Demographic Implications Research Articles

Current evidence of ‘female flight’ from remote Northern Territory Aboriginal communities – demographic and policy implications

A small body of research has demonstrated the dramatic social, settlement and demographic effects of Indigenous ‘female flight’ from remote communities in Alaska, Canada, and the Northern Sparsely Populated Areas of Europe. In the Northern Territory of Australia, remote Indigenous settlement patterns are highly similar to these areas but neither research nor policy have had anything to say about whether female flight has or might also impact there. This paper applies quantitative tests to thirty years of Census data to look for evidence of precursors in the Northern Territory and discusses the demographic and policy implications in light of the findings.

Neural Tube Defect: Epidemiologic and Demographic Implication

Congenital abnormalities can develop at any time after the first month of pregnancy. From conception to birth, the embryo, and the fetus have to adapt, at a molecular and transcriptional level, to various changes in their cellular mileau . At conception, this environment depends on the micronutritional status of maternal and paternal germ cells and after conception on maternal nutritional status, metabolism, and lifestyle. Neural tube defect (NTD) is one of the commonest malformations with worldwide prevalence of 1-3/1000 live births. They are caused by failure of neural tube to close during neurulation in 21-28 embryonic days. The most common types of NTD are anencephaly and spina bifida, which are caused by failure of closure of cranial pore and spinal part of neural tube, respectively. Unfortunately the number of studies on this aspect is too scanty in our state. Therefore the present research work has been undertaken in the Department of Anatomy, M.K.C.G. Medical College, Berhampur during the period 2011-2013 with the help of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Radiodiagnosis to study the Neural tube defect aiming to know the prevalence and demographic status , to reduce maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality by selected obstetrical management. Keyword: Anencephaly , Congenital , Neural tube defect , Neurulation , Spina bifida .

Egypt Demographic Trends and Socio-Economic Implications

The aim of this article is to examine the implications of demographic change in Egypt. This paper provides new grounds for research and applications in designing, developing, implementing and institutionalizing decision support and their use in socio-economic development. This work goes beyond both a theoretical expectation and empirical evidence that rapid population growth is one of the crucial problems that have hindered development efforts in the region; it carries serious implications for employment, access to services and the cost of subsidies. These could spell serious political consequences in what is already a politically unstable state. Population data for Egypt are extremely sensitive and need to be treated cautiously. Nonetheless, it is clear that Egypt since the 1970s has experienced a dramatic rise in population compared to other parts of the developing world. Despite the progress of economic reforms and structural adjustments program applied during the past years, Egypt is still suffering in the beginning of the twenty first century- from a slowdown in the economic activity, a shortage in foreign exchange earnings, structural imbalances in the labor market, a high rate of unemployment, and a growing government deficit. Rapid population growth in a country known for its scarcity of inhabitable land and fresh water could put an extraordinary strain on the environment and could turn it to an untenable population density.

New radiocarbon dates for the Neolithic period in Bosnia & Herzegovina

Nearly a century ago, Gordon Childe coined the expression “Neolithic Revolution” to account for the shift from a foraging to a farming lifestyle.1 If the social, cultural, economic and demographic implications of this change indeed had a profound and inalterable impact upon the fate of humanity2, this process was by no means sudden, as the term Revolution would imply. On the contrary, the process of domestication of plants and animals took several millennia to be completed, from the earliest occurrences of domesticates by c. 8500–8000 cal. BC in the Fertile Crescent, to the general presence of farming practices by 7000 cal. BC across the Levant.3 Likewise, the very process of crop domestication can take up to several millennia to be fully completed.4 Wild predecessors for Neolithic plant domesticates are absent in Europe, while the contribution of the European wild fauna to animal domesticate populations appears to be overall limited.5 All categories of data thus indicate that farming practices were introduced into Europe from the Near East. Although the precise mechanisms of this process are a matter of contention, its chronology is well known thanks to the ac-

