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Background COVID-19 profoundly and uniquely impacted people with HIV. People with HIV experienced significant psychosocial and socioeconomic impacts, yet a limited amount of research has explored potential differences across gender and racial/ethnic groups of people with HIV. Objective The objective of this study was to examine psychosocial and socioeconomic stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic among a diverse sample of people with HIV in South Florida and to determine if the types of stressors varied across gender and racial/ethnic groups. Methods We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey with Miami-Dade County, Ryan White Program recipients. Outcomes included mental health, socioeconomic, drug/alcohol, and care responsibility/social support changes. Weighted descriptive analyses provided an overview of stressors by gender and racial/ethnic group and logistic regressions estimated associations between demographics and stressors. Results Among 291 participants, 39% were Non-Hispanic Black, 18% were Haitian, and 43% were Hispanic. Adjusting for age, sex, language, and foreign-born status, Hispanics were more likely to report several worsened mental health (i.e. increased loneliness, anxiety) and socioeconomic stressors (i.e. decreased income). Spanish speakers were more likely to report not getting the social support they needed. Women were more likely to report spending more time caring for children. Conclusions Findings highlight ways in which cultural and gender expectations impacted experiences across people with HIV and suggest strategies to inform interventions and resources during lingering and future public health emergencies. Results suggest that public health emergencies have different impacts on different communities. Without acknowledging and responding to differences, we risk losing strides towards progress in health equity.

Background: COVID-19 profoundly and uniquely impacted people with HIV. People with HIV experienced significant psychosocial and socioeconomic impacts, yet a limited amount of research has explored potential differences across gender and racial/ethnic groups of people with HIV. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine psychosocial and socioeconomic stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic among a diverse sample of people with HIV in South Florida and to determine if the types of stressors varied across gender and racial/ethnic groups. Methods: We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey with Miami-Dade County, Ryan White Program recipients. Outcomes included mental health, socioeconomic, drug/alcohol, and care responsibility/social support changes. Weighted descriptive analyses provided an overview of stressors by gender and racial/ethnic group and logistic regressions estimated associations between demographics and stressors. Results: Among 291 participants, 39% were Non-Hispanic Black, 18% were Haitian, and 43% were Hispanic. Adjusting for age, sex, language, and foreign-born status, Hispanics were more likely to report several worsened mental health (i.e. increased loneliness, anxiety) and socioeconomic stressors (i.e. decreased income). Spanish speakers were more likely to report not getting the social support they needed. Women were more likely to report spending more time caring for children. Conclusions: Findings highlight ways in which cultural and gender expectations impacted experiences across people with HIV and suggest strategies to inform interventions and resources during lingering and future public health emergencies. Results suggest that public health emergencies have different impacts on different communities. Without acknowledging and responding to differences, we risk losing strides towards progress in health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies have explored how loneliness varies between rural and urban areas during the COVID-19 pandemic, the results have been inconsistent, and most studies are observational. Therefore, it remains unclear how urban–rural differences affected loneliness in a pandemic. Our study uses nationwide data to clarify this, covering periods before and during the pandemic. We analyze a longitudinal dataset from Hiroshima University's Household Behavior and Finance Survey, which collected demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological characteristics of Japanese adults in 2020, 2021, and 2022, thus reflecting the COVID-19 pandemic timeline. The results show that approximately 50% of those surveyed experienced long-term loneliness, while about 6.5% developed loneliness during the pandemic. Although our weighted logit regression models showed few differences in