The protection of migrant workers and international labour standards

International labor standards take the form of Conventions and Recommendations that embody the agreements reached by a 2/3 majority of the representatives of Governments, Employers, and Workers of International Labour Office (ILO) member states. Originally designed to guard against the danger that 1 country or other would keep down wages and working conditions to gain competitive advantage and thereby undermine advances elsewhere, international labor standards have also been inspired by humanitarian concerns--the visible plight of workers and the physical dangers of industrialization and by the notion of social justice, which embraces wellbeing and dignity, security, and equality as well as a measure of participation in economic and social matters. ILO standards apply to workers generally and therefore also to migrant workers, irrespective of the fact that the general standards are complemented by standards especially for migrant workers. The social security protection of migrant workers has been dealt with in ILO instruments primarily from the angle of equality of treatment but also from that of the maintenance of acquired rights and rights in course of acquisition, including the payment of benefits to entitled persons resident abroad. The ILO Conventions on migrant workers and the Recommendations which supplement them deal with practically all aspects of the work and life of non-nationals such as recruitment matters, information to be made available, contract conditions, medical examination and attention, customs, exemption for personal effects, assistance in settling into their new environment, vocational training, promotion at work, job security and alternative employment, liberty of movement, participation in the cultural life of the state as well as maintenance of their own culture, transfer of earnings and savings, family reunification and visits, appeal against unjustified termination of employment or expulsion, and return assistance. ILO's supervisory mechanism consists basically of a dialogue between the ILO and the Government that is responsible for a law, regulation, or practice alleged to be in contravention of principles it voluntarily accepted. The control machinery is often set in motion by workers' organizations. The UN General Assembly is currently elaborating a new instrument designed to cover both regular and irregular migrant workers and their families.     

Social policy and the birthrate

The arguments for and against policy measures designed to increase birth rates in European countries are reviewed. The author concludes that the deterioration of the environment associated with the growth of population in developed countries outweighs any arguments in favor of policy measures to increase fertility.     

From making to being the excuse: An analysis of deception and verbal/nonverbal issues

Excuse-making is defined, and the issues of deception and verbal/nonverbal presentations are discussed in regard to the excuse process. Subsequently, the deception and verbal/nonverbal issues are described in greater detail in the context of whether the excuse occurs temporally after a negative outcome (retrospective), before a negative outcome (anticipatory), or as part of the characterological makeup of the person (incorporated). Going from retrospective to anticipatory to incorporated excuses, it is concluded that the role of nonverbal factors increases. Likewise, in the progression from making to being the excuse, it is argued that self- and other-deception also become more pervasive.     

The developmental implications of migration from and between small island nations

This article discusses the role of migration in relieving population pressures, thus making continuing development possible, using small nations in the Caribbean and the South Pacific as examples. The Caribbean islands and many Pacific islands have used out-migration to ease population pressures in this century. Surplus labor has been emerging in various Caribbean nations, independent of the international marketing problems of plantation agriculture. Rural populations alienated from plantations have had to make do on questionable and/or remote land. Population surpluses appear to originate in rural areas, but little evidence exists to suggest that those surpluses are the basis for the emigration patterns of the Caribbean islands. Emigration does not solve population problems because when ambitious, skilled workers leave their country, their actions have little to do with the existence of domestic surplus labor and their leaving may do little to facilitate domestic labor absorption. Thus, if mini-states wish to sustain their hopes of economic expansion, they must find the means to employ their surplus labor. Since mainly skilled migrants leave, their going may actually slow development and retard opportunities for labor absorption. Population movements internal to the Caribbean region may further complicate surplus labor and/or population problems. If protective entry requirements impede normal inter-island relations, they may interfere with developmental processes. In general, migration is not a feasible strategy for population control for small island nations. While temporary migration has a more positive impact than other forms of migration, problems do exist. For example, temporary migration 1) can impose significant economic costs on the source-country, and 2) may result in the source country being unable to capitalize on its initial investment in training and education of temporary migrants. In conclusion, import substitution through cooperation between small island nations, production for export where feasible, and more attention to more sophisticated international service linkages hold a better prospect for material progress than relying on the export of surplus populations.     

Compulsive gambling and the medical model

The medical model as a conceptual and operative approach to compulsive gambling is discussed. The terms medical model and disease are defined and the practical implications of their application to compulsive gambling are explored. Special attention is given to the addictive disease concept. Finally, a variety of objections to the medical model are described, but it is concluded that the many individual and social advantages of the medical model make it the preferred conceptualization at our present state of knowledge.     

Evidence for a common dissociative-like reaction among addicts

A questionnaire was designed to test selected aspects of the author's General Theory of Addictions (Jacobs, 1982). Data were collected from groups of compulsive gamblers, alcoholics, and compulsive overeaters, and compared with the responses to the same questionnaire obtained from normative samples of adolescents and adults. The more inclusive term, compulsive gambler, has been used throughout, since the sample of gamblers in this study included an inpatient subgroup who had been diagnosed as pathological gamblers, as well as a subgroup of Gamblers Anonymous members who had not been clinically evaluated. Findings support the author's theoretical position that, when indulging, different kinds of addicts will tend to share a common set of dissociativelike experiences that differentiate them from nonaddicts. This has been termed a state of altered identity.     

Elective single mothers and their children: The missing fathers

Elective single mothers are adult, unmarried women who intentionally become mothers. This study utilized longitudinal data about 17 Caucasian, elective single mothers and their children to identify fathers' roles in these families, and to understand children's views of their fathers. These single mothers and their children resided for the first six years of the children's lives in father-absent households. By age six, most of the children had ghost fathers, whom they had never met or knew little about. The data suggest that the father often becomes a family secret, and that children may blame themselves for their fathers' absence.     

Demography and ageing -- a truism highlighted

Since the aging of populations, with its extensive consequences, requires ample planning, demography is the soothsayer of gerontology. The realization that aging is the main demographic event of this century has generated an interdependence among demography, gerontology, and geriatrics, and created a base from which to extrapolate socio-political consequences from population changes. Demography transforms the personal unidimensional experience of aging to a dynamic one which traverses time and geography. Chronological age is not an exclusive criterion; this presents an opportunity to explore avenues grounded in the realms of economics, politics, policy, and culture. The inclusion of demography in international training courses of the International Institute on Aging (United Nations-Malta) has made possible an easier progression toward discussing policy, planning, funding, and social services within a broader context. The dependency of aging upon demography established the collaborative development between the Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED) and INIA and the joint hosting of a synthesis meeting on Population Ageing Research Project. In this collection of papers, Don Rowland creates the concept of the Gerontological Transition which interprets aging as a process of cohort flow; Raul Hernandez, through an evaluation of regional data, provides a classic analysis of changing age ratios within the population as a whole; Anthony Warnes, through use of mortality rates, provides a demographic analysis to expose the age-dependent variability in health and welfare payments; Paul Paillat transposes demographic numbers into social consequences; Miroslav Macura focuses on the youth in these population shifts; and the emerging elderly in the never ending cycle of events are viewed. Planning beyond the individual lifetime will become a necessity for mankind.