Underlying Factors in International Labour Migration in Asia: Population, Employment and Productivity Trends

[Excerpt] In Asia, migration pressures are likely to remain strong for many years to come because of the diverging trajectories of growth of the working age population and the vast differences in earnings between the more developed and the poorer countries of the region. While trends in education and in employment structure are bound to modify the underlying pressures for international mobility, the conclusion that migration pressures will remain strong is no longer in doubt

Human Resources, Poverty, and Regional Development

Human development has moved to centre stage in development theory. Education makes an important contribution to economic growth, but achievement of mass education is important for a number of other reasons as well. Inequality of access to education is a serious issue everywhere, and serves to reinforce the inequality of income. Inequality is evident from the viewpoint of socio-economic background, of gender, and of regional disparities. In a poverty alleviation programme, tackling regional inequalities in education may be crucial, yet it raises many issues. Will expanding educational opportunities only result in frustration if appropriate jobs are not available? Is the key role of education in poor regions to enable educated young people to migrate elsewhere to find better jobs? In international comparisons, Pakistan appears well behind comparable countries in educational development. “Path dependency” means that the legacy of past deficiencies in expanding education will adversely affect Pakistan’s development for decades to come, and what is done now in education will affect development for half a century. A simple projection shows that even with the highly optimistic assumption that by 2030, Pakistan will reach the enrolment rates currently achieved in the United States, the proportion of the working-age population in that year with no education or only primary school education would still be as high as 35 percent. This underlines the need for a strong drive to expand educational opportunity.

The trans influence in unsymmetrical pincer palladacycles: an experimental and computational study

A library of unsymmetrical SCN pincer palladacycles, [ClPd{2-pyr-6-(RSCH2)C6H3}], R = Et, Pr, Ph, p-MePh, and p-MeOPh, pyr = pyridine, has been synthesized via C–H bond activation, and used, along with PCN and N’CN unsymmetrical pincer palladacycles previously synthesized by the authors, to determine the extent to which the trans influence is exhibited in unsymmetrical pincer palladacycles. The trans influence is quantified by analysis of structural changes in the X-ray crystal and density functional theory (DFT) optimized structures and a topological analysis of the electron density using quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) to determine the strength of the Pd-donor atom interaction. It is found that the trans influence is controlled by the nature of the donor atom and although the substituents on the donor-ligand affect the Pd-donor atom interaction through the varied electronic and steric constraints, they do not influence the bonding of the ligand trans to it. The data indicate that the strength of the trans influence is P > S > N. Furthermore, the synthetic route to the family of SCN pincer palladacycles presented demonstrates the potential of late stage derivitization for the effective synthesis of ligands towards unsymmetrical pincer palladacycles

Production and absorption of ccˉc \bar{c} pairs in nuclear collisions at SPS energies

We study the production of $c \bar{c}$ pairs and dimuons from hard collisions in nuclear reactions within the covariant transport approach HSD, which describes successfully both hadronic and electromagnetic observables from p+A and A+A collisions from SIS to SPS energies. The production of $c \bar{c}$ and Drell-Yan pairs is treated perturbatively employing experimental cross sections while the interactions of $c\bar{c}$ pairs with hadrons are included by conventional cascade-type two-body collisions. Adopting 6mb for the $c \bar{c}$-baryon cross sections the data on $J/\Psi$ suppression in p+A reactions are reproduced in line with calculations based on the Glauber model. We study different models for $c \bar{c}$ dissociation on mesons in comparison with the experimental data of the HELIOS-3, NA38 and NA50 collaborations. Adopting absorption cross sections with mesons above the $D\bar{D}$ threshold in the order of 1.5 - 3mb we find that all data on $J/\Psi$ suppression from both proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions can be described without assuming the formation of a quark-gluon plasma in these collisions.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX, including 13 postscript figures, to appear in Nucl. Phys.

A roadmap for pyrodiversity science

Abstract: Background: Contemporary and projected shifts in global fire regimes highlight the importance of understanding how fire affects ecosystem function and biodiversity across taxa and geographies. Pyrodiversity, or heterogeneity in fire history, is often an important driver of biodiversity, though it has been largely overlooked until relatively recently. In this paper, we synthesise previous research to develop a theoretical framework on pyrodiversity–biodiversity relationships and propose future research and conservation management directions. Theoretical Framework: Pyrodiversity may affect biodiversity by diversifying available ecological niches, stabilising community networks and/or supporting diverse species pools available for post‐fire colonisation. Further, pyrodiversity's effects on biodiversity vary across different spatial, temporal and organismal scales depending on the mobility and other life history traits of the organisms in question and may be mediated by regional eco‐evolutionary factors such as historical fire regimes. Developing a generalisable understanding of pyrodiversity effects on biodiversity has been challenging, in part because pyrodiversity can be quantified in various ways. Applying the Pyrodiversity Concept: Exclusion of Indigenous fire stewardship, fire suppression, increased unplanned ignitions and climate change have led to dramatic shifts in fire regimes globally. Such shifts include departures from historic levels of pyrodiversity and add to existing challenges to biodiversity conservation in fire‐prone landscapes. Managers navigating these challenges can be aided by targeted research into observed contemporary pyrodiversity–biodiversity relationships as well as knowledge of historical reference conditions informed by both Indigenous and local ecological knowledge and western science. Future Research Directions: Several promising avenues exist for the advancement of pyrodiversity science to further both theoretical and practical goals. These lines of investigation include but are not limited to (1) testing the increasing variety of pyrodiversity metrics and analytical approaches; (2) assessing the spatial and temporal scale‐dependence of pyrodiversity's influence; (3) reconstructing historical pyrodiversity patterns and developing methods for predicting and/or promoting future pyrodiversity; and (4) expanding the focus of pyrodiversity science beyond biodiversity to better understand its influence on ecosystem function and processes more broadly

Impact of Scottish vocational qualifications on residential child care : have they fulfilled the promise?

