Suicide and the Creative Class

The tenth leading cause of death in the United States in 2009 was suicide. Emile Durkheim demonstrated that suicide can be studied as a social phenomenon. However, sociologists have been oddly silent on the subject in recent years. Research that has been done by sociologists on suicide has examined the role social capital plays in reducing suicide. However, Richard Florida has argued that today communities are not developing around social capital, but instead moving toward his creative capital model. No study has been done examining the association between creative capital and suicide. This analysis examined what developing around a creative capital model means for suicide. The findings demonstrate that there is a positive association between creative capital and suicide. The current analysis should give pause to communities attempting to develop around the creative capital model.     

In vitro fertilization and public policy: turning to the consumer

A responsible and comprehensive policy of in vitro fertilization should be preceded by the gathering of empirical information about the application of the procedure in the 138 IVF centers across the country. To date, attention has been directed more to the implications of IVF as a whole than to actual behaviors in the medical community. It is appropriate to survey patients and physicians, examine consent forms, and study guidelines issued by the medical community in order to enhance public knowledge of what has been done voluntarily in the medical community and what remains to be done. Moreover, consumers should be encouraged to speak about their experiences and other groups encouraged to act as advocates for affirmative IVF policy. At present, the interest group spectrum is skewed by physicians' interests groups (speaking for IVF) and other interest groups criticizing the technique. Organized advocates for affirmative IVF policy are less well represented.     

The institution of marriage

The institution of marriage is both old and ubiquitous. Yet, little work has been done by economists on why this social institution exists and why throughout history it has been intimately linked to fertility. We explain the institution of marriage as a societal consensus on the need to curb cuckoldry for the purpose of paternity certainty and biparental investment in offspring. By raising the costs of mating to individuals, marriage reduces cheating in society, a source of mating market failure, and makes paternity more certain. Men, in consequence, invest more in their putative offspring, a fact that also benefits mothers.     

Measurement errors in survey questions: Explaining response variability

In this paper, the response variability in questions from the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions, is studied. A multivariate study of the variation over questions has been done. This study uses questions as statistical units. The questions have been classified in a number of respects, dealing with question character and structure, what the questions ask about and what they require from the interviewee. The study shows that a substantial part of the response variability, i.e., the variation in reliability, can be explained by a few characteristics of the questions.     

Constructing increment-decrement life tables

A life table model which can recognize increments (or entrants) as well as decrements has proven to be of considerable value in the analysis of marital status patterns, labor force participation patterns, and other areas of substantive interest. Nonetheless, relatively little work has been done on the methodology of increment-decrement (or combined) life tables. The present paper reviews the general, recursive solution of Schoen and Nelson (1974), develops explicit solutions for three cases of particular interest, and compares alternative approaches to the construction of increment-decrement tables.     

计划生育管理的社会学视角——河南省周口市黄寨镇调研报告

在镇干部、村干部、违规者与窑厂主的计划生育管理互动关系模型中,各自之间的关系是一种压力转化关系。压力产生于违规者对计划生育政策的对抗,计划生育政策会将违规者产生的阻力通过各级政府的行政和经济处罚转移给镇干部,镇干部一方面通过管理和惩罚措施,另一方面通过对村干部和窑厂主的施压将全部压力转移给违规者。     

Southeast Asian urbanization and the growth of mega-urban regions

Southeast Asia has not been sufficiently urbanized long enough to have developed a real urban proletariat, yet it has been profoundly affected by urbanization. An important development has been the emergence of extended metropolitan regions, which now contain about 11 per cent of Southeast Asia’s population. In studying the dynamics of growth of these extended regions, it is important to designate zones around the official metropolitan areas. When this is done for the Southeast Asian mega-urban regions, they are the zones immediately outside the metropolitan area where urban expansion is marked, in-migration greatest, and occupational change most rapid. A corollary of this is that the conclusion frequently drawn that Asian big-city growth is slowing is misleading, because studies usually fail to include the rapidly-growing areas outside metropolitan boundaries. Trends over the 1990–2000 period for Jakarta and Bangkok illustrate the point. Realistic appraisal of the planning needs of Southeast Asia’s mega-urban regions requires integrated research on the broader metropolitan region surrounding the metropolis proper.     

