bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Organizing the Unorganizable: Unions, NGOs, and Indonesian Migrant Labour
Authors: Ford Michele 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThere has been little engagement between the organized labour and labour migration literatures. Studies of organized labour movements in Asia have traditionally focused on trade unions that organize workers in factories, in offices, and on the plantations of the countries in which those unions are based, or on international cooperation between such unions. Studies of migrant labour, on the other hand, have tended to emphasize the demographic features of labour migration flows, or the experiences of migrant workers in either their country of origin or their host society. Yet, with the help of local and international non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), migrant workers from countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia are beginning to organize both at home and abroad. This article examines the emergence and operation of both migrant labour NGOs and migrant labour associations from a labour movement perspective. It focuses on the schism between the literature on labour migration, in which descriptions of migrant labour NGOs most often appear, and the literature on organized labour, which has generally ignored both the increasing significance of temporary overseas labour migration and the role of non‐union bodies in the organization of labour. Examples from Indonesia and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (herinafter Hong Kong) are used to argue that the experiences of migrant labour NGOs and migrant labour associations should be taken more seriously by trade unions and by the scholars who study them.
Nationality Matters: SARS and Foreign Domestic Workers' Rights in Taiwan Province of China
Authors: Loveband Anne 
Published: December 2004

AbstractTaiwan suffered the third largest national outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) during the first half of 2003. A crisis often illuminates issues of power and control, and the SARS crisis highlighted important patterns in Taiwan's utilization of foreign labour in general and foreign domestic labour in particular. Firstly, inequalities between Taiwanese citizens and non‐Taiwanese migrant domestic workers were both magnified and illuminated at the level of nation and at the level of household in terms of confinement. Secondly, the generalization and intensification of existing patterns of abuse resulted in this abuse coming to light in the public arena. Notably, these issues only became known when they were brought to the attention of both the public and the state, and this occurred largely through the actions of Filipina domestic workers via the media and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs). The reason that such issues could be brought into the open for public debate was a matter of nationality. Importantly, the epidemic served to articulate the issue of the differential access of migrant domestic workers to information about their rights and the range of factors that facilitate or impede such access.This paper explores the centrality of issues of nationality to understanding the migration experiences of Indonesian and Filipina domestic workers in Taiwan by considering how SARS played out for them in terms of their occupational location, their national background, their access to support and information networks regarding rights, and their official representation. The paper seeks to expand our understanding of the experiences of migrant domestic workers in Taiwan by means of my research on Indonesian domestic workers. However, I would argue that this case study is not just an empirical curiosity but that it is instructive in a broader theoretical sense. Understanding the nationality issue stands at the core of understanding the diversity of experiences of migrant domestic workers in any given geographic and temporal location. If we combine this factor together with the key variables of the relationship to the state and the relationship to the employer, as Bridget Anderson (2000) suggests, we move closer to a more incisive and less reductionist understanding of the factors which shape the living and working conditions of migrant domestic workers.
The Trafficking of Migrant Workers: What are the Links Between Labour Trafficking and Corruption?
Authors: Richards Kathy 
Published: December 2004

AbstractTrafficking in human beings, including the trafficking of persons for migrant labour exploitation is a violation of human rights. Yet what is often neglected in deliberations on the situation of trafficked migrant workers is the existence of the overarching discourse of universal human rights protecting all workers, regardless of situation, exploitation, or legal status. International human rights standards do offer protection to migrant workers that ought to be more widely applied. Yet there remains reluctance by states to offer trafficked migrant workers little more than scant protection for fundamental rights.Attempting to locate and describe the subject of labour trafficking is currently conducted at the peril of simplifying the issues to a few basic and inadequate descriptions. While it is speculated that the worker subjected to labour trafficking is multifaceted, distinct features are largely unknown. The limitations in drawing conclusions are primarily due to a lack of data on the number and circumstances of trafficked migrant workers.This paper will also analyse how and where corruption oils the wheels of trafficking networks. It is suggested that a symbiotic relationship between corruption and trafficking exists, a relationship that both increases risks for migrant workers and facilitates the processes of trafficking of people for labour exploitation. Consequently it should be crucial that any analysis of labour trafficking allocates significant resources to identifying the particulars of a possible relationship between trafficking and corruption. However, to the detriment of holistic strategies to understand and combat labour trafficking, corruption is yet to be named and targeted in most anti‐trafficking statistical research or policy studies. This paper concludes with a summary of three sets of recommendations on approaches to address labour trafficking, and in part address the corruption that intersects with labour trafficking.
Motility: mobility as capital
Authors: Kaufmann Vincent , Bergman Manfred Max , Joye Dominique 
Published: December 2004

