scholarly journals Pronatalism: An Antithetical Value to Nigeria’s Reforms

Author(s):  
Chinyere C.P. Nnorom ◽  
Michael O.N. Kunnuji

The Nigerian state is heterogeneous. Despite some very sharp differences, certain values are common to all parts of the country. This paper focuses on one of such values with a view to assessing its role in bringing the Nigerian society to its present state. The value of attention is the value of pronatalism, which is here defined as beliefs and practices which underlie preference for many children. It is unfortunate that the ongoing reforms in Nigeria disregard the role of the value of pronatalism in the decay they seek to undo. A question is raised: What role has the constancy of the value of pronatalism and the resultant surge in population size played in getting the nation into the present political predicament? The paper appraises the stance of government on population matters over the years and notes that the co-incidence of the ills of rapid population growth and non-responsive governance has, more than any other factor, contributed to the present state of socio-political deformation. Based on this diagnosis, therefore, it is advocated that a negation of the value of pronatalism be factored into the reforms, if they must work.

1966 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 808-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. L. Putman ◽  
D. H. C. Herne

AbstractMore than 40 species of insects and arachnids attack Panonychus ulmi (Koch), Tetranychus urticae Koch, T. canadensis (McGregor), Bryobia arborea Morgan and Anderson, or Aculus cornutus (Banks) in peach orchards of the Niagara Peninsula. The most effective predators attacking P. ulmi are Typhlodromus caudiglans Schuster, Haplothrips faurei Hood, Stethorus punctillum Weise, and Chrysopa spp. Peach orchards lack the predatory mirids characteristic of apple orchards. A condition, presumably disease, caused heavy mortality in one year. Endemic densities of P. ulmi are maintained in that state by predators, chiefly T. caudiglans, that subsist to a considerable extent on other sources of food, whereas epidemics of P. ulmi are reduced largely by other predators, chiefly H. faurei and S. punctillum, that increase in numbers by feeding on the mite during its period of rapid population growth but exert their greatest effect later in the season by destroying the winter eggs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana M. Leukhina ◽  
Stephen J. Turnovsky

The English structural transformation from farming to manufacturing was accompanied by rapid technological change, expansion of trade, and massive population growth. While the roles of technology and trade in this process have been investigated, the literature has largely ignored the role of population growth. We examine population size effects on various aspects of structural development, characterizing their explicit dependence on preference-side and production-side characteristics of the economy, and trade. Our quantitative analysis of the English transformation assigns a major role to population growth, with especially notable contributions to post-1750 rise in the manufacturing employment share and the relative price dynamics. (JEL J11, N13, N33, N53, N63, O33)


Author(s):  
C. Y. Cyrus Chu

The Malthusian theory hypothesizes that the natural environment imposes various capacity constraints on human population growth and that population size has been and will be checked by these constraints. In such a classical theory, which was presumably motivated by observations of the ancient world, population might be the most important dynamic variable, although its role is rather passive: population is a variable that would be affected by, but would not affect, the environment. Boserup (1981), however, sees the role of population in the development of human economy as more consequential. She gave many persuasive examples that showed that, at least for the period up to the mid-twentieth century, population size might be a variable which actively spurred technological progress. This is also the viewpoint held by Lee (1986) and Pryor and Maurer (1982). After the Industrial Revolution, the role of population in economic dynamics, along with the reduction of mortality fluctuations and the increasing control of female fertility, evidently became secondary. The key variable that dominates the analysis of economic dynamics in the neoclassical growth theory along the lines of Solow (1956) is capital (or per capita capital). In Solow’s growth model, the role of population is minimal in the steady state: neither the level nor the growth rate of the steady-state per capita consumption has anything to do with the size of a population; only the steady-state per capita income level will be affected by the population growth rate. The growth pattern in the latter half of the twentieth century is markedly different. A key feature of our recent growth experience is the rapid innovation of new technologies. Modern growth theory has embraced the concept of increasing returns to explain such a unique growth pattern. However, various versions of the theory of increasing returns turn out to be necessarily linked to population. The hypothesis of learning by doing implies that growth in productivity is an increasing function of aggregate production, which is itself positively related to the size of population.


