Exploitation Conditions Research Articles

The “vast gilded void” of Leisure: Energy and Work in The House of Mirth

Abstract Inspired by energy humanities, this article frames The House of Mirth (1905) as a novel with deep understanding of energy and labor. This article analyzes how Wharton effectively borrows from thermodynamic theories like entropy and inertia to juxtapose Lily Bart’s precarity with the elite. Against this inert milieu backdrop, Lily stands out as an energetic, if exhausted, worker. Reframed, her social status decline is a depletion of energy resulting from gendered labor. This highlights Wharton’s effective critique as her literalization of the effects of oppressive forces through work terminology and energy metaphors that portray the embodied, physic, exhaustive effects of exploitative conditions.

The 2024 Olympics: Confronting Human Rights Violations , Global Tensions , and Trans Athlete Participation.

As we anticipate the 2024 Paris Olympics, it is imperative to examine the multifaceted consequences of human rights abuses in host nations, particularly in relation to the treatment of migrant workers involved in the construction and preparation for the Games. These workers often endure exploitative conditions, including insufficient wages, prolonged working hours, and hazardous work environments. This raises significant ethical questions about the obligations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and host nations in ensuring that the Games not only promote athletic excellence but also safeguard the fundamental rights and dignity of all individuals involved.

Damage analysis and restoring of structural integrity of Pelton runner after repair welding: case study

This paper presents the repair welding technology of a Pelton runner blade, including an analysis of damage caused by cavitation. Extreme exploitation conditions resulted in crack initiation followed by its propagation, with a length 200 mm, detected during regular annual maintenance, compromising Peltron turbine’s structural integrity. The base material of the Pelton turbine was steel X3CrNiMo13-4, and as well as the blade geometry itself, required special attention during the process of defining repair welding technology. An austenitic electrode was used for this purpose along with a welding technology defined in a way to counter the initiation of new cracks at the same location. Following the NDT, the Pelton runner was put back into exploitation, along with recommendations for its further monitoring.

How can we measure labour exploitation and develop interventions to protect migrant workers’ health? Insights from intervention-focused research on cattle ranching in Brazil and child domestic work in Liberia and Nigeria

Abstract Much of our food and services rely on the work of migrants, which is often carried out under exploitative terms. Exploitative work results in work-related injuries and illnesses and mental ill-health. Yet, the global health community has been negligent in detecting migrant workers in the general population, and in measuring the effects of their work terms on their health. For instance, the International Labour Organization’s global labour force and forced labour surveys capture few health data. Conversely, health surveys, such as the Demographics and Health Survey (DHS), include few questions on exploitative and hazardous work conditions or aspects of migration status. Studies are even more remiss when it comes to developing evidence for work-related health interventions. This presentation will draw on two recent mixed-methods studies - on cattle ranching in the Amazon region of Brazil (Pará State) (n = 1,241), and on child domestic work in Liberia (n = 1,088) and Nigeria (n = 1,088). Findings suggest some necessary improvements to the measurement of migrant labour exploitation and its health effects, and approaches to gathering intervention-focused evidence. Each study highlights the value of re-thinking data collection beyond disciplinary silos and narrow dichotomous measures (e.g., forced/unforced labour), towards generating a more specific understanding of the different dimensions of labour exploitation (e.g., pay conditions, hours, occupational health and safety training and PPE), various types of associated harm, and how they compare across sectors and contexts. Further, each study demonstrates the benefits of intervention-focused research methods that are designed to feed directly into participatory intervention development processes. On this basis, we will suggest shifts in measurement and research designs to foster operationalizable evidence on migrant workers’ working conditions, health, and worker-informed interventions.

3.O. Scientific session: Migrant labour exploitation and health: How can research foster protection of migrant workers?

