Anthropological demography

Government initiated ‘Janani Surakshya Yojana’, a cash incentive to promote institutional deliveries and reducing maternal and infant deaths. This study examines the impact of Janani Surakshya Yojana on utilization of maternal care services among Bhils- the largest tribe of Madhya Pradesh. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 60 Primary Sampling Units (PSU) selected through Probability to Population Size (PPS) sampling technique. Overall, 1049 recently delivered women (RDWs) – women who delivered a live birth in two years preceding to the date of survey were interviewed.
The study revealed that the registration of pregnant women with ANM and utilization of atleast one ANC is satisfactory, but still less than half of women receive ANCs fewer than the recommended (atleast three) checkups during pregnancy. Though the proportion of institutional deliveries has improved considerably among Bhils, however, still most of the home deliveries are made by untrained ‘dais’ (TBA). The study further revealed that because ‘Janani Surakshya Yojana (JSY)’, not only the proportion of institutional deliveries has improved but also the postnatal checkups have changed for better. However, the quality of ANCs, PNCs and number of home visits by health workers are disappointing.

Despite remarkable worldwide progress in the field of diagnostics, curative and preventive aspects of health, still there are people living in relative isolation, in natural surroundings, maintaining a socio-cultural distance from others. The present study was carried out understand the health and treatment seeking behaviour of the youth of underprivileged tribal groups. Two UTGs were covered under the study. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used for data collection.
Result indicates that the tribal people are still inclined towards traditional health care system. Besides traditional perceptions attached to this, some other very real situations like lack of physical accessibility to the modern health care providers, distance and related time and cost factors etc play an important role in determining the treatment seeking behaviour of the tribal people. Low level of education and poor economic condition also plays crucial role. Finally, the very concept of health and illness, especially problems associated with sex related aspects, have some direct bearing on the health seeking behaviour of the people.
Thus, logical induction of traditional aspects in modern health care system is essential, which may be achieved by taking the tribal traditional dignitaries in confidence.

Evidence shows that the traditional binary classification of fertility intentions into either ‘spacing’ or ‘limiting’ cannot adequately explain the lengthening of birth intervals in some Sub-Saharan African populations. This phenomenon is thought to be a result of reproductive uncertainty within a population. Survey data suggests that birth interval lengthening is widely occurring in urban areas, where a myriad of reproductive expectations exist and women face increased economic and social instability. Using data from six focus group discussions conducted in the informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, this research examines women’s perspectives on childbearing and explores their fertility intentions in order to determine whether there is evidence of reproductive ambivalence. The results show that women desire long spaces between their births, which is a result of factors both related to, and independent of, the age of a woman’s youngest child. And, whilst they demonstrate certainty about the number of children they desire in their lifetime, it is also common to find women who have been unable to commit to these goals. Women’s intentions regarding the timing of their births and their desired numbers of children reveal reproductive ambivalence that is a result of the contradictory pressures on their households and relationships.

Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India, to reach the replacement level fertility in spite of having high infant and child mortality; high illiteracy and other unfavorable factors. This is an effort to assess such endeavors both theoretically and empirically. Results indicate that though current use of contraception has increased from 41 percent in 1992-93 to 68 percent in 2005-06, the contribution of female sterilization alone is 63 percent and almost 83 percent of women with two living children are sterilized. Status of sterilized women is higher than women using other methods of contraception. Women status in family increases with increasing years after sterilization. Findings suggest a positive association between sterilization at early age, lower fertility and women status. To surmount the intra-familial controls on them, the women is responding remarkably to family planning program herself by ending reproductive span to get higher status in the family ladder.

Motherhood and reproduction have been at the core of feminist discourses about women's rights ever since its onset. For the first and second feminist movements, the right to abortion and the public recognition of motherhood have been main issues in reproduction discourses. Since the last two decades of the 20th century, the potentials of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have opened up new venues of feminist discourse.
In this paper we sketch the main feminist lines of argumentation regarding motherhood and assisted reproduction since the 1970s, and we identify specific shifts in their recurrent issues. An essential contribution of feminism to the understanding of motherhood has been its insistence on the distinction between biological and social motherhood. ART has further decomposed biological motherhood and has altered the meaning of motherhood and reproduction. It has also shifted the focus from “quantum” (the number of children) to “timing” (when to have the wanted number of children). Despite the rhetoric of choice surrounding ART, it has not increased women’s reproductive freedom. The decomposition of biological motherhood, the medical, legal, and commercial development of reproduction, and the change in the social perception of motherhood have rather established new forms of control over female reproduction.

