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Even as the 2016 elections brought increased public attention to rural life, stereotypes and misconceptions abound. One of these misperceptions is the generalization that prices are lower in rural areas. This article is a restudy of Zimmerman, Ham, and Frank (2008) research on geographic differences in the costs of living. Asking the same fundamental question—if someone bought the same thing in a rural and urban area, would they pay the same price?—and using the same methodology, the results 10 years later indicate that, contrary to popular perception, there was again no consistent pattern of lower prices in rural counties and no consistent pattern of a lower rural cost of living in all of the rural areas. While prices are only one piece of the larger picture of how rural households meet their needs, in addition to price differences, the results highlight how differences in rural life create additional costs that extend beyond prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the effectiveness of service quality provided in Tirupattur Head Post Office toward Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) polices. Service quality is an important element in the management of service. The post office is a very big service-oriented institution. It started its insurance business from 1 February 1884. Design, methodology, approach: A descriptive research design were used to study the objective such as analyzing the various service quality provided by Postal Insurer and also to find the best service quality, to achieve this the researcher used questionnaire to collect 85 samples using simple random technique from PLI and RPLI policyholders in Tirupattur district. The primary data are analyzed by applying percentage analysis, mean and standard deviation, t -test and F -test in SPSS tools. Finding: A finding of the study shows that postal insurance industry was providing high quality services regarding financial stability accessible location, flexible payments and were providing low quality services regarding online transaction, approaching from the customers point of view, introducing new products. Mean and SD value show positive rating. The t -test shows the assurance is the best service quality provided by postal insurer among six service quality factors. All the service quality statements are above average level. F − test shows a significant difference of all statement if service quality factors to demographic factors. Practical implications: This research paper is important for the investors, postal insurer, and post office. Service quality will have positive impact on customer satisfaction that will lead to investment behavior. Social implications: This study provides awareness to investors about postal insurance, important of service quality to the postal insurer, in the study area and trends-related research for future. Originality: This study provides a comprehensive review of theories, methods, discussion points, and conclusions of studies on service quality, customer satisfaction, PLI published in selected investment journals over past 20 years. Research limitations: This study was confined only to Tirupattur Head Post Office and Conclusions drawn may not be applicable to other district post office and, therefore, the findings of this study cannot be generalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is a consensus on religious revival in China, it must be noted that popular religion and institutional religions such as Buddhism and Daoism adopt different strategies to survive the state's regulations. Many temples that used to facilitate the worship of local deities have to establish some form of intangible cultural heritage or emphasize the deity's history and folklore to de-religionize. During this process, a temple may earn its lawful place to survive, but risks its communality in the village. Based on studies of rural and urban temples in Henan and Shandong provinces, in this paper, I attempt to understand people's religiosity and how they conduct the human–deity exchange under social transformation. Popular religion is characterized by the pursuit of efficacy and its embeddedness in rural life. The traditional binary exchange with deities could be used to maintain a relationship with deities as well as offer urgent solutions, while three-party chains of exchange not only constitute a religious gift economy but also offer a religious agent to seek answers. I argue that temples are marginalized and excluded from village life, so people need to find new means by which to continue their religious practices beyond what the state sponsors, and this has led to the flowing of sacred places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assamese fiction, which developed in the pages of Jonaki and Avahan, gained notable popularity in the pages of the Ramdhenu era in the post-war period. Many storytellers established themselves during this era and enriched Assamese literature. Among them is Lakshminandan Bora. There are many different types of short stories in Assamese literature. Lakshminandan Bora, who wrote and produced many literary works during the Ramdhenu period, based most of his short stories on the "accurate portrayal of Assamese rural society." Many stories are written against the background of rural life in Assamese literature. Still, the agrarian society depicted in the short stories of Lakshminandan Bora is full of tangible and realistic experiences. Bora's stories are based on rural life and represent various aspects of society, such as laughter, tears, hopes and disappointments, happiness and sorrow, customs, love, and problems. "Sakha Damodar" is one of the significant short stories explicitly