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Education policy is premised on its instrumentalist approach. This instrumentalism is based on narrow assumptions concerning people (the subject), decision-making (power), problem-solving (science and methodology), and knowledge (epistemology). Policy, Geophilosophy and Education reconceptualises the object, and hence, the objectives, of education policy. Specifically, the book illustrates how education policy positions and constitutes objects and subjects through emergent policy arrangements that simultaneously influence how policy is sensed, embodied, and enacted. The book examines the disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to education policy analysis over the last sixty years, and reveals how policy analysis constitutes the ontologies and epistemologies of policy. In order to reconceptualise policy, Policy, Geophilosophy and Education uses ideas of spatiality, affect and problematization from the disciplines of geography and philosophy. The book problematizes case-vignettes to illustrate the complex and often paradoxical relations between neo-liberal education policy equity, and educational inequalities produced in the representational registers of race and ethnicity.

While spatial data analysis has received increasing attention in demographic studies, it remains a difficult subject to learn for practitioners due to its complexity and various unresolved issues. Here we give a practical guide to spatial demographic analysis, with a focus on the use of spatial regression models. We first summarize spatially explicit and implicit theories of population dynamics. We then describe basic concepts in exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial regression modeling through an illustration of population change in the 1990s at the minor civil division level in the state of Wisconsin. We also review spatial regression models including spatial lag models, spatial error models, and spatial autoregressive moving average models and use these models for analyzing the data example. We finally suggest opportunities and directions for future research on spatial demographic theories and practice.

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate age-specific fertility rates for 5-year age groups between ages 15 and 49 years. With extensions to age groups 10–14 and 50–54 years, the total fertility rate (TFR) was then aggregated using the estimated age-specific fertility between ages 10 and 54 years. 7417 sources were used for under-5 mortality estimation and 7355 for adult mortality. ST-GPR was used to synthesise data sources after correction for known biases. Adult mortality was measured as the probability of death between ages 15 and 60 years based on vital registration, sample registration, and sibling histories, and was also estimated using ST-GPR. HIV-free life tables were then estimated using estimates of under-5 and adult mortality rates using a relational model life table system created for GBD, which closely tracks observed age-specific mortality rates from complete vital registration when available. Independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated by an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance and other sources were incorporated into the estimates in countries with large epidemics. Annual and single-year age estimates of net migration and population for each country and territory were generated using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model that analysed estimated age-specific fertility and mortality rates along with 1250 censuses and 747 population registry years. We classified location-years into seven categories on the basis of the natural rate of increase in population (calculated by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate) and the net migration rate. We computed healthy life expectancy (HALE) using years lived with disability (YLDs) per capita, life tables, and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty was propagated throughout the demographic estimation process, including fertility, mortality, and population, with 1000 draw-level estimates produced for each metric. Findings: The global TFR decreased from 2·72 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2·66–2·79) in 2000 to 2·31 (2·17–2·46) in 2019. Global annual livebirths increased from 134·5 million (131·5–137·8) in 2000 to a peak of 139·6 million (133·0–146·9) in 2016. Global livebirths then declined to 135·3 million (127·2–144·1) in 2019. Of the 204 countries and territories included in this study, in 2019, 102 had a TFR lower than 2·1, which is considered a good approximation of replacement-level fertility. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27·1% (95% UI 26·4–27·8) of global livebirths. Global life expectancy at birth increased from 67·2 years (95% UI 66·8–67·6) in 2000 to 73·5 years (72·8–74·3) in 2019. The total number of deaths increased from 50·7 million (49·5–51·9) in 2000 to 56·5 million (53·7–59·2) in 2019. Under-5 deaths declined from 9·6 million (9·1–10·3) in 2000 to 5·0 million (4·3–6·0) in 2019. Global population increased by 25·7%, from 6·2 billion (6·0–6·3) in 2000 to 7·7 billion (7·5–8·0) in 2019. In 2019, 34 countries had negative natural rates of increase; in 17 of these, the population declined because immigration was not sufficient to counteract the negative rate of decline. Globally, HALE increased from 58·6 years (56·1–60·8) in 2000 to 63·5 years (60·8–66·1) in 2019. HALE increased in 202 of 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019. Interpretation: Over the past 20 years, fertility rates have been dropping steadily and life expectancy has been increasing, with few exceptions. Much of this change follows historical patterns linking social and economic determinants, such as those captured by the GBD Socio-demographic Index, with demographic outcomes. More recently, several countries have experienced a combination of low fertility and stagnating improvement in mortality rates, pushing more populations into the late stages of the demographic transition. Tracking demographic change and the emergence of new patterns will be essential for global health monitoring.

