Search

Spatial and social processes are inextricably linked. Hence gender relations as an inherent part of social relations get built into the spatial forms of any society. Spatial segregation by sex was a mark of traditional societies. This has diminished somewhat in contemporary societies due to various factors, perhaps the most important being the entry of women into the public sphere and their participation in income-earning activities. This paper looks at traditional, modern and postmodern housing in two cities--Ahmedabad and Berlin--through the lens of gender and culture. While there have been changes in housing over time, these changes have not been in proportion with the changes in gender relations in society which, in turn, have not kept pace with the way women's needs and priorities have changed. Housing must necessarily reflect the current needs of a society, and that entails reflecting the needs of both women and men equally.

The Santals are described as the largest most integrated and possibly the most resilient tribe in eastern India. "The paper aims at looking into the parameters that set Santals in the process of socio-economic and demographic transformation and subsequently search for, the plausible explanation for the underlying mechanism for such changes.... The paper discusses the growth of their population and finds that Santals are growing below national average with increase in concentration in some of the pockets in Bihar and West Bengal, while it is spreading towards evenness in Orissa. In the absence of 1991 census data on the tribe wise breakdown the analysis has been restricted to the 1961, 1971 and 1981 census returns and availability of the literature on the tribe.", (excerpt)

"The focus of this article is on the strong positive correlation between landholdings and household size observed in rural India. It may be recalled that Chayanov cites some Russian data exhibiting a similar correlation as evidence in support of his theory of the life cycle and its consequences among peasant families, arguing in particular that the causation behind the correlation runs from the family size and its composition to the size of landholdings. This paper argues that in the Indian case the correlation cannot possibly arise from the type of dynamics posited by Chayanovian theory. The explanation lies in the differential demographic structures, including the propensity for families to remain joint or undivided, among the peasant classes, the causation running in the direction opposite to that suggested by Chayanov.", (excerpt)

"The social and cultural practices prevalent in various parts of [India] resulted in the neglect of the female child...[in general, and] probably more so in the Punjab. Moreover, female mortality significantly exceeded male mortality in years of epidemics and famines. This paper tries to examine the socio-cultural and economic factors, namely, the system of land holdings and inheritance strategies, structured customs in different parts of the province, and notions of honour and status which probably have been at the back of neglect of the girl child. Among certain caste groups even female infanticide might not have been uncommon.", (excerpt)

"The present paper is aimed at investigating the ethnic differentials in respect of the effects of different socio-economic and demographic characteristics upon fertility among four major ethnic groups of people [in the Barpeta district of Assam, India].", (excerpt)

"Urban concentration (or primacy) and inequality (in size distribution of income) are expected to follow bell shaped curves through the development process. Spatial convergence (through investments in transportation etc.) is expected to precede income convergence. Using longitudinal data from six Asian countries (Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India) this paper shows that (i) the bell shapes for urban concentration and income inequality generally hold, and (ii) the temporal relationship between the curve peaks is determined by geographical factors (for urban concentration); income inequality is seen to be more policy amenable.", (excerpt)

"In this paper we examined the interdistrict variations in mean age at marriage of males and females in Karnataka [India] in two points of time, 1971 and 1981, and also the possible factors influencing this variation....A multivariate analysis of the determinants of mean age at marriage in Karnataka showed that literacy rate, sex ratio of the population and percentage of villages electrified are important in explaining the regional and time variation in age at marriage of both sexes.... Our regression results indicated that a 10 per cent increase in female literacy rate is associated with approximately one-year increase in female age at marriage. However, neither the increase in female literacy nor the changes in the sex ratio of the population could explain all the increase in female age at marriage during 1971-81. This indirectly suggests that there was an increase in female age at marriage among all socio-economic groups.", (excerpt)

"In this paper I have proposed a new alternative paradigm on the interrelations between population, poverty and the related concerns [in India]. Its central thesis is that the population problem has also the concomitant social problems [of] unemployment, ill health, [and] crime, [with] (1) poverty as their 'immediate' determinant, (2) such evils as inequality, consumerism, military expenditure, defective planning...as their 'intermediate' determinants, and (3) out-moded non-egalitarian social structures, vicious human psyche and spiritual degradation as their 'ultimate' determinants. This new paradigm has implications for policy and programme logistics that are fundamentally different from official policy.", (excerpt)