Caste is an integral component of Indian society. People are divided into four caste categories. The four categories are Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vashyas (upper caste people) and Shudras ( lower caste people). Historically, Shudras were not allowed to participate in selected social, economic and political activities rather were subjected for several kinds of discrimination and exploitation by upper caste people. Despite legal provisions, discrimination and exploitation are still being practiced in some or other forms. Studies have mentioned the implications of caste system on development. The caste system is as strong that it does not allow intercaste marriages in the society. However, B R Ambedkar, has opposed this preposition and said that only intercaste marriages can break the caste system and will change development paradigms. Keeping this view, the present study analyzes whether inter caste marriages can influence development indicators of India? Study used couples data from National Family Health Survey, (2005-06). It was observed that 11% couples in India have inter caste marriages. Results clearly show that there is influence of inter caste marriages on indicators of development. Therefore study suggest that there is an urgent need of promoting inter caste marriages to weaken caste system and to improve development.

This paper will focus in urban youth's strategies of political identification and participation in Algeria. It will analyze Algerian Youth's participation in debates on national identity and their use, modification and transformation of political representations in the last decade (after Civil War) as well as the current context of popular pro-democracy movements of Arab Spring. It will be composed of two sections: 1)Algerian youth's adoption and transformation of socio-historical representations (arguably Arabist vis à vis colonized and Islamist vis à vis occidentalized francisé) and debates on national identities. How do Algerian Youth respond to sociopolitical representations? How do they transform them? 2)Tensions of new social and political representations. This section will examine Algerian youth's participation in current popular movements for democratic change. What are the messages articulated by Algerian youth in the current demonstrations - since January 2011? Do youth's vindications coincide with other social movements' (as Syndicate and political parties) or can be distinguished as 'youth specific'? Can we distinguish between articulated messages by youth students and non-students' demonstrations? Are there different kind of messages of resistance or diverse politicall representations in youh movements?

This paper broaches a field of intersection between cultural geography and demography. From the notion of territorialization and deterritorialization via migratory process, this article will discuss about the concept of Topophilia by Yi-Fu Tuan and its derivatives,
applied in Roraimense reality. This unit of the Brazilian federation, which delimits the spatial area of this paper, in recent decades experienced a strong population growth (about 40% of absolute population growth between 1980 and 2000) that finds in the migratory process and in the pioneers sources of economic appropriation of space important transformers agents of landscape. The imbalance of the ethnic composition of the state caused by immigration endangers the indigenous culture which sees the fast
appropriation of space by entrepreneurial activities often performed by immigrants, this being the main conflict to be considered on this paper. The migration previously served to reinforce the military conquests, asserting itself as an effective instrument of territorialization. The study developed on this paper, will serve to draw attention of government for silent spatial dynamics and stupendously fast, truly topocide forces and what puts at risk the indigenous cultures.

International inequalities in child health are well documented by population scientists, with children growing up in rural settings in sub-Saharan Africa at the greatest risk of poor health outcomes. In contrast, the factors that determine inequalities in child health within developing rural communities that share similar levels of service provision remain poorly understood. Building on theory and previous research by anthropological and evolutionary demographers, we examine family structure (i.e. family size, polygynous marriage) and alternative rural livelihoods (i.e. farming, pastoralism, wage-labour) as determinants of child health across an ethnically diverse sample of 56 villages in northern Tanzania. Out of 3400 children, WHO standards classify 41% as stunted, 16% as underweight and 4% as wasted. Preliminary analyses confirm marked differences in child health by family structure and livelihood. Presented analyses will use multilevel modelling to determine the relative importance of these factors amid a broader set of socioeconomic and demographic determinants, and furthermore consider hypothesised interactions between family structure and household characteristics. Findings will be discussed with regard to the cultural and socioeconomic factors that determine observed patterns, along with potential policy implications.

The increasing burden of sexually transmitted diseases and the vulnerability of youth and tribal population to it have formed basis for the present study. This is part of a larger study conducted for academic purpose among 414 male tribal youth of two Primitive Tribal Groups in the state of Orissa, India namely, Juang and Lodha. Findings reveals that early age at marriage and early age at sexual debut along with pre-marital and extra-marital relations with multiple partners are serious concerns among these primitive tribal youth. Exposure to non-traditional world has changed their viewpoint that makes them lesser accountable towards their traditional life-ways. Lack of definite or diminished social system for imparting sexual knowledge is reflected in having no knowledge or incorrect knowledge about sex and related aspects among these tribal youth. Having sex with strangers or co-workers, especially as migrant labourer is also evident and this has direct bearing on sexual behaviour of the youth. It also highlights that presence or absence of youth dormitory or any institutionalised norms is not responsible for determining the sexual behaviour but it is the existence of social system like village exogamy, patterns of marriage, people’s life style and extent of social control mechanism.