Exit strategy or exit trap? Basic income and the ‘power to say no’ in the age of precarious employment

An increasingly influential claim is that exit-based empowerment through an unconditional basic income offers the cornerstone of an effective strategy for supporting precarious workers in contemporary labor markets. However, it is plausible to assume that supporting the ‘power to say no’—to avoid or leave unattractive jobs—will empower precarious workers only to the extent that it offers the basis of a credible exit threat. In this article, we argue that a basic income-induced exit strategy amounts to a hollow threat. In light of a realistic understanding of how labor markets operate and how the opportunities of disadvantaged workers are presently structured, we show that the basic income-centered exit option can easily become an exit trap rather than an empowered fallback position.

Behavioural variation of Anopheles arabiensis (Diptera: Culicidae) populations in Natal, South Africa

Anopheles arabiensis Patton populations occur in those areas of Natal in which intra-domiciliary DDT is used for mosquito vector control and in the unsprayed areas. Indoor resting collections from the unsprayed area showed a human blood index >90%, in contrast to the indoor collections from the sprayed area where only 31% had fed on man. In exit trap collections from the sprayed area, 66% had fed on man. These trends of a high human blood index in the exit trap collections and a low human blood index in the indoor resting catches were unaffected, despite the close proximity of a cattle kraal to the majority of homesteads.

The mosquitos of Zaria Province, Northern Nigeria

A general survey of the species of Anopheles in Zaria Province, Northern Nigeria, carried out between June 1957 and December 1958, was designed primarily to ascertain the bionomics of actual and potential vectors of malaria there. The studies, which were centred upon the four principal domestic Anophelines, A. gambiae Giles, A. funestus Giles, A. nili (Theo.) and A. wellcomei Theo., were carried out by making regular floor-sheet collections and entranceand exit-trap catches in native huts, together with biting catches inside and outside huts. Data on other Anophelines and Culicines, taken at the same time, were also recorded.The studies show that in this region, where malaria is holoendemic, all four species are endophagous to a greater or lesser extent although both A. gambiae and A. nili prefer to feed outside if a host is available. Only two species have been incriminated as vectors, A. gambiae, which had a sporozoite rate of between 4 and 7 per cent., and A. funestus with between 3 and 8 per cent., according to the season.Collections by floor-sheets and by catches at human bait showed that A. gambiae, A funestus and A. nili were predominantly wet-season species, although in one village area studied A. funestus also occurred in fairly high numbers throughout the dry season. A. wellcomei, on the other hand, was shown to be a predominantly dry-season species.By using traps and making collections with human bait, the entrance, exit and biting times of A. gambiae, A. funestus and A. nili were ascertained. The largest numbers of A. gambiae and A. funestus entered huts between 9.0 and 11.0 p.m. and left between 3.0 and 5.0 a.m., the maximum biting activity for A. gambiae being between midnight and 5.0 a.m., and for A. funestus between 11.0 p.m. and dawn. A. nili differed considerably from the other two species, having two peaks of maximum entry, between 9.0 and 11.0 p.m. and 1.0 and 3.0 a.m., the period of maximum exodus being between 1.0 and 5.0 a.m., with a peak of biting activity between 10.0 p.m. and 1.0 a.m. It was found that a very high proportion of the mosquitos caught leaving the huts was unfed; between 1.0 and 5.0 a.m., 64 per cent, of A. gambiae leaving, 63 per cent, of A. funestus and 30 per cent, of A. nili were unfed.Apart from the four domestic species of Anopheles mentioned above, the only other anthropophilous species which could be described as common in the vicinity of Kaduna were A. coustani Lav., A. theileri Edw., A. flavicosta Edw. and A. rufipes (Gough). A. implexus (Theo.) is recorded from Nigeria for the first time.The commonest species of Culicines taken at human bait during outside night collections were Mansonia africana (Theo.), M. uniformis (Theo.), M. cristata (Theo.), Aëdes lineatopennis (Ludl.) and Culex poicilipes (Theo.). Of these, M. uniformis was by far the most regular and persistent biter throughout the year. M. africana, on the other hand, was only taken in any numbers during October.In an appendix, a list of 17 species of Anopheles (including 3 varieties), 65 of the CUlicinae and two of the TOxorhynchitinae known to occur in Zaria Province is given, with notes on their distribution and bionomics.