"This study examines the patterns of spatial mobility in India as expressed at the inter-state level for the post-Independence period. Comparing these patterns with those which had been evolving throughout the colonial period the paper probes into the processes of dislocation of people in the context of India's development strategy.... The analysis points out the complex interrelationships with the nature of socio-economic development and suggests alternatives for stemming distress migration from the backward regions.", (excerpt)

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that has widened the gap between victims and non-victims in society. Understanding how individuals support and assist COVID-19 sufferers in a pandemic crisis is critical. Thus, this study aims to qualitatively evaluate the prosocial intention and types of prosocial behavior toward COVID-19 victims by low socioeconomic individuals from India and Indonesia's collectivistic societies. We conducted semi-structured and in-depth interviews during the lockdown from March to May 2020, via phone and in-person, using a purposive selection of respondents (total n = 50). The data were analyzed using the qualitative synthesis method. Five themes were discovered: 1) too scared to help, 2) love to help but scared: moral dilemma, 3) informing authority who knows how to handle, 4) caring, sharing, and supporting, but with a distance, and 5) helping at one's personal health risk. This study highlights that prosocial intentions range from minor acts of kindness to self-harm and out-of-bounds acts of kindness for COVID-19 victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The aim of this paper is to (i) furnish the recent trends in female age at marriage in rural Northern Karnataka [India] and (ii) examine the socio-cultural factors influencing very early marriages. The main data set used is from a cohort analysis pertaining to girls born in rural Dharwad during 1962-1972. The median age at marriage is 16 years. Further, two-thirds of the girls are married before 18 years and nearly one-fourth of the marriages are even pre-puberty cases. Various factors--socio-cultural, social psychological, economic etc.--responsible for the perpetuation of very early marriages in the study area, in spite of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, are discussed.", (excerpt)

Tracing the origin of political economy as a class-science, this paper focuses on the political economy of population growth. Exposing the limitations of Malthusian ideas and their invalidity even for the capitalist economies, it discusses the subsequent revival of the Malthusian model during the period of de-colonization and the misinterpretation of the relationship between population growth and development in the developing and developed countries. Taking India, China, and Japan as some case studies, the paper examines the relationship between birth rate levels and some correlates. It elaborates on the Indian experience, emphasizing the association of population growth with poverty and unemployment and lays bare some of the hidden causes of these phenomena. The authors examine some interstate variations in India and identify constraints and prospects of the existing population policy. The paper proposes outlines of a democratic population policy as an integral part of India's development strategy which should recognize human beings not simply as consumers but also as producers of material values. It pleads for 1) restructuring of property relations; 2) bringing down the mortality rates and raising of the literacy levels, especially among females; and 3) improving nutritional levels, as prerequisites for bringing down birth rates.

"In the present paper an attempt is made to study the inter-generational occupational mobility in three types of developing villages [in India] that are heterogeneous in many socio-economic and other aspects. The specific objectives of this study are: (i) to study the overall occupational mobility of fathers-sons and to find out the predicted equilibrium structure, (ii) to find the waiting time (number of generations) that sons will stay in their fathers' occupational state before moving to other ones and (iii) to test the hypothesis of identical class structures in these three types of heterogeneous societies." The data are from a 1978 sample survey, and "the basic simple time-homogeneous Markov Chain model by Prais (1955) is employed....", (excerpt)

The author examines the fertility behavior of the urban poor in India. "On the basis of data from 180 slum households in Calcutta, India, the paper indicates that in a situation where material and social conditions are comparable, cultural and demographic variables play a major role in influencing reproductive behavior. In this case study, caste and family type are shown to have a significant effect on the numbers of surviving children. As regards child spacing, the woman's age is of paramount importance.", (excerpt)

"This paper is aimed to address mainly the following three aspects of spatial mobility within India during the last inter-censal decade of 1971-1981: (i) Levels of inmigration, outmigration and net migration in the major states (ii) estimates of state-to-state migration flows and (iii) some insights on the socio-economic determinants of internal migration.", (excerpt)

