Socioeconomic Status and Group Belonging: Evidence from Early-Nineteenth-Century Colonial West Africa

This study provides a novel analysis of occupational stratification in Sierra Leone from a historical perspective. By employing census data for early-nineteenth-century colonial Sierra Leone, the present study offers a valuable snapshot of a colony characterized by a heterogenous population of indigenous and migratory origin. The study shows that an association between colonial group categorization and socioeconomic status existed despite the colony being of very recent foundation implying a hierarchical structure of the society. Although Europeans and “mulattoes” occupied most high-status positions, as common in the colonies, indigenous immigrants were also represented in high socioeconomic strata thanks to the opportunities stemming from long- and short-distance trading. However, later arrivals, especially liberated slaves, belonged within the lowest socioeconomic strata of the society and worked as farmers or unskilled labor, suggesting that the time component may also have influence socioeconomic opportunities.

Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Indonesia

We examine what determines the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia, focusing on the role of institutional measures. A knowledge-and-physical-capital (KPC) model is applied to a panel dataset that covers 42 of Indonesia’s FDI partners from 2004 to 2012. Evidence shows that both horizontal and vertical FDIs coexist in the bilateral aggregate data of Indonesia’s FDI flows, but horizontal FDI appears to be dominant. This can be explained by the market size (proxied by the total GDP of both countries and similarity in incomes per capita) and the relative factor endowments (proxied by skilled labor and physical capital). The vertical FDI, on the other hand, could be only explained by the significant effect of unskilled labor. Institutional factors, particularly corruption, are apparently important in affecting Indonesia’s bilateral FDI flows. The results also show that a higher FDI level in Indonesia positively correlates with macroeconomic factors, open policy factors, and utility infrastructure factors.

A Review on Global E-Waste Management: Urban Mining towards a Sustainable Future and Circular Economy

The trending need for smarter electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is surging globally by the year and is giving rise to huge amounts of outdated EEE going into landfills. This has caused enormous threats to our environment and the health of living beings due to its unsustainable ways of collection, treatment and disposal of waste EEE or E-waste. With increasing E-waste, the formal sectors lack infrastructure, technology and expertise required to collect and process the E-waste in an environmentally sound manner. This article is intended to bring out the global best practices in the field of E-waste management, to shed light on the importance of policy implementation, technology requirement and social awareness to arrive at a sustainable and circular economy. Although about 71% of the world’s populace has incorporated E-waste legislation, there is a need to enforce and implement a common legal framework across the globe. The article explains the gap created among the stakeholders and their knowledge on the roles and responsibilities towards a legalized E-waste management. It further explains the lack of awareness on extended producer responsibility (EPR) and producer responsibility schemes. Despite various legislations in force, numerous illegal practices such as acid leaching, open incineration, illegal dumping carried out by the informal sector are causing harm to the environment, natural resources and the safety of unorganized and unskilled labor. The article discusses the crucial need for awareness amongst stakeholders, consumer behavior and the global challenges and opportunities in this field to achieve a low-carbon, circular economy. To conclude, the article highlights the importance of common legal framework, EPR and licenses, transformation of the informal sector, benchmark technologies, responsibilities of various stakeholders and entrepreneurial opportunities to enhance the formal capacity. The article wholly advocates for transparency, accountability and traceability in the E-waste recycling chain, thus creating a greener environment and protecting our planet and natural resources for future generations.