loneliness during the pandemic between urban and rural areas, socioeconomic changes, such as beginning to live alone, leaving full-time employment, and decreased financial satisfaction, were identified as high-risk factors for loneliness, and their impact varied between rural and urban areas. Our results reflect that rural–urban differences have an effect on people's loneliness during a pandemic but need to be considered together with socioeconomic changes. This knowledge can aid governments and healthcare providers in identifying those most at risk of loneliness within urban–rural regional boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nighttime light (NTL) remote sensing data offer unique capabilities to characterize both the extent and intensity of human activities and have been extensively used to understand urbanization since 1992. The recent proliferation of NTL sensors, algorithms, and products creates new opportunities to understand contemporary urbanization and the associated socioeconomic and environmental changes. We conducted a comprehensive literature review of 688 peer-reviewed papers published between 1992 and 2022 to understand the trends in how NTL data have been used to study urbanization (e.g., with which data products, during which time span, and in which geographies) and to synthesize the progress and challenges of key urban application topics. Based on our review, we identified four research directions for future NTL-based urban applications: (1) a better understanding of scale effects and sources of variations in NTL data; (2) integrating multi-source NTL data and synergizing NTL data with other types of geospatial data for improved NTL utilization; (3) more research on the Global South; and (4) developing new urban applications with new NTL data products. Addressing research gaps in these areas will generate new insights into the urbanization process under different geographical and socioeconomic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water energy environment (WEE) nexus models have become indispensable for the integrated natural resources management under the growing regional and global risks and insecurities in pursuit of sustainable development. A new framework has been developed based on bottom-up energy system model and the related greenhouse gas emissions which aimed to predict and depict an apparent WEE nexus outlook for residential, electric power, industry, and agriculture sectors under various scenarios. Bottom-up nexus modeling has been done by Long Energy Alternative Planning software tool for the mentioned sectors from 2016 to 2040. The Urmia Lake basin covering 52,000 Km2 as a vulnerable region to climate change located in the northwest of Iran is selected as a case study in this paper. The UL basin's demographic and economic data were used as energy demand drivers. Discussion of the results based on the detailed energy and emission analysis under different scenarios showed the most energy saving and environmental pollutants abatement potential equal to 27.76 million barrels of oil equivalent and 11.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents under the Integrated Policy (IP) scenario up to 2040. Sensitivity analysis of total energy demand to socioeconomic changes shows mean increases of 3% and 2% to each unit increase in the population and gross domestic product. The cost–benefit analysis for the IP scenario indicates more net present values if the interest rate remains less than 8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both ecosystems and human societies acknowledge the importance of water. The impact of human activities on both land and water has become more apparent due to various global changes. These include climate change, urbanization, socioeconomic development, and population growth. Although it is widely believed that water security is the key to sustainable development, studies on its evolution and various environmental factors are still in the early stages of development. This study aims to provide an overview of the concept. This concept aims to provide all people with safe water. It goes beyond merely providing adequate supplies to every person in the world, and it also aims to ensure healthy and productive lives. Despite the technological advancements being made in the water resource management industry, the lackadaisical approach to addressing the various challenges associated with water security continues to be a major issue globally. This study will provide an overview of the various facets of the water security concept and its evolution in developing countries due to the environmental changes that have occurred. It also explores the multiple sustainable methods that can be used to address these issues.