回顾与展望:三十年来我国老年学研究述评

自20世纪80年代老年学在我国建立,学术界就对其进行了较为全面的研究。三十年来学术界对老年学的研究主要集中在比较老年学、基础理论建构以及学科建设三个方面。在发展的过程中,学术界将老年伦理学、老年体育学、老年教育学、老年法学和老年哲学等新内容纳入到研究中。展望未来,中国老年学的发展需要在创新基础理论的基础上,加快推进学科建设和专业人才培养。     

Does Good Governance Enhance Happiness: A Cross Nation Study

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of the countries over the period of 10 years by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA). Based on rational and factual parameters such as freedom of press, freedom of religion, percentage of export in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), index of globalization, life expectancy at birth, gender ratio etc., this paper attempts to measure the efficiency of happiness. A combination of social and economic factors has been used to measure technical efficiency. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it measures the relative efficiency of all the countries included in the study. The nations have been ranked as per their relative efficiency and the peer group has been formed. Second a comparison between the rich and the poor countries have been done to test empirically whether the economic growth enhances the happiness among people. Presently, more than 3,000 studies have been published on happiness and Veenhoven in 2004 created a database called World Database of Happiness. The World Database of Happiness has attempted to present the available research findings on happiness. Part of the findings on happiness in nations is available in ‘States of nations’. For the research purpose, States of Nations and the data published by have been considered. Although happiness has been quantified and the existing literature has sufficient empirical evidences of the same, in the present context, the relative efficiency has been calculated for the countries on basis of objective and subjective happiness parameters. As per the literature, happiness has two aspects (1) objective and (2) subjective. Objective parameters are external to the individuals and covers material living parameters viz. GDP growth, income, nutrition, mortality rate, literacy etc. However, Subjective indicators measure the quality of life of the individuals. These are summarized as ‘‘subjective well-being’’. The various parameters considered in the study capture different aspects of happiness. The result shows how the government can increase the happiness of the people by analyzing the behavior and expectations. People express their preference explicitly about political parties, religion believes, law and order situation, trust in official institutions etc. Although, the behavior of people largely depends upon availability of goods and services in the market, the government can make budgets according to priority or preferences of people. Another way to increase happiness can be done by analyzing the peer group, which is an outcome of DEA. This shows the nations which are similar in terms of their economic and social conditions. The government can compare the prevailing conditions in different countries that improve the condition in their respective country. This could be an effective method as some of the parameters can be replicable in order to make people happier. The limitation of this study is lack of availability of data for many countries. As the number of countries increases, a change in the relative efficiency can be observed. Therefore, a future study can be conducted where the relevant data can be collected and a more global result can be obtained.     

Program evaluation: the experience in population education

The Population Education Program (PEP) of the Department of Education and Culture in the Philippines takes pride in a built-in evaluation system which assesses accomplishments primarily in light of objectives laid out and gathers feedback useful in improving future training programs. Its evaluation theoretically serves to measure 3 training dimensions -- before, during, and after each training course. Evaluation of both the 5- and 1-week training programs follows the same pattern. Pretraining evaluation is done by administering a pretest at the beginning of each course, which quantitatively measures trainees' baseline knowledge and attitudes. It is intended for the use of trainers in determining how the course should proceed. Assessment made while training is in progress (formative evaluation) is done through a steering committee meeting held at the end of a week or a day for the 5- and 1-week courses, respectively. The meetings focus on identifying weaknesses requiring immediate or future course revisions. At the end of the course, a posttest is given to measure positive or negative changes in the trainees' knowledge and attitudes. These changes are assumed to have been caused by training. Additional qualitative information is collected through an evaluation sheet containing open-ended questions on different aspects of the course. Problems of "who" should evaluate and "how to" evaluate are among current problems evident in practice, and a revised training scheme has been implemented to deal with these problems.     