BACKGROUND During the last decades, nonmarital cohabitation has diffused throughout the industrialised world, although not uniformly. The Second Demographic Transition (SDT) predicts a convergence of cohabitation patterns towards a final stage in which cohabitation and marriage will be almost indistinguishable. OBJECTIVE This paper contributes to the literature on the convergence of cohabitation patterns across countries by testing whether countries are becoming more similar over time, as suggested by the SDT. METHODS We use sequence analysis and cluster analysis techniques to classify different patterns of cohabitation in France, Italy, Norway, Bulgaria, and the United States. Using data mainly stemming from the Gender and Generations Surveys (GGS), we analyse women's patterns of behaviour during the five years following the start of their first cohabitation, over a time span of three decades (1970s-2000s). RESULTS On the basis of sequencing the events of childbirth, marriage, and separation we are able to identify five different clusters corresponding to different ways of going through the cohabitation experience. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that there is a general decreasing trend of cohabitation as a premarital experience and an increasing trend of cohabitation as an alternative to marriage or as a free union. However, within this homogeneous trend, persistent peculiarities at the country level suggest that the selected countries are not simply at different stages of the same trajectory. CONTRIBUTION The classification that emerges from the data-driven approach combines several features of already existing typologies of cohabitation experience. Analysis of the data highlights country peculiarities in the development of the cohabitation experience, rather than the existence of a common path as predicted by the SDT.

