Design between Dignity and Identity: Burning Borders for New Routes of Migration

Nowadays, we notice that there is a correlation between the concepts of crisis and migration; the main problem is clearly the number of people risking or losing their lives through irregular routes because of the absence of alternatives. There is also a growing discrepancy between restrictive migration policies and the real demand for cheap migrant labor in Europe, as neither European nor African states have a much genuine interest in stopping migration because the economies of receiving and sending countries have become increasingly dependent on migrant labor and remittances, respectively (De Haas, 2008). Nevertheless, all the experts speak about the need to open new migratory channels to combat irregular migration and trafficking, in order to match the real demand for labor, and limit the effects of the large informal economies in Europe and the Maghreb. Europe’s migration crisis has exposed shortcomings in the Union’s asylum system. In western countries, political asylum is mainly a tool for humanitarian protection, but it also helps manage migratory flows. Accordingly, the same person could be viewed as a refugee in a country and as an economic migrant in another. The sole difference is that to refer to an individual as a migrant is to hold them in a state of transit. Some claim that the distinctions that are made between refugees and economic migrants are irrelevant since they do not take into account the stories of these individuals (Colombo, 2015). In contrast, digital culture has no consideration for boundaries and has allowed more people to acquire the information they need to access the global labor market. In our globalized and fluid society, social inclusion and migration have become indivisible. It is true that one can talk about social inclusion from several perspectives and not necessarily from the one of migration, but a fair social inclusion would enable people to move without recourse to irregular migration routes. On a broader perspective, social design could be the field of design supporting the aspirations of highly vulnerable population groups and the injustices they are subjected to: refugees and migrants are among these groups facing issues related to various segregations; work, education, healthcare,etc. During the last decade, design has increasingly been viewed as a problem-solving approach, which makes it central to innovation in general. This is also the case when dealing with wicked social problems. Terms like design thinking, human-centered design (HCD) and design for public policy are more and more used, especially when we talk about collaborative and inclusive approaches towards complex social issues. In fact, we have witnessed the emergence of several new fields of design linked to this social character with a particular enthusiasm for social innovation. Manzini (2015) insists on recognizing design as strategic in playing an essential role in triggering, supporting and scaling-up social innovation. What contribution can design make in this specific field? What is the designers’ position concerning complex social problems that are often directly linked to a highly politicized issue like the one of migration? In this research Makers Unite was our primary case study. The project was initiated by "The Beach", a social design studio working principally with disadvantaged communities in Amsterdam. They promote Sustainsist Design, as the new playing field for designers. Thus, they developed an extensive knowledge on co-design based on "connectedness, localism, sharing, and proportionality" (Krabbendam and Schwarz, 2013). Through its story-sharing space, Makers Unite seeks to tackle both the social and environmental issues of the refugee crisis meeting the definition on Sustainist Design as a link between social and ecological sustainability. The project brings together both "newcomers" and local residents in co-designing enticing products and narratives, beginning with up-cycling life vests and boats accumulated on Greek island shores used as entry points to Europe and causing environmental problems. This would enable refugees to take their first steps in regaining their dignity, as it facilitates the identification of the abilities of newcomers and connects their skills with local experts in their respective fields. The Dutch context granted an idea, though a generic one, about the situation of migrants in a country of northern Europe to be compared to that of Italy as a perfect sample of the countries of southern Europe. In Parallel, a non-exhaustive outside-in research was also conducted through a series of spontaneous interviews with migrants, but also social workers in the asylum field. We attempted a kind of immersion to understand in a tangible way the issues that migrants face on a daily basis. The people we had the opportunity to meet were all different and each one had their own story. There was a wide range of profiles with different nationalities (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Senegal, Guinea etc.) backgrounds and levels of education. As explained, globalization has made mobility a necessity for both host and home countries, and now the Internet has facilitated this mobility, through platforms and applications of job matching for instance. But it remains very limited, sometimes even abstract, and the populations who need it most, alas, do not have access to it. Internet has also facilitated mobility for workers of a new kind; "digital nomads" that work remotely and do not need a fixed location. There are also storytelling platforms where "influencers" create content, stories with value that people read, like and share. Because each individual has his own story and each story deserves to be listened to and valued, how could these three types of services be linked? How can someone give value to their own story and skills? Does he/she necessarily have the skills to create content and share it? Does valuing the stories and skills of individuals prevent them from embarking on a perilous journey to provide a way out by finding work abroad

Impact of artificial intelligence on education for employment: (learning and employability Framework)

