Shifts in Reproductive Patterns in China

The People's Republic of China, during the second half of the twentieth century, has been repeatedly affected by social and political upheavals associated with government policies. These have produced strong but unexpected impacts on Chinese demographic patterns. Many of these policies are of the sorts that alter reproductive costs and benefits. This study examines patterns in Hebei, Shaanxi, and Shanghai, three provinces with differing ecological, geographic, and economic characteristics. Government policies affected the three populations differentially; this was evident at both aggregate and individual levels. The Great Leap Forward and subsequent famine created higher birth deficits and mortality among the largely rural populations of Hebei and Shaanxi than the more urban Shanghai. In contrast, the Cultural Revolution and family planning resulted in lower fertility levels for women in Shanghai. The population history of China during the second half of last century thus reflects strong state interventions in the lives of its citizens. Government policies, along with regional variations in geographic, social, and economic conditions, strongly influence individual access to resources in China. Variations in timing and intensity of women's reproductive patterns reflect differential access to resources and subsequent trade-offs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43503/1/11111_2004_Article_489375.pd

Resources, Fertility, and Parental Investment in Mao's China

During the first three decades of the People's Republic of China, income differences across social classes were compressed. Formal education was not an important determinant of personal income. In this study, there was no difference in income between white-collar and blue-collar families, although white-collar parents had more education than blue-collar parents. In urban China, where population density was high, couples of different occupational status appeared to make different trade-offs between quantity and quality of children. Urban white-collar couples had fewer, but better-educated, children than their blue-collar counterparts. In rural areas, white-collar couples still had better educated children than blue-collar couples, but no difference was found in lifetime reproductive success. High population density and an occupational structure that incidentally helped reinforce unequal distribution of cultural capital in the population encouraged urban couples with different levels of resources (i.e., cultural capital rather than income in this case) to adopt different reproductive strategies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43502/1/11111_2004_Article_489374.pd

An Environmental Justice Analysis: Superfund Sites and Surrounding Communities in Illinois

Is there an association between Superfund sites and the socioeconomic makeup of the surrounding communities? This research analyzes the current economic and racial demographics of Illinois counties that contain Superfund sites. Specifically, variables that are indicators of environmental injustice are analyzed; e.g. race, median household income, and home ownership. Since the inception of the environmental justice movement in the late 1980s, studies have been conducted nationally and at state levels in Michigan, California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, and South Carolina (i.e. Cutter 2006; Mohai & Saha 2006; Pastor et al. 2004; Anderton et al. 1997; Bevc et al. 2007; Bowen et al. 1995). However, environmental justice research specific to the state of Illinois is largely unexplored. This research will better identify environmental disparities in rural Illinois counties that have little or no minority population. Additionally, this research adopts a distance-based spatial analysis approach in an attempt to achieve results more precise than previous unit-hazard coincidence analysis methods (Mohai & Saha 2006). Areal apportionment methodology is used to analyze demographic data from the 2000 United States (U.S.) Census Summary Files (SF1 and SF3) for the impacted counties in Illinois. This research uses ArcView GIS™ (Version 9.2) to create buffer zones of one-, two-, and five-miles centered on X, Y coordinates obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These uniform neighborhoods are used to determine percentages of racial minority, median household income, and home ownership within these radii. The results are then compared to percentages calculated from the remainder of the county population to establish foremost, if specific environmental injustice criteria are met and subsequently, examine how social and racial demographics within the buffer zone vary with respect to the distance from the Superfund site. This research yields essential data for urban and community planners within Illinois. First, this research identifies areas of environmental inequality to be targeted for future amelioration. Secondly, this research better characterizes the relationship between environmental hazards and surrounding communities, both urban and rural. Thirdly, this research will enable city planners to site future environmental hazards judiciously. Lastly, this research is a stepping-stone toward a more detailed longitudinal study of environmental justice in Illinois

An Environmental Justice Analysis: Superfund Sites and Surrounding Communities in Illinois

