Not without them: realising the sustainable development goals for women migrant workers

ABSTRACT

Drawing on multiple data sources, including key informant interviews, participant observation and archival study, this paper provides an analysis of the civil society’s role in foregrounding the agenda of women migrants in migration and development (M&D) fora, and reflects on its role in realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, the dominant narrative within the state-led Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) tends to be a gender-blind migration for development approach, which emphasises national-level economic growth at the centre of migration processes, while negating the subjectivities of women migrants and neglecting their contributions to the global economy; this approach diverts attention to a narrow focus on macro-economic development through forms of financial remittances. Based on an examination of the GFMD as a site for gender mainstreaming M&D, we reflect on lessons learned as we look forward to achieving the SDGs. We argue that while the SDGs include some significant provisions for women in migration, only critical civil society advocacy and activism networked within grassroots organisations can address the structural changes necessary (such as a re-articulation of the care economy to value economic contributions of women’s reproductive work) to transform and improve the lived realities of women in migration and realise the SDGs in a manner that fosters their empowerment.     

Que faut‐il voir dans les écarts de rémunération entre les travailleurs immigrés des pays du Golfe: l'effet d'a priori patronaux ou la simple conséquence de coûts d'opportunité différents?

Les auteurs s'intéressent aux disparités salariales entre les différents groupes de migrants qualifiés qui travaillent en grand nombre pour le secteur privé dans les États du Conseil de coopération du Golfe. Ils se demandent notamment si la prime salariale des Occidentaux (par rapport aux travailleurs venus d'Asie ou d'autres États arabes) découle d'éventuels a priori des employeurs. L'analyse, qui repose sur des données de 2012–2014 et sur deux méthodes de décomposition classiques, infirme l'hypothèse: les caractéristiques observables relatives à la productivité expliquent entre un tiers et trois quarts des écarts; le coût d'opportunité de la migration, supérieur pour les Occidentaux, explique la portion restante.     

Relating supply performance to aircraft availability

This paper describes how the effectiveness of the supply of vital repairable items for an aircraft or weapon system can be measured in terms of the expected number of aircraft grounded because of supply shortages. The properties of this measure are compared with the three alternative methods of assessing supply performance, none of which are directly aircraft or weapon system related. The present applicability of this measure to various situations at RAF Squadron and station level are discussed, together with possible future areas of application.     

Bayesian inferences and forecasts with moving averages processes

This paper will develop Bayesian inferential and forecasting techniques which can be used with any moving average process. By employing the conditional likelihood function, at-approximation to the predictive distribution and the marginal posterior distribution of the moving average parameters is developed. Several examples demonstrate posterior and predictive inferences.     

Facility Location with Dynamic Distance Functions

Facility location problems have always been studied with theassumption that the edge lengths in the network are static anddo not change over time. The underlying network could be used to model a city street networkfor emergency facility location/hospitals, or an electronic network for locating information centers. In any case, it is clear that due to trafficcongestion the traversal time on links changes with time. Very often, we have estimates as to how the edge lengths change over time, and our objective is to choose a set of locations (vertices) ascenters, such that at every time instant each vertex has a center close to it (clearly, the center close to a vertex may change over time). We also provide approximation algorithms as well as hardness results forthe K-center problem under this model. This is the first comprehensive study regarding approximation algorithmsfor facility location for good time-invariant solutions.     

Bayesian estimation for the Pareto income distribution

The Bayes estimators of the Gini index, the mean income and the proportion of the population living below a prescribed income level are obtained in this paper on the basis of censored income data from a pareto income distribution. The said estimators are obtained under the assumptions of a two-parameter exponential prior distribution and the usual squared error loss function. This work is also extended to the case when the income data are grouped and the exact incomes for the individuals in the population are not available. The method for the assessment of the hyperparameters is also outlined. Finally, the results are generalized for the doubly truncated gamma prior distribution. Now deceased.     

Can Psychosocial Intervention Improve Peer and Sibling Relations Among War‐affected Children? Impact and Mediating Analyses in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Social resources are considered important protectors in traumatic conditions, but few studies have analyzed their role in psychosocial interventions among war‐affected children. We examined (1) whether a psychosocial intervention (teaching recovery techniques, TRT) is effective in improving peer and sibling relations, and (2) whether these potentially improved relations mediate the intervention's impacts on children's mental health. Participants were 428 Palestinian children [10–13 (mean = 11.29, standard deviation SD = .68)‐year‐old girls (49.4 percent) and boys (50.6 percent)], who were cluster‐randomized into the TRT and wait‐list control groups. They reported the quality of peer (friendship and loneliness) and sibling (intimacy, warmth, conflict, and rivalry) relations, and posttraumatic stress, depressive and psychological distress symptoms, as well as psychosocial well‐being at baseline (T1), postintervention (T2), and six month follow‐up (T3). Results showed gender‐specific TRT intervention effects: Loneliness in peer relations reduced among boys and sibling rivalry reduced among girls. The TRT prevented the increase in sibling conflict that happened in the control group. The mediating hypothesis was partially substantiated for improved peer relations, and beneficial changes in sibling relations were generally associated with improved mental health.     

Bayesian classification with multivariate autoregressive sources that might have different orders

The main objective of this paper is to develop an exact Bayesian technique that can be used to assign a multivariate time series realization to one of several autoregressive sources, with unknown coefficients and precision, that might have different orders. The foundation of the proposed technique is to develop the posterior mass function of a classification vector, in an easy form, using the conditional likelihood function. A multivariate time series realization is assigned to the multivariate autoregressive source with the largest posterior probability. A simulation study, with uniform prior mass function, is carried out to demonstrate the performance of the proposed technique and to test its adequacy in handling the multivariate classification problems. The analysis of the numerical results supports the adequacy of the proposed technique in solving the classification problems with multivariate autoregressive sources.     

An interactive decision support system for an aggregate production planning model based on multiple criteria mixed integer linear programming

In this paper, we present an aggregate production planning (APP) model applied to a Portuguese firm that produces construction materials. A multiple criteria mixed integer linear programming (MCMILP) model is developed with the following performance criteria: (1) maximize profit, (2) minimize late orders, and (3) minimize work force level changes. It includes certain operational features such as partial inflexibility of the work force, legal restrictions on workload, work force size (workers to be hired and downsized), workers in training, and production and inventory capacity. The purpose is to determine the number of workers for each worker type, the number of overtime hours, the inventory level for each product category, and the level of subcontracting in order to meet the forecasted demand for a planning period of 12 months. Additionally, a decision support system (DSS) based on the MCMILP model is proposed. It will help practitioners find the “best” solution for an APP problem without having to familiarize themselves with the mathematical complexities associated with the model. An example to illustrate the use of the DSS is also included.