Psychological Research (in the Balkans)

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND EASE OF MIGRATION PROCESS (A CASE-STUDY OF LITHUANIA)

Joshua Olusegun, Dmytro Mamaiev Adebayo Ahmed Olanrewaju — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

International migration has been a significant trend in recent years. Digital transformation is regarded as a continuous process affecting virtually every area of life in societies worldwide. It has had a major impact on international migration, resulting in the emergence of a new era of interconnected migrants and digitalized migration processes. Digital transformation enables network building among migrants, making it possible to interact in a “digital space” from different geographic locations in real time. Also, through the use of digitalization, migrants can react to unexpected events such as socio-economic developments, natural disaster, climate change etc. by deciding to change the plan to migrate in terms of time and place. In this context, digital transformation has been defined as "the use of new digital technologies (social media, online information portals for migrants, job-search portals designed for migrant workers, governmental services in digital format)" to enable major migration improvements to enhance migrant workers' experience or streamline the migration process. Taking inspiration from the new field of ICT and migration, this paper explores the migration process in Lithuania, and the role digital technologies has played to impact the ease of migration. It established a conceptual framework of digital transformation resources used by migrants during the migration process based on a literature review. Four main elements, located along two axes are included in the framework: the "host society-source society" and the "pre-migration phase-post-migration phase" axis. We conducted a survey and empirical assessment of survey results and concluded with some avenues for future research. Future work should increase the sample size for result validity.

WHY I BECAME AN AMBASSADOR OF THE BULGARIAN CULTURE ABROAD: THREE FORMER EMIRATES FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

Lina Gergova, Yana Gergova — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

The United Arab Emirates are considered the largest recipient of labour migration in the world, as the share of immigrants is 90% of the total population or about 8 million people. But the UAE maintains an immigration policy to attract temporary workers, and citizenship is not granted even to children born there to non-citizen parents. According to unofficial data, about 5,000-6,000 Bulgarians live in the UAE – in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. At the beginning of the 21st century, many aviators came – pilots and flight attendants in the two largest airlines of the UAE – Emirates and Etihad. At the moment, some of the oldest migrants have been there for about 18-20 years and work in the field of sports and arts, mainly music.

In the article, the authors tell the stories of three women who used to work as flight attendants at Emirates, and today they are among the pillars of the Bulgarian communities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In recent years, for various reasons, they have chosen not to return to Bulgaria, but are actively involved in presenting Bulgaria abroad and building Bulgarian migrant communities. The research is based on semi-structured interviews conducted in February 2022 with the respondents in connection with their function for the consolidation of the Bulgarian communities.

DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE INTELLIGENCE FOR DIVERSITY

Aleksandar Krastev — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

The purpose of the research is to explore the understandings among pedagogical specialists related to inclusive intelligence. The following research tasks can be deduced from the set goal: to carry out a theoretical overview of the idea of inclusive intelligence, to create an appropriate toolkit; to investigate the understandings of inclusive intelligence among the different pedagogical specialists studied and to present it in percentages in order to facilitate the analysis. Based on theoretical ideas, the dominant notions and representations of inclusive skills outline the limits of the acceptance of diversity, largely corresponding to stereotypes and prejudices related to difference.

The hypothesis is that inclusive intelligence as a tool to support and include the different, regardless of the origin of their specificities, meets conscious and unconscious resistances among pedagogical specialists.

SURVIVING A LIFE-THREATENING EVENT: THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK EXPLAINING COPING WITH LIFE THREATS AS A WHOLE

Tanya Dimitrova — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

This paper is the first to propose a comprehensive framework explaining the overall process of coping with life-threatening events. It encompasses: different types of such stressors (e.g. life-threatening illness/accident/assault, etc.), stressor appraisals (including challenge appraisal which is rarely considered in such studies), coping (using an instrument specially adapted for such context), as well as the interplay between these variables and its effect on mental health (measured through depression and life satisfaction).

The community sample (N=153) completed: Coping Orientation of Problem Experience (COPE) with modified instruction (to recall a life-threatening event actually experienced), indicating also event`s nature and its appraisal; Severity Measure for Depression, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and socio-demographic survey.