Ageing, Difference and Discrimination: Property Transactions in the Crucible of Human Rights Norms

The emergence and intensification of an international debate concerning the role of human rights norms in addressing difference and discrimination linked to ageing has culminated in the campaign for a new international convention on the rights of older people. At the same time, the demographic and socioeconomic implications of the 'ageing society' have coincided with asset-based welfare to generate a new environment of risk around housing equity transactions. These parallel discourses invoke competing images of the older person as a vulnerable legal subject and a self-responsible autonomous consumer, with the domain of private, market-based property transactions to liquidate housing equity almost exclusively underpinned by a narrative of self-responsible individualism. This paper explores the issues surrounding differential vulnerabilities as they affect older owner's housing equity transactions, and reflects on alternative strategies to develop a coherent theoretical framework for older owners' legal subjectivity.

Multiple opportunities to reduce radiation dose from myocardial perfusion imaging

Multiple opportunities to reduce radiation dose from myocardial perfusion imaging

Demographic and Epidemiological Transitions in Nepal: Demographic Implications By Juhee Vajracharya Suwal

Publisher: New Delhi: ADROIT PUBLISHERS, 2012, xvii+ 253p; Rs. 1272.00DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ejdi.v13i0.7220 Economic Journal of Development Issues Vol.13 & 14 2011, pp.152-154

Ageing, Difference and Discrimination: Property Transactions in the Crucible of Human Rights Norms

The question of group-based human rights for older people, rooted in recognition of their specific vulnerabilities, has come under the spotlight in recent years. The emergence and intensification of an international debate concerning the role of human rights norms in addressing difference and discrimination linked to ageing has culminated in the campaign for a new international convention on the rights of older people, to mirror existing group-based conventions relating to the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. At the same time, the demographic and socio-economic implications of the ‘ageing society’ have coincided with a political and policy context rooted in asset-based welfare to generate a new environment of risk around property transactions that utilise housing equity after retirement. These parallel discourses invoke competing images of the older person as a vulnerable legal subject and as a self-responsible autonomous consumer. While these tensions have to some extent been played out in debates concerning public service provision, the domain of private, market-based property transactions to liquidate housing equity (which now dominates welfare provision for older owners) has been almost exclusively underpinned by a narrative of self-responsible individualism. This paper explores the issues surrounding differential vulnerabilities as they affect older owner’s housing equity transactions, and reflects on alternative strategies to develop a coherent theoretical framework for older owners’ legal subjectivity.

Calcification, Storm Damage and Population Resilience of Tabular Corals under Climate Change

Two facets of climate change–increased tropical storm intensity and ocean acidification–are expected to detrimentally affect reef-building organisms by increasing their mortality rates and decreasing their calcification rates. Our current understanding of these effects is largely based on individual organisms’ short-term responses to experimental manipulations. However, predicting the ecologically-relevant effects of climate change requires understanding the long-term demographic implications of these organism-level responses. In this study, we investigate how storm intensity and calcification rate interact to affect population dynamics of the table coral Acropora hyacinthus, a dominant and geographically widespread ecosystem engineer on wave-exposed Indo-Pacific reefs. We develop a mechanistic framework based on the responses of individual-level demographic rates to changes in the physical and chemical environment, using a size-structured population model that enables us to rigorously incorporate uncertainty. We find that table coral populations are vulnerable to future collapse, placing in jeopardy many other reef organisms that are dependent upon them for shelter and food. Resistance to collapse is largely insensitive to predicted changes in storm intensity, but is highly dependent on the extent to which calcification influences both the mechanical properties of reef substrate and the colony-level trade-off between growth rate and skeletal strength. This study provides the first rigorous quantitative accounting of the demographic implications of the effects of ocean acidification and changes in storm intensity, and provides a template for further studies of climate-induced shifts in ecosystems, including coral reefs.

