ECSA's Characteristics of Citizen Science: Explanation Notes

This explanation document provides an interpretation of and explanation for the characteristics document, which was kept short to make it useful to different stakeholders. In this document, the characteristics document is represented, with the original text in blue and an explanation in black

Psychometric properties and longitudinal validation of the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20) in a Rwandan community setting: a validation study

Background: This study took place to enable the measurement of the effects on mental health of a psychosocial intervention in Rwanda. It aimed to establish the capacities of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) to screen for mental disorder and to assess symptom change over time in a Rwandan community setting. Methods. The SRQ-20 was translated into Kinyarwanda in a process of forward and back-translation. SRQ-20 data were collected in a Rwandan setting on 418 respondents; a random subsample of 230 respondents was assessed a second time with a three month time interval. Internal reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha. The optimal cut-off point was determined by calculating Receiver Operating Curves, using semi-structured clinical interviews as standard in a random subsample of 99 respondents. Subsequently, predictive value, likelihood ratio, and interrater agreement were calculated. The factor structure of the SRQ-20 was determined through exploratory factor analysis. Factorial invariance over time was tested in a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The reliability of the SRQ-20 in women ( = 0.85) and men ( = 0.81) could be considered good. The instrument performed moderately well in detecting common mental disorders, with an area

Understanding refugee durable solutions by international players: Does dialogue form a missing link?

This study evaluates durable solutions in relation to refugees from East Africa. It particularly focuses on the Great Lakes countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The study is based on the conviction that these four countries have never had peaceful transfer of power which in essence has been a major contributing factor to political violence that has caused forced mass migration in the region to this day. The use of force or military suppression has been a norm since independence of these countries in the early 1960s. This suppression has continuously forced many people to flee their homes facing abuse of their human rights, dictatorship, persecution, indiscriminate arrests, ethnic wars and political violence. Based on a survey used to collect data and in-depth interviews with selected refugees from the Great Lakes region living in Cape Town, South Africa, this paper seeks to understand durable solutions through analysing the current refugee situation. It demonstrates that durable solutions can present both challenges and solutions. It also revisits the concept of durable solutions and seeks to re-evaluate whether these various solutions offer a chance for dialogue. With the aid of a legal perspective on the refugee situation in the region, the paper qualifies the concepts of dialogue as a mechanism for peace building as well as driver for voluntary repatriation.IBS

Reconciliation Sentiment Among Victims of Genocide in Rwanda: Conceptualizations, and Relationships with Mental Health

Reconciliation sentiment, Mental health, Rwanda,