Formal and informal translation and interpretation for immigrants and asylum seekers

As of 2011 there were over 50,000 migrants, who speak a language other than English or Irish at home, residing in Northern Ireland. Many of these individuals do not possess adequate levels of English language proficiency in order to access services. Research funded by the Northern Ireland Inclusion and Diversity Service was conducted to determine the home-school connections of culturally and linguistically diverse families in Northern Ireland. It revealed that there are a wide variety of ways that translation and interpretation services are offered for families not fluent in English within the school settings. Drawing upon the findings from the research in Northern Ireland, this presentation provides an overview of the types of translation and interpretation taking place in Northern Ireland; the advantages and disadvantages of each; and recommendations for agencies utilizing both formal and informal translation and interpretation. The presentation also includes references to work in this area in other contexts, as well as specific guidelines for agencies using both formal and informal translation and interpretation. These guidelines help ensure that the translations are conducted in a professional manner for all agencies providing services.

Light and darkness in an Edwardian insitution for the insane poor - illuminating the material practices of the Asylum Age

Natural light and its provision within asylum and other buildings is a neglected aspect of the historical archaeology of institutions. An Edwardian asylum in the north of Ireland is analysed for the management of natural light through the siting of buildings, window design and placement of interior glazing. A close reading of selected contemporary literature relating to natural light is employed to assess the significance of light provision within institutions of this period and contemporary discourses are in turn illuminated by the material practices recorded in the case study.

Liberty and individuality: the colony asylum in Scotland and England

This paper analyses the buildings, spaces and interiors of Bangour Village public asylum for the insane, near Edinburgh, and compares these with an English asylum, Whalley, near Preston, of similar early-twentieth-century date. The village asylum, which developed from a European tradition of rendering the poor productive through ‘colonisation’, was more enthusiastically and completely adopted in Scotland than in England, perhaps due to differences in asylum culture within the two jurisdictions. ‘Liberty’ and ‘individuality’, in particular, were highly valued within Scottish asylum discourses, arguably shaping material provision for the insane poor from the scale of the buildings to the quality of the furnishings. The English example shows, by contrast, a greater concern with security and hygiene. These two differing interpretations show a degree of flexibility within the internationalized asylum model which is seldom recognized in the literature.

'An aid to mental health': natural history, alienists and therapeutics in Victorian Scotland

In the nineteenth century natural history was widely regarded as a rational and ‘distracting’ pursuit that countered the ill-effects, physical and mental, of urban life. This familiar argument was not only made by members of naturalists’ societies but was also borrowed and adapted by alienists concerned with the moral treatment of the insane. This paper examines the work of five long-serving superintendents in Victorian Scotland and uncovers the connections made between an interest in natural history and the management of mental disease. In addition to recovering a significant influence on the conduct of several alienists the paper explores arguments made outside the asylum walls in favour of natural history as an aid to mental health. Investigating the promotion of natural history as a therapeutic recreation in Scotland and elsewhere reveals more fully the moral and cultural significance attached to natural history pursuits in the nineteenth century.

When does national identification lead to the rejection of immigrants? Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence for the role of essentialist in-group definitions

Two studies were carried out in England to investigate the role of essentialist national group definitions in determining the effect of national identification on prejudice towards immigrants, and asylum seekers in particular. It was expected that the relationship between national identification and prejudice would depend on the degree to which participants endorse an essentialist (`ethnic') definition of their nationality. Consistent with this, Study 1 (N=154) found that national identification is associated with negativity towards asylum seekers only among individuals who endorse an essentialist conception of the group, and shows no significant association with prejudice among those who reject such a conception. Study 2 (N=219) used a longitudinal design conducted over 6 weeks, allowing cross-lagged analysis of causality between essentialism, identification, and behavioural intentions towards asylum seekers. A causal effect of essentialism on willingness to support a group acting against asylum seekers was observed, with no significant causal effect in the reverse direction. The reverse causal direction was observed in the case of support for a group seeking to support asylum seekers, with intended behaviours determining essentialism. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of group definitions in the study of in-group affiliations and prejudice.

Irish Social Work and Social Care Law

Irish Social Work and Social Care Law is a new textbook that introduces students to the law governing the practice of social work and social care in Ireland. The book provides a clear and concise guide to both the legal framework and the substantive law relating to social care and social work. It presents social care and social work law in an accessible manner, focussing on the specialist functions performed by social care professionals such as child protection, adopting and fostering, disability and mental health. It also considers the broader issues that affect service users in a social care context such as domestic violence, youth justice and the asylum system.

Out-group trust, intergroup anxiety, and out-group attitude as mediators of the effect of imagined intergroup contact on intergroup behavioural tendencies.

We investigated whether imagining contact with an out-group member would change behavioral tendencies toward the out-group. In Experiment 1, British high school students who imagined talking to an asylum seeker reported a stronger tendency to approach asylum seekers than did participants in a control condition. Path analysis revealed this relationship was mediated by out-group trust and, marginally, by out-group attitude. In Experiment 2, straight undergraduates who imagined an interaction with a gay individual reported a stronger tendency to approach, and a weaker tendency to avoid, gay people. Path analyses showed that these relationships were mediated by out-group trust, out-group attitude, and less intergroup anxiety. These findings highlight the potential practical importance of imagined contact and important mediators of its effects.