Choice and constraint in migrant worker acculturation: towards a new approach

Following the unprecedented level of immigration into the UK in recent years, the issue features on a number of policy agendas, notably those around employment, where the impact of migrant workers and their relationships with indigenous workers have become topics of considerable debate. In the light of the existing evidence around migrant workers’ experience of being de-skilled and de-valued (e.g. Anderson et al 2006, Currie 2007) as well as indigenous workers’ potential hostility emerging from their fears of wage depression and substitution, the important question of how migrants negotiate their relationships within workplaces remains largely unexplored. Assuming that migrant workers are likely to be an important part of the national economy for the foreseeable future, it is time to ask the questions of how migrants negotiate their ‘fit’ into the British work environment, and how that is shaped and managed over time. In the first part of the paper we critically review the traditional conceptions of immigrant acculturation into the host society. The key concern of contemporary theories of acculturation has been with identifying individual’s orientations and how these relate to psychological adaptation (e.g. Berry 1990, Berry and Sam 1997). Significant here are also the models that recognise the interplay between hosts and migrants in forming the dispositions of the other. For example, the work of Bourhis and Montreuil (2001) suggests a variety of forms that may arise from combinations of migrants and hosts in relation to the preferred strategy of each. More recent adaptations of these frameworks have attempted to address the context dependency of acculturation strategies adopted by both migrants and indigenous members (e.g. Navas et al 2005). These latter models reveal important aspects of the divisions between public and private domains, real and ideal situations, and the ways that these can change over time. However, it is our contention that they remain limited by their location in an overly cognitive framework and a positivist research paradigm. In the second part of the paper we critically engage with this research and apply a discourse analytic approach to acculturation as a means of addressing some of the issues. We argue that despite their sophistication extant models reproduce overly static and de-contextualised accounts of acculturation. For instance, participants are methodologically fixed into a restricted number of mutually exclusive positions (either to integrate or segregate). Moreover, these positions are seen to point towards the same underlying attitudes within and across particular studies despite their taking place in different socio-historical settings (Bowskill et al 2007), most particularly labour markets. Further, such models assert the individualistic nature of the processes involved, glossing the socio-political construction of the meaning and value of acculturation. Locating the desire for, or opposition to, integration in the minds of individuals risks reifying the construct and shutting down the ways in which social practices serve to privilege or denigrate particular strategies, as well as placing the burden of adjustment on those least able to bear it. In place of these static typologies Bowskill et al suggest acculturation issues are better analysed through approaches that pay attention to ‘the micro-level construction and functions of…broader interpretive resources’ (796) but which are supplemented by a ‘macro-level attention to more global patterns of acculturation discourse and their implications for power relations’ (796). Following this approach we propose and operationalise a research agenda that pays close attention to the everyday accounts proffered by workplace actors detailing their ‘action-oriented function’ (Bowskill et al 2007: 799) and exploring their patterning by broader forces within the workplace and beyond. We present evidence around the ways in which forms of integration are positioned as moral ‘goods’; the role that indigenous workers, employers and trade unions play in such positioning; and the ways in which such positioning is accepted/contested in everyday rhetorical practice. As such the research shows how influential are the types of relationships between differing migrant groups, but also among members of the in-group, in constructing identity. For instance, based on their own observations and experiences of working next to each other, Polish individuals undergo a continual process of becoming in which they set up a contrast between themselves and other members of the in-group but also with the Romanian workers who are constructed implicitly as Poles’ opposites. This positions Polish migrant workers outside certain anticipated norms of behaviour but also under an expectation to learn them

DLTS and FTIR study of quenching induced defects in germanium

Due to the high carrier mobility in Ge, it is more and more used as active semiconducting layer in advanced electronic devices on Si substrates [1]. Successful growth, doping and further processing of Ge requires however a good understanding of the intrinsic point defect properties that are unfortunately not well known. The present paper reports on the progress of an effort to determine the formation energy and diffusivity of the vacancy in Ge using thermal quenching techniques [2]. Experimental data on the thermal equilibrium concentration and diffusivity of vacancies in Ge are scarce and most are more than 40 years old. Most of the experimental data were obtained based on thermal quenching experiments assuming that the formed acceptors are due to quenched-in vacancies so that their concentration and formation energy can be determined from measured resistivity changes. The formation energy of the vacancy in its different charge states has recently also been calculated using ab initio calculations which showed that the (double) negatively charged vacancy has the lowest formation energy of about 2 eV in good agreement with the acceptor formation energy determined from the quenching experiments. Based on vacancy mediated dopant diffusion studies, Brotzmann et al [3] also concluded that the double negatively charged vacancy is the most probable charge state of the vacancy. In this contribution, the quenched-in acceptors are studied using deep-level transient spectroscopy. As Cu is known as contaminant which is difficult to avoid when quenching Ge, the electric properties of the quenched-in acceptors are carefully compared with those of substitutional Cu. Although at first glance similarities are striking, remarkable differences are also observed and discussed. [1] J. Vanhellemont and E. Simoen, J. Electrochem. Soc. 154 (2007), p. H572. [2] J. Vanhellemont, J. Lauwaert, A. Witecka, P. Spiewak, I. Romandic and P. Clauws, Physica B 404 (2009), p. 4529. [3] S. Brotzmann and H. Bracht, J. Appl. Phys. 103 (2008), p. 033508

