Summary Background In December, 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus, emerged in Wuhan, China. Since then, the city of Wuhan has taken unprecedented measures in response to the outbreak, including extended school and workplace closures. We aimed to estimate the effects of physical distancing measures on the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic, hoping to provide some insights for the rest of the world. Methods To examine how changes in population mixing have affected outbreak progression in Wuhan, we used synthetic location-specific contact patterns in Wuhan and adapted these in the presence of school closures, extended workplace closures, and a reduction in mixing in the general community. Using these matrices and the latest estimates of the epidemiological parameters of the Wuhan outbreak, we simulated the ongoing trajectory of an outbreak in Wuhan using an age-structured susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR) model for several physical distancing measures. We fitted the latest estimates of epidemic parameters from a transmission model to data on local and internationally exported cases from Wuhan in an age-structured epidemic framework and investigated the age distribution of cases. We also simulated lifting of the control measures by allowing people to return to work in a phased-in way and looked at the effects of returning to work at different stages of the underlying outbreak (at the beginning of March or April). Findings Our projections show that physical distancing measures were most effective if the staggered return to work was at the beginning of April; this reduced the median number of infections by more than 92% (IQR 66–97) and 24% (13–90) in mid-2020 and end-2020, respectively. There are benefits to sustaining these measures until April in terms of delaying and reducing the height of the peak, median epidemic size at end-2020, and affording health-care systems more time to expand and respond. However, the modelled effects of physical distancing measures vary by the duration of infectiousness and the role school children have in the epidemic. Interpretation Restrictions on activities in Wuhan, if maintained until April, would probably help to delay the epidemic peak. Our projections suggest that premature and sudden lifting of interventions could lead to an earlier secondary peak, which could be flattened by relaxing the interventions gradually. However, there are limitations to our analysis, including large uncertainties around estimates of R0 and the duration of infectiousness. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institute for Health Research, Wellcome Trust, and Health Data Research UK.
Abstract This paper looks at the framing of migration in low-scale, midsize cities and its implications for local governance. It seeks to deepen understanding of migration governance in these understudied contexts facing rapid ageing, labour shortages and increased migration inflows. Through this in-depth inductive study of three Dutch localities, we build upon academic literature on governance of migration in small and medium sized cities. Taking a qualitative approach based on field visits and interviews, we came across two overlooked aspects of local governance: temporality and the role of business. We found a hyper-fixation of local governance actors on migrant categories– especially labour migrants and refugees– and unrealistic assumptions about their length of stay in municipalities, as newcomers moved around more than they anticipated. The cities exhibited largely fragmented and uncoordinated policy responses to different migrant categories with only limited engagement of business actors. While companies strongly influenced the rising number of EU-labour migrants in the cities, there was little attention to these migrants’ social needs. At the same time, the labour potential of refugees remained overlooked. This paper recommends municipalities to develop a holistic vision on migration beyond rigid migrant categories, invest in robust regulation and in alliances with companies to foster newcomers’ incorporation in the local community so as to turn migration into an asset, rather than another challenge for low-scale midsize cities.
Abstract This article examines how local service providers that homeless EU migrants in Copenhagen rely on restructured their work in the city during the pandemic, and what the impacts were for migrants’ access to resources and rights. Due to their everyday mediation of migrants’ care, resource access and rights, the providers are conceptualized here as a key element of the infrastructure of migrants’ urban citizenship. Theoretically this approach highlights not only the conditional, but always contingent, and thus, we argue, the infrastructured nature of citizenship. This article draws on interviews with providers and key municipal actors to identify three main spatial changes and their impacts: a shift away from communal urban spaces of care, an enhanced outreach and mobility of provision, and increased flexibility and novelty in shelter provision in the city. While all three provided opportunities for some extension of migrants’ urban citizenship, even if limited and fragmented, they did so to a different extent: The first two achieved such extension mostly through a provision of pandemic-time care, delivered primarily in parallel to (rather than through) an inclusion through the general welfare system. The last shift, on the other hand, furnished an opportunity to secure migrants’ rights in the city in the long run, since it provided a pathway to homeless migrants’ registration, and thus more secure status. These findings highlight the differential contributions of civil society actors’ specific approaches to their infrastructural work to the everyday making of migrant urban citizenship.
