Traffic fatalities accounted for 1.24 million lives lost in 2013 worldwide, and almost 33 thousand of those fatalities were in the U.S. in 2013. The southeastern region of the nation stands out for continuously having higher fatality rates per mile driven than the national average. If one can establish compelling relationships between various factors and fatality rates, then policies and investments can be targeted to increase the safety on the network by focusing on policies that mitigate those factors. In this research effort risk-taking characteristics are explored. These factors have not been as comprehensively reviewed as conventional factors such as vehicle and facility conditions associated with safety. The hypothesis assumes if a person exhibits risk-taking behavior, that risk-taking behavior is not limited to only one aspect of risk, but is likely to occur in multiple facets of the person's life. Some of the risk-taking characteristics explored include credit score, safety belt use, smoking and tobacco use, drug use, mental health, educational attainment, obesity, and overall general health characteristics. All risk-taking characteristics with the exception of mental health were found to have statistically significant correlations with fatality rates alone. However, when a regression model was formed to estimate fatality rates by risk-taking characteristics, only four risk-taking characteristics - credit score, educational attainment, overall poor health, and seat belt use were found to be statistically significant at an integrated level with other demographic characteristics such as unemployment levels and population born is state of residency. By identifying at-risk population segments, education, counseling, enforcement, or other strategies may be deployed to help improve travel safety.

Community nurses have a critical role in caring for people and families affected by HIV/AIDS in the home setting. Despite this, there is a dearth of Australian literature describing the health needs of these clients who are referred to them. This study identified the demographic, clinical and psychoemotional aspects of adult clients with HIV/AIDS in Sydney, Australia, who were referred to community nurses and died between 1993 and 1995. Retrospective data from the records of 73 clients identified on 171 Community Nursing Referral Forms completed within the study period from an inpatient HIV/AIDS Unit was analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The sample was demographically similar to the general population of people with HIV/AIDS during the study period. The most commonly identified clinical aspects of clients included oral candida, mycobacterium avium complex, anaemia, drug intolerance, cytomegalovirus, pain, fever, diarrhoea, weight loss and cough. The most commonly identified psychoemotional variables were depressed mood, anxiety, grief and nonadherence to suggested interventions, with the most common emergent theme being the physical effects of HIV/AIDS illness. Emotional support, symptom monitoring and home assessments were the most common requests made of community nurses. The study sample represented 14% of people who died following AIDS in New South Wales during this known peak period of AIDS diagnoses and deaths following AIDS. As a result of this study, documentation exists describing the characteristics of clients with advanced HIV/AIDS referred to community nurses. Current and future clients with advanced HIV/AIDS referred to community nurses may experience a similar clinical picture to that identified in this study. The findings can be used to reveal relationships amongst the key variables; lay the foundation for further comparative, theory or hypothesis driven studies; and demonstrate how this influences the community nursing role, strategies, interventions and outcomes.

Errata slip inserted. Bibliography: leaves 282-298. Aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the nature of current patterns of population change in the peri-urban region; conceptualized as a set of overlapping zones of net growth representing the product of four demographic processes (suburbanisation, counterurbanisation, population retention, centripetal migration). Considers three key aspects of peri-urban growth dynamics in the context of Adelaide's peri-urban region.

<p>Long term care and social services (LTCaS) for older people are an important part of the Scandinavian welfare state. The fast growing number of elderly people in Sweden has caused many concerns about increases in future needs (and particularly costs) of age-related social programs such as LTCaS. The general aim of this dissertation is to examine how projected demographic changes may affect future needs for long-term care and services in Sweden assuming different trends in morbidity and mortality. The following data sources are used: national population registers, register data on inpatient/outpatient health care from region Skåne, the Swedish National Survey on Living Conditions (SNSLC) for the period 1975-1999. Three alternative methods to inform simple demographic extrapolations of needs for health and social care for the elderly are presented. Furthermore, a new method for demographic projections has been developed. According to our studies, the health of older people (measured as the prevalence of severe ill-health) has improved during the study period. Taking into account health status, when projecting future needs for LTCaS, will result in a fairly substantial reduction of the rate of the demographically influenced increase in projected LTCaS needs. The changes in population composition regarding education and mortality differentials per educational level may have a significant impact on the number of the elderly in the future. On the other hand, the projected increase in the number of older people suffering from severe ill-health, as a consequence of population ageing, may be counterbalanced to a large extent by changes in the educational composition towards a higher proportion of the population having a high educational level and lower prevalence of severe ill-health. We need to improve our planning tools in order to support policy-makers to plan for uncertainty concerning future needs and demand for LTCaS.</p>