Temperature-independent slow carrier emission from deep-level defects in p-type germanium

In the deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) spectra of the 3d-transition metals cobalt and chromium in p-type germanium, evidence is obtained that hole emission from defect levels can occur by two parallel paths. Besides classical thermal emission, we observed a second, slower and temperature-independent emission. We show that this extra emission component allows determining unambiguously whether or not multiple DLTS peaks arise from the same defect. Despite similar characteristics, we demonstrate that the origin of the non-thermal emission is not tunnelling but photoionization related to black-body radiation from an insufficiently shielded part of the cryostat

Field-enhanced electron capture by iron impurities in germanium

The dependence of electronic properties of a deep level on electric field is relevant for better understanding of its impact on device characteristics. However, direct observation of the field assisted free carrier capture in DLTS is difficult, since in filling pulse experiments, during the applied pulse, no electric field is expected in the neutral part of the semiconducting substrate. For this reason isothermal DLTS measured as a function of pulse duration is an accurate technique to determine capture cross-sections in absence of electric field. On the other hand, when observing the emission of a carrier in conventional DLTS, an electric field ís present. In this work we applied the double pulse DLTS technique to measure the emission rates of Fe(2-/-) for different temperatures and electric fields. Data analysis revealed that an electric field affects the emission rate mainly through the pre-exponential factor, which is proportional to the capture cross section. An empirical electrical field dependence of the electron capture cross section for a negatively charged iron impurity was deduced

Quality Maintenance of Production Equipment: A Case Study of Bendel Feeds and Mills, Ewu, Edo State

This paper analyses the quality maintenance in Bendel Feeds and Mills, Ewu, Edo State, with a view of designing a robust maintenance process and schedule to enhance production equipment in the company. The specific objectives were to determine the failure rate in the company production equipment, establish the appropriate maintenance process needed to reduce failure rate, investigate whether the current material handling methods and practices permit high maintenance turnover and to proffer useful suggestions and ideas on how to effectively maintain production equipment in the company. Data obtained were used to analyse the materials handling equipment failure rate, MTTR, MTBF, availability, failure mode and work station. The results showed that the failure rate is more in bucket elevator equipment than other materials handling equipment. It was observed that the plant organisational structure is area controlled instead of centre controlled organisation, which is one of the problems of the plant maintenance policy adopted by the company. Maintenance of materials handling equipment of the plant can be better achieved through modified planned preventive maintenance, condition base maintenance (predictive) and equipment inspection. This analysis will be of tremendous help to practicing maintenance engineering

Morris Water Maze Learning in Two Rat Strains Increases the Expression of the Polysialylated Form of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule in the Dentate Gyrus But Has No Effect on Hippocampal Neurogenesis

In the current study, the authors investigated whether Morris water maze learning induces alterations in hippocampal neurogenesis or neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) polysialylation in the dentate gyrus. Two frequently used rat strains, Wistar and Sprague–Dawley, were trained in the spatial or the nonspatial version of the water maze. Both training paradigms did not have an effect on survival of newly formed cells that were labeled 7–9 days prior to the training or on progenitor proliferation in the subgranular zone. However, the granule cell layer of the spatially trained rats contained significantly more positive cells of the polysialylated form of the NCAM. These data demonstrate that Morris water maze learning causes plastic change in the dentate gyrus without affecting hippocampal neurogenesis.

Design and Development of Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris) Shelling Machine

The design and construction of a beans shelling machine, using locally available materials is presented. A detailed design of the various machine components was done, and the appropriate engineering materials were selected for various parts of the machine. A working drawing, detailing the machine components was done for the shop floor fabrication of the machine. The results of the performance evaluation carried out, showed that a shelling efficiency of 81.3% was obtained. The machine has a capacity of 100kg/hr of unshelled beans and a production cost of forty-one thousand, one hundred and fifty naira (N41,150). Keywords: Beans, Shelling Machine, Efficiency, Vibration