In this editorial, Michaela Kreyenfeld, former board member, author and reviewer, reflects on her own experiences with and the evolution and significance of Comparative Population Studies (CPoS), formerly Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (ZfB), highlighting its role as a dedicated, rigorous platform for demographic and population research. CPoS embraces core demographic topics as well as interdisciplinary approaches, exemplified for example by seminal works on fertility, demographic transitions, and sociological theory. Valued for fairness, accessibility, and intellectual integrity, CPoS offers a respected venue for both emerging and established scholars.
* This article belongs to a series celebrating the journal's 50th anniversary.
Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Megha C Patel, Disha Makwani, Shreya Rasikbhai Pokiya
et al.
A major public health issue in both developed and underdeveloped countries is early childhood caries (ECC). A child’s dental health may be impacted by the way they are delivered. Infants delivered by Caesarean section are more likely to suffer from diseases including diabetes, obesity and asthma than those born vaginally. Additionally, there is conflicting research regarding how the technique of birth may alter a child’s oral microbiota development and, consequently, their vulnerability to dental caries. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between delivery method, gestational age, maternal health complications, maternal dental health and socio-economic factors in relation to prevalence of ECC in children aged 3–5 years living in Gandhinagar. A cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between mode of delivery and other factors with ECC in 3–5-year-old children. Preschools were stratified, and participants were randomly selected, resulting in a sample of 222 children from Gandhinagar city. Data collection included oral examinations and interviews using a closed-ended validated questionnaire to gather socio-demographic details, gestational age, mode of delivery, birth weight and socio-economic status. The non-parametric test assessed associations between categorical variables, such as mode of delivery, gestational age, maternal complications, maternal caries and ECC presence. ECC was prevalent in 63.5% of the study population. Notably, children born via C-section accounted for 65.31% of cases, indicating a significantly higher prevalence of ECC compared to those delivered vaginally. ECC was noted in 65.12% of children whose mothers experienced dental caries, while the prevalence remained similar between children of mothers with pregnancy complications 62% and those without 64.75%. Socio-economic status emerged as a strong determinant, with ECC affecting 88% of children from lower-income families, while only 50% of those from higher-income backgrounds were affected. ECC was significantly linked to C-section delivery and lower socio-economic status, underscoring the need for preventive strategies that integrate healthcare, early child care and socio-economic support.
Introduction: the alarming surge in lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes amongst children and adolescents in metropolitan cities is correlated with the lack of physical activity. Hence, the aim of this research is to investigate the impact of physical literacy. Moreover, the study was also aimed to explore differences regarding level of physical activity, physical literacy, and health outcomes among school children in Punjab and Haryana from rural and urban backgrounds. Methodology: A comprehensive approach was applied. An integration of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to collect data. The sample included 200 school children, 100 from rural and another 100 from urban (through a survey). Physical activity, physical literacy as well as lifestyle-related disorders were gauged through a structured survey questionnaire. In addition, students' height, weight, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels were measured. Alongside the anthropometric assessment, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted including teachers and parents from participating schools to further explore their perceptions on physical activity. Results: Unstructured forms of physical activity such as walking and farming was prominent in rural children contrasted with their urban counterparts who had better access to structured Physical Education (PE) programs. Urban children, however, overall had lower activity levels than rural children. Rural children excelled in physical competence, whereas urban children were more self-confident in sports. Urban children had a greater burden of lifestyle diseases, with 18% of them being classified as overweight or obese compared to 10% for rural children. Hypertension and early diabetes were also more common among urban children. Discussion: The results indicate that rural children, while more active, were less formally educated in physical literacy which explains the lower scores on motivation and confidence. On the other hand, the structured physical education available to urban children did little to mitigate the effects of a sedentary lifestyle caused by increased screen time, poor diet, and other factors. These findings call for targeted approaches to encourage both unstructured and structured physical activities in children, considering the distinct rural versus urban dynamics. Conclusion: The current analysis highlights the role of physical literacy in averting lifestyle-related health problems among school-aged children. It also indicates that rural children need less restricted and more unstructured physical activities, while urban children require more unrestricted physical activities and diminished sedentary time. Specific action plans for children’s health in rural and urban areas are greatly needed with direct engagement from teachers, parents, and government officials.
