Throughout this research we reflect on how the convergence of technology and migration is changing highly skilled labour mobility and the relationship between place and value production. We reflect ...on the impact of these transformations on the tech sector and IT labour market in Cluj-Napoca. We aim to understand how the pandemic coupled with the current trends in labour mobility and value production have affected labour markets and highly skilled labour migration. The paper stems as reflection from a fieldwork which are currently conducting in Romania with a focus on transnational entrepreneurship, social networks of innovation and labour migration in the tech industry. The article brings forward findings from the field, drawing on the developments that accelerated and changed the way we work in the post-pandemic period and analysing what implications these trends could have on the nature of migration and the connection between value production and place.
Background Forced displacement is a significant issue globally, and it affected 112 million people in 2022. Many of these people have found refuge in low- and middle-income countries. Migrants and ...refugees face complex and specialized health challenges, particularly in the area of mental health. This study aims to provide an in-depth qualitative assessment of the multi-level barriers that migrants face in accessing mental health services in Germany, Macao (Special Administrative Region of China), the Netherlands, Romania, and South Africa. The ultimate objective is to inform tailored health policy and management practices for this vulnerable population. Methods Adhering to a qualitative research paradigm, the study centers on stakeholders' perspectives spanning microsystems, mesosystems, and macrosystems of healthcare. Utilizing a purposive sampling methodology, key informants from the aforementioned geographical locations were engaged in semi-structured interviews. Data underwent thematic content analysis guided by a deductive-inductive approach. Results The study unveiled three pivotal thematic barriers: language and communication obstacles, cultural impediments, and systemic constraints. The unavailability of professional interpreters universally exacerbated language barriers across all countries. Cultural barriers, stigmatization, and discrimination, specifically within the mental health sector, were found to limit access to healthcare further. Systemic barriers encompassed bureaucratic intricacies and a conspicuous lack of resources, including a failure to recognize the urgency of mental healthcare needs for migrants. Conclusions This research elucidates the multifaceted, systemic challenges hindering equitable mental healthcare provision for migrants. It posits that sweeping policy reforms are imperative, advocating for the implementation of strategies, such as increasing the availability of language services, enhancing healthcare providers' capacity, and legal framework and policy change to be more inclusive. The findings substantially contribute to scholarly discourse by providing an interdisciplinary and international lens on the barriers to mental healthcare access for displaced populations. Keywords: Mental Health, Migration, Health Policy, Communication barriers, Healthcare System barriers, Qualitative research, Healthcare disparities
This article contributes to the growing debate on reintegration and the positioning of returnees in their home societies. Increasingly, studies focus on returnees’ agency in reintegration processes, ...their practices of mobility in return and their use of social capital and financial and social remittances acquired abroad. Much less analysed is how ethnicity influences such processes of return and experiences of reintegration. In this paper we examine how returnees belonging to different ethnic groups – Germans, Romanians and Roma – reintegrate in a Romanian multi-ethnic context with marked ethnic inequality and lasting segregation. Fieldwork was carried out in a town that has undergone massive changes in the past 30 years due to the combined effects of foreign direct investment and international migration. Economically, the town changed from a poor and decaying context, to one that was poor but developing and finally to one experiencing strong development. Using a modes-of-integration perspective and analysing returnees’ reintegration and mobilities, we show how return evolved as an ethnicised process in different contexts of reception.
In this paper we aim to investigate the effects and outcomes of the integration system and reveal through data analysis the experiences of immigrants coming to Romania. Traditionally a country of ...emigration, Romania is becoming an emerging immigrant destination, with people coming from countries like Nepal, Vietnam, China. The study relies on a data set collected in two stages in 2017 (N=537) and 2018 (N=645), amongst immigrants residing in Romania. Measures of labor market integration were analysed from a multi-dimensional perspective, mapping out patterns of integration as well as the experiences and challenges faced by the newcomers in their attempt to obtain a satisfactory employment status. The results indicate that Romania is becoming an emerging immigration destination, experiencing a steady increase and diversification of immigration flow. In 2018, the number of those that come here to work exceeded the number of those that came to study, representing the second most important reason of entry after those who came for family reunion (IGI 2018).
Objective
Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) model of psychological health assumes that rational beliefs cause functional emotions and adaptive behavior, but the presumed role of rational ...beliefs as protective factor against psychological distress/disorders is still in debate. An important step in validating an evidence‐based therapy is to investigate the underling theoretical assumptions. Thus, the aim of the present meta‐analysis is to investigate the direction and magnitude of the relationship between rational beliefs and psychological distress.
Method
Our search identified 26 studies that met our criteria. We evaluated the effect size using the random‐effects model and we tested the moderator role of several variables.
Results
The overall results revealed a medium negative association between rational beliefs and psychological distress, r = −0.31. The strongest association was found for unconditional acceptance beliefs (r = −0.41).
