The Population Institute’s Sustainable World Initiative

 

Sustainable World Initiative
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A non-profit executive with a longstanding knowledge of world issues such as reproductive health, environmental sustainability, and global migration (emigration and immigration), William “Bill” Ryerson is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Population Institute. As the head of the international NGO, Bill Ryerson works to stabilize population growth worldwide and establish sustainable use of the world’s resources.

The Population Institute sponsors a broad range of programs, including the Sustainable World Initiative. By the 1980s, human activity reached 100 percent of the earth’s capacity of natural resources. Since then, that number has grown to approximately 140 percent, making continued human activity unsustainable at its current levels. In addition to decreasing our ability to raise living standards for at-risk populations in developing countries, the global “overshoot” threatens the viability of ecosystems across the globe.

To counteract this trend, the Population Institute educates the public and the media about a wide variety of population and sustainability issues. The Sustainable World Initiative focuses on areas that have the greatest impact on vulnerable populations, such as loss of biodiversity and water shortages. The initiative also works with economists to forecast the effects of continued population growth.

Population News Strategy Educates US Public on Population Issues

 

Population Media Center
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The founder of multiple international and domestic organizations advocating global health and wellness, William “Bill” Ryerson is well-versed in complex social issues such as reproductive health, human rights, and migration (immigration and emigration). Bill Ryerson also serves as the founder of the Population Media Center (PMC), which utilizes entertainment-education to improve health and wellness worldwide. Its initiatives includes the Population News Strategy.

PMC launched Population News Strategy in September 2008 as a means of educating the American public on a range of domestic and international population challenges. The program explores national issues regarding population and its environmental impacts by prompting conversations on radio, TV talk shows, and distributed editorial columns. Furthermore, materials emphasize the importance of fostering a healthy dialogue about these issues in the US.

A selection of population authorities work in close collaboration with PMC to create content for the Population News Strategy. For instance, PMC collaborated with the Roper Poll in 2008 to conduct a national survey on population growth and national awareness. According to the results, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 possessed a better understanding of the effects of population growth on environments and resources than their elders.

Hilkor – A Nepali Radio Drama by Population Media Center

 

Hilkor
Image: populationmedia.org

As president of Population Media Center (PMC), William (Bill) Ryerson monitors the international discussion on human population and migration (emigration and immigration). Bill Ryerson has developed many projects at PMC that address the causes of population growth.

PMC uses the power of serial dramas on the radio, TV, and Internet to spread its positive messages. These programs raise awareness about important matters such as education for girls, reproductive health, women’s rights, and other issues that are tied to positive outcomes in developing regions.

PMC produces programming around the world, focusing on areas where women have limited reproductive and economic freedoms. One area of interest is Nepal, a nation where early marriage is ubiquitous.

In Nepal, PMC produced a radio drama called Hilkor, or Ripples in the Water. Hilkor discusses child marriage, gender inequality, and domestic violence through the stories of four men and the women in their families. Through a series of either good or bad choices, the men’s stories illustrate the consequences of some of the darker social traditions in Nepal.

Hilkor aired 104 episodes between April 2016 and 2017, reaching listeners across more than 40 radio stations and sparking conversations about these serious issues.

Possible Issues That May Be Caused By Population Growth

Population Media Center
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Through his work with Population Media Center (PMC), Bill Ryerson has shined a spotlight on a number of concerns. Though knowledgeable about migration (immigration and emigration), Bill (William) Ryerson’s focus as president and founder of PMC is on population growth and the issues that surround it, such as gender equity, sexual education, and environmental protection.

Many consider population growth as contributing to a number of challenges. For example, consumption of resources tends to increase as populations rise. The general consensus is that higher reliance on fossil fuels could also lead to a number of environmental issues, such as climate change.

Some experts suggest it may also have an effect on the ecosystem, as population growth may stress existing developed areas to the point where they need to be expanded. This can lead to natural animal habitats being destroyed.