Nubian Complex reduction strategies in Dhofar, southern Oman

Between 2010 and 2012, the Dhofar Archaeological Project has located and mapped 260 Nubian Complex occurrences across Dhofar, southern Oman. Many of these lithic assemblages are technologically homologous to the Late Nubian Industry found in Africa, while others may represent a local industry derived from classic Nubian Levallois technology. The purpose of this paper is to describe the various reduction strategies encountered at a sample of Nubian Complex sites from Dhofar, to explore inter-assemblage variability, and, ultimately, to begin to articulate technological units within the “Dhofar Nubian Tradition.” To achieve this aim, we have developed an analytical scheme with which to describe variability among Nubian Levallois reduction strategies. From our analysis, we are able to discern at least two distinct industries within a regional lithic tradition. Demographic implications of the enduring Dhofar Nubian Tradition are considered in light of new evidence found throughout the Arabian Peninsula.

Strong gender differences in reproductive success variance, and the times to the most recent common ancestors

The Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA) based on human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is estimated to be twice that based on the non-recombining part of the Y chromosome (NRY). These TMRCAs have special demographic implications because mtDNA is transmitted only from mother to child, while NRY is passed along from father to son. Therefore, the former locus reflects female history, and the latter, male history. To investigate what caused the two-to-one female–male TMRCA ratio rF/M=TF/TM in humans, we develop a forward-looking agent-based model (ABM) with overlapping generations. Our ABM simulates agents with individual life cycles, including life events such as reaching maturity or menopause. We implemented two main mating systems: polygynandry and polygyny with different degrees in between. In each mating system, the male population can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous. In the latter case, some males are ‘alphas’ and others are ‘betas’, which reflects the extent to which they are favored by female mates. A heterogeneous male population implies a competition among males with the purpose of signaling as alpha males. The introduction of a heterogeneous male population is found to reduce by a factor 2 the probability of finding equal female and male TMRCAs and shifts the distribution of rF/M to higher values. In order to account for the empirical observation of the factor 2, a high level of heterogeneity in the male population is needed: less than half the males can be alphas and betas can have at most half the fitness of alphas for the TMRCA ratio to depart significantly from 1. In addition, we find that, in the modes that maximize the probability of having 1.5<rF/M<2.5, the present generation has 1.4 times as many female as male ancestors. We also tested the effect of sex-biased migration and sex-specific death rates and found that these are unlikely to explain alone the sex-biased TMRCA ratio observed in humans. Our results support the view that we are descended from males who were successful in a highly competitive context, while females were facing a much smaller female–female competition.

Labour contracts in the European Union, 2000–2005: Differences among demographic groups and implications for the quality of working life and work satisfaction

Current theorizing holds that organizations may be less motivated to offer good work circumstances to temporary workers because the latter do not constitute the core of the organization. This implies that their quality of working life and work satisfaction could be lower than that of permanent workers. Therefore, it is potentially important to examine the prevalence and consequences of having temporary employment. The present study assessed changes in the prevalence of various employment contracts (i.e., permanent, fixed-term, and temporary agency contracts) between 2000/01 and 2005 within five EU country clusters, as well as its gender and age composition and its association with quality of working life and work satisfaction. Cross-sectional data were obtained for all current EU member states from the 2000/01 and 2005 European Working Conditions Surveys (total N = 58,368). Overall the percentage of temporary workers (and particularly fixed-term contractors) increased, whereas especially younger and female workers were likely to hold a temporary contract. Multivariate analysis of variance showed the highest overall quality of working life and work satisfaction for permanent contractors and the lowest for temporary agency workers. These findings were largely independent of time and country cluster. Interventions targeting different labour market outcomes (such as the contract type people receive and the quality of their working life) are needed, both at the European/governmental and the organizational level.