Water-powered facilities (WPFs) have traditionally been a pillar of the economy and social development. Therefore, the state took an interest in having these objects recorded and mapped in relevant maps and registers. This article focuses on identifying and localizing WPFs in the Moravice River basin in the so-called Sudetenland, Czechia, between the years 1763 and 2021. Specifically, the evolution and (dis)continuity of the WPFs are assessed through an analysis of cartographic and archival sources, reflecting the wider socioeconomic and demographic context as explanatory variables. The cartographic sources included old military topographic maps of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia from four periods (the mid-18th century, mid-19th century, end of the 19th century, and mid-20th century) on the one hand and two state water-powered facility registers from 1930 and 1953 on the other. The archival sources included funds from regional and state archives. The results show that the count of WPFs peaked during the 19th century, after which there occurred a steep decline caused by societal and economic changes, namely, the expulsion of the local German population, nationalization in the postwar period, and economic and organizational transformations in the socialist era. Special attention is paid to hydropower plants, whose evolution reflects the outlined economic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 outbreak has induced pivotal technological and socioeconomic changes, reshaping the global landscape. This meta-analytic review examines 52 studies from leading databases, offering a comprehensive insight into these profound shifts. The analysis highlights the acceleration in digital technologies adoption, encompassing remote work, e-commerce, and automation. Concurrently, it reveals notable socioeconomic transformations, including altered consumer behavior, flexible work arrangements, supply chain disruptions, and increased healthcare technology demand. The pandemic's ripple effects have further widened the digital divide and intensified social inequalities, reflecting variations across industries and regions. Government policies and regulations have emerged as influential factors, shaping the magnitude and nature of these changes. This review underscores the multifaceted impact of COVID-19, illuminating the complex interplay between technological advancements and socioeconomic dynamics. It emphasizes the need for strategic adaptation by policymakers, businesses, and individuals in navigating the post-pandemic era. In sum, this paper presents a nuanced understanding of the lasting technological and socioeconomic ramifications of COVID-19, offering valuable insights for shaping future strategies and policies and contributing to the broader discourse on global resilience and transformation. • COVID-19 has led to significant technological and socioeconomic changes with far-reaching effects on the global economy. • COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies, particularly remote work, e-commerce, and automation. • COVID-19 has widened the digital divide and exacerbated social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Linguistic evaluation is portrayed and explored in sociolinguistic studies in various ways (e.g. LABOV, 2008 [1972]; KROCH, 1995). In this paper, we discuss the ways in which speakers are asked, in sociolinguistic interviews, about their perceptions and evaluations of accent: what the speakers understand by this term and how the opinion about their own accent can be correlated to the production of linguistic variables. Firstly, we compare how these questions are asked in three studies of Brazilian Portuguese (BARBOSA, 2002; OUSHIRO, 2015; CARREÃO, 2018). Secondly, we focus on data about Louveira (a city in the countryside of São Paulo state, but rather close to the state capital, also named São Paulo), which shows a correlation between opinions on accent and the production of two linguistic variables: (i) (t,d) followed by [i] – variably pronounced as dental stops [t, d] or africates [tʃ, dʒ]; and (ii) coda (-r) – variably pronounced as retroflex [ɻ] or tap [ɾ]. Louveira’s less common variants ([t, d] and [ɾ]) correlate in production to accent evaluation by the speakers. Considering that accents tend to be ranked in comparison to one another (see BARBOSA, 2002), we discuss how the opposition “capital vs. countryside” is operationalized in Louveira. The cities that exert the greatest influence on speakers also determine which values (positive or negative/stigmatized) are attributed to certain linguistic variants. Keywords: linguistic evaluation; accent; socioeconomic changes; linguistic variation. Resumo: A avaliação linguística é retratada e explorada de diferentes maneiras em estudos sociolinguísticos (como em LABOV, 2008 [1972]; KROCH, 1995). Neste trabalho, coloca-se em pauta a maneira pela qual é possível perguntar aos falantes sobre suas percepções e avaliações linguísticas em torno da noção de “sotaque”: o que os falantes entendem por esse termo e como a opinião sobre seu próprio sotaque pode se correlacionar à produção de variantes linguísticas. Para tanto, em um primeiro momento verificamos como são feitos esses questionamentos em três trabalhos sociolinguísticos acerca do português brasileiro (BARBOSA, 2002; OUSHIRO, 2015; CARREÃO, 2018). Em um segundo momento, concentramo-nos em dados sobre a cidade de Louveira (no interior do estado de São Paulo, mas próxima à capital), que revelam correlação entre a opinião sobre sotaque e a realização de duas variáveis linguísticas: (i) (t, d) diante da vogal [i] – cujas variantes são dentais (t, d) ou africadas [tʃ, dʒ]; e (ii) a realização de (-r) em coda silábica – cujas variantes são o retroflexo [ɻ] ou o tepe [ɾ]. As variantes menos comuns no município ([t, d] e [ɾ]) estão correlacionadas à opinião dos falantes sobre sotaque. Considerando-se que um sotaque é sempre classificado em comparação a outro (segundo BARBOSA, 2002), interessa verificar como a oposição “capital vs. interior” opera em Louveira. As cidades que exercem maior influência sobre os falantes são aqueles que, aparentemente, ditam o valor e o estigma atribuídos a determinados traços linguísticos. Palavras-chave: avaliação linguística; sotaque; mudanças socioeconômicas; variação linguística.