The data obtained suggested that the type of the life-threatening event is not related to differences in appraisal, coping, nor mental health outcome. It was also found that appraisals have a key role and special attention should be paid to challenge appraisal. The data suggested also that COPE with modified instruction is reliable instrument that captures the specifics of the life-threatening context. A four-factor structure was extracted: Problem-focused, Active emotional, Avoidant emotional copings, and Turning to religion, with the first and third factors being predictors of depression and life satisfaction, while second and fourth being related to depression or life satisfaction depending on the rest of the copings used.

The framework proposed outlines the key elements in the process of coping with life threats and provides guidelines on how this data can be useful from theoretical and practical perspectives.

AN EDUCATIONAL APPROACH FOR PROMOTING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF 3-4-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN FROM THE ROMA COMMUNITY IN SOFIA IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING SCIENCE IN KINDERGARTEN

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

This article presents a portion of the research data collected as part of the international applied research project, "Communities for Sciences - Towards Promoting an Inclusive Approach in Science Education." The project aims to promote inclusive science activities for children and youth in six different European locations.

The findings of a project-based collaboration between researchers and kindergarten teachers of 3 groups of 3-4 years old Roma children from Faculteta neighborhood in Sofia are reported. The teachers work at 2 kindergartens situated in this location and run by the Health and Social Development Foundation (HESED). Participatory action research methodology was used to explore the opportunities for the three teams of teachers to apply more inclusive approaches in teaching science to children.

Further, the article presents kindergarten teachers’ implicit knowledge and practices concerning child participation in the learning process. The teachers' practices are discussed within the framework of a theory on levels of child participation. The article emphasizes the importance of creating an appreciative and supportive culture of relationships among teachers in the organization, which allows for an inclusive educational approach to be applied to their work with children. Additionally, the article discusses how broader educational and social contexts can either support or hinder teaching teams in applying their educational approach.

The data collected should offer insights on how to develop more effective strategies for implementing inclusive science proposals that meet the specific needs of local communities. This can be achieved through co-creation and active citizen participation

VOCATIONAL CHOICE AND STROKE ECONOMY IN SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS FROM LOW SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS FAMILIES

Sezgin Bekir — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

Socio-economic status and relationships between family members are factors that have an impact on adolescents' professional orientation. The report presents results from a study of vocational choice, relationship patterns as measured by the stroke economy, and the educational level of parents of adolescents from low socio-economic status families. The sample includes 195 adolescents, students in the seventh grade, and 109 of them indicate that they have made their vocational choice. According to the obtained results, the studied adolescents are oriented towards professions in the fields of health care and services. Leading stroke economy patterns are "Don't accept" and "Don't give yourself", which is expressed in a tendency to devalue one's own achievements and successes. It was also established that more than half of the parents of adolescents (60.47% of fathers and 69,77% of mothers) who have not made a vocational choice have basic (primary or lower secondary) education. The results testify to the role of parents' education as a factor that probably has an effect on the process of vocational guidance of adolescents. Significant differences in the stroke economy were found, as in adolescents who have made a vocational choice the "Don't ask" style dominates, while in adolescents with a lack of vocational choice the "Don't give yourself" style dominates. The results of the research can be used in the implementation of various educational and training programs for social inclusion, vocational guidance, and career development of adolescents from low socio-economic status families.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON YOUNG MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN BULGARIA

Chaya Koleva — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

The notion of crisis introduces two aspects. On the one hand it is a difficult or dangerous time. On the other hand, it covers a condition of instability or danger which implies and presupposes a quick solution and important decision to be made in order to overcome a critical situation. Тhe study is aimed at exploring to what extent vulnerable groups of the society such as young migrants and refugees residing in Bulgaria have manifested an ability to cope with various obstacles imposed by Covid-19 crisis. Methods of the study include interviews conducted with young migrants and refugees and continuous desk research. The migrants were placed in an extremely vulnerable position with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was due to many factors, including little or no knowledge of the language of the host country, lack of experience in using services provided by institutions, insufficient access to social or health services. Another key risk reinforcing their vulnerability is that they more easily fall from the labor market in a situation of economic crisis as a consequence of a pandemic. However, gathered data from the interviews with migrants and refugees picture them as resilient in coping with crises. The research paper provides findings and analysis of the ability of young migrants to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic crisis. It is related to strong curiosity and desire to learn, work and contribute to the host society.

