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Paper short abstract

The paper investigates the gaps in the views/concepts of housing through comparisons of the ten central capabilities, the right to adequate housing, and meanings of home.Data from a qualitative study in Kenya was used to develop a localised application of the discussion. As a conclusion, a more comprehensive understanding and conceptualisation of housing seems imperative: Housing, as House + Home.

Paper long abstract

Research context

The built environment affects everyday life, our physical and mental health and the ideas we create about our lives and societies. We can argue that our primary experience of the built environment resides in the intimacy of our houses, and the conditions in which we experience them can create diverse understandings of what we have -or what we lack- to live a flourishing and meaningful life. In that regard, this paper identifies a relationship between housing and prosperity. Prosperity, according to Jackson (Prosperity without growth, Earthscan, Oxford, 2009), is built on Sen’s notion of capabilities. Sen’s Capabilities Approach (CA) has been advanced by Nussbaum, who developed a list of ten central capabilities in an effort to define a threshold level for a minimally flourishing life. Interestingly, the ability to access adequate shelter is included as a component in her list. Then, in the pursuit of understanding the role of housing as an enabler of capabilities for the achievement of prosperity, the paper investigates the gaps in the views/concepts of housing through comparisons of the ten central capabilities, the right to adequate housing (RAH), and meanings of home. Based on this exploration and applying these ideas in qualitative research in two communities in Kenya, the paper elaborates on how housing should be conceptualized to ensure greater human flourishing: Housing, as House + Home.

I start by defining prosperity and discussing the relevance of examining housing as a means for its achievement. Next, I present the CA as a useful framework for understanding this relationship for its capacity to capture human and social dimensions that are often neglected. I will then suggest the necessity to deepen the conceptualisation of housing beyond its material values. I draw on the RAH criteria and Hayward’s nine dimensions of home as comparative standards to reflect on the gaps between their concepts and the relevance of the achievement of certain housing dimensions as a precondition for prosperity. In that sense, the paper explores housing both as the physical conditions of the house and as the social and psychological dynamics that construct the meanings of home. In the second half of the paper, data from a recent study in rural and urban Kenya is used for empirical analysis as a way to develop a localised application of this discussion. The study allows for a nuanced understanding of the experience of housing through the acknowledgement of the singularities and universalities of their local values. And by acknowledging their particular tangible and intangible values -I suggest- we’ll be able to conceive a more holistic understanding of housing that relates more comprehensively to Nussbaum’s list, and prosperity in general. Hopefully, this exercise can contribute to inform future housing research, policy or design and their localised applications.

Methodology and Analysis

Qualitative research was con¬ducted in the communities of Kangemi -a slum in western Nairobi-, and Kaptel Village -a rural community at the Elgeyo-Marakwet County in northwest Kenya. A purposeful, snow¬ball sampling strategy was used for the selection of the participants. The research was car¬ried out in a short period of three weeks, which impacted on the availability of participants. In that sense, the snowball sampling managed to gather ten female participants: women ranging from 23 to 45 years old, most of them mothers and wives. The collection of data was carried out through in-depth semi-structured interviews in their houses. Non-participant observation was also applied to inform the analysis, staying for a night with families in both communities helped understanding local dynamics and building trust. All interviews were recorded. However, due to time constraints, it was decided not to transcribe the full verbatim. Comparative tables were produced to systematise the responses and facilitate a thematic analysis.

The interviews sought to identify the material and non-material values that people deposit into housing in order to acknowl¬edge how certain housing conditions could promote or hinder opportunities for flourishing. Although the small scale of the research could be perceived as thin in number or not representative of the communities as a whole, it must be noted that in terms of validity, the objective of this research is not to make broad generalisations or draw absolute conclusions. Rather, it aims at developing a localised exercise that could contribute to inform similar future explorations on these topics to improve housing research, policy, and design in order to ensure greater human flourishing.

