Financial development and demographic changes have an important impact on the non-hydro renewable energy industry, and this impact is significantly different in countries at different stages of ...development. This paper studies 10 developed countries and 10 developing countries using annual data from 1990 to 2018. Through the panel cointegration estimation method, the paper evaluates the impact of financial development and demographic changes on the non-hydro renewable energy industry. The empirical results show that the stock market and bank intermediary have a significant role in promoting the growth of the non-hydro renewable energy industry in developing and developed countries. The bond market has a significant positive impact on the growth of the non-hydro renewable energy industry in developed countries only. Foreign direct investment in developing countries significantly promotes the growth of the non-hydro renewable energy industry, while in developed countries it has a negative impact. Population aging has a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of the non-hydro renewable energy industry in developing and developed countries.
This study aimed to assess global trends in mean birthweights at term, as reported in peer-reviewed literature.
We electronically searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to September 2023, ...using combinations of the search terms: “birth weight”; “birth-weight”; “birthweight”; “trend”. There were no restrictions based on language or geographic area.
We included all ecological and observational studies reporting mean birthweight at term as a continuous numerical variable over time.
We assessed the quality of included studies using the Dufault and Klar checklist modified by Betran et al. Univariate and multivariate linear models were used to examine the effects of time (years) and geographical origins. Subgroup analyses focused on national data sources and on data collected from 1950 onward.
Among 6447 reviewed articles, 29 met our criteria, reporting mean birthweight data from over 183 million infants worldwide. Most studies were hospital-based (48.3%), 44.8% used national data, and a minority used municipality, community, or regional data (6.9%). Geographically, North America (31.0%) had the highest representation, followed by Asia and Europe (27.6% each), and South America and Oceania (6.9% each). Our univariate linear regression model (Model 1) revealed a significant increase in mean birthweight at term over time (4.74 g/y; 95% confidence interval, 3.95–5.53; P<.001). Model 2, incorporating continental dummy variables into the first model, confirmed this trend (3.85 g/y; 95% confidence interval, 2.96–4.74; P<.001). Model 3, focusing on available national data, did not find a significant relationship. Model 4 narrowed its focus on records from 1950 onward, reporting a robust annual increase of 7.26 g/y (95% confidence interval, 6.19–8.33; P<.001). Model 5, adjusting for the number of participants included in each study, reported a conclusive mean term birthweight increase of 1.46 g/y (95% confidence interval, 0.74–2.18; P<.001).
This systematic review of 29 studies shows an increase in term birthweights over time, particularly when considering data since 1950. Limitations include study quality variations, data source diversity, and data sparsity, underscoring the need for future research to use precise gestational age distinctions and predetermined time frames to gain a deeper understanding of this trend and its implications for maternal and child health.
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Building on previous research demonstrating that demographic growth of racial minorities increases realistic threat and prejudice among majority group members, we examined whether demographic ...increases of groups associated with symbolic threat (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT and nonreligious groups) increased realistic threat, symbolic threat, and/or prejudice. In a single-paper meta-analysis across four studies, participants who read that LGBT groups were becoming more prevalent in the United States exhibited heightened perceptions of realistic threat and (especially) symbolic threat from these groups, which in turn predicted anti-LGBT prejudice. Two similar studies examining the growth of nonreligious groups demonstrated weaker effects. Implications for America’s growing diversity and future directions for studying these effects are discussed.
An emerging body of research finds that exposure to the shifting racial demographics of a nation can engender concerns about racial group status among members of the dominant racial group. The ...present work revisits this finding, probing a broader set of group status concerns than has been examined in most past research. Three experiments exposed four samples of White Americans to racial demographic information or race-neutral control information, then assessed their perception that the relative status of racial groups in the nation would change and the extent to which they were alarmed by such a status shift—that is, status threat. Consistent with past work, what we now term perceived status change increased in response to salient racial demographics information, relative to race-neutral control information, irrespective of participants’ political ideology. Departing from past work, however, the perceived threat associated with changing racial demographics was moderated by political ideology. Specifically, politically conservative White participants demonstrated high levels of group status threat in the neutral control condition that either increased (Study 1a, Study 2) or stayed equally high (Study 1b, Study 3) after exposure to information about a racial shift. In contrast, in all studies, politically liberal White participants demonstrated a modest level of group status threat in the control condition that was attenuated upon exposure to a racial shift. Taken together, these results suggest a polarization of responses to the increasing racial diversity of the nation, one that was not observed even just a few years ago.
The use of genetic data for identifying species-level lineages across the tree of life has received increasing attention in the field of systematics over the past decade. The multispecies coalescent ...model provides a framework for understanding the process of lineage divergence and has become widely adopted for delimiting species. However, because these studies lack an explicit assessment of model fit, in many cases, the accuracy of the inferred species boundaries are unknown. This is concerning given the large amount of empirical data and theory that highlight the complexity of the speciation process. Here, we seek to fill this gap by using simulation to characterize the sensitivity of inference under the multispecies coalescent (MSC) to several violations of model assumptions thought to be common in empirical data. We also assess the fit of the MSC model to empirical data in the context of species delimitation. Our results show substantial variation in model fit across data sets. Posterior predictive tests find the poorest model performance in data sets that were hypothesized to be impacted by model violations. We also show that while the inferences assuming the MSC are robust to minor model violations, such inferences can be biased under some biologically plausible scenarios. Taken together, these results suggest that researchers can identify individual data sets in which species delimitation under the MSC is likely to be problematic, thereby highlighting the cases where additional lines of evidence to identify species boundaries are particularly important to collect. Our study supports a growing body of work highlighting the importance of model checking in phylogenetics, and the usefulness of tailoring tests of model fit to assess the reliability of particular inferences.
