Laura Wiesböck

The economic crisis as a driver of cross-border labour mobility? A multi-method perspective on the case of the Central European Region

ABSTRACT This paper discusses labour mobility from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia to Austria during the period before and after the economic crisis of 2008/2009. Building up on the TRANSLAB research project, we illustrate various facets of the interregional labour market with a mixed methods approach using regional macro-economic data, national labour market statistics, 20 expert interviews and a longitudinal survey consisting of 1345 cross-border commuters who work in Austria. Empirically we demonstrate that, due to the gradual opening of the Austrian labour market from 2004 to 2011, flows of cross-border commuters have steadily increased. Since 2009 the social composition of cross-border commuters has changed as well. We can observe a growing number of workers seeking employment in Austria who have been most vulnerable during the crisis: the young, the lowly educated and female workers. Moreover, expert interviews show a rising and economically driven demand for employment in Austria.

A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications

There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards) are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos), to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events.

Cross-Border Commuting and Transformational Dynamics in Europe: What Is the Link?

This chapter discusses cross-border commuting as a form of mobility that is structured by multiple social transformation processes. Cross-border commuting has gained increasing attention in migration research by identifying and explaining new patterns of transnational mobility and its effects on the socio-economic status, well-being or emerging forms of transnational agency and belonging. To address its effects on social transformation, it is crucial to understand commuting practices relative to the changing regional and border dynamics in which cultural, political and economic asymmetries play a significant role. This is particular relevant for east-west circular migration in the intra-European context, often marked by long-lasting regional disparities. The emergence of cross-border governance in the form of Euroregions is a crucial example for the institutionalization of stimulated regional cooperation along the national borders within the EU. The Central European Region is a notable example of this development: Here, increasing cross-border commuting is framed in multiple ways by on-going societal transformations resulting both from European enlargement processes and the significant post-socialist reconfiguration of economic, political and legal institutions. With empirical reference to a current study in the Central European Region, the chapter discusses emerging types, patterns, and sequences of cross-border commuting strategies as crucial for border-overlapping intra-European socially and symbolically integrated transnational labor markets.

Heat Vulnerability, Poverty and Health Inequalities in Urban Migrant Communities: A Pilot Study from Vienna

Climate change is projected to further increase heat waves in number, intensity and duration over most land areas in the twenty-first century. Among the urban population persons with migrant background are particularly considered to be at risk during heat waves due to the intersection of several risk factors: social status (poverty, manual labour), residential area (densely populated, disadvantaged urban areas, heat islands) and health condition. In this chapter we pledge for a differentiated approach in studying heat-related health outcomes and present first descriptive outcomes of two explorative case studies of multi-generation-families in Vienna, comparing a family with Turkish migrant background with a family without migrant background. The data consists of participant observation and in-depth interviews and has been generated in the course of the research project “Vulnerability of and adaption strategies for migrant groups in urban heat environments (EthniCityHeat)” between June and September 2014.

Vulnerability to heatwaves and implications for public health interventions – A scoping review.

Background: Heatwaves form a serious public health threat, especially for vulnerable groups. Interventions such as active outreach programs, exposure reduction measures and monitoring and mapping of at‐risk groups are increasingly implemented across the world but little is known about their effect. Objectives: To assess how vulnerable groups are identified and reached in heat health interventions, to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of those interventions, and to identify research gaps in existing literature. Methods: We performed a literature search in relevant scientific literature databases and searched with a four element search model for articles published from 1995 onward. We extracted data on intervention measures, target group and evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency. Results: We identified 23 eligible studies. Patterns exist in type of interventions 1) to detect and 2) to influence extrinsic and intrinsic risk and protective factors. Results showed several intervention barriers related to the variety and intersection of these factors, as well as the self‐perception of vulnerable groups, and misconceptions and unfavorable attitudes towards intervention benefits. While modest indications for the evidence on the effectiveness of interventions were found, efficiency remains unclear. Discussion: Interventions entailed logical combinations of measures, subsumed as packages. Evidence for effective and efficient intervention is limited by the difficulty to determine effects and because single measures are mutually dependent. Interventions prioritized promoting behavioral change and were based on behavioral assumptions that remain untested and mechanisms not worked out explicitly. Conclusions: Multifaceted efforts are needed to tailor interventions, compiled in heat health warning systems and action plans for exposure reduction and protection of vulnerable populations, to fit the social, economic and geographical context. Besides adequately addressing relevant risk and protective factors, the challenge is to integrate perspectives of vulnerable groups. Future research should focus on intervention barriers and improving the methods of effectiveness and efficiency evaluation.

Das performierende Selbst im Hochschulsystem

Zusammenfassung Die Idee, dass mehr Wettbewerb zu besseren Ergebnissen fuhrt, kommt aus der Wirtschatswissenschat. Wie wirkt sie sich aber auf die soziologische Lehre und Forschung aus? Mit dieser Frage beschatigt sich das kunstlerische Projekt Das performierende Selbst im Hochschulsystem. In der partizipativen Ausstellung werden erhohte Anforderungen an individuelle Performances im reformierten Hochschulsystem dargestellt und persiliert. Mithilfe von unterschiedlichen Ansatzen wird die kollektive Anpassung an Praktiken, die den Umgang mit den Leistungserwartungen im akademischen System scheinbar erleichtern, auf satirische Weise thematisiert. Die Ausstellung besteht aus vier Arbeiten und wurde im Mai 2015 erstmals am Institut fur Soziologie der Universitat Wien prasentiert. ----- Bibliographie : Wiesbock, Laura: Das performierende Selbst im Hochschulsystem, Soziologiemagazin, 2-2015, S. 60-69. https://doi.org/10.3224/soz.v8i2.21554

Differentiation of Migration Patterns in Europe: Social Integration Amidst Competing Societal Leitbilder of Enclosure of the ‘Other’, Acceptance, and Encouragement of Migration

The following contribution deals with changes in European migration patterns, focusing on processes of integration. Drawing on available comparative European data, it inquires whether and how conditions of social integration have changed in response to the differentiation of migration forms. How has the integration of migrants into European societies taken shape amidst the competing societal Leitbilder of enclosure of the other, acceptance, and encouragement of migration? In answering this research question, we will focus in particular on the dynamics of intra-European migration.