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Walking interviews generate contextualized dialogs and place-based narratives prompted by sites and routes. We used walking interviews with three refugee-background women in Australia to find out what the act of walking could reveal about notions of home and broader narratives of forced migration. We used a participatory approach to privilege women's perspectives as co-creators of new knowledge on the topic.

Objective: Digital storytelling and other methods of self-expression and autobiography have become an increasingly important tool for those working with young people, including those from migrant, refugee or other 'culturally diverse' backgrounds. A structured scoping review was undertaken to better understand the potential value and challenges of using digital stories to promote the health and well-being of these diverse groups of young people and to identify key knowledge gaps. Design: The review process comprised a systematic search of the literature and strategic consultations with professionals working with young people in the area of sexual and reproductive health promotion and care. A descriptive-analytic method was used to collate and synthesise the literature and apply narrative and thematic analyses. Results: In total, 28 papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. Findings are presented as two analyses: what is known from the literature and key knowledge gaps. Identified themes included the use of digital stories as social activism and as research intervention, recognition of digital stories as complex terrain and recommendations for good practice. Three key gaps of particular relevance to our research aims were identified. These were (1) the lack of digital stories on sexual health and relationships by 'culturally diverse' young people in Australia, (2) the need for discussion of the ethical considerations of using digital storytelling and related methods in sexual health fields and (3) the value of exploring opportunities to employ digital methods as self-representation and autobiography to generate new knowledge and build organisational capacity. Conclusion: As confirmed in discussions with professionals working in the youth, migrant and sexual health sectors, the literature highlighted the many potential applications of digital storytelling to promoting the sexual health and well-being of young people from diverse backgrounds. Additional research is required to understand the particular ethical and contextual issues shaping, and at times constraining, this engagement in specific cultural contexts.

People from refugee backgrounds experience distinctively complex situations pre- and post-resettlement and are at heightened risks of suicide. The bulk of research on refugee suicide and suicidal ideation is based on diagnostic perspectives, biomedical approaches, and quantitative measures. To explore lived experience of suicide among refugee communities in more depth, this review highlights the need for qualitative, creative methods and a different paradigm to conceptualise suicide research from a social and cultural perspective as an alternative to framing and treating suicidality purely as a mental health issue. Situational and lived experience-based knowledge can significantly expand understandings of how to curb the rise in suicidal ideation and reduce suicide risks among refugees. In this context, creative research methods can be excellent tools to uncover the deeply contextual dimensions of suicidality. When interdisciplinary research explores subjective and sociocultural meanings attached to suicidal ideation, there is a greater potential to develop culturally safe supports, which are models attuned to cultural norms as determined by those most affected by lived experience of an issue or problem. Qualitative suicide research using creative methods and grounded in sociocultural knowledge can address the multidimensional and situational factors affecting refugee communities to improve interventions beyond medical framings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees with disability and their families are increasingly resettled in Australia but remain an under-researched group. As such, this study aimed to understand experiences of disability for humanitarian migrants who support a family member with a disability. Interviews took place with 10 family members from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds living in Australia, whose children or siblings had disability. BenEzer and Zetter's conceptualisation of the refugee journey was used to analyse four themes of these families' experience: (1) Temporal Characteristics: (2) Drivers and Destinations; (3) Process/Content of the Journey; and (4) Characteristics of People. Supporting a person or persons with disability was a defining feature of the participants' journeys across all themes, with stigma and difficulties in accessing disability support being consistent throughout. The journeys were multifaceted and ongoing, particularly in response to gaps in Australian disability support, and demonstrated the agency and advocacy that families utilised to support the best lives of those they love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In resettlement countries like Canada, the United States, and Australia, research suggests that higher education is vital to ensure well-being, greater socioeconomic integration and inclusion, and successful settlement of refugee communities to make a positive contribution to society. Refugees across the globe have high educational aspirations and strongly value education as an important tool to restore dignity, security, and hope. The onus rests on Australia's tertiary education system to provide appropriate support to refugee students in order to set them up for success. Although universities promote equity of access and participation, they have been slow to address the lack of tailored support for refugee students, preventing them from reaching their full potential. There are a number of initiatives aiming to facilitate refugees' access to university; however, there are no clear frameworks to assess the extent of, let alone address, the specific needs of refugee students. Teaching and general staff who have worked with refugee students often concur that they may present with significant issues, resulting in staff feeling out of their depth and uncertain about their pedagogical approach. From the outset, the lack of accurate figures on how many students from refugee backgrounds attend Australian universities is a problem, and little is actually known about how refugee students navigate their educational trajectories. This represents a significant barrier to higher education for an underrepresented group with high aspirations and potential. This article discusses the two main reasons why universities should care about understanding and addressing the specific needs of refugee students: (1) a moral obligation; and (2) a socioeconomic impetus.