Abstract Migrant workers sustain essential industries such as the food supply chain, construction, and domestic and care work. They tend to perform onerous and risk-laden tasks at low pay without employment or health protections, and often under exploitative terms (e.g., debt bonding, piecework). Current evidence on associations between migration, employment terms and conditions, and health indicates profound inequities in work-related health outcomes for migrant workers. Although the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these disparities and their potential social and public health implications, migrant workers continue to be overlooked by public health scholars and policymakers. Supranational regulations (such as EU directives) and national policies rarely consider migrants in their role as workers, and little research is dedicated to questions at the intersection of migration, employment, and health. The invisibility of migrant workers is also a matter of disciplinary and sectoral silos, with different aspects of migrant labour regulated separately by Ministries of Immigration, Labour, Agriculture, Health, and others. These silos create incompatible, context-contingent definitions, terminologies, and administrative categorizations, leading to inconsistent data collection and data gaps which, in turn, translate into policy blind spots. Data that are comparable across contexts and that refer to migration, employment/work and health are generally scarce. For some sectors and contexts, virtually no data exist; e.g., for migrant workers in agriculture, construction, and domestic work, and for migrant workers in low- and middle-income countries. There is barely any evidence about interventions to improve the structures that dictate migrant workers’ employment conditions or obligations of employers. Given the limited participatory research with migrant workers, we have a very poor understanding of their views and viable intervention options, and migrant workers’ voices thus also remain absent from policymaking. This workshop aims to contribute to greater visibility of - and ultimately action on - migrant labour exploitation in research and policy. To this end, it will map current challenges and shortcomings in generating evidence on the links between migration, work/employment, and health; and it will suggest ways to improve research and interventions to address migrant workers’ health, based on the speakers’ experience in developing intervention-focused evidence in different contexts. The workshop will conclude with an open discussion to identify further relevant questions and elaborate steps towards better research and greater protections for mobile worker populations. Key messages • Harm from exploitative working conditions among migrant workers is substantial, yet data collection methods and intervention designs are limited. • For public health research to effectively help protect the health and rights of migrant workers, it is essential to share methods and insights across disciplines to drive research for action.

Welfare governance

This article connects to broader discussions on governance and neoliberal individualisation and advances how activation policies push a focus on labour market participation no matter what the cost – leaving non-citizens vulnerable to exploitative working conditions and termination of their stay permits if they do not participate. This goes along with a responsibilisation of the ‘poor migrant’, individualising their failure to secure their living that provides crucial momentum to drive them out of the national territory. Pointing to the broader context of intersectional (especially gendered and racialised) inequalities, this contribution concludes that precarity (both material and status-wise) is one of the key results characterising the current welfare governance of non-citizens.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF HYDRATE FORMATION PECULIARITIES FOR CONDITIONS OF THE TURNO AND CENOMANIAN DEPOSITS: Part II

This paper is the second part of the research devoted to the study of hydrate formation features for the conditions of Turonian and Cenomanian deposits. The launch of new gas projects at the Turon and Senoman production facilities in Western Siberia provided a good opportunity to critically analyze the known methods of protecting production, gathering and transportation facilities of the gas field from the formation of solid gas hydrates. The paper presents the experience of implementing a program of laboratory studies of conditions of gas hydrate formation with their subsequent processing and in-depth analysis. The research program covered the area of thermobaric parameters typical for the conditions of Turon-Senoman deposits exploitation with localization of hydrate-hazardous areas in the conditions of Technological Regimes for full development. The description of laboratory studies is given, in which two gas compositions of Senoman and Turon objects, different variants of mineralization and ionic composition corresponding to formation and condensation water, as well as hydrate formation conditions under changing dosages of basic inhibitor on the basis of methanol were considered. The details of the experiment based on the method of swinging cells and the subsequent analysis of the results of the completed experiments to determine the thermobaric conditions of formation and decomposition of hydrates are given. The main features of the experiment are specified, estimates of the rate of change of the influencing parameters of the experiment on its quality are given. In the process of implementation of the experimental program, the optimal values of these parameters were selected, which allowed us to significantly reduce the variation of experimental results to determine the thermobaric conditions of hydrate formation. It is experimentally established that the temperature of hydrate decomposition is higher than the temperature of its formation at all investigated gas compositions and water mineralization.