Migration of population in Sverdlovsk oblast: problems and solutions

In the context of the necessity to implement the national goals, one of the important areas of activity is support of positive demographic processes, promotion of population growth in the country, including through resettlement and migration of residents of other countries. This is relevant not only at the country level, but also at the regional level, each of which has features that must be considered when forming demographic policy. The article analyzes the effectiveness of the program to promote migration and resettlement of compatriots from other countries to Sverdlovsk oblast. Its advantages and limitations are highlighted, its effectiveness is considered on the example of immigrants from several CIS countries: Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. It is shown that despite the formal fulfillment of the objectives of the program (more than 28 thousand foreigners arrived in Sverdlovsk oblast within 9 years), some meaningful moments were missed, the selection of migrants based on the occupations in demand in the labor market of the region was not fully carry out. There are presented the directions of improving the program for the medium term, which are connected with new approaches to raising the quality of program implementation in Sverdlovsk oblast. It is shown that it is necessary to formalize and improve the mechanism for attracting foreign labor to the region using notification quotas, organized recruitment, modification of selection criteria for the point system, development of the material base and linguistic community for an accelerated adaptation. Analysis showed that promotion of resettlement is necessary with relation to professionals in relevant areas of activity (doctors, teachers), while the demand for unskilled labor is satisfied by migrants.

Does Premature Deindustrialization Matter? The Role of Manufacturing versus Services in Development

“Premature deindustrialization” typically reflects the fact that the services sector has grown faster than manufacturing at lower levels of per capita income compared to the past. This paper, based on cross-country data, shows that the rising share of services is largely not driven by a statistical artifact whereby what was earlier subsumed in manufacturing value added is now accounted for as service sector contributions. Yet, this matters less for development opportunities because features of manufacturing that were thought of as uniquely special for productivity growth are also shared by some services. And the growth of these high-productivity services is not closely linked to a manufacturing base as it draws on both intermediate demand from other sectors as well as final demand from home and abroad. The prospect of services-led development in lower-income countries however, is limited by the fact that a given service subsector is unlikely to provide opportunities for productivity growth and job creation for unskilled labor simultaneously.

Morbidity patterns and provision of workplace safety among industrial workers

Background: Occupational injuries are among the ten most common reasons of illness and death. In Pakistan, the circumstances are very grave like many other developing countries. So, it was inevitable to carry a study among industrial workers. Aims: To determine the morbidity patterns, socio-demographic determinants and to provide safe workplace environment to the industrial patients admitted in the Social Security Hospital, Lahore. Method: Cross sectional survey among industrial workers was conducted at Social Security hospital, Lahore. Total size of the sample was 385 which was distributed equivalently among all the indoor units of hospital. A structured questionnaire was administered, and data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. For quantitative variables like age, mean and standard deviation and for qualitative variables frequency and percentage was calculated. Chi square was applied among qualitative variables. Data was presented in the form of tables and bar graphs. Results: Mean +/- SD age was 32 +/- 7.5 years: 118(30%) of the sample was between 26-30 years. Majority of the patients, 366(95%), were men and 258(67%) were married. Majority of the sample, 158(41%), were illiterate. 318(83%) of the sampled patients were workers/laborers, 25(7%) had administrative duties, 17(4%) were working in office and 13(4%) skillful laborers. The incidence of injuries and accidents was remarkably high among the laborers 96(25%) followed by Gastroenteritis 50(13%), fever 50(13%) and cough & respiratory tract infections 38(10%). 298(77%) stated that most of these incidences were not reported at their workplace, 309(80%) were not using any personal protective equipment. Conclusion: Majority of the industrial patients were admitted due to accidents and injuries at their workplaces. Majority of them were young adults, married males. Unskilled labor was largely uneducated. Safety practices at workplace of the respondents were very poor. Keywords: morbidity patterns, industrial workers, social security hospital, personal protective equipment.

Counter-professionalization as an occupational status strategy: The production of professionalism in Israeli child-care workers’ identity work

Recent approaches to professions and professional identity question the premise that professionalization is the ultimate generator of status, showing that the classical model of professionalization does not always coincide with workers’ creative construction of professionalism and professional dignity. Extending these approaches, and focusing on workers’ identity discourse, this study examines how private child-care workers in Israel claim professional status precisely by avoiding formal professionalization and promoting a counter-professionalization ethos. Drawing on field observations and interviews, we analyze nannies’ tacit occupational community dynamics, by which they establish professional rules and boundaries and discursively construct a respected professional self. Their identity-talk reveals a vocational self-imaging based on personal charisma, one that resists training and credentials. This vocational self-imaging allows rebuttal of the nanny stereotype as a low-class uneducated workforce, associated with their ethnicized backgrounds, by symbolically transforming it and using it as a high-value identity resource. This counter-professionalized identity-talk prevails despite the social distinction between senior and junior nannies. Thereby, nannies gain professional status while the professionalization of child care is rejected. The analysis of these cultural dynamics provides a stronger perspective on professions as spheres of identity construction—specifically those ranked lower as unskilled labor—and on workers’ agency behind their ostensibly passive compliance with under-professionalization.