Conclusion

The research demonstrated that housing does play a vital role in the enjoyment of pros¬perity. But more importantly, evidence revealed that, in examining that role, it is not pos¬sible to acknowledge housing only by its material conditions. Although material dimensions were demonstrated fundamental, the inextricable value of non-material dimensions was also proved essential. In that sense, the extent to which housing enables the enjoyment of capabilities for flourishing increases or diminishes insofar housing acknowledges and incorporates both material and non-material functions. Thus, housing reaches its highest “fertility” potential as an enabler of prosperity when it is conceptualised as House + Home. The absence of any of them could potentially foster negative outcomes.

This acknowledgement is crucial in order to inform housing policies, which are generally focused on the achievement of material goals and indicators, without necessarily considering how their implementation enables or constrains people’s opportunities to live a pros¬perous life. In that sense, a capabilities approach can help reshape our notions of housing, enrich international law instruments and consequently guide local policies and programs in lights of prosperity. In that sense, housing values can vary from con¬text to context. Therefore, it is also important to ensure mechanisms to adjust and contextu¬alise the CA framework in order to capture accurately the complexities, nuances and needs of the region in question, and of specific vulnerable groups.

“I was as well convinced then, as I am now, that nothing effectual can be done for the elevation of the poor (…), until their dwelling-places are made decent and wholesome.” -Charles Dickens

But what is decent and wholesome? We must ask.

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Paper short abstract

This paper is focused on the analysis of the power of patents and their role in the current confrontation between the right to (public) health and the right to Intellectual property (patents), which are both human rights recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The COVID-19 pandemic showed again the impact of the high prices of patented vaccines on global health.

Paper long abstract

Research context

The research context of this paper is the impact of biotechnological patents on public health. These problems derived form the lack of access of new innovation drugs and medicines owned by Big Pharma.

My research analyses the power of patents from a legal and ethical perspective, as well as their role in the current confrontation between the right to (public) health and the right to Intellectual property (IP) in the form of patents, which are both human rights recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This economical and biopolitical power is based on the monopoly granted to the holders of patents, who have exclusive rights over their inventions during 20 years since the filing date. This is especially critical in the case of biotechnological patents, also known as “patents of life”, allowing to protect biological material and intended to produce new pharmaceutical products (i.e, vaccines), for treating or curing different conditions, such as COVID-19.

Methodology

The methodology used is the analysis of different real cases of drug patents, such as the COVID-19 vaccines the gene editing (CRISR-CAS9), and also medicines for treating AIDS, which had created a large number of access problems to different countries and populations all around the world. This analysis also includes the reference to the current legal framework protecting Intellecutal Property (IP) Rigths represented by the TRIPS agreement of the World Trade Organization which includes legally accepted measures (but difficult to implement) to protect public health.

Analsysis

From a legal perspective, a patent as “a title recognising the right to exclusively exploit an invention, preventing third parties from manufacturing, selling or using it without prior consent of the owner”. A patent is granted following technical criteria, which are represented by three patentability requirements: novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.

This monopoly involves that the holder of the patent can establish high prices for patented products, condemning thousands of people to what we call “Bioprecariousness” defined as structural violence against life due to the lack of access to basic patented products (such as, vaccines for COVID-19, seeds, medicines, treatments and tests).

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bioprecariousness has also been due to the lack of access of vaccines against COVID-19 and the unequal distribution thereof between different countries (high-income countries versus low-income countries).

In order to prevent that IP rights collide with the right to health and to set limit to the power of patents, we propose to create new ethical framework applicable by ethical patent committees aimed at granting patents not only according to the above-mentioned technical criteria, but also to ethical standards, such as the approach of capability and human development of Martha Nussbaum.

The capability approach considers that human beings can only flourish in societies which respect and promote the quality of life of their populations, not according to economic indicators as the GDP, but to the respect of human dignity. In this regard, Nussbaum has defined a set of 10 capabilities (life, bodily health, bodily integrity, senses, imagination and thought, emotions, practical reason, affiliation, other species, play and control over one’s environment), i.e., opportunities based on personal and social circumstances. The governments should guarantee a minimum threshold of these ten capabilities to guarantee a good life for individuals in society.

In the framework of biotechnological patents, some of these capabilities are profoundly affected by Bioprecariousness. In fact, when a new drug, treatment or vaccine (as in the pandemic scenario) is not available due to the high prices of patented products, the capabilities of life, bodily health, bodily integrity and even control over one’s environment are being deeply harmed. In fact, the lack of access to these new treatments directly affects the quality and duration of life and therefore, the health of people.

