bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethnic differneces in twinning rates in Nigeria
Authors: Nylander P. P. S.
Published: July 2008

A study was made of twinning rates in mothers of different ethnic origin delivered in two hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria; the great majority were of Western Nigerian origin. The twinning rates in mothers of Western, Eastern, Mid-Western and Northern Nigerian origin were 45, 45, 31 and 21/1000 maternities, respectively. The monozygotic twinning rates determined by sex, placentation, blood groups and other genetically determined markers in the different ethnic groups varied very little, the differences in the overall twinning rates being mainly due to variation in the dizygotic rates. The effect of factors such as hospital selection and maternal age and parity on the observed incidence of twinning is discussed.
Historical population movement and gene flow in Northumberland parishes
Authors: Dobson T. , Roberts D. F.
Published: July 2008

Isolation of human populations, leading to genetic divergence, is well documented in island settlements and religious isolates. Demonstration or measurement of isolation is more difficult in mainstream populations. An attempt has been made to assess such isolation by simple methods of aggregate analysis from readily available data. The limitations of the data and methods of analysis are fully appreciated, but it seems that differences between areas are detectable. Hence the methods, simple as they are, warrant further application to other communities. The analyses, both of surnames and of marriage movement data, indicate limited gene flow in Northumberland in the 18th century. Such gene flow as did occur came mainly from neighbouring communities, and there was very little long-distance inflow. There was thus a high degree of population constancy and localization in Northumberland in the 18th century. This could well be a contributory factor promoting the known genetic variability of the area.
Sterilization of the Female: A Positive Approach to Family Limitation
Authors: Buckle A. E. R. , Loung K. C.
Published: July 2008

A study has been made of the effect of a vigorous family planning campaign on one particular aspect of family limitation, namely female sterilization. The increase in numbers seeking operation suggests that, over the country as a whole, the method is not being employed as often as it could be, though it is emphasized that operation, as well as other methods of contraception, are not likely to make impact on the population problem unless there is a defined national policy.
Selection of a family planning method: a Philippine example
Authors: Ballweg John A.
Published: July 2008

The sample under consideration in this study was composed of 3445 women who accepted some method of pregnancy prevention after consultation with the National Family Planning organization in the Republic of the Philippines. Subjects were divided into four groups: those women who used an oral contraceptive, women using the IUD, women practising the rhythm method, and those who relied on other methods of birth control.

This study attempted to reveal sources of information on family planning and reasons for acceptance of a birth control method, as well as the woman's actual and ideal family size and the interval since her last pregnancy. In addition, the relationship between the woman's educational level and the type of technique selected and husband's occupation as a correlate of the method chosen were also investigated.

The findings appear to suggest, among other things, that women near the end of the child-bearing years were less likely to select one of the more effective methods. Women with large families and those who reported the desire for no additional children tended to favour the more reliable techniques. Surprisingly, the two measures of status failed to reveal significant relationships with the selection of a given technique.
A note on birth weight correlation in full sibs
Authors: Billewicz W. Z.
Published: July 2008

Birth weight correlation in full sibs is estimated from data for 4229 sibships. It is shown that, when it is necessary to adjust individual observations before the calculation of familial correlations, the genetic implications of the method of choice should be examined. It is shown that full sib correlation increases from 0·47 to 0·52 for unadjusted birth weights when the weight of the first born is excluded. After adjustments for sex, parity, gestation and changes in maternal weight a correlation of 0·56 is obtained.
The limits of acceptable family size: evidence from Melbourne, Australia
Authors: Ware Helen
Published: July 2008

The data in this paper are drawn from interviews with a probability sample of 2652 once-married women under the age of 60 currently living with their husbands in 1971 in metropolitan Melbourne. Although drawing from other material from the 2½ hr interviews the discussion concentrates upon the family size ideals of these wives. In addition to the customary measures of ideal family size, new measures of the upper and lower limits of acceptable family size are described, together with the reactions of the whole sample to a wide range of specified family sizes and the reasons for accepting or rejecting them. It is shown that the eventual achievement of zero population growth will almost certainly depend upon the two-child family becoming the norm for the great majority of couples, since childless or one-child marriages are desired by only 2% of couples. Currently, however, 20% of wives consider two-child families to be undesirably small. The marked religious, country of origin and educational differentials in acceptance of the two-child family are also discussed.
Sexuality, birth control and abortion: a decision-making sequence
Authors: Diamond Milton , Steinhoff Patricia G. , Palmore James A. , Smith Roy G.
Published: July 2008

A matched group of women who conceived during a 2-month period in 1971 was used to trace some parameters involved in their decision to carry their pregnancies to term or to seek an abortion.

Several specific indices to the decision were considered: whether coitus was anticipated; whether the pregnancy was planned; whether birth control methods were used; and how the pregnancy ended. The effects of age, marital status, religion, reasons for the abortion or carrying the pregnancy to term, and attitude towards a possible delivery were also studied.