Integrating physiological and biomechanical drivers of population growth over environmental gradients on coral reefs

Coral reefs exhibit marked spatial and temporal variability, and coral reef organisms exhibit trade-offs in functional traits that influence demographic performance under different combinations of abiotic environmental conditions. In many systems, trait trade-offs are modelled using an energy and/or nutrient allocation framework. However, on coral reefs, differences in biomechanical vulnerability have major demographic implications, and indeed are believed to play an essential role in mediating species coexistence because highly competitive growth forms are vulnerable to physical dislodgment events that occur with high frequency (e.g. annual summer storms). Therefore, an integrated energy allocation and biomechanics framework is required to understand the effect of physical environmental gradients on species' demographic performance. However, on coral reefs, as in most ecosystems, the effects of environmental conditions on organisms are measured in different currencies (e.g. lipid accumulation, survival and number of gametes), and thus the relative contributions of these effects to overall capacity for population growth are not readily apparent. A comprehensive assessment of links between the environment and the organism, including those mediated by biomechanical processes, must convert environmental effects on individual-level performance (e.g. survival, growth and reproduction) into a common currency that is relevant to the capacity to contribute to population growth. We outline such an approach by considering the population-level performance of scleractinian reef corals over a hydrodynamic gradient, with a focus on the integrating the biomechanical determinants of size-dependent coral colony dislodgment as a function of flow, with the effects of flow on photosynthetic energy acquisition and respiration.

Some Reflections on Pension Reforms in India

Pension policy in India has been characterized by the dominance of the organized sector based on financing through employer and employee participation. As a result the coverage has been limited to the organized sector and the employees in the unorganized sector needs to be brought into purview of the formal channels of old age financial support. Further, the existing mandatory and voluntary private pension system needs uniform regulatory framework for transparency and improved service. There is an imperative need to manage the pension funds through fund managers as is the practice in some of the developed countries to derive the positive spin-offs in terms of investment options and making available the resources for improving growth. In view of the experience with the current pension system in India, efforts have been made by the Government in the recent years towards the direction of reforms in pension policy with the introduction of a new pension system in 2004. The present paper focuses on the recent initiatives and reforms in the pension system in India in the light of international experience as also the compulsions due to demographic factors and attendant implications for finances of the Government both Central and State Governments. The policy initiatives include setting up of the Interim Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (October 2003), introduction of a New Pension System and introduction of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill in Parliament in March 2005. Against this backdrop the paper also highlights some of the policy challenges and imperatives to be addressed in the medium term.

Demographic Dividend-Its Implications to India

Every fast growing Asian economy in recent years has accelerated as it underwent a demographic transition. All societies at one time or another move from a near equilibrium condition of high mortality and high fertility towards a presumed low fertility and low mortality equilibrium termed as ‘demographic transition’. The census data of 2011 shows that India’s youth bulge is now sharpest at the key 15-24 age group, even as its youngest and oldest age groups begin to narrow. The data shows that India’s working age population is now 63.4% of the total population. But demographic advantage does not mean more people but more prosperous and productive people. In order to reap the benefits of demographic dividend there is need to increase productivity of work force. Hence, the workforce needs to be educated, equipped with required skills and healthy. The dreams of huge income flow and resultant economic growth due to demographic dividend could be realised only when we inculcate the required skills in the work force to make it as competent as its counterparts in the developed world

The Political Incorporation of Cuban Americans

This article examines the political implications of the changing demographics of the Cuban American community. Over the past decade, pundits have predicted a massive shift in Cuban American voting behavior owing to demographic changes in the community. The authors find evidence that the attitudes of Cuban Americans have undergone significant changes, driven largely by the increased number of post-Mariel (1980) immigrants. The authors also find, however, that these dramatic changes have not yet been reflected at the ballot box, nor are they likely to be soon, owing to the slow process of immigrant political incorporation.