But patents could also have an impact on the relation with other species and the environment, given that biotechnological patents have also developed transgenic plants, gene drives (making mosquitoes unable to transmit malaria) genetically modified seeds and even animals (i.e. Harvard oncomouse), which are now the subject-matter of patents.

Conclusion

The impact of drug patents in public health is a critical issue which needs to be addressed from an ethical perspective. The capability approach could serve the purpose of providing a new ethical framework, parallel to the legal one (TRIPS Agreement of the World Trade Organization), in order to grant scientifically innovative, cost-effective and morally acceptable patents, which should be implemented in ethical patent committees.

These ethical committees should be formed by an interdisciplinary team ((bio)lawyers, philosophers/bioethicists, scientists, engineers, and patient’s associations)) to represent each and all the involved stakeholders. If we do not apply ethical limits to the power of patents, life shall become another “commodity” subject to the laws of market and to Bioprecariousness, with a high impact on public health.

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Paper short abstract

For asylum seekers, the prevalence of trauma is pervasive and distinct from the experiences of other traumatised populations due to not only experiencing war, torture and persecution prior to migrating but also due to the myriad of harsh conditions faced post-migration including separation from family, immigration detention, financial hardship and the challenge of adapting to a new environment.

Paper long abstract

Context:

Since its introduction into the public sphere in 1980 various descriptions have been ascribed to the term PTSD. Over time, these descriptions have ranged from an ‘anxiety disorder’ to a ‘mental and behavioural disorder’, a ‘psychiatric disorder’ and a ‘mental health condition’.

This paper defines PTSD according to its diagnostic definitions, its symptoms, and effects on those who are seeking asylum, and how this translates to refugee status determination. This paper highlights the importance of the Istanbul Protocol for the effective identification, documentation, and assessment of medical evidence within the asylum decision-making process. Given the high prevalence rates of PTSD amongst those seeking asylum, this article advocates for medical examinations and evidence documenting the physical and psychological symptoms of acts of torture and ill-treatment, as per the standards set out by the Istanbul Protocol, to be considered as an integral part of refugee status determination.

Methodology:

This paper uses an interdisciplinary mixed methods approach including secondary data analysis, qualitative fieldwork and doctrinal research methods to determine the impact of PTSD on asylum seekers and the way in which medical evidence is assessed in refugee status determination. The paper involves interviews with asylum decision-makers employed by the UK's Home Office to determine the qualifications, training and experience of asylum authorities and better understand how medical evidence is assessed by the Home Office. Analysis of caselaw from the UK's appeal courts is undertaken to consider the permissible scope of the evidence put forward by a medical expert and the role of international guidelines such as the Istanbul Protocol for the medical documentation of torture and its consequences.

Analysis:

The physical and psychological effects of PTSD are wide-ranging and include difficulties sleeping, headaches, fatigue, worsening of existing medical problems, feelings of shame, anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, difficulties in maintaining a job, and feelings of helplessness and distrust. PTSD is often described as a “disorder of memory” but is best summarised as a complex syndrome of somatic, cognitive, affective and behavioural symptoms caused by the psychological trauma of direct or indirect violence or threats to life.

PTSD’s debilitating nature and its main symptom of avoidance manifestation results in intrinsically reduced help-seeking behaviour which is observed in low rates of referral for treatment, with minority groups less likely to seek treatment, delayed referral as many people seek treatment only after experiencing symptoms for extended periods of time, and high rates of early drop out from treatment. PTSD is described as a “life sentence” not only due to its serious interpersonal and occupational challenges, estimated to result in 3.6 days of lost productivity per month on average for each person suffering from this illness, but also due to its high comorbidity and long term effects on health given that it is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease, and premature mortality.

For asylum applicants, PTSD can have debilitating consequences impacting their day-to-day life, and long-term health, as well as hindering their ability to fully participate in the asylum determination process due to the lack of access to treatment and support. Although the 1951 Refugee Convention does not require asylum applicants to be ‘credible’ in order to avail protection, the assessment of refugee status requires an evaluation of the applicant’s statements concerning personal facts and circumstances including past experiences of ill-treatment coupled with general objective information surrounding the applicant’s country of origin. When determining refugee status, State authorities therefore place emphasis on whether an asylum applicant is able to narrate a “consistent, credible and plausible account” of their past experiences.