Population viability analysis (PVA) is useful in management of imperiled species. Applications range from research design, threat assessment, and development of management frameworks. Given the importance of PVAs, it is essential that they be rigorous and adhere to widely accepted guidelines; however, the quality of published PVAs is rarely assessed. We evaluated the quality of 160 PVAs of 144 species of birds and mammals published in peer-reviewed journals from 1990 to 2017. We hypothesized that PVA quality would be lower with generic programs than with custom-built programs; be higher for those developed for imperiled species; change over time; and be higher for those published in journals with high impact factors (IFs). Each included study was evaluated based on answers to an evaluation framework containing 32 questions reflecting whether and to what extent the PVA study adhered to published PVA guidelines or contained important PVA components. All measures of PVA quality were generally lower for studies based on generic programs. Conservation status of the species did not affect any measure of PVA quality, but PVAs published in high IF journals were of higher quality. Quality generally declined over time, suggesting the quantitative literacy of PVA practitioners has not increased over time or that PVAs developed by unskilled users are being published in peer-reviewed journals. Only 18.1% of studies were of high quality (score > 75%), which is troubling because poor-quality PVAs could misinform conservation decisions. We call for increased scrutiny of PVAs by journal editors and reviewers. Our evaluation framework can be used for this purpose. Because poor-quality PVAs continue to be published, we recommend caution while using PVA results in conservation decision making without thoroughly assessing the PVA quality. El análisis de viabilidad poblacional (AVP) es útil para el manejo de especies en peligro. La gama de aplicaciones incluye el diseño de la investigación, la valoración de amenazas y el desarrollo de marcos de trabajo para el manejo. Ya que los AVP son de suma importancia, es esencial que sean rigorosos y se adhieran a las directrices aceptadas por la mayoría; sin embargo, rara vez se examina. la calidad de los AVP publicados Evaluamos la calidad de 160 AVP para 144 especies de aves y mamíferos publicados en revistas con revisión por pares desde 1990 hasta 2017. Nuestra hipotesis consistió en que la calidad del AVP sería más baja con programas genéricos que con programas hechos a la medida; sería más alta para los programas desarrollados para especies en peligro; la calidad cambiaría con el tiempo; y la calidad sería más alta para los AVP publicados en revistas con un alto factor de impacto (VI). Cada estudio que incluimos fue evaluado con base en las respuestas a un marco de trabajo de evaluación que contenía 32 preguntas, las cuales reflejaban si y cuánto se adherían los AVP a las directrices publicadas para los AVP o si contenía componentes importantes de AVP. Todas las medidas de la calidad de los AVP fueron generalmente más bajas para los estudios basados en programas genéricos. El estado de conservación de las especies no afectó ninguna de las medidas de la calidad de los AVP, pero aquellos publicados en revistas con un VI alto tuvieron una mayor calidad. La calidad, en general, declinó con el tiempo, lo que sugiere que el alfabetismo cuantitativo de quienes practican los AVP no ha incrementado con el tiempo o que se están publicando AVP desarrollados por usuarios con poca práctica en revistas con revisión por pares. Sólo el 18.1% de los estudios fue de calidad alta (puntaje > 75%), lo cual es preocupante porque los AVP de baja calidad podrían mal informar las decisiones de conservación. Pedimos un incremento en el escrutinio de los AVP por parte de los editores y revisores. Nuestro marco de trabajo de evaluación puede usarse para este propósito. Ya que todavía se publican AVP con baja calidad, recomendamos que se tomen precauciones cuando se usen los resultados de un AVP en la toma de decisiones de conservación sin evaluar minuciosamente la calidad de dicho estudio. 种群生存力分析 (population viability analysis, PVA) 是濒危物种管理的有效工具, 其应用笵围包括研究设 计 、 威胁评估及管理框架开发等 。 鉴 于 PVA 分析的重要性, 它们应当确保严谨 、 遵守普遍接受的准则, 然而,已 发表的 PVA 分析的质量却很少得到评估 。 本研究评估了 1990 至 2017 年间在同行评议期刊上发表的针对 144 种 鸟类及哺乳动物的 160 项 PVA 分析的质量 。 我们假设自行设定程序的 PVA 质量应比使用通用程序的更高;针对 濒危物种的 PVA 质量更高; PVA 质量随时间变化;发表在高影响因子期刊上的 PVA 质量更高 。 我们基于包含三 十二个问题的评估框架评估了每项纳入分析的研究,这些问题反映了 PVA 研究是否及在多大程度上遵守了已发 布 的 PVA 指南或包含了重要的 PVA 组成部分 。 结果表明, 使用通用程序的研究的 PVA 质量在所有指标上都较 低, 物种的濒危情况没有影响 PVA 质量,而发表在高影响因子的斯刊上的 PVA 质量更高 。 此外, PVA 质量普遍 随时间推移而下降, 这 表 明 PVA 实践者的定量推理能力没有与时倶进,或是同行评议斯刊上发表了非熟练使用 者开发的 PVA 研究 。 我们认为只有 18.1% 的研究属于高质量研究 ( 评分 >75%), 这个结果十分令人担忧,因为低 质量的 PVA 分析可能会误导保护决策 。 因此, 我们呼吁斯刊编辑和审稿人加强对 PVA 分析的审查,而我们的评 估框架就可以用于该目的 。 由于低质量的 PVA 还在持续发表,我们建议在保护决策中应谨慎使用未经彻底评估 质量的 PVA 結果 。

