No. 20: The Brain Gain: Skilled Migrants and Immigration Policy in Post-Apartheid South Africa

South African immigration policy has become extremely restrictive since 1994. Immigration numbers are at an all-time low, even as emigration accelerates. The number of temporary work permits issued has also declined at a time when South Africa has reconnected to the global economy and many companies and investors wish to import high-level skills. Immigration is not viewed as a public policy tool that could benefit South Africa. Immigrants and migrants (even the most highly skilled) are more often stereotyped as a threat to the economic and social interests of South Africans. Why has South Africa’s first democratic government taken such a dim view of immigration to date? Why is immigration invariably seen as a problem to control rather than an opportunity to exploit? Why has South Africa shifted from being a net immigrant-receiving to an immigrant- exporting nation? These are the first questions addressed in this paper. We address the Draft White Paper’s rationale for a restrictionist policy and review various other explanations that have been advanced to explain post-apartheid policy. International experience suggests that skilled immigrants and migrants make important contributions to any country’s economic growth and development. Immigrants can fill the gaps created by emigrating skills or the inadequacies of a country’s education and training system. Even more important, skilled immigrants bring innovation to the economy through new ideas and skills. In this regard, there needs to be greater awareness of the profile and contribution of South Africa’s current stock of skilled immigrants. Studies of skilled immigrants in other countries have shown that they rarely fit the popular negative stereotypes. There is no reason why this should not be true for South Africa as well. One way to assess the potential value to South Africa of a more open attitude towards skilled migration and immigration, is to examine the existing immigration population. If these immigrants conform to the negative stereotypes, there is reason for caution. If, on the other hand, they are making a valuable contribution then the case is strengthened for further immigration. This paper therefore profiles South Africa’s skilled immigrant population: who are these immigrants? When did they come to South Africa? Are there significant differences between pre-1990 and post-1990 immigrants? And how do they perceive and experience living in South Africa? The paper is based on a detailed survey of 400 skilled foreign nationals in South Africa using face-to-face interviews. The survey provided the following profile of South Africa’s skilled immigrant population: Reflecting South Africa’s pre-1994 immigration policies, the major source region is clearly Europe (47%) and the most important source country, the United Kingdom (31%). But as many as 41% of the sample were from elsewhere in Africa (with 18% from the SADC region and 23% from other countries). This points to a newer, post-1990 trend in South Africa’s immigration experience; the movement of skilled Africans (as immigrants and asylum seekers) to the country following the demise of apartheid. Nearly 73% of South Africa’s skilled immigrants from Europe entered before 1991. In contrast, some 87% of non-SADC African respondents entered after 1991, highlighting the recency of South Africa’s reconnection to the rest of the continent. SADC-country citizens are about evenly split between the two, indicating that the brain drain from neighbouring states began before the formal end of apartheid. Three quarters of skilled non-citizens (mainly whites) who have been in the country since before mid-1991 are permanent residents. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of skilled non-citizens (mainly blacks) who entered after 1991 (91%) are temporary residents on work permits. Nearly 80% of white skilled residents have permanent residence status compared to only 44% of African non-citizens. A restrictionist immigration policy has done little to correct historical inequalities. White non-citizens enjoy rights and privileges that black non-citizens have difficulty accessing. The vast majority of skilled immigrants in South Africa were in full-time employment at home before they left. While we cannot discount improved job opportunities and prospects as a motive for migration, it is clear that unemployment per se is not the reason why skilled immigrants leave their home country and come to South Africa. Most of South Africa’s skilled immigrant population can therefore be put into one of two groups: (a) white immigrants who entered before 1994 with the security and other rights conferred by permanent residence and (b) black immigrants (more exactly migrants) who have temporary residence status only. The question therefore arises as to what linkages skilled migrants and immigrants maintain with home and their degree of commitment to South Africa: Many non-citizens maintain