Theorizing and Conceptualizing of Migration

This paper aims to generate new theoretical and empirical insights into the way states and policies shape migration processes in their interaction with other migration determinants in receiving and sending countries. More fundamentally, this state of-the-art reveals a still limited understanding of the forces driving migration. Although there is consensus that macro-contextual economic and political factors and meso-level factors such as networks all play ‘some’ role, there is no agreement on their relative weight and mutual interaction. To start filling that gap, this paper outlines the contours of a conceptual framework for generating improved insights into the ways states and policies shape migration processes in their interaction with structural migration determinants in receiving and sending countries. First, it argues that the fragmented insights from different disciplinary theories can be integrated in one framework through conceptualizing virtually all forms of migration as a function of capabilities and aspirations. Second, to increase conceptual clarity it distinguishes the preponderant role of states in migration processes from the hypothetically more marginal role of specific immigration and emigration policies. Subsequently, it hypothesizes four different ‘substitution effects’ which can partly explain why polices fail to meet their objectives. This framework will serve as a conceptual guide for the determinants of international migration research

Literature Review on Migration and Remittances Development

In this article I have presented the kernel of the migration literature on remittances. I started from their three most debated features: stability, cyclicality and sustainability. I then moved to the motives driving remittances and, finally, their relationship with development. Both sustainability and cyclicality are the most controversial issues, as they are probably the most critical in terms of economic development. The former is fundamental from an endogenous point of view. In terms of dynamic convergence, if sustainability holds, less financial developed countries could redeem themselves fostering riskier and more productive investments, ‘substituting’ their liquidity constraints with pro-cyclical remittances. On the other hand, from a ‘brain gain’ perspective, if the inverse relation betIen the time spent abroad and intention to remit is going to be confirmed in future works, the ‘brain circulation could be beneficial both from a human capital and a remittances point of view

Review of Economic and Asylum-Seeker: Migration Decision Making Perspectives

The reasons why people migrate are often multiple and changing, and the categories of ‘economic migrant’ and ‘asylum-seeker’ are too rigid to reflect reality. There are many shared motivations for regular and irregular migration. Having the capability and economic means to migrate is particularly important; in conflict situations people may be very keen to migrate, but may not have sufficient resources to do so. Lack of economic opportunities in the country of origin and the hope of greater opportunities in another country are important drivers of irregular migration, though expectations vary according to the nature and reliability of the sources of information individual migrants have. Irregular migration is usually a collective effort in which families and social and religious networks play a crucial role. Irregular migrants are commonly supported financially by friends or family; as migration from a society becomes common, a ‘culture of migration’ may emerge in communities of origin which drives further migration. Many people who migrate irregularly use the services of smugglers or agents, who influence which destination is offered, promoted, or available, and the route taken. Smugglers’ networks have become increasingly professionalised, in particular as a result of the ability of Syrian migrants to pay for more sophisticated services. While tightening border security may change migration patterns and routes, migration policies are unlikely to influence the volume of people migrating. A person’s need to leave their home is likely to be far more important to them than different countries’ welfare and asylum support systems. Trade and investment in a source country is likely to increase, not reduce, migration. It is not individuals from the poorest households who migrate to Europe, but rather those who have access to sufficient resources to pay for their journey

Social Network and in Kinship International Migration

Kinship, religious and other social networks play a key role in the decision to migrate, and in determining migration journeys and return. This includes the role of family members in host countries, who may encourage prospective migrants through remittances and information. Migrants proactively seek information from broader networks and are exposed to information through mass media, word of mouth and social media. Technology has changed the ways in which social networks operate in relation to migration. TV and mobile technology remain a main source of information for migrants, but recent evidence points to the increasing role of online and social media. Internet-based technology and social media are putting different groups of migrants and non-migrant populations in direct contact. However, the documentation on the use of mobile social media is almost exclusively confined to Syrians. Local social networks often involve ties with other migrants, and with smugglers. Migrants often provide each other with reciprocal support for day-to-day subsistence, sharing food and accommodation, as well as information on travel routes and destinations. These local networks are often informal and kept ‘under the radar’

A Case Study of Remittances Receiving Country

Eastern European migrants have been bringing norms, values, practices and social capital to their communities of origin since the end of the nineteenth century. This paper sheds light on the unintended consequences of temporary migration from Eastern European by combining Merton’s functional analysis with Levitt’s work on social remittances. The article presents a juxtaposition of the non-material effects of earlier migration from Eastern European, dating from the turn of the twentieth century, with those of the contemporary era of migration from Eastern European since the 1990s. The analysis shows that some aspects, such as negotiating gender roles, the changing division of household labour, individualistic lifestyles, new skills and sources of social capital, and changing economic rationalities are constantly being transferred by migrants from destination to origin communities. Contemporary digital tools facilitate these transfers and contribute to changing norms and practices in Eastern European society. The article demonstrates that migration fulfils specific functions for particular sections of Eastern European society by replacing some functions of the communist state and by facilitating their adaptation to changing conditions