portraying that society. The story is set against the backdrop of Assamese rural life and paints a perfect picture of the rural community. This study attempts to discuss the various aspects of Assamese rural society, such as customs, rituals, and food, and how those are reflected in the story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 20th century salt' major changes in the way of life in rural eastern Europe. Traditional folklore that had been preserved for centuries was also changing and disappearing. This paper examines one ritual: namely, a male peasant's walking on a contested land boundary with a clump of turf on his head. After an analysis of the ritual 's latest versions, recorded from a female speaker in a Carpatho-Rusyn village in Ukraine in 2017-2020. I examine the ritual in its historical perspective and discuss its differences from older versions in other traditions. The changes are attributed to two main factors: the abandonment of old land boundaries under collective farmland ownership, and the narrative's being shaped by contemporary rural female perceptions of magic, sin, and retribution. The results contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of changes in traditional rural folklore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, in scientific publications on the philosophy of economy, economic and agrarian sciences, attention to the philosophical aspects of the study of rural life and agricultural production has increased. This indicates that the philosophy of agrarian activity is formed as an integral part of the philosophy of economics and agrarian economy. The purpose of the article is to determine the scientific status of the philosophy of agriculture as a worldview basis for managing agrarian practice. The authors chose structural and systemic analysis and synthesis as the main methods of research, which allowed to isolate the concept of the philosophy of agriculture and to learn its essence. The article defines the philosophical aspect of the study of agricultural practice, which is an object of management in the context of social, cultural and economic life of people. Within the framework of philosophy, agriculture is considered not only as the basis of human livelihood, but also as a factor in the creation of civilization and culture. The study determined that the subject of the philosophy of agriculture is the relationship in the "man-nature-economy" system in the context of agrarian life. The theoretical value is that the philosophical problems of agriculture are systematized within the classical approach to the structure of philosophical knowledge (that is, ontology, epistemology, anthropology, praxeology of agriculture and socio-philosophical problems of agriculture are highlighted). General philosophical methodological approaches are formulated and defined, on the basis of which the philosophy of agriculture can develop as a meta-knowledge in relation to agrarian sciences and the practice of managing the agrarian sphere. The subject of the philosophy of agriculture is defined. The practical value lies in the fact that the research result can be included as a topic in educational courses in philosophical disciplines for students of higher education in the economic and agrarian profile of training. The results of the study enrich the information and analytical knowledge necessary for the comprehensive education of ecological culture, nature-centric economic behaviour of specialists in the agrarian sphere of production [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we reflect on the changing trajectories of agrarian movements in Indonesia. In the two decades after independence, a left‐populist alliance of peasants, plantation workers, and other affiliate organizations achieved a mass following and were embraced by President Sukarno. In the aftermath of their violent destruction, the Suharto regime reordered agrarian movements into a single corporatist model. Suharto's downfall opened the way for the re‐emergence of agrarian organizations and movements. But two decades later, they remain small and fragmented, with little influence at the national level. In the changing conditions of rural life, and the increasingly authoritarian political context, progressive rural movements face dilemmas on questions both of their focus and goals and of tactical alliances with other progressive movements and political elites. A broader, more inclusive progressive populist alliance is a possibility, but with the continuing danger of co‐optation by forces of the populist right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research project was executed to demonstrate a new approach to increasing Sense of Belonging of individuals to groups to which they belong. The foundation of the approach lies in the application of concepts from a branch of math called Graph Theory. Graph Theory provides concepts and calculations that can be applied to understand the structures that arise when elements interact in a network. This project considers individual humans who interact when they come together to participate in some activity. In particular, we will apply this analytical methodology to UFM, Unaccompanied Foreign Minors, children who arrive without adult supervision or guidance from foreign countries to build a new life in their new country (in our case, Spain). One goal of the project is to increase the Sense of Belonging of these children to other children in the program with whom they do not share common characteristics (Age, Country of Origin, and Time Spent in Spain). We use the concept of "Diversity Experience Index", or DEI, that shows for any individual, the number of interactions they have had with other individuals with particular