Herawati Herawati, Kartika Rinakit Adhe, Nurhenti Dorlina Simatupang
et al.
This study aims to determine how the relationship between teacher ICT competence and children's digital literacy skills in kindergarten Surabaya. This research is a type of survey research with a quantitative approach. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire. The sample used in this study was kindergarten teachers who teach children aged 3-6 years, totaling 98 teachers. Data were analyzed using SPSS 29 for testing analytical requirements, inferential and hypothesis testing. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that there is a correlation and positive influence of teachers' ICT competence on children's digital literacy skills in kindergarten Surabaya. This is indicated by the Sig value < 0.05. The correlation and regression test results in the study were 0.001 < 0.05. The results of the regression equation in the study interpret that if the teacher's ICT competency variable increases by 1%, there will also be an increase in the digital literacy ability variable of kindergarten children by 0.800. This proves that it is important for teachers to improve ICT competencies to maximize early childhood digital literacy skills.
Education, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Abstract This article examines the link between immigrants’ social capital and their labour market access (employment) and success (occupational status) in Germany and contributes to previous research in two ways. Firstly, based on insights from theories of social capital and immigrant integration, we overcome the mere distinction between inter- and intra-ethnic ties. Instead, we approximate resources immigrants can access and mobilize by considering both the ethnic and socioeconomic compositions of their networks. Secondly, by using autoregressive cross-lagged panel models, we properly deal with the methodological challenge of endogeneity inherent to studies concerned with the relationship between social capital and labour market outcomes. Based on longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel the empirical findings indicate the necessity of considering both the ethnic and socioeconomic compositions of immigrants’ networks—as both have independent effects on immigrants’ labour market integration. We conclude that future research on the relationship between immigrants’ social capital and their economic integration may benefit from approximating resources available through social contacts by considering not only the ethnic dimension but also the socioeconomic dimension of contacts.
Andrés Besserer Rayas, Victoria Finn, Luisa Feline Freier
Abstract Implementation gaps in the areas of naturalization and immigrant regularization emerge through a mismatch between the documents a residence country requires, and the documents that refugees and migrants can realistically provide. Those caught in this gap may live undocumented or risk statelessness. Residence countries can close such paperwork gaps by adapting legal interpretations and easing administrative requirements. When Colombia faced large-scale international displacement from Venezuela, state actors identified documentation-based implementation gaps in its nationality law and regularization procedures; they then took an innovative – yet not faultless – approach by adapting its citizenship and immigration regimes to accommodate displaced Venezuelans. These changes strengthened access to essential rights and increased the well-being of many. In this article, we develop the concepts of paperwork gaps and paper bridges and discuss the actors, impact, and limitations of Colombia’s policy innovations in the areas of nationality by birth, naturalization, and regularization based on research conducted from 2020 to 2023. The study advances the literature on government learning regarding policies within citizenship and immigration regimes that target internationally displaced populations.
Abstract Despite a growing South Asian (SA) population in the US, little is known about the lived experiences of late-life SA immigrant women who may face unique challenges as they navigate their later years in a new cultural and social space. This qualitative study explored how late-life SA immigrant women negotiate issues around identity, faith, and the continuity/rupture of norms and familial bonds in the context of migration and multigenerational living. Using an intersectional lifecourse perspective, in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve SA women who immigrated to the US at age 65 or older and co-resided with their adult children and/or grandchildren in a large cosmopolitan US city. Thematic analysis of the interview data uncovered the resilience and strength of the study participants as they navigated settlement challenges, including culture shock, language barriers, health and social care access issues, and the intricate dynamics of multigenerational living. Drawing from their cultural heritage, they navigated these transitions while also (re)interpreting cultural traditions to find meaning and cope with a perceived loss of status in the family. Furthermore, despite migration challenges, study participants found solace in embracing their grandmother role and through support from their religious and cultural enclaves. These findings highlight the salience of faith, family, and community in the lives of late-life immigrant SA women–a group that often remains invisible in policy and practice–and can help policymakers and stakeholders, including community service providers, faith leaders, researchers, and family members, to provide culturally appropriate support and promote their health and well-being.
