Correction to: Emancipating Sexuality: Breakthroughs into a Bulwark of Tradition

Social Indicators Research - In the Print published article, the funding source was missed in the acknowledgements section. The correct acknowledgement is given below:     

Correction to: Vertical and Horizontal Inequality in Ecuador: The Lack of Sustainability

Social Indicators Research - The article Vertical and Horizontal Inequality in Ecuador: The Lack of Sustainability, written Ivan Gachet, Diego F. Grijalva, Paúl A. Ponce and Damián...     

Cuba: the demography of revolution

Cuba's post-revolution demographic trends, especially in regard to fertility and emigration, and the causes and consequences of these trends, were examined using available statistical data. The authors maintain that both fertility and emigration trends were highly infuenced by economic factors. The trends are described in the context of the social and economic changes instituted by the revolutionary government. Government policies were aimed at 1) eradicating inequalities in housing, income, education, and health; 2) improving the status of women; and 3) upgrading the living standards of the rural population. Government policies did alleviate many social problems and greatly improved the health and educational status of the population; however, these policies had a marked adverse effect on economic performance. The demographic transition began in Cuba earlier than in most other developing countries and it began long before the 1959 revolution. These earlier changes must be taken into account when assessing the impact of post-revolution policies on demographic trends. Cuba's birthrate declined from 26-14.8/1000 population between 1959-1979 and the total fertility rate declined from 3.7-1.9 between 1970-1978; however, during the 1960s there was a baby boom and the birth rate for 1963 exceeded 35/1000 population. The baby boom was largely a response to the temporary improvement in economic conditions which occurred shortly after the revolution. The decline in fertility during the 1970s was due in part to the increased availability of abortion and contraceptive services and to a decline in the marriage rate; however, Cuba's deteriorating economy was also a major contributing factor. The baby boom of the 1960s is negativley affecting the current economy of the country. Individuals born during the baby boom are entering adulthood and are contributing toward Cuba's current unemployment problems. Prior to the revolution, Cuba experienced a high rate of in-migration. Immediately after the revolution this pattern was reversed and between 1959-1980 more than 800,000 Cubans emigrated. Most of these emigrants went to the U.S. A large proportion of the earlier emigrants were members of the upper and middle socioeconomic classes. Recent emigrants were more evenly representative of all segments of Cuba's population. The socioeconomic characteristics of the emigrants are described and their adjustment in the U.S. is discussed. Tables provide statistical data on Cuba's demographic trends.     

The Crisis of Legacy:

This study examines the life-satisfaction of a group of elderly women religious (Catholic sisters). It focuses on the lifelong development experienced by the women and presents their self erceptions as women aging in a community with few young members. The findings indicate that certain common factors influenced the women's early life decisions to enter the convent, that their worklives are important to their personal development, and their retirement is that of the nontraditional woman. In terms of late-life satisfaction, the women rated hieh in health, family involvements and spiritual achievement. There is concern, however, for the legacy that they leave: this is resolved through passive mastery. Excerpts from the in-depth interviews provide the context for discussion.     

Functional Health of Older Women:

Many elderly women need long-term care assistance to help them remain independent. A stresscoping framework was used to test predictors of functional health in a sample of 110 community- residing, older women. The causal relationships among hardiness, self-esteem, social support, stress, coping, and service utilization were examined. Results from the regression analyses indicated that 36% of the variance in physical and independent health was explained by hardiness, stress, coping, and service utilization and 52% of the variance in psychosocial health was explained by hardiness, selfesteem, stress, and coping. The discussion is orgaruzed according to the stress-coping paradigm and explicates the various relationships found.     

Seasonality of fertility: New evidence

This paper presents evidence that the seasonal pattern of American fertility applies to nonwhites as well as whites. The patterns are also changing in the same way over time: the summer trough in births is shrinking in magnitude, and the spread of airconditioning, reducing the heat of summer, can explain this shrinkage. The summer hypothesis is further buttressed by evidence, for the total population, that summer temperature extremes can explain a significant portion of the variation around the seasonal trend, in both the North and South. These temperature-induced variations appear to be offset within seven months of their occurrence.This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dennis Sullivan made a number of valuable critical comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Valuable research assistance was provided by Amy Powell and Robert Schoeni.     

Erratum to: The Measurement of Multidimensional Gender Inequality: Continuing the Debate

The measurement of multidimensional gender inequality is an increasingly important topic that has very relevant policy applications and implications but which has not received much attention from the academic literature. In this paper I make a comprehensive and critical review of the indices proposed in recent years in order to systematise the different underlying ideas. I also present new gender inequality indices that overcome some limitations of the preceding ones. Using United Nations data, empirical results for the new indicators are provided, suggesting that the choice of one indicator or another can make an important difference for the ranking of those countries that have achieved high levels of gender equality.     

