Problems of Rural Migrant Workers and Policies in the New Period of Urbanization

The huge migration of rural workers has new characteristics such as the bad order, high degree of concentration, low level of collective action, marginality in social status, unfair treatment, difficult integration of the new generation, and the new return trend of rural migrants, which causes ＇urban diseases＇ in China. Countermeasures should be taken to develop medium-sized and small cities, integrate the labor market of the city and countryside, provide necessary public services, social security and vocational training, guide the rural migrant workers to return rationally, and help the new generation live in harmony with urban residents.     

Agricultural work related injury and Ill-health and the economic cost

This paper contains a literature review of the occupational injuries and ill-health in agriculture world-wide and a survey of the attempts that have been made to estimate the resulting economic and social costs. Agricultural workers suffer a wide variety of disorders as a result of their occupation. These range from minor (cuts, bruises) to more severe (deep wounds, fractures), permanent (amputation, spinal cord injury) and fatal injury. Ill-health as a result of contact with animals, micro-organisms, plant material dusts or chemicals are associated with certain types of agriculture. There is an underlying but unquantified incidence of pain, stress and injury as a result of ergonomic problems due to poor working procedures and conditions. Statistics from many countries or regions show that agriculture consistently has one of the highest accident and injury rates of the industrial sectors. There are many causes for the work related injury and ill-health in agricultural workers. In developed countries, tractors and other machinery cause a significant proportion of the accidents and are a major cause of occupational deaths. In less developed countries, accidents due to hand tools such as hoes, sickles and cutting instruments are most prevalent. Animals are a significant cause of injury and ill-health in many countries. Debilitating allergic reactions in the respiratory tract or the skin are caused by exposures to organic dusts, or by contact with allergenic plants in the field respectively. Where comparative data are available, occupational pesticide poisoning in agriculture is a small proportion (< 1–4%) of the total work related disorders. Because of the wide variety of occupational risks to agricultural workers, it is emphasised that if one type of agricultural practice is replaced by another then the risks from the alternative procedure need to be considered. If, for example, agrochemical pest control practices are replaced by methods involving the increased use of machinery, draught animals or manual operations, then an assessment of the resulting risks should be taken into account. Some of the economic costs of occupational injury and ill-health in agriculture can be quantified directly, such as medical costs, the cost of rehabilitation and loss of earnings. Other costs are more difficult to estimate such as loss of opportunity and income foregone for permanent and fatal injury and for the effect on a victim’s family. The estimation of the overall economic costs to farming communities and national agriculture requires further development. When one agricultural practice is replaced wholly or partly by another, for example agrochemical pest control by alternative control methods, then it is necessary to take into account the occupational health costs of the alternative procedure for realistic comparative assessment. There are a number of issues which require continued or increased attention by the relevant national and international authorities and by the agricultural industry. These include the improved collection and collation of occupational health statistics, a better understanding of the extent of ergonomic problems in agriculture, more realistic assessments of the cost of occupational injury and ill-health and the continued need to reduce occupational health disorders by appropriate training and education in agricultural practices and the use of agricultural equipment.     

Chemical ecology involved in invasion success of the cuckoo bumblebee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Psithyrus vestalis</Emphasis> and in survival of workers of its host <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombus terrestris</Emphasis>

In bumblebees all species of the subgenus Psithyrus are social parasites in the nests of their Bombus hosts. In the bumblebee B. terrestris we investigated how colony size influences survival rates of nest entering females of the social parasite Psithyrus vestalis. Furthermore, we studied whether the host worker’s dominance status and age are reflected in its individual scent and whether Psithyrus females use volatiles to selectively kill host workers. The survival rate of Psithyrus vestalis females drops from 100%, when entering colonies with five workers, to 0% for colonies containing 50 host workers. Older host workers, born before the nest invasion, were selectively killed when Psithyrus females entered the nest. In contrast, all workers born after the nest invasion survived. The host workers’ dominance status and age are reflected by their individual odours: newly emerged workers produced a significantly lower total amount of secretions than 4-day-old workers. In chemical analyses of female groups we identified saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, aldehydes, and unsaturated wax-type esters of fatty acids. In a discriminant function analysis different worker groups were mainly separated by their bouquets of hydrocarbons. Killed workers release significantly more scent and of a different chemical composition, than survivors. Survivors alter scent production and increase it beyond the level of the killed workers within 1 day of the invasion. The Psithyrus female clearly maintains reproductive dominance utilizing these differences in the odour bouquets as criteria for killing workers that compete for reproduction.     

