Analysing International Student Mobility Flows in Higher Education: A Comparative Study on European Countries

The analysis of the factors pulling and pushing students in a foreign country to complete their higher education is key for the implementation of university policies aimed at increasing the number of credits gained by students abroad and hence the degree of internationalisation of institutions. Consistent with previous studies, the present contribution examines the roles played by countries in the Erasmus student mobility flows by considering a joint strategy of analysis based on social network analysis and exploratory data analysis. First, data on Erasmus student exchanges among countries are gathered at macro-level from the European Union Open Data Portal and network data structures are analysed. Second, educational indicators from the Eurostat website are collected to describe the investments in higher education. The main findings suggest the presence of a core-periphery configuration in the student mobility network with few central countries in which the economic benefits and the investments in education seem to act as key elements for university attractiveness.

     

劳动力流动与第三产业的内生性研究——基于新经济地理的实证分析

根据新经济地理学理论构建劳动力流动与第三产业的联立方程,系统分析2006～2009年中国各省市劳动力流动与第三产业发展的影响因素及两者之间的内生性关系。研究发现,流入地的经济收入、第三产业的发展水平和经济开放度是吸引劳动力流入的主要动力;随着农村净收入的提高,城乡收入差距缩小,劳动力的流动性随之降低;资本、劳动力和市场因素会促进第三产业的发展,但过多的政策管制却阻碍了第三产业的发展,而且城市化策略在不同区域的不同发展阶段其效果不同;劳动力流动与第三产业发展是相互作用的,从而引起劳动力在东部的聚集效应和在中西部的分散效应。     

Planning population development in Pakistan

Population development planning is an effort to reconcile numbers with individual, national, and global needs. The emphasis is on the integral linkage that exists between development planning and people's needs, which is best identified through demographic characteristics. Population development planning should focus on the 40% of those living below the poverty level and the 50% at the subsistence level. Limiting a country's population, or family planning, is not an end in itself; it should be complemented by long-term development. Planners and programmers in education, rural development, trade, social welfare; health, labor, agriculture, or local government should ensure a consonance between the people's aspirations and the nation's needs. Family planning must be joined with efforts to change standards of living. Individual behavior is affected by intermediary areas of association and authority, the extended family, the neighborhoods, and the local community. Government programs will fail if they do not consider the grass-roots, individual, and community needs.     

贵州省少数民族地区的教育发展与人力资源开发

贵州少数民族地区的教育发展落后,人力资源开发不足,已成为民族地区经济发展的瓶颈。本文通过分析教育发展和人力资源开发的重要性、特征及其影响因素,从中找出原因,提出应对措施,强调指出中央及省政府的资金投入在民族教育发展和人力资源开发中的特殊作用。     

Higher Education in Basic Science and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Students’ Life in India: An Exploratory Study

A shortage of scientifically trained manpower in India today is largely due to the fact that fewer and fewer students are being attracted to pursue higher studies in basic science, as current science enrolment data reveal. Ultimately, because of this shortage, developments in science and technology and science-based industry are slowing down, and the basic qualities of material life are continually being compromised. Several other countries are also contending with this problem, but India’s case has largely remained underrepresented in current research. To improve the situation, a number of competitive scholarship programs have been started in India to attract young students to pursue higher studies in science in greater numbers. For one such program, using a sample of more than 8,600 high-school students, we examine how a number of socioeconomic factors govern students’ decision to pursue science higher studies in the country. We find that student age, gender, family income, exam scores, use of computers and the internet, travels, and possession of modern consumer goods at home contribute to students’ increased mobility in search of better educational facilities needed for the preparation of a career in science. Our results have implications for schools and teachers, globalization, scientific literacy, and the general prosperity of life in the country.     

Birth control and regional differentials in the Soviet Union

Abstract Following the territorial division pointed out by Urlanis into those parts of the Soviet Union where birth control is practised and where it is not as widespread, it is possible to ascertain the importance of different factors bearing on fertility within each region. This study was based on data obtained from the 1959 USSR Census of Population including information on social and demographic characteristics of the urban and rural populations for over 150 political-administrative areas. In Central Asia, Azerbaidjan and Armenia, outside the region of birth control, the level of fertility depends mainly on the proportion of women who are married and also on their social position measured by the discrepancy in the educational status of men and women. In contrast, the birth control region of a relatively low level of fertility in urban areas, for example, displays the characteristic of women's educational achievement most strongly associated with the child-woman ratio. Except for the rural areas in this region, the present study fails to support the popular hypothesis that economic dependency of women is directly related to fertility.     

Determinants of male labor mobility

This study is concerned with male labor mobility in 84 urban labor markets. Mobility studies have frequently used employment variables to approximate differential labor demands and to explain mobility. It would seem that supply factors, as well as demand factors, could exert an influence on mobility. To assess the influence of supply factors, new labor force entrants and withdrawals, along with labor demand variables, were regressed against gross in- and out-migration rates. The results confirmed the hypothesis that labor mobility is substantially influenced by the economic and demographic characteristics of the urban labor market. Higher rates of in-migration were found in regions with higher rates of new employment opportunities. Where the demographic characteristics of the labor market result in larger labor supplies, out-migration rates were found to be higher and in-migration rates lower. Labor seems quite sensitive to differential labor market conditions and would appear to flow toward markets where an economic advantage lies. One interesting interpretation of the negative association between in-migration and wages is that employment opportunities may expand more rapidly in low-wage sectors, perhaps in the nonmanufacturing sector, thereby providing job opportunities which attract labor into the region.     

