Temporary Labour–Migration System and Long–term Residence Strategies in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates’ migration system, the sponsorship–based kafala system, is defined as a temporary labour–migration regime. Although there are policies making permanent residence unattainable for virtually all migrants, it is still relevant to explore the temporality of migrations in the UAE. The purpose of this study is to investigate developments in migration, migration policies and population trends in the country, including trends that concern the duration of migrants’ stay. We also identify some of the major strategies used by migrants to prolong their sojourn in the UAE. It is maintained that the migrant stock has increased continuously in the last decades and that a large number of migrants devise strategies to continue their residence and remain in the country for years. The authors also identify and discuss migrants’ transition within and in-between regularity and irregularity, and analyse the reasons for utilizing different strategies over time.     

Geographies of meatification: an emerging Asian meat complex

ABSTRACT

The ‘meatification’ of human diets has been subject to increasing scholarly attention in recent years, along with its many impacts. While the rapidly expanding meatification in many Asian countries has been noted, the geographies of these processes have been left largely unexplored. This paper maps the changing geographies of meat with special focus on Southeast Asia. We use Tony Weis’ concept of ‘the industrial grain-oilseed-livestock complex’ to analyse how forms of systemic meatification are taking place in Asia. We map and analyse regional trends in meat production and consumption, as well as trade patterns in meat products and dominant feed crops. We argue that the regional meat complex emerges through increasingly regional development processes and capital, as well as through new South-South connections. The geographies of meatification in Southeast Asia thus constitute an empirical manifestation of the emerging multipolarity of the global food regime.     

Why do children placed out-of-home because of parental substance abuse have less mental health problems than children placed for other reasons?

The purpose of this paper was to compare children placed out-of-home because of parental substance abuse (PSA) with children placed for other reasons (NPSA), and to explore the association between PSA and mental health problems in a Norwegian sample of 6- to 12-year-old children in out-of-home care (N = 109). Several group differences were found related to the children themselves, their families and the Child Welfare case. The PSA children had less total difficulties, conduct problems and emotional problems than the NPSA children assessed by the teachers on the Revised Rutter Scale. However, both groups had far more mental health problems than children in general. The most important variable explaining the group difference in all subgroups of mental health problems was the extent of prosocial behavior in the children, but being placed for behavioral problems also explained a significant part of total difficulties and conduct problems. Variables like gender, discipline problems and socioeconomic conditions did not have a significant effect. The conclusion of the study was that prosocial behavior might be regarded as an important protective factor against mental health problems, which is an argument for investing in programs focusing on enhancing the placed children's mastering strategies.