Telehealth may redress rural health care shortages in the United States and improve related rural health disparities. However, following the expansion of telehealth related to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth use has been lower among rural populations compared to urban populations. Certain populations are also more likely to use audio-only telehealth, with implications for care quality. The aim of this study is to describe demographic and telehealth use characteristics of a population of rural-dwelling adult patients and explore relationships of these characteristics with patients' level of rurality and with modality of patients' most recent telehealth encounter. We conducted a retrospective medical record review of adults who lived in rural California zip codes and used telehealth at an urban medical center from December 2021 to December 2022. Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes were used to assign rurality and group patients by 3 levels of rurality. Telehealth visits were defined as video-enabled and telephone encounters. Variables included age, race or ethnicity, preferred language, payer, web-based patient portal activation status (as proxy for digital health literacy), video or telephone modality, and visit provider. Chi-square and Fisher exact tested associations of demographic and encounter characteristics with patient level of rurality and telehealth encounter modality. A total of 9359 patients were included. Telehealth patients living in the most rural zip codes were older, and a higher proportion were White compared to those in less rural zip codes. Patients who were American Indian, Asian, Black, and Latino together comprised 18.8% (n=1760) of the sample, lower than that in rural California counties. Video visit use was significantly lower among patients who were 65 years of age or older (n=3183, 91.3% vs n=5507, 93.8% for younger than 65 years; χ21=19.3; P<.001), Latino race or ethnicity (n=1229, 90.9% vs n=6078, 93.4% among White patients; χ23=12.0; P=.008), primary Spanish speakers (n=336, 87.7% vs n=8305, 93% among English speakers; Fisher exact, P<.001), and publicly insured (Medicare: n=3843, 91.7%; Medicaid: n=1717, 92.2%; privately insured: n=3130, 94.7%; χ22=27.9; P<.001). Patient portal activation was lower among Latinx patients (n=1183, 87.5% vs n=6099, 93.7% among White patients), Spanish speakers (n=295, 77% vs n=8241, 92.3% among English speakers; Fisher exact: P<.001), and Medicaid patients (n=1635, 87.8%; Medicare: n=3802, 90.7%; privately insured: n=3140, 95%; χ24=106.3; P<.001). Findings substantiate concerns of rural telehealth access disparities, particularly among patients who are older, of minoritized race or ethnicity, and Spanish-speaking. Ongoing research is needed to understand how underserved rural populations use telehealth. To address telehealth use disparities, policy should address patient-level barriers by supporting measures such as health care navigation resources, culturally tailored telehealth patient outreach, digital access assessment, and patient digital education. Evidence-based telehealth reimbursement policy is essential to support access and address provider-side barriers.

Models accounting for genetic variation for resistance to herbivores within plant populations often postulate a balance between the costs of that resistance and its benefits. The production of glandular trichomes by Datura wrightii was shown to be costly in a previous one‐year study because plants producing glandular trichomes (sticky plants), a factor conferring resistance to some insect herbivores, also produced 45% fewer seeds than plants producing nonglandular trichomes (velvety plants) when grown in a common garden. Because sticky plants tended to be larger than velvety plants but produced fewer seed capsules, we postulated an allocation trade‐off in which velvety plants are more reproduction‐dominated whereas sticky plants are more growth‐dominated. If a greater commitment to vegetative growth eventually allows sticky plants to compensate for reduced seed production, we would expect a reduction or elimination of the cost of resistance over time in this perennial plant. We monitored growth, survival, and seed production of plants from defined crosses of local populations for three years in a common garden when exposed to and protected from herbivores, and with and without supplemental water. The majority of plants exposed to herbivores had died by the end of the study. We used standard life‐table methods to determine the net reproductive rate (R0) and the finite rate of increase (λ.) of plants of each trichome type. After three years, when plants were protected from herbivores, sticky plants were 187–245% larger than velvety plants, depending upon irrigation treatment, but sticky plants continued to be less efficient in producing seeds per unit of canopy volume. Even though the total seed production of sticky plants eventually equaled that of velvety plants, the advantage of earlier reproduction by velvety plants increased λ. by 55–230% over that of sticky plants, depending upon herbivore and irrigation treatment. Exposure to herbivores reduced A. by 69–83%, depending upon plant type and irrigation treatment, whereas supplemental irrigation increased A. by 29–175%, depending upon plant type and exposure to herbivores. Although there was a large allocation trade‐off between growth and reproduction, the benefits of such a trade‐off did not emerge before most plants were killed by herbivores. The cost of producing glandular trichomes strictly for herbivore resistance continued to exceed its benefits, and in the absence of other, unmeasured benefits from the suite of life‐history characters associated with glandular trichome production, natural selection is expected to eliminate this costly resistance trait from D. wrightii populations.