This article will present findings from a doctoral study exploring the impact of 'SVQ Care: Promoting Independence (level III)' within children's homes. The study focuses on the extent to which SVQs enhance practice and their function within a 'learning society'. A total of 30 staff were selected from seven children's homes in two different local authority social work departments in Scotland. Each member of staff was interviewed on four separate occasions over a period of 9 months. Interviews were structured using a combination of repertory grids and questions. Particular focus was given to the assessment process, the extent to which SVQs enhance practice and the learning experiences of staff. The findings suggest that there are considerable deficiencies both in terms of the SVQ format and the way in which children's homes are structured for the assessment of competence. Rather than address the history of failure within residential care, it appears that SVQs have enabled the status quo to be maintained whilst creating an 'illusion' of change within a learning society

Whole-Body Vibration Alleviates Symptoms of Morphine Withdrawal

Whole-body vibration at 80 Hz has previously been shown to blunt neuropathological markers and behavioral symptoms of alcohol dependence. Here, we evaluate its ability to ameliorate symptoms of morphine use and withdrawal. Behavioral and neurophysiological symptoms of withdrawal were reduced significantly by whole-body vibration treatment

A Bayesian palaeoenvironmental transfer function model for acidified lakes

A Bayesian approach to palaeoecological environmental reconstruction deriving from the unimodal responses generally exhibited by organisms to an environmental gradient is described. The approach uses Bayesian model selection to calculate a collection of probability-weighted, species-specific response curves (SRCs) for each taxon within a training set, with an explicit treatment for zero abundances. These SRCs are used to reconstruct the environmental variable from sub-fossilised assemblages. The approach enables a substantial increase in computational efficiency (several orders of magnitude) over existing Bayesian methodologies. The model is developed from the Surface Water Acidification Programme (SWAP) training set and is demonstrated to exhibit comparable predictive power to existing Weighted Averaging and Maximum Likelihood methodologies, though with improvements in bias; the additional explanatory power of the Bayesian approach lies in an explicit calculation of uncertainty for each individual reconstruction. The model is applied to reconstruct the Holocene acidification history of the Round Loch of Glenhead, including a reconstruction of recent recovery derived from sediment trap data.The Bayesian reconstructions display similar trends to conventional (Weighted Averaging Partial Least Squares) reconstructions but provide a better reconstruction of extreme pH and are more sensitive to small changes in diatom assemblages. The validity of the posteriors as an apparently meaningful representation of assemblage-specific uncertainty and the high computational efficiency of the approach open up the possibility of highly constrained multiproxy reconstructions

Severely obese people with diabetes experience impaired emotional well-being associated with socioeconomic disadvantage: results from diabetes MILES – Australia

AimTo examine the emotional well-being of severely obese Australians with type 2 diabetes, along with markers of social and economic disadvantage, using the Diabetes MILES &ndash; Australia dataset.MethodsDiabetes MILES &ndash; Australia was a national survey of 3338 adults with diabetes that focused on psychosocial issues; 1795 had type 2 diabetes and reported BMI. We extracted data regarding depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), obesity- and diabetes- related comorbidities, and demographics. The severely obese group (SOG) (BMI &ge; 35; median BMI = 41.6) constituted 530 (30%) of the type 2 diabetes respondents and was matched with 530 controls (CG) (BMI &lt; 35; median BMI = 28.2). Within- and between- group trends were examined.ResultsThe SOG had higher depression scores (median (IQR) 6.0 (3&ndash;12)) than CG (5.0 (2&ndash;10)); p &lt; 0.001, and were more likely to report moderate-severe depressive symptoms (37% versus 27%; p &lt; 0.001). The groups did not differ on anxiety. The SOG, compared with the CG, were more likely to live alone (21% versus 17%), receive a disability pension (21% versus 15%), earn &le;$40.000/year (51% versus 41%; all p &lt; 0.05), and were less likely to be employed (46% versus 53%), university or higher educated (17% versus 26%), or have health insurance (50% versus 60%; all p &le; 0.01). Moderate-severe depression was positively associated with cumulative stressors of severe obesity, socioeconomic disadvantage, and obesity- and diabetes- related comorbidity.ConclusionsSeverely obese people living with type 2 diabetes have cumulative stressors related to health, disability, demographic and socioeconomic factors, and impaired emotional well-being.</span

Designing count‐based studies in a world of hierarchical models

Abstract: Advances in hierarchical modeling have improved estimation of ecological parameters from count data, especially those quantifying population abundance, distribution, and dynamics by explicitly accounting for observation processes, particularly incomplete detection. Even hierarchical models that account for incomplete detection, however, cannot compensate for data limitations stemming from poorly planned sampling. Ecologists therefore need guidance for planning count‐based studies that follow established sampling theory, collect appropriate data, and apply current modeling approaches to answer their research questions. We synthesize available literature relevant to guiding count‐based studies. Considering the central historical and ongoing contributions of avian studies to ecological knowledge, we focus on birds as a case study for this review, but the basic principles apply to all populations whose members are sufficiently observable to be counted. The sequence of our review represents the thought process in which we encourage ecologists to engage 1) the research question(s) and population parameters to measure, 2) sampling design, 3) analytical framework, 4) temporal design, and 5) survey protocol. We also provide 2 hypothetical demonstrations of these study plan components representing different research questions and study systems. Mirroring the structure of hierarchical models, we suggest researchers primarily focus on the ecological processes of interest when designing their approach to sampling, and wait to consider logistical constraints of data collection and observation processes when developing the survey protocol. We offer a broad framework for researchers planning count‐based studies, while pointing to relevant literature elaborating on particular tools and concepts