A Theory of Dynamics and Inequalities Under Epidemics

We develop a tractable general theory for the study of the economic and demographic impact of epidemics. In particular, we analytically characterise the short and medium term consequences of epidemics for population size, age pyramid, economic performance and income distribution. To this end, we develop a three-period overlapping generations where altruistic parents choose optimal health expenditures for their children and themselves. The survival probability of (junior) adults and children depend on such investments. Agents can be skilled or unskilled. The model emphasizes the role of orphans. Ophans are not only penalized in front of death , they are also penalized in the access to education. Epidemics are modeled as one period exogenous shocks to the survival rates. We identify three kinds of epidemics depending on how the epidemic shock alters the marginal efficiency of health expenditures. We first study the demographic dynamics, and prove that while a one-period epidemic shock has no permanent effect on income distribution, it can perfectly alter it in the short and medium run. We then study the impact of the three kinds of epidemics when they hit children and/or junior adults. We prove that while the three epidemics have significantly different demographic implications in the medium run, they all imply a worsening in the short and medium run of economic performance and income distribution. In particular, the distributional implications of the model mainly rely on orphans: if orphans are more penalized in the access to a high llevel of education than in front of death, they will necessarily lead to the medium-term increase in the proportion of the unskilled, triggering the impoverishment of the economy at that time horizon.

Understanding the demographic implications of climate change: estimates of localized population predictions under future scenarios of sea-level rise

Significant advances have been made to understand the interrelationship between humans and the environment in recent years, yet research has not produced useful localized estimates that link population forecasts to environmental change. Coarse, static population estimates that have little information on projected growth or spatial variability mask substantial impacts of environmental change on especially vulnerable populations. We estimate that 20 million people in the United States will be affected by sea-level rise by 2030 in selected regions that represent a range of sociodemographic characteristics and corresponding risks of vulnerability. Our results show that the impact of sea-level rise extends beyond the directly impacted counties due to migration networks that link inland and coastal areas and their populations. Substantial rates of population growth and migration are serious considerations for developing mitigation, adaptation, and planning strategies, and for future research on the social, demographic, and political dimensions of climate change.

Adverse foraging conditions may impact body mass and survival of a high Arctic seabird

Tradeoffs between current reproduction and future survival are widely recognized, but may only occur when food is limited: when foraging conditions are favorable, parents may be able to reproduce without compromising their own survival. We investigated these tradeoffs in the little auk (Alle alle), a small seabird with a single-egg clutch. During 2005-2007, we examined the relationship between body mass and survival of birds breeding under contrasting foraging conditions at two Arctic colonies. We used corticosterone levels of breeding adults as a physiological indicator of the foraging conditions they encountered during each reproductive season. We found that when foraging conditions were relatively poor (as reflected in elevated levels of corticosterone), parents ended the reproductive season with low body mass and suffered increased post-breeding mortality. A positive relationship between body mass and post-breeding survival was found in one study year; light birds incurred higher survival costs than heavy birds. The results of this study suggest that reproducing under poor foraging conditions may affect the post-breeding survival of long-lived little auks. They also have important demographic implications because even a small change in adult survival may have a large effect on populations of long-lived species.

Demographic implications of alternative foraging strategies in juvenile loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta of the North Pacific Ocean

To assess the potential demographic consequences of alternative juvenile foraging strategies in loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta, we compared habitat selection, movement, size frequency, and diet of juvenile loggerheads in neritic versus oceanic habitats of the North Pacific. Forty juveniles satellite-tracked from neritic habitat revealed utilization distributions 2 orders of mag- nitude smaller than those of 26 juveniles of the same size class tracked for similar durations from oceanic habitat. Oceanic juveniles traveled significantly further, faster and straighter, experienced lower sea surface temperature and productivity, and consumed prey of much lower energy density, strongly suggesting that the neritic foraging strategy is energetically favorable. These findings com- bined with those from other studies suggest that the neritic strategy would result in higher growth and eventually higher fecundity. Manipulation of a loggerhead demographic model indicated that small disadvantages in survivorship for neritic juveniles could balance the relatively large advan- tages in growth and fecundity of the neritic strategy. The oceanic strategy may persist as a slower but safer life history strategy. Our findings underscore the importance of elucidating variation in the ecol- ogy and corresponding vital rates of juveniles for modeling, managing, and conserving migratory megafaunal populations.