works of Ivan Shmelev and Boris Zaitsev

This article presents the role of selected motifs of prayer depicted in the works of first-wave Russian emigrants in the creation of a certain type of national mythology. The starting point of the considerations is a reflection on the status of emigrant literature at the time of its creation, during the period of political changes in the Soviet bloc, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and today. From the beginning, émigré literature has served as a certain treasury of images and symbols, which are treated as necessary elements for maintaining the national identity of emigrants. The article presents selected motifs from the works of Ivan Shmelev’s The Year of the Lord and Pilgrimage, and Boris Zaitsev’s Saint Sergius of Radonezh, showing prayer as an element of ritual, as a collective request, and as an act of deep contact with God. The analysis of the selected examples shows that regardless of the literary form, narrative perspective, or the way the subject was presented, the writers showed prayer motifs in a patriotic context, while mythologizing pre-revolutionary Russia and bringing the idea of “Holy Rus” to life. In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been an increased interest in emigrant literature, and the ideas contained therein have proven to be very important for the formation of the new national consciousness of Russians. Today, due to another political change in Russia and its political isolation, émigré literature is of renewed importance in Russian circles. The writers whose works are discussed in this study are regarded as the main Orthodox writers of the twentieth century, and the image of praying Russia is again the basis for building a new national identity. The study concludes with the observation that the value of emigrant literature should be studied in the context of the time of its creation.

Reinserting ex-associates of Boko Haram in Cameroon

ABSTRACT In November 2018, the State of Cameroon announced the creation of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) to organise, supervise and manage the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former Boko Haram fighters and armed groups in the English-speaking North-West and South-West regions. The need arose as communities had been hosting successive waves of former Boko Haram associates. This research focuses on those communities where reintegration routes are either off or upstream the institutional framework set by the government. Based on a field survey and available literature on the current security crisis in the Far-North region of Cameroon, the study describes the profiles of these ex-hostages and ex-combatants that are grouped under the term of ex-associates. Reception conditions as well as the ordalic reintegration mechanisms put in place by the communities’ leaders are also analysed. The challenge of identifying and counting those ex-associates exhaustively and the delay in implementing a coherent national reintegration strategy make it quite illusory to envisage a credible alternative to that still existing community model.

Migrant Reception Centres and Coercive Social Control: Rule by Legal Uncertainty?

Large-scale accommodation for refugees and migrants is often approached from a humanitarian angle, examining the reception conditions on the ground. However, scholars have long shown how such care-providing spaces are also sites of social control. A close examination of the legal framework of an accommodation centre for migrants in Spain, the CETI of Melilla, finds that beyond the content of the law, it is also necessary to examine the nature of the laws framing refugee camps to understand how social control is exerted. While hard law provides a vague legal basis, the reception centre is primarily governed by a patch-work of rapidly evolving soft law emanating primarily from the executive branch. Social control in the form of coercion is facilitated by the law, but not in the form of a strong punitive legal framework, as may be expected. Instead, an effective restriction of the rights of residents is enabled through legal uncertainty.

Sacred sites, identity, and resilience - on the retrieval of collective and historic identity across religious and cultural difference

This study explores the role of eminent buildings and shrines of cultural and religious significance for collective and individual identities, in the context of present culture with its disruptions of tradition, in cultural and religious regard. It draws on the renewed awareness of this connection, that developed in public debate in France, after the arson of eminent cathedrals, and in Germany, in debate about the reconstruction of historic buildings after reunification. The controversies are presented and viewed with regard to the changing contexts of secularisation, migration and religious plurality. The recent debates are understood as indication of a gradual recognition of the role of ‘symbolic landscapes’ and of the value of relating to them, for the sake of strengthening the bond with historical identity and heritage, as intrinsically connected. The growing or reluctant realisation that this includes the religious dimension, is noted – with both Christianity and Paganism. Theory about the symbolic function of eminent religious buildings is included. This is considered, in particular, with regard to religious and cultural pluralism as condition of reception, for a strengthening of a common and shared symbolic landscape, relevant to identity. It includes a view to ‘pilgrimage’ as mode of connecting to such sites. The essay also takes restored and rediscovered sacred sites in Africa into view. Here the disruptions and devaluation of historical identity due to colonialism is kept in view as background. Eminent examples of reconstructed shrines as centres of a spiritual and cultural geography, reinforcing collective and individual identity, are presented, as. An example of active appropriation of ancient sacred sites of previous populations is also mentioned, from South Africa, as means of cultural and spiritual ‘territorialisation’.

Language acts and discursive engagement in Jacques-Prosper Bazié’s "The Views of Hope"

In a communication situation, the person can freely express his/her ideas, but to be able to understand the intention of somebody, it is first necessary that the situation of enunciation is understood and that the context is observed. That is why pragmatics takes into account the utterance not only from the speaker's point of view, but also from the way the utterance is received and transmitted. Similarly, the relationship that this statement maintains with its interlocutor, the conditions of production and/or reception of this statement are the subject of particular attention. This article follows this logic. Using the theory of speech acts developed by J. L. Austin, it pursues the objective of showing that J. P. Bazié performs speech acts in his poems. Perlocutionary acts in particular indicate that the speaker positions himself in the struggle of peoples for their future. Therefore, by analyzing the speech acts performed by the speaker and by the shift from the speaker to the author, the study has come to the conclusion that J. P. Bazié is a committed writer.