Despite scientific research demonstrating that the degree of consistency has a limited value in determining the accuracy of past events, where asylum applicants fail to provide consistent details, State authorities often consider this a sign of incoherence, labelling such applicants as “not credible”, accusing them of fabricating their traumatic experiences and thereby denying them refugee status. The very basis of a successful asylum claim is therefore dependent on the asylum applicant’s ability to consistently and accurately recall autobiographical memories despite scientific research establishing that these memories are a reconstruction of events based on several elements and subject to distortion.

Individuals who suffer from PTSD recall their memories of traumatic experiences in the form of images and sensations rather than voluntary verbal accounts. Repeat questioning regarding traumatic events can trigger a vivid re-experiencing of the event which prevents the ability to describe experiences in a coherent manner. Moreover, due to the strong stigmatisation attached to mental health and its treatment in various cultures, feelings of fear and shame may lead to a failure to disclose mental health illnesses resulting in the hidden comorbidity of PTSD.

PTSD can therefore impact an applicant’s claim for refugee status as it may hinder the ability to recount a coherent account of past experiences to validate traumatic experiences and demonstrate previous acts of torture or ill-treatment. This is further exacerbated by the asylum procedure itself as long delays between interviews, the interview technique and format utilised, repeat questioning regarding peripheral details of events, the attitude of the interviewing officer, difficulties arising from intercultural and non-verbal communication along with compassion fatigue, social stereotyping and time constraints can all play a part in the assessment of an asylum applicant’s credibility.

Conclusion:

It is well-established that asylum seekers are at a higher risk of developing PTSD and comorbid mental health issues with torture and cumulative traumatic events known to be the main predictors for development of PTSD. Inconsistent statements involving peripheral details of past events must not be regarded as decisive factors for determining refugee status. Medical examinations and evidence documenting the physical and psychological symptoms of acts of torture and ill-treatment, as per the standards set out by the Istanbul Protocol must therefore be considered as an integral part of the refugee status determination procedure.

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Paper short abstract

This research explores the nexus between commitment, artistic agency, and human development in the marginalized "Tenencias" of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Despite being spaces marked by poverty and social vulnerability, these areas have become hubs of artistic expression, fostering the development of human capabilities among their inhabitants.

Paper long abstract

Atsiri Flores Ruiz

César Correa Arias

The “Tenencias” in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, are vulnerable spaces for populations displaced by poverty in search of better social and employment opportunities in Morelia's suburbs.

They are also spaces of artistic creation that have empowered people in vulnerable situations and provided them with social commitment and agency. Coming from rural areas and impoverished by the lack of work and social opportunities, the inhabitants of the “tenencias” in Morelia have developed several human capacities such as social affiliation, the ability to build social ties, the development of senses, creative imagination and critical thinking, the sense of responsibility for others and the social agency to develop creative and artistic events and workshops.

This research aims to analyze how the social commitment of the inhabitants of these estates has been able to generate human capacities that allow them to legitimize their identity and their possibilities of political action through art and artistic work.

Through a socio-anthropological analysis and from a socio-critical paradigm, we seek to make visible the lack of cultural spaces for vulnerable populations and the difficulty in exercising the right of access to cultural expressions as an inalienable human right, as is the case of the subjects who live in the Tenencias of Morelia, Mexico.

Although cultural spaces are present in this population, the state has not participated in building them, and actually, they have been mainly managed and administered by civil society organizations; they have achieved that sectors of the community that generally did not have access mechanisms to exercise a fundamental right to art, finally, they can profess, to a certain extent, said right. In this way, these civil organizations have realized new forms of relationship with their environment, generating a more critical vision of their community and becoming a factor of social transformation in favour of human dignity.

Keywords: Commitment, artistic work, human capabilities, human dignity, social agency.

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Paper short abstract

This research explores the nexus between commitment, artistic agency, and human development in the marginalized "Tenencias" of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Despite being spaces marked by poverty and social vulnerability, these areas have become hubs of artistic expression, fostering the development of human capabilities among their inhabitants.

