Search results for "DEMOGRAPHY"
showing 10 items of 2125 documents
Human fascioliasis in Argentina: retrospective overview, critical analysis and baseline for future research
2010
Abstract In Argentina, human fascioliasis has never been adequately analysed, although having a physiography, climate, animal prevalences and lymnaeids similar to those of countries where the disease is endemic such as Bolivia, Peru and Chile. We performed a literature search identifying 58 reports accounting for 619 cases, involving 13 provinces, their majority (97.7%) from high altitudes, in central mountainous areas and Andean valleys, concentrated in Cordoba (430 cases), Catamarca (73), San Luis (29) and Mendoza (28), the remaining provinces being rarely affected. This distribution does not fit that of animal fascioliasis. Certain aspects (higher prevalence in females in a local survey,…
Il potere dei numeri. I primi anni di vita dell’Istituto centrale di statistica
2018
In the early 1920s, many European countries called for the creation of new national statistical offices to coordinate statistical analysis in support of governments' action, due also to the new role taken on by the State after WWI. In Italy the reorganization and strengthening of official statistics were two objectives consistent with the centralization of powers pursued by Fascism, and it is therefore no coincidence that during the twenties the reforms of the statistical service - starting with the foundation in 1926 of the Central Institute of Statistics (Istat) - were carried out by the new government led by Benito Mussolini. This essay will use published and archival documents to explor…
Financing Unemployment Benefits: Dismissal versus Employment Taxes
2006
This paper investigates the effects of using dismissal taxes to finance unemployment benefits. We compare dismissal and employment taxes in a model with search frictions. Employment taxes give rise to externalities because firms do not take into account the effects their dismissal decisions have on others. By introducing dismissal taxes to finance unemployment insurance, these externalities can partly be internalized. Taking into account the budget of the unemployment insurance, employment taxes can be reduced by more than necessary to offset the adverse effect of dismissal taxes on the firm value. The introduction of dismissal taxes leads to higher job creation and lower unemployment, in c…
The reliability of forensic osteology — a case in point
2001
The medico-legal investigation of skeletons is a trans-disciplinary effort by forensic scientists as well as physical anthropologists. The advent of DNA extraction and amplification from bones and teeth has led to the assumption that morphological assessment of skeletal remains might soon become obsolete. But despite the introduction and success of molecular biology, the analysis of skeletal biology will remain an integral part of the identification process. This is due to the fact, that the skeletal record allows relatively fast and accurate inferences about the identity of the victim. Moreover, a standard biological profile may be established to effectively narrow the police investigator'…
Media effects on policy preferences toward free movement: evidence from five EU member states
2020
In a time when freedom of movement is being challenged by an increasing number of European Union member states, and where immigration has been dominating public debate for years, this study investi...
Predicting who fails to meet the physical activity guideline in pregnancy: a prospective study of objectively recorded physical activity in a populat…
2016
Background A low physical activity (PA) level in pregnancy is associated with several adverse health outcomes. Early identification of pregnant women at risk of physical inactivity could inform strategies to promote PA, but no studies so far have presented attempts to develop prognostic models for low PA in pregnancy. Based on moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) objectively recorded in mid/late pregnancy, our objectives were to describe MVPA levels and compliance with the PA guideline (≥150 MVPA minutes/week), and to develop a prognostic model for non-compliance with the PA guideline. Methods From a multi-ethnic population-based cohort, we analysed data from 555 women with MVPA recorde…
Migrant Women-experiences from the Mediterranean Region
2019
Introduction: The phenomenon of migration is characterized and influenced by a number of different variables; and the different stages of journey are related to different levels and types of psychological distress. Women, in particular, are exposed to further specific risks during migration. Aim: To determine the factors that affect the psychological health of migrant women during the different stages of the migration journey. Methods: We provide a narrative review of the literature around the experiences of women during migration process, with a geographical focus on women migrating to the Mediterranean area. Results: Little data is currently available on the burden of mental health disor…
Good-genes effects in sexual selection
1999
The magnitude of the effect of good genes as a viability benefit accruing to choosy females remains a controversial theoretical and empirical issue. We collected all available data from the literature to estimate the magnitude of good-genes viability effects, while adjusting for sample size. The average correlation coefficient between male traits and offspring survival in 22 studies was 0.122, which differed highly significantly from zero. This implies that male characters chosen by females reveal on average 1.5% of the variance in viability. The studies demonstrated considerable heterogeneity in effect size; some of this heterogeneity could be accounted for by differences among taxa (birds…
Viability costs of condition-dependent sexual male display in a drumming wolf spider
1996
According to the conditional handicap models females use male ornaments as honest signals of male viability. The assumptions for honest signalling are that the traits are costly and that they reflect male phenotypic condition, and hence optimal trait size is largest in the most viable males. However, experimental evidence for the costs of signalling are scarce. In this study we experimentally tested whether acoustic signalling, drumming, in a wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata is a condition dependent, costly trait, and thus offers an honest signal of quality to females. Males of this species court females by drumming dry leaves with their abdomen. Females prefer to mate with males of hi…
Mate choice for offspring performance: major benefits or minor costs?
1998
There is considerable disagreement over whether or not gaining viability benefits to offspring could be substantial enough to overcome the costs of female choosiness. A recent review suggested that the 'lek paradox' might be resolved by large indirect benefits as indicated by highly heritable ornamental traits. We selected males of a wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata in relation to their sexual signalling rate (audible drumming). The estimated correlated response in offspring viability was rather small (0.12 s.d.). However, it may be large enough if the costs of being choosy are small. In fact, females mate with better-than-average males just by responding passively to a random drumming…