No. 56, Journal of Population Studies Published: 2018.06


Contents


Awaiting translation

Research Articles

DOI : 10.6191/JPS.201806_56.0001

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Keywords: Taiwan under Japanese Rule, family structure, family division
Abstract
The family is the fundamental unit of social organization in traditional Han Chinese society. Family structure therefore is a core topic in Sinology. General speaking, there are three family types: conjugal, stem, and extended forms. The extended form consisting of a couple, their married and unmarried sons and daughters, and the third-generation offspring has traditionally been thought of as the ideal type of family. A family starts with a conjugal unit, and further develops into a stem and/or an extended form. Family division is a process that usually transforms a family into a smaller type with fewer family members. In the present study, the researchers are particularly interested in learning who divided themselves from their original families and created their own, and who did not. Data are drawn from the "Taiwan Historical Household Registers Database, 1906-1945 (THHRD)." Because Taiwan generally is a patriarchal and patrilineal society, we particularly investigate the likelihood of family division of male actors. Specifically, the research focuses on the factors at the individual level and those representing family structure, and explores their effects on the likelihood of family division. Based on two data analysis approaches, including the prevalence of family division by individual and family structure characteristics, and the event history analysis approach, we find that, first, personal demographic characteristics such as birth order and marital status matter. Second, the proportion of married male siblings within a family and the presence of parents are also associated with the likelihood of family division. However, our findings are slightly different from the research in the second half of the 20th century. Our explanation for the disparity is because of the change of social and economic structure which affects the timing and the process of family division.

DOI : 10.6191/JPS.201806_56.0002

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Keywords: active aging, elderly learning population, elderly learning center, spatial clustering, geographic accessibility
Abstract
Improving the elderly's motivation to learn will help achieve the goals of "healthy aging" and "active aging." Improving the quality of life of the elderly requires not only medical care but also increased opportunities for social participation through social activities aiming to improve mental flexibility, and linking social support networks, thereby enhancing mental health. Therefore, the geographic accessibility of learning resources is one of the most important factors influencing the elderly's ability to participate socially. In this study, methods of spatial clustering analysis and linear correlation were applied, and a new three-step method for assessing geographic accessibility was proposed. All data were derived from the Taiwanese government's open data of 2009 and 2017. The data on resource supply points were based on the number of elderly learning centers. The amount of the population in need of elderly learning centers was calculated from the non-disabled population aged 55 years or older in 2017. Results of this study showed an inconsistency between the density of the population in need of learning centers and the geographical distribution of elderly learning centers. Firstly, according to spatial clustering analysis and linear correlation, the correlation coefficient was lower in 2017 than in 2009. Secondly, the lowest resource ownership rates of elderly learning centers were in the larger cities (Taipei City, Taoyuan City, New Taipei City, Chiayi City, and Hsinchu City). The largest average values of the nearest distances to services were in the countryside (Taitung County, Nantou County, Hualien County, Chiayi County, and Yilan County). These results showed that policies should be redesigned based on different counties' situations. This study was based on open governmental data and proposed an easy assessment method with no need for complicated network analysis. Our methodology and results illustrate possibilities for elderly learning policy planning and implementation to reduce elderly learning centers' resourceallocation inequality and enhance the geographic accessibility of elderly learning.

DOI : 10.6191/JPS.201806_56.0003

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Keywords: disabled elderly, elderly family, elderly caregiver, census
Abstract
Taiwan became an aged society in 2018, and the phenomenon of aging of caregivers has also become more common. However, the demographic attributes of family members, disabled family members, caregivers in elderly families, and the characteristics of elderly families have not been systematically discussed yet. Based on the 2010 population and household census data, this paper focuses on the elderly, and depicts their potential living situations by examining the state of individual disabilities and family kinship within households. The research findings are as follows: (1) Elderly people in elderly families account for about 47.5% of the total elderly population. Compared to other types of elderly families, elderly persons in single families are generally much healthier and have lower degrees of disability; (2) The predominant form of care is the wife taking care of her husband; this demonstrates the phenomenon of feminization of caregiving in husband-and-wife families; (3) The greater the parent-child family size is, the less care burden the family endures. Therefore, the care burden is the heaviest in one-parent-one-child families; and moreover, (4) Elderly parent- child families also contain oldest-old parent to take care of the youngold children and may indicate higher care demand in the future. This is an exploratory study aiming to assess the risk states of caregivers among elderly families. The findings hopefully can enhance the well-being of elderly people and assist the government in allocating local long-term care.

Academic Event Reports

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Book Review

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