Social and territorial structures form intricate relations that transcend a social stratification or spatial focus. Territorial features and geographic displacements are structuring principles for society, as societal features and social change effect the structure and use of territory. Based on our examination of the conceptual and theoretical links between spatial and social mobility, we propose a concept that represents a new form of inequality. Termed ‘motility’, this construct describes the potential and actual capacity of goods, information or people to be mobile both geographically and socially. Three major features of motility — access, competence and appropriation — are introduced. In this article, we focus on conceptual and theoretical contributions of motility. In addition, we suggest a number of possible empirical investigations. Motility presents us with an innovative perspective on societal changes without prematurely committing researchers to work within structuralist or postmodern perspectives. More generally, we propose to revisit the fluidification debate in the social sciences with a battery of questions that do not begin and end with whether or not society is in flux. Instead, we introduce a field of research that takes advantage of the insights from competing paradigms in order to reveal the social dynamics and consequences of displacements in geographic and social space.Les structures sociales et territoriales forment des relations complexes qui dépassent toute stratification sociale ou convergence spatiale. Les caractéristiques territoriales et déplacements géographiques sont, pour la société, des principes structurants, tout comme les caractéristiques sociétales et le changement social font naître la structure et l'usage d'un territoire. A partir d'un examen des liens conceptuels et théoriques entre les mobilités spatiale et sociale, cet article propose un concept traduisant une nouvelle forme d'inégalité: appelé‘motilité’, il décrit le potentiel et l'aptitude réelle des marchandises, informations ou individus àêtre mobiles sur un plan tant géographique que social. Trois traits essentiels de la motilité— accès, compétence et appropriation — sont présentés. Si l'article s'attache aux contributions conceptuelles et théoriques de la motilité, il suggère aussi plusieurs axes possibles d'études empiriques. La motilité offre une perspective novatrice sur les changements sociétaux, sans engager prématurément les travaux de recherches sur des rails structuralistes ou post‐modernes. Plus généralement, il s'agit de revisiter le débat sur la fluidification en sciences sociales à l'aide d'une batterie de questions qui, ni au début ni à la fin, ne demande si la société est fluctuante ou non. En revanche, l'article propose un domaine de recherches qui exploite les réflexions tirées de paradigmes concurrents afin de révéler la dynamique sociale et les conséquences des déplacements dans l'espace géographique et social.
Territories in action, territories for action: the territorial dimension of Italian local development policies
Authors: Governa Francesca , Salone Carlo 
Published: December 2004

Current changes in territorial organization are interpreted by focusing on two main aspects that are different yet closely interrelated. The first aspect concerns relationships between unfolding processes of territorial redefinition and changes imposed by globalization processes and by European integration, and by the loss of centrality and of part of the power of nation‐state government. The second aspect concerns the change in forms and procedures of collective action in urban and territorial policies, recognizing, in particular, the consolidation — including in practices — of forms of partnership, inter‐institutional cooperation, strategic planning and governance. Within this general context, this article aims to present and discuss changes, both ongoing and recent, by (1) presenting the changes that are emerging in the framework of Italian urban and territorial policies; and (2) discussing critically, with reference to the Italian case, the relationship between change in the idea of local territories and change in urban and territorial policies. Our aim is to verify whether, within what limits and from what point of view, the innovations introduced in the Italian context may be interpreted as changes that are moving towards more place‐focused forms of urban and territorial governance.On interprète les évolutions actuelles de l'organisation territoriale à travers deux aspects dominants, différents quoique étroitement liés. Le premier concerne les relations entre les processus d'explication de la redéfinition territoriale et les changements imposés par les processus de mondialisation et l'intégration européenne, et par la disparition de la centralité et d'une partie de la puissance gouvernementale de l'Énation. Le second porte sur la transformation des formes et procédures d'action collective dans les politiques publiques urbaines et territoriales, celles‐ci reconnaissant notamment la fusion — y compris dans les pratiques — de formes de partenariat, coopération inter‐institutions, planification stratégique et gouvernance. Dans ce contexte général, l'article cherche à exposer et étudier les évolutions actuelles et récentes, d'une part en présentant les changements qui apparaissent dans le cadre des politiques urbaines et territoriales italiennes, d'autre part en abordant de façon critique, par rapport au cas italien, le lien entre un changement d'idée sur les territoires locaux et une transformation des politiques urbaines et territoriales. Il s'agit de vérifier si les innovations introduites dans le contexte italien peuvent s'interpréter comme des changements tendant à des formes de gouvernance urbaine et territoriale plus soucieuses des lieux, et ce dans quelle mesure et de quel point de vue.
Participatory democracy and political opportunism: municipal experience in Italy and Spain (1960–93)
Authors: Yánez Clemente J. Navarro 
Published: December 2004