The Social Implications of Circular Clothing Economies in the Global North

The clothing industry is a hotbed for exploitative working conditions and environmental damage, of which affluent global North countries remain a substantial driver. The circular economy is a potential solution to these issues, but its social implications remain unclear. Using the UK as a case study, this article analyses the global social impacts of a transition to circular clothing economies in the global North, finding these to be (almost) entirely dependent upon the intentions and design of the associated policies and governance, as well as broader socio-economic changes. Some aspects of a transition will be unambiguously good for some people; others will only be beneficial with careful governance. Moreover, entrenched global economic inequalities leave trade-offs borne largely by the global South, highlighting the need for circular economy research—its drive for localization notwithstanding—to look globally to consider how a fair transition can be achieved.

Uneven Development through Profit Repatriation: How Capitalism's Class and Geographical Antagonisms Intertwine

AbstractThis article provides the first comprehensive empirical analysis of global profit repatriation as a mechanism of uneven development, thereby challenging the development model of Foreign Direct Investment. Between 2005 and 2020, transnational corporations repatriated an annual average of one trillion USD, corresponding each year to 4.2% of the global FDI stock. Net profit flows take on a centripetal form: the biggest net losers are middle‐income countries such as the Russian Federation, Brazil, and Nigeria; the winners are a few high‐income countries, above all the United States. By analysing the impact of profit repatriation on accumulation dynamics in net profit exporting and importing countries, and by examining the exploitative conditions under which profits are generated in the former, we situate our findings in current theoretical debates on uneven development and geographical transfer of value, as well as on the intertwining of capitalism's class and geographical antagonisms.

The impact of liminal legal status on labor market experiences: a comparative study of Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees in Israel

ABSTRACT This article examines the labor market experiences of Sudanese forced migrants in Israel under prolonged temporary legal status. It underscores how regulatory and legal frameworks, particularly the mechanism of institutional ambiguity as a form of legal violence, shape migrants’ socioeconomic outcomes. Employing a mixed-methods approach and comparative analysis, the study adopts Menjívar’s, C. (2006. “Liminal legality: Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants’ lives in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 111 (4): 999–1037) concept of ‘liminal legality’ as an analytical lens to compare the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. The findings reveal significant disparities between these two groups in employment patterns, wages, and exposure to exploitative working conditions, primarily driven by differences in legal status . Asylum seekers are disproportionately relegated to unskilled, precarious jobs at the bottom of the employment ladder, facing heightened vulnerability to exploitative working conditions. Refugees, despite their relatively ‘premium’ status, also encounter significant constraints in labor market participation, reflecting their confinement to the secondary labor market. By highlighting these disparities, this article advances our knowledge of how positions along the continuum of liminal legality shapes employment outcomes among forced migrants. It also contributes to the broader discourse on socio-political and legal barriers that hinder migrant integration.

Liminality and transactional sex among queer refugees: Insights from Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, and Switzerland

Abstract People of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions who have been forcibly displaced (hereafter referred to as ‘queer refugees’) encounter liminal conditions along their displacement journeys that reinforce their marginalization. We conducted interviews with 46 queer refugees in four countries: Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, and Switzerland. We found that restrictive border controls, migration and refugee policies, asylum processes, and integration efforts structured queer refugees’ liminalities. In turn, they employed survival strategies, including engaging in transactional sexual practices, to meet their basic needs; however, these practices introduced health challenges for which they had limited access to services. In many instances, queer refugees engaged in transactional sex under exploitative and abusive conditions that heightened the risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Thus, we conclude that forced displacement emplaced queer refugees in states of multidimensional liminality that reinforced their marginalization.

