Chinese Workers in Ethiopia Caught between Remaining and Returning

2021 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-346
Author(s):  
Miriam Driessen
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Geographic Mobility ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Chinese Men ◽  
Family Wealth ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Chinese Workers ◽  
Upward Social Mobility

Ever since Beijing has sought to fuel domestic growth through Chinese-led development overseas—first under the aegis of Jiang Zemin's Going Out Policy and more recently as part of Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative— thousands of Chinese have moved overseas for work. Africa has been one of the destinations of Chinese companies and their expatriate staff. Although we have learned a great deal about China's mega-projects across the African continent, little is known about the certified engineers and experienced builders who carry them out. What brings them to Africa? And, more importantly, what makes them stay for years on end, even if they wish to return to China? In this article I zoom in on the lives of Chinese men employed in Ethiopia's construction industry to show how three decades of domestic growth in China has pushed workers overseas, while jeopardizing their return. Workers' lives are marked by double displacement. They are not only isolated from local African communities through a dormitory labour regime that controls their time and limits their mobility, but also, more importantly, they are displaced from social life in China. Domestic development has at once increased aspirations and made them harder to obtain, especially for men, who are expected to fulfill the promise of upward social mobility for themselves and their families. In order to realize aspirations and meet social expectations related to social reproduction, geographic mobility has become a necessity for men who cannot rely on family wealth or connections, forcing them into a state of suspension.

The Eventfulness of Social Reproduction

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Moore
Keyword(s):  
Structural Transformation ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Structural Transformations ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Stability And Change ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions

The work of William Sewell and Marshall Sahlins has led to a growing interest in recent years in events as a category of analysis and their role in the transformation of social structures. I argue that tying events solely to instances of significant structural transformation entails problematic theoretical assumptions about stability and change and produces a circumscribed field of events, undercutting the goal of developing an “eventful” account of social life. Social continuity is a state that is achieved just as much as are structural transformations, and events may be constitutive of processes of reproduction as well as change.

Implementation of Digital Technologies Into the Educational Process

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 385-391
Author(s):  
Eva Panulinova ◽  
Slavka Harabinova ◽  
Renata Baskova
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Planning Implementation

Revolutionary changes in society are linked to digital technologies and affect all areas of social life, not excluding construction industry. This requires not only knowledge reform, but above all skills reform. The current demand of practice is to increase the knowledge and competences of graduates of civil engineering faculties in the field of introduction and use of digital technologies in the process of planning, implementation, and maintenance of buildings, as well as to support the skills development of civil engineers in teamwork while using BIM technologies. The presented, currently implemented project contributes to meeting the above-described Practice Needs. The expected direct impact of the project is to increase the competitiveness, employability, and quality of life of graduates entering practice.

scholarly journals مشاكل صناعة الطابوق وأثاره البيئية في محافظتي واسط وذي قار

لارك ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
pp. 72-108
Author(s):  
بشير إبراهيم الطيف ◽  
عمران بندر مراد ◽  
انور سالم رمضان
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Environmental Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Environmental Aspect ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Industry Leader ◽  
Southern Iraq

على الرغم من الأهمية المكانية لجميع الأنشطة الإقتصادية ومنها الصناعات الإنشائية بشكل عام وصناعة الطابوق بشكل خاص ، إذ تواجه مجموعة مشاكل سواء كانت هذه المشاكل طبيعية أم بشرية ومدى تأثيرها على العمليات الإنتاجية كما ونوعاً ولما له من انعكاس على الحياة الإقتصادية والإجتماعية والبيئة، لكن وعلى الرغم من نجاح صناعة الطابوق فانها تعاني من مشاكل متعددة تعرقل عمليات الإنتاج، إذ يتطلب إيجاد الحلول المناسبة لها ولأجل تطوير تلك الصناعة بوصفها صناعة رائدة نامية في وسط وجنوب العراق، إلا أنه ومع ذلك برزت عوائق ومشاكل كبيرة أثرت بشكل بالغ على الصناعة والتنمية التي كان المجتمع يأمل أن تتحقق، فضلاً عن دور النشاط الصناعي وعلاقته بالجانب البيئي وكمية الفضلات والإنبعاثات البيئية الملوثة، هذا مادفع جميع المؤسسات المسؤولة النظر في تحجيم مثل تلك المخاطر التي قد تواجه المواطنين في المكان القريب التي قد تقع فيه معامل الطابوق في محافظتي واسط   وذي قار.   Abstract:       Despite the importance of spatial for all economic activities , including the construction industry in general and the industry of bricks , in particular, as it faces a range problems , whether these problems are natural or human and its impact on production processes, quality and quantity , and because of its reflection on the economic and social life and the environment , but in spite of the success of the industry bricks , they suffer from multiple problems hampering production processes , as it requires finding appropriate solutions and to develop the industry as an industry leader developing in central and southern Iraq , but he nevertheless emerged barriers and big problems affected the adult industry and the development community was hoping that realized , as well as the role of industrial activity and its relationship to the environmental aspect and the amount of waste and environmental pollutant emissions , this Madf all responsible institutions to consider the scaled such risks that may face the citizens in the place that might occur near the brick factories in the provinces of Wasit and Thi Qar.                           

