The Information Mapping Board Game: a Collaborative Investigation of Asylum Seekers and Refugees’ Information Practices in England, UK

Introduction. This paper discusses the use of an information mapping board game for collaboratively identifying information practices of a small group of asylum seekers and refugees in the North East of England, UK. Method. Drawing on participatory visual methods, an original information mapping board game was designed. Analysis. Qualitative results are discussed and analysed using grounded theory, constant comparative analysis, and situational mapping. Results. The use of an information mapping board game allows participants going through the asylum process to become actively involved in mapping and sharing their own information practices, sources and barriers within a playful collaborative environment. It enables participants to become aware of their acquired information literacy by sharing knowledge, and to adapt the game to reflect their needs and knowledge. Conclusion. This study indicates that participatory techniques such as the information mapping board game have the potential to engage hard to reach populations in the research process, to foster their agency, confidence, and capacities, and to inform actions at a local level

A reading of latin american avant-garde through the decolonial lense: Alejandro Xul Solar and Joaquín Torres-García, from the ineluctable modern eurocentrism to the search for a communication "other"

This dissertation revisits modern art in Latin America. The paradoxes of the Latin American avant-garde discourse, which uses modern ideals in order to create a culturally decolonised identity freed from Eurocentrism, are confronted to the theory defended by the decolonial thinking according to which coloniality is inherent to modernity. Through the examination of the texts and paintings of Alejandro Xul Solar and Joaquín Torres-García, two artists who participated in the renewal of the vanguard scenes of Argentina and Uruguay between the 1920s and the 1940s, my aim is to understand whether modern art is – as decolonial thinkers imply – doomed to reproduce coloniality, or if it can conversely allow to undermine it. The analysis of their works first shows their discourses as entrenched in a narrative of modernity that indeed proves to be a fallacious mirror of coloniality. The focus on abstraction and on the thinking and communicating ‘other’ it produces, nevertheless leads me to question the decolonial premise. I finally conclude that the aesthetic freedom brought by the avant-garde allowed Solar and Torres-García to, in some cases, avoid reproducing coloniality, but does however not make them decolonial artists

Ethical considerations in social media analytics in the context of migration: lessons learned from a Horizon 2020 project

The ubiquitous use of social platforms across the globe makes them attractive options for investigating social phenomena including migration. However, the use of social media data raises several crucial ethical issues around the areas of informed consent, anonymity and profiling of individuals, which are particularly sensitive when looking at a population such as migrants, which is often considered as ‘vulnerable’. In this paper, we discuss how the opportunities and challenges related to social media research in the context of migration impact on the development of large-scale scientific projects. Building on the EU-funded research project PERCEPTIONS, we explore the concrete challenges experienced in such projects regarding profiling, informed consent, bias, data sharing and ethical approval procedures, as well as the strategies used to mitigate them. We draw from lessons learned in this project to discuss implications and recommendations to researchers, funders and university ethics review panels. This paper contributes to the growing discussion on the ethical challenges associated with big social data research projects on migration by highlighting concrete aspects stakeholders should be looking for and questioning when involved in such large-scale scientific projects where collaboration, data sharing and transformation and practicalities are of importance

A grounded theory of information exclusion and information inclusion: framing the information experience of people seeking asylum

Purpose This paper discusses an original theory of information exclusion and information inclusion, which explains how information interactions can be structured in ways that either exclude or include people seeking asylum. Design/methodology/approach This theory was developed through an ethnographic study of the information experience of people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Fieldwork involved participant observations, participatory research workshops and semi-structured interviews, analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Findings People seeking asylum are confronted with two main information environments: the asylum system and the local third sector. Each environment frames contrasting information access, sharing and literacy practice modalities: the former produces information deprivation, information sharing agency denial and a fracturing information literacy practice; the latter facilitates multiple information affordances, information sharing agency promotion, and both local and heritage information literacy practice promotion. Our theory of information exclusion and information inclusion describes how through these modalities, an information environment can either promote or preclude inclusion. Originality/value Previous information studies of migration tend to conceptualise social ex/inclusion as a linear journey. Our theory originally frames this as a non-straightforward and conflicting process, allowing to better understand the experience of people who are not simply either socially excluded or included, but may experience both states depending on context. It also shows that exclusion is not a matter of fact and is not fundamental to asylum systems: it is produced by specific policies and procedures and can therefore be changed. Thus, this theory provides conceptual tools for researchers to investigate the information experience of individuals moving between conflicting information practices, and for civil society actors and policymakers to document exclusionary information practices and design inclusive ones

A grounded theory of information exclusion and information inclusion: framing the information experience of people seeking asylum

Purpose: This paper discusses an original theory of information exclusion and information inclusion, which explains how information interactions can be structured in ways that either exclude or include people seeking asylum. Methodology: This theory was developed through an ethnographic study of the information experience of people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Fieldwork involved participant observations, participatory research workshops, and semi-structured interviews, analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Findings: People seeking asylum are confronted with two main information environments: the asylum system and the local third sector. Each environment frames contrasting information access, sharing and literacy practice modalities: the former produces information deprivation, information sharing agency denial and a fracturing information literacy practice; the latter facilitates multiple information affordances, information sharing agency promotion, and both local and heritage information literacy practice promotion. Our theory of information exclusion and information inclusion describes how through these modalities, an information environment can either promote or preclude inclusion. Originality: Previous information studies of migration tend to conceptualise social ex/inclusion as a linear journey. Our theory originally frames this as a non-straightforward and conflicting process, allowing to better understand the experience of people who are not simply either socially excluded or included, but may experience both states depending on context. It also shows that exclusion is not a matter of fact and is not fundamental to asylum systems: it is produced by specific policies and procedures, and can therefore be changed. Thus, this theory provides conceptual tools for researchers to investigate the information experience of individuals moving between conflicting information practices, and for civil society actors and policy makers to document exclusionary information practices and design inclusive ones

Heritage as an affective and meaningful information literacy practice: an interdisciplinary approach to the integration of asylum seekers and refugees

Information studies have identified numerous needs and barriers to the integration of asylum seekers and refugees; however, little emphasis has been placed thus far on their need to keep their own culture, values, and traditions alive. In this work, we use ethnographic constructivist grounded theory to explore the place of heritage in the information experience of people who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom. Based on our findings, we propose to conceptualize heritage as an affective and meaningful information literacy practice. Such conceptualization fosters integration by allowing people to simultaneously maintain their own ways of knowing and adapt to local ones. Our research approach provides scholars with a conceptual tool to holistically explore affective, meaningful, and cultural information practices. This study also reveals implications for policymakers, third sector organizations, and cultural institutions working toward the more sustainable integration of asylum seekers and refugees

The Ethics of Social Media Analytics in Migration Studies

The prevalence of social media platforms and their use across the globe makes them attractive options for studying large groups of people, particularly when some of these platforms provide access to large amounts of structured data. However, with the collection, storage and use of this data comes ethical and legal responsibilities, which are particularly important when looking at social groups such as migrants who are often stigmatised and criminalised. Various guidelines, frameworks and laws have been developed to ensure social media data is used in the most ethical way. However, they have quickly evolved within the past few years and are scattered across various fields and domains. To help researchers navigate these issues, this chapter provides an overview of the ethical considerations of studying migration via social media platforms. Building on relevant academic literature as well as national and supranational frameworks and legislations, we review how the main ethical issues related to social media research have been discussed in the past 20 years and outline good practice examples to mitigate them. This overview is designed to provide researchers with theoretical and practical tools to consider and mitigate the ethical challenges related to social media research in migration-related contexts