Development of Guidelines for the Design of Cantilevers

Cantilevers are elements typically used in the design of various structures such as factory halls or cantilever cranes. Traditionally, such elements are made of standard profiles or, in the case of large loads, by welding from standard sheets. Often, due to stationary conditions of exploitation, no attention is paid to mass reduction. Increasingly stringent requirements on reducing costs, but also on reducing environmental impact through reducing energy consumption necessary for the production, processing, and transport of materials, facilitate the application of optimization to obtain a construction solution with minimal mass. However, doing so requires advanced high-cost computer tools and increases the required competencies of designers. In this paper, a series of optimizations have been carried out for typical reach and load values of cantilevers aiming to create a database that will facilitate algorithms for selecting cross-sectional dimensions suitable for production using either additive technologies or traditional methods.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF HYDRATE FORMATION PECULIARITIES FOR CONDITIONS OF THE TURNO AND CENOMANIAN DEPOSITS. Part I

This paper is the Part I of a study devoted to investigating the peculiarities of hydrate formation for the conditions of Turonian and Cenomanian reservoirs. The launch of new gas projects at the Turon and Senoman production facilities in Western Siberia provided a good opportunity to critically analyze the known methods of protecting production, gathering and transportation facilities of the gas field from the formation of solid gas hydrates. The paper presents the experience of implementing a program of laboratory studies of conditions of gas hydrate formation with their subsequent processing and in-depth analysis. The research program covered the area of thermobaric parameters typical for the conditions of Turon-Senoman deposits exploitation with localization of hydrate-hazardous areas in the conditions of technological regimes for full development. The description of laboratory studies is given, in which two gas compositions of Senoman and Turon objects, different variants of mineralization and ionic composition corresponding to formation and condensation water, as well as hydrate formation conditions under changing dosages of basic inhibitor on the basis of methanol were considered. The details of the experiment based on the method of swinging cells and the subsequent analysis of the results of the completed experiments to determine the thermobaric conditions of formation and decomposition of hydrates are given. The main features of the experiment are specified, estimates of the rate of change of the influencing parameters of the experiment on its quality are given. In the process of implementation of the experimental program, the optimal values of these parameters were selected, which allowed us to significantly reduce the variation of experimental results to determine the thermobaric conditions of hydrate formation. It is experimentally established that the temperature of hydrate decomposition is higher than the temperature of its formation at all investigated gas compositions and water mineralization.Based on the processing of an extensive matrix of experimental studies, the calculation dependences of thermobaric conditions of hydrate formation were specified, which allowed to significantly improve the efficiency of prediction and accuracy of calculation of optimal dosages of inhibitor for the Kharampurskoye gas field. In this part of the study, the characteristic thermobaric conditions of natural gas production and collection from Turonian-Cenomanian deposits are summarized, the component composition of the investigated gas and water is described, and the methodology of laboratory tests is described.

Increasing Exploitation Durability of Two-Layer Cast Mill Rolls and Assessment of the Applicability of the XGBoost Machine Learning Method to Manage Their Quality.

The increase in exploitation durability of two-layer cast rolls with the working layer made of high chromium cast iron allows one to significantly improve the quality of rolled metal as well as to increase the economic efficiency of the manufacturing process. However, it is severely hindered due to the massiveness of castings, the impossibility of both evaluating mechanical properties along the depth of the working layer, and providing the structural uniformity of the working surface and the decrease in stresses. In our research, aiming to enhance the exploitation durability of sheet rolls, it is recommended to achieve structural uniformity by CuMg alloying, which increases the concentration of copper up to 2.78 wt.% in certain zones and, owing to the accelerated austenite decomposition at a high temperature during the cool-down of the castings, led to the reduction in excessive strength and the level of heat stresses in the castings. We propose the regimes of cyclic heat treatments which, due to the decomposition of retained austenite and the fragmentation of structure, control the level of hardness to reduce and uniformize the level of stresses along the length of a barrel. A further improvement in the predictions of exploitation durability using XGboost method, which was performed based on the chemical composition of the working layer of high-chromium cast iron and heat treatment parameters, requires taking into account the factors characterizing exploitation conditions of specific rolling mills and the transformations of structural-phase state of the surface obtained by a non-destructive control method. As the controlled parameter, the hardness measured on the roll's surface is recommended, while the gradient change in mechanical properties along the working layer depth can be feasibly analyzed by a magnetic method of coercive force measuring.