Studies on the mating system of the winter cherry bug, Acanthocoris sordidus Thunberg (Heteroptera: Coreidae) II. Harem defence polygyny

Summary The mating system of the winter cherry bug,Acanthocoris sordidus, was analyzed precisely. As a result, it was found that male adults of this species establish a small territory for mating on the stem of host plant which harbors females. These males abandoned their territories soon after the disappearance of monopolized females. Thus it was confirned that the cue for the territorial establishment of males is the presence of females per se on the host plant. Moreover, most aggregations of adults observed on the host plant contained only a single male. This one-male unit in the mating was named a harem. Harem holding males were usually big in body-size and had a high chance of copulations. The defence behaviors of harem holding males, the mating disparity among males, and the oviposition habit of females in relation to the mating system, were observed. The results obtained were discussed in relation to the sexual selection theories.     

Temporary territories?: Responses to intrusions in a public setting

Do people create temporary territories in public settings? To address this question, territorial cognitions and behaviors regarding two types of study sites in a library—tables and carrels—were investigated. In the first questionnaire experiment subjects indicated that: carrel sites were more valuable for studying than table sites; they expected they would be more likely to defend a carrel site than a table site; and the perceived causes of carrel and table invasions differed. In the second field study an experimenter occupied seats that subjects had temporarily vacated. Results supported our hypothesis and the questionnaire results of the first experiment. In the carrel condition subjects were more likely to ask for their seat back than in the table condition. Thus, using the stringent demarcation and defense criterion it appears that people do create temporary territories in public spaces. Furthermore, the results suggest a close covariation between territorial cognitions and behavior, and the importance of desirability of locale for both of these. The implications of the results for territorial typologies, animal-human territorial differences, and future research on human territoriality were outlined.     

Inferring Directional Migration Propensities from the Migration Propensities of Infants in the United States

Beginning with the 2010 decennial census, the U.S. Census Bureau plans to drop its long-form questionnaire and to replace it with the American Community Survey (ACS). The resulting absence of the larger sample provided by the census count will complicate the measurement and analysis of internal migration flows. In addition, the strategy of averaging accumulated samples over time will mix changing migration patterns. The migration question will refer to a one-year time interval instead of the five-year interval used in the censuses between 1960 and 2000, complicating historical comparisons and the production of multiregional projections based on five-year age groups. Consequently, students of territorial mobility increasingly will find it necessary to complement or augment possibly inadequate data collected on migration with estimates obtained by means of “indirect estimation.” A method is presented that allows one to infer age-specific directional migration propensities at the regional level from birthplace-specific infant population data, which approximates infant migration propensities, and from these infers the migration propensities of all other ages. The method is applied to at the nine-division spatial scale.     

The Value of Trust: An Analysis of Social Capital in Natural Areas

This paper defines and analyses the characteristics of social trust that develop in natural areas, examining the connections and interactions between the people and institutions involved. It offers a deeper understanding of the different degrees of trust and the identification of those attributes that affect the generation of this trust at three different levels: strategic, normative and cognitive. The study of the value of trust allows, or at least contributes to, an understanding of different levels of development. The study population consists of local associations, as a sample of existing social structures, and is taken from two areas in Andalusia, Spain. From the application of the proposed method a null hypothesis for the runs and Mann–Whitney tests is accepted at the three levels of trust for both areas. For strategic and cognitive trust, the behaviours of both areas are homogenous, while in the case of normative trust for the Chi square test the alternative hypothesis is accepted. The methodology that is developed demonstrates the interest presented by trust as a study variable in research dealing with social capital and its direct influence on the development of territories. Trust should be considered alongside physical, natural and human capital, since none of these alone is sufficient for complete territorial development.

     

Implications of boundary choice for the measurement of residential mobility

Analyses of residential mobility are usually conditioned on a system of geography in which territory is divided into discrete units. Types of movement are defined in terms of these units, the most important distinction being that between local mobility and migration. Here we examine explicitly the implications of the choice of the migration-defining boundary in the U.S. over the 1940-1980 period. We demonstrate how boundary choice influences the extent and character of selectivity of the mobile population by using demographic and social characteristics. It appears that over time the state line may be replacing the county line in distinguishing kinds of migrants. Further, our results point to a growing fraction of footloose migrants, not tied to local territory, identified by their migration history rather than demographic characteristics.     