characteristics. A student's DEI values can then suggest future interactions in the program to achieve the goal of increasing their Sense of Belonging to other students in the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 'mobility bias' has been identified in the migration literature, whereby researchers have focused on the drivers of migration while neglecting factors that influence immobility decisions. Addressing this gap is important for developing a holistic understanding of human mobility patterns and effectively mitigating experiences of distress migration among populations experiencing marginalisation. This qualitative study explored (im)mobility aspirations and decisions among youth from two rural municipalities of Honduras. Thirty-two in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2019. Analyses were guided by the aspiration-capabilities framework. Findings revealed retain and repel factors shaping immobility aspirations among rural youth. Respondents who were practicing immobility also identified the capacity to envision viable rural livelihood options as an important precursor to actualising their immobility preferences. They described creatively applying skills, leveraging resources, and engaging with enabling institutions in order to turn immobility aspirations into capabilities. They contested scarcity narratives driving outmigration among their peers and positioned themselves as active agents of their immobility decisions, claiming dignity in their livelihood choices. These findings enrich an understanding of immobility as an agentic livelihood choice in a context with high rates of outmigration, making both empirical and theoretical contributions to the (im)mobility literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed psychosocial influences on political life in the Basque Country according to Doise's theory on the articulation between the individual, the interindividual, groups, and society. Political-party experiences and evaluations of system legitimacy during elections (local, regional, general, and European) were considered. Party choice was linked to atheism and without-religion among Spanish progressive voters (Podemos); Christianity to Basque conservative nationalism (PNV); Basque identity to Basque progressive nationalism (EH-Bildu); and Spanish identity to conservativism (PP). On the whole, Basque parties' voters stressed more economy/administration and politicians' individual traits, while Spanish party voters focused more on civil/social rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, many households lack basic household services and the provision of utility infrastructure is uneven across regions, leaving lagged regions behind. This lack of infrastructure in specific places can affect the welfare of its inhabitants. This paper aims to measure the influence of household basic services and sub-national infrastructure activities on individual subjective well-being in Ecuador. To determine how important the geographical context is for individual welfare, a hierarchical ordered logistic multilevel model is conducted. The results show that the individual heterogeneity is explained in 7% by the variation across cantons. There are 52 cantons that are above the average life satisfaction and 43 cantons below it. Findings regarding infrastructure evidence that sub-national utility projects and road infrastructure have a positive significant effect on the life satisfaction of rural residents whereas it is not significant for urban residents, indicating the diminishing marginal utility of urban people. Once a satiation point is achieved, marginal utility increases are lower. As for household services, access to the internet has a higher positive welfare effect than access to sewerage and access to water via pipelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main task of the research is to clarify the main trends of demographic processes in the rural areas of Ukraine and to formulate proposals for the development and improvement of the demographic policy of Ukraine in the future. In the process of preparing the article, we used abstract-logical, mathematical-statistical, visualization and econometric methods of scientific research. According to the results of the grouping of the regions of Ukraine by the level of demographic safety, we found that most regions of Ukraine form a group of so-called "demographic danger". And if in 2009 there was a third of the regions in this group, then in 2021, about 50% showed demographic problems related to rural population caused by the decline of the population, including also the rural one and migration process with reduce the labor potential of rural areas, etc. In the article we substantiated that Ukraine, as a future member of the European Union, should move to the priority goals of the common agricultural policy (CAP), which include improving the quality of life in rural areas, diversifying the rural economy, improving the state of the environment and rural areas, and increasing the level of competitiveness of the agricultural industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND In the last few decades, a substantial number of older adults have migrated to new countries around the retirement age to raise their quality of life, a phenomenon that has been labeled as international retirement migration. The scattered body of research on this type of migration across disciplines has made it difficult to get an overview of why retirement migrants move and how they fare in their destination countries. OBJECTIVE This paper accumulates findings from research on international retirement migration from different disciplines to obtain a comprehensive picture of the field. We do so by (1) evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of methodological approaches, (2) reviewing empirical findings, and (3) discussing future research directions. METHODS We carried out a systematic literature search of peer-reviewed studies in the English language on Web of Science and Google Scholar published between 1998 and 2021 with the keyword search "international retirement migration." From an initial pool of 148 articles, we excluded articles focusing on the return of retiring labor migrants, internal retirement migrants, and seasonal retirement migrants. We conducted a literature review on the remaining 90 articles about retirement migration. CONTRIBUTION Our review shows that the unbalanced nature of methods and samples used in the retirement migration literature offers challenges for future research. In particular, it remains important to assess whether the current accounts are representative of the wider retirement migrant population and to systematically test hypotheses that arise from this basis. We suggest methodological improvements and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling spatial inequalities needs to make sure that it improves the lives of people in rural and peripheral regions. Whilst local metrics and key indicators may be improved by measures implemented, this does not always translate to local people 'feeling' that development has improved their lives. Using ethnographic fieldwork and embodied and conversational research techniques, this paper adds to the place-based, evolutionary economic geography and resilience literature to develop the concept of the complex adaptive region assemblage, which draws on Deleuzian-based theory. I question whether this might be a lens to explore and better understand the measures that can be put in place in order to address the gap between regional development programmes, and the experiences of members of the public. The starting point was to explore the positionality of local people, and the paper finds that in the case studies (Cornwall UK and Southwest Virginia USA), systems put in place to revitalise these areas could be more effective if they pay attention to connecting spaces between local residents, and how they navigate their localities. • Place-based development needs to understand how local people experience rural regions. • Often, certain gaps make it more difficult for people to participate effectively in their regions. • Rural development needs to connect (missing) gaps in how people navigate place. • Viewing rural regions as complex adaptive assemblages helps to understand these gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the loan sources used by rural solar home system adopters to meet their everyday needs, as well as the motivations for using these sources. The findings show that people in rural areas take into account social and economic factors when making a decision regarding where to seek a loan. People borrowed money from individuals with whom they had strong ties, which could be parents, siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, or neighbours, and there was heterogeneity regarding where people situate family members along the weak/strong tie continuum. The results show that people preferred borrowing money from individuals with whom they had relationships based on the principle of reciprocity, suggesting their preference to avoid dependency in favour of equality. The findings also show that spatial and social proximity are intimately interconnected, and that both play an important role in determining where people turn to when in need of a loan. In several cases, the provision of a loan was based on a combination of both dimensions of proximity. Our findings have implications for energy policies that increasingly require households to bear the financial demands of access to basic energy services. • We examine the socio-economic landscape in which SHS adoption is entangled. • Social and economic factors matter when deciding where to seek a loan. • Relationships based on reciprocity are preferred over those based on dependency. • Spatial and social proximity play an important and complementary role in loan provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anatolia / Anadolu is the property of Ankara University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Pastoral areas are the key difficulty in China's pursuit of common prosperity and a key region for China to build the northern ecological safety barrier and to realize the Two Centenary Goals. It is of great significance to scientifically evaluate the quality of rural life (QRL), measure the relative poverty level (RPL), and identify the relatively poor areas, making it possible to dock poverty elimination with rural revitalization. Based on the socio-economic data of 18 pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia, this paper draws on spatial layout theory to evaluate QRL and measures RPL by the natural breakpoint method and then identifies the relatively poor areas in Inner Mongolia. The results show that (1) the QRLs of pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia were unbalanced and highly polarized. The mean score of QRLs was 0.2598. Eleven (61.11%) of the counties/banners had a QRL smaller than the mean score. On the spatial layout of QRLs, the western areas were stronger than the central areas. High QRL counties/banners are mainly concentrated in the western region. In the central region, the QRLs were very fragmented, falling onto all five levels. (2) The pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia differed significantly in RPL. The mean score of RPL stood at 0.3788. Nine counties/banners (50%) had an RPL greater than the mean. Contrary to the spatial