Tract 15: The Conditions for Eucharistic Reception in St. Justin Martyr's Church

Tract 15: The Conditions for Eucharistic Reception in St. Justin Martyr's Church

Reception and education of refugee children in Greece: policies and evaluation

The relatively recent presence of refugee students in Greek schools is an educational policy challenge called to respect and safeguard human rights and the rights of children in a democratic and receptive social context. In this paper we present research data that allow us to better understand the reception and education conditions of refugee students as perceived by teachers working with them, but also by the students themselves. Positive steps and choices are intertwined with gaps and shortcomings, making this educational landscape a field in which both the essential inclusive approach of the Greek educational system and the professional development of teachers are tested.

Sarah Polley’s take on the Me Too moment: adapting Women Talking to the big screen

Abstract This article discusses Sarah Polley’s 2022 film adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel Women Talking (2018), inspired by a case of mass rapes in a Mennonite colony in Bolivia, as part of the Me Too moment; a new zeitgeist that has modified the conditions of reception for survivor testimony. We examine it as an audiovisual product that amplifies the resonance of the original text and contributes to the current wave of feminist testimonial practices about sexual violence, constituting an instance of narrative activism that promotes social change. Through our analysis of the dynamics of storytelling in the film, we prove that Polley’s cinematic strategies place emphasis on the women’s lived experiences and points of view, distilling the words of the book to capture the key elements of their discussion (forgiveness, justice, obedience, trauma, and structural violence) and, rarely but significantly, deviating from the original text to achieve her goal of female-centred focalisation. While scholars and survivors have described the battle over the narrative in rape cases, Polley does not leave room for it. In line with #MeToo, the movie takes an ethical listening stand, presenting female testimony as valid evidence. The question at stake is not whether the protagonists have been raped by the men of the colony, but what they are going to do about it; and, by extension, what the viewers are going to make of their story as told by themselves.

Incidence of sexual violence among recently arrived asylum-seeking women in France: a retrospective cohort study.

The prevention of sexual violence (SV) occurring shortly after arrival in host countries towards female asylum seekers requires knowledge about its incidence. We aimed to determine the incidence of SV and its associated factors during the past year of living in France among asylum-seeking females who had arrived more than one year earlier but less than two years. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a life-event survey of asylum-seeking females who had been registered in southern France by the Office for Immigration for more than one year but less than two. The primary outcome was the occurrence of SV during the past year, weighted by the deviation in age and geographical origin of our sample from all females registered. The nature of SV was noted, and associated factors were explored by a logistic regression model. Between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, 273 females were included. Eighty-four females experienced SV during the past year of living in France (26.3% weighted [95% CI, 24-28.8]), 17 of whom were raped (4.8% weighted [95% CI, 3.7-6.1]). Being a victim of SV prior to arrival in France (202, 75.7%) was associated with the occurrence of SV after arrival (OR=4.6 [95% CI, 1.8-11.3]). Lack of support for accommodation was associated with se.xual assault (OR=2.6 [95% CI, 1.3-5.1]). The months following arrival in a European host country among asylum-seeking females appear to be a period of high incidence of SV; even higher for those who previously experienced SV prior to arrival. Reception conditions without support for accommodation seem to increase exposure to sexual assault. DGOS-GIRCI.

Enhancing accuracy of information processing in onboard subsystems of UAVs

The object of research is the onboard subsystems of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The research is aimed at analyzing UAVs, specifically the integration and enhancement of satellite-based positioning systems, including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS). The problem concerns traditional satellite-based positioning services, especially those relying solely on medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites, which are insufficient for specific requirements. The study aims to address the limitations of these systems on onboard subsystems of UAVs, especially in challenging environments laden with jammers and interference, and to provide a more accurate, robust, and continuous positioning solution. The research proposes a «multilayer system of systems» approach that integrates signals from various sources, including low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, ground-based positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems, and user-centric sensors. The combined approach, termed LeGNSS/INS, leverages the strengths of each component, providing redundancy and enhanced accuracy. The system's performance was evaluated using pseudo-real output data, demonstrating its ability to generate quasi-real dynamic trajectories for UAV flight. The error analysis showed that the proposed method consistently outperforms traditional GNSS systems, especially in challenging environments. The enhanced performance of the LeGNSS/INS system can be attributed to integrating multiple satellite systems with INS and applying optimal filtering techniques. The research also employed mathematical modeling to represent the dependencies and interactions when combining data from different sources, such as GPS, LEO, and INS. The Kalman filter is a mechanism to fuse data from multiple sources optimally. The insights from this study apply to various sectors, including aviation, maritime navigation, autonomous drones, and defense. The enhanced positioning accuracy can significantly improve safety, navigation precision, and operational efficiency. However, the study assumes idealized conditions for satellite signal reception, which might not always be accurate in real-world scenarios. Challenges, such as the martial law conditions in Ukraine affecting data collection and potential satellite signal restrictions, were also highlighted. Further research can delve into the impact of more complex environmental factors and the integration of additional satellite systems or sensors to enhance accuracy further.

