Gender-sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision making (ROAD) to support WiF2

The Gender-Sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision Making (ROAD) to Support WiF-2 (ROAD migration project), a partnership coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Australian National University, American University Beirut, Lincoln University, and University of Dhaka, evaluated the ILO-DFID Partnership Programme on Fair Recruitment and Decent Work for Women Migrant Workers in South Asia and the Middle East (Work in Freedom, Phase 2 project [WiF-2]), which operated from 2018 to 2023. The WiF-2 project specifically aimed “to reduce vulnerability to trafficking and forced labour of women and girls across migration pathways leading to the care sector and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries (TCLFI) of South Asia and Arab States” (ToC WiF-2)

Reducing vulnerability to forced labour and trafficking of women migrant workers from South- to West-Asia

Millions of short-term, low-skilled women migrant workers from South-Asia to West-Asia experience exploitative and unsafe conditions. We review evidence from literature and interview 18 key informants to assess the exploitation migrant women face, and highlight the impacts of past interventions to determine their potential, and realised effectiveness, in reducing forced labour and trafficking. We find that women face varied precarious situations along the migration pathway, including interactions with recruiters in the home country, incurring debt, pre-departure formalities and training, withheld wages and mobility restrictions. We discuss varying degrees of success of mechanisms that aim to reduce vulnerability to forced labour

Reducing vulnerability to forced labor and trafficking of short-term, low-skilled women migrant workers in the South Asia to Middle East corridor

Millions of female migrants experience various forms of exploitative and unsafe conditions when migrating for employment and income generation, both in countries of origin and in destination countries. Vulnerabilities increased further due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing income and job losses, entrapment in countries of destination without financial or social support and stigmatization upon return. One of the key migration routes travelled by millions of migrants is from South Asia to the Middle East. We examine this migration route for low-skilled female migrant workers highlighting the impacts of interventions along the migration pathway to determine the effectiveness of alternative mechanisms for reducing forced labour and trafficking. We draw lessons from the literature as well as from interviews with key informants in the field, including academics, development partners, NGO workers, and policymakers, to identify promising interventions that successfully reduce the vulnerability of women migrants. We find that, while Covid-19 has increased migrant vulnerability, it has also exposed the current system’s violations in facilitating trafficking and exacerbating poor working conditions

RAD51 foci as a biomarker predictive of platinum chemotherapy response in ovarian cancer

PURPOSE: To determine the ability of RAD51 foci to predict platinum chemotherapy response in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patient-derived samples. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: RAD51 and γH2AX nuclear foci were evaluated by immunofluorescence in HGSOC patient-derived cell lines (n = 5), organoids (n = 11), and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples (discovery n = 31, validation n = 148). Samples were defined as RAD51-High if \u3e10% of geminin-positive cells had ≥5 RAD51 foci. Associations between RAD51 scores, platinum chemotherapy response, and survival were evaluated. RESULTS: RAD51 scores correlated with in vitro response to platinum chemotherapy in established and primary ovarian cancer cell lines (Pearson r = 0.96, P = 0.01). Organoids from platinum-nonresponsive tumors had significantly higher RAD51 scores than those from platinum-responsive tumors (P \u3c 0.001). In a discovery cohort, RAD51-Low tumors were more likely to have a pathologic complete response (RR, 5.28; P \u3c 0.001) and to be platinum-sensitive (RR, ∞; P = 0.05). The RAD51 score was predictive of chemotherapy response score [AUC, 0.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78-1.0; P \u3c 0.001). A novel automatic quantification system accurately reflected the manual assay (92%). In a validation cohort, RAD51-Low tumors were more likely to be platinum-sensitive (RR, ∞; P \u3c 0.001) than RAD51-High tumors. Moreover, RAD51-Low status predicted platinum sensitivity with 100% positive predictive value and was associated with better progression-free (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33-0.85; P \u3c 0.001) and overall survival (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.75; P = 0.003) than RAD51-High status. CONCLUSIONS: RAD51 foci are a robust marker of platinum chemotherapy response and survival in ovarian cancer. The utility of RAD51 foci as a predictive biomarker for HGSOC should be tested in clinical trials

Die opleiding van bedryfsielkundiges aan die Univeristeit van Stellenbosch

The original publication is available at http://www.sajip.co.zaDie aanbieding van Bedryfsielkunde aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch gaan sover terug as 1943 toe daar binne die Departement Sielkunde met 'n afsonderlike kursus in Bedryfsielkunde vir B.Comm.-studente 'n begin gemaak is. Hierdie kursus is in 1949 uitgebrei tot die derde jaar, toe dit moontlik geword het om 'n B.Comm.-graad met Bedryfsielkunde as een van die hoofvakke te behaal.Publishers' Versio

A Conceptual Framework for the Development of Argumentation Skills Using CSCL in a Graduate Students’ Research Course

Developing and presenting a well-formulated research argument is core to the learning journey of a graduate student. In open distance e-learning, computer-supported learning is instrumental in providing a platform for graduate students to develop their argumentation skills. However, there is little guidance on the elements required in using computer supportive collaborative learning (CSCL) to augment argumentation skills development (ASD). This paper reports on elements identified in literature that should be present in a framework using CSCL to augment ASD. The thematically analysed data gathered during the focus group sessions were used to confirm the structure of the argumentation skills development framework (ASDF), and confirmed that there is a need for a framework to provide guidance in using CSCL to augment ASD. The contribution includes the conceptual ASDF using CSCL, comprising seven elements, that provides a strategy of scaffolded learning for implementation in a graduate course to augment ASD

Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI): A tool to monitor progress on the reduction of forced labour and human trafficking

Evidence on the number of migrant women affected by forced labour and human trafficking is scant. Even more alarmingly, little is known about the role of women’s agency in migration. In this paper, we develop the conceptual framework and key elements of a Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI) that aims to reflect the multiple dimensions of agency of female migrants. We argue that WEMI is integral to monitoring progress towards SDG 8.7 on the eradication of forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Since the 1990s there has been a particular focus on women’s empowerment in agriculture with burgeoning evidence on the negative consequences of the gender gap and increasing feminisation of agriculture. Existing country-level indices like the Gender Development Index (GDI) or the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) have been widely adapted for measuring progress, but are inadequate to measure empowerment at the individual level as defined by Kabeer (1999). Kabeer (1999) defines empowerment “as a process by which people expand their ability to make strategic life choices” (Malapit et al. 2019). Kabeer’s framework has been used as a basis for the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), a multidimensional index based on individual-level data of male and female household members (Alkire et al. 2013). Based on the notion of three types of agency (Malapit et al. 2019), intrinsic agency (power within); instrumental agency (power to); and collective agency (power with) this paper develops, to our knowledge, the first tool to measure empowerment of migrant women. The WEMI includes five dimensions beyond the WEAI, including control over the use of remittances, the experience of abuse at work, access to social networks, physical mobility and time-use agency. As women’s empowerment affects and is affected by different stages of the migration process, the WEMI aims to reflect changes in the agency of women across different stages of migration: pre-departure/potential migrants (in the country of origin), migrants during the migration stage (from departure training, to being fully integrated at the country of work), at work in host country and following the return to the country of origin. The WEMI will advance research over earlier assessments of women’s experiences in the migration process beyond more seemingly objective indicators, such as income, health and nutrition to incorporate subjective wellbeing statements in the migration literature. The framework and index will be tested in Bangladesh in districts with high international migration of women to Middle Eastern countries, including the garment sector in Jordan and as domestic care workers in Lebanon