Background: Damming disrupts rivers and destroys neighboring terrestrial ecosystems through inundation, resulting in profound and long-lasting impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem processes far beyond the river system itself. Archipelagos formed by damming are often considered ideal systems for studying habitat fragmentation. Methods: Here we quantified the island attributes and landscape dynamics of the Thousand Island Lake (TIL) in China, which is one of the several long-term biodiversity/fragmentation research sites around the world. We also synthesized the major findings of relevant studies conducted in the region to further ecological understanding of damming and landscape fragmentation. Results: Our results show that the vegetations on islands and the neighboring mainland were both recovering between 1985 and 2005 due to reforestation and natural succession, but the regeneration was partly interrupted after 2005 because of increasing human influences. While major changes in landscape composition occurred primarily in the lakefront areas and near-lakeshore islands, landscape patterns became structurally more complex and fragmented on both islands and mainland. About 80 studies from the TIL region show that the genetic, taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity on these islands were mainly influenced by island area at the patch scale, but fragmentation per se also affected species composition and related ecological processes at patch and landscape scales. In general, islands had lower species diversity but a steeper species-area relationship than the surrounding mainland. Fragmentation and edge effects substantially hindered ecological succession towards more densely vegetated forests on the islands. Environmental heterogeneity and filtering had a major impact on island biotic communities. We hypothesize that there are multiple mechanisms operating at different spatial scales that link landscape fragmentation and ecological dynamics in the TIL region, which beg for future studies. By focusing on an extensive spatiotemporal analysis of the island-mainland system and a synthesis of existing studies in the region, this study provides an important foundation and several promising directions for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-powered facilities (WPFs) have traditionally been a pillar of the economy and social development. Therefore, the state took an interest in having these objects recorded and mapped in relevant maps and registers. This article focuses on identifying and localizing WPFs in the Moravice River basin in the so-called Sudetenland, Czechia, between the years 1763 and 2021. Specifically, the evolution and (dis)continuity of the WPFs are assessed through an analysis of cartographic and archival sources, reflecting the wider socioeconomic and demographic context as explanatory variables. The cartographic sources included old military topographic maps of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia from four periods (the mid-18th century, mid-19th century, end of the 19th century, and mid-20th century) on the one hand and two state water-powered facility registers from 1930 and 1953 on the other. The archival sources included funds from regional and state archives. The results show that the count of WPFs peaked during the 19th century, after which there occurred a steep decline caused by societal and economic changes, namely, the expulsion of the local German population, nationalization in the postwar period, and economic and organizational transformations in the socialist era. Special attention is paid to hydropower plants, whose evolution reflects the outlined economic processes.

Increasing land use pressure is a primary force for degradation of agricultural areas. The drivers for these pressures are initiated by a series of interconnected processes. This study presents a novel methodology to analyze drivers of changing land use pressure and the effects on society and landscape. The focus was on characterizing these drivers and relate them to land use statistics obtained from geospatial data from the important semiarid Merguellil Wadi between 1976 and 2016. Cause-and-effect relationships between different drivers of land use change were analyzed using the DPSIR approach. Results show that during the 40-year period cultivated land increased and wetland areas decreased substantially. Drivers for change were pressure from economic development, cultivation practices, and hydro-agricultural techniques. This leads to stress on water and soil resulting in soil erosion, poverty increase, and rural exodus. We show that hydro-agricultural techniques adapted to the semiarid climate, allocation of land property rights, resource allocation, and improved marketing of agricultural products can help rural residents to diversify their economy, and thus better preserve the fragile semiarid landscape. Results of this study can be used to ensure sustainable management of water and soil resources in areas with similar climate and socio-economic conditions.