tangible links with home. One half of the respondents still have a bank account in their home country, 35% still own a house and 34% have investments there. Very few appear to have cut all ties, with only 12% saying they “never” return home. On the other hand, only 16% return home often. Most do so on an irregular basis. Africans are far less likely to do so even though their destinations are closer. These patterns are not unusual. In a transnational world many contemporary immigrants maintain strong and active backward linkages. This does not mean that they are uncommitted to their country of new residence. Only 7% of those with temporary residence and work permits have applied for permanent residence. Is this because they are uninterested or because they see no point in applying since the likelihood of being granted permanent residence is slight? Almost half (45%) said that they would want to become permanent residents if they could, indicating that there is a significant interest in a more lasting commitment to South Africa. South Africa’s skilled non-citizens, both black and white, are highly qualified with 93% holding a post-secondary qualification (and 15% a post-graduate degree. There is a very strong trend for post-1991 arrivals to be better educated. Almost 70% of skilled non-citizens with university degrees and 60% with postgraduate training arrived after 1991. This finding clearly contradicts the idea that the “quality” of immigrants to South Africa has been in decline. Under apartheid, a white skin was the usual passport to entry. Under the new dispensation, skills and value have become much more important determinants. Skilled non-citizens are high wage earners with 25% earning more than R20,000 per month, and 59% earning more than R10,000 per month. White immigrants tend to earn more, on average, that black. The survey showed that skilled non-citizens are very satisfied with their personal economic conditions in South Africa, access to health care and quality schooling, and the cost of living. This extends across respondents from differing areas of origin. They are much less satisfied with the standard of services available in South Africa. Finally, there is an overwhelming concern about the lack of personal and family safety. Black non-citizens are far more positive about the future than white, reflecting the same division between white and black South Africans. Several policy-related conclusions and recommendations can be drawn from this research. “Brain drain” pessimism has focused mainly on the exit of skills from South Africa with little focus on what South Africa can do to attract more skilled workers from abroad or to keep those who are already here. Lurking behind much of this one-sided focus is the misguided assumption that national development and skills in-migration are incompatible. In fact, the opposite is the case. There are clearly very important changes afoot in the composition of the skilled foreign workforce in South Africa. Compared to the situation just a decade ago when a similar survey would have been hard pressed to find significant numbers of black skilled workers from the rest of Africa, 41% of this sample were from Africa. This seems to suggest that South Africa is in a position to capitalize on its comparative developmental advantages over the rest of the continent as an attractive destination for skilled workers. At the moment, skilled Africans are widely satisfied with South Africa, and fairly optimistic about its future. What is required to keep them is, first and foremost, a change in their treatment at the hands of ordinary South Africans and their government. In this regard, the problem of keeping skilled Africans appears to be the same problem confronting the formulation of a more rational immigration policy in general: xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination against foreigners, particularly those from the rest of Africa. South Africa has an important opportunity to enter the global market for skilled migrants and immigrants. Further prevarication and suspicion is counter-productive. In the last year, the Minister of Home Affairs has responded to criticism of government policy by proposing a relaxation of rules of entry for skilled immigrants. This has not yet translated into practical policy measures. The new Immigration Bill will produce a new regulatory framework but does not, of itself, guarantee any change unless there is the political will and a changed mindset. We recommend that the ANC government articulate a position on skilled immigration as a matter of priority. Implementation of immigration policy is rightly a line function of the Home Affairs Minister. But it cannot simply be assumed that his views are necessarily those of the ANC. Is the ANC, for example, prepared to endorse and work to implement the Minister’s new stance on skilled migration, as articulated in the Immigration Bill and various public speeches? If so, a major change in South Africa’s restrictionist immigration policy is inevitable