Statistical shape models are widely used in biomedical research. They are routinely implemented for automatic image segmentation or object identification in medical images. In these fields, however, the acquisition of the large training datasets, required to develop these models, is usually a time-consuming process. Even after this effort, the collections of datasets are often lost or mishandled resulting in replication of work. To solve these problems, the Virtual Skeleton Database (VSD) is proposed as a centralized storage system where the data necessary to build statistical shape models can be stored and shared. The VSD provides an online repository system tailored to the needs of the medical research community. The processing of the most common image file types, a statistical shape model framework, and an ontology-based search provide the generic tools to store, exchange, and retrieve digital medical datasets. The hosted data are accessible to the community, and collaborative research catalyzes their productivity. To illustrate the need for an online repository for medical research, three exemplary projects of the VSD are presented: (1) an international collaboration to achieve improvement in cochlear surgery and implant optimization, (2) a population-based analysis of femoral fracture risk between genders, and (3) an online application developed for the evaluation and comparison of the segmentation of brain tumors. The VSD is a novel system for scientific collaboration for the medical image community with a data-centric concept and semantically driven search option for anatomical structures. The repository has been proven to be a useful tool for collaborative model building, as a resource for biomechanical population studies, or to enhance segmentation algorithms.

We examine changes in online consumer spending during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we compare consumer spending on various product categories before the pandemic started to after. Unlike previous work, we not only look at the different consumer demographic profiles but also different product categories, providing a better understanding of spending behavior. E-commerce has been a favorite way of shopping for consumers before the pandemic, while some demographic groups were reluctant to use e-commerce. However, as pandemic-related restrictions on physical shopping were put in place, consumers found e-commerce the only way to shop for many essential products. As such, consumer online spending changed. We employ freshly released Canadian Perspectives Survey Series (CPSS) data on consumer spending by Statistics Canada. We examine the association between various demographic factors and the change in online spending empirically. Our findings indicate that, compared to their counterparts, younger consumers are more likely to have increased online spending on product categories related to internet connectivity and streaming services. Female consumers exhibit increased online spending on similar products, in addition to online learning services and home exercise equipment. Consumers living in urban areas exhibit a higher probability of increased online spending on computers, smartphone devices, internet connectivity, and food delivery services. Consumers with at least one child exhibit a similar trend. Larger households exhibit a considerable increase in the probability of increased online spending on food delivery services. Lastly, consumers with higher education exhibit a higher probability of increased online spending on products related to online learning and streaming services.

E-governance is reshaping public administration by enhancing efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement. This study explores the impact of e-governance on public service improvements in Albania through an extensive quantitative analysis of survey data. Using statistical tools such as correlation analysis, clustering techniques, and reliability testing, this study identifies both the strengths and areas for improvement in the current e-governance framework. The findings reveal significant groupings of survey responses, indicating thematic coherence, and highlight clusters of similar perceptions among respondents. Reliability testing, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0 to 1, underscores the robustness of the survey, where higher values indicate greater reliability and internal consistency. This analysis provides a foundation for future studies and policy recommendations, emphasizing the need for in-depth studies on specific factors influencing public service improvement, as well as the importance of targeted e-governance strategies tailored to various demographic segments, including age and education levels.