<p>Since the brain is an important prerequisite for human language there is a great interest to gain more knowledge about healthy brain activity during language mediated communication. This study examines variations in high level language ability relating to demographic factors like gender and age and relates language ability to neural activity.</p><p>Eighteen individuals in ages between 22 and 64 were included and divided into groups in relation to gender and age. The material used to assess language ability was derived from <em>Testbatteri för Bedömning av Subtila Språkstörningar</em> (Laakso, Brunnegård, Hartelius & Ahlsén, 2000), Swedish Lexical Decision Test (Almkvist, Adveen, Henning & Tallberg, 2007) and a reading test (Högskoleprovet). The results were correlated with measured brain activity using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and language paradigms. ANOVA was applied to discover possible demographic variances in language ability as well as in brain activity.</p><p>The results showed no significant differences in language ability. On the other hand there was a tendency that younger individuals scored higher on language tests than older. Naming ability was inversely related to neural activity in Broca. Neural differences were also found regarding gender and age. Men showed generally more activation than women. Younger individuals, as well as the individuals with high wordgeneration ability, activated more subtle areas than others. This study also points to a relation between high language ability and high cognitive ability.</p> / <p>Då hjärnan är en viktig förutsättning för mänskligt språk finns stort intresse för att ökakunskapen om den friska hjärnans aktivitet vid språklig kommunikation. Föreliggande studieundersöker högre språkliga förmågors variation, avseende de demografiska faktorerna könoch ålder samt relaterar språklig förmåga till neural aktivitet.</p><p>Arton försökspersoner mellan 22 och 64 år inkluderades och delades in i grupper efter könoch ålder. Materialet som användes för kartläggning av språklig förmåga härstammade frånTestbatteri för Bedömning av Subtila Språkstörningar (Laakso, Brunnegård, Hartelius & Ahlsén, 2000) samt Swedish Lexical Decision Test (Almkvist, Adveen, Henning & Tallberg,2007) och Högskoleprovets lästest. Resultaten korrelerades med uppmätt hjärnaktivitet vidspråkliga paradigm i funktionell magnetkameraundersökning (fMRI). ANOVA användes föratt upptäcka eventuella variationer mellan grupperna, både i språklig förmåga och ihjärnaktivitet.</p><p>Resultaten visade inga signifikanta variationer i språkförmåga. Däremot kunde tendenserskönjas där yngre presterade bättre på språktesterna än äldre. Benämningsförmåga befannsomvänt relaterad till neural aktivitet i Broca. Neurala skillnader upptäcktes även avseende könoch ålder. Män uppvisade generellt högre grad av aktivering än kvinnor. Den yngreförsöksgruppen, liksom de med hög ordflödesförmåga, aktiverade fler och mer subtilaområden än övriga. Studien pekade även på att hög kognitiv förmåga var relaterad till högspråkförmåga.</p>

<p>The decrease in number and area of managed hay-meadows over the last century, in combination with the reduction of traditional management, threatens the biodiversity connected to these habitats. I experimentally examined how management intensity affected meadow characteristics and long-term population viability of three vascular plant species in wooded hay-meadows on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. I discovered that intensified management (extra raking and/or extra mowing) reduced the amount of litter and biomass, even in well-managed meadows. </p><p>The effects of intensified management on population growth rate varied among species. Deterministic demographic models revealed that intensified management increased population growth rate in <i>Succisa pratensis</i>. Stochastic modelling confirmed this; all meadows displayed larger projected population sizes 50 years into the future with intensified management. <i>Polygala amarella</i> responded with lower growth rates in raked plots, a consequence of the plant’s morphology, which makes it prone to being pulled out by raking. <i>Hypochoeris maculata</i> had population growth rates close to unity, and showed no response to an increase in management. Examination of the life-history characteristics of <i>Polygala amarella</i> showed that the species’ strategy is aimed at reproduction and fast growth, which is in contrast to the other two species, with their success relying on the survival of older plants. The species-specific responses to management show that several species should be considered when evaluating management practices for conservation of semi-natural grasslands. Furthermore, I suggest that data on stage distributions alone may not be sufficient for identifying threatened populations.</p><p>In a study of artificial dispersal between meadows, I found that establishment was twice as successful for planted plug-plants compared to sown seeds. Both methods may be useful for introducing or augmenting meadow populations, depending on access to seed sources and possibilities to nurse plants.</p><p>An electronic coordinate measurement device for gathering location data to be used in demographic studies was developed. In the field, the device proved to be a simple and reliable method for locating individuals in permanent plots.</p>