layout features of QRLs, the central pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia had stronger RPLs than the eastern ones. High RPL counties/banners are mostly clustered in the central region. The spatial layout of RPLs is relatively reasonable in the central region: the RPLs decreased gradually from Dorbod Banner. (3) Nearly 45% of the pastoral areas in central and western Inner Mongolia face serious relative poverty and a high risk of returning to poverty. Eight counties/banners (45%) were identified as high composite relative poverty areas. From spatial layout, the composite relatively poor counties/banners clustered clearly, mainly in the western region. Finally, this paper establishes a warning mechanism against large-scale returning to poverty, aiming to lower composite RPL. The research results provide empirical reference and implementation path for consolidating the results of poverty eradication and facilitating rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research deals with the issue of genre hybridization in the novel "Silence - Chronicle of a Killer" written by a contemporary Austrian writer Thomas Raab. An examination of the novel's composition and structure, as a text in motion, has been accomplished in the article. The novel "Silence" is an excellent illustration of how the genre of adventure has been adapted to include elements of science fiction. This novel is a love tale, a rural life saga, a formation narrative, and a psychological thriller all in one. As a fictionalized account of the life of a serial murderer with hypersensitive hearing who became a legend for his mental torment and suffering, it serves both as a biography and a thriller. Novelist Raab uses elements from classic horror novels like Frankenstein, German romantics, in particular, G. Kleist, the tale of Casper Hauser, and detective novels like Friedrich Durrenmatt's "Promise" to tell the story of Casper Hauser's disappearance in his book. A new aesthetic experience may be formed at various degrees of identification ranging from naive perception to higher levels of literary reception. Concentration is required for poetic and philosophical substance. Michel Focalut's nomadism, marginality, and authoritarian power rhetoric have been discussed in this article. The novel's ultimate content has been disclosed as the aphesis torment, emotional sublimation, as the birth of an artwork and, at the same time, death of the author, who exposes discourses, accountable for creating texts that are allocated to him. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The countries of Eastern Europe represent a particular case from the demographic and economic point of view, as their demographic transition overlapped the economic development process. This represents a major challenge for the sustainability of their health and pension systems and has resulted in reforms and measures to support economic growth and increase the birth rate. Two categories of countries from Eastern Europe were analysed, Romania and Poland as representatives of the ex-Communist countries that joined the European Union and the Russian Federation as representative of the former Soviet Union. The Russian Federation experienced the most profound changes after 1990, being the only country in the Eastern bloc that is close to the generational replacement threshold, the only country with a positive migration balance, but also the only country with the lowest life expectancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times there has been a population turnaround in the island state of Tasmania sparked by an increase in in-migration of mainland urban dwellers. This paper argues that one of the major driving factors of this change is the quest for a new lifestyle in regional/rural life, that incorporates a desire for a temperate climate. As literature in lifestyle migration shows, this quest for a new life does not end once migration is over. Rather, the migration experience continues well after the move. In this paper, it will be shown how weather not only attracts migrants into Tasmania, but then encourages/discourages certain activities allowing the individual to engage in new ways of living. The paper suggests that while we need to be careful about romanticising this, we can potentially view this shift as emblematic of people's relationship to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new theoretical approach to medieval rural settlement, built on the concept of intensity, is proposed. It is argued that analysing settlements as intensive spaces creates new opportunities to explore the emergence of difference in medieval lived experience. The approach is intended to overcome the challenges posed by approaches to medieval architecture framed by binary divisions (e.g. inside/outside). Drawing on posthuman thought, it is argued that such divisions constrain the understanding of how and why difference emerged in the past. The paper advances this approach through its application to the study of house construction and domestic economy in the medieval village of Hangleton, England. It is proposed that difference emerges as everyday practices are performed in constantly changing material environments, generating situationally grounded but varied experiences of rurality. Rather than being subject to macro-scale economic processes, this approach allows us to understand historical change as a patchwork of localised interactions which overflowed the bounds of communities or regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under what conditions might the acquisition of new skills challenge discriminatory social norms? We interrogate this question through reference to a study on the social impacts of an agricultural