Quality of Life Across Population Groups: Women in the Workplace: Gender and Wage Differentials

Social Indicators Research - The purpose of this study is to clarify the real causes of gender wage differentials in Korea by analyzing changes over the period 1988–1999. The participation...     

Classification of countries: A socio-economic approach

The study throws light to the fact that fullfilment of social attributes of life and achievement of PCRGDP goes hand in hand. In other words, if one country reaches certain level of PCRGDP it is almost sure to attain certain level of social standard.The importance of the study lies in its attempt to classify the countries on the basis of socio-economic aspects of life instead of only economic aspects of life.     

Pairwise Comparisons of Social Development of Selected Countries: 1960–1994: An application of D2-statistics

The paradigm of development has shifted from gross national product to human well-being: from economic growth to social development. It has been broadly accepted that economic growth doesnot automatically translate into a better quality of life. Consequently, the main objective of the most of the countries is to achieve better standard of living for their people. In this context it is of interest to have a look at the pairwise convergence or divergence of countries in social development over a period of time. This study uses D²-statistics to obtain a pairwise distance matrix for the sample countries for each point of time 1960 and 1994. The paper presents a gap matrix portraying the change in the distances between each pair of country over the period. This also finds distance of a country from all other countries. All the analysis has been offered for the entire sample as well as three income groups low, middle and high.     

Contraception: prospect of new contraceptives

At a metting of eminent international scientists in Cambridge, England, last September, several promising experiments were described that tested the feasibility of contraception based on pituitary-regulating hormones produced by the hypothalamus, an area at the base of the brain, that regulates the pituitary gland. There is still much basic research needed but preliminary results are promising. 2 Johns Hopkins University researchers are developing a method for male sterilization by the use of chemicals instead of surgery. The method has been successful with test animals, and has had no adverse effects on their sex lives. Clinical trials will begin this summer, if approved by the hospital research committee.     

"Katiwala": trustee of community health

The setting up of a medical cooperative in a squatter community in Davao City, Philippines, and the training of women from the community to serve as paramedical health visitors and family planning workers, is described. The clinic charges each family a small fee and sells drugs at cost. The health visitor program was initiated by the poor families themselves to reach those who could not come to the clinic. The 1st groups trained chose the name Kaunaunahang Katiwala ng Kalusugan, or First Trustees of Health, and they are called katiwala for short. Since 1973 about 80 of these women, usually about 30 years of age, with home and family responsibilities, and of low educational background, have bee n trained. The dialogic method of Paolo Fraire of Brazil is used, which focuses on the native intelligence of the student and emphasizes a mutual learning process on the part of both teacher and student. Upon graduation the katiwala take care of minor ailments, refer major problems to the clinic, distribute family planning information, and encourage sanitation and good health practices. The barrios are divided into districts and 2 katiwala assigned to each. They receive some compensation. The program has proved it is possible to train persons with little education to be effective health workers and free physicians and nurses for more serious cases.     

Psychological Adjustment of Elderly Women:

Elderly women are much more likely than elderly men to be admitted to nursing homes. Institutionalization is both a reaction to and a cause of the rupture of women's social support systems. An ecological model of social support is used to explain differences in elderly women's psychological adjustment to communi!' and institutional life. The results of a twelve-month study of 40 el erly women are presented to provide empirical support for this ecological model. It would not be difficult to make institutions more responsive to the psychological and social needs of elderly residents. Several practical suggestions for creating ecologically sound nursing homes are presented.     

Ilocos region: BSPO paramedics: training in Abra pays off

The study entitled "the comprehensive Baragay Medical System in Arba: An Evaluation" analyzed the performance of trained paramedics and found that the effectiveness of barangay service point officers (BSPOs) as outreach workers depeded on: the knowledge and skills they acquired after traning, which helped them meet the medical needs of community residents; their acceptability to the community; and their positive attitude toward their job. The study indicated that adquate training for the job was crucial to the effective performance of outreach workers. The study compared the performance fo BSPO paramedics and BSPO nonparamedics in metting the health care and family planning needs of residents of the communities the served. BSPO paramedics fared much better as outreach workers in the tasks they were trained for -- rendering services in family planning and health care -- than BSPO nonparamedics wo were not given that kind of training. The study was conducted in the towns of Sallapadan, Pilar, and Danglas for BSPO paramedics and in Manabo, Villaviciosa, and La Paz for BSPO nonparamedics. Interviewed were a sample group of married adults in the areas, 15 BSPO paramedics, and 15 BSPO nonparamedics. The BSPO paramedics had undergone training in preventive medicine, environmental sanitation, and treatment of minor illnesses. The were taught advanced first aid techniques, over the cunter dispensing of medicines, and basic laboratory analysis. The nonparamedics were not trained in these functins. The residents preferred to approach BSPO paramedics for both family planning and medical servies, and more community members also derived the "highest degreee of satisfaction" from the paramedics' services. The BSPO paramedics also served more family planning clients and provided community residents more kinds of medical services. These included medical checkup, the distribution and sale of medicines, curing illnesses, and assisting in child delivery. In terms of job satisfaction, 13 out of every 15 BSPO paramedics interviewed indicated that they were "very satisfied" with their jobs, while only 6 of 15 nonparamedics gave the same rating. The survey findings suggest that the Arba Comprehensive Barangay Medical System can be a viable model for outreach workers in remote communities.     