The relationship between local scale and participatory democracy is one of the main issues of normative theory of democracy. This article tries to show that the development of this model of democracy also depends on institutional factors. In his political opportunism hypothesis the author proposes that local governments have to develop adaptive strategies to make electoral victory compatible with offers of opportunities of participation: on the one hand, because the parties have to make government or opposition action compatible between local and central political levels; on the other, because the supply of participation presupposes the redistribution of power among local interest groups and the possibility of imposing limits over local government actions. To test this hypothesis, the author analyses data on citizen participation among Italian and Spanish local governments by qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). In conclusion, the author argues that political opportunism could limit local democratization and new urban governance initiatives.La relation entre échelle locale et démocratie participative constitue l'une des grandes questions de la théorie normative de la démocratie. L'auteur tente de montrer que l'élaboration de ce modèle de démocratie dépend aussi de facteurs institutionnels. Dans son hypothèse d'opportunisme politique, il propose que les gouvernements locaux mettent au point des stratégies adaptatives afin de rendre toute victoire électorale compatible avec les possibilités de participation offertes, d'un côté parce que les parties doivent rendre compatibles les actions du gouvernement ou de l'opposition entre les niveaux politiques local et central, de l'autre parce qu'une participation potentielle présuppose la redistribution du pouvoir entre groupes d'intérêt locaux et la capacité d'imposer des limites aux actions gouvernementales locales. Cette hypothèse est testée par l'analyse de données sur la participation des citoyens dans les gouvernements locaux italiens et espagnols via une analyse comparative qualitative. La conclusion déduit qu'un opportunisme politique pourrait entraver des initiatives de démocratisation locale et de gouvernance urbaine originale.
Privatization Bolivian style: a cautionary tale
Authors: Kohl Benjamin 
Published: December 2004

This article examines the long term impacts of Bolivia's partial privatization of state‐owned enterprises, known as capitalization. Despite attempting to introduce an innovative social component to distribute the benefits of privatization to Bolivian citizens, the lack of an adequate government regulatory structure meant that capitalization was unable to meet most of its objectives. While foreign direct investment rose between 1995 and 2000, these investments created few jobs and the taxes paid by the privatized companies failed to replace the revenue they had previously provided to the government. Capitalization has not reduced corruption but, rather, shifted the locus of rent seeking from the public to the private sector. The perception of the privatization of public resources led to increased social protest and political instability. The cycle of protests culminated with the resignation of the president in October 2003 following protests that left over 70 civilians dead. Rather than create a climate favorable for free markets, capitalization served as a catalyst to mobilize popular protest against neoliberal restructuring and may threaten the neoliberal economic policies in Bolivia in the coming years.Cet article étudie les impacts à long terme de la privatisation partielle des entreprises publiques boliviennes, désignée par ‘capitalisation’. Malgré la tentative d'introduction d'une composante sociale originale visant à distribuer les bénéfices de la privatisation aux Boliviens, l'absence de structure régulatrice gouvernementale adéquate a empêché la ‘capitalisation’ d'atteindre la plupart de ses objectifs. Même si l'investissement direct de l'étranger a progressé entre 1995 et 2000, ces fonds ont créé peu d'emplois et les charges fiscales payées par les entreprises privatisées n'ont pas remplacé les recettes qu'elles apportaient auparavant au gouvernement. La ‘capitalisation’ n'a pas atténué la corruption, décalant plutôt la scène du parasitisme du secteur public vers le secteur privé. La perception de la privatisation des ressources publiques a accentué agitation sociale et instabilité politique. Le cycle de protestation a atteint son apogée avec la démission du Président en octobre 2003 après des manifestations ayant fait 70 morts parmi la population. Au lieu de créer un climat favorable à la liberté de marché, la ‘capitalisation’ a servi de catalyseur à la mobilisation de l'opposition populaire contre la reconstruction néolibérale, mettant ainsi en péril les politiques économiques néolibérales de la Bolivie dans les années à venir.
New trends in urban development and public policy in eastern Germany: dealing with the vacant housing problem at the local level
Authors: Glock Birgit , Häussermann Hartmut 
Published: December 2004