Distance education (DE) in social work programs and studies on its comparable effectiveness with face-to-face education continue to increase. Yet not all faculty are convinced of the results, and this study explores why. Three case studies indicate that reservations center on valuing the process of learning and nonverbal communication. Issues regarding duty of care to families to be served by future social workers primarily educated in a virtual classroom also matter significantly. The trend toward DE may be inevitable, but this does not mean that educators should not voice their concerns; their skepticism has merit, and they have a responsibility to be vocal.

The topics of intergenerational trauma, resilience, and wellbeing as they relate to forced migration are receiving more attention in the arts and health literature. Yet, we know very little about how refugee-background young adults manage their psychosocial wellbeing when they grow up surrounded by stories of conflict, loss, and trauma. Achol has been writing poetry to represent and amplify the narratives of those around her (parents, family, and the South Sudanese community in Sydney, Australia). These stories are central elements of her lived experience and the diverse experiences of her community. Using collaborative poetic inquiry, this paper identifies key themes in one of her poems, My dad was, is a soldier, to illustrate how poetry is an important artistic mode of expression that can improve our understanding of intergenerational trauma, resilience, and wellbeing. Rather than conveying interview data through research poems, we place Achol's poem at the centre of our collaborative poetic inquiry to gain new insights into refugee lived experiences. This paper contributes to contemporary debates on how artistic means enrich our knowledge of psychosocial wellbeing through trauma-informed, culturally safe, and decolonial research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the implications of recent income support payment changes for sole-parented families in Australia, and in particular, their capacity to access tertiary education. The government's program to reduce welfare benefit payments to sole-parented families already at high risk of economic disadvantage and social marginalization threatened a first-year sole-parent attempting to complete a 4 year university study program. When sole-parents had not acted to continue their education before the specified cut-off period, the impeding financial change in effect resulted in the sole-parent student either withdrawing from their current studies or, worse still, never enrolling in the first place as they see further study as an improbable dream. This policy change created clear tensions for universities. First, it weakened the opportunity for universities to fulfill one of their major responsibilities: to recruit and educate people who are educationally, economically, and socially disadvantaged; second, it limited the ability of universities to meet the requirements placed on them by the government to improve access, participation, retention, and success rates for students from lower socioeconomic status; and third, it threatened the commitment and capacity of particular departments within universities, such as human services, nursing, and social work to develop next generations of effective helping professionals. Universities Australia (a body representing Australia's largest 39 universities) recommended that the Australian Government maintain a system that enables any Australian who is capable of studying at university to do so. It is hoped the government heeds this recommendation to protect the current and future education prospects of those students for reasons of equity and fairness, and to keep alive the prospects of a smarter Australia.

