The Future of IVF: The New Normal in Human Reproduction

Increased demand for in vitro fertilization (IVF) due to socio-demographic trends, and supply facilitated by new technologies, converged to transform the way a substantial proportion of humans reproduce. The purpose of this article is to describe the societal and demographic trends driving increased worldwide demand for IVF, as well as to provide an overview of emerging technologies that promise to greatly expand IVF utilization and lower its cost.

GENDERIZING CONSEQUENCES OF FAMILY POLICIES IN POLAND IN 2010S: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

The aim of this paper is to analyze four reforms introduced in the Polish family system in the 2010s. The reforms were introduced as an answer to a problem of very low fertility rates, as well as instruments helping women in achieving their work-life balance. The reforms are analyzed here in terms of their (de)genderization effects on Polish mothers and fathers. The use of a genderization-degenderization axis shows that the gendered division of domestic and care work is not challenged by the reforms, but it is rather reinforced by them. It is also doubtful if the reforms will manage to reverse current demographic trends.

Demographic future of Russia in the UN forecasts: "scientific foresight" and reality

The article provides a brief history of the emergence of demographic forecasts, shows their use by the United Nations, the range of countries for which forecasts were made and are being drawn up, considers demographic forecasts that were carried out during the Soviet era and provides a detailed analysis of demographic forecasts for Russia. In contrast to the forecasts of the population of the Soviet Union as a whole, for Russia they initially began to focus on the downward dynamics. It is concluded that over two decades (1996-2015) in countries with a predominance of the Slavic ethnos (excluding the former republics of Yugoslavia), the population as a whole has decreased to 95.5%, while in countries with a predominance of the Anglo-Saxon ethnos — it increased to 123.8%. The forecasts given in the article are compared with the actual size of the population that has already taken place. Everywhere in countries with a predominance of the Slavic ethnos, the actual population is higher than the predicted, and in countries with a predominance of the Anglo-Saxon ethnos, on the contrary. Comparing the forecasts with the actual population dynamics, the conclusion is substantiated about a noticeable change in the ratio between the two groups of countries united by ethnicity, a decrease in the demographic potential of the Slavic group and its increase in the group with a predominance of the Anglo-Saxon ethnos. In the final part of the work, it is said that the presented rates of change in the population size in 35 years and then in another 50 years, arising from the UN demographic forecasts for 2050 and 2100, as well as the demographic dynamics in the 90s of the twentieth century and in the first 15 years of the new century, indicate that if Russia, like other Slavic countries do not make radical efforts and, accordingly, do not consistently take effective measures to change the demographic trends, then the same thing can happen to Russia as has happened in different centuries to many countries such as Assyria, the Hunnic Empire, etc. The current geopolitical situation in which Russia is, its status as a great power, the country's largest territory in the world, favorable geographical position and colossal natural resources, dictate the need to increase its economic, defense and, naturally, demographic potential.

Sound Biting Conspiracy: From India with “Love Jihad”

Since 2013, India has seen a remarkable growth of a conspiracy theory known as “love jihad”, which holds that Muslim men conspire to lure Hindu women for marriage to alter India’s religious demography as part of a political takeover strategy. While earlier scholarship on “love jihad” emphasizes the Hindu nationalist propagation of this conspiracy theory, this article pays equal attention to its appeal among conservative Hindus. Making its point of departure in the generative effects of speech, it argues that the “love jihad” neologism performs two logical operations simultaneously. Firstly, it fuses the long-standing Hindu anxiety about daughters marrying against their parents’ will, with the equally long-standing anxiety about unfavorable religious demographic trends. Secondly, it attributes a sinister political takeover intent to every Muslim man who casts his eyes on a young Hindu woman. To bring out these points, this article pays equal empirical attention to marriage and kinship practices as to the genealogy of, and forerunners to, the “love jihad” neologism, and develops the concept of “sound biting” to bring out its meaning-making effect.

The development of the pension system of Russia: Challenges and opportunities

Subject. This article analyzes the economic and demographic conditions for the Russian pension system’s development and the impact of the effectiveness of investment projects implementation on pension savings. Objectives. The article aims to analyze the Russian pension system’s development difficulties in terms of an unfavorable investment climate and negative demographic trends, and identify ways to propel the pension savings investing profitability increase. Methods. For the study, I used induction and deduction, and the methods of systems and statistical analyses. Results. The article offers recommendations for the development of a system of measures aimed at improving the methodological support for the preparation and implementation of management decisions on investment project management. Conclusions and Relevance. Solving the problems of the pension system through the development of voluntary pension savings is constrained by the low efficiency of the investment projects implementation. The results of the study can be used when developing legislative, organizational and methodological measures aimed at improving the efficiency of investing pension savings in investment projects implemented in the Russian Federation.

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce: Executive Order 13583 and Demographic Trends

President Obama’s 2011 Executive Order 13583 was expected to serve as a catalyst for a coordinated government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce. This order reinforced the government’s commitment to equal employment opportunity by “using the talents of all segments of society,” achieved by recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining a more diverse workforce. The order mandated the creation of a government-wide diversity and inclusion strategic plan as well as agency-specific plans. This study uses institutional theory as a lens to examine agency response to EO 13583 to articulate diversity and inclusion rationales, practices, and correlating workforce demographic trends. We examine how three federal agencies articulated diversity and inclusion practices and activities in the plans. We explore demographic workforce trends prior to, during, and after adoption of the agency diversity and inclusion plans. Together, these analyses offer evidence of varied approaches to diversity and inclusion as well as uneven progress in pursuing the letter and spirit of the order. Specifically, the articulation of agency-specific diversity goals following Executive Order 13583 does not consistently translate to enhanced workforce diversity.

Demography and public health

The health and healthcare needs of a population cannot be measured or met without knowledge of its size and characteristics. Demography is the scientific study of population and is concerned both with the measurement, or estimation, of population size and structure and with population dynamics—the interplay between fertility, mortality, and migration which determines population change. These are pre-requisites for making the forecasts about future population size and structure which largely determine the health profile of a population and should underpin public health planning. This chapter presents information on demographic methods and data sources, their application to health and population issues, information on demographic trends and their implications, and the major theories about demographic change. The aim is to illustrate and elucidate the complex inter-relationship between population change and human health.

Az oktatási részvétel előrejelzése.

Összefoglaló. Tanulmányunkban arra keressük a választ, hogy az elkövetkező évtizedekben miként befolyásolhatják a hazai demográfiai folyamatok és oktatáspolitikai beavatkozások az oktatást igénybe vevők létszámát. Népesség-előreszámításaink szerint a következő évtizedekben folytatódik a hazai népesség 1980 óta tartó csökkenése. Elemzésünkből látható, hogy hosszú távon valamennyi képzési szinten csökkeni fog a nevelési-oktatási rendszert igénybe vevők létszáma, hozzátéve, hogy az oktatáspolitikának van némi mozgástere a létszámok alakításában. A várható létszámcsökkenés jelentős megtakarítást indukálhat, a kérdés az, hogy ezt mire használjuk fel, visszaforgatjuk vagy kivonjuk az oktatási rendszerből. Summary. In our study, we seek to answer the question of how demographic trends and educational policy interventions in the coming decades may affect the number of people in education. Our population projections show that the decline in the domestic population since 1980 will continue in the coming decades. Our analysis shows that in the long term, the number of people in education and training at all levels of education will fall, adding that education policy has some room for manoeuvre in adjusting the number of students. The expected reduction in the number of students could generate substantial savings, the question is how to use them, whether to reinvest them or to withdraw them from the education system.