title: Remittance and financial inclusion in refugee migrants: Inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score

authors: Wellalage, Nirosha Hewa

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: This paper investigates the impact on remittances on financial inclusion of refugee migrants. While financial inclusion is gaining traction in the humanitarian and development literature, the linkage with the potential to improve the wellbeing of refugees, who are part of an upward spiral in numbers, has not been tackled. We examine World Bank survey data of 1041 Syrian refugees, using inverse probability of treatment weighting propensity score analysis (IPTW). The method minimises the influence of outliers and addresses unobservable and missing data biases, which can plague survey based data. We observe that common indicators of financial inclusion when applied to refugees, given their limited access to formal financial services, may introduce a bias as informal financial sector and excluded formal financial sector services do contribute to inclusiveness. We adopt a broader protocol for our data, measuring financial inclusion through six metrics stemming from G20 proposals: Bank account, ATM card, IRIS account, debit card, credit card and insurance. Overall, there is an opportunity to deepen financial inclusion for refugees who receive or send remittances. The possibility of expanding the financial inclusion options, and for this to percolate through to greater social inclusion, proffers practical commercial steps and policy enabling actions.

text: Remittance and financial inclusion in refugee migrants: Inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score This paper investigates the impact on remittances on financial inclusion of refugee migrants. While financial inclusion is gaining traction in the humanitarian and development literature, the linkage with the potential to improve the wellbeing of refugees, who are part of an upward spiral in numbers, has not been tackled. We examine World Bank survey data of 1041 Syrian refugees, using inverse probability of treatment weighting propensity score analysis (IPTW). The method minimises the influence of outliers and addresses unobservable and missing data biases, which can plague survey based data. We observe that common indicators of financial inclusion when applied to refugees, given their limited access to formal financial services, may introduce a bias as informal financial sector and excluded formal financial sector services do contribute to inclusiveness. We adopt a broader protocol for our data, measuring financial inclusion through six metrics stemming from G20 proposals: Bank account, ATM card, IRIS account, debit card, credit card and insurance. Overall, there is an opportunity to deepen financial inclusion for refugees who receive or send remittances. The possibility of expanding the financial inclusion options, and for this to percolate through to greater social inclusion, proffers practical commercial steps and policy enabling actions.

year: 2019-08-10

title: The quest for extreme water repellency: Superhydrophobicity made easy

authors: Saunders, Graham C.

subjects: chemistry

abstract: In his seminal work On Floating Bodies I Archimedes of Syracuse provided an explanation of the action of solid bodies on water. Although his thesis immediately benefitted King Heiro II² and has continued to serve mankind well, it ignores the effect of the interfacial interactions between the solid, water and air (surface tension). These interactions are negligible, or at least are considered negligible, compared to forces arising from the effect of gravity on large bodies. However, as the mass of the body decreases, the surface interactions become increasingly important leading to some unusual and potentially useful phenomena. The understanding and application of these effects is currently driving much fundamental research by physicists, chemical engineers, material scientists, and chemists into surfaces that display extreme properties, in particular extreme water repellency, or superhydrophobicitv. It is only comparatively recently that detailed mathematical expressions for the interaction between a liquid, solid and gas at these extremes have been developed, making progress that parallels that for the fabrication of these surfaces.

text: The quest for extreme water repellency: Superhydrophobicity made easy In his seminal work On Floating Bodies I Archimedes of Syracuse provided an explanation of the action of solid bodies on water. Although his thesis immediately benefitted King Heiro II² and has continued to serve mankind well, it ignores the effect of the interfacial interactions between the solid, water and air (surface tension). These interactions are negligible, or at least are considered negligible, compared to forces arising from the effect of gravity on large bodies. However, as the mass of the body decreases, the surface interactions become increasingly important leading to some unusual and potentially useful phenomena. The understanding and application of these effects is currently driving much fundamental research by physicists, chemical engineers, material scientists, and chemists into surfaces that display extreme properties, in particular extreme water repellency, or superhydrophobicitv. It is only comparatively recently that detailed mathematical expressions for the interaction between a liquid, solid and gas at these extremes have been developed, making progress that parallels that for the fabrication of these surfaces.

year: 2009-07

title: “If it don’t talk, it's not whakapapa data”: Conceptualising whakapapa data in a digital age

authors: Pēpi Tarapa‐Dewes, Ella

subjects: data protection

abstract: In Te Ao Māori, whakapapa is a sacred framework that connects all aspects of existence. Whakapapa is highly sensitive information and a taonga that requires active protection. But what can be considered whakapapa data in a digital age where data linkage is ubiquitous and the boundaries between personal and collective information are increasingly blurred? We explore this question through a case study with Ngāti Tiipa, a hapū that is actively engaged in its own data sovereignty research. Reflexive thematic analysis of whānau kōrero identified three types of whakapapa data, each denoting a specific kind of connection: 1) between relatives, both living and deceased; 2) between people and places of cultural significance; and 3) between people and the spiritual realm. Whānau concepts of whakapapa data tend to be context‐specific, suggesting that it is more useful to think of whakapapa data as dynamic and relational rather than a fixed, inherent attribute.

text: “If it don’t talk, it's not whakapapa data”: Conceptualising whakapapa data in a digital age In Te Ao Māori, whakapapa is a sacred framework that connects all aspects of existence. Whakapapa is highly sensitive information and a taonga that requires active protection. But what can be considered whakapapa data in a digital age where data linkage is ubiquitous and the boundaries between personal and collective information are increasingly blurred? We explore this question through a case study with Ngāti Tiipa, a hapū that is actively engaged in its own data sovereignty research. Reflexive thematic analysis of whānau kōrero identified three types of whakapapa data, each denoting a specific kind of connection: 1) between relatives, both living and deceased; 2) between people and places of cultural significance; and 3) between people and the spiritual realm. Whānau concepts of whakapapa data tend to be context‐specific, suggesting that it is more useful to think of whakapapa data as dynamic and relational rather than a fixed, inherent attribute.

year: 2026-02