Linguistic evaluation is portrayed and explored in sociolinguistic studies in various ways (e.g. LABOV, 2008 [1972]; KROCH, 1995). In this paper, we discuss the ways in which speakers are asked, in sociolinguistic interviews, about their perceptions and evaluations of accent: what the speakers understand by this term and how the opinion about their own accent can be correlated to the production of linguistic variables. Firstly, we compare how these questions are asked in three studies of Brazilian Portuguese (BARBOSA, 2002; OUSHIRO, 2015; CARREÃO, 2018). Secondly, we focus on data about Louveira (a city in the countryside of São Paulo state, but rather close to the state capital, also named São Paulo), which shows a correlation between opinions on accent and the production of two linguistic variables: (i) (t,d) followed by [i] - variably pronounced as dental stops [t, d] or africates [t, d]; and (ii) coda (-r) - variably pronounced as retroflex [ɻ] or tap [ɾ]. Louveira's less common variants ([t, d] and [ɾ]) correlate in production to accent evaluation by the speakers. Considering that accents tend to be ranked in comparison to one another (see BARBOSA, 2002), we discuss how the opposition "capital vs. countryside" is operationalized in Louveira. The cities that exert the greatest influence on speakers also determine which values (positive or negative/stigmatized) are attributed to certain linguistic variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the evolution of ocean cruises in the first third of the twentieth century. It focuses on inbound cruise traffic to Spain as well as major outbound national markets, particularly the United Kingdom. Analysis is carried out using mainly archival and newspaper sources. The chronological structure of the paper highlights the important changes that took place throughout the period of study. Before the First World War, leisure cruises constituted a sporadic activity. During the inter-war period and particularly after the 1920s, the number of cruises offered grew exponentially. The paper reveals the high level of dependency that ocean cruises had on transatlantic shipping line services and migration traffic. It demonstrates that cruise activity evolved in a very different way to the tourism phenomenon in general. The diffuse and widespread idea that in the past cruses were an exclusive privilege of the elite classes is open to question. During the period between the two world wars, the socio-economic characteristics of cruise passengers changed significantly. Ocean cruises became a holiday product accessible to a much wider and heterogeneous market, particularly in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is of vital and critical importance to ecosystems and human societies. The effects of human activities on land and water are now large and extensive. These reflect physical changes to the environment. Global change such as urbanization, population growth, socioeconomic change, evolving energy needs, and climate change have put unprecedented pressure on water resources systems. It is argued that achieving water security throughout the world is the key to sustainable development. Studies on holistic view with persistently changing dimensions is in its infancy. This study focuses on narrative review work for giving a comprehensive insight on the concept of water security, its evolution with recent environmental changes (e.g., urbanization, socioeconomic, etc.) and various implications. Finally, it presents different sustainable solutions to achieve water security. Broadly, water security evolves from ensuring reliable access of enough safe water for every person (at an affordable price where market mechanisms are involved) to lead a healthy and productive life, including that of future generations. The constraints on water availability and water quality threaten secured access to water resources for different uses. Despite recent progress in developing new strategies, practices and technologies for water resource management, their dissemination and implementation has been limited. A comprehensive sustainable approach to address water security challenges requires connecting social, economic, and environmental systems at multiple scales. This paper captures the persistently changing dimensions and new paradigms of water security providing a holistic view including a wide range of sustainable solutions to address the water challenges.