A 2012 change in Australia's immigration policy saw increased resettlement of refugees with disability, with a large number fleeing political instability in Iraq and Syria. The evidence on service disparities for resettled refugees with disability and their families is sparse. The study aim was to explore, from multiple stakeholder perspectives, the experiences of people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds resettled in Australia, with a view to informing future services and supports. Interviews with nine family members of 11 people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds and seven practitioners working in refugee specific services. Persons with disability had a range of disabilities including intellectual or developmental, physical and sensory. Interviews were translated from Arabic to English as required and analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes described the practices and service interventions that addressed disparities: (1) Getting the basics right: Refugee specific services played a crucial role during early settlement in ensuring access to medical, health and social care including diagnosis, medication, equipment, housing and financial support. (2) Ongoing access to disability supports: Refugee specific services assisted families with longer‐term supports once immediate needs were met, including accessing services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Participants described benefits such as having access to interpreters and Arabic‐speaking staff, demonstrating services' attention to cultural sensitivity and safety, and problems including waiting times, bureaucratic processes and housing needs. Refugee specific services, disability services and health services should collaboratively develop and implement strategies to tackle the intersectional nature of issues resettled refugees with disability and their families encounter in Australia. These should be informed by the experiences of people with disability and family members from refugee backgrounds and privilege holistic practices that avoid reliance on one sector alone to address the complex needs of refugees with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores refugee-background women's concepts of hosts and hosting in resettlement. The refugee studies literature generally uses the term 'host communities' to describe a country's citizens or established communities who interact with and may assist newcomers to build a new life. However, findings from our walking interviews project with a small group of refugee-background women in Sydney, Australia suggest that these women were actively contributing to hosting newly arrived families. They were in fact the hosts rather than the guests. They performed rituals of hosting for newcomers from similar backgrounds more so than the so-called host communities. The act of hosting involved an intra-group process that was integral to the women's roles in their local communities. Conversely, inter-group relationships with so-called host communities were completely absent. We review how conceptualisations of hosting are used in forced migration studies. We outline how the findings on hosting challenged our own understanding of hosting in a resettlement context. Our discussion of refugee-background women's agency as hosts for newcomers provides new understandings of an oft-forgotten aspect of women's lived realities in resettlement, their strengths and resourcefulness, and the gendered nature of these rituals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Story completion is a narrative inquiry method where participants complete a story from an opening hypothetical scenario or 'stem' that researchers create. While interest in this method is growing across disciplines due to its emancipatory potential, the literature fails to address how story completion can be used in culturally safe ways. Cultural safety in research means that it is the participants who determine whether the process values and privileges their unique standpoints and perspectives. Culturally safe research approaches and methods are crucial to decolonisation efforts in the academy. To illustrate this topic, we draw from our experience using a digital version of story completion in May 2020 to prompt thoughts on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We received 52 responses from Australian residents using a stem relating to a pandemic-related scenario. When we noted the lack of diversity in ethnic backgrounds in participant demographic information, we wondered whether story completion was reinforcing rather than disrupting norms about narrative inquiry and what constitutes a story, and we questioned our recruitment strategy. In this paper, we highlight the importance of decolonising research methodologies rather than merely adapting or validating methods by using them across different cultural contexts. We explain how our story completion project led to reflections on western constructions of storytelling, how to create the stem, and how to improve our recruitment approach. In response, we propose a rhizomatic perspective, which values multiple entry and exit points in research, to frame practical strategies that can improve the potential of using story completion in culturally safe ways. These include: embracing messy stories; exploring diverse notions of storytelling; favouring story fragments (rather than stems) and story assemblage (rather than completion); co-designing story fragments with target groups; and collaborating with local communities to co-design culturally appropriate and sensitive recruitment strategies and projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the Australian government committed to take an additional 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq prioritizing those considered most vulnerable including people with disability. The aim of this preliminary study was to understand, from multiple stakeholder perspectives, the experiences of settling in Australia for people with disability from Syrian and Iraqi refugee backgrounds living in Sydney. Interviews were conducted with nine family members of 11 people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds; eight Iraqi and Syrian community organization leaders; and seven community and health refugee service practitioners. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using the thematic analysis. Three themes were identified that contribute to understandings of disability based on the perceptions of the multiple stakeholders interviewed: Iraqi and Syrian perceptions of 'disability'; beliefs about who is 'responsible for' the disability; and comparisons between Iraqi/Syrian and Australian views, attitudes, and approaches to disability. Understandings of disability are shaped by fluid and dynamic factors, including culture. It is essential that services are offered to people with disability and their family members using a whole-of-person, culturally informed approach to community support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walking interviews generate contextualized dialogs and place-based narratives prompted by sites and routes. We used walking interviews with three refugee-background women in Australia to find out what the act of walking could reveal about notions of home and broader narratives of forced migration. We used a participatory approach to privilege women's perspectives as co-creators of new knowledge on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To demonstrate the health and well-being benefits of facilitated arts engagement with women veterans, we draw on a key practice-based example from the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (ANVAM), an organization with expertise in collaborative art-making with veterans. We outline ANVAM's framework and the processes art therapists use to create facilitated art exhibitions. We discuss how veterans' involvement with art-making has therapeutic benefits, can contribute new knowledge on health and well-being, and convey nuances of gender-specific experiences. We briefly outline the trend in evidence from academic literature on arts-health research with veterans and the sparse creative research with women veterans to highlight the potential of art-based methods in veteran health and well-being research, given growing numbers and the expanding roles of women in defence. Arts-health research using diverse methods has yielded promising results in this field. As such, interdisciplinary, co-designed, and strength-based art-based research with women veterans can add to knowledge co-creation on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health of women has been largely neglected in the refugee literature, notwithstanding the specific gender-related issues that confront women seeking asylum. Furthermore, a specific category of women, deemed to be women-at-risk, face particular challenges in their journey and resettlement process. This longitudinal study investigated psychological distress in refugee women-at-risk one year after resettlement in Australia. Follow-up survey of 83 women-at-risk (mean age = 33.41 years; SD = 11.93) assessed: trauma events and symptoms; loss events and loss distress; level of post-migration problems; anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms; and absence of trust in community members. Participants demonstrated no symptom change since initial assessment (p >.05). Substantial proportions of women reported traumatization (39%), PTSD (20%), anxiety (32%), and depression (39%) above clinical cut-offs, and high levels of somatization and loss distress. Post-migration problems, trauma events, and region of birth were associated with all symptoms, with post-migration problems the strongest predictor. Absence of trust in community members was associated with trauma, depression, and somatic symptoms. Initial trauma and somatic symptoms were associated with follow-up traumatic and somatic symptoms. Loss and trauma events were associated with loss distress. Findings underline the role of post-migration problems on psychological distress and the need to consider women's psychological wellbeing in the context of their trauma and loss history, potential impacts of ethnicity, and complex socio-cultural dynamics underpinning issues of trust within communities. Effective service delivery requires that practitioners screen for and address psychological distress in women-at-risk at least up to 18 months after resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increased commitment to the participation and self-representation of people with lived experiences as refugees and asylum seekers in advocacy, especially at international, high-level events. However, we know very little about what opportunities and challenges such processes present. This paper reports on findings from a research project on youth participation and self-representation at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with two young women and two young men from refugee backgrounds who live in Australia. We contribute new perspectives to contemporary debates on the potential for participation and self-representation in high-level consultations to effect policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the predictors of quality of life among refugee women. 104 refugee women-at-risk were recruited within 6 months of arriving in Australia. A structured questionnaire was administered using standardized tools to assess pre-migration trauma, post-migration living difficulties, social capital, social networks, and quality of life. Hierarchical multiple and logistic regressions assessed factors predicting quality of life. Post-migration factors such as low trust in the community, and lack of support from individuals in their social networks predicted poorer quality of life. These findings have implications for community and social programs for refugee women-at-risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University students from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds (SRABs) have unique resettlement experiences related to disrupted education, family expectations, financial pressures, and visa uncertainty. These arduous experiences often translate into a strong determination to access education and persevere with tertiary studies. Supportive educational trajectories are crucial to increase social cohesion and help redress the personal and social disadvantages SRABs face. Yet, there is virtually no attention paid to aspirations about progression to postgraduate studies despite the diverse aspirations and talents of many. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the perspectives of six SRABs and two academics at an Australian university on aspirations to postgraduate studies. Participants identified several obstacles and opportunities at personal, institutional, community, and policy levels. Many existing recommendations in the enabling pathways literature focus on what universities could do differently, but we argue for a whole-of-person approach that considers institutional as well as personal issues, to increase prospects of SRABs progressing to postgraduate studies. Universities can assist with better institutional support structures, mentoring, raising staff awareness about SRABs, and financial aid. While institutions might not be able to directly address financial, visa, and personal concerns, universities can implement simple strategies to minimise their impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of South Sudanese women came together in 2018 to share artistic and cultural practices with one another during a series of creative workshops at a community art gallery in Sydney, Australia. We collaborated with the women to organise workshop activities and a community event to showcase their cultural artefacts and items created during the workshops. Through a research-arts partnership, we documented women's conversations about their artistic and cultural traditions and practices during weekly gatherings and pre and post-workshop discussions. This paper suggests that the women involved in these participant-designed and driven workshops were redefining their culture and cultural practices in a different place, and shaped new notions of cultural continuity, defined as the process of maintaining and passing on traditional knowledge. They conceptualised cultural traditions as everyday practices in their lived realities, and as points of connections with the past. The creation of a women-only space for artistic practices in a resettlement context provided regular opportunities for women of different ages to discuss culturally-prescribed gender norms and traditions candidly. Participant-led research-arts collaborations represent a flexible approach to exploring women's notions of art and culture and gender-based experiences to understand how they navigate everyday social realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the influence of social networks and social capital on Chin refugee women as they negotiate survival in their country of first asylum, India. Findings indicate that the participants' social networks were vital for day-to-day survival, but they served as a means for short-term coping, rather than long-term adaptation. This is not to negate the importance of the resources; without the community knowledge, livelihood linkages, and support they received from other Chin refugees in Delhi, the situation for the participants would have been even more dismal and they would have been completely socially isolated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For people who have experienced forced migration, the sense of agency, control, and forward momentum that can accompany engagement in higher education can become a vital driving force. In this special edition on educational engagement of students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, we highlight how attention to higher education is crucial to understanding and improving their lives. We focus on the factors that support and constrain access and meaningful participation in higher education. Here, we describe the social context for discussions in the papers that follow. We outline current issues of concern in humanitarian and resettlement settings and how these contribute to an imbalance in the production of knowledge, which we seek to address in this special edition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital storytelling is a valuable and ethical research tool to engage in collaborative research with refugee women. This paper recounts how digital storytelling was used in a mixed-methods study on settlement, to document the journeys of women who entered Australia through the Woman at Risk program in 2014-2015. Instead of merely asking a series of questions, the digital storytelling process extended our qualitative inquiry as an approach that valued the women's own memories, interests, and hopes. The methodology represents a meaningful way of engaging in collaborative research, where participating women were not just storytellers but valued as active co-constructors of new knowledge. We outline each of three digital narratives as a 'whole' to consider what we can learn from a storytelling process where women with complex circumstances are privileged as protagonists-and-producers of their own stories. We argue that it is worth critically reflecting on the concepts the women propose for themselves as meaningful ways to articulate their lives, when we relinquish the researcher role as question asker to enter a space alongside participants and listen intently. Our paper highlights the broader potential of digital storytelling particularly in mental health research in collaboration with refugee participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Digital storytelling and other methods of self-expression and autobiography have become an increasingly important tool for those working with young people, including those from migrant, refugee or other ‘culturally diverse’ backgrounds. A structured scoping review was undertaken to better understand the potential value and challenges of using digital stories to promote the health and well-being of these diverse groups of young people and to identify key knowledge gaps. Design: The review process comprised a systematic search of the literature and strategic consultations with professionals working with young people in the area of sexual and reproductive health promotion and care. A descriptive-analytic method was used to collate and synthesise the literature and apply narrative and thematic analyses. Results: In total, 28 papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. Findings are presented as two analyses: what is known from the literature and key knowledge gaps. Identified themes included the use of digital stories as social activism and as research intervention, recognition of digital stories as complex terrain and recommendations for good practice. Three key gaps of particular relevance to our research aims