Cette étude a pour objectif principal de décrire et de comparer les aspects principaux de lécologie de six espèces de poissons-chats en ce qui concerne lhabitat, la reproduction, la croissance et la dynamique des populations afin daboutir à des propositions de gestion des pêcheries dans lOuémé, en particulier à la station dAgonlin Lowé. A partir des pêches mensuelles déchantillonnage effectuées entre mai 1999 et mars 2001, 80 espèces (dont 15 dorigine estuarienne) appartenant à 56 genres et 33 familles ont été répertoriées. Les espèces de poissons-chats, au nombre de 16, représentent 70,8 % du nombre total de poissons capturés, soit une biomasse de 69,0 %. Les abondances numérique et pondérale ont variées en fonction des mois, des habitats et des techniques de pêche. Il existe deux pics importants dabondance des poissons, en général, et des poissons-chats, en particulier : novembre et janvier. Chaque mois, une trentaine despèces sont responsables de 95 % des abondances relatives en nombre et en biomasse. Parmi celles-ci, on retrouve en tête de liste Synodontis schall (31,9 % en nombre et 27,5 % en biomasse), Schilbe intermedius (23,6 % en nombre et 9,9 % en biomasse), Synodontis nigrita (5,4 % en nombre et 5,7 % en biomasse) et Clarias gariepinus (3,2 % en nombre et 20,6 % en biomasse). Clarias ebriensis (0,6 % en nombre et 0,8 % en biomasse) et Schilbe mystus (0,1 % en nombre et 0,1 % en biomasse) sont peu représentés dans les captures globales. Daprès lévolution conjointe des abondances et de la richesse spécifique au cours des mois, on observe que les valeurs plus élevées de la richesse ne sont pas nécessairement suivies dabondances plus élevées. Lorsque la capture des Mochokidae diminue dans le milieu, celle des Schilbeidae et des Clariidae augmente. Dans les habitats, un petit nombre despèces (une dizaine) ont des abondances relativement élevées. La classification numérique des espèces suivant les méthodes et techniques de pêche permet de distinguer 4 groupes de poissons qui sont pêchés en priorité par celles-ci. Létude des captures aux filets maillants mono-filaments indique que lefficacité de capture diminue avec la maille du filet. La mise en regard de ces résultats avec les précipitations indique que les captures par heure, mois et saison ne montrent pas de corrélation directe significative avec celles-ci (p > 0,05) pour les six espèces de poissons-chats étudiées. Les meilleures corrélations ont été observées chez C. ebriensis (0,43) et C. gariepinus (0,32). Létude de lactivité des poissons, basée sur leur abondance dans les captures, montre que les six espèces de poissons-chats étudiées sont toutes nocturnes. Létude de lâge et de la croissance chez C. gariepinus, C. ebriensis, S. schall et S. intermedius a été réalisée par lanalyse des structures par tailles et lexamen des coupes minces dépines de nageoires. Les tailles obtenues par retrocalcul aux différents âges ont été comparées à celles des structures par tailles. La concordance de lanalyse des structures par taille avec les résultats issus des coupes dépines de nageoires confirme que la méthode de Petersen est tout à fait applicable aux espèces étudiées et, si les conditions déchantillonnage sont bien respectées, peut amener à déterminer avec précision lâge des poissons. Les résultats obtenus, couplés à une analyse des caractéristiques physiques, chimiques et biologiques du milieu, nous révèlent lapparition des marques de croissance sur les pièces osseuses chez les espèces au mois de juillet dans le delta de lOuémé. Le déterminisme de linscription dune marque de croissance a été vérifié en station délevage chez C. gariepinus. La reprise du nourrissage semble être plus directe et favorable à la mise en place rapide dune ligne darrêt et/ou de ralentissement de croissance après une période de jeun plus ou moins longue. La condition K des six espèces considérées a varié différemment entre elles, les deux Mochokidae ayant les conditions les plus élevées. La condition est plus élevée chez C. ebriensis que chez C. gariepinus et plus élevée chez S. nigrita que chez S. schall. Au sein dune même espèce, la condition a varié selon le sexe, les mois et les habitats. Chez S. intermedius les mâles ont une condition significativement plus élevée que les femelles. Les corrélations (r de Pearson) réalisées entre la condition des espèces et les précipitations mensuelles dans le secteur dAdjohoun ne sont pas significatives pour les espèces, à lexception des femelles de C. ebriensis (r = 0,52) et de S. nigrita (r = 0,56) avec p < 0,05. Lanalyse de la répartition mensuelle des stades de maturité sexuelle et des variations de lindice gonado-somatique (IGS) indique que la reproduction des poissons se déroule en période de crue, de juillet à septembre-octobre. Lapparition dans les populations des juvéniles dâge 0+ et létude de la reproduction par le logiciel Fisat viennent en appui à ces résultats. Lexamen des proportions dovules produits par les différentes espèces montre une forte influence des caractéristiques du milieu et des activités de pêche sur S. intermedius et S. schall qui développent une stratégie de type "r" contrairement à lespèce S. nigrita qui, elle, développe une stratégie de type K ; C. ebriensis et C. gariepinus étant intermédiaires avec C. ebriensis plus proche du type r. La différence entre les rendements des différentes méthodes de pêche est liée, dune part, aux conditions du milieu et, dautre part, aux caractéristiques des méthodes ainsi quaux techniques dexploitation qui ne sont pas les mêmes. Les différents résultats liés à la mortalité confirment les observations de terrain où lon note une forte mortalité par pêche pour les six espèces. Toutefois, elle semble plus faible chez C. ebriensis (0,98). Sil est vrai que cette espèce subit une forte pression dans les trous à poissons, il semble, quen dehors de ce système, la pression sur lespèce dans les autres habitats nest pas assez élevée. Aussi, lespèce S. mystus semble ne pas être vulnérable aux engins de pêche utilisés dans le milieu. Enfin, un plan de gestion pour la ressource à Agonlin Lowé prenant en compte les résultats obtenus par cette étude devra considérer les trois principales actions suivantes : - (1) si, pour le moment, rien ne peut être fait pour réduire les captures des Clariidae dans les trous à poissons, la stratégie de gestion des populations devra être axée sur la réduction des captures dans les plaines inondées au début de la crue afin de protéger les reproducteurs pendant le frai, - (2) il est important dencourager les pratiques dexploitation des ressources, types "acadjas" et " whédos" (possibilité éventuelle délevage piscicole), qui permettent à beaucoup despèces de vivre pendant les premiers mois de leur existence et aident donc à conserver au fleuve Ouémé ses réserves de poissons, - (3) il faut étendre cette étude à dautres groupes de poissons-chats dintérêt économique dans le milieu comme par exemple Heterobranchus longifilis qui se fait de plus en plus rare dans les captures, afin denvisager des opérations de repeuplement du milieu.