It was found that coitus was anticipated by the majority of women, but pregnancy was unplanned for. Two-thirds of the women who did not want to become pregnant were not using a contraceptive method; yet, regardless of whether pregnancy was planned or unplanned, one of three women chose to have an abortion.

Among the most common reasons for women indicating that contraceptive measures were not used were: ‘I didn't want sex to seem planned’ and ‘I thought I was in a safe period’. The decision to have an abortion usually depended upon the woman's marital status, age, religion, and previous use of birth control. Surprisingly, among women who had not planned to become pregnant, the percentage of women choosing abortion was the same from both subgroups of women who used or did not use contraception. It was also surprising that no strong relationship seemed to exist between the type of contraceptive technique used and the decision to have an abortion.

Women who planned ahead to have an abortion if they became pregnant were more often using contraception; thus for these women abortion was not a primary method of family planning but a back-up for failed contraception. Women who had their babies, infrequently considered abortion as an alternative.

It was predicted and found true that women who positively viewed the prospect of having a child chose to carry the pregnancy to term while those who expressed unhappiness at having a baby chose abortion. Unexpectedly, we found the overwhelming majority of women who claimed ‘I would be neither happy nor unhappy to have this baby’ chose to have an abortion. Thus a woman's so-called neutral statement regarding a desire was generally seen not to be neutral.

Our use of a pregnant population of women who conceived at the same time (conception cohort) for the analysis of the decision of whether to have an abortion or carry to term, when abortion is legal, thus seemed to be feasible and practical.
A note of the distribution of marriage distance among the santals in the neighbourhood of Giridih, Bihar
Authors: Basu Amitabha
Published: July 2008

Marriage distance is an important variable in human genetics. The distribution of marriage distance has been studied among the Santals, a large agricultural tribe of eastern India, in the neighbourhood of Giridih, Bihar. A Type III Pearsonian curve was fitted to the observed distribution; the fit was found to be good. Possible explanations have been suggested for the distribution pattern among the Santals and for the difference with respect to this pattern between the Santals and other populations.
Spontaneous Abortion and Birth Order
Authors: James William H.
Published: July 2008

It is well established that, in general, pregnancies at advanced maternal ages or of advanced birth order are at greater risk of aborting spontaneously. It does not follow that each individual woman, as she proceeds through her reproductive life, becomes steadily more prone to abort. The present paper attempts to analyse evidence on how individual women's abortion probabilities vary during their reproductive lives. Statistical examination of the data suggests that:

1. A spontaneous abortion in a given birth rank is more likely than a live birth in the same rank to be followed by a further pregnancy. Abortion-prone women have more pregnancies than other women.

2. There is no significant overall tendency for spontaneous abortions to appear early or late in sibships even when account is taken of the reproductive compensation reported above.

3. Pathological examination of spontaneously aborted fetuses suggests that more (perhaps many more) than 10% of spontaneous abortions (e.g. those associated with trisomy and maternal isoimmunization) are causally associated with advanced maternal age or birth order.

4. The mean maternal age of spontaneously aborted fetuses which fail to grow in culture is higher than that of fetuses which are successfully cultured.

One would infer:

A. (from suggestions 1 and 2 above) that reproductive compensation (rather than a real birth order effect) is a major reason why abortion rates are higher at higher maternal ages and higher birth ranks;

B. (from suggestions 2 and 3 above) that there must be another group of abortions, roughly equal in number, which are causally associated with low maternal age or early birth order.

Little is known about this second group of reproductive casualties (those associated with low birth order or maternal age), but it is suggested that some have CNS malformations. I have made similar suggestions in regard to stillbirth and neonatal death.
A Twin Study of Personal Preferences
Authors: Faust Judith
Published: July 2008

The object of the study was to investigate the genetic nature of personal preferences in such spheres as food, friendship, art, music, ambition, marriage and so on. The subjects chosen for the research were forty-eight pairs of identical and forty-eight pairs of non-identical twins, divided equally into males and females, with ages ranging between 17 and 40 years. Each subject, individually, was given an oral questionnaire (‘Fads and Fancies’), the answers to which were analysed statistically. The results indicate very little difference between the concordance rates of identical and non-identical twins, suggesting that the issues discussed might not be genetically influenced. One possible reason for such findings could be the unrepresentative nature of the sample.
Suicide: the stable rates argument
Authors: Cresswell Peter
Published: July 2008