Author(s):  
David Samways

At a high level of abstraction, causally connecting population growth and environmental degradation is intuitively appealing. However, while it is clear that population size is a critical factor in the size and power of social systems, and hence in environmental impact, the relationship between human numbers and environmental change is complex. In particular, the long timescales involved in population growth and decline, along with the shifting role of economic development in both population growth itself and environmental impact, obfuscate the role of population size as a multiplier of impact. Moreover, the protracted nature of demographic change makes population size seem like an intractable problem, the outcome of natural processes which are not only beyond choice, but, critically, morally perilous. In this review of the role of population size in environmental impact, I argue that choices, norms, and values, as well as material factors, are interwoven and inseparable in the environmental impact of our species. Furthermore, the consideration of human welfare and wellbeing is central to arguments regarding an environmentally sustainable population.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadège Mézié

During a field study of a year and a half in the Haitian mountains, I was forced to re-evaluate my research strategy, and consequently the object of my study, after a setback that denied me access to the American evangelical mission, which I had hoped to study from within. This failure to integrate as a non-Protestant researcher, led me to adopt a methodological falsehood to allow me to penetrate the Haitian evangelical mission. The researcher who chooses methodological falsehood has to fashion a passing and superficial redefinition of her appearance, beliefs and practices, and live her new religious identity according to the prevalent beliefs and norms. This paper will focus on the fieldworker’s daily performance in her role of “Christian woman,” and the strategies put in place to respond to the prescriptive criteria of the role being played.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Abd Rachim AF,

One of the environmental problems in urban areas is the pollution caused by garbage. The waste problem is caused by various factors such as population growth, living standards changes, lifestyles and behavior, as well as how the waste management system. This study aims to determine how the role of society to levy payments garbage in Samarinda. This research was descriptive; where the data is collected then compiled, described and analyzed used relative frequency analysis. The participation of the public to pay a "levy junk", which stated to pay 96.67%, for each month and the rates stated society cheap, moderate and fairly, respectively 46.08%, 21.21%, 21.04%. Base on the data , the role of the community to pay "levy junk" quite high.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Michael Kavanagh ◽  
Susilo Wibisono ◽  
Rohan Kapitány ◽  
Whinda Yustisia ◽  
Idhamsyah Eka Putra ◽  
...  

Indonesia is the most populous Islamic country and as such is host to a diverse range of Islamic beliefs and practices. Here we examine how the diversity of beliefs and practices among Indonesian Muslims relates to group bonding and parochialism. In particular, we examine the predictive power of two distinct types of group alignment, group identification and identity fusion, among individuals from three Sunni politico-religious groups - a fundamentalist group (PKS), a moderate group (NU), and a control sample of politically unaffiliated citizens. Fundamentalists were more fused to targets than moderates or citizens, but contrary to fusion theory, we found across all groups, that group identification (not fusion) better predicted parochialism, including willingness to carry out extreme pro-group actions. We discuss how religious beliefs and practice impact parochial attitudes, as well as the implications for theoretical models linking fusion to extreme behaviour.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-100
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ali

Studies of Islam in Southeast Asia have sought to better understand its multifacetedand complex dimensions, although one may make a generalizedcategorization of Muslim beliefs and practices based on a fundamental differencein ideologies and strategies, such as cultural and political Islam.Anna M. Gade’s Perfection Makes Practice stresses the cultural aspect ofIndonesian Muslim practices by analyzing the practices of reciting andmemorizing the Qur’an, as well as the annual competition.Muslim engagement with the Qur’an has tended to emphasize the cognitiveover the psychological dimension. Perfection Makes Practice analyzesthe role of emotion in these undertakings through a combination ofapproaches, particularly the history of religions, ethnography, psychology,and anthropology. By investigating Qur’anic practitioners in Makassar,South Sulawesi, during the 1990s, Gade argues that the perfection of theQur’an as a perceived, learned, and performed text has made and remade thepractitioners, as well as other members of the Muslim community, to renewor increase their engagement with the holy text. In this process, she suggests,moods and motivation are crucial to preserving the recited Qur’an and revitalizingthe Muslim community.In chapter 1, Gade begins with a theoretical consideration for her casestudy. Drawing from concepts that emphasize the importance of feeling andemotion in ritual and religious experience, she develops a conceptualizationof this engagement. In chapter 2, Gade explains memorization within thecontext of the self and social relations. She argues that Qur’anic memorizershave a special relationship with its style and structure, as well as with thesocial milieu. Although Qur’anic memorization is a normal practice for mostMuslims, its practitioners have learned how to memorize and recite beautifullysome or all of the Qur’an’s verses, a process that requires emotion ...


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