Access to quality education is a fundamental right for every child, yet disparities in resource distribution often pose significant barriers to achieving equitable access. In the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State, Nigeria, concern exists regarding the equitable distribution of public primary schools (PPS) and whether all children have equal access to educational opportunities. This study aims to address these concerns by analysing the accessibility of PPS infrastructure within Port Harcourt L.G.A. Employing a multi-method approach, including field surveys, literature reviews, and analysis of official reports from the Rivers State Ministry of Education and Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board, the research ascertained the number, geographical distribution, and spatial equity of PPS across the LGA. By comparing this data with population demographics, the study discerned disparities in school distribution, identified areas where access is limited or inequitable and recommended targeted interventions and areas of collaboration.
Abstract: This article looks at the several stages of expansion of Bhubaneswar, a city in eastern India. Because of infrastructural improvements, economic growth, and population expansion, Bhubaneswar has seen fast urban growth. Growth is foreseen mainly in the transportation system, which is public transportation that is quite suppressed over the years leading to various issues like-traffic congestion,daily ridership growth patterns,accidents, and economic and environmental crisis. Thus it is essential to ramp up and optimize mobility services.The focus has to be on promoting green, clean mobility. Electric vehicles are already on high priority on the government’s agenda.Further, mobility services should be convenient to access by the public and secure, even for the fringes of the demographic, including women, children and the elderly.
In this study, we empirically analyse intentions to emigrate from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), focusing on individual, household, regional and socio-economic determinants, including specific influences relevant to the post-conflict nature of this society. We rely on a series of annual country-representative survey data collected over the period 2006–2010 and the latest repeated survey from 2019. This gives us the possibility to see whether there are changes in observed determinants with a decade’s difference, all investigated through non-linear econometric models. Moreover, we supplement quantitative research with qualitative in-depth interviews to enrich our results with deeper insights collected from both emigrants and potential emigrants in BiH. Our findings indicate that higher intentions to emigrate are linked to typical individual and household conditions: young, educated and low-income respondents all report high intentions to do so. However, the socio-economic environment characterised by economic – and, even more, by political – instability increases these intentions considerably. Our comparative analysis reports that the socio-economic environment has taken primacy over individual characteristics as drivers of emigrations which dominated a decade ago. Conventional thinking that economic drivers of emigration intentions dominate nowadays have not been confirmed. Policymakers should focus on improving primarily political stability as a measure that will decrease emigration intentions in this post-conflict society.
Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Background and Aim: Given the negative effects of the absence of one of the parents, single-parent children require great help and assistance. This study was aimed at developing a cognitive-behavioral art-play therapy package based on lived experiences of single-parent children by means of need-based inductive qualitative content analysis. Methods: The research used need-based inductive content analysis method. In addition to scientific texts, the study’s statistical population included specialists and experts in the field of art and play therapy, besides single-parent children aged between 6 and 12 years in Isfahan city (Iran). Twenty-five people were chosen from the abovementioned statistical population using purposive sampling. To obtain the lived experiences of single-parent children between 6 and 12 years in the two fields of art and play therapy, a semi-structured exploratory interview form with their mothers concerning the problems and needs of the children was employed. It is worth noting that sampling was continued until data saturation. To analyze the data, they were initially recorded, coded, and then analyzed based on Braun and Clarke thematic analysis of inductive content. Results: The findings led to the preparation of a cognitive-behavioral art-play therapy package suitable to the psychological needs of single-parent children in ten 90-to-120-minute sessions with specialized agreement of 0.94 between the assessors. Components and structure of cognitive-behavioral art-play therapy program, including integrated techniques of art therapy and play-therapy specialized for single-parent children, is focused on emotional, clinical, behavioral, cognitive, and social deficits, as well as the need of recognition and awareness, doing pleasurable activities, physical complaints, besides functional and academic deficiencies. Conclusion: In the end, a cognitive-behavioral art-play therapy package based on the single-parent children’s lived experiences was adjusted in accordance with the findings of content analysis for single-parent children (between 6 and 12 years old). Subsequently, the concepts extracted from the texts employed in the form of structure of multiple educational sessions were adjusted and processed and the sections of the session’s subject, objectives, and content, as well as the training method, presentation, and exercises and assignments were designed for each training session.
