Aging polpulation

Population aging is constituted by a shift in the distribution of a country’s population towards greater ages. Thus an increase in the population’s mean or median age, a decline in the fraction of the population composed of children, or a rise in the fraction of the that is elderly are all aspects of population ageing.

Population aging is a highly generalised process, it is most advanced in the most highly developed countries. Among the countries currently classified by the United Nations as more developed (with a population of 1.2 billion in 2005), the median age of the population rose from 29.0 in 1950 to 37.3 in 2000, and is forecast to rise to 45.5 by 2050. The corresponding figures for the world as a whole are 23.9 for 1950, 26.8 for 2000, and 37.8 for 2050. In Japan, one of the fastest aging countries in the world, in 1950 there were 9.3 people under 20 for every person over 65. By 2025, this ratio is forecast to be 0.59 people under 20 for every person older than 65 (United Nations, 2004).

The sources of population aging lie in two (possibly related) demographic phenomena: rising life expectancy and declining fertility. An increase in longevity raises the average age of the population by raising the number of years that each person is old relative to number of years in which he is young. A decline in fertility increases the average age of the population by changing the balance of people born recently (the young) to people born further in the past (the old). Of these two forces, it is declining fertility that is the dominant contributor to population aging in the world today (Weil, 1997).

More specifically, it is the large decline in the total fertility rate over the last half century that is primarily responsible for the population aging that is taking place in the world’s most developed countries. Because many developing countries are going through faster fertility transitions, they will experience even faster population aging than the currently developed countries in the future.

Asia and Europe are the two regions where a significant number of countries face severe population aging in the near future. In these regions within twenty years many countries will face a situation where the largest population cohort will be those over 65 and average age will be approaching 50.

Most of the developed world (with the notable exception of the United States) now has sub-replacement fertility levels, and population growth now depends largely on immigration together with population momentum which arises from previous large generations now enjoying longer life expectancy.

The effects of an aging population are considerable. Economically, older people are more likely to be saving money and less likely to be spending it on consumer goods. This leads to lower interest rates and disinflationary or even deflationary pressure. Some economists (Japan) are seeing advantages in this evolution, notably the possibility to go further in automatisation and technological development without the burden of social effects from reducing the wage labour force and unemployment. They emphasise a shift from GDP to Personal well being. It is also a start to reverse the evolution to world overpopulation.

Social welfare systems have also begun to experience problems. Earlier pay-as-you-go pension systems are now almost completely unsustainable due to population aging and the historical fact that, in some regions like Europe, they are still largely funded by taxes on labour. The largest area of expenditure in many countries is now health care and the cost of health systems will increase dramatically as populations age, a situation which will face many governments with hard choices between higher taxes, a change in tax systems (f.i. from labour to consumption) or a reduced government role in providing health care.

The second largest expenditure of most governments is education and these expenses will tend to fall with an aging population, although this may be partly offset by the increasing proportion of the young population who continue into tertiary education.

Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world, based largely on the rationale of countering population ageing. However, the economic impact of immigration to Canada can be described as mixed as best, and the C. D. Howe Institute, a conservative think tank, has suggested that immigration can not be used a viable means of countering population ageing.

1. Aging population is commonly happend in what kind of country?

2. What is the two sources of population aging? Why?

3. Which two regions may face severe population aging in the future?What will the average age be approaching?

4. List any two effects that cause by aging population.

5. Is your country facing the problem of population aging? If yes, does the government created any policy to solve this problem?

6. If you are the government of a serious population aging country, what would you do to make the situation better?

7. Do you think population aging will be a serious problem for all countries in the near future? Why?

The 7 wonders

1. I choose The Taj Mahal (1630 A.D.) Agra, India as the love story behind this palace really touches me. It is hard to believe a great emperor will only love a woman and willing to built out such a great building in order to honor the memory of his wife!! The words "Taj Mahal" means the most beautiful palace in the world. It shows that the emperor really hope kept the promise between his wife and him. It is also amazing me that twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it and it took 22 years to complete! The palace is made of white marble, and like a jewel, The Taj sparkles in moonlight when the palace catch the glow of the moon!! Most special about Taj Mahal is that it looks pinkish in the morning ,milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shine! The change of the colours just like the different mood of the woman.

2. I have been noticed about Machu Picchu (1460-1470), Peru for very long time as city remained "lost" for over three centuries!! That is so amaze!! Although it is build in very long time ago, The buildings are thought to have been planned and built under the supervision of professional Inca architects. It makes me feel esteem about the technology that the ancient Incans posses. A main factor of Machu Picchu that impress me is it built in the cloud on the mountain!! Another unique thing about Machu Picchu is the integration of the architecture into the landscape. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through cisterns and stone channels, and temples hang on steep precipices.

3. Timbuktu (12th century) Mali is very surprised me as it was a flourishing city even it is in the desert. It is unbelievable that one of the first universities is took place at here! It muat been a very rich city so the residents of the city are able to support their offspring for a higher education! Salt and Gold make this city became the wealthiest city of the world! I am always curious about the city in the desert and I hope I will have the chance to visit here.