There are also a number of other difficulties that population growth is often cited as contributing to, such as higher levels of unemployment and costs of living due to imbalances in supply and demand.

To find out more, visit Population Media Center at www.populationmedia.org/.

Contraception for Women – Frequently Asked Questions

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
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William Ryerson is the founder and president of Population Media Center. Coming from a background in population dynamics, Bill Ryerson is knowledgeable about human migration (emigration and immigration) as well as the ways family planning affects populations.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes rules about contraception that make most birth control methods free for most women in the United States. To learn more about your rights as a patient, keep reading.

Question: Which methods of female birth control are covered?
Answer: All FDA-approved birth control methods are covered for women. This includes barrier methods, hormonal and implanted methods, and surgical sterilization.

Question: Are any methods not covered?
Answer: While emergency contraception methods such as Ella and Plan B are covered, abortions and procedures meant to induce abortions are not.

Question: Are some employers exempt from these rules?
Answer: Yes. Religious employers such as churches are not required to cover family planning. Religious nonprofit organizations do not have to provide coverage for these services, but employees can access them through a third party at no cost. Short-term plans and some plans purchased before 2010 may also be exempt.

The Sabido Methodology

Sabido Methodology
Image: populationmedia.org

As the president of Population Media Center, Bill Ryerson supports a number of initiatives that encourage responsible family planning to help stabilize human populations at levels that are congruent with natural resources. Bill Ryerson is also an expert on various fields related to global demography including migration (emigration and immigration) dynamics, fertility, contraception and age-structure. His organization has produced a number of dramatic radio and television series that promote healthy behavior through relatable characters. Population Media Center creates these characters and the programs in which they appear using the Sabido methodology.

The roots of the Sabido methodology originate from the 1949 Shannon and Weaver model, which traces the circular nature of the communication process. Sabido applies this model to the serial drama. In a commercial soap opera, for example, the traditional communicator is the manufacturer of a product that communicates a message of buy this product to the receiver/consumer. When the consumer purchases the touted product, the soap opera will continue to receive ad revenue. Therefore, the circuit is completed.

Sabido goes on to complicate this circular model by considering communication among audience members. This two-step flow theory of communication states that media messages will have significant impact upon a relatively small group of receivers, who will then communicate an embedded message to others. In this way, audience members will often enter into discussions on important social issues in a manner that is similar to those of the on-air characters that inspired them.

Meditation Processes of Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory
Image: simplypsychology.org

As founder and chief executive officer of the Population Media Center, William “Bill” Ryerson is experienced in using entertainment-education media for social change. Also knowledgeable in migration (immigration and emigration), women’s equality, and population stabilization, Bill Ryerson received the Nafis Sadik Award for Courage from the Rotarian Action Group for Population Growth and Sustainable Development. Mr. Ryerson’s efforts toward sustainable population are centered on the Sabido behavior change methodology.

Developed by Miguel Sabido, the Sabido methodology relies on five communication and behavior theories in addition to Sabido’s Theory of the Tone: the Shannon and Weaver’s Communication Model, Bentley’s Dramatic Theory, Jung’s Theory of Archetypes/Stereotypes and the Collective Unconscious, MacLean’s Concept of the Triune Brain, and the Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura.

Generally thought to serve as a link between learning theories such as behaviorism and cognitive approaches, Social Learning Theory maintains that individuals do not automatically observe and imitate behavior. Meditational processes occur prior to imitation and are central to influencing behavior and include. These processes include the following:

1. attention: noticing a behavior
2. retention: remembering a behavior
3. reproduction: imitating a behavior
4. motivation: having the will to imitate a behavior, influenced by related rewards and punishments

For additional information on Social Learning Theory and the meditational processes, visit www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html.

About Bill Ryerson

Bill Ryerson, Immigration

Possessing knowledge of population and migration (immigration and emigration) issues, Bill Ryerson leads operations as president and chief executive officer of Population Media Center (PMC).