Suchergebnisse

BackgroundBirthweights are found to be significantly greater on Scottish islands compared to mainland Scotland. This 'island effect' remains even after adjusting for numerous confounding factors (e.g. ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, smoking, pollutants) that dissolve any significant correlation between locations of varying degrees of rurality and birthweight on the mainland. An unexplored factor is therefore indicated to be conferring a protective advantage for maternal/foetal health on the islands.
ObjectivesMy (PhD) project intends to investigate the island effect. Its dominant discourse will concern the social worlds derived from living in communities of such unique physical geography, most notably the islands' remoteness. I am interested in how the physical and social character of island communities is distinguishable from those on the mainland and may consequently advantage maternal and foetal health via mediating psychosocial mechanisms.
MethodsI have recruited a mixed-methods approach. A quantitative phase will use R coding software to analyse a number of administrative datasets linked to census data obtained from the Scottish Longitudinal Study. Secondly, a more qualitative fieldwork phase will apply immersive, interview and participant observation techniques on three of the islands (Skye, N.Uist, Shetland) in order to enhance the project's overall insights and subsequent conclusions.
FindingsThis project is pending. Currently in its first of three years allocated for completion, there are no significant outputs to date.
ConclusionsIt is hypothesised that the islands' physical circumstances may scaffold particular social values and practices that enhance psychosocial benefits gained from greater informational, instrumental, and emotional support that together comprise greater social capital. If this is the case, the project will illustrate the role and importance of place as socially experienced, with meaningful effects upon psychological and (thereby) physical health outcomes.

Among the 14 Pacific island countries (PICs), which are members of the inter- governmental organization known as Pacific Islands Forum, six countries have independent currencies five of them, namely Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu have fixed exchange rate regimes and the sixth country namely Papua New Guinea has a flexible exchange rate regime. The other eight are dollarized economies, having adopted one of the currencies of Australia, New Zealand and the United States. This paper investigates whether the purchasing parity power theory holds in regard to five countries under fixed exchange rate regimes. Our findings show that long-run PPP hypothesis hold for all five PICs. ; peer-reviewed

International audience ; This article presents a theory of aid as trade. I assume that aid is a payment for an invisible export of strategic services to a large donor country seeking diplomatic goodwill and exclusive strategic use of a small country's territory, oceanic space and airspace. In a formal two countries-two goods model, the strategic service is produced with a higher productivity in the small country/island because of its geographic location (close to a potential enemy of the large country, for example). The other good is a composite manufactured good produced with higher productivity in the large country. There are gains from international trade that can be obtained by both countries, and divided between them. The citizen of both countries are better off: a lower cost for defense of the large industrial country, and a geostrategic rent for the citizen of the small country, enabling them to finance a deficit of the official balance of goods and services.

International audience ; This article presents a theory of aid as trade. I assume that aid is a payment for an invisible export of strategic services to a large donor country seeking diplomatic goodwill and exclusive strategic use of a small country's territory, oceanic space and airspace. In a formal two countries-two goods model, the strategic service is produced with a higher productivity in the small country/island because of its geographic location (close to a potential enemy of the large country, for example). The other good is a composite manufactured good produced with higher productivity in the large country. There are gains from international trade that can be obtained by both countries, and divided between them. The citizen of both countries are better off: a lower cost for defense of the large industrial country, and a geostrategic rent for the citizen of the small country, enabling them to finance a deficit of the official balance of goods and services.

The Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are two archipelagos that form part of Spain and the European Union. Both are autonomous communities, with institutions that foist administrative peculiarities on their respective archipelagos. Each of the islands has an island council as a governing and administrative body with specific competences to be developed in its territory. The creation of the island councils of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands represents a specificity within the insular framework of the European Union. Their evolution has been uneven since cabildos were created in the Canary Islands in 1912 and consells in the Balearic Islands in 1978; but currently they have a similar position in the overall archipelagos and in the Spanish legal framework. This article tracks the common evolution of the island councils, as well as their current development and future prospects.

When an island, an isolated space, is connected to land or other islands, it brings many changes. In other words, the change in traffic conditions is an important variable altering and determining the characteristics of the island. The objectives of this study were to examine the changes in the island region due to the construction of the land to island bridge and propose policy measures for the sustainable development of the changing island society. It is undeniable that the opening of the land to island bridge has a profound impact on the lives of islanders, the economic conditions of the island, and the environment. They change the island as fast as the dramatic change in transportation (from ships to cars). Although it is impossible to go against this trend, it is necessary to ponder the conservation of each island's unique value, the ontology of the island, before constructing the land to island bridge. If so, what should be prepared to create a sustainable island society after opening the land to island bridge? First, sufficient discussion should be made on the construction of the land to island bridge. Second, when the land to island bridge will be constructed, it is needed to increase the receptive capacity of the islanders during the construction period. Third, a long-term development plan specifically for the island should be established before the land to island bridge is completed. Fourth, it is necessary to develop content using local resources instead of letting outsiders consume island space. Fifth, the changing island society must prepare a third place for maintaining the community.