A Points Based System

This document sets out the Governments proposals for a new points-based approach to managing the flow of migrants coming to the UK to work or study. Whilst it is generally agreed that migration makes a substantial contribution to economic growth, fills gaps in the labour market, and increases investment, innovation and entrepreneurship, and enriches cultural diversity, it needs to be managed. The Government proposes a five-tier framework, to help people understand how the system works and to direct applicants to the category that is most appropriate for them. The tiers are: (1) highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity; (2) skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in the UK labour force; (3) limited numbers of low skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labour shortages; (4) students; (5) youth mobility and temporary workers, people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives. For each tier applicants will need sufficient points to obtain entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK. Points will be awarded according to objective and transparent criteria, giving a structured decision-making process. Applicants in tiers 2 to 5 will need a certificate of sponsorship. The Government aims for a system that better identifies and attracts migrants who have most to offer the UK; is more efficient, transparent and objective; and that improves compliance and reduces the scope for abuse.

The market for high-skilled workers is becoming increasingly global, as are the markets for knowledge and ideas. While high-skilled immigrants in the United States represent a much smaller proportion of the workforce than they do in countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, these immigrants have an important role in spurring innovation and economic growth in all countries and filling shortages in the domestic labor supply. This report summarizes the proceedings of a Fall 2014 workshop that focused on how immigration policy can be used to attract and retain foreign talent. Participants compared policies on encouraging migration and retention of skilled workers, attracting qualified foreign students and retaining them post-graduation, and input by states or provinces in immigration policies to add flexibility in countries with regional employment differences, among other topics. They also discussed how immigration policies have changed over time in response to undesired labor market outcomes and whether there was sufficient data to measure those outcomes.

Taking a global and multidisciplinary approach, The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism brings together a team of international scholars to examine the travel and tourism industry, which is expected to grow at an annual rate of four percent for the next decade. In more than 500 entries spanning four comprehensive volumes, the Encyclopedia examines the business of tourism around the world paying particular attention to the social, economic, environmental, and policy issues at play. The book examines global, regional, national, and local issues including transportation, infrastructure, the environment, and business promotion. By looking at travel trends and countries large and small, the Encyclopedia analyses a wide variety of challenges and opportunities facing the industry. In taking a comprehensive and global approach, the Encyclopedia approaches the field of travel and tourism through the numerous disciplines it reaches, including the traditional tourism administration curriculum within schools of business and management, economics, public policy, as well as social science disciplines such as the anthropology and sociology. Key features include: More than 500 entries authored and signed by key academics in the field Entries on individual countries that details the health of the tourism industry, policy and planning approaches, promotion efforts, and primary tourism draws. Additional entries look at major cities and popular destinations Coverage of travel trends such as culinary tourism, wine tourism, agritourism, ecotourism, geotourism, slow tourism, heritage and cultural-based tourism, sustainable tourism, and recreation-based tourism Cross-references and further readings A Reader’s Guide grouping articles by disciplinary areas and broad themes

The Points Based System introduced by the UK Border Agency in 2008 was for the most part designed well and provides an adaptable means of meeting the UK's work-related immigration policy objectives. However, the System is not yet delivering its full potential for value for money. The Points Based System scores migrants against a number of assessment criteria, including their skills. The system appears to have attracted skilled applications, although the evidence is not robust. The System has so far worked effectively to meet needs of employers although a third of sponsoring employers surveyed wanted to recruit more skilled foreign workers than they were able to. Sponsors and migrants often struggle to get the information and assistance they need and one-fifth of all sponsors would pay an additional charge to receive better customer service. The Agency needs to improve its management information. At present, it lacks the ability to identify easily individuals whose visas have expired and it does not do enough to check that migrants leave the UK if they have no right to remain. While it has some contact details for an estimated 181,000 failed applicants overall, the Agency cannot be sure how many have left the UK. Poor information systems are also undermining the ability of the Agency to manage the risk that sponsors are failing to comply with immigration rules. It rates as compliant some 96 per cent of its 22,000 sponsoring employers but is unable to say how many it has visited to confirm this.

The overwhelming majority of a software system’s lifespan is spent in use, not in design or implementation. So, why does conventional wisdom insist that software engineers focus primarily on the design and development of large-scale computing systems? In this collection of essays and articles, key members of Google’s Site Reliability Team explain how and why their commitment to the entire lifecycle has enabled the company to successfully build, deploy, monitor, and maintain some of the largest software systems in the world. You’ll learn the principles and practices that enable Google engineers to make systems more scalable, reliable, and efficient—lessons directly applicable to your organization. This book is divided into four sections: Introduction—Learn what site reliability engineering is and why it differs from conventional IT industry practices Principles—Examine the patterns, behaviors, and areas of concern that influence the work of a site reliability engineer (SRE) Practices—Understand the theory and practice of an SRE’s day-to-day work: building and operating large distributed computing systems Management—Explore Google's best practices for training, communication, and meetings that your organization can use

The networks and information systems of today are evolving rapidly. There are new trends and applications in information networking such as wireless sensor networks, ad hoc networks, peer-to-peer systems, vehicular networks, opportunistic networks, grid and cloud computing, pervasive and ubiquitous computing, multimedia systems, security, multi-agent systems, high-speed networks, and web-based systems. These kinds of networks need to manage the increasing number of users, provide support for different services, guarantee the QoS, and optimize the network resources. For these networks, there are many research issues and challenges that should be considered and find solutions. The aim of the book is to provide latest research findings, innovative research results, methods, and development techniques from both theoretical and practical perspectives related to the emerging areas of information networking and their applications.

In the early 1980s, two water-supply systems on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were found to be contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). The water systems were supplied by the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point watertreatment plants, which served enlisted-family housing, barracks for unmarried service personnel, base administrative offices, schools, and recreational areas. The Hadnot Point water system also served the base hospital and an industrial area and supplied water to housing on the Holcomb Boulevard water system (full-time until 1972 and periodically thereafter). This book examines what is known about the contamination of the water supplies at Camp Lejeune and whether the contamination can be linked to any adverse health outcomes in former residents and workers at the base.

Resource added for the Automotive Technology program 106023.