Im/mobile highly skilled migrants in Qatar*

Most studies on the mobility of highly skilled migrants have been examined with a framework of global talent mobility and under conditions of neoliberal governance and economic globalization. In this study we challenge the notion of the hypermobile knowledge worker. Utilizing mixed methods, we examine the factors that attracted highly skilled migrants to Qatar and the conditions under which they might leave in the future. Rather than finding a group of footloose migrants attracted primarily to high-wage jobs, a lack of taxation or amenities, and with multiple alternative locations of residence, we find that highly skilled migrants exist on a spectrum of immobility. More significantly, this immobility depends on the migrant’s region of origin. For Asian and Western migrants immobility is attributed to the Kafala system or employer sponsorship, which hinders occupational and spatial mobility and ties workers to their sponsors. Arab highly skilled migrants are especially affected by lack of security and stability in their home countries, which makes these workers involuntarily immobile. The former group seem to be willing to accept a reduced level of agency and mobility for high income, whereas for the latter security and stability are more fundamental to their decision to come to Qatar.     

卡塔尔鲁卜哈利盆地古生界生储盖组合特征

卡塔尔鲁卜哈利盆地古生界碎屑岩是油气勘探的新领域,在区域地质研究的基础上,利用石油地质学、储层地质学等理论对古生界的生储盖组合进行研究,并重点分析了盖层发育特征。研究结果表明,卡塔尔鲁卜哈利盆地古生界发育良好的生储盖组合,志留系Qusaiba 热页岩是主力烃源岩,泥盆系Jauf 组滨岸相砂岩和二叠系Unayzah 组河流—三角洲相砂岩是主要储层,二叠系Khuff 组膏岩及底部的海侵泥岩为区域盖层,同时还发育多套局部盖层。盖层的封盖能力是古生界油气勘探的主要风险之一,区域盖层横向分布稳定,且含膏岩,封盖性好,但局部盖层厚度较薄并且泥岩质不纯,夹薄层白云质泥岩和少量粉砂岩,对封盖能力影响较大,盖层风险不容忽视。     

Exploring the motivation and willingness of self-initiated expatriates,in the civil engineering industry,when considering employment opportunities in Qatar

This paper provides empirical and contextual insight into the complexity of Self-Initiated Expatriates’ (SIEs) experiences in a unique setting. Factors that influence SIEs in the civil engineering industry, when considering overseas employment in Qatar, are identified and considered. Drawing comparison to organizational expatriates (OEs), this paper uses semi-structured interviews conducted with professionals from the civil engineering and construction industries. The research surfaced that different factors interconnect to affect individuals’ decisions about overseas employment. Three factors, specifically; location appeal, host country as an employment setting and effect of expatriation on the family, appear to be more influential to participants when the proposed destination is Qatar.     

卡塔尔的外交政策及其实践

海湾小国卡塔尔近年来采取积极的外交政策,多次斡旋中东地区的危机和冲突,缓和了中东政治矛盾和安全局势,取得了令人瞩目的外交成就。卡塔尔采取积极外交政策的动因包括营造和平稳定的发展环境、保护在冲突发生国的利益和提升软实力。同时,雄厚的经济实力、务实的外交政策和丰富的外交资源等因素是卡塔尔外交成功的主要原因。卡塔尔外交为当今世界小国外交带来了启示,其外交实践丰富了国际关系理论。     

Female and foreign: An intersectional exploration of the experiences of skilled migrant women in Qatar

This article explores how the intersection of gender and foreignness shapes the experiences of skilled migrant women. Drawing on interviews with skilled migrant women working in Qatar, we situate their experiences in institutional, organizational and sociocultural terms to show how the intersection is articulated and mobilized to subordinate, marginalize and exclude them in work and social spaces. Findings show that the intersection is used to reinforce the status of the women as outsiders to the country (foreignness) and its cultural order (gender), resulting in structural and qualitative differences in the experiences of the group. In highlighting their nuanced experiences, we contribute to debates about gender, skilled migration and work in the Middle East. We also contribute to intersectionality debates by expanding the conceptual limits and analytical use of social categories of difference to explain experiences of work and unpack the simultaneity of subject positioning within institutional, organizational and sociocultural dynamics.     

卡塔尔的外交政策及其实践

海湾小国卡塔尔近年来采取积极的外交政策,多次斡旋中东地区的危机和冲突,缓和了中东政治矛盾和安全局势,取得了令人瞩目的外交成就。卡塔尔采取积极外交政策的动因包括营造和平稳定的发展环境、保护在冲突发生国的利益和提升软实力。同时,雄厚的经济实力、务实的外交政策和丰富的外交资源等因素是卡塔尔外交成功的主要原因。卡塔尔外交为当今世界小国外交带来了启示,其外交实践丰富了国际关系理论。     

卡塔尔国家形象的构塑

作为地处海湾的阿拉伯小国，卡塔尔在构建国家形象、提升软实力方面走在所有阿拉伯国家的前列，得到了国际社会的广泛认可。这既基于卡塔尔对构建国家形象重要性的深刻认识，也源于西方国家的压力和内部改革的需要，体现了该国领导人的政治智慧和战略眼光。     

Perception of Aging and Ageism among Women in Qatar

The objective of this study was to find out the perceptions of age and aging among women in Qatar. Respondents consisted of 250 women aged between 20 and 70 years, selected from those attending the health centers in Doha city, the capital of Qatar. They were interviewed using a pretested validated questionnaire, and data were collected through direct face-to-face interviews using the incidental sampling method. It was found that physical appearance and mental alertness were the most important criteria for defining aging in men and women. A statistically significant association was found between age of respondents and physical criteria for aging such as hair color (p < .000) in women and body image in men (p < .0298). As for aging characteristics, decreasing hearing ability (p < .000), performance as before (p < .004), more irritability (p < .0227), ability to travel alone (p < .0429), needs check up (p < .001), and needs a geriatric home (p < .001) were statistically associated with age of women studied. Both positive (socializing factors, independence, housework, retirement, and geriatric care) and negative stereotyping (care for self, learning capabilities, irritability, and worries) with regard to aging were evident among the Qatari women. In general, Qatari women had several positive attitudes toward aging. Such attitudes could be utilized in any health promotion for elderly people.     

‘A life path different from one of labour in the Gulf’: Ongoing mobility among Nepali labour migrants in Qatar and their families

Labour migration is commonly attached to the idea of a ‘better’ future for the migrants and their families, but there is less emphasis on how this does not materialize for many labour migrants. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among Nepalis working in Qatar and select families in Nepal, this article focuses on the intergenerational migration cycle or migration as open-ended and ongoing across generations. While the Gulf migration scholarship has mostly concentrated on low-skilled workers, I draw on the cases of migrants across different skill/income levels to show how the migrants’ and/or families’ desires for ‘ongoing mobility’ to the Gulf or the West panned out differently. I argue that despite wanting a different and better life path for the future generation, one unlike theirs of labour in the Gulf, many Gulf migrants are unable to meet these familial expectations; rather, migration histories repeat in a continual quest to overcome economic constraints.