Why People Emigrate to Work in Elder Care?

Emigration is one of the sorest problems in Lithuania. Emigrants from Lithuania most often fill the sector of unskilled labour in the target countries, one of which is elder care. Financial factors are considered the main motivation for emigration; however, migration is a complex phenomenon and requires a more nuanced investigation. The aim of this article is to analyse subjectively identified reasons of emigration from Lithuania to work in the elder care sector and motivation in choosing a particular country. The thematic data analysis of 13 semi-structured interviews revealed that emigration is motivated by an entirety of reasons: beside financial factors other „push“ (family, health) and „pull“ (knowledge about the country, family formation) factors are important. The move also is facilitated by the chain migration factors. The importance of the economic reasons for migration is revealed in cases of financial insecurity (loss of employment, threat of company bankruptcy, financial difficulties in the parents’ family etc.). Economic considerations become significant again, when comparing the job options and working conditions available to migrants. Work in the care sector for older people is seen as relatively easy, accessible and well paid. Other “push” factors were related to an unsatisfactory life situation, including stressful employment, and unsatisfying family relationships. The desire to get to know a foreign country, the opportunity to start a family or establish oneself there can work as „pull“ factors. The decision to emigrate was supported by the chain migration factors – encouragement, help and support of previously established immigrants. In some cases, it emerged as an independent factor of migration people emigrated, invited by relatives or acquaintances from abroad even though they did not initially plan to migrate. With the rapidly growing share of older people in Lithuania and the underdeveloped care services, the opportunity to retain potential emigrants by creating attractive working conditions for them in Lithuania, remains untapped. Policies should aim to improve the working conditions and opportunities in the care sector in Lithuania in order to encourage Lithuanians to stay in the country. In addition, regulations to better absorb (returning) migrants should be in place, given the ongoing movement between countries.

Indian Migrants in Brunei: The Role of Social Networks

Indian immigrants have emerged as a dominant community in Brunei nowadays. Since the colonial period, there has been an influx of Indian migrants to Brunei. This research investigates the social networks that Indians used to get to Brunei. Evidently, there has been little research on these group of people in Brunei. This study employs a sample of 17 low, semi, and unskilled Indian migrants chosen on snow-ball basis. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. According to the findings of this study, social networks played a significant role in making the decision to migrate over to Brunei. We found that chain migration mechanism has been active in the India-Brunei migration domain since long. As a risk diversification approach, migration networks act as a web of interpersonal connections that connect migrants, former migrants, and non-migrants in their origin and destination countries via relationships of kinship, friendship, and common community origin.

Using Song Dialects to Assess the Migration Strategy of the Golden-crowned Sparrow

Most techniques used to study migration of wild birds require capture for banding or for attachment and/or recovery of tags or transmitters. We took advantage of the fact that the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) sings in winter, combined with published data on the distribution of its distinct song dialects in the breeding range, to assess its migration strategy and migratory connectivity by means of these dialects. Using recordings of the Golden-crowned Sparrow’s song across much of its winter range, we categorized these birds by song type to identify their likely origin in some subset of the breeding range. This method allows examination of migration without the need to capture birds. Our results fit best with a pattern of chain migration, with the northernmost breeders wintering in the northernmost part of the winter range, and the southerly breeders wintering farther south. The results suggest strong migratory connectivity between segments of the breeding and winter ranges, though our small sample size makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions on connectivity.

Comparative Nicaraguan Migrant and Non-Migrant Experiences in the Early Twenty-First Century

This paper examines the circumstances in which Nicaraguan migrants to Costa Rica found themselves and the situations of families in Nicaragua who had household members who had moved to Costa Rica from the late 1990s to 2012. Through surveys and interviews conducted in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica, this paper peers into the immigrant experience of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica and explores such issues as does time in Costa Rica improve the immigrant situation, how competitive were immigrants’ wages compared to those of their home country of Nicaragua, and what percentage of immigrants would send remittances home. The background literature written on the topics of central American migration, chain migration, push and pull factors, and remittances help contextualize the findings of this study. This paper also includes a consideration of how social or trust networks may relate to migrants’ tendency to send remittances. The analysis of the data collected yielded findings such as a small correlation between an immigrant’s salary and the amount of time the immigrant stayed at his or her job, a six times greater wage earned by Nicaraguan immigrants in Costa Rica than the average Nicaraguan wage, and a lower percentage of immigrants sending remittances back to Nicaragua than one might expect, from responses of both Nicaraguan migrants and non-migrants.

From Central Asia to Russia

This study explores the developing relations between three countries: Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, where migration issues and demographic change remain a sensitive subject in public discourse. With declining population and low fertility rates, Russia is facing a serious demographic crisis. Russian government relies on international migration to improve the current demographic situation. This paper reviews social policies that enable the migration flow from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to Russia. Issues such as chain migration and new state demographic initiatives are central in this investigation. The recent changes to Russian Federal Law N256-FZ (Maternity capital) are also being investigated. This study provides a useful frame for further exploration of social forces that shape migration patterns and policies within Central Asia and Russia.

Nepali Migrant Workers in Tourism Sector of India: A Case in Kerala and Goa

This paper examines how tourism employment and workplace experiences influence migrant workers' adaptation in the host society. Nepali migration to India is age-old phenomena. Most of literatures depicts to Nepali migrants in India are low-skilled, manual labourers. It is argued that tourism employment provides access to multiple social networks, which subsequently supports the improvement of foreign workers’ social and cultural competencies. Such networks also help to compensate for the negative aspects of migrants and migration. Contrary of negative portraying, it resulted that Nepali migrants in tourism sector of India are in better off position. In addition, the paper considers how relationships among international workers inform chain migration and influence subsequent recruitment practices and migration experiences. The findings stem from study of the experiences of Nepali migrant workers employed in the India tourism sector using qualitative data.

Decreased Proliferation in the Neurogenic Niche, Disorganized Neuroblast Migration, and Increased Oligodendrogenesis in Adult Netrin-5-Deficient Mice

In the adult mouse brain, neurogenesis occurs mainly in the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) and the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Neuroblasts generated in the V-SVZ migrate to the olfactory bulb via the rostral migratory stream (RMS) in response to guidance molecules, such as netrin-1. We previously showed that the related netrin-5 (NTN5) is expressed in Mash1-positive transit-amplifying cells and doublecortin-positive neuroblasts in the granule cell layer of the olfactory bulb, the RMS, and the subgranular zone of the adult mouse brain. However, the precise role of NTN5 in adult neurogenesis has not been investigated. In this study, we show that proliferation in the neurogenic niche is impaired in NTN5 knockout mice. The number of proliferating (EdU-labeled) cells in NTN5 KO mice was significantly lower in the V-SVZ, whereas the number of Ki67-positive proliferating cells was unchanged, suggesting a longer cell cycle and decreased cell division in NTN5 KO mice. The number of EdU-labeled cells in the RMS and olfactory bulb was unchanged. By contrast, the numbers of EdU-labeled cells in the cortex, basal ganglia/lateral septal nucleus, and corpus callosum/anterior commissure were increased, which largely represented oligodendrocyte lineage cells. Lastly, we found that chain migration in the RMS of NTN5 KO mice was disorganized. These findings suggest that NTN5 may play important roles in promoting proliferation in the V-SVZ niche, organizing proper chain migration in the RMS, and suppressing oligodendrogenesis in the brain.