赋权增能:中国老年教育的发展与反思

如何提升老年人口的生存发展能力、促进其社会参与和全面发展、提高其生活质量是老龄化社会必须要面临的挑战。老年教育作为实现积极老龄化的重要途径正在引起普遍关注。"赋权增能"的中国老年教育定位通过制度、机制、环境和心理的赋权,保障老年人受教育权利,通过提升老年人生活掌控能力、变化适应能力和社会参与能力,促进"老有所养"、"老有所医",实现"老有所为"和"老有所乐",并最终保障老年人与家庭、社区和社会的和谐发展。     

Methodological Validation of Quality of Life Questionnaire for Coal Mining Groups-Indian Scenario

Maslow’s hierarchy-of-needs theory has been used to predict development of Quality of Life (QOL) in countries over time. In this paper an attempt has been taken to derive a methodological validation of quality of life questionnaire which have been prepared for the study area. The objective of the study is to standardize a questionnaire tool to assess the QoL of residents in a problem area in India. From a pre tested 16 parameter questionnaire tool factorial validity were established to extract three domains and were mapped in accordance to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory. Out of these 16 parameters 13 were found relevant. Then a new tool was conceptualized with 13 pre selected parameters and other parameters were pooled from existing tool and reviews to form a 36 parameter tool. Factor analysis was done to extract the domains. Reliability of the tool was also tested to find the relation between the domains of QoL. Then the quality of life of the study area was interpreted to find the distribution of respondents among the categories of QoL. 70% of respondents reported to have average quality of life. The tool was found to be highly reliable and valid.     

Explaining australian immigration

This article reviews the post-Second World War literature on explanations for Australia’s immigration program. It discovers three main schools of thought based on net pull factors: the official explanation and two unofficial explanations which focus on migrants as workers and on migrants as consumers. However the growing importance of net push factors after 1974 means that some of this work is less relevant today. Explanations focusing on net push factors have yet to cohere into a distinct perspective (or perspectives) but some research has been done on chain migration and family-based migration strategies, asylum seekers, temporary movement, and migration and the law. Immigration research is sometimes controversial and politicized. While intellectual integrity must always take priority, the values of civility and tolerance are also important.     

Local distribution of two swallows of genusHirundo, and breeding success ofH. rustica

Summary The distribution of nests of the swallows was investigated in 1957, 1962 and 1963 at Koriyama, Nara Prefecture. Roughly speaking, the nest ofHirundo rustica was located in the urban areas, and that ofH. daurica in the rural areas. This subdivision of the habitat seems to be due to the traditional system more or less depending on some interactions between them. The trend of the decrease in the nest number has not been found out from the 3-year studies. The observation on the breeding success ofH. rustica was done in 1963, and it was estimated that 869 youngs in total fledged out from the study area.     

International Migration at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: The Role of the State

This note reviews recent theoretical and empirical work on the determinants and efficacy of state immigration policies to draw conclusions about the future direction of policy regimes throughout the globe and their likely effects. An age of increasingly restrictive immigration policies is emerging, but it is still unclear how effective these policies will be in controlling the volume and composition of international migration. States can be located along a continuum of efficacy with respect to the imposition of restrictive policies. Unfortunately virtually all research done to date has focused on the effectiveness of restrictive policies in major immigrant-receiving developed countries. More research needs to be done to determine just how effective restrictive immigration policies can be under varying degrees of state capacity.     

