Quarrels between Young Refugees and Young Germans in Bautzen: How Has it Turned into Bad Treatment against Refugees and What Are the Effects?

In recent years, more than a million asylum seekers have entered Germany, and it tries actively to integrate them into society. However, this massive process faces some difficulties especially in the east of the country. This article explores how the conflicts between young refugees and young Germans, mobilized, and turned to bad treatment, from some people in the city, against not only young refugees, but also against other refugees in the city, by studying kind of the communication between the host society and the refugees in two main areas: public places and the private sector. Comparing the results with the prior interviews conducted with fifteen unaccompanied minors and adult refugees in Hamm city, this article shows how the conflict that turned into bad treatment has negatively affected the feeling of security for the refugees, the homogeneity of the refugee community, and their views for their future in Germany regardless of the huge efforts of the government and the civil society to integrate the refugees in Bautzen city

Las economías sirias: ¿un boom temporal?

Algunas personas desplazadas y sus comunidades de acogida se han beneficiado económicamente de las consecuencias del conflicto en la provincia siria de Al Raqa. Otras necesitan ayuda de un tipo que irá variando a medida que cambien las circunstancias

Vitamin D status in irritable bowel syndrome and the impact of supplementation on symptoms: what do we know and what do we need to know?

BACKGROUND: Low vitamin D status is associated with risk of colorectal cancer and has been implicated in inflammatory bowel disease. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, relapsing, functional bowel disorder. A nascent literature suggests a role for vitamin D in IBS, but this has not been collated or critiqued. To date, seven studies have been published: four observational studies and three randomised controlled trials (RCTs). All observational studies reported that a substantial proportion of the IBS population was vitamin D deficient. Two intervention studies reported improvement in IBS symptom severity scores and quality of life (QoL) with vitamin D supplementation. There are limited data around the role of vitamin D in IBS. CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence suggests that low vitamin D status is common among the IBS population and merits assessment and rectification for general health reasons alone. An inverse correlation between serum vitamin D and IBS symptom severity is suggested and vitamin D interventions may benefit symptoms. However, the available RCTs do not provide strong, generalisable evidence; larger and adequately powered interventions are needed to establish a case for therapeutic application of vitamin D in IBS

The Usability of E-learning Platforms in Higher Education: A Systematic Mapping Study

The use of e-learning in higher education has increased significantly in recent years, which has led to several studies being conducted to investigate the usability of the platforms that support it. A variety of different usability evaluation methods and attributes have been used, and it has therefore become important to start reviewing this work in a systematic way to determine how the field has developed in the last 15 years. This paper describes a systematic mapping study that performed searches on five electronic libraries to identify usability issues and methods that have been used to evaluate e-learning platforms. Sixty-one papers were selected and analysed, with the majority of studies using a simple research design reliant on questionnaires. The usability attributes measured were mostly related to effectiveness, satisfaction, efficiency, and perceived ease of use. Furthermore, several research gaps have been identified and recommendations have been made for further work in the area of the usability of online learning

The social work role in the secondary schools in Saudi Arabia

The overall aim of this research is to contribute to cross-cultural knowledge and skills on the development and  practice of social work in schools, by identifying and comparing the actual and ideal roles of school social  workers in Saudi Arabia, ascertaining the major problems facing the social workers and learning their views regarding improvement of the counselling service in secondary schools in Saudi Arabia.The target populations of this study were third year public secondary school students, social workers in public  secondary schools and officials. In order to gather data from the three groups, questionnaires and interview  schedules, were used. The validity and reliability of the instruments were tested and piloted.Social workers, officials and students ranked twenty-six possible roles of the school social worker on a Likert  scale for both actual and ideal practice. The results of the two-tailed paired T-tests conducted to analyse the  actual versus ideal functions of the social workers in Saudi Arabian secondary schools, as perceived by social  workers themselves, and by students, indicated that there were significant differences at the .005 level for all  except two items, though the non-significant items differed between the two groups. The result of the two-tailed  paired 1-tests conducted to analyse the actual and ideal functions, as perceived by the officials showed  statistically significant difference for all but four items. Thus, the data revealed many significant differences in perceptions of the actual and ideal functions of the social workers in secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. In  general, social workers, students and officials thought that, ideally, social workers should do more work in  relation to almost every function of the social worker's role.The interviews with social workers revealed some factors, which they thought constrain their role as social  workers in the secondary schools. The main factors were burden of other tasks unrelated to their job, such as  clerical work, interference in their work from head teachers and sometimes from teachers, and lack of trust.  Therefore, problems faced them in performance of their role with teachers, school administrators, education supervisors, parents, and students. Furthermore, social workers complained that students do not seek help  from them, even if they are in need of it

Syrian economies. A temporary boom?

Al Ajlan A. Syrian economies. A temporary boom? Forced Migration Review. 2018;(58):29

Divorce and Domestic Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Germany

Al Ajlan A. Divorce and Domestic Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Germany . Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2021.In recent literature, there are no academic studies on divorce and domestic violence among Syrian refugees in Germany. To contribute to filling this gap, the current study addresses the question: What are the main causes of divorce and domestic violence among Syrian refugees in Germany, and how are these two phenomena interrelated? The present study is based on 14 qualitative interviews with divorced Syrian refugee men and women in Germany, all of them are Muslim with different economic backgrounds from urban and rural areas in Syria and got divorced shortly after their arrival to Germany. The data were analyzed and coded following Mayring’s guidelines for content analysis. The findings suggest that domestic violence results from conflicts of interest in marriage and divorce between Syrian refugee men and women. The present study uses the economic theory of marriage and divorce by Cary Becker to show how Syrian refugee women’s “gains” of divorce in Germany exceed the “gains” of remaining married and how that leads them to divorce their husbands. In contrast, divorce is a heavy loss for Syrian refugee men. In addition, it shows how this conflict of interest results in domestic violence, by which the men resist their wives’ eagerness to divorce and interpret the marital relationship according to Sharia law and Arabic traditions in order to keep their old patriarchal authority. However, this interpretation is inapplicable and criminalized by the German family legislation, and unwanted by their wives. The findings, through the example of Syrian refugees in Germany, imply that the causes of divorce and domestic violence among refugees in some regards are unique in comparison with natives and migrants. That means that we need more studies on this topic in different socio-cultural contexts

Syrian economies: a temporary boom?

Some displaced people and their host communities have benefited economically from the consequences of conflict in Syria’s Raqqa province. Others need support – and the type of support needed will change as circumstances change

Ibn Khaldun: founder of a new social science

Al Ajlan A. Ibn Khaldun: founder of a new social science. Arabian Heritage Magazine, Damascus. 2010

Impact of War Trauma on Interpersonal Mistrust among Syrian Refugees in Germany and Their Interpersonal Trust in Germans

In forced migration literature, there is a lack of studies on the impact of war trauma on interpersonal mistrust among refugees and their interpersonal trust in members of the host society. To contribute to filling this gap, the author studied the impact of war trauma on interpersonal mistrust among Syrian refugees in Germany and their interpersonal trust in Germans. The data are based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers conducted in 2018 and 2019. The author argues that because traumatised refugees are powerfully influenced by past traumatic events experienced in their home country, they tend to mistrust people who can be associated with the place where these traumatic experiences occurred. In contrast, they are inclined to trust people who cannot be linked to the geographical location of the traumatic experiences. The main result of this study is that similarity—that of war-traumatised refugees sharing the same socio-cultural backgrounds—leads to interpersonal mistrust, while dissimilarity leads to interpersonal trust. The author of this paper calls for considering trust-building among war traumatised refugees, which has significant importance for refugee integration