Labour Protections for Overseas Chinese Workers: Legal Framework and Judicial Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-330
Author(s):  
Aaron Halegua ◽  
Xiaohui Ban
Keyword(s):  
Strict Liability ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Work Injuries ◽  
Service Contracts ◽  
Judicial Practice ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Chinese Workers ◽  
Chinese Court ◽  
Do So

Abstract The launch of China’s Belt and Road Initiative has brought attention to the dispatch of Chinese workers overseas. These vulnerable migrants are often charged high fees in China only to suffer wage abuses and work injuries abroad, where obtaining relief is often impossible. But what laws or regulations within China protect these workers, and how effective are they? This study takes an initial step towards answering those unexplored questions by analysing over 100 Chinese court decisions. While, for much of the China’s history, overseas workers were primarily seconded abroad by Chinese employers, a clear preference has emerged for sending workers through intermediary agencies that can charge fees and execute ‘service’ contracts. Nonetheless, the courts generally provide some relief to aggrieved workers who are dispatched through formal channels. However, a large number of workers go abroad through informal brokers. When disputes arise in these cases, judicial practice becomes very inconsistent. Ironically, workers sometimes fare better because the courts adopt a ‘strict liability’ approach that punishes the unregistered broker, ordering them to pay all compensation or refund all fees. But some judges punish the worker who entrusted an unregistered broker or worked abroad on a tourist visa. And other courts simply treat the matter as a contract or tort dispute. While aggrieved overseas workers who litigate in court face mixed results, this article also discusses why many workers never make it to the courthouse door. The conclusion offers proposals to enhance protections for overseas workers and discusses why it is important that China do so.

‘Chicken and Duck Talk’: Life and Death of Language Training at a Japanese Multinational in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 887-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zheng ◽  
Chris Smith
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Language Training ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
The Social ◽  
Chinese Workers ◽  
Individual Asset

This article examines social relations in language learning through a case study of two cohorts of Chinese workers in a Japanese multinational company (MNC). The two cohorts weigh learning Japanese in the context of internal and external opportunities, and pursue different strategies – deliberative acquisition and deliberative opposition. Exploring the broader meanings of language learning beyond skill acquisition, the article suggests that language is more than an individual asset or a common code for workers to build collective power. Social reproduction of language is embedded in workers’ choice of pathways for social mobility which was created in the social transition and has shifted over time in China. These findings make a contribution to the sociology of language training in work, by challenging structural and cultural theories that underplay the agency of workers in assessing language as a resource for labour power development.

scholarly journals TURNKEY PROJECT DAN DINAMIKA PENGATURAN KETENAGAKERJAAN ASING DI INDONESIA

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Muhammad Badaruddin ◽  
Suciliani Octavia
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Foreign Worker ◽  
Foreign Workers ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Project Scheme ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Chinese Workers