<p>The study examines the participation of African immigrants in the South African labour force with the central question revolving around whether the immigrants create jobs through the establishment of their own businesses or take jobs from the locals. Analytical frame work used in this study includes descriptive statistics, chi-square test for association and standardized residuals, two-way analysis of variance and logistic regression. Demographic, locational and socio-economic characteristics were studied using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Two-factor analysis of variance was used to examine the differences on average in the African immigrants&rsquo / participation in the labour force, while logistic regression was used to investigate the effect of some demographic characteristics on employment and work status.</p>

<p>The issue of women&rsquo / s access to land is a developmental issue. From a fundamental research view point, this study aims to explore the circumstances in which women access land in South Africa. The study examines the inequalities that may arise in the context of land access, land acquisition / land use, activities taking place on land and closely related issues focusing specifically on women in general, and women headed households in particular. The study is based on demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, occupational groups, education, province of residence and ethnic groups. Bringing together the demographic variables and land related variables, the study captures the structural changes between 2004 and 2007. Using 2004 and 2007 GHS secondary data requested from Statistics South Africa, cross tabulation and bivariate statistical analysis by means of SPSS software was performed. The results obtained indicate that the inequality against women&rsquo / s access to land still persists. Some women have access to land for agricultural purpose but few own it. The findings suggest that a number of factors including age, place of residence, marital status, ethnic group, literacy, educational level, of women are associated with the ability of women to access and acquire land. The sustainable livelihood framework is a theory that guided this study. Diversification is commonly used to prevent time of risks and shocks. In general, the study shows that the proportion of women who had access to land was 16% in 2004. This figure dropped to 14% in 2007.</p>

<p>The first objective of this study is to show if diffusion of contraception in areas of traditional high fertility has gone through profound changes. Indeed, we would like to know if contraceptive behaviours have evolved because of new fertility perceptions and also because partners now have greater freedom to make choices in a relationship. The second objective of this study is not only to highlight the levels and trends of contraception and the factors influencing their use (government policies, role of family planning, etc.) in developing countries, but also to consider the population of unmet-needs of contraception. Indeed, the level of contraceptive use depends obviously on users, but also on non-users with no needs and non-users with unsatisfied needs. The understanding of this last category of females is essential to a more accurate estimation of contraception levels, and, therefore for the estimation of fertility levels. This study analyses the contraceptive use in several developing countries in Africa and highlights the unsatisfied needs of contraception, to understand why such needs exist. To do so, we shall analyse available demographic data for thirty-five African countries by using the available Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), from the 1980&rsquo / s to 2000&rsquo / s considering the DHS I, DHS II, DHS III and DHS IV. This great variety of surveys, seventy-nine in total, permits one to compare levels of contraception and &ldquo / unmet-needs&rdquo / from country to country. The surveys also, make it possible to compare the evolution over time of specific countries or specific regions, and to subsequently comprehend the determining factors of contraceptive use or non-use.</p>