@sdafable
Joint postgrad researcher at the University of St Andrews and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. Studying the intersections of intergenerational relationships, ageing, space, and health. https://sdafable.weebly.com/
A recent study led by @jo-hale.bsky.social finds causal evidence that reducing social isolation, especially among those living alone, has a protective effect against cognitive decline. The mechanism, however, goes beyond addressing loneliness.
π Learn more: academic.oup.com/psychsocgero...
The MigrantLife project officially comes to an end this month! Earlier today, together with our colleagues at @phrg-standrews.bsky.social, we looked back on and celebrated our achievementsβand the many people who contributed to the projectβs success πΎ
How age-diverse are Scotland's neighbourhoods? Colleagues at @cpc-cg.bsky.social, led by Rachel Wilkie, find that age segregation is highest in urban areas and lowest in remote small towns. Read more about how this diversity has changed β and why it matters: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
A recent study by Michaela Ε Ε₯astnΓ‘, @jmikolai.bsky.social, Nissa Finney, and Katherine Keenan typologises complex family trajectories in the UK from the perspective of children up to age 10. @childlives.bsky.social
Job alert πΌ The School of Geography and Sustainable Development is seeking to appoint a Research Fellow to work on the project βIdentities, Migration and Democracyβ (We-ID) with Prof Hill Kulu and Dr. @sarahchristison.bsky.social.
More details here: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Delighted to share this very important article with sobering results relevant for all migration researchers worldwide.
Lead by @carrasco-jig.bsky.social, together with @mariegodin.bsky.social, @cvar-sil.bsky.social and yours truly.
Open Access here:
doi.org/10.1057/s415...
We are kicking off the week by celebrating several new publications βοΈ from the @migrantlife.bsky.social project -- all published in the last few weeks!
Meanwhile, @sdafable.bsky.social presented the last chapter of his PhD, which examines how distance to adult children influences parental health in Finland. @cpc-cg.bsky.social
@phrg-standrews.bsky.social @standrewssgsd.bsky.social @sdafable.bsky.social @parthpandya.bsky.social
Anyone else having trouble accessing the EPC2026 submission site? @eaps.bsky.social
New publication βοΈ Recent work by @jmikolai.bsky.social, Hill Kulu, and @ischiathere.bsky.social, together with Isaure Delaporte, unveils the interrelationship between fertility and employment changes among migrant populations across three major migrant recipient countries in Europe.
N-IUSSP: Families and households
Socioeconomic inequalities and single womenβs entry into parenthood in Belgium
www.niussp.org/family-and-h...
#demography
#populationstudies
Visa applications are generally stressful, but for some reason it's a lot more difficult here in the UK. Today's experience was like being stripped naked in front of a colonial master.
Thank heavens my day is saved by Edinburgh's mesmerizing autumn colors.
Job Offer: PhD Student Position
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the
@mpidr.bsky.social +
@imprs-phds.bsky.social
invite applications for a 4-year PhD position. The studentship is not limited to specific topics. Apply until November 17!
www.demogr.mpg.de/en/career_61...
π¨ Another paper from my PhD is out! We looked at disease accumulation across birth cohorts in South Korea π doi.org/10.1093/gero...
β Birth cohorts defined by historical context: Japanese annexation (1932-1944), Korean liberation (1945-1949), Korean War (1950-1953), and Post-war (1954-1961)
In Sweden, PhD students have similar rates of psychiatric medication use to a matched sample before starting their PhD; psychiatric medication use increases sharply during the PhD, but then drops after graduation
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
π’ Publication Alert
I am thrilled to share that a new article from my PhD thesis, Industrial Structure Rationalisation, Upgrading, and the Geography of Intercity Migration in China, has just been published in Population, Space and Place.
π Read the article here: doi.org/10.1002/psp....
A strong quality for a good researcher is the ability to sometimes ignore small details, and sometimes delves into them with the greatest care, and more importantly to being able to switch wisely between the two modes.
Big congratulations, Ali! π
Many thanks to my amazing supervisors and co-authors Y. Vierboom, M. Evans, @jmikolai.bsky.social, H. Kulu, and M. MyrskylΓ€. Special thanks as well to the @imprs-phds.bsky.social and @cpc-cg.bsky.social for the support!
Amid welfare retrenchment in many countries, the findings of this study point to the importance of centering family networks, home-based care, and ageing in place in discussions of residential (im)mobilities in later life.
Population ageing raises the question of where and with whom people live as they grow older. We find that the answers can be different but also in many ways similar for parents and childless adults, especially when they face physiological health challenges.
Hot off the press π₯ My first PhD chapter is now published as a research article in Population, Space and Place! @mpidr.bsky.social @phrg-standrews.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Proud winners of the #BSPS2025 conference quiz!
Image shows screen grab of publication information: Advances in Life Course Research Available online 29 August 2025, 100703 In Press, Journal Pre-proof Advances in Life Course Research Heterogeneity or disadvantage? Partnership, childbearing, and employment trajectories of the descendants of immigrants in the United Kingdom JΓΊlia Mikolai, Hill Kulu https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2025.100703 Highlights β’ European/Western descendants and natives have similar trajectories. β’ Caribbeans have diverse family patterns, but similar employment to natives. β’ South Asians have conservative family patterns and low labour market attachment. β’ Heterogeneous family trajectories co-exist with low labour market participation.
π NEW @migrantlife.bsky.social paper by @jmikolai.bsky.social and Hill Kulu, published in Advances in Life Course Research
Investigates how #partnership, #fertility, and #employment changes interact in the lives of #immigrantsβ descendants in the UK: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
βWe explain that secular transition happens in three steps: first, public ritual participation declines; second, the importance of religion to individuals declines; and third, people shed religious affiliationβ
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
It would be interesting to look at how parents and children maximize, if at all, their close proximity in response to health challenges. My first chapter, also published as an MPIDR working paper, and my third ongoing project aim to answer this.
www.demogr.mpg.de/en/publicati...
We find that parents live within 30 minutes of car journey to their nearest child. Modest evidence of their growing spatial separation is due to structural drivers, including educational expansion and increasing rates of divorce. @phrg-standrews.bsky.social @mpidr.bsky.social
A key innovation of this study lies in the application of OpenStreetMap to calculate more realistic distances, & we also pay attention to the gender dynamics between parents and children, e.g., mothers live closer to their sons, while father-daughter pairs are living the farthest.
I am happy to share that my second PhD chapter is now published as an @mpidr.bsky.social working paper. Using Finland's population register data, we study more recent trends in older parents' proximity to their adult childrenβa conduit of support in later life.
www.demogr.mpg.de/en/publicati...