The relative stability of many rates of suicide, particularly those of national groups, has for a long time been of interest to sociologists. Durkheim (1952), an early and major writer on suicide, used the fact of relative stability as an argument for the existence of a social dimension to individuals’ actions, even such an apparently personal action as suicide (Cresswell, 1972). Durkheim argued that each nation had a collective tendency towards suicide such that, providing the circumstances of the nation did not change in any essential way, its suicide rate also would not change. His followers, taking this sort of position as given, have related suicide rates to components of social structure or culture of the groups to which the rates refer (e.g. Gibbs & Martin, 1964). Such a procedure implies a relationship, not necessarily a specifically causal one, between suicide and the various aspects of society with which it is correlated. For the procedure to be potentially valid two major conditions must hold good. The first is that the aggregate numbers of ‘suicides’ which are used to compile suicide rates do actually represent the real number of suicidal deaths in a given population over a given period of time. This pre-supposes, of course, that some deaths have defining characteristics in their manner of occurrence which clearly demarcate them as suicide; given this, the problem is one of identification rather than of definition. The second condition is that since suicide rates are compiled from individual deaths, it should be possible to posit, if not actually demon-strate, a relationship between the social or cultural influences which are supposed to generate stable rates of suicide and the individual instances of suicide.
Knowledge, attitudes and practice of family planning: profile of a Bedouin community in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Sebai Zohair A.
Published: July 2008

Family planning is not being practised in Wadi Turaba in western Saudi Arabia, which is a Bedouin community with different stages of settlement. Children are wanted in the family, and the more children, especially boys, the better the social status of the family in the community. The desire of a mother for more children does not appear to be affected by her age group, history of previous marriages or history of previous pregnancies.Knowledge about contraceptives practically does not exist, except on a small scale in the settled community. Every woman, following the Koranic teachings, weans her child exactly at the age of 2 years, which obviously leads to the spacing of births. In rather rare situations, coitus interruptus is practised.
The contraceptive situation in the Irish Republic
Authors: Wilson-Davis Keith
Published: July 2008

The 1935 Criminal Law Amendment Act translated the Catholic Church's doctrine regarding contraception into the law of the land prohibiting the sale, importation and advertising of ‘unnatural methods’ of contraception.

Over the years, public opinion has changed and it has been estimated that over 20,000 Irish wives are taking the pill in spite of Humanae Vitae. Family planning clinics have been set up in Dublin.

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in the McGee case that the ban on importation was unconstitutional and violated private rights.

Three private member's bills have been defeated and a Government bill to amend the 1935 Act is before the present session of the Dáil. It is a conservative measure seeking to restrict the importation and selling of contraceptives to licensed persons and making it an offence for unmarried persons to purchase them. It is probable that the bill will be defeated by Government members who regard it as too permissive and that the law will be further liberalized by more test-cases in the Courts.
The Fitness of the Human Zygote
Authors: James William H.
Published: July 2008

The fitness of human zygotes depends on both biological and demographic parameters. Some of the demographic parameters are changing at present in this country and accurate estimates of them are not available but this imprecision has no great bearing on the estimate of fitness offered below.

Of 100 human zygotes, now, in this country, it is estimated that embryonic and early fetal loss (before the end of the 3rd month) accounts for 44; induced abortion, 7; late fetal loss (after the 3rd month), 4; and mortality between birth and maturity, 1½. Of the remaining 43½ who reach maturity, it is estimated that 8 fail to reproduce, leaving 35½ who do reproduce.

The standard error of this estimate must be large because of the large standard error of the estimate of the incidence of natural reproductive wastage from which it was derived.
A Comparison of the Colour Aptitude and Memory of Art Students
Authors: Cobb Stephen R.
Published: July 2008

Using the ISCC and the Burnham-Clark-Munsell tests, the colour aptitude and colour memory of a group of art students have been compared with a control group, matched for sex and age. The results of the colour aptitude test show that, for the men, but not for the women, the art students performed significantly better than the control group. With the colour memory test, there was no significant difference between the art students and the controls but, overall, the women had better results than the men.
The Changing Pattern of Human Reproduction in Scotland, 1928–72
Authors: Baird Dugald
Published: July 2008

Fifty years ago, in the early 1920s, Marie Stopes published her books on childbearing, contraception and sex, and immediately became famous. Indeed recently when an American jury was asked to select the 25 most influential books published in the previous 50 years, Marie Stopes was one of a list of twelve authors which included Marx, Lenin, Freud, Einstein, William James and Hitler.

I was fortunate to read her books when I began my career as a practising obstetrician in Glasgow in 1928 and I propose to discuss the changes in human reproduction which have occurred in the last 50 years under the headings of three of Marie Stopes' best known books: (1) Radiant Motherhood, (2) Planned Parenthood and (3) Married Love.
Sex sequences of births in India
Authors: Srivastava M. L , Sinha Arun Kumar
Published: July 2008

The data of Pakrasi & Halder (1971) have been further analysed. No evidence was found to refute the hypothesis that there is no correlation between the sex of consecutive births except in families of four or more.
Patterns of contraceptive failures: the role of motivation re-examined
Authors: Cobliner W. Godfrey , Schulman Harold , Smith Vivian
Published: July 2008

The vicissitudes of contraceptive efforts were studied by means of personal interviews in a sample of 100 women using the outpatient facilities of a metropolitan municipal hospital.