Recent challenges to traditional assumptions about homosexuality: some implications for practice

During the last decade there has been a change in professional attitudes toward homosexuality reflected in the development of new models of treatment. Rather than offering a cure the aim is to help homosexuals adjust positively to their orientation. Such attitudinal change on the part of the practitioners has not, in the main, questioned the fundamental assumptions of theories which seek to explain homosexuality. Recent theoretical inquiry into homosexuality, however, has done this, posing an important challenge to the traditionally held view that people have an essential sexuality that is either homosexual or heterosexual and which remains fixed and unchanging throughout their lives. This paper addresses some of the more important clinical implications of these recent developments, in particular, the suggestion that "the homosexual" as a certain type of person is an "invention." In addition, the therapeutic value and difficulties associated with an acknowledgement that sexual preference and identity may change over time are considered. Finally, there is consideration of what the goals should be in the case of the person who seeks professional help in changing from a homosexual to a heterosexual orientation.     

Natural family planning: A comparison of continuers and discontinuers

Little research has been done on social-psychological variables related to the use of natural family planning. The objective of this study was to analyze variables that differentiated between continuers and discontinuers of natural family planning (NFP). Questionnaires were obtained from couples who had received instruction in the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning at a large urban hospital. Subjects who were attempting to become pregnant or who were using other methods of contraception in conjunction with NFP were deleted from the analysis, leaving N of 74. With Pearson correlation, variables significantly related (p<.05) to NFP continuance were: religiosity, planning more children, perceived severity of pregnancy, support from spouse and relatives, dissatisfaction with other contraceptive methods, attitudes toward NFP, perceived effectiveness of NFP, attitudes toward abstinence, and importance of intercourse.     

India’s Social Development in a Decade of Reforms: 1990–91/1999–2000

The economic reforms initiated in India in 1991 have brought about visible upliftment of economic conditions of the country. This paper examines if the economic process is associated with an enhancement of India’s social development in equal measure in the reform decade of nineties. Ray (1989) considered thirteen social indicators of India and constructed the country’s social development index (SDI) as a certain weighted average of the selected indicators, for the years between 1950–51 and 1975–76. The present work broadly follows Ray (1989) in tracking the social development in the decade of economic reforms from 1990–91 to 1999–2000. The movement of SDI in nineties has been compared with the movements of India’s per capita income and plan expenditure on the social sector. The results show that though there has been growth in the social sector, it is not by far quite encouraging and perhaps more needs to be done in the social sector. The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not of the institution he serves.     

Family planning promotes social and economic development of Dongguan County]

Examination of the effects of family planning indicates 6 major social and economic changes which it has brought about in Dongguan County, China. Peoples' views on family planning have changed: they no longer believe the old notion that "more children guarantee a better life" and have done away with the convention of early marriage and early childbearing. The number of children per household has dropped from an average of 5.9 in the early 1950s to its present average of 2.05. The situation of women has undergone important changes. In the past, women bore many children and few worked outside the household. Today, in the city of Guancheng, 7000 of the 10,000 workers in city-owned factories are women. A 3rd effect of population control is increased production output and a better standard of living. Since 1979 when economic reform began, 90% of the presents built new homes and 70% of the households bought high standard consumer goods. A 4th improvement has been found in the development of education: 99.7% of school-age children attend elementary schools and the rate of graduating students is 98.2%; 92% of preschool children are involved in preschool programs; and 67,000 young women attend various kinds of vocational schools. A more civilized life style and more harmonious family lives have found as a 5th result of family planning measures. Finally, there have also been improvements in welfare and public sanitation facilities. For example, more than 200 water plants have been built in the county and 41% of the population drinks water which meets sanitation standards. It is concluded that the beneficial results of population control reported in this study should be of interest to all those involved in the field of family planning.     

人口学界对“以人为本”思想的理解和研究

“以人为本”思想起源甚早,国内外许多领域的专家、学者以及实际工作者对这一思想都有过阐述和研究。从我国人口学的视角出发,结合三十多年以来我国计划生育政策的实践与发展,系统地总结了国内人口学界对“以人为本”思想的理解和研究。