Migrant workers comprise 80% of the population of the United Arab Emirates, but there is little research on their mental health. To determine the prevalence and correlates of depression among workers living in labor camps, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in labor camps in Al Ain city. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42) was used to assess depression and suicidal ideation among the study participants. Off the 319 contacted workers agreed to participate, however 239 fully completed the DASS-42. The prevalence of a score >=10 ("depression") was 25.1% (60/239). Depression was correlated with physical illness (97/301), (adjusted odds ratio-AOR = 2.9; 95% CI 2.26-5.18), working in construction industry (prevalence 124/304), AOR = 2.2; 95%CI 1.56-3.83), earning less than 1,000 UAE Dirham per month (prevalence 203/314), (AOR = 1.8; 95%CI 1.33-3.16), and working more than 8 h a day (prevalence 213/315), (AOR = 2.7; 95%CI 1.19-6.27). 20/261 (6.3%) of the study participants reported thoughts of suicide and 8/265 (2.5%) had attempted suicide. People with suicidal ideation were more likely to have a physical illness (AOR = 8.1, 95%CI 2.49-26.67), earn less than 1,000 UAE Dirham per month (AOR = 5.98, 95%CI 1.26-28.45), and work for more than 8 h a day (AOR = 8.35, 95%CI 1.03-67.23). The study identified self reported indicators of a substantial burden of depression, and thoughts of self-harm among laborers surveyed. Policy level intervention and implementation, is needed to improve working conditions, including minimum wages and regulation of working hours is recommended.

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a b s t r a c tDespite the rapid growth of air freight shipments, much of the existing literature on the geography of air transportation has paid more attention to passenger travel than air freight. The purpose of this paper is to elevate our understanding of air freight by determining which specific variables most influence and shape the geographic distribution of air freight by metropolitan area using stepwise regression analysis. The empirical results suggest a regression model of five independent variables was the most parsimonious solution where the final model accounted for 71.1% of the variation in air freight shipments by metropolitan area (MA). The most important predictor was the traffic shadow effect, where less populated MAs under the traffic shadow of larger MAs tended to generate lower levels of freight. The model also suggested that other key predictors included the employment market share in transportation-shippinglogistics industries, per capita personal income, the number of medical diagnostic and supplier establishments, and above average wages in high technology. Overall, metropolitan markets with diverse and efficient ground support systems, freight forwarders and other transportation services, a more affluent population, an intense agglomeration of medical laboratories and related suppliers, and a well paid skilled workforce engaged in computer systems design and electronic product manufacturing are more likely to ship freight by air.

This paper examines the relationships that exist between skilled labor markets and air transportation by US metropolitan area. The goal is to enhance the current literature by conducting a more specific investigation of the links that exist between air passenger demand and employment levels within metropolitan economies focusing especially on employment patterns and the number of establishments for both the professional, scientific, and technical (PST) services sector and the high-technology sector. The results suggest that employment opportunities and the number of establishments in both sectors are systematically linked to the geography of air passenger demand. r

This study was conducted to investigate the spatiotemporal changes of land use/land cover (LULC) along the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over a 20-year period using an integration of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems techniques. The impact of land use change on flooding potential was also investigated through hydrologic model simulations. Landsat images of the years 1996, 2006 and 2016 were processed and analyzed. Change detection was carried out to assess changes in the built-up areas. Furthermore, the impact of urbanization on flooding was assessed using a hydrologic model in two major watersheds of Fujairah Emirate. It was observed that for the period 1996-2006 the vegetation and the built-up areas had increased at a rate of 11.23% and 24.56%, respectively. For the period 2006-2016, this expansion more than doubled in terms of the vegetation class (27.51%) and slightly increased for the built-up class (28.98%). The change detection analysis revealed that urbanization has mostly occurred along the coastal boundary. Hydrologic model simulations quantified the role of urbanization in increasing the flooding potential. The increase depends on watershed characteristics and the rate of change in urbanization and the magnitude of the rainfall event. ARTICLE HISTORY