4. From the photos of the website, The Kremlin and Red Square (1156 - 1850) Moscow, Russia is really looks like a castle in a fairy tale. The golden roof and colourful wall make it looks so unique and different from other seven wonders! Most of the important historical and political events in Russia since the 13th century are celebrate at here. It seems that Russian are think highly of Kremlin and Red square. It use to be the residence of the Great Prince and religious center as well. on Red Square, St Basil's Basilica is one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments.

5. I would like to choose The Hagia Sophia (532 - 537 A.D.) Istanbul, Turkey as I have a lots of Malays friends and it me interest about Islamic Mosques. It is one of the greatest monuments of Byzantium. Hagia Sophia was build the 6th century. It has been used as mosque for five hundreds years so it has the mosque-like appearance. In 1935, it changed into a museum and it become the most popular museum in Turkey. And it serving both Christians and Muslims.

6. Neuschwanstein Castle (1869 -1884) Schwangau, Germany is born of pure fantasy! If you have been to The Disneyland In America you will find that the Disneyland's main building looks like Neuschwanstein. The castle was decorated with scenes from medieval legends and poetry such as the legend of the swan knight lohengrin. This castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria who is the most creative German King and he has the talent in architecture. The sharp top of the tower make the palace has it's own special feature.

7. Finally, I will choose The Roman Colosseum (70-82 A.D.) Rome, Italy.The primary function of an amphitheater was to house spectacles of blood sports--gladiators combats and hunts of wild animals. Although the sport is bloody, we can not deny the beauty of the Colosseum. The amazing factor is that even it is built in ancient time, the Colosseum is shaped like a modern football stadium and could seat 45,000 spectators. Construction of the Colosseum started during the reign of Emperor Vespasian, who ruled from A.D. 69 to 79. Construction was completed in A.D. 80.

Life At Buffalo

"Is there a lot of buffalo in the city?" this is the first thought came to my mind when I heard about Buffalo. After I have arrived to this beautiful city, I found there is no buffalo but full of history, traditional innovation, and culturally and ethically diverse.

I have been study at here for around 3 weeks.The only word I could describe about UB and ELI is awesome! All the Summer ELI student who live on campus likes me are been placed in Clement Hall which is at South Campus. Unlike North Campus, South Campus has many historical buildings.When I first reached South Campus, I was really attract by those artistic edifice. For my surprise, South Campus is also a convenient place as there are a supermarket directly across the street and several restaurant within walking distance.

Our class of IEP is at North Campus. North Campus is a much more modern place with contemporary buildings and excellent facilities which provide a perfect environment for study. Something you might be felt surprise is that you can see squirrel and opossum everywhere in the campus and they are not afraid of people!

There are a lot of tourist attractions in Buffalo as well. World famous Niagara Falls must be the best attractions! The American Falls is very near to Buffalo and it really provide the beautiful scenery that all the visitors would like to see. It looks spectacular at night as it will lit with various combination of colourful lights. Able to surround by mother nature's most beautiful creation makes me feel everything will be fine.

Finally, I would like to introduce some wonderful restaurant in Buffalo. "Siena" is a restaurant sale Italian food. Their foods are delicious but the price is slightly expensive. For those who like to taste Greek Dishes, I would strongly recommend "Townes"! It has nice atmosphere and broad spaces for their customer. One attraction of this restaurant is that there is a large window on their roof, so whenever you are having your meal at there you can find yourself shower in the warmly sunshine.

Buffalo is really a great city to stay and study.Even it may not be as modern as those large city, you will find how lovely here are if you have been lived at here.

My Past Experince with Writing

In the eyes of my Secondary school English teachers, I am definitely a bad writer as I could hardly passed my English essay.However I always get high grade in my Chinese essay and even won Chinese Composition Award twice when I in school.

I think the reason is simply of word limitation. When I writing an essay in my native language, I could write as many as I want to express because I always know the best word to describe my thought. But when it comes to an English essay, I am always not able to write everything I want as the word limitation.As the result, my passages are always tend to be short and unclear.

The second problem that makes me get low grade is Grammar. I am not learn English from basic so I always make some grammar error.When I in Secondary school, our education system is really focus on grammar. My English teacher always enjoy to pick up my grammar error. One grammar rror minus one mark, after my whole paper was been examined I almost left with few marks.

Luckily my English writing is not as bad as the marks given by my teacher. I got 22/30 in my TOEFL ibt. It makes me really happy as I always think my English eaasy is hardly to pass.

I have been written many and many of differnt English essay such as narrative essay, describtive essay, poem and even formal and informal letter. From my experinces, I think the more I practice, the more I gained from my mistake.Even I have write many of essays, I still have much to learn.

I love the essay topics that talks about myself such as "My summer vocation", "An accident that change my life" etc. Indeed, I prefer to write something about myself and I am willing to share my opinion. I do not like a describtine essay especially to describe an scenery. This type of essay always makes me take hours and hours to complete.Half of the time is spent on checking dictionary.

I hope I could challenge all the difficult topics of essay and keep improve my writing skill as well.