skill development scheme in rural India. We present detailed vignettes drawn from this study, which illustrate the social consequences of acquiring and utilizing skills that transgress local gender and caste norms. Engaging with themes from capabilities theory, we highlight how, although not all skills are transgressive, for some, acquiring "transgressive skills" not only enhanced life opportunities for themselves, but also did so for others within their communities. The form of their transgressions and their social consequences varied, however, based on their relative privilege and the operation of place-specific social norms and systems of oppression. We argue that transgressive skills might drive progressive social change, but distinguish between two types of transgression. Individual, brash, heroic transgressions against the status quo are more accessible to the relatively privileged, whereas marginalized people are more likely to engage in nested transgressions, which form part of long-term, collective struggles for empowerment. The latter, although often overlooked, might offer sustainable pathways to progressive change that reflect local aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the cross border rural areas located in the suburban zone of big agglomerations in border regions of Hungary and Slovakia. Special attention is devoted to demographic processes and phenomena related to these facts. Besides generally acceptable statistical data represents other data collected via field research in communities representing suburban survey. It focuses on socio-economic effects of suburbanisation, analyses its impact on society of suburban inhabitants in Slovakia. There is a comparison between cross-border survey about the suburbanized rural life standards before and after 2020 to predict current trends influenced by pandemic Added value is the results of measuring gap in economic and demographic development in the cross-border regions mainly between Hungary and Slovakia during COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Colorectal cancer management may require an ostomy formation; however, a stoma may negatively impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to compare generic and stoma-specific HRQoL in patients with a permanent colostomy after rectal cancer across different countries. Method A cross-sectional cohorts of patients with a colostomy after rectal cancer in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, China, Portugal, Australia, Lithuania, Egypt, and Israel were invited to complete questionnaires regarding demographic and socioeconomic factors along with the Colostomy Impact (CI) score, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and five anchor questions assessing colostomy impact on HRQoL. The background characteristics of the cohorts from each country were compared and generic HRQoL was measured with the EORTC QLQ-C30 presented for the total cohort. Results were compared with normative data of reference European populations. The predictors of reduced HRQoL were investigated by multivariable logistic regression, including demographic and socioeconomic factors and stoma-related problems. Results A total of 2557 patients were included. Response rates varied between 51–93 per cent. Mean time from stoma creation was 2.5–6.2 (range 1.1–39.2) years. A total of 25.8 per cent of patients reported that their colostomy impairs their HRQoL 'some'/'a lot'. This group had significantly unfavourable scores across all EORTC subscales compared with patients reporting 'no'/'a little' impaired HRQoL. Generic HRQoL differed significantly between countries, but resembled the HRQoL of reference populations. Multivariable logistic regression showed that stoma dysfunction, including high CI score (OR 3.32), financial burden from the stoma (OR 1.98), unemployment (OR 2.74), being single/widowed (OR 1.35) and young age (OR 1.01 per year) predicted reduced stoma-related HRQoL. Conclusion Overall HRQoL is preserved in patients with a colostomy after rectal cancer, but a quarter of the patients interviewed reported impaired HRQoL. Differences among several countries were reported and socioeconomic factors correlated with reduced quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than 50 years, government programmes in the USA have been in place to help those in need have consistent access to food and education. However, questions have surfaced regarding whether or not these support impact traditional ways, such as cultural activities, food preferences, and overall health, particularly for Indigenous populations. In this paper, we share insights voiced by Alaska Native Elders in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska and their perceptions of regulations, assistance, and the impact government assistance programmes have had on their culture. Elders raised concerns so that those administering these programmes will consider how best to meet food security and education needs without interfering with Indigenous cultural practices and traditional lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the long-term dynamics of longevity by taking into account the specific contribution of each country, and how this has changed over time, thus highlighting different timing and speeds of the evolution of life expectancy among the low-lowest mortality countries. Leveraging on quantile regression, we analyze the specific position of countries that have recorded the maximum (BPLE) and second-best life expectancy value at least once in the period 1960-2014, both at ages 0 and 65. Moving in this direction, the purpose of our contribution is to provide new perspectives on the untracked behavior that may be overshadowed by the maximum longevity