China’s aggressiveness to conduct its belt and road initiatives through the Pacific Rim meets Presiden Joko Widodo’s ambition to attract foreign investment. The Indonesian President has been very ambitious in reaching high economic growth that requires readiness of infrastructure support. In dealing with China, Indonesia is required to accept China’s turnkey project scheme for infrastructure development, particularly in welcoming Chinese workers and equipments as an integral part of the project package. As a consequence, Indonesia has to loose its foreign worker regulation despite creating new contradictions with its domestic policy. This article is trying to investigate China’s funding and investment influence in Indonesia particularly in the foreign worker management during the period of President Joko Widodo Administration. The research conducted with qualitative method particularly the case study to analyze a sequential case in the field. Result of this research shows that the China’s turnkey project scheme impacts the foreign worker management in Indonesia. Our data displays pretty massive cases related to Chinese workers, extending from the violation of immigration regulation to the increase number of smuggling and other criminal activities. This research also highlight the indication that the Joko Widodo Administration tend to loose the Indonesian foreign worker regulations, as well as being less assertive in processing varous immigration cases which related to Chinese foreign workers. Moreover, the Jokowi administration has changed lots of regulations despite it has conflicting issues with the Law on Foreign Worker. On the other hand, the Parliament’s Special Committee on the Foreign Worker Issue has recommended the Jokowi Administration to pay more serious attention on cases related to the Chinese workers.   Keywords: Turnkey Project, Foreign Investment, Foreign Aid, Regulation on Foreign Worker, Illegal Foreign Worker     Abstrak   Agresivitas Pemerintah China dalam menjalankan belt and road initiatives ke berbagai negara yang terpetakan dalam road map-nya, bertemu dengan kepentingan Indonesia di bawah Pemerintahan Joko Widodo. Yakni ambisi untuk mengejar target pertumbuhan yang tinggi yang mempersyaratkan dibangunnya berbagai proyek infrastruktur sebagai penunjangnya. Pembangunan berbagai proyek tersebut membutuhkan ketersediaan anggaran yang cukup besar dalam waktu cepat. Salah satu strategi pemenuhannya adalah dengan mencari investasi maupun pinjaman luar negeri, terutama asal China yang secara koinsiden juga sedang agresif berekspansi. Kehadiran investasi dan pinjaman asal China di Indonesia dengan skema turnkey project ternyata menimbulkan ekses yang tidak sederhana. Skema tersebut menjadi salah satu pintu masuk tenaga kerja asal China melalui proyek-proyek infrastruktur yang ternyata menimbulkan permasalahan baru dalam pengaturan sektor ketenagakerjaan asing (TKA) di Indonesia. Irisan fenomena dari keinginan untuk merealisasikan proyek infrastruktur secara cepat, kebutuhan anggaran yang cukup tinggi terhadap pendanaan proyek dari China, dan kekurangsiapan dalam pengaturan masuknya tenaga kerja asing adalah fokus dari penelitian yang hasilnya penulis tuangkan dalam artikel ini. Dari penelitian yang dilakukan, terdapat peningkatan berbagai kasus yang terkait dengan kehadiran TKA asal China, antara lain adalah penyalahgunaan visa, penyalahgunaan status kerja, sampai pada meningkatnya angka penyelundupan dan tindak kriminalitas. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan menganalisis secara triangular beberapa data yang didapatkan melalui wawancara terhadap narasumber primer, pengolahan dokumen-dokumen resmi, analisis terhadap berbagai literatur dan pemberitaan media massa.   Kata Kunci: Turnkey Project, Investasi Asing, Pinjaman Asing, Tenaga Kerja Asing, Peraturan Ketenagakerjaan

Aging

Anthropology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Danely
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Age Related

Anthropological interest in age initially followed two strands that reflected the divide between structural functionalism in the United Kingdom and Europe, and culture and personality in the United States. The former was most interested in the ways societies accorded status based on age. If viewed vertically, age could be seen as a series of statuses one occupied over the life course, structuring the normative timing of events that were important for social reproduction, such as the transition from childhood to adulthood, marriage, and elder status. These statuses entailed ritual, political, and economic obligations between age classifications such as rights of property, ritual knowledge, or political authority. Viewed horizontally, however, age grades or sets formalized bonds between cohorts, stabilizing solidarity across territory or kinship boundaries. American anthropologists, on the other hand, saw the cultural mapping of life-course trajectories as a way of testing emerging psychological theories of human development derived from psychoanalysis and behaviorism. By collecting evidence on the norms and behaviors for different age categories, as well as the social and psychological dynamics within and between age categories, these anthropologists enriched our understanding of the malleability of relationships between age and personality. While culture and personality is most commonly associated with the study of child and adolescent development, anthropology was also vital in bringing attention to the continued developmental changes in adulthood and old age. In both of these strands, cross-cultural comparison yielded strong evidence that age was not only a fundamental axis on which social life revolved but also that the boundaries between groups and the meanings of age were socially rather than biologically determined in the same way that anthropologists now think about gender or race. These strands were further brought together by theories of ritual, wherein age-related status also entailed powerful symbolic reordering of subjective experiences. Other anthropologists pointed out the inequalities and tensions between age groups in ways that highlighted cultural attempts to mediate conflicts. From the 1960s, anthropologists began efforts to promote their perspective within the emerging fields of social gerontology and medical anthropology. Thus, the study of old age began to focus more on the ways health care and modern social welfare systems impacted lives. Anthropology continues to challenge universalizing biomedical reductionism of age though attention to cultural context, narrative, identity, and personhood. It has been further enriched by theories of care, mobility, globalization, and science and technology studies.