were identified. These were (1) the lack of digital stories on sexual health and relationships by ‘culturally diverse’ young people in Australia, (2) the need for discussion of the ethical considerations of using digital storytelling and related methods in sexual health fields and (3) the value of exploring opportunities to employ digital methods as self-representation and autobiography to generate new knowledge and build organisational capacity. Conclusion: As confirmed in discussions with professionals working in the youth, migrant and sexual health sectors, the literature highlighted the many potential applications of digital storytelling to promoting the sexual health and well-being of young people from diverse backgrounds. Additional research is required to understand the particular ethical and contextual issues shaping, and at times constraining, this engagement in specific cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how people from refugee backgrounds experienced regional resettlement in New South Wales, Australia, by focusing on their narratives of determinants of “successful” resettlement. Semi-structured interviews with nine refugee participants in 2016 revealed challenges in relation to employment, social networks and relationships, and support services. While such challenges are consistent with research in metropolitan cities, there were limitations unique to the regional context. Resettlement policies have contradictory elements inherent to their design that can be detrimental to what refugees consider as successful resettlement. This has particular implications for more recent schemes like the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political cartoons can reflect particular ideologies or events at the forefront of public discourse or debate in a "snapshot," and be effective in capturing incongruences in political rhetoric through satire and caricature. In Australia and overseas, there is an abundance of political cartoons depicting refugee policy tensions. However, there is surprisingly little analysis on how cartoons impact opinions about refugees and shape public dispositions toward the issue, despite the relevance of social relations and public perceptions as key determinants of refugees' positive integration. This article provides preliminary reflections on how political cartoons convey the complexities and tensions linked to refugee policy using three examples, and highlights their so far neglected potential to shape host nations' public dispositions toward integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual representations can contribute to shaping how the general public perceives and engages with issues of forced migration. In 2015, thousands of Rohingya became stranded in the Bay of Bengal when smugglers abandoned them on unseaworthy boats and regional governments refused their disembarkation. Their ordeal made headlines across the globe and photographs documenting the crisis were widely disseminated. This paper applies visual-social semiotics to four of these photographs from an Agence France-Presse public exhibition. Our analysis suggests that the features in the photographs transcend the conventional "threat versus victim" dualism that typically characterizes such representations, to capture both the suffering and agency of the people at the centre of the crisis. This occurs in two ways: first, the Rohingya are depicted as proactive and enacting agency, and not just as powerless people in need of rescue. Second, the juxtaposition of mundane aspects with more dramatic frames offers a tangible pathway for viewers to connect with the circumstances of the people depicted. These visual representations were effective in triggering international concern and policy responses in 2015. However, such photographs' longer-term potential for shifting public perceptions of displacement and forced migration--and by extension, effective policy measures--remains largely indeterminate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on ethical considerations for artists involved in collaborative projects with refugees and asylum seekers is sparse, indicating a lack of robust discussions on the ethical pitfalls artists may encounter in such endeavours. Based on the first author’s reflections on her subjective experiences as an artist representing the story of a young Somali asylum seeker woman through collaborative filmmaking, this paper aims to open up broader discussions about artists’ responsibilities to produce counter-narratives that value refugees’ perspectives and voices. By doing so, artists can avoid perpetuating existing tropes that can at times be detrimental to refugees and asylum seekers, and ensure that artists’ own agendas are secondary to what ‘protagonists’ wish to convey. We suggest five simple ways of realising this goal: genuine collaboration; informed consent; anonymity; focusing on the mundane; and (in the case of filmmaking specifically) an awareness of the editing process as a political act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotional reaction and outrage following the publication of photographs of Alan Kurdi who drowned while crossing borders in September 2015 highlighted the major impact visual representations of refugee deaths at border crossings can have on public opinions and political will. The impact of these photographs also shows that depictions of deaths as a result of border crossings are relatively rare in the media; analyses of such representations and their potential impact on policy are also neglected in the literature. This article offers a commentary on the key themes linked to visual representations of refugee deaths at border crossings by considering three recent examples, and argues for further interdisciplinary discussions on such images. It focuses on two points: that depicting refugees alone has a greater impact on viewers and is more likely to trigger sympathy or outrage; concurrently, that anonymity can reduce viewers’ ability to connect with the tragedy. This discussion adds to the body of literature on the links between media representations and policymaking, and on the mediation of human vulnerability through visual means. The themes outlined here have much currency in contemporary discussions on refugee deaths at border crossings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital storytelling refers to a 2 to 5 minute audio-visual clip combining photographs, voice-over narration, and other audio (Lambert, 2009) originally applied for community development, artistic and therapeutic purposes, and more recently adapted as an arts-based research method. To date, no systematic review of the use of digital storytelling in a research capacity, to generate information about a phenomenon has been conducted. Accordingly, our aim was to provide a systematic review of digital storytelling in research. The review identified 25 articles representing 23 discrete studies that met inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis of results indicated that digital storytelling in research was especially appropriate for use with marginalised groups, and was most commonly used in this context. There was some variation in the extent to which digital storytelling in research adhered to the principles with which it was originally developed. Surprisingly, although digital storytelling provides a ready-made knowledge translation product, few research projects employed the digital stories generated to this end. Across research projects, participants reported several benefits of digital storytelling. While some disadvantages were noted, overall, these were outweighed by the benefits of using a respectful, participatory research practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined contributions of loss events to loss distress and trauma symptoms (accounting for trauma events) for refugee women at risk. Participants (N = 104) responded to the Multidimensional Loss Scale (loss events and distress) and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (trauma events and symptoms). Loss events contributed uniquely to loss distress (explaining additional 50.8% variance), and made a unique contribution to trauma symptoms (explaining additional 5.2% variance) approximately equal to trauma events. Appropriate response to psychic distress in refugee women at risk requires assessment of both loss and trauma and consideration of cultural differences in ways loss is expressed and meaning ascribed to symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia) developed the Common Time program in 2002 for its first year undergraduate students to increase student success in academic learning and to facilitate student engagement with staff and fellow students. Common Time consists of a series of facilitated forums during the initial weeks of each semester, where the first year cohort meet weekly to discuss general first year issues and receive information relevant to the first year university experience. As the program underwent changes in 2013, this paper discusses the findings of an evaluative research initiative. The results indicate that the revised 2013 Common Time program was, for the most part, effective in orientating and engaging these first year students during their transition into university study. However, further revisions to the program are needed to improve students' opportunities to build meaningful social networks in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on new educational settings of university students from refugee background and the educational policies for territory education. Topics discussed includes refugee students, territory educational institutions, territory educated refugees and right to education for refugees.

This article reflects on the many diverse professionals who often come together around complex community music programmes to exercise and voice their own values and commitment to social justice and to work together to make a change more broadly in society. Drawing on a qualitative case study of an Australian refugee and asylum-seeker music programme, we argue that such diverse and values oriented music facilitation teams and their surrounding networks can be productively conceptualized, developed and evaluated as 'epistemic communities'. Epistemic communities consist of diverse professional and academic agents who share common values and beliefs about a social problem. They also share beliefs about things that they can do to effect change. In this case study, the common concern was social justice for refugees and asylum seekers. The common method for promoting change was music creation, participation and dissemination. We argue that the epistemic communities conceptual framework provides one way of conceptualizing the 'ripple' effects of complex community music programmes and the ways that music and other professionals and self-advocates (e.g. music programme participants) act as broader agents of social justice and social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article puts forward a reimagining of the concept of community in an immigration detention centre that emerged from the creation of cultural and performative spaces. It is argued that conceptualizing immigration detention centres as accidental communities can contribute to an understanding of the impact of participatory music-making activities in these spaces on the well-being of detainees. The research is based on the analysis of music facilitators' narratives of their experience in an Australian detention centre in 2012. Accidental communities are defined as those in which people are connected not through common culture or region, but who have been brought together by circumstance, and whose shared experience therefore forms the basis of their relationships within the community. It is proposed that participation in music-making activities in an accidental community informs a cultural space on the basis of expression of that experience rather than cross-cultural sharing and that the resultant politics of inclusion have a positive impact on the well-being of the detainees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing evidence that participatory music can be supportive and empowering for marginalised, culturally diverse populations. Amid largely hostile reception of asylum seekers in Australia, a group of music facilitators regularly attends an Immigration Transit Accommodation facility to share music and singing activities with detained asylum seekers, to counter significant mental and emotional distress resulting from indefinite detention. Methods This paper outlines the key themes of a narrative analysis, from a health and wellbeing perspective, of