Is there an association between Superfund sites and the socioeconomic makeup of the surrounding communities? This research analyzes the current economic and racial demographics of Illinois counties that contain Superfund sites. Specifically, variables that are indicators of environmental injustice are analyzed; e.g. race, median household income, and home ownership. Since the inception of the environmental justice movement in the late 1980s, studies have been conducted nationally and at state levels in Michigan, California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, and South Carolina (i.e. Cutter 2006; Mohai & Saha 2006; Pastor et al. 2004; Anderton et al. 1997; Bevc et al. 2007; Bowen et al. 1995). However, environmental justice research specific to the state of Illinois is largely unexplored. This research will better identify environmental disparities in rural Illinois counties that have little or no minority population. Additionally, this research adopts a distance-based spatial analysis approach in an attempt to achieve results more precise than previous unit-hazard coincidence analysis methods (Mohai & Saha 2006). Areal apportionment methodology is used to analyze demographic data from the 2000 United States (U.S.) Census Summary Files (SF1 and SF3) for the impacted counties in Illinois. This research uses ArcView GIS™ (Version 9.2) to create buffer zones of one-, two-, and five-miles centered on X, Y coordinates obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These uniform neighborhoods are used to determine percentages of racial minority, median household income, and home ownership within these radii. The results are then compared to percentages calculated from the remainder of the county population to establish foremost, if specific environmental injustice criteria are met and subsequently, examine how social and racial demographics within the buffer zone vary with respect to the distance from the Superfund site. This research yields essential data for urban and community planners within Illinois. First, this research identifies areas of environmental inequality to be targeted for future amelioration. Secondly, this research better characterizes the relationship between environmental hazards and surrounding communities, both urban and rural. Thirdly, this research will enable city planners to site future environmental hazards judiciously. Lastly, this research is a stepping-stone toward a more detailed longitudinal study of environmental justice in Illinois

Human reproductive ecology in revolutionary China.

This dissertation examines the ecological basis of human reproductive behavior during the first 35 years of history of the People's Republic of China (1949--85). Human reproduction is a key component in population-environment interactions. Variations in resource availability, reflecting different social and ecological conditions, tend to give rise to variations in reproductive patterns in different environments. Most empirical studies of human reproductive behavior employing an evolutionary framework examine either traditional societies or historical populations. Few such studies are about modern populations. None of these studies include East Asian societies in general or Chinese populations in particular. My study draws on data from the 1985 China In-depth Fertility Survey, Phase 1. This survey provides a unique opportunity to expand our theoretical exploration of fertility behavior and family formation, especially with regard to the interaction between institutional intervention and individual behavior. Reproduction involves not only the timing and spacing of births, but also parental investments in offspring and the effect of family composition on child rearing. My goals are to examine and analyze the variations in timing and intensity of reproduction, the relationship between parental investment and fertility, and the relationship between family composition and fertility in contemporary China. My study indicates that government policies, along with regional variations in social and economic conditions, strongly influenced individual access to resources in China. Variations in women's reproductive patterns thus reflect differentials in their access to resources and the kinds of trade-offs they made consequently. Parental investment strategies are also influenced by access to resources. In the egalitarian society of Mao's China, cultural capital (not income) of the parents was an important factor in determining trade-offs between offspring quality and quantity, particularly in urban settings. Different family compositions, as determined by the presence or absence of grandparents (paternal and maternal), have different effects on women's fertility behavior. In rural regions where patrilineal kinship is still strong, the presence of paternal grandparents is associated with high fertility for mothers.Ph.D.Biological SciencesDemographyEcologyEnvironmental scienceHealth and Environmental SciencesSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123966/2/3106175.pd

An Environmental Justice Analysis: Superfund Sites and Surrounding Communities in Illinois

Is there an association between Superfund sites and the socioeconomic makeup of the surrounding communities? This research analyzes the current economic and racial demographics of Illinois counties that contain Superfund sites. Specifically, variables that are indicators of environmental injustice are analyzed; e.g. race, median household income, and home ownership. Since the inception of the environmental justice movement in the late 1980s, studies have been conducted nationally and at state levels in Michigan, California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, and South Carolina (i.e. Cutter 2006; Mohai & Saha 2006; Pastor et al. 2004; Anderton et al. 1997; Bevc et al. 2007; Bowen et al. 1995). However, environmental justice research specific to the state of Illinois is largely unexplored. This research will better identify environmental disparities in rural Illinois counties that have little or no minority population. Additionally, this research adopts a distance-based spatial analysis approach in an attempt to achieve results more precise than previous unit-hazard coincidence analysis methods (Mohai & Saha 2006). Areal apportionment methodology is used to analyze demographic data from the 2000 United States (U.S.) Census Summary Files (SF1 and SF3) for the impacted counties in Illinois. This research uses ArcView GIS™ (Version 9.2) to create buffer zones of one-, two-, and five-miles centered on X, Y coordinates obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These uniform neighborhoods are used to determine percentages of racial minority, median household income, and home ownership within these radii. The results are then compared to percentages calculated from the remainder of the county population to establish foremost, if specific environmental injustice criteria are met and subsequently, examine how social and racial demographics within the buffer zone vary with respect to the distance from the Superfund site. This research yields essential data for urban and community planners within Illinois. First, this research identifies areas of environmental inequality to be targeted for future amelioration. Secondly, this research better characterizes the relationship between environmental hazards and surrounding communities, both urban and rural. Thirdly, this research will enable city planners to site future environmental hazards judiciously. Lastly, this research is a stepping-stone toward a more detailed longitudinal study of environmental justice in Illinois.Ope