Sustainable development has been a global goal and one of the key enablers to achieve the sustainable development goals is by securing decent jobs. However, decent jobs rely on the quality of education an individual has got, which value the importance of studying new education for employment frameworks that work. With the evolution of artificial intelligence that is influencing every industry and field in the world, there is a need to understand the impact of such technology on the education for employment process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and assess how AI can foster the education for employment process? And what is the harm that such technology can brings on the social, economical and environmental levels? The study follows a mapping methodology using secondary data to identify and analyze AI powered startups and companies that addressed the learning and employability gaps. The study revealed twelve different AI applications that contribute to 3 main pillars of education for employment; career exploration and choice, skills building, and job hunting. 94% of those applications were innovated by startups. The review of literature and study results showed that AI can bring new level of guidance for individuals to choose their university or career, personalized learning capabilities that adapt to the learner\u27s circumstance, and new whole level of job search and matchmaking

Linking Disability and Intercultural Studies: the adaptation journey of the visually impaired migrant in Ireland

This study focuses on the lived experiences of the visually impaired migrant in Ireland and this is the first study to document the lives of these members of Irish society. It examines how visually impaired migrants are simultaneously adapting to their disability and a new cultural environment while living in Ireland. In so doing this study aims to link the two academic fields of Intercultural Studies and Disability Studies and theoretical underpinnings for this study are drawn and woven together from both fields. As such this study draws from the development of theories relating to disability as well as the intercultural aspects of migration. Qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 participants living in the larger Dublin region, which comprised of two groups; migrant users and providers of services for the visually impaired. Data analysis was assisted through the software package Atlas.ti. A grounded theory approach to collecting and analysing data was adopted as this facilitates the flow from raw data to codes to concepts. Purposive sampling was employed and the typical method of grounded theory of constant comparison was not used, rather interviews were analysed individually once they were all completed then compared. Research findings indicate that the cultural perceptions of disability may help or hinder the individual’s adaptation process both to their visual impairment and to living and integrating into a new culture in Ireland. Findings cluster around the three areas of cultural perceptions of disability, support networks and cultural barriers to adaptation. Synergising theoretical concepts and data steered the development of a new integrative model which identifies the inhibitors and facilitators for the process of adaptation to visual impairment for a migrant in Ireland

The Case of Egypt

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 국제대학원 국제학과(국제통상전공), 2022. 8. Moon, Woo-Sik.The expansion of trade between north and south countries, in parallel with the development of virtual innovation, has effecting significantly on productivity and labor market configurations, thereby affecting the form of informality allowing transformation into digitalization informal, throughout informal workers, they tend to use easier accessible platforms aiming to enhance livelihood and increasing income, as well as leadership capacity reflecting on empowerment status, in education, In the Egyptian context, the last decade of Egyptian revolutions demonstrated the role of social media in Egyptian society, which was initially motivated by the revolution of 2011. where the Egyptian public and government parties as well as civilian took social media seriously as a factor influencing social interactions through addressing needs and expectations. This is a study is to address the importance of social media's role in the Egyptian community, impacting women empowerment through the transformation of informality into online social media platforms, helping to improve women empowerment through doing business online and improving their livelihood in a variety of social contexts.가상 혁신의 개발과 병행하여 북부와 남부 국가 간의 무역 확대는 생산성 및 노동 시장 구성에 상당한 영향을 미치며, 따라서 비공식적인 형태의 수입원이 발생하는 것은, 온라인 상에서도 비공식적인 수입이 발생할 수 있다는 것을 의미하는데, 비공식 노동자들은 비교적 접근성이 높은 온라인 플랫폼을 사용해 생계 및 소득 증대, 그리고 스스로의 역량 강화를 위한 수입원을 벌어들이고 있습니다. 이집트의 맥락에서, 이집트 혁명의 마지막 10년은 이집트 사회에서 소셜 미디어의 역할을 보여주었고. 이는 처음에 2011년 혁명에 의해 동기가 부여되었고,이집트 대중과 정부 정당, 민간인이 필요와 기대를 충족시켜 사회적 상호 작용에 영향을 미치는 요인으로 소셜 미디어를 진지하게 여겼던 곳, 이 연구는 이집트 커뮤니티에서 소셜 미디어의 역할의 중요성을 설명하고, 비공식성을 온라인 소셜 미디어 플랫폼으로 전환하여 여성 권한 부여에 영향을 미치고 온라인 비즈니스를 통해 여성 권한 부여를 돕고 다양한 사회적 맥락에서 생계를 개선합니다.Chapter 1. Introduction 5 1.1 Background 5 1.1.1 Problem Statement 7 1.1.2 Research objective 7 1.1.3 Problem question 8 1.1.4 Research Outline 8 Chapter 2. Literature Review 10 2.1 Trade and informal Labor market 10 2.3 Gender inequality and informal labor 15 2.4 Digitalization of informality and social media intermediaries 19 2.5 Technicality of the Platform economy 23 2,5,1 What are social media platforms? 24 2.5.2 How do the business online platforms are working? 25 2.5.3 Who is working on informal online platforms? 26 2.5.4 Identifying women empowerment 27 2.5.5 How women got empowered through platforms 29 2.5.6 Risk in doing business as informal online on social media 30 Chapter 3. Informal Online Business and Women in Egypt 33 3.1 Social media and Egyptian’s empowerment platforms 35 3.2 Egyptian Governance and informal labor market 36 3.4 Informal business and women in Egypt 45 Chapter 4. Main Findings 49 4.1 Data Description 49 4.2 Education empowerment 54 4.3 Economical empowerment 57 4.4 Social Impact 60 Chapter 5 Conclusion 66 References 73석