FOR A NEW MIGRATION POLICY TOWARDS THE HISTORICAL BULGARIAN COMMUNITIES AFTER THE COVID-19 CRISIS AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Spas Tashev — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

This article examines the migrations to Bulgaria of representatives of the historical Bulgarian diaspora before and after the Covid-19 crisis and during the military conflict in Ukraine in 2022. For the group as a whole, it is found that at this time, due to the short distances, the preference is for seasonal, weekly and, among the population residing along border areas, for daily job commutes. Although Ukrainian Bulgarians account for 9.25 % of the total number of Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria, the majority of the community remains at home. However, the planned land reform in Ukraine could alter the migration model and increase the number of those who wish to settle in Bulgaria for a longer period of time and remain permanently. For this reason, Bulgaria should develop a special program to aid the returning Bulgarian migrations from Ukraine.

INFLUENCE OF DISTANCE FROM BULGARIA ON THE LEVELS OF IDENTIFICATION AMONG MIGRANTS FROM GERMANY AND THE USA

Joanna Dragneva — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

Identification processes in host countries are influenced by many and varied factors. They help or hinder the successful integration of migrants. Among them, the geographical remoteness of the host country plays a key role. In fact, the role of proximity or remoteness to the country to which a person migrates is of paramount importance in the study of migration processes.

In this regard, the aim of the present study is to investigate and analyze the influence of host country remoteness on identification processes. It focuses on the countries of Germany and the USA – a choice based entirely on the geographical distance of the countries from Bulgaria.

The methodological toolkit includes quantitative and qualitative analysis from a questionnaire survey and interviews using the narrative-biographical method. The sample of the quantitative study included 491 Bulgarian migrants (306 respondents from Germany and 185 respondents from the USA). The statistical results were processed with SPSS and include models of frequency distribution according to the relevant trait, Chi-Square Tests and Symmetric Measures containing coefficients showing whether there are relationships between the studied variables. The qualitative study included 32 respondents (12 for Germany and 20 for the USA).

The results obtained form three identification profiles (high, low and intermediate) composed of Bulgarian migrants in Germany and the USA. It was observed that the USA is mostly dominated by migrants with high and some with intermediate levels of identity. The average identification and low profile is characteristic of persons who prevail in Germany. Persons with high levels of identity in the USA identify themselves as Bulgarians and maintain contact with Bulgarians. They lack the possibility of frequent visits to their homeland, feel homesick and vote in elections. Distances are a serious barrier for them. Persons with low levels of identity in Germany define themselves as Europeans and do not maintain contact with Bulgarians. They have the possibility of frequent visits, and more communication. They do not vote, and factors such as nostalgia and sadness are not important to them. Persons with intermediate identification levels in Germany and the USA are characterized by the fact that they maintain less frequent contact with other Bulgarians. They also communicate a lot more with locals. Some wish to vote but do not have the necessary conditions. Others have conditions, but do not wish to vote and consider that as emigrants they have no right to participate in the political life of Bulgaria. They self-identify as both European/American and “other”.

The results give reason to claim that migrants who have easier access to Bulgaria have weaker to medium identification. While those who live in the geographically more distant country have a more pronounced identity. The report presents the possible interpretations of the obtained result.

DIVERSITY OF VALUES TOWARDS PARENTING IN DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS IN EUROPE. THE MIGRATION BACKGROUND MATTERS

Stoyanka Cherkezova — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

The study aims to assess variations in values towards parenting across 28 countries in Europe and their relationship to a set of determinants at two levels - country and individual.

Data and methods: Microdata from the representative ESS wave 9 conducted in 2018-2020 is used. A 4-component variable of values towards parenting is designed. Central research questions are: how do the cultural context and the socio-economic development in different countries influence values towards parenting? What is the effect of some values concerning the relationships between individuals and groups on this value-parenting variable? What is the situation with migrants as a specific group - how do values towards parenting vary between the natives, first-generation and second-generation immigrants in different clusters of countries and do they associate with the macro-cultural context? Is there a relationship between attitudes towards immigrants in these countries and values towards parenting? Answers are sought through different types of analysis - descriptive, principal component analysis, and multilevel linear regression modelling.

Results: Migrant background as a micro-level socialisation context variable has the strongest impact on values towards parenting. Although we document an adaptation of migrants' values towards parenting in conformity with the macro-level cultural context and by the migrant generation. Among the three cultural context variables designed, both humanism and conservatism are important statistically significant individual-level predictors of values toward parenting and the former is a country-level predictor. These values act as predictors irrespective of people's age and education. The human development index is the strongest predictor at the country level.