Investigation of the blood biochemical status of gas station workers

The aim of this study was to examine occupation-associated effects on blood cytokine and immunoglobulin g (IgG) levels, antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, GSHPx, and catalase), nitrite and nitrate levels, and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in gas station workers (GSWs). Trace elements (Cu, Zn, and Pb) in serum, and the amount of hemoglobin in erythrocytes were also determined. Forty male GSWs and 30 male controls were included in the study. No significant difference was observed between the hemoglobin levels of GSWs and those in controls. Proinflammatory cytokine levels, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-8 were significantly increased in GSWs’ sera. Interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 were below the detection limit of the assay in both the groups. Cytokine receptor interleukin 2R concentration and IgG levels were also significantly increased. Approximately, two-fold increase in nitrite and nitrate concentrations was found in GSWs’ sera. Erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme levels were significantly lower in GSWs’ blood. MDA concentration, a measure of lipid peroxidation, was found to be significantly elevated. Zn levels were significantly decreased, whereas Cu and Pb levels were increased in GSWs’ sera. Smoking was not found to be a major confounder for the association between exposure and blood parameters.     

基于D-S证据理论的地下洞室作业人员安全行为评价

为系统地评价地下洞室作业人员安全行为水平,综合运用集对分析和D-S证据理论,提出一种基于D-S证据理论的作业人员安全行为评价方法。首先,分析了影响作业人员安全行为的因素,构建包括作业人员安全素养、生理因素、心理因素、作业技术等4个一级指标及16个二级指标的综合评价指标体系,并将安全行为等级划分为4级;其次,采用集对分析处理二级指标的不确定性,产生基本信度分配函数（BPA）;然后,利用D-S证据理论,融合一级指标的BPA,产生最终安全等级隶属度;最后,结合最大隶属度原则和信任准则,确定地下洞室作业人员安全行为等级。以某水电站引水隧洞开挖工程为例,确定该工程中作业人员行为安全等级为z2级,即一般安全,符合工程实际。     

Mortality,violence and lack of access to healthcare in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo for decades have been living in a situation of chronic crisis. Violence, population displacement and the destruction of infrastructure and health services have devastated the health of the population. In 2001, Médicins Sans Frontières conducted a survey in five areas of western and central DRC to assess mortality, access to health-care, vaccination coverage and exposure to violence. High mortality rates were found in front-line zones, mainly due to malnutrition and infectious diseases. In Basankusu approximately 10 per cent of the total population and 25 per cent of the under-five population had perished in the year before the survey. Humanitarian needs remain acute across the country, particularly near the front line. Infectious-disease control and treatment are a priority, as is increasing access to health-care. Humanitarian assistance must be increased considerably, especially in rural areas and zones that have been affected directly by conflict.     

第二代农民工及其市民化研究

农民工市民化是基于乡城劳动力两阶段转移的“中国路径”而提出的现实课题。第二代农民工不仅是一个在社会经济特征和个人特征方面与第一代农民工有着诸多显警不同的流动群体。而且也是最有市民化意愿和亟需市民化的群体。基于现有理论的局限性和中国特殊的现实提出了农民工市民化的命题并深入探讨了其内涵。进而在此基础上考察了第二代农民工的特征、第二代农民工的市民化进程及其面临的挑战。最后就第二代农民工市民化的进程环节和制度创新提出了针对性的对策建议。     

Kinship,nomadism, and humanitarian aid among Somalis in Ethiopia

This paper draws on extended ethnographic and health policy research in eastern Ethiopia to reconsider kinship and nomadism among Somalis, as both of these cultural features transform in the contexts of recurrent humanitarian crises and episodic relief operations. The emergence and importance of new patterns of travel and migration among Somalis in Ethiopia reveal significant changes in the configurations and enactments of Somali kinship, on which many Somalis' mobility depends. Conversely, an analysis of Somalis' dynamic sub‐clan groupings and geographically dispersed kinship networks also highlights emergent patterns of mobility and migration that enable access to training opportunities and employment with relief organisations, as well as to distributions of humanitarian aid. Based on these findings, this paper argues that kinship and nomadism—both long central to Somalis' identities in Ethiopia—remain interdependent, coevolved, and key to their resilience and livelihoods in the face of recurrent crises and intermittent humanitarian responses.