The women were consecutive abortion repeaters, free of any mental or emotional impairment, who made genuine efforts to practise birth control. The circumstances of their failure to prevent recurrent unwanted pregnancies were analysed, and led to these conclusions.

1. The average number of birth control methods used by the subjects was 1.9, which figure does not include a resumption of a method once replaced.

2. The role of motivation is but one, and not necessarily the most essential, element in successful contraceptive practice.

3. The interplay between contraceptive technology and various elements of human behaviour puts a limit on the effectiveness of any current contraceptive method; it products a significant and irreducible number of contraceptive failures that are relatively independent of any subjective motivation.

4. As a result of such interplay, many women would temporarily suspend contraceptive practice; the subsequent activation of psychological mechanisms then makes them ignore the risk of preganancy.
Socio-economic factors associated with unwanted births to married women: a geographical analysis using census indicators
Authors: Brennan Mary E. , Hebel R.
Published: July 2008

The proportion of unwanted births to married women who were delivered in a district maternity hospital during a 3-month period in 1971 was computed for each ward in the administrative area. The percentage varied from 5 to 20% with an average of 10%. These results were compared with the distributions of socio-economic variables derived from the 1971 Census. Party was shown to be the most important indicator; Kendall's rank correlation coefficient was 0·56 (P <0·01). When the effect of parity was eliminated by the use of Kendall’s partial rank correlation coefficient, overcrowding and family structure were shown to be statistically significant (P <0·05).
Fertility trends in Sri Lanka and future prospects
Authors: Fernando Dallas F. S
Published: July 2008

Using data obtained from the Censuses of 1963 and 1971, the Socio-Economic Survey conducted from November 1969 to October 1970 and the Registrar General's Department, this paper analyses fertility trends in Sri Lanka during the period 1960–72 with special reference to the sub periods 1963–70 and 1963–71. The analysis indicates that changes in the proportion of women marrying was the most significant factor in the decline in the crude birth rate during 1963–70 and 1963–71. In the discussion on future prospects, attention is focused on the increase in contraceptive use from 1973 onwards together with other factors such as further postponement of marriage for women, a higher level of spinsterhood and emigration. The adverse effects on future fertility reduction of progressively larger female cohorts entering the main child-bearing years (20–34) are also discussed.
Vitamin B12and potential fertility in male lactovegetarians
Authors: Hirwe Rashmi , Jathar V. S , Desai Shantha , Satoskar R. S
Published: July 2008

Semen and serum vitamin B12levels in Indian lactovegetarian and non-vegetarian subjects were estimated along with routine semen examination. Lactovegetarians had distinctly lower serum and semen vitamin B12levels than the non-vegetarians. However, in normal and oligospermic subjects the ratio of semen vitamin B12to serum vitamin B12in the various diet groups was not significantly different and was always greater than one. In azoospermic subjects the serum vitamin B12levels were always higher than the corresponding semen vitamin B12values. Although semen vitamin B12content was related to serum vitamin B12level and sperm concentration in the normal and oligospermic groups. Further, in healthy lactovegetarians with low serum and semen vitamin B12content and oligospermia, treatment with hydroxocobalamin produced no significant improvement in semen quality.
Fecundability following the discontinuation of IUD use among Taiwanese women
Authors: Jain A. K. , Moots B.
Published: July 2008

This paper examines the antifertility effects of an IUD (Lippes Loop) subsequent to the discontinuation of its use. The experiences of 4449 urban Taiwanese women who discontinued the use of the Lippes Loop initially inserted during the period July 1962 to May 1965 are analysed. These women were followed annually for 6 to 9 years through clinic visits and home interviews. The effect of duration of IUD use on average fecundability and sterility is examined after controlling for women's age at discontinuation of use of the IUD. The results indicate that, among Taiwanese women, the level of sterility increases and the average fecundability decreases with the increase in the duration of IUD use. These differentials are quite substantial and are mainly observed among those women who were at least 30 years of age at the discontinuation of IUD use. Various implications of this finding are discussed. The results refer only to the Lippes Loop and cannot be generalized for other types of IUD.
Non-Marital Pregnancies and ex-nuptial births in New Zealand
Authors: Trlin A. D. , Ruzicka L. T.
Published: July 2008

An investigation of the incidence and pattern of non-marital pregnancies in New Zealand, and their outcome as nuptial or ex-nuptial births, has revealed four major features. The post-war period has been marked by a steady increase in the incidence of non-marital pregnancies, especially since the early 1960s (following the inclusion of Maori vital events). Pre-marital or bridal pregnancies increased during the 1950s, but have steadily declined at all ages between 16 and 23 years during the 1960s and early 1970s. Nuptial fertility rates for women aged 35 years and over have declined continuously since 1945, and since the early 1960s the decline has commenced for women at younger ages as well. Ex-nuptial fertility rates have been increasing throughout the post-war period and particularly since the early 1960s.
Coital rate, cycle day of insemination and sex ratio
Authors: James W. H.
Published: July 2008

Guerrero (1975) has cited a wealth of direct data supporting the hypothesis that timing of insemination is related to the sex of the resulting zygote. It is argued here that if this hypothesis were correct, then parental coital rate would be associated with the sex of the resulting children. It is suggested here that empirical data support this inference and hence support the hypothesis.