music facilitators' monthly written observations recorded in 2012. Results By drawing on examples from observational narratives, we outline a framework that suggests links between music and singing, and the health and wellbeing of detained asylum seekers. The framework includes four intertwined concepts: (1) Humanisation, (2) Community, (3) Resilience, and (4) Agency. Conclusions The framework suggests the potential for participatory music to counter the significant impact of traumatic experiences and detention on asylum seekers' health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugee photography is often used to convey situations of precariousness and urgency, as visibility can help raise awareness and elicit empathy. Critical perspectives in relation to photographic representations can provide more nuanced understandings of refugee lived experiences over time. This article uses the iconographic-iconologic image framework as a process to understand how refugee lived experiences were represented in four photographs from a refugee library collection. These photographs depict different refugee situations from some 20 to 35 years ago. As a refugee studies scholar interested in visual-based research, I wished to analyze how refugee lived experiences were represented through these photographs from another era. The application of the iconographic-iconologic image framework suggests various themes evoked through these photographs, which still have currency in today's highly polemic discourses on the global refugee regime and are still prominent in present-day discourses and contemporary refugee literature. This qualitative analysis shows the potential of photographs to highlight how precarious refugee situations persist over time despite intense international efforts in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper draws on existing literature across the fields of community music and health promotion to map the potential for participatory music practices to support health and well-being outcomes for asylum seekers and refugees across contexts of conflict, liminality and refuge. As such, the paper provides a foundation for future empirical work in the field of music and health for asylum seekers and refugees. Methods: The paper reports on the outcomes of a "scoping" literature review of the benefits of participatory music-making across three different contexts: "conflict" settings, refugee camps and resettlement settings. Results: The scoping review provided a new synthesis of existing knowledge and empirical work on the health and well-being outcomes of participatory music for asylum seekers and refugees across contexts. In particular, the review highlighted the different roles that music can have in people's lives as they move away from home countries towards resettlement settings. Conclusions: When coupled with broader evidence from the fields of health and well-being research, growing empirical research on music and well-being for asylum seekers provides a strong foundation for both further research and investment in music (and the arts more generally) as a key positive social and cultural determinant of health for this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual depictions of asylum seekers and refugees have recently gained even more prominence in public discourses. Images disseminated in the media have a potentially significant influence on public opinion, especially in relation to polemic discourses surrounding asylum seekers and refugees in times of crisis. This paper provides a visual analysis of four key images that emerged in the media in 2015, documenting the precarious Syrian refugee movements in Europe. We looked at recent trends in the media focusing on shifts in visual representations of asylum seekers during that time. The themes from our analysis suggest that the poignancy (and therefore effectiveness) of the photographs lies in the fact that they differed vastly from the abundant and stereotypical depictions of asylum seekers and refugees usually documented in the media or discussed in academic literature. Visual analysis represents a creative research approach to seeking nuanced understandings of lived experiences and complex issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance education (DE) in social work programs and studies on its comparable effectiveness with face-to-face education continue to increase. Yet not all faculty are convinced of the results, and this study explores why. Three case studies indicate that reservations center on valuing the process of learning and nonverbal communication. Issues regarding duty of care to families to be served by future social workers primarily educated in a virtual classroom also matter significantly. The trend toward DE may be inevitable, but this does not mean that educators should not voice their concerns; their skepticism has merit, and they have a responsibility to be vocal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theme of mistrust in resettlement contexts is largely overlooked in refugee discourses. Through a qualitative inquiry of post-migration experiences of four women raising children alone in Brisbane, Australia, this paper outlines how the presence of mistrust could at times create difficult resettlement circumstances for these women, who then needed to negotiate additional obstacles in everyday life. The definition of social mistrust used here is a form of deliberate and ongoing suspicion about lone refugee women’s choices and lifestyles from other community members. Importantly, the women achieved a sense of well-being despite experiencing mistrust, both in inter-group and intra-group contexts, indicating that they conceptualised access to and benefits from social networks with different emphases on trust. Sociocultural narratives of mistrust, particularly gender-specific perspectives can enrich refugee discourses and challenge established notions of trust inherent to understandings of social networks in resettlement. The findings discussed in this paper contribute to debunking the ‘myth’ of homogeneity in relation to refugee groups and demonstrate the diversity of experiences among sub-groups of refugee women. The theme of mistrust, particularly among women, is an oft-neglected aspect and requires further attention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]