Global Dignity & Humiliation Mapping and Assessment Initiative
Among the most important results of the Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict that was held at Columbia University on December 14-15, 2006, was the inception of a Dignity and Humiliation Assessment Developing Initiative. Please see here a description of the development of this initiative from 2005 onwards.
Many suggest, since years, that we need to find a way to measure humiliation in societies so that we can show to policy makers that humiliation is relevant and needs to be included into public policy making (see also our Public Policy for Equal Dignity project). Ultimately, all institutions (from marriage to the United Nations) need scrutiny and restructuring so as to prevent that they have humiliating effects.
Please see our sessions on Dignity & Humiliation Assessment so far, at our 2006 and 2007 Workshops on Humiliation and Violent Conflict in New York.
Please see furthermore other related pages on this website, for example, our Research Methodology page, our Research Projects page, and our Publications page.
We envisage to publish the results of our Dignity and Humiliation Assessment Developing Initiative on this page (and later on a specifically dedicated page to which we link from here) so that they can be accessed by policy makers and other users.
Other publication outlets for our researchers are our HumanDHS journal as well as any other suitable journal.
We differentiat two main goals for our initiative:
1. Research goal: We want to measure the complexity of dignity and humiliation, and we acknowledge that this is infinitely difficult.
2. Activism goal: The function of a "Country Index" or "World Regions Index" would not be to cover the entire complexity of dignity and humiliation, but to devise a tool that is "just sufficient" to show differences that could be useful for public policy making.
While first goal requires a focus on the comprehensive covering of the phenomena of dignity and humiliation, the second goal would be served by a "just-enough" approach. The second goal is similar to global warming - we need to act on information that is "just enough;" it would be foolish to wait until all aspects of global warming are comprehensively documented, because then it may be too late.
Material & Links
China Plans Harmonious Society Measurement Standard
Wang Jinhua, deputy director of the Rural Areas Division of the Grassroots Political Power Building Department under the Ministry of Civil Affairs in China, has told local media that China is studying ways to create an index system for quantifying a harmonious society...
Read more at http://www.chinacsr.com/2007/10/11/1744-china-plans-harmonious-society-measurement-standard/.
Transparency International
Transparency International is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption.
UN Indices
- UN Human Development Indices: Composite indices - HDI and beyond
Humiliation Index Ideas
• Beaumont, Lee (2008), Humiliation Index Ideas, contribution prepared for the Global Dignity & Humiliation Assessment Initiative, 2008.
• Beaumont, Lee (2007), Metrics - A Practical Example, and Thoughts on a Measurements Plan, contribution prepared for the 2007 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 13-14, 2007.
Contributions to the Global Dignity & Humiliation Assessment Initiative Session at the HumanDHS Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict in NY in December 2007
• Sabina Alkire and Emma Samman (Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative)
Shortlisted Indicators on Humiliation, and a Note Explaining Research Interests and Progress to Date at OPHI (2007), contribution prepared for the 2007 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 13-14, 2007 (see also a Paper on Shame and Humiliation (2007) by Diego Zavaleta Reyles).
• Hroar Klempe & Torbjørn Rundmo (Department of Psychology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway), The Reliability and Validity of a Measurement Instrument of Culture Defined As Symbol Exchange (2007), contribution prepared for the 2007 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 13-14, 2007, as Power Point presentation and as Pdf file.
• Sophie Schaarschmidt, contribution prepared for the 2007 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 13-14, 2007.
• Linda Hartling
- Humiliation: Assessing the Specter of Derision, Degradation, and Debasement, Doctoral dissertation, Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1996.
- Humiliation: Assessing the Impact of Derision, Degradation, and Debasement, first published by: The Journal of Primary Prevention, 1999, 19(4): 259-278.
• Emanuela C. Del Re, The Role of Dignity and Humiliation for Security (2007)
• Maggie O'Neill,
Maggie's theoretical concept of ethno-mimesis (the inter-connection of sensitive ethnographic work and visual re-presentations) is a methodological tool as well as a process for exploring lived experience, displacement, exile, belonging and humiliation.
• Lone Alice Johansen, African Solutions to African Intergroup Conflicts: Ubuntu and Humiliation - A Study of Ubuntu and Its Effect on Perceived Humiliation in a Interactive Track Two Dialogue Seminar (2007)
• Lee Beaumont, Metrics - A Practical Example, and Thoughts on a Measurements Plan (2007), contribution prepared for the 2007 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 13-14, 2007.
• Michael Sayler, Tracking Humiliation with CMM (2007), contribution prepared for the 2007 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 13-14, 2007.
• Jennifer S. Goldman, The Differential Effects of Collective-level vs. Personal-level Humiliating Experiences (2007),
Doctoral dissertation in Social-Organizational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, focusing on the role that humiliation plays in exacerbating violent social conflict.
• Floyd Webster Rudmin
- Preventing Inadvertent Humiliation (2006)
- Six Research Designs on Humiliation (2005)
• James Westaby (unfortunately hindered to join us)
• Pamela H. Creed (unfortunately hindered to join us)
Preparation and Method
• Lindner, Evelin G. (2000). Preparation and Method, in The Psychology of Humiliation: Somalia, Rwanda / Burundi, and Hitler's Germany. Oslo: University of Oslo, Department of Psychology, Doctoral Dissertation in Psychology, pp. 103-131.
• Lindner, Evelin G. (2001). How Research Can Humiliate: Critical Reflections on Method, inJournal for the Study of Peace and Conflict, Annual Edition 2001-2002, pp. 16-36.
