Book Description
Zopf provides a comprehensive account of the biological components of mortality, its various forms and causes, and its many differentials. The study considers mortality among a range of populations, according to differentials such as age, gender, race, ethnic origin, socioeconomic and marital status, and urban or non-urban residence. It also traces changes in the impact of degenerative afflictions, infectious and parasitic diseases, and environmental factors. The result is a current and comprehensive treatment of changes in mortality and its causes in the United States. The many graphs and tables present succinct and clear evidence of current mortality trends, and the extensive bibliography adds to the usefulness of this work as a research tool. The text begins with an introductory overview of the components of mortality and the methods of measuring it. The following chapter analyzes mortality within the general population according to specific differentials. The study then treats patterns, trends, and causes of infant mortality. Zopf next considers the prevalence of several causes of death among different demographic groups, and he examines life expectancy for particular populations. A concluding chapter synthesizes the wealth of information contained within this work. Demographers, sociologists, and health professionals will find this volume a valuable addition to their libraries. ... Read more

Book Description
In the past two decades much attention has been focused on two major issues facing Soviet Jews: their struggle to emigrate and their efforts to practice their religion and culture within the Soviet Union. Altshuler's study provides the statistical background necessary to understand the characteristics of this Jewish population, including its occupational structure, patterns of residence, and membership in the Communist Party. He also provides important data illuminating issues of family composition and intermarriage. ... Read more

Book Description
Hispanics in the United States, numbering 22.4 million at the 1990 census, are the nation's second largest and fastest growing minority population. Although recent studies have increased our knowledge of the demographic characteristics and culture of this multiethnic population, until now there has been no comprehensive discussion of the Hispanic mortality experience, a potential key to assessing the relative health status of Spanish-origin subgroups in American society. Addressing the pressing need for more accurate, current, and comprehensive data for specific ethnic groups, this volume presents coherent research on the mortality patterns of the three largest Hispanic subgroups and, in the process, helps dispel many anecdotal or romanticized notions about Hispanic health and illness. The experts represented in this book present mortality data in five basic categories: mortality in the countries of origin; comparative mortality among Spanish-origin groups in the United States; specific causes of mortality among Spanish-origin populations; analysis of mortality data based on surname statistics; and an overview of mortality among migrants to this country as compared to patterns of death in the countries of origin. They suggest an "Hispanic pattern" of mortality, characterized by relatively low rates for the three leading causes of death and relatively high rates for selected causes, such as cirrhosis of the liver and homicide. The contributors also examine cultural and demographic intragroup differences. Their findings indicate that lifestyle, environmental and social factors, and genetic influences, must all be considered in accounting for mortality differences between the Mexican-born, Puerto Rican-born, Cuban-born, and non-Hispanics. Of the more than 80 tables in this book, many are based on unpublished vital statistics tabulations and are presented for the first time. The quantity and quality of data, the range of comparisons and analyses, together with the demographic overview, offer researchers an important resource for further studies on the interrelationship of migration, acculturation, minority status, and mortality. At the same time, the findings indicate trends and patterns in mortality among Hispanic subgroups in the United States that have important implications for public health and policy planners. ... Read more

Book Description
The traditional demographic regime of ancient Greece and Rome is almost entirely unknown; but our best chance for understanding its characteristics is provided by the three hundred census returns that survive on papyri from Roman Egypt. These returns, which date from the first three centuries AD, list the members of ordinary households living in the Nile valley: not only family members, but lodgers and slaves. The Demography of Roman Egypt has a complete and accurate catalogue of all demographically relevant information contained in the returns. On the basis of this catalogue, the authors use modern demographic methods and models to reconstruct the patterns of mortality, marriage, fertility and migration that are likely to have prevailed in Roman Egypt. They recreate a more or less typical Mediterranean population as it survived and prospered nearly two millennia ago. ... Read more

Book Description
The study of Asian historical demography has lagged behind that of its European and American counterparts for some time. This volume serves to narrow the gap by drawing together material from scholars specializing in demography across the spectrum of Asian countries. The collection divides into four parts and contains nineteen chapters covering issues on comparative perspective, fertility, disease and mortality, and marriage and family. The geographic coverage of the chapters is also wide, extending from East Asia to South Asia, with specific emphasis on Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka. Authors focus on a whole range of social groups, discussing how demographic issues affect and have affected both urban and rural dwellers from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.This volume, which is perhaps the first to bring together a number of in-depth, specialist studies on Asian population history, should prove a useful and engaging tool for both students and academics in the fields of demography, history, and Asian studies. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Population Research, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 941 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Jacob S. Siegel and David A. Swanson (eds), The Methods and Materials of Demography, Second Edition.(studies in population)
Author: Rebecca Kippen
Publication: Journal of Population Research (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 22Issue: 1Page: 97(2)

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