Understanding Population Trends and Processes – serie

Many parts of the world are experiencing rapid demographic restructuring, resulting in an ageing population with increasingly significant work and care pressures on cohorts less able or willing to provide support. This book examines some of the important trends that have underpinned reductions in fertility, including delayed child-bearing and increased childlessness. It demonstrates how relationships between partners have resulted in new living arrangements with changing attitudes from marriage to co-habitation as the social norm, and it considers the health and well-being for particular at risk groups such as the elderly and stepparents as well as aspects of mobility such as household migration and commuting to school.The book brings together a series of studies that all involve quantitative analyses of secondary data from censuses, surveys or administrative records. The trends and patterns reported provide new and interesting insights into behaviour of the household and the roles of adults and children, and point to questions of critical importance for practitioners and policy makers.

Many parts of the world are experiencing rapid demographic restructuring, resulting in an ageing population with increasingly significant work and care pressures on cohorts less able or willing to provide support. This book examines some of the important trends that have underpinned reductions in fertility, including delayed child-bearing and increased childlessness. It demonstrates how relationships between partners have resulted in new living arrangements with changing attitudes from marriage to co-habitation as the social norm, and it considers the health and well-being for particular at risk groups such as the elderly and stepparents as well as aspects of mobility such as household migration and commuting to school.The book brings together a series of studies that all involve quantitative analyses of secondary data from censuses, surveys or administrative records. The trends and patterns reported provide new and interesting insights into behaviour of the household and the roles of adults and children, and point to questions of critical importance for practitioners and policy makers.

Inequality is one of the major problems of the contemporary world. Significant geographical disparities exist within nations of the developed world, as well as between these countries and those referred to as the ‘South’ in the Bruntland Report. Issues of equity and deprivation must be addressed in view of sustainable development. However, before policymakers can remove the obstacles to a fairer world, it is essential to understand the nature of inequality, both in terms of its spatial and socio-demographic characteristics.This second volume in the series contains population studies that examine the disparities evident across geographical space in the UK and between different individuals or groups. Topics include demographic and social change, deprivation, happiness, cultural consumption, ethnicity, gender, employment, health, religion, education and social values. These topics and the relationships between them are explored using secondary data from censuses, surveys or administrative records.In volume 1 the findings of research on fertility, living arrangements, care and mobility are examined. Volume 3 will focus on ethnicity and integration.

Although the human population growth rate of the world has been  declining since peaking in the early 1960s, the populations of individual countries are changing at different rates.  Population dynamics at national level are partly determined by levels of fertility and mortality, but the impact of international migration is playing an increasingly important role. Moreover, internal migration plays a major part in population change at the sub-national level. This fourth volume in the series “Understanding Population Trends and Processes”  is a celebration of the work of Professor Philip Rees. It contains chapters by contributors who have collaborated with Phil Rees on research or consultancy projects or as postgraduate students. Several chapters demonstrate the technical nature of population projection modelling and simulation methods while others illustrate issues relating to data availability and estimation. This book demonstrates the application of theoretical and modelling methods and addresses key issues relating to contemporary demographic patterns and trends.

Robustandforensicanalysisofrelevantdatasupportedbyscienti?cmethodologies is key to challenging contemporary debates around the use and abuse of race statistics.Controversiessurroundingthecollection,interpretationanduseofrace, ethnicityandethnicgroupdatahavealonghistory.BeingrootedinEugenics,this area of study has sparked intense reactions over the years. The abuse of 'race' statisticsisnotonlyapparentduringtimesofuncertaintybuthasbeenentrenchedin social policies and political discourses in Britain since the 1950s. The collection of research studies in this book is therefore much needed and timely, not least becauseofrecentdebatessurroundingthenatureandinteractionsofminorityethnic populationsinBritain. The numbers game is not new in British political discourses but took a nasty turnpost9/11andpeakedpost7/7 withdiversitybeingnegativelyassociatedwith concernsinrelationtopopulationsegregation,communitycon?ictsandterrorism. This book effectively debunks several myths and misinterpretions pertaining to populationdiversity,spatialdensityandthenatureofsocialrelationshipsbetween minority and majority groups. More importantly, armed with scienti?c evidence, it challenges the claim that spatial segregation along ethnic and racial lines is necessarily an indication of community tensions, social fragmentation and communitycon?icts. Despite the obvious bene?ts of valid and reliable data on population diversity for understanding social change and improving social conditions, there was little appetiteonthepartoftheBritishGovernmenttoformallycollectnationalstatistics onethnicityuntil1991.Notwithstandingthis,thechaptersinthisbookdemonstrate thatdatafromthe1991and2001Censusescan,despitetheirlimitations,provide Kay Hampton (BA Hons, MA, PhD, FRSA, FHEA) is Professor in Communities and Race Relations at the Glasgow Caledonian University. She was Chair, Deputy Chair and Scottish Commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality (2003-2007) and Commissioner on the EqualityandHumanRightsCommission(2006-2009).SheiscurrentlyaCommissionerforthe ScottishHumanRightsCommission. 1 ThebombingsoftheTwinTowersinNewYorkon9September2001andtheLondonbombings on7July2005. v vi Foreword useful baseline statistics for conducting in-depth, analytical studies in contested areasof'race'andethnicity.