It is estimated that if Pmale (the probability that a zygote will be male) declines linearly across the fertile period, that decline is from about 0·57 to 0·45.
The use of fresh and frozen semen in human artificial insemination
Authors: Jackson M. C. N. , Richardson D. W.
Published: July 2008

In a medical practice in which artificial insemination has been carried out for over 40 years, 40% of women inseminated with donor semen (AID), and 21% inseminated with homologous semen (AIH) gave birth to children. Up to December 1975, 399 pregnancies were achieved using fresh donor semen and nineteen with deep-frozen semen. There was no apparent increase in the incidence of birth anomalies in children conceived with frozen semen, nor was there a significant increase in the incidence of still-births, ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage when compared to the rate in the normal population. Eight conceptions were achieved using deep-frozen semen stored for 6 months or longer, and one pregnancy was achieved with a specimen frozen for 3 years. Good cryosurvial was observed in semen frozen for up to 6·7 years. The development of many of the children was followed, and it was concluded that the great majority of marriages into which AID children were born, were undoubtedly enriched and psychological and sociological problems were few. The whole field still awaits the implementation of recommendations concerning the legal status of children born as a result of AID.
Some problems of compulsion in family planning
Authors: Mehta P. V. , Pathak K. B.
Published: July 2008

The success of a compulsory sterilization programme depends on obtaining a correct history of family size from the couples concerned. Accordingly, we carried out a feasibility study at Prabhadevi Municipal Hospital, Bombay. At registration for confinement the women were required to produce some documentary proof such as a ration card, Employee's State Insurance Scheme card, or a letter from the Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat for women coming from villages, to indicate the number of their living children. The difficulties met by the staff in obtaining the necessary information and the problems of the women in providing documentary evidence are discussed, together with the results of the survey.
Population changes in St Kilda during the 19th and 20th centuries
Authors: Clegg E. J.
Published: July 2008

During the century before its final evacuation in 1930 the population of St Kilda declined from over 100 to 36. While undoubtedly emigration and natural disasters played a part in this depopulation, ongoing processes were also important. In particular, replacement levels were never sufficient to maintain a constant population size. In the early part of this period the main factor responsible was heavy neonatal mortality, almost all from tetanus (‘eight-day sickness’), but latterly the fertility of those who survived was low, even though mortality rates had declined. In part at least, this decline in fertility could be ascribed to a lower frequency of marriage—a phenomenon seen elsewhere in the Outer Hebrides during the latter part of the 19th century.

Estimates of the opportunity for selective pressure on the population suggest very high levels, due earlier mainly to high pre-reproductive mortality and later to lowered fertility.
Characteristics of vasectomy patients at a family planning clinic
Authors: Gandy R. J.
Published: July 2008

Medical and social characteristics of couples who obtained a vasectomy at a Leicester Family Planning Association (FPA) clinic were compared with those from earlier studies. There were several differences which would suggest that the operation is now more popular with the public than in the late 1960s.
Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of men choosing vasectomy
Authors: Parsons Mary A. , Wood Heather A.
Published: July 2008

The results are presented of a survey of male subjects attending the Kingston Contraceptive Clinic for vasectomy. The men living in the Kingston Area (KA) were compared with those living in the Out of Kingston Area (OKA) for economic and other differences.

For both groups, the average age of the subjects at the time of interview was 36 years and the average age of their partners was 33 years. The couples in both groups had an average of 2·4 living children. The OKA sample had been married on average 3 years longer than the KA sample.

Economic differences were minimal, both groups having an average weekly income £22 in excess of the estimated average national wage. Educationally the groups were broadly similar, the OKA sample having a higher proportion of graduate subjects. The social class distribution of both samples was significantly different from that of the South-East of England, and showed that usage of vasectomy was predominantly by Social Classes II, IIIN and IIIM. This is interpreted as indicating the gradual spread of acceptability of vasectomy as a means of birth control through the social classes, in a manner similar to that already documented for the pill.
The origins of fluctuations in the human secondary sex ratio
Authors: Roberts Alun M.
Published: July 2008

A probabilistic model of the human reproductive process is used to assess the success of hypotheses designed to explain human sex ratio fluctuations. It is shown that theories based on different maturation rates or effective lifetimes of X- and Y-bearing spermatozoa cannot account for many of the major sex ratio fluctuations.

