Counting the Population or Describing Society? A Comparison of English and Welsh and French Censuses

Data collected at household level in censuses are used for a wide range of purposes including practical planning and academic analysis of changing social conditions. Comparability is a core demographic value, and to understand the limits of the comparability of census data across time and space, it is important to recognise if, how and why, concepts and definitions change between censuses. This paper examines definitions of the household in censuses in England and Wales (E&W) and France from 1960 to 2012 in order to investigate how census definitions have changed and to examine the drivers of such changes. Two research methods were used: (1) longitudinal analyses of census documentation since the 1960s and (2) in-depth interviews with key informants oriented around respondents’ roles in the collection and/or use of household data from censuses and surveys. We identify two contrasting national approaches to the data collection exercise that is called a census, which reflect political and institutional differences. These differences call into question the comparability of some aspects of census data across national boundaries, despite increased harmonisation of approaches to data collection. By comparing the evolution of the definitions of the “household” in censuses, we develop insight into the diversity of the priorities of census commissioners and designers, and consider the broader implications of this for producing comparable data.     

Cultural constructions of the concept of household in sample surveys

We analyse the use of the concept of household in sample surveys, with evidence drawn from a review of survey definitions, a series of in-depth interviews with data producers and users, and a systematic study of recent literature. We consider the place of the concept within the discipline of demography, and demonstrate how its definition and use interact with cultural values and core concepts integral to the discipline. Focusing on Tanzania as a case study, we examine the diversity of factors that influence the construction of household-level data from cross-sectional household surveys. Throughout the survey process, contrasting interpretations of the meaning of household and different motivations for using specific definitions of the term interact. This generates data and outputs with potential for undercounting, bias, and misrepresentations, with adverse effects on the quality of data used for monitoring development indicators. Some ways of improving data collection on households are proposed.     

When the grass is greener: Fertility decisions in a cross-national context

In research and policy discourse, conceptualizations of fertility decision-making often assume that people only consider circumstances within national borders. In an integrated Europe, citizens may know about and compare conditions across countries. Such comparisons may influence the way people think about and respond to childrearing costs. To explore this possibility and its implications, we present evidence from 44 in-depth interviews with Polish parents in the United Kingdom and Poland. Explanations of childbearing decisions involved comparisons of policy packages and living standards across countries. Individuals in Poland used richer European countries as an important reference point, rather than recent conditions in Poland. In contrast, migrants often positively assessed their relatively disadvantaged circumstances by using the Polish setting as a reference. The findings could help explain why, despite substantial policy efforts, fertility has remained at very low levels in poorer European countries, while migrants from those countries often have higher fertility abroad.     

An evaluation of demographers' use of ethnographies

A survey of papers reporting the use of ethnographies in three population journals and an examination of two case studies show that the criticisms made by anthropologists and others of demographers' use of ethnographies are well founded. In their use of these accounts, demographers tend to present an excessively static view of social organization, to use ethnographic evidence selectively to support other findings, to be indifferent to how long ago an ethnography was produced, to take for granted the validity of the ethnographic evidence, to ignore the broader historical context in which the ethnography was produced, and to be unaware of the ways in which demographic evidence can be used at all stages of the research process. The adoption of anthropologists' suggestions for establishing the plausibility and credibility of ethnographic evidence could improve the value of the contribution made by these studies to demographic research and theory.     

Effect of a web-based positive psychology intervention on prenatal well-being: A case series study

Background

Detrimental effects of women’s negative feelings during pregnancy have been extensively examined and documented, but research on the influence of positive feelings and protective factors on their prenatal mental health is scarce. Evidence from the positive psychology field has shown that practicing some brief positive exercises, called positive psychology interventions, can maximize well-being by increasing positive emotions, engagement, and meaning.

Applications of the Capability Approach in the Health Field: A Literature Review

The scientific understanding of the causes of global warming is based on a vast body of rigorous, peer-reviewed research, but there is little systematic empirical evidence on consequences for humans. Using direct questions about satisfaction with winter and with summer weather, I show that warming’s effects on subjective well-being can be reliably estimated from cross-sectional survey data across a broad temperature spectrum and, moreover, that these effects are large. Combining a US national survey (N = 2295) and standard National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data on actual month-by-month temperatures at each location over many years, shows that changes to be expected from the widely discussed, allegedly “dangerous”, 2 °C of global warming are both familiar and small, equivalent to moving from Wisconsin to Michigan, or Virginia to North Carolina, or more generally 180 miles south. Such warming will greatly increase Americans’ satisfaction with winter weather, especially in the north, but somewhat decrease satisfaction with summer weather in both north and south. On balance, the nation benefits slightly. Regional differences are large, with northerners’ gains roughly equivalent to a 1–2 % increase in their GDP, while southerners losses are about the same size. These changes are important, about as large as the combined financial implications of all other aspects of global warming. They have important policy implications, suggesting that prompt action to reduce carbon emissions may not be optimal because that would restrict warming both in the summer and in the south (gains) but also in the winter and in the north (losses).