Fertility rates vary considerably across and within societies, and over time. Over the last three decades, social demographers have made remarkable progress in documenting these axes of variation, but theoretical models to explain family change and variation have lagged behind. At the same time, our sister disciplines—from cultural anthropology to social psychology to cognitive science and beyond—have made dramatic strides in understanding how social action works, and how bodies, brains, cultural contexts, and structural conditions are coordinated in that process. Understanding Family Change and Variation: Toward a Theory of Conjunctural Action argues that social demography must be reintegrated into the core of theory and research about the processes and mechanisms of social action, and proposes a framework through which that reintegration can occur. This framework posits that material and schematic structures profoundly shape the occurrence, frequency, and context of the vital events that constitute the object of social demography. Fertility and family behaviors are best understood as a function not just of individual traits, but of the structured contexts in which behavior occurs. This approach upends many assumptions in social demography, encouraging demographers to embrace the endogeneity of social life and to move beyond fruitless debates of structure versus culture, of agency versus structure, or of biology versus society.

Inequality is one of the major problems of the contemporary world. Significant geographical disparities exist within nations of the developed world, as well as between these countries and those referred to as the ‘South’ in the Bruntland Report. Issues of equity and deprivation must be addressed in view of sustainable development. However, before policymakers can remove the obstacles to a fairer world, it is essential to understand the nature of inequality, both in terms of its spatial and socio-demographic characteristics.This second volume in the series contains population studies that examine the disparities evident across geographical space in the UK and between different individuals or groups. Topics include demographic and social change, deprivation, happiness, cultural consumption, ethnicity, gender, employment, health, religion, education and social values. These topics and the relationships between them are explored using secondary data from censuses, surveys or administrative records.In volume 1 the findings of research on fertility, living arrangements, care and mobility are examined. Volume 3 will focus on ethnicity and integration.

Robustandforensicanalysisofrelevantdatasupportedbyscienti?cmethodologies is key to challenging contemporary debates around the use and abuse of race statistics.Controversiessurroundingthecollection,interpretationanduseofrace, ethnicityandethnicgroupdatahavealonghistory.BeingrootedinEugenics,this area of study has sparked intense reactions over the years. The abuse of 'race' statisticsisnotonlyapparentduringtimesofuncertaintybuthasbeenentrenchedin social policies and political discourses in Britain since the 1950s. The collection of research studies in this book is therefore much needed and timely, not least becauseofrecentdebatessurroundingthenatureandinteractionsofminorityethnic populationsinBritain. The numbers game is not new in British political discourses but took a nasty turnpost9/11andpeakedpost7/7 withdiversitybeingnegativelyassociatedwith concernsinrelationtopopulationsegregation,communitycon?ictsandterrorism. This book effectively debunks several myths and misinterpretions pertaining to populationdiversity,spatialdensityandthenatureofsocialrelationshipsbetween minority and majority groups. More importantly, armed with scienti?c evidence, it challenges the claim that spatial segregation along ethnic and racial lines is necessarily an indication of community tensions, social fragmentation and communitycon?icts. Despite the obvious bene?ts of valid and reliable data on population diversity for understanding social change and improving social conditions, there was little appetiteonthepartoftheBritishGovernmenttoformallycollectnationalstatistics onethnicityuntil1991.Notwithstandingthis,thechaptersinthisbookdemonstrate thatdatafromthe1991and2001Censusescan,despitetheirlimitations,provide Kay Hampton (BA Hons, MA, PhD, FRSA, FHEA) is Professor in Communities and Race Relations at the Glasgow Caledonian University. She was Chair, Deputy Chair and Scottish Commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality (2003-2007) and Commissioner on the EqualityandHumanRightsCommission(2006-2009).SheiscurrentlyaCommissionerforthe ScottishHumanRightsCommission. 1 ThebombingsoftheTwinTowersinNewYorkon9September2001andtheLondonbombings on7July2005. v vi Foreword useful baseline statistics for conducting in-depth, analytical studies in contested areasof'race'andethnicity.