Paper long abstract

The “Tenencias” in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, are vulnerable spaces for populations displaced by poverty in search of better social and employment opportunities in Morelia's suburbs.

They are also spaces of artistic creation that have empowered people in vulnerable situations and provided them with social commitment and agency. Coming from rural areas and impoverished by the lack of work and social opportunities, the inhabitants of the “tenencias” in Morelia have developed several human capacities such as social affiliation, the ability to build social ties, the development of senses, creative imagination and critical thinking, the sense of responsibility for others and the social agency to develop creative and artistic events and workshops.

This research aims to analyze how the social commitment of the inhabitants of these estates has been able to generate human capacities that allow them to legitimize their identity and their possibilities of political action through art and artistic work. This work adopts the perspective of community self-determination, in which, through the implementation of participatory methodologies, it is possible to build in community conceptual categories and reflect on social practices through life stories, stories about particular experiences and conversational analysis.

Through a socio-anthropological analysis and from a socio-critical paradigm, we seek to make visible the lack of cultural spaces for vulnerable populations and the difficulty in exercising the right of access to cultural expressions as an inalienable human right, as is the case of the subjects who live in the Tenencias of Morelia, Mexico.

Also, the analysis of Cultural Policies shows that there is no correspondence with the population's specific needs and identifies the sources of their inefficacy from their inception. It also suggests elements that should be considered to ensure that cultural policies have a positive social impact.

Although cultural spaces are present in this population, the state has not participated in building them, and actually, they have been mainly managed and administered by civil society organizations; they have achieved that sectors of the community that generally did not have access mechanisms to exercise a fundamental right to art, finally, they can profess, to a certain extent, said right. In this way, these civil organizations have realized new forms of relationship with their environment, generating a more critical vision of their community and becoming a factor of social transformation in favour of human dignity.

Keywords: Commitment, artistic work, human capabilities, human dignity, social agency.

Send message to Authors

Paper short abstract

This research explores the nexus between commitment, artistic agency, and human development in the marginalized "Tenencias" of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Despite being spaces marked by poverty and social vulnerability, these areas have become hubs of artistic expression, fostering the development of human capabilities among their inhabitants.

Paper long abstract

The “Tenencias” in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, are vulnerable spaces for populations displaced by poverty in search of better social and employment opportunities in Morelia's suburbs.

They are also spaces of artistic creation that have empowered people in vulnerable situations and provided them with social commitment and agency. Coming from rural areas and impoverished by the lack of work and social opportunities, the inhabitants of the “tenencias” in Morelia have developed several human capacities such as social affiliation, the ability to build social ties, the development of senses, creative imagination and critical thinking, the sense of responsibility for others and the social agency to develop creative and artistic events and workshops.

This research aims to analyze how the social commitment of the inhabitants of these estates has been able to generate human capacities that allow them to legitimize their identity and their possibilities of political action through art and artistic work. This work adopts the perspective of community self-determination, in which, through the implementation of participatory methodologies, it is possible to build in community conceptual categories and reflect on social practices through life stories, stories about particular experiences and conversational analysis.

Through a socio-anthropological analysis and from a socio-critical paradigm, we seek to make visible the lack of cultural spaces for vulnerable populations and the difficulty in exercising the right of access to cultural expressions as an inalienable human right, as is the case of the subjects who live in the Tenencias of Morelia, Mexico.

Also, the analysis of Cultural Policies shows that there is no correspondence with the population's specific needs and identifies the sources of their inefficacy from their inception. It also suggests elements that should be considered to ensure that cultural policies have a positive social impact.

Although cultural spaces are present in this population, the state has not participated in building them, and actually, they have been mainly managed and administered by civil society organizations; they have achieved that sectors of the community that generally did not have access mechanisms to exercise a fundamental right to art, finally, they can profess, to a certain extent, said right. In this way, these civil organizations have realized new forms of relationship with their environment, generating a more critical vision of their community and becoming a factor of social transformation in favour of human dignity.

Keywords: Commitment, artistic work, human capabilities, human dignity, social agency.