A Review of the Evidence Supporting the Taste of Non‐esterified Fatty Acids in Humans

Dietary fats contribute to the flavor of foods by multiple mechanisms. A role for their taste has only recently gained credence. Current evidence indicates non‐esterified fatty acids (NEFA) are the effective stimuli for the taste component. CD36 and GPR120 are putative receptors, but may not fully account for the totality of the range of sensations elicited by fatty acids. The sensory quality of long‐chain NEFA is not adequately characterized by commonly accepted taste primary qualities and has been termed oleogustus. There is marked individual variability in sensitivity to the taste of NEFA prompting hypotheses of genetic and environmental determinants. Though an association with BMI has been proposed, the preponderance of evidence is not supportive. The importance of oleogustus has not been fully established, but likely contributes to flavor, which influences food choice as well as lipid metabolism and chronic disease risk. A better understanding of oleogustus may provide insights useful for product formulation

Effects of Food Form on Food Intake and Postprandial Appetite Sensations, Glucose and Endocrine Responses, and Energy Expenditure in Resistance Trained Vs. Sedentary Older Adults.

Limited research has suggested that the food form of nutritional supplements (FFNS) and resistance training (RT) influence ingestive behaviour and energy balance in older adults. The effects of the FFNS and RT on acute appetitive, endocrine and metabolic responses are not adequately documented. The present study assessed the effects of the FFNS and RT on postprandial appetite sensations (hunger and fullness), endocrine responses (plasma insulin, cholecystokinin, ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)), metabolism (glucose, energy expenditure and RER) and food intake (satiation) in older adults. On separate days, eighteen sedentary (Sed) and sixteen RT healthy adults (age 62–84 years) consumed 12·5 % of their energy need as an isoenergetic- and macronutrient-matched solid or beverage. Postprandial responses were assessed over 4 h. No RT × FFNS interactions were observed for any parameter. Fasting cholecystokinin was higher in the RT v. Sed group (P \u3c 0·05). RT did not influence fullness, but fullness was higher following the solid v. beverage intake (P \u3c 0·01). Neither RT nor FFNS influenced hunger. Glucose and insulin were higher after the solid v. beverage intake (P \u3c 0·01). Ghrelin, GLP-1 and energy expenditure were not different between the RT and FFNS groups. Postprandial cholecystokinin was higher in the RT v. Sed group (P \u3c 0·01) and for solid v. beverage (P \u3c 0·05). RER was lower for solid v. beverage (P \u3c 0·001). Neither RT nor FFNS independently or interactively influenced food intake 2 h after post-nutritional supplements. In conclusion, RT had little influence on ingestive behaviour. The appetitive and endocrine responses suggested the solid-promoted satiety; however, the FFNS did not alter subsequent food intake

Extracellular matrix-modulated expression of human cell surface glycoproteins A42 and J143. Intrinsic and extrinsic signals determine antigenic phenotype.

Extracellular matrix (ECM)' plays an important regulatory role in cellular growth, migration, and differentiation (1-4). Pathologic processes such as tumor cell invasion and metastasis are also determined by cellular interactions with ECM (5, 6). Biochemical studies have identified collagens, fibronectin, laminin, proteoglycans, and several other proteins as major ECM components (1-3), and have shown that ECM composition varies between different normal and tumor tissues. The complexity and heterogeneity of ECM composition have hampered the molecular analysis of ECM-cell interactions . However, a range of phenotypic changes has been described for cultured cells after transfer from plastic surfaces to substrates coated with native ECM (7, 8) or with purified ECM components; ECM-induced phenotypic changes include enhanced substrate adhesiveness, cell spreading and migration, changes in cell morphology and proliferative activity, and expression of differentiated cellular functions (I-4). Some of these effects, e.g., increased substrate adhesion, may result directly from the binding of specialized cell surface structures to ECM molecules. Others are likely mediated by an active cellular response triggered by the interaction of ECM with cell surface receptors. Thus, ECM-derived signals (9) may activate a cascade of molecular changes within the cell and on the cell surface that account for the pleiotropic effects observed with ECM

Fiber Optic Control System integration for advanced aircraft. Electro-optic and sensor fabrication, integration, and environmental testing for flight control systems

This report describes the design, development, and testing of passive fiber optic sensors and a multiplexing electro-optic architecture (EOA) for installation and flight test on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. This hardware was developed under the Fiber Optic Control Systems for Advanced Aircraft program, part of a multiyear NASA initiative to design, develop, and demonstrate through flight test 'fly-by-light' systems for application to advanced aircraft flight and propulsion control. This development included the design and production of 10 passive optical sensors and associated multiplexed EOA hardware based on wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) technology. A variety of sensor types (rotary position, linear position, temperature, and pressure) incorporating a broad range of sensor technologies (WDM analog, WDM digital, analog microbend, and fluorescent time rate of decay) were obtained from different manufacturers and functionally integrated with an independently designed EOA. The sensors were built for installation in a variety of aircraft locations, placing the sensors in a variety of harsh environments. The sensors and EOA were designed and built to have the resulting devices be as close as practical to a production system. The integrated system was delivered to NASA for flight testing on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. Development and integration testing of the system provided valuable information as to which sensor types were simplest to design and build for a military aircraft environment and which types were simplest to operate with a multiplexed EOA. Not all sensor types met the full range of performance and environmental requirements. EOA development problems provided information on directions to pursue in future fly-by-light flight control development programs. Lessons learned in the development of the EOA and sensor hardware are summarized

Environmental Air Pollutants Inhaled during Pregnancy Are Associated with Altered Cord Blood Immune Cell Profiles

Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may be a risk factor for altered immune maturation in the offspring. We investigated the association between ambient air pollutants during pregnancy and cell populations in cord blood from babies born to mothers with asthma enrolled in the Breathing for Life Trial. For each patient (n = 91), daily mean ambient air pollutant levels were extracted during their entire pregnancy for sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter <10 μm (PM10) or <2.5 μm (PM2.5), humidity, and temperature. Ninety-one cord blood samples were collected, stained, and assessed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Principal Component (PC) analyses of both air pollutants and cell types with linear regression were employed to define associations. Considering risk factors and correlations between PCs, only one PC from air pollutants and two from cell types were statistically significant. PCs from air pollutants were characterized by higher PM2.5 and lower SO2 levels. PCs from cell types were characterized by high numbers of CD8 T cells, low numbers of CD4 T cells, and by high numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and low numbers of myeloid DCs (mDCs). PM2.5 levels during pregnancy were significantly associated with high numbers of pDCs (p = 0.006), and SO2 with high numbers of CD8 T cells (p = 0.002) and low numbers of CD4 T cells (p = 0.011) and mDCs (p = 4.43 × 10−6) in cord blood. These data suggest that ambient SO2 and PM2.5 exposure are associated with shifts in cord blood cell types that are known to play significant roles in inflammatory respiratory disease in childhoo

Effects of an anti-inflammatory VAP-1/SSAO inhibitor, PXS-4728A, on pulmonary neutrophil migration

© Schilter et al. Background and purpose: The persistent influx of neutrophils into the lung and subsequent tissue damage are characteristics of COPD, cystic fibrosis and acute lung inflammation. VAP-1/SSAO is an endothelial bound adhesion molecule with amine oxidase activity that is reported to be involved in neutrophil egress from the microvasculature during inflammation. This study explored the role of VAP-1/SSAO in neutrophilic lung mediated diseases and examined the therapeutic potential of the selective inhibitor PXS-4728A. Methods: Mice treated with PXS-4728A underwent intra-vital microscopy visualization of the cremaster muscle upon CXCL1/KC stimulation. LPS inflammation, Klebsiella pneumoniae infection, cecal ligation and puncture as well as rhinovirus exacerbated asthma models were also assessed using PXS-4728A. Results: Selective VAP-1/SSAO inhibition by PXS-4728A diminished leukocyte rolling and adherence induced by CXCL1/KC. Inhibition of VAP-1/SSAO also dampened the migration of neutrophils to the lungs in response to LPS, Klebsiella pneumoniae lung infection and CLP induced sepsis; whilst still allowing for normal neutrophil defense function, resulting in increased survival. The functional effects of this inhibition were demonstrated in the RV exacerbated asthma model, with a reduction in cellular infiltrate correlating with a reduction in airways hyperractivity. Conclusions and implications: This study demonstrates that the endothelial cell ligand VAP-1/SSAO contributes to the migration of neutrophils during acute lung inflammation, pulmonary infection and airway hyperractivity. These results highlight the potential of inhibiting of VAP-1/SSAO enzymatic function, by PXS-4728A, as a novel therapeutic approach in lung diseases that are characterized by neutrophilic pattern of inflammation

Severity and persistence of asthma and mental health: a birth cohort study

Background. The goal of the current study was to investigate asthma and mental health among youth in the community, and to consider the role of asthma severity and persistence in this link

Cord blood group 2 innate lymphoid cells are associated with lung function at 6 weeks of age.

Objective: Offspring born to mothers with asthma in pregnancy are known to have lower lung function which tracks with age. Human group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) accumulate in foetal lungs, at 10-fold higher levels compared to adult lungs. However, there are no data on foetal ILC2 numbers and the association with respiratory health outcomes such as lung function in early life. We aimed to investigate cord blood immune cell populations from babies born to mothers with asthma in pregnancy. Methods: Cord blood from babies born to asthmatic mothers was collected, and cells were stained in whole cord blood. Analyses were done using traditional gating approaches and computational methodologies (t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding and PhenoGraph algorithms). At 6 weeks of age, the time to peak tidal expiratory flow as a percentage of total expiratory flow time (tPTEF/tE%) was determined as well as Lung Clearance Index (LCI), during quiet natural sleep. Results: Of 110 eligible infants (March 2017 to November 2019), 91 were successfully immunophenotyped (82.7%). Lung function was attempted in 61 infants (67.0%), and 43 of those infants (70.5% of attempted) had technically acceptable tPTEF/tE% measurements. Thirty-four infants (55.7% of attempted) had acceptable LCI measurements. Foetal ILC2 numbers with increased expression of chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule (CRTh2), characterised by two distinct analysis methodologies, were associated with poorer infant lung function at 6 weeks of age." Conclusion: Foetal immune responses may be a surrogate variable for or directly influence lung function outcomes in early life