Pillay Anusanthee Examined Phd Thesis 2019.Pdf
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A Critical Review of the Mainstream Approaches to Humanitarian Aid Practice and Support Systems: An Autoethnographic Inquiry into the Social, Political and Cultural Experiences of a Humanitarian Aid Worker Anusanthee Pillay Doctor of Philosophy University of York Health Sciences September 2019 ABSTRACT ABSTRACT This thesis is a highly personalised account of the complexities, interpretations and reflections of a humanitarian worker during a process of personal transformation. From an insider’s vantage point, I have traced and chronicled my own personal transformation and state of well-being, using a qualitative methodology of self-study and autoethnography. I have observed and reflected on my internal processes to grapple with the relationship between self- transformation and facilitating collective social change/development and transformation, and to answer the question ‘What needs to change for the humanitarian aid system and its processes to become more compassionate, empathetic and transformational?’ Data-gathering for this research consisted of literature reviews, examining and scanning personal journals, diaries and photographs from the past and the capture of my experiences on a humanitarian mission in writing, in a reflexive journal. These personal reflections on my life experiences and while on a mission served to provide retrospective insights into my personal transformation processes. I locate this data within broader philosophical debates to enable me to answer the research question. This study found that within the complicated and vast landscape of humanitarian aid, characterised by complexity, diversity, uncertainty and danger, the inner health and well-being of all actors in the sector was vital, particularly because the only control that is possible is control of oneself. Thus, it found that the personal process of self-transformation is a crucial element for the effective facilitation of social transformation. The findings expanded into constructing a methodological direction for further exploration, research and future humanitarian practice. A further finding was that the principles of this methodology are highly applicable to other relational sectors of care. This work is an original, authentic study of humanitarian aid from a unique, insider (emic) perspective with a focus on self-transformation that will be beneficial to the practices of humanitarians as it offers material expression to the ideals of humanitarianism. It also provides the basis for further questions to be explored, such as the impact of using this methodology, other sectors it could be applied to and how to facilitate higher capabilities in humanitarian aid workers and beneficiaries using this approach. 2 LIST OF CONTENTS LIST OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................... 2 LIST OF CONTENTS .................................................................... 3 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................... 7 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................ 8 LIST OF IMAGES .......................................................................... 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................ 10 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ....................................................... 12 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................. 13 Humanitarian Aid System Rooted in and Broader than Health ............................................................................... 16 Transformation: Conceptual and Practical ....................... 18 Health and Expanding to Well-Being ............................... 20 Transformation as a ‘Functioning’ to Deliver Well-Being . 21 Delivering Transformation ................................................ 23 Going Beyond Traditional Conceptions – Deconstructing the Foundations of Power, Knowledge, Practice and Being ..... 26 The Aim of This Study ...................................................... 29 The Focus of This Study .................................................. 32 The Question .................................................................... 32 What I Expected to Achieve ............................................. 33 The Significance of this Study .......................................... 33 How this Study is Organised ............................................ 34 Concluding Remarks.......................................................... 39 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY, METHODS AND CAVEATS 40 From Personal to Social ................................................... 41 Methodology ..................................................................... 48 3 LIST OF CONTENTS Methods: Weaving Together Diverse Research Methodologies .................................................................. 65 Advantages and Limitations of Autoethnographic Methodologies and Methods ............................................ 73 The Challenges Faced During This Process ................... 75 What I Learned Through this PhD Process ..................... 80 What I May Have Done Differently ................................... 86 Summary .......................................................................... 87 CHAPTER THREE: WHAT IS MY CONTEXT? WHAT DO I KNOW? THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT AND ITS WAYS OF KNOWING................................ 89 Introduction ....................................................................... 89 Learning from The Past – The History of Humanitarian Assistance ........................................................................ 94 Systems of Knowledge ..................................................... 98 Personal Reflections: What is My Context? ................... 115 Personal Reflections: What Do I Know? ........................ 127 Emerging Themes and Questions .................................. 135 Summary ........................................................................ 138 CHAPTER FOUR: WHAT IS MY OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK? MORALS AND ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS THAT GUIDE DECISIONS IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY AND DANGER ................................................................................... 141 Introduction ..................................................................... 141 Morals and Ethics – Concepts........................................ 142 Morals and Ethics in the Humanitarian Sector ............... 146 Decisions when Faced with Moral Dilemmas ................ 148 Personal Reflections....................................................... 149 Analysis: Internalised Morals and Ethics........................ 152 Emerging Themes and Questions .................................. 154 Summary ........................................................................ 157 4 LIST OF CONTENTS CHAPTER FIVE: WHAT AM I EXPECTED TO DELIVER? ...... 160 Introduction ..................................................................... 160 The International Humanitarian Structure ...................... 161 How to Become an Aid Worker ...................................... 165 What Do We Do? ............................................................ 166 Personal Reflections on Working in the System ............ 169 Analysis: Linking Self-Transformation to Social Transformation ............................................................... 173 Emerging Themes and Questions .................................. 173 Summary ........................................................................ 174 CHAPTER SIX: WHO AM I? SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION AND THE HUMANITARIAN WORKER .............................................. 176 Introduction ..................................................................... 176 Transformation and the Humanitarian System .............. 177 Personal Self-Transformation: The Concept .................. 181 Personal Reflections: Who am I and What is Transformation? ............................................................. 184 Analysis: Multiplicity of Worldviews Opens the Path to Transformation ............................................................... 202 Emerging Themes and Questions .................................. 203 Summary ........................................................................ 203 CHAPTER SEVEN: WHAT IS MY OUTCOME? AN EMERGENT METHODOLOGICAL DIRECTION............................................ 206 Introduction ..................................................................... 206 How Aid is Currently Delivered....................................... 207 Examining Human Scale Development and the Capability Approach ......................................................................... 210 Challenges in Relation to the Proposed Framework ..... 219 Personal Reflections on Integrating Self-Transformation into Humanitarian Aid ..................................................... 228 An Emergent Methodological Direction .......................... 236 Summary ........................................................................ 239 5 LIST OF CONTENTS CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION ........................................... 241 What This Study Found .................................................. 241 Recommendations: Next Steps ...................................... 247 Final Reflections: Using Self-Reflection To Tell the Story ........................................................................................ 248 APPENDIX A: LETTER FROM THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE (2 JUNE 2017) ....................................................