Respondent-driven sampling: Advantages and disadvantages from a sampling method

This article summarizes the main elements, advantages, and disadvantages of Respondent-driven Sampling (RDS). Some criticisms regarding the feasibility of the inherent assumptions, their point estimators, and the obtained variances are pointed out. This article also comments on the problems observed in the quality of reports. Surveys using RDS should be methodologically sound as they are being applied to define priorities in health programs and develop national and international policies for financing service delivery, among other uses. However, there is considerable potential for bias related to implementation and analytical errors. There is limited empirical evidence on how representative the results obtained by RDS are, and the quest to improve the methodology is still in progress. Nevertheless, to have confidence in RDS results, we must verify that the social structure of the networks conforms to the assumptions required by the theory, that the sampling assumptions are reasonably fulfilled, and that the quality of the report is optimal, particularly for methodological and analytical items.

Omnibus Law on Job Creation and Resilience Prospects of Indonesian Migrant Workers

The Omnibus Law on Job Creation has repealed two regulations and amended at least 80 (eighty) other laws since it was officially promulgated on November 2, 2020. Four laws are particularly affected in the labor cluster, including regulations pertaining to Migrant Workers, which have not been widely explained. The purpose of this paper is to explain the dynamics of Indonesian Migrant Workers (IMW) regulatory policy as well as several issues in the omnibus law on Job Creation. To further analyze and describe the Omnibus law's implications for IMW resilience. This research, as a policy study, makes use of secondary data in the form of statutory regulation and literature. The data were analyzed using conceptual and normative approaches, and the results were presented in a descriptive-qualitative format. According to the findings, IMW's regulatory policies included international policies emphasizing the recognition of migrant workers' rights. Meanwhile, at the national level, IMW protection policies are governed by a specific law that has evolved over time to be more accommodating to their needs. The presence of the Omnibus law, however, has changed and loosened the licensing provisions in the law for Indonesian Migrant Worker Placement Companies (P3MI), which has an impact on IMW's vulnerability. As a result, rather than being progressive, the omnibus law on Job Creation reduces the prospect of resilience for Indonesian migrant workers.

The universality of Arabic and the pedagogies of Arab countries: عالمية العربية وبيداغوجيات الدول العربية

The research “The Arab world and its pedagogies” dealt with two tracks, the first track: Arabic between Semitic and the components of global languages, and the second track: pedagogies specific to strengthening the status of the Arabic language, using the descriptive method, and it stemmed from several questions raised by the virtual reader about the reasons for including the Arabic language within International and Semitic languages, and the relationship between the terms (global- international- official), and the most important components of the Arabic language that made it among the international languages. Language and international policies that serve the Arabic language.

Optimal Control of Hybrid Systems and Renewable Energies

International policies for sustainable development have led to an increase in distributed power production based on renewable resources [...]

Oltre la frontiera: rappresentazioni e immaginari geografici di volontariə a Lampedusa

Lampedusa is an emblematic place of migration in the Mediterranean basin. This is due to the process of borderscaping constructed by the passage of migrants, the narratives on their arrivals, the national and international policies and the interventions of NGOs and volunteers who cross the island space. I will reconstruct how volunteer tourists’ experiences can give voice to alternative narratives beyond the monolithic one of the migration islands. Lampedusa becomes a space for building bonds and relationships. Furthermore, I will reflect on the restitution of my research in a context which involves mobile people and a global pandemic.

The Conflicted City

As a megacity, Jakarta has enjoyed mixed forms of residential neighbourhoods, in which the kampungs used to prevail. After a period of kampung rehabilitation, relocation programmes intensified in Jakarta in the 1980s, influenced by the Singaporean model and paradigmatic shifts in international policies for housing for the poor. As a reaction, various local NGO s have proposed alternative solutions to what can seem a hegemonic international trend. Starting from the imposition of international models for housing for the poor, this paper studies how local NGO s in Jakarta have tried to negotiate these hegemonic global shifts and to propose other types of solutions. It first analyses the context of urban transformation in the central zones and the eradication of several kampungs. It then addresses the NGO s’ alternative visions of the city and its future, before showing how these visions are deeply rooted in formal and informal networks specific to the Indonesian context.

