Trajectories of Fertility and Household Composition in the Demographic Profile of the Czech Republic

The household composition matrix is a representation of the demographic structure of households, specific to age groups of household members and household heads. As such, the matrix reflects also the environmental conditions, housing in particular, that mould households' demographic structure. By specifically depicting the presence of children in households, household composition could be viewed as gauging fertility within the context of housing conditions. This stance is examined in an application to Czech census data for the year 1991, at the commencement of an intense process of socio-economic transformation that accompanied the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe. Within this process, housing had an inadvertent impact upon the structure of households in general, and upon fertility decline in particular. By using the standard matrix representation of household composition, correspondence between trajectories of age-specific fertility and household composition emerge throughout the Czech Republic. This correspondence illustrates the potential household composition analysis carries for fertility measurement and estimation in rapidly changing economic environments.     

Trajectories of fetal loss in the czech republic

Using data for 555,038 pregnancies conceived in the Czech Republic in 1987-1990, we show that pronounced differences in fetal survival in the middle trimester of pregnancy by marital status, educational level, and labor force attachment become much smaller at full term; survival differences by age at conception and number of previous deliveries show relatively constant proportional hazards throughout gestation. Social inequalities in postpartum life chances have been documented previously, but we show that similar inequalities exist before birth.     

Inequalities in Infant Survival: An Analysis of Czech Linked Records

This research analysed individual linked infantbirth and death records for the Czech Republicfor the years from 1986 to 1992. The studyfocused on differences in the risk of infantdeath in a former socialist country whereconditions were relatively egalitarian andhealth care was free. The key variablesanalysed included birthweight, gestational age,education level and age of mother, birth order,marital status and age of infant at the time ofdeath. Despite an expectation of low levels ofinequality in infant mortality, significantdifferences were found that were related to thelevel of mothers' education. In addition,infant mortality increased with birth order ofthe child in the postneonatal period and fornormal birthweight infants (even whencontrolling for other variables). Theseanomalies, we believe, have a significantsocio-economic root and not a biologicalrelationship. The inverted pattern in infantmortality for low birthweight babies foundamong Afro-American women in the U.S was alsofound for women with low levels of educationwithin the ethnically homogeneous Czechpopulation. Similar patterns were replicated atregional levels in the Czech Republic.Surprisingly, two very contrasting regions (interms of socio-economic development andfunctions) – Prague and Ceske Budejovice –were found to have the highest risk of infantdeath, characterized primarily by increasedrisk for infants in the ``normal' or usually lowrisk categories.     

‘I am bodied’. ‘I am sexual’. ‘I am human’. Experiencing deafness and gayness: a story of a young man

This paper examines experiences of Deaf gay people through the eyes of a young Deaf man growing up in the predominantly hearing and heterosexual society of the Czech Republic. In the current disability and gender studies discourse there are several personal accounts of people with disabilities who also identify as gay or lesbian, but narratives about Deafness and gayness are rare or missing. To ‘queer’ the issue of Deafness and disability a little further, most Deaf people claim to be a linguistic and cultural minority, not disabled. Being Deaf and gay suggests a double identity and quite often exclusion from the majority hearing and heterosexual society. The story of 24‐year‐old Jan illustrates the struggle and challenges of a minority within a minority.     

Renaissance of a rural artifact in a city with a million people: biodiversity responses to an agro-forestry restoration in a large urban traditional fruit orchard

The rural landscapes surrounding large cities are rapidly becoming incorporated into the urban environment. The most conspicuous changes involve green spaces, such as former agro-forestry systems like fruit orchards. In this paper, we assess the influence on biodiversity of restoring a large urban traditional fruit orchard as reflected by six selected taxa: plants, lichens, butterflies, beetles, orthopteroids and birds. The study was performed in Prague, which is the capital city of the Czech Republic and has more than a million inhabitants. We studied the effect of orchard renewal in 45 patches (15 for birds and 30 for other taxa). The majority of taxa responded positively to the restoration. The restoration had a significant positive effect on the species richness of lichens, butterflies and beetles. All taxa showed significantly altered species compositions, and the number of red-listed species increased. Orchards have a high potential for multi-functional use. Orchards are productive agro-forestry systems and host numerous possible human activities. Therefore, orchard restoration also has a social aspect. Moreover, our research in this artificial ecosystem revealed that its restoration increased the biodiversity and conservation potential of the associated areas.

     

Paternal Age and Child Death: The Stillbirth Case

Previous research has shown an association between paternal age and neonatal mortality controlling for age of mother and other confounding factors. As this association is possibly of a biological nature, one would also expect to find a significant relationship between paternal age and fœtal mortality,stillbirth in particular. The present research is based on a Czech individual data set for the period 1986–1990. The risk of stillbirth is examined using logistic regression, taking account of both parental ages, sex of the fœtus, birth order, prematurity, and education of parents. It is shown that, in this data set, there is a significant relation between age of father and risk of stillbirth. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise in institutionalized older people living with dementia: a systematic review

Objectives

Research suggests targeted exercise is important for people living with dementia, especially those living in residential care. The aim of this review was to collect and synthesize evidence on the known barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise of institutionalized older people living with dementia.

Methods

We searched all available electronic databases. Additionally, we searched trial registries (clinicaltrial.gov, and WHO ICTRP) for ongoing studies. We searched for and included papers from January 1990 until September 2017 in any language. We included randomized, non-randomized trials. Studies were not eligible if participants were either healthy older people or people suffering from dementia but not living in an institution. Studies were also excluded if they were not focused on barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise.

Results

Using narrative analysis, we identified the following themes for barriers: bio-medical reasons and mental wellbeing and physical ability, relationships dynamics, and socioeconomic reasons. The facilitators were grouped under the following thematic frames: bio-medical benefits and benefits related to physical ability, feelings and emotions and confidence improvements, therapist and group relationships dynamics and activity related reasons.

Conclusions

We conclude that institutionalized older people living with dementia, even those who are physically frail, incontinent and/or have mild dementia can demonstrate certain level of exercise adherence, and therefore can respond positively to exercise programs. Tailored, individually-adjusted and supported physical activity, led by a knowledgeable, engaging and well communicating therapist/facilitator improves the adherence to group exercise interventions of institutionalized older people living with dementia.