A specific physiological model is proposed, based on differential motility of the two types of spermatozoa in the female reproductive tract, which together with differential fetal mortality, accounts successfully for most of the ratio fluctuations. On this theory the principal factor determining sex ratio is the physiological state of the female reproductive tract which in turn is governed by complex physiological and psychological parameters.
Parental predetermination of the sex of offspring: II. The attitudes of young married couples with high school and with college education
Authors: Adelman Stuart , Rosenzweig Saul
Published: July 2008

In a previous pilot project (Rosenzweig & Adelman, 1976) the sex choice attitudes of married couples with university (graduate school) education were explored. The present study extends this work by investigating the sex-choice attitudes of high school and partially college-educated subjects. Once again, the basic decision-making unit of husband and wife was sampled. Differences in sex preferences and sex-choice attitudes, based on the size of the marital family (no child, one child), were systematically explored. A greater effort was made to determine the effect of additional information regarding new methods of fetal sex determination, contraception, and related topics on sex-choice attitudes. Questionnaires were completed before and after information had been provided. Discussion was encouraged between husband and wife but discouraged with others. Results indicated that the exercise of sex choice is favoured by the majority of subjects across all three educational groups. Most individuals would employ sex control to ensure a balance of the sexes in a limited, two-child family. Little desire was shown to choose first child sex but active choice of a second child of opposite sex from the first appears a strong probability. Male preference, while pronounced, was a much weaker influence on the desire to make choices than the balance principle. Selective intercourse and a sex-choice pill were acceptable methods of sex control, but both artificial insemination and fetal sex determination combined with selective early abortion were rejected. Added information had a measurable but only slight effect on attitudes. Public education as to the possibilities of sex choice and control will be gradual and sex control will probably be selectively employed in the near future. But general use of such procedures is not imminent. Once put into practice, however, sex choice will create new marital problems that may require professional counselling.
Human interaction as a type of variable
Authors: Adams Reed
Published: July 2008

A review of empirical findings which differentiated between the effects of social and non-social variables in the determination of human conduct found non-social variables most frequently to have been superior. A two-factor comparision of the impact of money and social cues, discriminative stimuli, and rewards from delinquent peers on incarcerated juvenile delinquents found money to be the more powerful determinant of cheating behaviour (P < 0.001). It is suggested that explanations of human behaviour should not ignore the effects of non-social variables.
Parental age and parity in dyslexic boys
Authors: Jayasekara R. , Street J.
Published: July 2008

The influence of parental age at birth, and parity, was studied in a series of 48 dyslexic boys. It was concluded that both increased paternal and maternal age contributes to a greater incidence of the condition. The similarity to the age distributions of chromosomal aberrations and some mutation defects suggests some genetic implication. The findings thus favour a biological rather than environmental element in the aetiology.
Sexual behaviour and contraceptive practice of undergraduates at Oxford University
Authors: Anderson P. , McPherson K. , Beeching N. , Weinberg J. , Vessey M.
Published: July 2008

At the end of the 4th week of the Hilary Term 1977, 1006 male and 1009 female undergraduates at Oxford University were sent a questionnaire enquiring about their sexual behaviour and contraceptive practice. Of the 862 women and 634 men who replied, 512 women (59%) and 332 men (52%) had experienced sexual intercourse, 396 women and 191 men in the 4-week period preceding receipt of the questionnaire. No contraception had been used by 27% of the women on the first occasion that they had had intercourse; during the 4-week period preceding receipt of the questionnaire 10% of sexually active women had had intercourse on one or more occasions without using a contraceptive. The use of contraception increased with the frequency of intercourse and the stability of the relationship. Thirty-one women had been pregnant in the past; none was known to be pregnant at the time of the survey, although sixteen suspected that they might be. Ninety per cent of the students approved of the free distribution of a booklet on contraception and related matters to all undergraduates.
Seasonality of birth in India
Authors: Bernard R. P. , Bhatt Rohit V. , Potts D. M. , Padma Rao A.
Published: July 2008

The conception rate in Baroda and Manipal, India, is lowest during the hottest weather. The greatest extremes are found in Baroda and, following high summer temperatures, there is a prolongation of low conception rates which may indicate that part or all of the effect is mediated through an effect on scrotal temperature. However, other factors may also be involved and a reduction of coital frequency is likely at extremes of temperature. Seasonal changes in abortion, stillbirths and prematurity are also observed. Changes in spontaneous abortion could be due to heat stress in the mother or possibly to abnormal sperm production at high temperature or to less frequent coitus, leading to embryonic defects.
A longitudinal study of the changing pattern in Aboriginal infants & Growth 1966–76
Authors: Warwick cox John
Published: July 2008