Thai peasants have lived important transformations during the last three decades, and notably changes in the structure of income for a majority of households in favour of off-farm activities. Through the restudy in 2014 of two villages of the Khon Kaen province which had been subject to a socioeconomic survey in 1984-1985, the author offers a detailed review of these changes. By taking into account household debt, he challenges the view that the vast majority of Thai peasants would no longer face poverty.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the changes in political and socioeconomic conditions after 25 years of transformation and how it provided to adopt new methodology in tourism planning. It shows the possibilities offered by the use of the foresight process in planning the development of tourism in Poland. Since one of the main foresight goals is to identify trends, the paper takes attempt to verify trends that occurred in Poland after 1989 and if they have now and will have in the near future influence on Polish tourism. Detailed objective is to characterize the systemic transformation and its impact on the tourism economy. Design/methodology/approach – Paper is the review, which used literature, legislation and strategic documents query. It also includes comparative analysis. Findings – The analysis of the political and economic changes that have taken place in Poland over the last 25 years shows that they were positive for the development of tourism base. The impact of globalization and global trends is now clearly noticeable also in Poland. Political and economic changes allow the use of foresight methodology in studies on the future of tourism while maintaining its main attributes: anticipation, participation, action, networking, vision. Research limitations/implications – The analysis included the impact of political changes and social trends on the tourist economy. Proposals that show the positive aspects of these changes relate to tourism and present extensive opportunities to create scenarios, both at the national and regional levels. Practical implications – The analysis forms the basis for the activities of tourism entities in Poland. It shows the characteristics for the future of the tourism market particularly the demand side. Social implications – The analysis of changes in systemic and social trends enables anticipation of changes in tourism as a social phenomenon. Originality/value – The paper presents the historical basis for the development of tourism in Poland after political changes in relation to the planning of tourism by using the methodology of foresight. It also presents these phenomena and social trends that have an impact on the development of tourism.

The objective of this research work is to evaluate the strategies for the use of camelids during the Mochica III and Mochica IV phases, through discriminatory, exploratory and statistical analyzes applied to the first phalanx. The investigations in the archaeological complex of the Huaca del Sol y de la Luna have shown an important occupation since phase III, with the establishment of areas for the use of resources and the development of an urban nucleus governed by a Theocratic State. During phase IV the great changes in the technological organization are linked to the processes of change of subsistence and the generation of new economic forms that allowed the emergence of a Secular State. The results reveal a majority presence of alpacas in both phases, in order to obtain products derived from meat and fiber. On the other hand, during phase III, the superposition of specimens and a high intraspecific variability are shown, in contrast to phase IV, which denotes a greater differentiation of the specimens and a high stability of the intraspecific populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Atlantic Forest biome has only 13 percent of its pristine vegetation cover left. This article analyzes the consequences of land changes on forest cover in the Paraíba Valley, São Paulo state, Brazil, from 1985 to 2011. Multitemporal satellite image classifications were carried out to map eight land use and land cover classes. The forest cover increased from 2,696 km2 in 1985 to 4,704 km2 in 2011, mostly over areas of degraded pastures. The highest rates of afforestation were observed within protected areas around eucalyptus plantations. On the other hand, deforestation processes were concentrated on areas covered by secondary forests. Socioeconomic changes taking place in particular Brazilian settings, such as industrialization and agricultural modernization, allied to the Paraíba Valley's natural biophysical constraints for agricultural production, have led the region to experience a remarkable case of forest transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Las nuevas maneras de comer permiten constatar en España una cierta simplificación e individualización de las comidas y un aumento del número de ingestas diarias. Aunque estos cambios avalarían, en parte, la tesis de la desestructuración propuesta para definir la modernidad alimentaria, nuestra hipótesis plantea que los comportamientos de los españoles se han modificado y diversificado adaptándose a los nuevos constreñimientos socioeconómicos impuestos por una sociedad cada vez más industrializada. En este sentido, las prácticas observadas no constituyen, salvo excepciones, síntomas alarmantes de una desestructuración generalizada, sino más bien, modos de comer más operativos y flexibles.The new eating manners state that, in Spain, there are some simplifications and individualization of meals and an increase in the number of daily intakes. Although these changes would partially support the thesis of the non-structural meals proposed to define the food modernity, our hypothesis suggests that the Spanish eating behaviours have changed and diversified to adapt to the new socioeconomic constrictions imposed by an increasing industrialized society. The food practices observed didn't show any disturbing symptoms of a general dysfunction but instead it showed the eating manners as more operational and flexible.