Intraindustry division of labor: The states of Mexico

Measures of occupational differentiation in each of eight industries vary markedly among the states of Mexico, a finding that is construed as evidence of territorial divergence in economic development. The relation among states between the relative size of an industry and the amount of occupational differentiation is direct for some industries but inverse for others. The interpretation is that industry size and intraindustry division of labor are directly related only to the extent that the labor force is concentrated territorially. Findings for the states of Mexico 1950 and 1960 are consistent with the interpretation.     

Arithmetic of Growth: Methods of Calculation,II

This calculational tutorial continues the presentation of an earlier article (Bartlett,1993 ). It starts with a news item that features one elderly person who has 67 grandchildren and 201 great grandchildren. This tutorial develops simple mathematical models to show how to calculate approximate average rates of growth of descendants using very simple assumptions plus the data from the news story. The model is then enlarged to describe the growth of populations and to see how the growth of populations is related to the growth of descendants and to fertility. The analysis is then generalized so it can be applied to other reproductive phenomena, such as the production of Ph.D.s. The goal is to illustrate the essential features of the simplest elements of the population growth process by introducing modeling that is within the reach of those who can use algebra.     

American education: the challenge of change

The American education system is being challenged to raise the academic achievement of students to prepare them for the jobs of the future. Yet many demographic, as well as economic and social factors, are making the task more difficult. Low birth rates, especially among non-Hispanic whites, along with high immigration rates, have increased the share of minority and non-English students in public schools. The rise in single-parent families has increased the number of poor students and migration from the cities to the suburbs has concentrated poor and minority students in inner city schools. These same children will make up a greater share of the future labor force. At the same time, the aging of the general population may lessen the commitment of homeowners- -whose taxes pay between 1/3 and 1/2 of education costs. The aging labor force may bring a shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in specialized subject areas. Poor and minority students generally have below average academic skills and are more likely to drop out of high school than non-minority students. However, the skills of American students rank below those of most other industrialized nations, calling into question the ability of Americans to succeed in an increasingly international economic system. How can schools be improved and minority student achievement be enhanced? Reforms of education finance systems, court-ordered integration, and stiffer requirements for teachers and for graduation from high school are among many attempts to meet the immense challenges faced by American schools.     

Sri Lanka: current status of family planning

In Sri Lanka the family planning program is closely related to socioeconomic and cultural variables. The expectation is that in the near future family planning will be included as a component of a network of social services. The official program is a response to the economic necessities and welfare demands of individuals and families. The method of family planning most frequently requested is female sterilization, and no attempts are being made to direct people to other methods. 12 United Nations Fund for Population Activities assisted projects have provided the framework and basis for the institutional coverage of family planning activities in Sri Lanka. However, the experience of these projects revealed a lack of facilities, shortage of personnel and management inadequacies, all related to the delivery of family planning services. The following steps are suggested as a means of overcoming the current problems and expanding the program: 1) establish a pattern of interacting relationship between the mass media, community health education and the available services; 2) provide an operational approach to program management, monitoring and periodic reviews of the program; 3) involve the private sector health facilities; and 4) incur additional capital cost to increase the capacity for delivery of better health facilities and personnel.     

Dependency of the chinese elderly: An exploration

The paper explores the Chinese elderly’s dependency, or need for assistance, in four key functional areas: physical, mental, social and economic, based on data from the 1992 National Survey on the Old-age Support System (NSOSS). The approximate indicators, selected on data availability, show that the dependency rates of the elderly differed markedly by functional area. Only a very small proportion of the elderly were physically dependent or partly dependent. In contrast, economic dependency was a common phenomenon. The dependency rates varied by age, sex and urban-rural residence. Older people, females and rural residents were more likely to have a higher need for assistance. These findings have major policy implications in old age support and aged care programs.     

Gay fathers: a review of the literature

This article reviews the research literature on gay fathers, and includes brief historical perspectives and statistical data. The major portion of the article compares studies of gay fathers with other groups such as lesbian mothers and nongay fathers. Because the literature is sparse, and the research has severe limitations such as small sample size, few definitive statements about these men can be made with certainty. Even so, tentative generalizations are proposed. The article concludes with some suggestions for future research.