“You are too expensive, you need to work faster!”: Ukrainian agricultural workers navigating precarities in Denmark

AbstractUkrainian migration to Denmark has been structured by national fast‐track programmes, predominantly funnelling Ukrainians towards low‐skilled and precarious jobs in Danish livestock production. However, since the recent Russian invasion, the introduction of Law L145 has entitled Ukrainians in Denmark to similar employment rights as the European Union citizens through an SL1 visa. While this opens up previously inaccessible areas of the Danish labour market, it also makes Ukrainians subject to the same restrictive legislation as other refugees and puts a hard end date to their visas, making their future status uncertain. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with nine Ukrainian agricultural workers living in Denmark at the time of the invasion, this article explores their attempts to navigate precarities of work, gender and legal status in Denmark. Precarities of work sprang from differences between agricultural sectors, as year‐round work with livestock involved a dependence on farmers, where workers accepted exploitative conditions in order to maintain their residence and work permits. Precarities of gender were reflected in the way women were made dependent on their partner through an “accompanying family members” visa, which shaped family lives and became problematic in the case of separations. Precarities of legal status were created by frequent legislative changes that made legal status uncertain and destabilized the long‐term investments of Ukrainians planning to stay in Denmark. While the SL1 offered a way out of some of the precarities experienced by agricultural workers, it did so at the cost of added complications and continuing uncertainty, pushing people from one kind of precarity to another.

Evaluation of the Changes in Dimensions of the Footprint of Agricultural Tires under Various Exploitation Conditions

This paper presents an innovative method to determine the impact of agricultural wheels on soil. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, and the parameters of the tire footprints on the soil were analyzed. The tested parameters were the width, length, and depth of the footprint, the cross-section area of the tire, and the area of the footprint. All parameters were determined using the 3D scanning method. Two types of tires, two levels of vertical load, and three levels of inflation pressure were used. The aim of the research was to demonstrate differences in changes in the footprint parameters as a result of changes in the operational parameters of the tires. It was found the bias-ply tire was less responsive to changes in the width and length of the footprint than the radial tire. Moreover, it was shown that radial and bias-ply tires achieved similar values for the footprint area but in the case of bias-ply tires, there was a much greater footprint depth. This means that the side parts of the footprint of bias-ply tires have a more vertical profile, so they carry the vertical loads to a lesser extent.

Thailand's Contract Farming Act at a Crossroads: Impacts, Shortfalls, and the Need to Better Protect Smallholders

ABSTRACT Thailand is a global pioneer in contract farming (CF). Many smallholder farmers have gained better access to markets and capital while achieving higher and more stable incomes. Nevertheless, farmers have also faced exploitative conditions in their contractual relationships with agribusiness companies. In response, the Thai Parliament in 2017 passed the Contract Farming Promotion and Development Act. Based on fieldwork with key actors and contract farmers, this article examines how debates around CF have unfolded over time, the key issues discussed in the reform process before and after the CF Act was enacted, and its implications for smallholders. The law has had some success with increasing transparency, improving the conciliation process between farmers and companies, and deterring companies from unfair practices. However, in reality, it has done little to protect the livelihoods of Thai farmers due to a number of limitations, including weaknesses of the law itself, its limited implementation, and the country’s wider agrarian political economy. Specifically, the country’s oligarchic and oligopolistic political-economic structures have resulted in farmers having little bargaining or political power and limited access to markets.