Determinants of remittances by unskilled Pakistani migrant workers

Foreign remittance is the second-largest source of foreign exchange in Pakistan which makes international migrant workers key players in the balance of payments equation of Pakistan. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the most common destinations for unskilled migrant workers from Pakistan. With the increasing costs of migration and the sluggish economic performance of the Middle East in recent years before the pandemic, unskilled workers in the region are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the flow of remittances to their families. This study contributes to the literature on remittances by: (1) identifying the determinants of sending remittances by unskilled Pakistan migrants in KSA and UAE; (2) finding the determinants of the wage differential between foreign jobs and local jobs of unskilled Pakistani workers; and (3) estimating the average time that a worker needs to potentially repay the costs of migration. Data for the empirical analysis came from the Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) 2015 Migration and Recruitment Costs Survey in Pakistan. The findings suggest that experience and income are the most important determinants of remittances. However, the returns to education and experience are lower in KSA and UAE for unskilled labor as compared to Pakistan. Moreover, the economic costs of migration are high for these workers as it takes between five and nine years to recover the costs of migration. Unskilled migrants are important assets for Pakistan that will boost foreign reserves and reduce the balance of payment deficit. However, the opportunity cost of migration is high for educated and experienced workers and labor migration policies should consider both the costs and benefits of unskilled migration.

THE PROCESS OF GLOBALIZATION: PROBLEMS OF INEQUALITY IN GLOBALIZATION

This article gives a quick overview of the evolution of cross-national cooperation through various historical periods. A comparison of the present globalization process with the oldest types of state interactions was conducted, and several factors that directly or indirectly influenced the simplicity of international cooperation were identified. The key stages of development and legislation creation that affected the growth of commercial ties between states and foreign firms were emphasized. Globalization's manifestations in numerous realms of human life, its influence on life and the spheres of life, and probable future possibilities and circumstances of existence were also discussed. As a result, the many forms of globalization that exist today have been emphasized. In addition to the potential and good elements of globalization, substantial flaws in the process have been uncovered. Reasons and justifications for these flaws were provided based on the work of Nobel Laureates in Economics. Inequality as a result of globalization was studied in more depth. The primary reasons of disparity in the manufacturing process between developed and developing countries are identified. In addition, different nations have differing salary and working circumstances for skilled and unskilled labor.

Characterization of the useful life and structural performance of a reinforced concrete bridge in the City of Correntes-PE

Even though we know that the construction industry is constantly evolving, due to the emergence of construction techniques and materials, we note that there are still challenges to be faced: pathological manifestations. These, in turn, compromise the performance and useful life of the elements. Its occurrences are mainly due to the reduction of deadlines, inadequate design solutions, improper use of materials, unskilled labor, lack of maintenance, lack of inspection, among other aspects. The evaluation of a structural element is based on the precedence of guaranteeing durability and quality to ensure the integrity of users. Therefore, this article analyzed structural elements of a reinforced concrete bridge located in the city of Correntes-PE. The main objective of the work was to characterize the main pathological manifestations affecting the structural elements of the bridge. The process of characterization of degrading agents was carried out through non-destructive tests, such as the carbonation front, as provided for in EN 14630 (DIN, 2007) and the evaluation of surface resistance, through the sclerometry test, according to NBR 7584 (ABNT, 2012). The results allowed to characterize the strength of the concrete and the degree of degradation. Points with incidence of carbonation and exposed reinforcement were identified, denoting the need for preventive and corrective intervention, in order to prolong the useful life and performance of the evaluated artwork.