Complex PTSD in asylum-seekers living in a humanitarian setting in Africa: A latent class analysis.

Participants were 126 asylum-seekers hosted in a large, isolated reception camp in the desert surroundings of Agadez (humanitarian site) or in a number of small urban hosting facilities (cases de passages) who completed measures of trauma exposure and PTSD/CPTSD symptoms. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify symptom profiles, and predictors of class membership were identified via multinomial logistic regression. More asylum seekers met the criteria for CPTSD (74.6%) than PTSD (19.8%) and no gender differences were observed. LCA results identified two distinct groups: (a) a CPTSD class (69.0%); and (b) a PTSD class (31.0%). Membership in the CPTSD class was significantly predicted by the early age of the first traumatic event, levels of functional impairment and reception conditions. Specifically, those in the CPTSD class were more likely to live in the humanitarian site compared with those in the PTSD class. This study supported the validity of the ICD-11 construct of CPTSD in an asylum-seeker sample living in a low-income country. Moreover, the findings suggest that not only premigration factors (i.e., the early age of the first trauma) but also postmigration stressors (i.e., precarious reception conditions in large, isolated facilities) are important predictors of CPTSD symptoms with important implications regarding reception policies and the prevention of trauma-related mental disorders in asylum seekers and refugees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Correction to Barbieri et al. (2022).

This study investigated ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) symptom profiles and their premigration, postmigration, and demographic predictors in a treatment-seeking sample of asylum-seekers in Agadez (Niger). Participants were 126 asylum-seekers hosted in a large, isolated reception camp in the desert surroundings of Agadez (humanitarian site) or in a number of small urban hosting facilities (cases de passages) who completed measures of trauma exposure and PTSD/CPTSD symptoms. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify symptom profiles, and predictors of class membership were identified via multinomial logistic regression. More asylum seekers met the criteria for CPTSD (74.6%) than PTSD (19.8%) and no gender differences were observed. LCA results identified two distinct groups: (a) a CPTSD class (69.0%); and (b) a PTSD class (31.0%). Membership in the CPTSD class was significantly predicted by the early age of the first traumatic event, levels of functional impairment and reception conditions. Specifically, those in the CPTSD class were more likely to live in the humanitarian site compared with those in the PTSD class. This study supported the validity of the ICD-11 construct of CPTSD in an asylum-seeker sample living in a low-income country. Moreover, the findings suggest that not only premigration factors (i.e., the early age of the first trauma) but also postmigration stressors (i.e., precarious reception conditions in large, isolated facilities) are important predictors of CPTSD symptoms with important implications regarding reception policies and the prevention of trauma-related mental disorders in asylum seekers and refugees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Influence of the A Priori Uncertainty of the Shallow Sea Sound Channel Model on the Vertical Array Gain

The purpose of this paper is to numerically demonstrate and comparatively analyze the critically strong and ambiguous impact of the a priori uncertainty of a shallow sea waveguide model in its main physical parameters on the output performance of model-based methods for spatial processing of multimode signals received by a vertical antenna array. The scenario is specified when a relatively weak signal of a remote underwater source is received against the background of intensive interference excited by a subsurface source (like a ship, for example) and ambient sea noise excited by wind waves. The considered array processing methods include matched-signal processing, optimal processing of the signal on the background of interference and noise, and suboptimal processing based on matched-mode array filtering of one of the signal-carrying modes with adaptive selection of its number. Quantitative estimates are obtained from above for the environment uncertainties, or model errors, with respect to the sound velocity in the water column and geoacoustic parameters of the underlying bottom, at which the array gain loss does not exceed a given level. It is shown that such estimates are very different both for different environmental parameters and for processing methods, with the determining role played by the conditions of useful signal reception, namely, the modal composition and intensity levels of the interference and sea noise at the array input. The problem statement and results are considered to be useful to detail the requirements for operational oceanography tools designed to support the effective operation of sonar antenna systems in real sea environments.

Расширенное ортогональное прекодирование с обратной связью для систем с пространственным мультиплексированием

Various methods of generating of space-time codes and algebraic structures for increasing noise immunity of MIMO communication systems with a large number of transmitting and receiving antennas are considered. The possibility of generation of an orthogonal precoding matrix in MIMO systems depending on changing reception conditions in a radio channel using feedback from a transmitter to a receiver is shown. It is obtained that to transmit such a precoding matrix in MIMO systems with 4×4, 8×8, 16×16 antenna configurations, feedback is required with the ability to transmit only 2 bits on the reverse link at an energy gain of 1.5 dB ... 2.5 dB compared to an open loop system. The precoding matrices obtained in the article and their formation algorithms can be used in the development of new MIMO mobile communication systems.