Aditya Sarkar, Benjamin J. Spatz, Alex de Waal
et al.
In 2017, the UN raised the alarm on famines in North-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. Starvation has been used as a weapon of war in Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has among the largest numbers of severely food-insecure people of any country assessed by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system. Each of these sites of mass starvation or famine can be understood as a ‘political marketplace’. They are characterised by the dominance of transactional politics over public institutions, and elite politics is conducted for factional or personal political advantage, on the basis of monetised patronage. This paper examines the relationship between these systems of transactional politics and famine and other forms of mass starvation, and outlines the implications of the political marketplace framework for humanitarian action. It argues that both transactional politics and mass starvation emerge from particular political-economic configurations characterised by economic precarity and mismanagement, violent forms of peripheral governance and war economies. Applying the political marketplace framework can help improve humanitarian information and early warning systems, as well as programme decision-making, while helping humanitarians think more carefully about the constant trade-offs they are forced to make.
City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Immigration is one of the most contentious fields of contemporary European urban policy. While the development of urban segregation is well documented in traditional immigration countries with population register data, there is a lack of detailed research on population dynamics in many countries and cities across Europe. This article examines ethnic residential segregation in Czechia in the period after the economic crisis of 2008. Special attention is paid to the trajectories of individual cities and their position in the urban hierarchy. Longitudinal population register data are used and segregation indicators of unevenness and exposure are computed for the largest cities using a detailed spatial grid. The results show a broad picture of decreasing segregation despite the continuously growing number of immigrants in the country. While the economic crisis temporarily halted immigration, the spatial patterns of immigrant dissimilarity did not change and more-established immigration gateway cities experienced an increase in spatial isolation. In the conclusion, the article calls for further discussion on ethnic residential segregation in post-socialist cities.
Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps, Lasse Heerten, Arua Oko Omaka
et al.
This roundtable took place on 16 January 2020, at the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war in Biafra. It brought together Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps, Lasse Heerten, Arua Oko Omaka and Kevin O’Sullivan. The roundtable was organised and chaired by Bertrand Taithe, University of Manchester.
City population. Including children in cities, immigration
DOI:10.1097/YCO.0000000000000599 There is no question that the world is becoming more urbanized, with both positive and negative for health and mental health. City life is surfaced by many jobs and educational opportunities, but there is also the possibility of violence and unforeseen accidents. Modern life is matched by increasing levels of immigration, concentration of air pollution, facilitating policies for substance abuse and the widespread use of internet and smartphones replacing human close contact. On top of the increasing immigration moves and the risk of new epidemics, on the social side it has seen the return of nationalism and reinforcing sexist and stigma against women, ethnic groups and sex minorities in some countries. How can all these changes affect a population’s mental health in big cities? Editing a volume on this field is an exciting opportunity to hear from investigators around the globe on their feelings and views about this contemporary topic in psychiatry. This supplement will cover the main psychiatric disorders occurring in modern societies, such as depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, substance abuse and internet addiction. It will question how modern behaviors are inducing new diseases, the role of the educational system in the promotion and prevention of mental health and a study of the role of traditional healers in places, where there is a scarcity of mental health professionals, particularly in Africa. The available epidemiological evidence suggests that the prevalence of depression has increased since the last century, especially in the last few decades, with recent cohorts showing an increased onset of depression and a consequent increase in risk throughout life. Competitive environments, social inequality and loneliness are the main factors of modern Western culture related to the rising rates of mental disorders, including depression. Humans have become overfed, malnourished and sedentary, with low exposure to sunlight; they are sleep deprived and living in competitive environments and social isolation. Early trauma wherever it happens will have a pleiotropic effect on depression, PTSD and psychosis, as alteration of inflammatory markers can affect neurocircuits and therefore making humans more vulnerable to develop severe psychiatric disorders in adulthood.