Economy of the mexican agriculture sector in times of COVID-19

<p>COVID-19, a pandemic disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, changed the production schemes and supply chains in all spheres of the world’s economy. The agricultural sector in Mexico was no exception, although it has been so essential during the pandemic that its growth was higher than the other sectors of the Mexican economy and it stood out as a food supplier in the world in 2020. Farmers’ vocations and the integration of productive food chains led to a surplus of 1.2 billion dollars, with an annual increase of 39.92%. The pandemic is a challenge and an opportunity for the Mexican countryside in terms of digital and technological innovation derived from border investigation. However, it is crucial to establish public agricultural planning policies to help optimize this area of opportunity by focusing on new production and national and international trade models, responding efficiently to national visions to benefit producers-consumers and guaranteeing food security in the framework of the UN’s international policies for sustainable development, the IPCC’s reduction of climate impact and ensuring human health by the WHO.</p>

Pollution in the Arctic Ocean: An overview of multiple pressures and implications for ecosystem services

The Arctic is undergoing unprecedented change. Observations and models demonstrate significant perturbations to the physical and biological systems. Arctic species and ecosystems, particularly in the marine environment, are subject to a wide range of pressures from human activities, including exposure to a complex mixture of pollutants, climate change and fishing activity. These pressures affect the ecosystem services that the Arctic provides. Current international policies are attempting to support sustainable exploitation of Arctic resources with a view to balancing human wellbeing and environmental protection. However, assessments of the potential combined impacts of human activities are limited by data, particularly related to pollutants, a limited understanding of physical and biological processes, and single policies that are limited to ecosystem-level actions. This manuscript considers how, when combined, a suite of existing tools can be used to assess the impacts of pollutants in combination with other anthropogenic pressures on Arctic ecosystems, and on the services that these ecosystems provide. Recommendations are made for the advancement of targeted Arctic research to inform environmental practices and regulatory decisions.

The Innovative Response of Cultural and Creative Industries to Major European Societal Challenges: Toward a Knowledge and Competence Base

In this paper we highlight the importance of culture, cultural heritage and creative industries (CCI) in current European policies in relation to a number of societal challenges, and how the CCI are called to innovatively respond to such challenges. We distinguish four main societal challenges to which the CCI can strategically respond and significantly unlock the potential for innovation and smart growth in the EU. These societal challenges are addressed by four main pillars of the CCI, namely: (1) Europeans’ creativity, cultural diversity and values; (2) European identity and cohesion; (3) European employment, economic resilience and smart growth; and (4) Europe’s external relations. We address each societal challenge from the CCI perspective, indicating how the CCI can provide innovative responses to such challenges and enable strategic crossovers through networking and collaboration, but also referring to some criticalities. We further discuss how this CCI capacity needs public support and provide an overview of how this is undertaken via the main EU, national and international policies, with a focus on the latest trends.

Call for papers for the Special Edition, JOVACET 5(2), 2022

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), referred to, inter alia, as APL in other contexts, has been recognised by South African and international policies as a critical means of access to, and certification of further and higher learning, especially for mature learners. While there is general acknowledgement of the importance of RPL for lifelong learning and social inclusion, learning institutions have not embraced RPL equally across the board, and implementation practices vary greatly, often leading to learner frustration. While there have been some local studies and a growing international literature, RPL is by and large under-researched in South Africa. In light of the above and its long tradition of RPL provision, the University of the Western Cape’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) unit will be hosting a conference on 30 and 31 March 2022, with the theme ‘Implementation, Assessment and Articulation of Recognition of Prior Learning’. As one of the intentions of the conference is to ‘build the scholarship of RPL’ (also known as APL in other contexts), JOVACET will be partnering with the UWC RPL Unit to produce a Special Issue of the journal in 2022 for publication of relevant papers that fall within the scope of our journal. Topics broadly covered by the conference include (but are not limited to) the following:• RPL policy research• Sharing RPL practices• Capacity building for RPL• Innovative RPL models• RPL assessment for undergraduate and postgraduate access in higher education• Articulation models for RPL in post-schooling Submissions for paper presentations at the conference should be made directly to the conference organiser, Dr Rekha Rambharose, email [email protected], but additional, relevant topical papers seeking publication in this JOVACET Special Issue may be directed to Dr Catherine Robertson, email [email protected]. Please note that all submissions considered for publication, whether presented at the conference or not, will undergo the JOVACET double blind review process towards publication in November 2022 or earlier if possible. Due date for full paper submissions (Special Issue): 30 April 2022