ICSID’s Relevance for Africa: A Symbiotic Bond Beyond Time 

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-541
Author(s):  
Prof Dr Mohamed S Abdel Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
African Continent ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Belt And Road

Abstract Africa's human, natural and legal diversity and wealth have always positioned the Continent as a desired investment destination. Historically, Africa contributed in shaping the ISDS system, and since the turn of the 21st Century, the Continent is witnessing considerable economic growth and is attracting many investors from around the world and especially China, which strengthens Africa's integration in the global economy. The past decade has also witnessed an increase in the number of BITs signed by African States, as well as in the number of investment legislations enacted and modernized. This article addresses the increase of investment in the African Continent, the new Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its potential for investments in the African Continent, sheds light on the status quo of the African arbitration landscape, provides an overview of the ICSID-Africa symbiotic relationship, emphasizes the uniqueness of the ICSID system in offering adequate dispute resolution schemes for investment disputes involving African parties and concludes by offering some concluding remarks and observations on the future of arbitration on the African Continent.

Towards Socialist Architecture: Architectural Exhibitions at the Zachęta in the Years 1950–1955

Ikonotheka ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 31-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Czapelski
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Support ◽  
National Council ◽  
National Gallery ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Preparatory Stage ◽  
National Gallery Of Art

Exhibitions of contemporary designs accompanied by their public criticism and assessment by a commission were meant to be a tool in implementing Socrealism in Polish architecture – a process which had been announced in 1949. The First National Exposition of Architectural Design (OPA, 22 January – 28 February 1951), housed in the Zachęta – National Gallery of Art building in Warsaw, was one of the most widely advertised events of this kind. Its discussion exposes the peculiar atmosphere of these events, the strategies of persuasion and instruction as employed by the organisers in relation to ideological and aesthetic issues, and the reactions of the architects participating in the debates, who generally tried to avoid the aggressive tone of the polemic. In addition, the primacy of technocratic economics, which was later to become one of the key elements of policies concerning the construction industry in the People’s Republic of Poland, was fi rst revealed at the OPA, if only still in the background. The exhibition at the Zachęta, treated as a production meeting in progress, was to be a preparatory stage for a sweeping exhibition that would present an all-inclusive vision of both historical and contemporary Polish architecture. Such an event accorded with the universal schemata of rituals of social life structured in keeping in line with Stalinism, but the path to the First General Exhibition of Architecture in the People’s Republic of Poland (PWA, 8 March – 22 April 1953) turned out not to be easy. Problems concerning its fi nancing and venue, as well as the lack of political support, resulted in its opening, in the Zachęta building, soon after Stalin’s death. In general, the exhibition’s arrangement followed regional divisions, i.e. both the historical and contemporary material were arranged according to region. An analysis of this plan reveals that it was profoundly ill-suited to the realities of producing architecture in the state-owned design offi ces when the emphasis on typicality was increasing. The initial stage of the critique of Socrealism is also inseparably linked with the PWA; the essay appraising the exhibited designs as delivered at the First National Council of Architects in April 1953 must be considered the fi rst text of this kind. Both the OPA and the PWA are, above all, reminders of the practice of institutional coercion and of the ideological approach to history that were typical of Stalinism. At the same time, however, it should not be forgotten that the exhibition of 1953 resulted in the publication of a series of valuable publications concerning history and art, while the Regional Architectural Shows, instituted in order to select designs to be exhibited at the PWA, evolved into recurring events which in some centres are still organised today.

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