levels. Our results provide a comprehensive picture of the different phases and transitions experienced by developed countries in the evolution of life expectancy that has led to a continuous increase in the BPLE. This study is a prominent practice in detecting untracked behaviors, providing imminent onsets on the maximum and sub-maximum values, thus contributing to new clues for future longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of World Water Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rural settlements are the carrier of farmers' life and rural industries. This paper introduces symbiosis theory to construct an analytical framework for the symbiosis between production land and living land in rural settlements, taking three villages in Shanxi, China as examples (secondary industry-led: Tian Village, tourism-led: Shuiyukou Village, multi-industry integration: Jiling Village). The results show that: (1) From 2010 to 2020, the compatibility and coupling coordination degree between production land and living land in Tian Village increased; the compatibility degree between production land and living land in Shuiyukou Village decreased slightly, and the coupling coordination increased significantly. In Jiling Village, the compatibility between production land and living land decreased, and the coupling coordination showed an increasing trend. (2) From 2010 to 2020, the degree of symbiosis between production land and living land in the three Villages both showed an increasing trend, and the growth of symbiosis degree was mainly caused by the growth of coupling coordination. (3) In 2010–2015 and 2015–2020, the symbiotic growth between production land and living land in Tian Village was driven by farmers' demand and social economy, respectively. The dominant driving factor for Shuiyukou Village in these two periods was resource endowment. Jiling Village was driven by social economy and regional policies, respectively. This work can provide scientific support for the practical adjustment of land use structure and the reconstruction of rural settlements in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strengthening of European integration processes affects all aspects of the country's life, and the need to improve the efficiency of the pension system, primarily organizational, legal and accounting, is especially acute. In Ukraine, only the first and not fully the third level of the pension system are functioning. Regarding the second level of pension provision, the discussion continues from 2012 to the present day. The purpose of the article is to assess the structure of the social pension system of the first solidarity level since its creation (2004), the order of formation over a long period; proposals for improving its structure taking into account foreign experience. The analysis of the current system of pension provision. A constant increase in the deficit of the Pension Fund was determined, the size of which was affected by the adoption of a number of regulatory documents for application from 01.01.2016, aimed at changing two sources of its formation (the first - reducing the percentage of deductions from 36.76% and 49.7% and not taking into account this class of professional risk - 67 items and acceptance for deductions for all subjects - 22%; the second - the cancellation of contributions from the wages of employees - from 2% to 6.1%.). Factors influencing the formation of the pension fund were analyzed (the number of registered unemployed, taking into account (COVID-19), military actions, external and internal migration, etc.). In order to eliminate the deficit of the Pension Fund, it is proposed to improve its structure (create a single Pension Fund), to provide conditions for the transition to the accumulated fund of the second pension level (in addition to the first level - solidarity), which will contribute to the improvement of the pension provision of pensioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Abant Social Sciences / Abant Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Journal of Abant Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The scope of this effort is to evaluate the performance of a link slab transversely connecting press-brake-formed tub girders (PBFTG). Modular PBFTGs were developed by a technical working group within the Steel Market Development Institute's (a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute) Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance, led by the current authors. This working group consists of stakeholders in the steel bridge industry, including mills, fabricators, service centers, industry trade organizations, universities, and bridge owners. A full-scale link slab transversely joining two PBFTGs was fatigue loaded simulating a 75-year fatigue life in a rural environment. Strain and deflection data was recorded and compared throughout the fatigue life to determine the link slab's effectiveness. Results of this effort show the link slab detail performs adequately throughout its fatigue life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral status is an important indicator of past lifestyles. Determining the presence and extent of oral pathologies helps reconstruct average oral health, paramasticatory activities and diet of ancient and historical populations. In this study, the dental remains from the early medieval cemetery of Früebergstrasse in Baar (Canton of Zug, Switzerland) and the high medieval Dalheim cemetery (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) were analyzed. Caries, periodontal condition, periapical lesions, antemortem tooth loss, and enamel hypoplasia were assessed in 654 teeth (993 observable loci) from 68 individuals (Baar: n = 36; Dalheim: n = 32). The oral status of both populations was affected by age with higher values of tooth wear in advanced age individuals. High tooth wear values in both populations point towards the consumption of abrasive foods. Pronounced anterior tooth wear in Baar may also be due to non-masticatory tooth usage. Finally, possible nutritional deficiencies were hypothesized for the Baar population. A higher caries prevalence was observed in the Baar group, probably due to differences in carbohydrate intake. The oral conditions observed in the two studied populations exhibited several analogies, suggesting comparable lifestyles despite their separation in space and time. The only differences observed are related to the use of teeth as "tools" and are thus determined by behavioral choices rather than diverse socioeconomic factors. Using multiple dental parameters to examine the oral health of premodern individuals can provide useful insights into the interactions between humans and their environment, from dietary patterns to paramasticatory activities. • Different lifestyles can be inferred by studying past human dentitions. • Oral health did not differ massively in the two early and high medieval populations. • Paramasticatory activities were identified only in the earlier population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EKs and global paper output have increased continually since 1971. • 64% of countries had peak to generate HS-EKs from 1991–2000. • HS-EK generation efficiency is independent of economic status. • Topics have homogenized since 1980s. • The homogenization is negatively correlated with HS-EK generation efficiency. While advantages of global homogenization and standardization have been discussed on scientific and technological research activities, specific discussion on the disadvantages to generate scientific innovation has been limited. In this study, we aim to clarify the impact of globalization to generate emerging topics in life science and medicine by applying the emerging keywords (EKs) and highly successful emerging keywords (HS-EKs) methodology, which represent scientometric elements of emerging topics and high-impact emerging topics, respectively, as indicators. We analyzed all paper output from 53 countries using PubMed and found a global increase in paper output and EK generation in line with economic growth in the past 50 years. However, the efficiency to generate scientific innovation, reflected in HS-EKs, was significantly reduced and this effect was independent of country-level economic output. We also reported homogenization in research topics over the study period as a possible factor for the observed decrease in HS-EK generation efficiency. Finally, we discuss the foundational issues that gave rise to homogenized science, the impact on scientific innovation, and what policies might be necessary to repair the scientific innovation-generating engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I'm not big on autobiography or memoir. To me they're false forms. It's suspicious when someone writes a memoir. It's as if they are laying down what happened. Whereas what [...]

In the period from 1961 to 1965, the Chinese Communist Party forced a vast number of rural educated youth to return to their countryside homes. Despite the party's initial expectations, they had trouble readjusting to rural life. This merited political attention, as the scheme was associated with the party's aim to cultivate revolutionary successors at the grassroots during the Socialist Education movement. The party therefore attempted to make use of the rural club, a popular cultural entity in the Chinese countryside, to transform the disillusioned rural educated youth into qualified grassroots propagandists. However, such transformation should not be understood as a mere top-down initiative. As this article demonstrates, rural educated youth enthusiastically participated in rural clubs. By leveraging their identity as simultaneously rural and educated, they proved themselves the ideal vehicle for ideological conditioning in the countryside, which enabled them to bargain with the party for upward mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of digital healthcare technologies—eHealth—is presented as a solution to increasing costs, demographic changes, and quality issues in rural healthcare. Employing the concept of affective atmospheres, this article uses interviews to explore the emotional aspects of digital healthcare among rural persons of advanced age. Our results suggest that participants were clearly influenced by an affective atmosphere that was deeply embedded in spatial imageries as well as in notions of old age. Strong feelings of resignation, necessity, low entitlement, and defiance tended to encourage participants' wishes for local face-to-face healthcare to translate into viewing eHealth solutions as positive. This also meant that participants came to enact neoliberal identities of "active ageing". In conclusion, the concept of affective atmospheres highlights how human subjects and digital materialities interact in the production of human emotional responses to digital healthcare technologies, and emphasises how the conditions and shared imageries of geographic space and age are active components in that process. • Responses to rural eHealth are influenced by spatially embedded affective atmosphere. • Responses to rural eHealth are influenced by age-sensitive cultural imageries. • Rural affective atmosphere encouraged seeing eHealth solutions as positive. • Rural affective atmosphere made territorial inequalities seem sensible. • Rural affective atmosphere reproduced neoliberal subjectivities of active ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]