Observations on the Behaviour of Culicine Mosquitos in African Huts

SummaryObservations on the behaviour of Culex pipiens fatigans Wied. were made in 24 huts built and occupied by Africans on a sisal estate near Tanga, Tanganyika Territory. Catches were made in four huts each day, an exit trap being fixed on the window from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (evening trap) and replaced by another from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. next day (morning trap), when a spray catch was made of the mosquitos still in the hut. Each hut was used only once a week, for 31 weeks, from December 1952 to July 1953. The females caught were sorted according to the stage of the gonotrophic cycle, as judged by external examination. The stages used were: I, no blood, no visible ovaries; II, stomach full of blood, ovaries small; V, little or no blood, ovaries fully developed; III and IV, intermediate between II and V.An analysis of variance was performed on the results. Catches of both sexes showed a significant variation with time, which was not, however, correlated with rainfall. Significantly different numbers were taken in the traps and in the huts. Females were significantly most numerous in the hut catch, and males in the morning trap, the former result suggesting that most females spend more than one day in a hut. There were significant differences between the numbers of females in the different stages of the gonotrophic cycle, stages I and II together accounting for 80 per cent, of all females caught. The high proportion of stage I is attributed to delay between emergence and feeding, and of stage II to the taking of more than one meal during the gonotrophic cycle, later meals obscuring the state of ovarian development. There were significant differences between huts as regards the numbers of females caught, but not as regards males, and it is concluded that this is due to variations in the attractiveness of the inhabitants of the huts.Females in stage I were most numerous in the morning trap, those in stages II–IV were taken only rarely in traps, but there was no significant difference between numbers of stage V caught in huts and in the two window traps. These results arse attributed to restlessness in both hungry and gravid females, and sluggishness in fed ones. All stages except III were significantly more numerous in some weeks than in others and this might be due to variations in either rate of reproduction, or rate of loss of mosquitos from huts. There were significant variations in behaviour in different weeks. For females, this is attributed to changes in the proportions of the stages with time and the dependence of behaviour on stage. For males, there is some evidence of a relation between behaviour and humidity outside the hut. For females, the distribution of stages between different places of capture changes with time, stages II and III being most consistently associated with hut catches, while the most variable behaviour is shown by stage V.The necessity for behaviour studies on mosquitos in the field is pointed out, especially in relation to field trials of residual insecticides.

Distribution and Fate of Anopheles gambiae and A. funestus in two different Types of Huts treated with DDT and BHC in Uganda

Wood-and-fibre-board huts fitted with one-way entry and exit traps were sprayed with DDT and BHC wettable powders at dosages 3·3 and 1·5 times the dosages reported by Muirhead Thomson in Tanganyika. Mud huts similar to his design were sprayed at 1·4 times his dosage of DDT and 1·1 times his dosage of BHC. Catches of Anopheline mosquitos continued for 16 weeks.In the first-named huts kills of A. gambiae were 97 per cent. for both treatments. Kills of A. funestus were 100 per cent. and 97 per cent. for DDT and BHC respectively.In the mud huts kills of A. gambiae were 62 per cent. and 98 per cent. for DDT and BHC respectively. For A. funestus kills were 78 per cent. and 93 per cent. in the same order.The advantages claimed for the wood-and-fibre-board huts include :—(a) freedom from ants, which may remove dead mosquitos.(b) ease of catching live adult mosquitos.(c) rigid construction of exit trap.(d) lack of adventitious exits other than exit trap.