"This paper attempts to review briefly the past and the prospective changes in the sex-age composition of the population of India and to speculate about their socio-economic implications. The basic data are drawn from the decennial censuses and the Sample Registration System; but the discussion extends beyond them.", (excerpt)

"In the present paper some socio-economic determinants of female nuptiality in India have been discussed. An integrated path analysis approach is adopted to ascertain the direct, indirect and joint effect of the socio-economic factors on the age at marriage of females in rural and urban areas of various states of India. From the analysis, it became evident that effective literacy is the most dominant factor influencing the age at marriage of the females. Poverty is also a contributing factor in preventing a rise in the age at marriage.", (excerpt)

"This paper reports menarcheal age in a sample of 300 Andhra [India] girls with a view to contribute to the study of secular trend, and attempts to analyse the relationship of menarche to economic status of the family, diet (in broad terms), sibship size and birth order.", (excerpt)

The high prevalence of stunting and micronutrient deficiencies among children in South Asia has lifelong health, educational, and economic consequences. For children aged 6–23 months, undernutrition is influenced by inadequate intake of complementary foods containing nutrients critical for growth and development. The affordability of nutrients lacking in young children's diets in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan was assessed in this study. Using data from nutrient gap assessments and household surveys, household food expenditures were compared with the cost of purchasing foods that could fill nutrient gaps. In all 3 countries, there are multiple affordable sources of vitamin A (orange-fleshed vegetables, dark leafy greens, liver), vitamin B12 (liver, fish, milk), and folate (dark leafy greens, liver, legumes, okra); few affordable sources of iron and calcium (dark leafy greens); and no affordable sources of zinc. Affordability of animal-source protein varies, with several options in Pakistan (fish, chicken, eggs, beef) and India (fish, eggs, milk) but few in Bangladesh (eggs). Approaches to reduce prices, enhance household production, or increase incomes are needed to improve affordability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although the influence of the type of institutional setting on the risk of cesarean birth is well documented, less is known about the regional variations in institution-specific cesarean rates within countries. Our purpose was to examine regional variations in cesarean rates across public and private facilities in five Asian countries with a sizeable private sector: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Methods Demographic Health Survey data and a hierarchical model were used to assess regional variations in the mode of delivery while controlling for a wide range of socioeconomic, demographic, and maternal risk factors. Results The risk of cesarean birth was greater in a private facility than in a government hospital by 36-48 percent in India and Indonesia and by 130 percent in Bangladesh. Regional gradients in cesarean birth were found to be steeper for deliveries in private facilities than in government hospitals in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The residents of India's high-use states were 55 percent more likely to undergo a cesarean delivery in a government hospital and 83 percent more likely in a private facility than their counterparts in the medium-use states. Similarly, compared to the residents of the Philippines's medium-use provinces, giving birth in a government facility increased the likelihood of a cesarean delivery by 84 percent and by 173 percent in a private facility. Conclusions Large regional variations in cesarean rates suggest the need for more informed clinical decision making with respect to the selection of cases for cesarean delivery and the establishment of well-developed guidelines and standards at the provincial or state levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yet rural in nature, Asia is proceeding with a wide-ranging scale and fast pace of urbanization, resulting in accelerated economic growth. This article attempts a comparison on urbanization of six largest Asian countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Among these countries, urban transition is underway in China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which are also on track to mature as middle-income countries. India and Pakistan will soon graduate from low-income to lower-middle income countries, reaching the platform for faster urbanization with consequent economic growth. Regardless of the level of urbanization across countries, cities generate four-fifths of national income and the prominence of cities in generating country's national income is escalating. Still, urbanization primarily takes place through the development of large cities with surrounding industrial zones. Large cities will continue to play a significant role in absorbing future anticipated growth, but a decrease of growth rates in large cities is expected. Most of future city growth will occur in medium- and small-sized cities where existing coverage of basic public services is grossly inadequate, that entails greater concentration of power, investment, and services. To maximize the benefits of urbanization, countries need to judiciously plan the course of future urbanization--whether it should be a concentrated growth, a balanced growth, or a distributed growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]