Development of Higher Education Product-Value Indexes

Sage Technical Report No. 17, Workplans for Developing Educational Indicators, called for the development of first-approximation product-value indexes for public and private colleges and universities. These indexes were to be used to examine the relative attractiveness of program offerings to students and the relation of program offerings to the viability of the institutions themselves. Eight composite indexes describing the market values of degrees awarded by colleges and universities, termed Higher Education Product-Value Indexes (HEPVI), were developed and are presented in this technical report. These measures are used to describe the program offerings and changes in program offerings over time for schools in six institutional sectors and 17 National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) institutional classifications. Several of these measures are also shown to be significantly correlated with the levels of distress experienced by higher education institutions in three of the six sectors. A technical appendix is attached and presents additional details and data relevant to the construction of these indexes. The principal data sources used in this study were the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, and the annual surveys of starting-salary offers made to recent graduates conducted by the College Placement Council.     

教育发展差异对人口迁移的影响——基于城市化发展的视角

改革开放以来,在制度改革和经济转型的双重作用下,我国人口迁移规模不断扩大,在影响迁移的因素当中教育水平是一个非常重要的影响。研究结果表明:教育在我国人口迁移过程中确实发挥显著的作用。从全国总体来看,教育对人口的迁入与迁出均呈现反向作用关系;城市教育水平与迁入及迁出也均呈现反向作用关系;然而,县教育水平与迁入及迁出均呈现正向作用关系。这反映出,我国目前的人口迁移是一种层级递进式的迁移情况。这种层级递进的模式实质上是我国城市化进程的反映,在这个过程中教育的作用不可忽视。     

The Role of Catchment Areas on School Segregation by Economic,Social and Cultural Characteristics

This research analyses the socioeconomic and cultural segregation of students across school catchment areas using census data for the students in their second year of secondary education in Andalusia (the most populated region in Spain). The main methodology used is the Mutual Information Index, which satisfies all the desirable properties for measuring segregation. Concretely, we draw upon the additive decomposability property, which decomposes the segregation of students across schools into the different levels in which schools can be grouped, that is, catchment areas and, within catchment areas, by source of funding (public and semiprivate schools). We found that school segregation is greater than catchment areas’ segregation. Additionally, statistically significant correlations are found between the level of segregation within the catchment areas and factors such as size of the catchment area, parental level of education and size of the municipality where the school is located.

     

出生率变化对高等教育的影响研究

建国以来,我国出生率发生了重大转变,随着90年代以来人口出生率的逐年下降,我国高等教育将面临学生数量下滑趋势,未来高等院校将会出现生源不足的困境。但是,由于目前我国高等教育入学率还比较低,加之政府财政时高等教育支持的力度也还有很大提升空阅,因此,尽管出生率会不断下降,但对高等院校整体上生存不会受太大的影响。     

Micropolitan Areas and the Measurement of American Urbanization

With the official designation of micropolitan areas in June 2003, as part of the new core-based statistical area system, non-metropolitan territory is no longer an undifferentiated residual. In this paper we compare the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of a preliminary set of micropolitan areas with more highly urbanized territory and with territory outside core-based statistical areas, to answer questions about the micropolitan category's conceptual validity. Demographic and economic data are used, along with a mail survey of county officials in a random sample of small metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core-based statistical areas (non-CBSAs). The analysis shows substantial differentiation between micropolitan and non-CBSA areas, and demonstrates the importance of distinguishing between these two types of non-metropolitan areas. As an intermediate category, micropolitan areas provide stability to the decade-to-decade swings in non-metropolitan population change during periods of higher out-migration, but share almost equally with non-CBSA areas in attracting migrants during periods of high non-metropolitan in-migration. In terms of services available and their function as urban centers, micropolitan areas are intermediate between small metropolitan and non-CBSA areas, but more similar to small metropolitan areas.     

主观感知还是客观责任? ——中国农民工作回报期望影响因素研究

理清农民工作回报期望的影响因素进而精准施策,对于破解城乡发展不平衡和满足农民对美好生活的向往意义重大。利用Multinomial Logistic模型和CGSS2015相关数据的实证研究结论发现:以主观社会经济地位和外出务工经历为代表的主观感知性因素是影响农民工作回报期望的关键,而以养老责任和未成年子女数量为代表的客观责任因素的影响则不显著。同时,受教育程度也是影响农民工作回报期望的重要因素,受教育程度为初中及以下的农民对生理回报和安全回报有更强烈的诉求。     

The making of a ghetto: Spatially concentrated poverty in New York City in the 1980s

In recent years a debate has arisen over which of two mechanisms — class selective household mobility or spatially focused increases in poverty — has been the driving force in concentrating poverty in certain inner-city neighborhoods. This paper utilizes a multivariate analysis to identify the processes underlying areal income-class transition in New York City during 1978–1987, and the areal characteristics that predict a consistent path of change. By anchoring the analysis at the level of the individual housing unit, this study disentangles the competing mechanisms of poverty concentration and demonstrates that both selective mobility and shifts in income class contribute to areal income-class transition, but that the latter mechanism accounts for a greater amount of change. Further, after controlling for the proportion of minority residents and public housing units in the area, the results show that location in poor areas is associated with poor in-movement, nonpoor out-movement, and downward shifts in the income class among long-term residents. These mutually reinforcing processes lead to continued decline in extreme- and high-poverty areas, while processes in the opposite direction sustain the economic vitality of low-poverty areas.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1992 meetings of the Population Association of America in Denver, Colorado.