Conclusion
The results add empirical evidence for the underling theory of REBT and revealed that the strength of the association between rational beliefs and distress is robust for a wide range of emotional problems. Therefore, rational beliefs could be a trans‐diagnostic protective factor against distress. Moreover, results emphasized that rational beliefs type is an important factor, suggesting an increased focus in therapy on the developing of unconditional acceptance and self‐acceptance beliefs.
This study sought to test the validity of the psychological health model of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). Specifically, this study sought to investigate if rational beliefs were ...associated with happiness and optimism. A multinational sample of 397 university students completed self‐report measures of rational beliefs, happiness and optimism. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in order to test the validity of the REBT model of psychological health. The result of the SEM analysis provided empirical support for REBT's psychological health model of happiness and optimism. The model as a whole explained 33% of variance in levels of happiness and 40% of variance in levels of optimism. Self‐acceptance beliefs were positively and directly associated with happiness and optimism. Preference beliefs were positively and indirectly associated with happiness and optimism via self‐acceptance beliefs. REBT may offer a viable psychotherapeutic method to not only alleviate psychological distress, but also build positive emotion. Current findings may help to bridge the divide between the fields of positive psychology and clinical psychology.
The current study aimed to be an empirical test of E-Prime theory regarding its alleged positive effects of eliminating the verb “to be” from speech. Therefore, we investigated the intensity and the ...direction of the association between the frequency of using the verb “to be” and various psychological outcomes, namely general rational and irrational beliefs, negative functional and dysfunctional emotions, the functionality of inferences, and general psychological distress. 197 participants completed measures of investigated variables. Multiple Pearson product-moment correlations were used to test our hypothesis within a cross-sectional design. The frequency of using the verb “to be” was significantly negatively associated with levels of general rational beliefs,
r
= − .211,
p
= .021, and also with levels of preference beliefs,
r
= − .251,
p
= .003. This study provides first evidence in favor of E-Prime’s assumption that a less frequent use of the verb “to be” can lead to a less rigid and non-judgmental style of thinking. The elimination of the verb “to be” from speech may prevent dogmatic or rigid thinking, thus stimulating flexibility, and in turn determine the increase of rational beliefs levels, especially the levels of preference beliefs. Possible clinical and scientific implications are discussed.
This study aimed to assess the validity of two models which integrate the cognitive (satisfaction with life) and affective (symptoms of anxiety and depression) aspects of subjective well-being within ...the framework of rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) theory; specifically REBT's theory of psychopathology and theory of psychological health.
397 Irish and Northern Irish undergraduate students completed measures of rational/irrational beliefs, satisfaction with life, and anxiety/depression symptoms. Structural equation modelling techniques were used in order to test our hypothesis within a cross-sectional design.
REBT's theory of psychopathology (χ2 = 373.78, d.f. = 163, p < .001; comparative fit index (CFI) = .92; Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = .91; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .06 (95% CI = .05 to .07); standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .07) and psychological health (χ2 = 371.89, d.f. = 181, p < .001; CFI = .93; TLI = .92; RMSEA = .05 (95% CI = .04 to .06); SRMR = .06) provided acceptable fit of the data. Moreover, the psychopathology model explained 34% of variance in levels of anxiety/depression, while the psychological health model explained 33% of variance.
This study provides important findings linking the fields of clinical and positive psychology within a comprehensible framework for both researchers and clinicians. Findings are discussed in relation to the possibility of more effective interventions, incorporating and targeting not only negative outcomes, but also positive concepts within the same model.
Abstract
Background
Autologous vascular arterial or venous graft are not available in 10-40% of patients, due to vascular pathologies, and the utility of decellularized biological scaffolds would be ...a solution for those cases. The purpose of this research was to obtain a functional acellular xenograft, prior to in-vivo testing as a vascular graft in an experimental animal.
Materials and method
Two batches of carotid vasculo-nervous bundles were collected from porcine models from a local slaughterhouse. The arterial grafts were dissected and isolated, obtaining carotid arteries with a caliber of 5–6 mm and a length of approximately 10–12 cm. Two decellularization protocols were used, immersion (n = 10) and perfusion (n = 9). The resulting grafts underwent histological examination, DNA analysis, electrophoresis and spectrophotometry.
Results
Due to severe tissue damage and friability, the batch that was decellularized using perfusion was not examined. The histological examination of grafts stained with hematoxylin-eosin and DAPI highlighted the absence of nuclei. Spectrophotometry revealed a 90% decellularization, and electrophoresis of revealed the migration band of the material extracted from the fresh tissue, as well as the absence of migration bands in the case of the material extracted from decellularized tissues.
Conclusion
We successfully used the immersion protocol to obtain a functional acellular vascular graft, in contrast to perfusion decellularization, where intraluminal high pressures damage the extracellular matrix.
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