Although the human population growth rate of the world has been  declining since peaking in the early 1960s, the populations of individual countries are changing at different rates.  Population dynamics at national level are partly determined by levels of fertility and mortality, but the impact of international migration is playing an increasingly important role. Moreover, internal migration plays a major part in population change at the sub-national level. This fourth volume in the series “Understanding Population Trends and Processes”  is a celebration of the work of Professor Philip Rees. It contains chapters by contributors who have collaborated with Phil Rees on research or consultancy projects or as postgraduate students. Several chapters demonstrate the technical nature of population projection modelling and simulation methods while others illustrate issues relating to data availability and estimation. This book demonstrates the application of theoretical and modelling methods and addresses key issues relating to contemporary demographic patterns and trends.

Fertility rates vary considerably across and within societies, and over time. Over the last three decades, social demographers have made remarkable progress in documenting these axes of variation, but theoretical models to explain family change and variation have lagged behind. At the same time, our sister disciplines—from cultural anthropology to social psychology to cognitive science and beyond—have made dramatic strides in understanding how social action works, and how bodies, brains, cultural contexts, and structural conditions are coordinated in that process. Understanding Family Change and Variation: Toward a Theory of Conjunctural Action argues that social demography must be reintegrated into the core of theory and research about the processes and mechanisms of social action, and proposes a framework through which that reintegration can occur. This framework posits that material and schematic structures profoundly shape the occurrence, frequency, and context of the vital events that constitute the object of social demography. Fertility and family behaviors are best understood as a function not just of individual traits, but of the structured contexts in which behavior occurs. This approach upends many assumptions in social demography, encouraging demographers to embrace the endogeneity of social life and to move beyond fruitless debates of structure versus culture, of agency versus structure, or of biology versus society.

This book is a practical guide on how to design, create and validate a spatial microsimulation model. These models are becoming more popular as academics and policy makers recognise the value of place in research and policy making. Recent spatial microsimulation models have been used to analyse health and social disadvantage for small areas; and to look at the effect of policy change for small areas. This provides a powerful analysis tool for researchers and policy makers. This book covers preparing the data for spatial microsimulation; a number of methods for both static and dynamic spatial microsimulation models; validation of the models to ensure the outputs are reasonable; and the future of spatial microsimulation. The book will be an essential handbook for any researcher or policy maker looking to design and create a spatial microsimulation model. This book will also be useful to those policy makers who are commissioning a spatial microsimulation model, or looking to commission work using a spatial microsimulation model, as it provides information on the different methods in a non-technical way.

This book investigates sociological, demographic and geographic aspects of aging in rural and nonmetropolitan areas of the United States. Population aging is one of the most important trends of the 20th and 21st centuries, and it is occurring worldwide, especially in more developed countries such as the United States. Population aging is more rapid in rural than urban areas of the U.S. In 2010, 15 percent of the nonmetropolitan compared to 12 percent of the metropolitan population were 65 years of age and older. By definition rural communities have smaller sized populations, and more limited healthcare, transportation and other aging-relevant services than do urban areas. It is thus especially important to study and understand aging in rural environments. Rural Aging in 21st Century America contributes evidence-based, policy-relevant information on rural aging in the U.S. A primary objective of the book is to improve understanding of what makes the experience of rural aging different from aging in urban areas and to increase understanding of the aged change the nature of rural places. The book addresses unique features of rural aging across economic, racial/ethnic, migration and other structures and patterns, all with a focus on debunking myths about rural aging and to emphasize opportunities and challenges that rural places and older people experience.

This book is a practical guide on how to design, create and validate a spatial microsimulation model. These models are becoming more popular as academics and policy makers recognise the value of place in research and policy making. Recent spatial microsimulation models have been used to analyse health and social disadvantage for small areas; and to look at the effect of policy change for small areas. This provides a powerful analysis tool for researchers and policy makers. This book covers preparing the data for spatial microsimulation; a number of methods for both static and dynamic spatial microsimulation models; validation of the models to ensure the outputs are reasonable; and the future of spatial microsimulation. The book will be an essential handbook for any researcher or policy maker looking to design and create a spatial microsimulation model. This book will also be useful to those policy makers who are commissioning a spatial microsimulation model, or looking to commission work using a spatial microsimulation model, as it provides information on the different methods in a non-technical way.