Introduction to Special Issue on Sustainability

Population and Environment -     

Introduction to Special Issue: Population,Environment, and Poverty

Nationally and globally economic growth is not solving the problem of poverty. What other approaches can be recommended. A conference to discuss this question included William Rees, Herman Daly, Wes Jackson, Virginia Abernethy, and Majid Rahnema whose papers are included in this issue. Among the issues discussed is whether the contribution of nature to the economy should be taxed by government for the benefit of the poor; how current policies pauperize farmers and what can be done about it; and how population growth is related to economic prospects. The understanding of poverty as lack of the ability to acquire goods was challenged.     

Introduction to Special Issue: Restoring the Florida Everglades—Balancing Population and the Environment

Population and Environment -     

A Decade of Microaggression Research and LGBTQ Communities: An Introduction to the Special Issue

ABSTRACT

Though the Supreme Court of the U.S. legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, heterosexism and transphobia has continued to manifest through many systems in the US — from lack of federal protection in employment non-discrimination laws to polices that prohibit transgender people from using bathroom and public facilities that match their gender identities. Heterosexist and transphobic discrimination have also persisted through interpersonal interactions — ranging from more overt forms (e.g., hate crimes, bullying) to more subtle forms of discrimination, otherwise known as microaggressions. Since 2008, there have been hundreds of articles written on microaggressions, with dozens focusing specifically on experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Qualitative and quantitative studies have revealed that LGBTQ people who experience microaggressions have reported negative outcomes like depression, low self-esteem, and trauma. This special issue aims to further Microaggression Theory by providing theoretical and empirical papers that focus on the manifestation and impact of microaggressions on LGBTQ people. Using an interdisciplinary approach, articles range in topic from intersectional identities, to health and psychological outcomes, to advancing research methods. Future studies regarding microaggressions and LGBTQ people are discussed- highlighting the influence of the changing landscape of heterosexism and transphobia within general society, as well as new dynamics that have formed and developed within LGBTQ communities.     

Demography as a Spatial Social Science

Scholars in many social science disciplines have taken note of the re-emerging interest in issues concerning social processes embedded within a spatial context. While some argue that this awakening is refreshing and new and, in fact, long overdue, I demonstrate that spatially focused demographic theories and research agendas clearly predate contemporary interest in these topics. I assert that recent methodological advancements have merely encouraged and brought refinement to the expanding body of spatially oriented population research—research strongly rooted in demographic tradition and practice. Indeed, I make the claim that, until roughly the mid-20th century, virtually all demography in the United States (and elsewhere, but not specifically examined here) was spatial demography. Then, shortly after mid-century, a paradigm shift occurred, and the scientific study of population quickly came to be dominated by attention to the individual as the agent of demographic action. Traditional spatial demography—macro-demography—gave way to micro-demography, and, I argue, most demographers simply abandoned the data and approach of spatial demography. In closing the paper I include a brief discussion of the recent awakening that has come to spatial demographers from developments in other disciplines, principally geography, regional science, and spatial econometrics.     

Introduction: Demography of American Indians and Alaska Natives

Population Research and Policy Review -     

Spatial Demography: An Opportunity to Improve Policy Making at Diverse Decision Levels

The number of applications of spatial demography has been growing mostly since the 1990s. Ranging from simple visualization to sophisticated spatial analytical techniques, these applications bring a new layer of explanation to demographic phenomena. This paper reviews demographic studies that specifically addressed space with spatial statistical models, and that focused on fertility, mortality, migration, and population models. Additionally, it summarizes different spatial datasets and software freely available, as well as the challenges that exist for the development of spatial demography applications. These challenges include confidentiality issues, scale problems, and the lack of training on spatial analysis in population centers. Although the first and second challenges involve modeling and technical solutions, the latter depends only on demographers’ commitment and willingness to promote change. Several topics for future spatially focused research are also outlined. Finally, the paper makes a strong case regarding the significant contribution that spatial demography can make to the monitoring, evaluation, and implementation of population policies.     

Segregation and Fragmentation: Extending Landscape Ecology and Pattern Metrics Analysis to Spatial Demography

Though demography’s roots involve a strong spatial component, recent attention to capitalizing on widely available spatially referenced demographic data has returned the focus to spatially enabled analyses. Landscape ecology offers a theoretical framework and concomitant methodology in pattern metric analysis well suited for extracting process through the examination of spatial patterns. Applied on the environmental side of population–environment interaction research, pattern metric analysis has not been brought to bear on population data per se. This research illustrates the utility of a pattern metric approach utilizing U.S. Census data from 1990 and 2000 to document changes in spatial configuration of race and class in South Carolina. The results corroborate similar findings elsewhere of exurban growth as well as an increasing income gap and spread of Hispanic population, both statistically and spatially. Further insight into the forces related to these processes is gained from explicit assessment of spatial configuration. The method is offered as a complementary tool to the richly evolving field of spatial demography.     

Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Data Processing in Demography: a Review

This paper reviews the use of geographic information systems (GIS) software for spatial data processing in demography. The review begins with an introduction to GIS. Next, it traces the three major types of spatial data problems confronting demographers: the geocoding and geoprocessing of microdata, estimation of detailed population surfaces, and combining data aggregated to incompatible zone systems. GIS and non-GIS solutions to these problems are contrasted, with examples from published research. Spatially pre-processed datasets available to demographers are then discussed. The author concludes by noting that the solutions GIS provides to previously intractable data problems in spatial demography might encourage a focus on dynamic processes of population change in local areas.     

Demography and the environment

Demographers' interest in the environment has generally been enmeshed in broader issues of population growth and economic development. Empirical research by demographers on environmental issues other than natural-resource constraints is limited. In this paper, I briefly review past demographic thinking about population and the environment and suggest reasons for the limited scope of demographic research in this area. Next, I describe more recent demographic research on the environment and suggest several newer areas for demographic research. Finally, I consider the future of research on the environment in the field of demography.