Habitat shifts in the evolutionary history of a Neotropical flycatcher lineage from forest and open landscapes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little is known about the role ecological shifts play in the evolution of Neotropical radiations that have colonized a variety of environments. We here examine habitat shifts in the evolutionary history of <it>Elaenia </it>flycatchers, a Neotropical bird lineage that lives in a range of forest and open habitats. We evaluate phylogenetic relationships within the genus based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data, and then employ parsimony-based and Bayesian methods to reconstruct preferences for a number of habitat types and migratory behaviour throughout the evolutionary history of the genus. Using a molecular clock approach, we date the most important habitat shifts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our analyses resolve phylogenetic relationships among <it>Elaenia </it>species and confirm several species associations predicted by morphology while furnishing support for other taxon placements that are in conflict with traditional classification, such as the elevation of various <it>Elaenia </it>taxa to species level. While savannah specialism is restricted to one basal clade within the genus, montane forest was invaded from open habitat only on a limited number of occasions. Riparian growth may have been favoured early on in the evolution of the main <it>Elaenia </it>clade and subsequently been deserted on several occasions. Austral long-distance migratory behaviour evolved on several occasions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ancestral reconstructions of habitat preferences reveal pronounced differences not only in the timing of the emergence of certain habitat preferences, but also in the frequency of habitat shifts. The early origin of savannah specialism in <it>Elaenia </it>highlights the importance of this habitat in Neotropical Pliocene and late Miocene biogeography. While forest in old mountain ranges such as the Tepuis and the Brazilian Shield was colonized early on, the most important colonization event of montane forest was in conjunction with Pliocene Andean uplift. Riparian habitats may have played an important role in facilitating habitat shifts by birds expanding up the mountains along streams and adapting to newly emerging montane forest habitat.</p

Current issues in environmental management in Australia – what do people think?

In 2010, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC) published their Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability Research, seeking to mobilise researchers in a 10-year scientific effort to address what they call the “grand challenges in global sustainability”. In this paper, we ask whether these Grand Challenges are relevant to Australian environmental management. We examine this from two angles, insights from public perception surveys, and our own survey data. Public attitudes surveys indicate public ambiguity on the knowledge base, a finding that implies an immediate need for improved public communication of scientific knowledge. Our on-line survey, attached to a conference, Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges, targeted Australian environmental managers and scientists’ views on critical issues. The results mirrored global scientists’ views on the need to find ways for the scientific, social and political communities to work together to develop innovative approaches to solving future environmental concerns. Importantly, we found that the specific responses were context and scale dependent, while highlighting the inherent tensions between maintaining production and consumption, and protection of resources and ecosystem services

An unexpectedly long history of sexual selection in birds-of-paradise

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae) form one of the most prominent avian examples of sexual selection and show a complex biogeographical distribution. The family has accordingly been used as a case-study in several significant evolutionary and biogeographical syntheses. As a robust phylogeny of the birds-of-paradise has been lacking, these hypotheses have been tentative and difficult to assess. Here we present a well supported species phylogeny with divergence time estimates of the birds-of-paradise. We use this to assess if the rates of the evolution of sexually selected traits and speciation have been excessively high within the birds-of-paradise, as well as to re-interpret biogeographical patterns in the group.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The phylogenetic results confirm some traditionally recognized relationships but also suggest novel ones. Furthermore, we find that species pairs are geographically more closely linked than previously assumed. The divergence time estimates suggest that speciation within the birds-of-paradise mainly took place during the Miocene and the Pliocene, and that several polygynous and morphologically homogeneous genera are several million years old. Diversification rates further suggest that the speciation rate within birds-of-paradise is comparable to that of the enitre core Corvoidea.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The estimated ages of morphologically homogeneous and polygynous genera within the birds-of-paradise suggest that there is no need to postulate a particularly rapid evolution of sexually selected morphological traits. The calculated divergence rates further suggest that the speciation rate in birds-of-paradise has not been excessively high. Thus the idea that sexual selection could generate high speciation rates and rapid changes in sexual ornamentations is not supported by our birds-of-paradise data. Potentially, hybridization and long generation times in polygynous male birds-of-paradise have constrained morphological diversification and speciation, but external ecological factors on New Guinea may also have allowed the birds-of-paradise to develop and maintain magnificent male plumages. We further propose that the restricted but geographically complex distributions of birds-of-paradise species may be a consequence of the promiscuous breeding system.</p