Comparison of some longitudinal data on infant weight in two samples of Australian Aborigines indicates changes in infant growth between 1966 and 1976 which suggest that at the time when the child comes off the breast, weight gain slows. This faltering of weight gain is often followed by a partial catch-up, but the resultant weight for age at 1 year corresponds with a lower British centile than the child was at just before weaning.
Population structure in the western Pyrenees: I. Population density, social class composition, and migration, 1850–1915
Authors: Abelson Andrew
Published: July 2008

This paper tests the hypothesis that the inverse relationship between population density and migration distances in pre-industrial Europe results from variation in the social class composition of communities. Data from two pyrenean valleys in Navarre, spain, provide support for the hypothsis. Further effect on mugration distances may result from vatiation in the settlement pattern of communities. Seasonal movement associated with certain occupations seems to be unimportant.
Inbreeding among Dhangar castes of Maharashtra, India
Authors: Malhotra K. C.
Published: July 2008

Consanguinity is studied in a large sample of marriages among Dhangars of Maharashtra, India. The 22 endogamous castes included in the study show great variation in incidence, about an overall frequency of 26.4%. Matrilateral first cross-cousin unions are more frequency than patrilateral, and maternal uncle-niece nuions least frequent. Geograbhical differences are conspicuous, and all three types of consanguineous union show characteristic patterns; matrilateral unions increase in frequncy northwards, patrilateral and uncle-niece decrease northwards. The inbreeding levels among the Dhangars are high compared to other Maharashtrian groups, but substantially lower than in southern Dravidian speaking groups.
Social factors in patients for artificial insemination by donor (AID)
Authors: Ledward R.S. , Crawford L. , Symonds E.M.
Published: July 2008

A programme of artificial insemination, using donor semen, within the NHS began in Nottingham in 1975. Since the inception of the programme all couples have been interviewed by a senior medical social worker, either at home or, later in the programme, within the clinics. This paper reports on features including education, employment, relationship to fertility status, relationship to parents and childhood, religion and reaction to adoption or fostering from the first 147 couples interviewed. All couples have stated a willingness for follow-up assessments and further studies are planned to review their marriages and psychological make-up in later years.
An analysis of reproductive motivation in Shiraz, Iran
Authors: Tolnay S. E. , Mehryar A. H. , Jamshidi S.
Published: July 2008

In a sample of 260 married men in Shiraz, the relationship is studied of fertility to demographic, socioeconomic and psychosocial variables, the last measuring the perceived economic value of children. The number of children ever born is closely associated with duration of marriage, but socioeconomic variables also exert a significant influence, especially the wife's educational level. Recent fertility is more closely associated with age of wife, but also with ownership of modern goods which is also the major factor in current contraceptive use. The perceived value of children appears unimportant, negligible in recent fertility and contraceptive use, and only showing a slight positive relationship between expected reliance on children for support in old age and the number of children ever born.
On the absence of implicit sex-preference in Ghana
Authors: Goody Jack , Duly Colin , Beeson Ian , Harrison Graham
Published: July 2008

As part of a comparative analysis of uterine sibling groups to discover any evidence of ‘stopping rules’ related to actual preferences for children of one sex or another, the distribution of sequences of births by sex from a Ghanaian sample of 9392 mothers has been examined. No such rules can be detected.
Frequency of Colour Vision Defects Among Zulus in Natal
Authors: Pickford R. W. , Pickford Ruth
Published: July 2008

The HRR test was used to study the frequency of colour vision defects in 297 Zulu men and 43 Zulu women of Natal, two Basuto men in Natal, and two Swazi men and 21 Swazi women in the Transvaal.

The frequencies agree with the work of other authors, that the numbers of red–green defectives in the black populations of Africa are less than half those among European whites. The observed frequency of women defectives is greater than that expected from the number of males, and the difference is probably due largely to the inclusion of a small number of women with considerable heterozygous manifestation.

No yellow–blue deficient subjects were found.
Maternal nutrition, prolonged lactation and birth spacing in Ethiopia
Authors: Wenlock R. Jane , Wenlock R. W.
Published: July 2008

Data from 375 Ethiopian mothers show lactations of between 25 and 30 months in the majority, very prolonged even by African standards. Maternal nutritional status, as shown by body weights, was low due to very low food energy intakes. With frequent suckling already raising prolactin levels, these very low energy intakes may also result in yet more prolactin secretion. New pregnancies are delayed and birth intervals extended beyond normal African standards by all these factors.
The action of natural selection on the human menstrual cycle: a simulation study
Authors: Métral Gérard
Published: July 2008

