Fixed laws, fluid lives: the citizenship status of post-retirement migrants in the European Union

This paper presents key findings of a recently completed socio-legal study of international retirement migration in the European Union (EU).1 It highlights the diverse nature of retirement migration and the differential citizenship status that is formally granted to various groups of retired migrants. ‘Citizenship of the European Union’ (Articles 17–22 of the Treaty establishing the European Community) bestows important social and political rights on nationals of EU Member States (‘Community nationals ’). These rights are not, however, universal or based on nationality as such. In practice, the residency and social rights that a mobile EU national can claim in another Member State depend on the type of social contribution they have made and their personal relationships. Contributions through paid employment and/or membership of the family of a mobile EU worker gives rise to maximum social benefit. Whilst the European Union citizenship provisions extend residency rights to all EU nationals (irrespective of work status), those whose mobility is not connected to employment derive significantly inferior social entitlements when resident in a host Member State. Put simply, the rights of people (and members of their family) who move following retirement in their home country differ substantially from those who retire following a period of working in another Member State (and achieve the status of ‘community migrant worker’ prior to retirement). This formal ‘ discrimination ’ is further compounded by the diversity of the social welfare systems of the member states that results in distinct social, economic and spatial inequalities across the EU. To that extent, the ‘choice’ of retirement location significantly impacts on citizenship status. However, retired migrants are not merely passive spectators of formal rights and policies. Many show considerable skill in actively managing their rights (at both national and EU levels) and other resources to optimise personal benefit. This ability to maximise wellbeing is unevenly distributed

Mobile professional voluntarism and international development : killing me softly?

This book explores the impact that professional volunteers have on the low resource countries they choose to spend time in. Whilst individual volunteering may be of immediate benefit to individual patients, this intervention may have detrimental effects on local health systems; distorting labour markets, accentuating dependencies and creating opportunities for corruption. Improved volunteer deployment may avoid these risks and present opportunities for sustainable systems change. The empirical research presented in this book stems from a specific volunteering intervention funded by the Tropical Health Education Trust and focused on improving maternal and newborn health in Uganda. However, important opportunities exist for policy transfer to other contexts

The ethics of educational healthcare placements in low and middle income countries : first do no harm?

This book examines the current state of elective placements of medical undergraduate students in developing countries and their impact on health care education at home. Drawing from a recent case study of volunteer deployment in Uganda, the authors provide an in-depth evaluation of the impacts on the students themselves and the learning outcomes associated with placements in low resource settings, as well as the impacts that these forms of student mobility have on the host settings. In addition to reviewing the existing literature on elective placements, the authors outline a potential model for the future development of ethical elective placements. As the book concurs with an increasing international demand for elective placements, it will be of immediate interest to universities, intermediary organizations, students as consumers, and hosting organisations in low-resource settings

The Effect of Temperature on D-lactate Production during Male Courtship in the Brush-legged Wolf Spider Schizocosa ocreata

2012 Undergraduate Research Scholarship2012 Newark Undergraduate Research Forum Winner. First Place Biological SciencesWolf spiders (Lycosidae), like all spiders, are ectothermic, meaning that their body temperature is similar to the temperature of the surrounding environment. This puts added constraints on their ability to perform both aerobically and anaerobically. Thus, temperature directly affects behavioral vigor (performance) which is tied to reproductive success in wolf spiders. It stands to reason that individuals with greater performance capacity (higher respiration limits), regardless of temperature, should achieve greater mating success. In this experiment we will be analyzing the production of D-lactate (a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism in wolf spiders) in tissues of the brush-legged wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata. Males of this species actively seek and court females in the leaf litter habitat of eastern deciduous forests during the spring breeding season. Males are regularly exposed to thermal variation (sun/shade) as they move through the litter and it has been suggested that they are behaviorally maintaining body temperature above ambient, which would increase behavioral vigor and potentially increase mating opportunities. The objective will be to establish D-lactate production levels (minimum and maximum) for males at predetermined substrate temperatures that represent the seasonally appropriate thermal minimum, mean, and maximum in the natural habitat. The resulting estimates of optimum anaerobic performance temperature will confirm that there is variance among males in anaerobic performance, and further, will allow us to better predict what thermal sites males should pick to optimize courtship. Ultimately, we will be able to explore whether the anaerobic capacity of preferred males is higher than less preferred males, in this as of yet unexplored aspect of sexual selection in this well-studied animal model.The College of Education and Human Ecology through the Undergraduate Research ScholarshipOffice of the Research Coordinator, Ohio State NewarkNo embarg

Optimising student learning on international placements in low income settings

This paper challenges the assumption that student visits to low resource settings inevitably promote the acquisition of cultural competence. Much of the literature and marketing rhetoric advocating the expansion of such ‘exposures’ lists numerous positive outcomes with an emphasis on ‘cultural learning’. With important exceptions, the concept of cultural learning remains uncontested, nestling in the fluffy haze of an inherently benevolent multi-culturalism. The emphasis in current research is on ‘learning’ or ‘competency’ at the expense of definitional clarity around the concept of culture itself. This results in a tendency to overemphasise (and essentialise) difference rather than commonality and conflates cultural learning with narrow (stereotypical) concepts of race, ethnicity and religion. The paper discusses the experiences of students undertaking placements in Uganda through Knowledge For Change, a UK charity hosting the Ethical Educational Placements project, to identify and critique this dimension of ‘learning’. Using an action-research approach combining observational research with qualitative interviews and surveys the paper uncovers the nuance of cultural learning. In important respects the behaviour that students are witnessing and attributing to culture is connected more to the specific organisational contexts that they are placed in and the patient groups they ‘serve’ than any connection to an homogenous ‘national’ culture. Poverty and gender inequality, amongst many other forms of structural inequality, result in ‘othering’ behaviour on the part of health workers towards patients that is a fundamental characteristic of public health organisations in residualised welfare systems. In this complex environment, cultural learning is not so much about celebrating difference. It is more about understanding social context and accepting that you don’t and can’t possibly know a person’s situation; and with that in mind you should treat everyone with the same degree of humility and respect. Adopting and practising ‘epistemic humility’ (Hanson et al 2011; Ahmed, Ackers-Johnson & Ackers 2017) is crucial to meaningful learning in any context. Further, a lack of understanding of the broader structural processes perpetuates inequalities between the Global North and South (Husih, 2012; Ahmed, Ackers-Johnson & Ackers, 2017) and impedes knowledge acquisition, particularly cultural learning. Moreover, hubris – or Western students’ assumptions of superiority over host health care workers (Bauer, 2017; Elit et al, 2011, Ahmed, Ackers-Johnson & Ackers, 2017) – may act as a further obstacle to cultural learning. Cultural learning is as much about learning about ourselves and what it feels like to be ‘othered’ as it is learning about others. International placements in LMICs create critical opportunities for relevant student learning. But achieving this and guarding against the risks of ‘mis-learning’ requires the level of cultural brokerage provided by ‘More Knowledgeable Others’ that we take for granted with clinical learning

Healthcare, frugal innovation, and professional voluntarism : a cost-benefit analysis

This book investigates what international placements of healthcare employees in low resource settings add to the UK workforce and the efficacy of its national health system. The authors present empirical data collected from a volunteer deployment project in Uganda focused on reducing maternal and new-born mortality and discuss the learning and experiential outcomes for UK health care professionals acting as long term volunteers in low resource settings. They also develop a model for structured placement that offers optimal learning and experiential outcomes and minimizes risk, while shedding new light on the role that international placements play as part of continuing professional development both in the UK and in other sending countries