We suggest that Whites’ declining share of the U.S. population threatens their status as the most prototypical ethnic group in America. This prototypicality threat should lead to growing resistance ...toward diversity, motivated by the desire to reassert Whites’ standing as prototypical Americans. In Study 1, how dramatically Whites perceived their share of the population to decline predicted support for cultural assimilation, mediated by prototypicality threat (controlling for realistic and symbolic threat). This relationship held only among Whites who felt that ethnic groups differ in their prototypicality, not among those who saw all groups representing America equally. Study 2 experimentally manipulated exposure to demographic projections such that Whites who saw their group shrinking showed weaker diversity endorsement relative to those who believed their share to be stable, again mediated by prototypicality threat. These findings reveal Whites’ threatened prototypicality as a novel, emerging source of resistance toward diversity in 21st-century America.
This study aims to investigate how the demographic characteristics of offenders have changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, our research focuses on shifts in the nationality, gender ...distribution, and age profiles of money mules during this period. We utilized arrest reports data provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in South Korea, including all 1407 individuals arrested for money mules in Seoul from February 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021. Our findings, derived from interrupted time series analyses, show a decrease in the percentage of non-Korean money mules, an increase in the proportion of female individuals engaged in money mule activities, and a rise in the average age of money mules after the outbreak of the pandemic. These insights hold significant implications for developing targeted policy interventions to mitigate potential threats associated with money mule activities.
•The demographic characteristics of offenders have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic.•The percentage of foreign (non-Korean) money mules has decreased since the onset of the pandemic.•The proportion of female money mules has increased since the onset of the pandemic.•The average age of money mules has increased since the onset of the pandemic.
Recent Census Bureau projections indicate that racial/ethnic minorities will comprise over 50% of the U.S. population by 2042, effectively creating a so-called “majority–minority” nation. Across four ...experiments, we explore how presenting information about these changing racial demographics influences White Americans’ racial attitudes. Results reveal that exposure to the changing demographics evokes the expression of greater explicit and implicit racial bias. Specifically, Whites exposed to the racial demographic shift information preferred interactions/settings with their own ethnic group over minority ethnic groups; expressed more negative attitudes toward Latinos, Blacks, and Asian Americans; and expressed more automatic pro-White/anti-minority bias. Perceived threat to Whites’ societal status mediated the effects of the racial shift information on explicit racial attitudes. These results suggest that rather than ushering in a more tolerant future, the increasing diversity of the nation may instead yield intergroup hostility. Implications for intergroup relations and media framing of the racial shift are discussed.
Trends in maternal demographic changes linked to lifestyle and socio-economic conditions reflect greatly on maternal, perinatal and infant mortality rates. Hospital data reflect a heterogenous ...population where specific demographic changes may not be obvious.
To report yearly demographic changes in Irish primiparae from 2000 to 2020, specifically looking at age, BMI, smoking and marital status of patients attending the Coombe Women and Infant’s University Hospital (CWIUH).
Retrospective report of demographic details contemporaneously documented on the CWIUH data base.
In the years 2000 to 2020 inclusive there were 47,659 primiparous women of Irish ethnicity delivered at the CWIUH (70.2% of the total primiparae), of those 99.3% were Caucasian. There was a significant rise in mean age at first delivery in Irish mothers; 26.0 years old in the 2000 to 30.9 years old in 2020 associated with a rise in mean BMI of 9.1%. Smoking rates (ever smoked) showed a significant reduction from 53.9% in 2000 to 39.3% in 2020.
There was a significant decrease in rates of marriage, with 61.9% married in 2000 compared to 46.3% in 2020.
Birth weight and prematurity rates remained unchanged, with fall in mean gestational age at first delivery from 279.3 days in 2000 to 275.8 days in 2020.
This study highlights that Irish primiparae are older, heavier, less likely to smoke and to be married than they were 20 years ago. These trends are an interesting glimpse into changing economic and cultural climate over just the past 2 decades.
The U.S. Census Bureau projects that racial minority groups will make up a majority of the U.S. national population in 2042, effectively creating a so-called majority-minority nation. In four ...experiments, we explored how salience of such racial demographic shifts affects White Americans' political-party leanings and expressed political ideology. Study 1 revealed that making California's majority-minority shift salient led politically unaffiliated White Americans to lean more toward the Republican Party and express greater political conservatism. Studies 2, 3a, and 3b revealed that making the changing national racial demographics salient led White Americans (regardless of political affiliation) to endorse conservative policy positions more strongly. Moreover, the results implicate group-status threat as the mechanism underlying these effects. Taken together, this work suggests that the increasing diversity of the nation may engender a widening partisan divide.
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