Psychologists have debated two external factors that influence human behaviors: current socioeconomic changes and historically shared cultural meaning systems. By conducting triangular comparisons among Hong Kong Chinese, mainland Chinese, and European Canadians, the current study examined whether these two factors differentially influence people’s indecisiveness. We found that (a) Hong Kong Chinese participants’ level of indecisiveness was highest, and there were no differences between the two other groups; (b) dialectical beliefs facilitated participants’ indecisiveness whereas optimism toward the future attenuated it across cultures and both factors explained cultural variations in indecisiveness; and (c) different from European Canadians’ optimism, optimism about the future promoted by perception of current rapid societal change made mainland Chinese more decisive. The importance of within-region analyses to disentangle varying factors in decision-making processes is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationships among socioeconomic changes, physical space and social behaviour, particularly with respect to how they are simultaneously influenced by each other in traditional neighbourhoods and how their interaction within the same context is important for the design and development of the built environment, particularly in the developing countries of the Middle-East, where traditional neighbourhoods suffer from a state of serious decline. Although theories concerning this topic focus on the relationships between social behaviour and physical space, between social behaviour and socioeconomic status or between socioeconomic status and physical space, they still do not sufficiently explain the influence between these three variables within the same context, whether traditional or modern. Particular attention was paid to women because they were the main social group in the Middle-Eastern societies who was largely influenced by the process of modernization and development in traditional neighbourhoods in terms of culture, education and behaviour. The traditional city of Nablus in Palestine was chosen as a case study. The main data collection methods were the use of questionnaires, observations and interviews. In addition, several techniques, such as the use of photographs and sketches, and cultural and SPSS techniques were employed to describe and reflect the results of the study. The primary findings of this paper are that socioeconomic changes, social behaviour and physical space are influenced by one another and that the variables produced by this interaction are not fixed and dependent on one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of life goals and aspirations is vital to positive youth development, and may be especially important in societies undergoing dramatic political and socio-economic changes. Scholars have identified a wide range of factors associated with goal-directed behavior during youth, but the linkage between trust in government and goal pursuit has received scant attention in this literature. Using data from a nationally representative survey and focus group discussions with Russian youth, this study examines the impact of trust in government on goal pursuit in post-communist Russia. The analysis finds that trust in government has a significant effect on the likelihood of goal pursuit among 25-30 year old respondents, but a negligible impact on goal-oriented behavior of younger respondents. The results from the focus groups further suggest that failure avoidance, historical legacies, and limited access to resources inhibit goal pursuit in the post-communist state. The present analysis seeks to contribute to extant research by investigating youth development in a transition society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Mediacoes is the property of Universidade Estadual de Londrina 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.)