Technology as a Source of Power: Exploring How ICT Use Contributes to the Social Inclusion of Refugees in Germany

Since the beginning of the recent global refugee crisis, researchers have been tackling many of its associated aspects, investigating how we can help to alleviate this crisis, in particular, using ICTs capabilities. In our research, we investigated the use of ICT solutions by refugees to foster the social inclusion process in the host community. To tackle this topic, we conducted thirteen interviews with Syrian refugees in Germany. Our findings reveal different ICT usages by refugees and how these contribute to feeling empowered. Moreover, we show the sources of empowerment for refugees that are gained by ICT use. Finally, we identified the two types of social inclusion benefits that were derived from empowerment sources. Our results provide practical implications to different stakeholders and decision-makers on how ICT usage can empower refugees, which can foster the social inclusion of refugees, and what should be considered to support them in their integration effort

Empowering Adults to Thrive at Work: Personal Success Skills for 21st Century Jobs: A Report on Promising Research and Practice

The growing significance of personal success skills has been a challenge for those trying to help struggling adults get and keep good jobs, and grow in careers. Workforce development programs tend to focus on occupational skills, like welding, truck driving, and phlebotomy. And "job readiness training" in these programs too often means resume writing and interviewing -- two skills no employer asks for. Three reasons for this collective neglect are (1) a lack of clarity about what, specifically, we're talking about when we refer to these skills; (2) common belief that these factors, which seem in sum to constitute one's personality, aren't going to change in adulthood; and (3) uncertainty about the best ways to help adults develop them. A new study conducted by SRI International for the Joyce Foundation addresses each of these hurdles. It supplies a coherent framework for understanding what the skills are, summarizes research that shows they can still be developed well into adulthood (old dogs CAN learn new tricks), and highlights effective programs around the country that are already empowering so many struggling adults to successfully pursue quality employment. This report is a charge to educators and workforce development providers, human services agencies, policymakers, foundations and researchers to begin addressing the economic opportunity challenge of our time. SRI has provided recommendations to each of these groups on how to get started. Now, it's our job to take up the charge

The Labour Market in the New Information Economy

The extension of information and communication technologies to economic activity ischanging the labour market in important ways. This article shows that computerization anduse of the Internet are associated with greater hours worked as well as higher wages; that IToccupations are rapidly increasing their share of employment; that job search and recruitmentare moving rapidly to the Web, with consequences for matching employers and employees;and possibly most important of all, that trade unions have begun to use the Internet as a toolfor servicing members and carrying their message to the public, raising the possibility of amajor change in the nature of the union movement.

Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion and ICT, Report 2: ICT and Employability

IPTS has launched a research project on how ICT can support employability, in the context of its policy support activities for the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, and the Digital Agenda for Europe. As a first step, JRC-IPTS contracted the Institute of Employment Research, University of Warwick, UK to prepare: a) a review of the literature on employability, its dimensions and the factors which affect it in general and for groups at risk of exclusion, namely migrants, youth and older workers; and b) a report on how ICT contribute to employability, support the reduction of barriers and create pathways to employment for all and also for the three specific groups at risk of exclusion. This report presents the findings of the second part of the research.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Hamara Healthy Living Centre - an evaluation

Hamara is a Healthy Living Centre which aims to improve health and well-being through providing a range of culturally appropriate activities and services. Hamara has a vision of 'bringing communities together' and since it was established in 2004, the Centre has provided a valuable community resource in South Leeds. Partnership work between Hamara and Leeds Met goes back to 2002. In 2007, the Centre for Health Promotion Research carried out an evaluation of Hamara in partnership with Hamara staff and Leeds Met Community Partnerships and Volunteering. This was followed by a highly successful community cohesion conference 'One Community' which was held at Hamara on 10th October 2008, and was supported through a Leeds Met public engagement grant. The event attracted over a hundred people from diverse communities and organisations across Leeds. A packed audience heard Hilary Benn, local MP and Patron of Hamara, talk about the importance of working in collaboration around community cohesion. Jane South, Centre for Health Promotion Research, presented the main evaluation results and set out the some challenges for the future. The proceedings concluded with the presentation of awards to a number of for local community champions who work to bring people together and make a real difference in the city of Leeds