Terrestrial laser scanning in the construction of a numerical model geometry related to underground post-mining facility

Abstract The procedure of building a quasi-3D geometry of a numerical model of an underground post-mining facility is presented in the article. For this purpose, measurements were made, based on the terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology, of a fragment of St. John adit, which is part of the underground tourist route “Geopark” St. Johannes Mine in Krobica in Lower Silesia in Poland, in the neighborhood of Krobica, Gierczyn and Przecznica – the places located in the vicinity of the well-known health resort Świeradów Zdrój. TLS, as one of the most advanced mining surveying technologies, enables accurate mapping of even the most complex geometries of underground mining facilities. This opens wide possibilities in the construction of more accurate numerical models of the behavior of the rock mass around such underground objects. As a result, more reliable calculation results are obtained, which are the basis for designing mining support protection, for example, with rock bolting. This translates into an improvement in the safety of underground excavations, in the conditions of exploitation in mining as well as in historical post-mining excavations made available to tourists. In the construction of the geometry of numerical model, software such as Trimble RealWorks was used to orientate individual “point clouds” from measurement stations. CloudCompare software was also used to generate cross sections to the adit axis, and AutoCad software was used for processing and spatial orientation of a selected characteristic cross section. Using the latest version of the FLAC 3D v.9.0 software, the excavation cross-section geometry obtained from measurements was mapped to and discretized (i.e., meshed), giving it a third dimension at the same time.

Influence of stimulating basics on the level of iron in the blood of Saanen kids

Goat milk is becoming increasingly attractive for the food sector due to some advantages compared to cow milk: it has higher fat content, protein levels, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, cobalt, vitamins B1, B2, C, and some amino acids. The Saanen breed is the most attractive for farms since, along with the qualitative superiority of milk, this breed is characterized by increased milk yield. Currently, the main goal of research in goat breeding is to preserve and improve animals’ genetic potential under intensive exploitation conditions when any environmental factor (incredibly inadequate feeding) can negatively affect the productive qualities of animals. The period of their prenatal and early postnatal ontogenesis is especially significant. One of the critical indicators of metabolic processes in the body of young animals is iron, which enhances oxidative processes and promotes the reproduction of erythrocyte hemoglobin. The study showed the influence of the age factor on an increase in the concentration of iron in the blood and better absorption of iron in the presence of copper in the body. The effectiveness of using an iron-containing preparation in combination with protein hydrolysate, a source of protein necessary for the formation of enzymes and hormones involved in regulating iron metabolism in the body, has been noted.

Reclaiming public spaces: experiences of social exclusion of female sanitary workers in public spaces in Lahore, Pakistan

ABSTRACT This research explores the challenges faced by female Christian sanitary workers in the public spaces of Lahore, Pakistan, utilising Nancy Fraser’s analytical framework of redistribution, recognition, and representation to uncover multifaceted factors contributing to their societal marginalisation. Through in-depth interviews with 19 participants, the study sheds light on significant economic, sociocultural, and political barriers, including exploitative working conditions religious discrimination, and societal attitudes deeming sanitation labour as inferior. The findings reveal that workers endure exploitative work devoid of protections, heightened by enduring religious discrimination and caste hierarchies fostering disrespect towards sanitation labour as polluting and lowly. This situation induces anxiety amongst sanitation workers when accessing shared amenities, visceral harassment during housing searches, everyday humiliation while using public transport, and internalisation of shame even when accessing health-care facilities. The absence of workplace contracts, bargaining powers, or avenues to advocate for needs-based policy changes leaves workers politically marginalised, intensifying the precarity faced by multiple generations undertaking hazardous manual roles in urban waste management. Consequently, this engenders socio-spatial exclusion of female sanitation workers across economic, sociocultural, and political dimensions. This exclusion challenges prevailing state narratives celebrating cleanliness initiatives while perpetuating hardships for those contributing to waste management. The research emphasises the urgent need for targeted policy interventions, calling for a reassessment of administrative and planning approaches governing public spaces to foster inclusivity, challenge societal hierarchies, and ensure adequate representation for marginalised women amidst Lahore’s ongoing urbanisation.