Copyright of European Journal of Population is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

Increasing land use pressure is a primary force for degradation of agricultural areas. The drivers for these pressures are initiated by a series of interconnected processes. This study presents a novel methodology to analyze drivers of changing land use pressure and the effects on society and landscape. The focus was on characterizing these drivers and relate them to land use statistics obtained from geospatial data from the important semiarid Merguellil Wadi between 1976 and 2016. Cause-and-effect relationships between different drivers of land use change were analyzed using the DPSIR approach. Results show that during the 40-year period cultivated land increased and wetland areas decreased substantially. Drivers for change were pressure from economic development, cultivation practices, and hydro-agricultural techniques. This leads to stress on water and soil resulting in soil erosion, poverty increase, and rural exodus. We show that hydro-agricultural techniques adapted to the semiarid climate, allocation of land property rights, resource allocation, and improved marketing of agricultural products can help rural residents to diversify their economy, and thus better preserve the fragile semiarid landscape. Results of this study can be used to ensure sustainable management of water and soil resources in areas with similar climate and socio-economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is of vital and critical importance to ecosystems and human societies. The effects of human activities on land and water are now large and extensive. These reflect physical changes to the environment. Global change such as urbanization, population growth, socioeconomic change, evolving energy needs, and climate change have put unprecedented pressure on water resources systems. It is argued that achieving water security throughout the world is the key to sustainable development. Studies on holistic view with persistently changing dimensions is in its infancy. This study focuses on narrative review work for giving a comprehensive insight on the concept of water security, its evolution with recent environmental changes (e.g., urbanization, socioeconomic, etc.) and various implications. Finally, it presents different sustainable solutions to achieve water security. Broadly, water security evolves from ensuring reliable access of enough safe water for every person (at an affordable price where market mechanisms are involved) to lead a healthy and productive life, including that of future generations. The constraints on water availability and water quality threaten secured access to water resources for different uses. Despite recent progress in developing new strategies, practices and technologies for water resource management, their dissemination and implementation has been limited. A comprehensive sustainable approach to address water security challenges requires connecting social, economic, and environmental systems at multiple scales. This paper captures the persistently changing dimensions and new paradigms of water security providing a holistic view including a wide range of sustainable solutions to address the water challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: India, as a developing country, is subjected to numerous socioeconomic changes. They can significantly influence human development and be mirrored by the secular trends regarding the adiposity and body fat distribution. Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the intergenerational changes of adiposity and body fat distribution in Bengali boys, between 1982 and 2011. Methods: The study group consisted of 2064 Bengali boys, aged 7–16, from the middle‐class families, examined in two cross‐sectional surveys in 1982–83 and 2005–2011. Triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds were measured. Their sum and the mean percentage of every skinfold were calculated. The percentage of body fat (%BF) was assessed using Slaughter's equations. Results: Positive secular trend, significant for most of the age groups, was observed for %BF and sum of skinfolds. It was also present for suprailiac and subscapular skinfolds. Conclusions: Adiposity has significantly changed over the past three decades. The results confirm that the measurements of skinfold thickness are a great tool to relatively easily and accurately assess body adiposity in countries such as India. Moreover, further analysis of these trends can help to identify possible negative changes as well as establish their causes in a particular population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Damming disrupts rivers and destroys neighboring terrestrial ecosystems through inundation, resulting in profound and long-lasting impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem processes far beyond the river system itself. Archipelagos formed by damming are often considered ideal systems for studying habitat fragmentation., Methods: Here we quantified the island attributes and landscape dynamics of the Thousand Island Lake (TIL) in China, which is one of the several long-term biodiversity/fragmentation research sites around the world. We also synthesized the major findings of relevant studies conducted in the region to further ecological understanding of damming and landscape fragmentation., Results: Our results show that the vegetations on islands and the neighboring mainland were both recovering between 1985 and 2005 due to reforestation and natural succession, but the regeneration was partly interrupted after 2005 because of increasing human influences. While major changes in landscape composition occurred primarily in the lakefront areas and near-lakeshore islands, landscape patterns became structurally more complex and fragmented on both islands and mainland. About 80 studies from the TIL region show that the genetic, taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity on these islands were mainly influenced by island area at the patch scale, but fragmentation per se also affected species composition and related ecological processes at patch and landscape scales. In general, islands had lower species diversity but a steeper species-area relationship than the surrounding mainland. Fragmentation and edge effects substantially hindered ecological succession towards more densely vegetated forests on the islands. Environmental heterogeneity and filtering had a major impact on island biotic communities. We hypothesize that there are multiple mechanisms operating at different spatial scales that link landscape fragmentation and ecological dynamics in the TIL region, which beg for future studies. By focusing on an extensive spatiotemporal analysis of the island-mainland system and a synthesis of existing studies in the region, this study provides an important foundation and several promising directions for future studies., Competing Interests: Jianguo Wu is an Academic Editor for PeerJ., (© 2021 Hu et al.)