Supported by federal funds, many eastern German cities have started to address their acute vacant housing problem, and the new strategies attempt to pursue revitalization in especially consistent and comprehensive forms. This article offers evidence that current policies are not meeting their main objectives. Very little is being done in the older, inner‐city neighbourhoods, although these have been given a top political priority in the planning process since they are perceived as one of the greatest economic and cultural assets of eastern Germany. Rather, the policies have been effective only in the large‐scale housing estates, where local administrations and city governments meet ‘big partners’ with resources for action. Further, it is argued that present policy strategies focus too tightly on housing market issues alone. Many housing problems cannot be solved using housing market policy tools alone as vacancy is caused by the general trends of depopulation and deindustrialization in the region.Avec l'aide de financements fédéraux, de nombreuses grandes villes est‐allemandes se sont attaquées à leur grave problème de logements inoccupés, et les nouvelles stratégies tentent une relance par des formules particulièrement vastes et cohérentes. Cet article démontre que les politiques actuelles n'atteignent pas leurs objectifs principaux. Très peu est fait dans les quartiers anciens déshérités, même si on leur a donné une priorité politique élevée dans le processus d'aménagement puisqu'ils sont en bonne place, dit‐on, dans le patrimoine économique et culturel de l'Allemagne de l'Est. En revanche, les politiques publiques n'ont été efficaces que dans les projets de logements à grande échelle lorsque les administrations locales et autorités de la ville rencontrent des ‘partenaires de poids’ ayant des ressources pour agir. De plus, les stratégies politiques présentes s'attachent trop aux seuls aspects liés au marché du logement. Bien des problèmes d'habitat ne peuvent être résolus à l'aide d'outils de politique de marché puisque la vacance tient aux tendances générales à la dépopulation et à la désindustrialisation de la région.
Antioxidant deficit and enhanced susceptibility to oxidative damage in individuals with different forms of α‐thalassaemia
Authors: Cheng Mei‐ling , Ho Hung‐yao , Tseng Hsiu‐chuan , Lee Chien‐Hong , Shih Lee‐yung , Chiu Daniel Tsun‐yee 
Published: December 2004

Summary α‐Thalassaemia is a common red cell disorder in Taiwan, affecting 6–8% of Taiwanese. Previous studies have shown that reactive oxygen species are generated in increased amounts in thalassaemic red cells. This implies the possible alteration of redox status in thalassaemic patients, which may adversely affect their health. In the present study, the redox status of patients with α‐thalassaemia trait and haemoglobin H (Hb H) disease was investigated. Lipid peroxidation, as measured by the level of plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), was increased in α‐thalassaemic patients, with the highest level of TBARS in Hb H disease patient. The plasma levels of vitamin A, C, and E were significantly lower in α‐thalassaemic patients than in controls. The overall antioxidant capacity in plasma was inversely correlated with the severity of α‐globin gene defect: the more severe the form of α‐thalassaemia, the lower the overall antioxidant capacity in plasma. Erythrocytes isolated from α‐thalassaemia patients had lower levels of vitamin E, glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase. In addition, these α‐thalassaemic red cells were more susceptible to hydrogen peroxide‐induced lipid peroxidation and decrease in deformability. All these data suggest that the α‐thalassaemic patients suffer from increased oxidative stress and antioxidant deficit, which may complicate the pathophysiology of α‐thalassaemia.
C‐reactive protein and complement depositions in human infarcted myocardium are more extensive in patients with reinfarction or upon treatment with reperfusion
Authors: Nijmeijer R. , Krijnen P. A. J. , Assink J. , Klaarenbeek M. A. R. , Lagrand W. K. , Veerhuis R. , Visser C. A. , Meijer C. J. L. M. , Niessen H. W. M. , Hack C. E. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractBackground  Impaired perfusion of the heart induces a local inflammatory response, which involves deposition of C‐reactive protein and complement activation products C3d and C5b‐9. We investigated whether reperfusion or reinfarction enhances these phenomena in humans.Materials and methods  Depositions of C‐reactive protein and complement were quantified in tissue samples of infarcted myocardium from 76 patients who had died after acute myocardial infarction. The extent of depositions in patients treated with reperfusion or suffering from reinfarction was compared with that in patients who had no reperfusion or reinfarction.Results  Patients with reinfarction had significantly more extensive depositions of C‐reactive protein and complement (C3d and C5b‐9) in the infarcted myocardium than patients without reinfarction. Similarly, patients who received reperfusion therapy had more extensive depositions also than those who had not received this therapy.Conclusions  Both reinfarction and reperfusion therapy significantly increase the extent of C‐reactive protein and complement depositions in human myocardial infarcts.