Canada is expecting rapid population aging over the coming decades, a fact that has led many observers to question the sustainability of its pension systems. The effects of population aging, however, could be mitigated by an extension of the working life. This article presents the results of a critical review of Canadian knowledge about the determinants of retirement age and labour-market participation of older workers. The determinants are grouped under ten “domains” covering micro, meso, and macro levels: labour market, legislation, financial factors, social position, domestic domain, human resource management, work-related factors, health, work ability, and motivation.

BACKGROUNDPressures to keep immigration rates at relatively high levels are likely to persist in most developed countries. At the same time, immigrant cohorts are becoming more and more diverse, leading host societies to become increasingly heterogeneous across multiple dimensions. For scholars who study demographic or socio-economic behaviours, the need to account for ethno-cultural "super-diversity" brings new challenges. OBJECTIVEThe main objective of this paper is to present a framework for the prospective analysis of super-diversity in several high immigration countries. METHODSWe developed microsimulation models that simultaneously project several population dimensions for Canada, the United States and countries of the European Union, with the aim of studying the consequences of alternate future population and migration trends. RESULTSThe paper presents the projected progression of three indicators of diversity: percentage of foreign-born population, percentage of the population using a non-official language at home and percentage of non-Christians. It also examines the projected changes in the CONTRIBUTIONThe microsimulation models provide much more informative results than more traditional cohort-component models to study the future effects of ethno-cultural superdiversity on high immigration countries.

Bursts of action potentials in sensory interneurons are believed to signal the occurrence of particularly salient stimulus features. Previous work showed that bursts in an identified, ultrasound-tuned interneuron (AN2) of the cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus code for conspicuous increases in amplitude of an ultrasound stimulus, resulting in behavioral responses that are interpreted as avoidance of echolocating bats. We show that the primary sensory neurons that inform AN2 about high-frequency acoustic stimuli also produce bursts. As is the case for AN2, bursts in sensory neurons perform better as feature detectors than isolated, nonburst, spikes. Bursting is temporally correlated between sensory neurons, suggesting that on occurrence of a salient stimulus feature, AN2 will receive strong synaptic input in the form of coincident bursts, from several sensory neurons, and that this might result in bursting in AN2. Our results show that an important feature of the temporal structure of interneuron spike trains can be established at the earliest possible level of sensory processing, i.e., that of the primary sensory neuron.

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Signal processing in the auditory interneuron Omega Neuron 1 (ON1) of the cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus was compared at high- and low-carrier frequencies in three different experimental paradigms. First, integration time, which corresponds to the time it takes for a neuron to reach threshold when stimulated at the minimum effective intensity, was found to be significantly shorter at high-carrier frequency than at low-carrier frequency. Second, phase locking to sinusoidally amplitude modulated signals was more efficient at high frequency, especially at high modulation rates and low modulation depths. Finally, we examined the efficiency with which ON1 detects gaps in a constant tone. As reflected by the decrease in firing rate in the vicinity of the gap, ON1 is better at detecting gaps at low-carrier frequency. Following a gap, firing rate increases beyond the pre-gap level. This "rebound" phenomenon is similar for low- and high-carrier frequencies.

BACKGROUND Population ageing is unavoidable in Europe, but perhaps its impact on labor force is not. In the context of a new demographic regime of high immigration and low fertility, differentials in labor force participation and educational attainment can be more consequential for the labor force than either the number of immigrants or structure of the overall population. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to investigate how improvements in both educational attainment (especially among children with a low educated mother or an immigration background) and labor force participation (especially of women and immigrants) could impact the future labor force in the European Union. METHODS We used a microsimulation model called CEPAM-Mic to project the labor force of EU28 countries. CEPAM-Mic incorporates heterogeneity among different groups and allows the development of alternative scenarios concerning educational attainment and labor force participation of disadvantaged groups. RESULTS Removing inequalities between subgroups in educational attainment and labor force participation drastically changes the prospective labor force size and labor force dependency ratio (LFDR) in the EU. Assuming perfect equality, the anticipated decline

Many developed countries have turned to immigration in order to mitigate the consequences of population aging, particularly the expected decline in the labor force population. Yet, few projection models take in consideration explicitly the differentials in labor force participation of population subgroups. This paper describes the labor force participation module of CEPAM-Mic, which is a microsimulation model that projects several demographic, ethnocultural, and socioeconomic dimensions of the EU28 member countries population. Then, the microsimulation model is used to project EU labor force population for the period 2015-2060 under different scenarios illustrating how implementing sex-and country-specific dynamics of immigrants' integration may affect the future labor force in terms of size, rates, and gender composition. We estimated the parameters of the labor force module using logistic regressions based on the EU-Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS). In addition to age, sex, and education, immigrant-related variables are also included, such as immigrant status, place of birth, age at immigration, and duration of residence in the estimation of the probability of being active. Our results demonstrate the importance of taking into account differentials in labor force participation of population subgroups when asserting the potential of immigration as a tool for managing population aging. In the European context, adding immigration differentials in labor force participation affects mainly downward the number of female immigrants in the labor force, while smaller differences are observed for male immigrants. An increase in immigration levels leads obviously to an increase in the total labor force size, but may also widen gender inequalities in labor force participation and has limited impact on the total labor force participation rate. Our findings suggest that relying on immigration as a tool to alleviate economic issues arising from population aging must imperatively be accompanied by strong and efficient measures to promote a full economic integration of immigrants.

l’immigration prend une importance accrue dans la croissance démographique québécoise et, selon Statistique Canada, 30 % des résidents de la région métropolitaine de recensement de Montréal pourraient être nés à l’étranger en 2031. Les allophones sont appelés à prendre une place plus importante numériquement et leurs choix linguistiques auront donc un effet accru sur l’équilibre du Québec. L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser les facteurs démographiques, ethnoculturels et socio-économiques associés à une transition linguistique intergénérationnelle vers l’une ou l’autre des deux langues officielles, au moyen d’une régression logistique appliquée aux microdonnées du recensement canadien de 2006. L’analyse porte sur les familles composées de deux parents de sexe opposé et au moins d’un enfant âgé de moins de 15 ans. Les résultats mettent en évidence l’effet des dispositions de la Charte de la langue française (loi 101) pour expliquer les choix linguistiques des allophones, ainsi que l’importance de la sélection d’immigrants francotropes. Néanmoins, l’attrait de l’anglais demeure important pour les allophones s’établissant au Québec, surtout chez les plus éduqués et parmi les classes socioprofessionnelles les plus favorisées.Immigration is playing a larger part in demographic growth in Quebec ; according to Canada Statistics, by 2031 30 % of residents of the metropolitan census area of Montreal may be born outside the area. Allophones will be numerically more important, and their linguistic choices will therefore have an increased effect on the demolinguistic balance of Quebec. The aim of this article is to analyse the demographic, ethno-cultural and socio-economic factors associated with intergenerational linguistic transfer to one or the other of the two official languages, using a logistic regression applied to the micro-data of the 2006 Canadian census. The analysis is of families made up of two parents of opposite sexes and at least one child aged under 15. The results demonstrate the effects of the provisions of the Charte de la langue française (law 101) in explaining the linguistic choices of allophones, and also the importance of the selection of Francotrope immigrants. However the attraction of English remains significant for allophones settling in Quebec, especially for the most highly educated and for the better-off socio-professional classes