Reproductive performance of the human female is simulated by Monte Carlo methods. The results clearly suggest the operation of natural selection on the length of the female menstrual cycle, brought about by differential fertility. It is argued that the selection pressure towards a shorter cycle, with a selective advantage of approximately 1% per day of shortening, is balanced by internal physiological determinants preventing excessive shortening, so the result is a situation of stabilizing natural selection.
Marital migration and gene flow on the mainland of New Guinea
Authors: Nurse G. T.
Published: July 2008

The apparently closed societies of the New Guinea Highlands were traditionally in possession of quite large quantities of pearl shells traded from the coast. Since these constituted almost the only category of goods not produced as easily in the Highlands as the lowlands, and since they formed an appreciable component of the bride wealth, they suggest directional mating leading to an outward movement of women from the Highlands. Marriage movement in three samples of women confirms this suggestion.
Children's perceptions of length of gestation period, the birth exit, and birth necessity explanations: a cross-national study of Australian, English, North American and Swedish Children
Authors: Goldman Ronald J. , Goldman Juliette D. G.
Published: July 2008

A sample of 838 children aged 5–15 in Australia, England, North America and Sweden were interviewed about how they perceived biological and sexual development. One of the six sections covered gestation and the birth process. Responses were scored on a biological realism scale. The English-speaking children's estimates of the gestation period achieved realistic levels by 11 years, with Swedish children generally at 9 years. In perceiving where the baby emerged at birth, several orifices were named with strong support for cloacal theory at 5 and 7 years. English-speaking children tended to nominate the realistic birth exit by 11 years, Swedish children earlier at 9 years. The necessity of birth at about 9 months was explained realistically between 11 and 13 years although the explanations were couched in crude and simplistic terms. Certain sex and cultural differences are discussed.
The age of weaning in Britain 1500–1800
Authors: Fildes Valerie
Published: July 2008

Information is collected from the literature on the age at which British children were weaned from the breast between 1500 and 1800. The weaning age recommended by ‘professionals’ was compared with that said by contemporaries to be common, and with those found in a sample of 42 children. A significant decrease was found in the length of suckling particularly after 1750; this was possibly related to the availability and social acceptability of artificial feeding, an increase in the incidence of maternal suckling among upper and middle class women, and the effects of industrialization. The reason for weaning was individual to each nursing couple; no significant difference was found between the weaning age of males and females, or between wet nursed and maternally breast-fed infants; the weaning age within families was not significantly different from a sample of unrelated children within the same period. Between 1650 and 1800 the weaning age recommended by medical writers was apparently representative of actual practice.
Death Loss, Fetal Wastage And Completed Family Size
Authors: Ballweg John A.
Published: July 2008

An examination of pregnancy histories for 969 Filipino women assessed the extent to which pregnancy wastage or loss of a live born child influenced completed family size. Respondents were ever married women 45—49 years of age at the time of the survey; most respondents were beyond their childbearing years. It was found that 56% of the women lost at least one pregnancy or a live born child. While it might be expected that the loss of a child would lower completed family size, the findings indicated that women who reported the loss of one or more children had larger completed families than their counterparts who sustained no miscarriages or childhood deaths. Implications of fertility–mortality relationships are discussed.
The socioeconomic burden of Huntington's chorea in South Wales
Authors: Tyler Audrey , Harper P. S. , Walker D. A. , Davies Kathleen , Newcombe R. G.
Published: July 2008

An unselected group of 92 patients, suffering from Huntington's chorea in South Wales, has been studied in relation to the effects of the disease on employment, need for hospitalization, and the financial burden to the state. Results are compared with data from a matched control group. The difficulties of costing are discussed: a total figure of £21,500 is estimated to be the minimum unit cost per patient in 1980.
Behavioural Patterns in Women Requesting Postcoital Contraception
Authors: Rowlands Sam , Booth Margaret , Guillebaud John
Published: July 2008

In a sample of women presenting for postcoital contraception in central London, two main categories of women were apparent. The first comprised those having regular intercourse: the majority of these had experienced a contraceptive method failure. Many of the second category had used no contraceptive; they were often having intercourse for the first or second time with a new partner, for the first time after an interval with an existing partner or for the first time ever. Many women had experienced difficulty in finding out where they could be treated but were persistent in their efforts to obtain the necessary expert advice. Almost all had used contraception in the past. Acceptance of a contraceptive method for future use was high.
Orientations Towards Voluntary Childlessness
Authors: Baum Frances E.
Published: July 2008

This paper reports on a study of decision-making among voluntarily childless couples that was conducted in Britain. The discussion is based on evidence from an intensive interview survey with 38 childless husbands and wives. Four main orientations towards childlessness have been delineated, hedonistic, idealistic, emotional and practical. These are based on the decision-making processes childless couples go through. Each orientation is described, showing that childless individuals can differ markedly in their attitude towards not having children and in their values and ideas about life in general. It is maintained that these differences are important in understanding the complexities of voluntary childlessness and can have practical value in studying aspects of the phenomenon, such as forecasting changes in the pattern of childlessness.