Educational efforts in the implementation of rural family planning programs in East Pakistan

The pilot family planning studies reported in this paper were conducted in a rural area adjacent to the city of Dacca in East Pakistan. It reports the preliminary findings of action-research in the implementation of educational efforts to reach rural villagers of a developing country.Preliminary analyses of the records identify two significant educational problems: (1) most of the villagers (85-90 percent of the couples) who initially accepted contraceptives do not truly adopt and become continuing users and (2) the continuing users (10-15 percent of the initial users) are generally characterized by large families. (Later data show an even lower percentage of continuing users.)The field activities in the development of various educational approaches to family planning are described. Three separate geographic areas (from 15,000 to 20,000 population) were each approached in a different way, varying in the number and educational qualifications of the workers and in the degree of involvement of village leadership. Preliminary analyses of field records indicate that these variations of approach apparently have little effect on the percentage of the population willing to accept contraceptive supplies.It is the opinion of the writers that more intensive educational efforts are necessary at the village level to develop social support for continuing use of contraception and to gain adoption of contraception by younger married couples primarily for spacing of births.The impact of introduction of the IUCD in populations where condoms and foam tablets have been available for one to two years has also been reported. Preliminary findings indicate that the IUCD encourages adoption by previous non-users and may increase the over-all percentage of contraceptive users.     

CharacteriStics and utilization of midwives in a selected rural area of East Pakistan

The purpose of this study was to obtain information about the utilization of midwives (dais) by village women and to learn more about the characteristics and practices of those dais. Two interview schedules were prepared. The first was used to interview 632 village women to determine who performed or assisted with their last two deliveries. The second was used to obtain information from 21 dais.The results of the first phase may be summarized as follows: (a) 38 per cent of the women were delivered by relatives; (b) 33 per cent of the women delivered their own children; (c) 14 per cent were delivered by neighbors; (d) 6 per cent were delivered by dais; (e) 2 percent were delivered in hospitals; and (f) the remaining 7 per cent were accounted for by several minor categories.The results of the interviews with dais are summarized as follows: (a) they are mainly widows and older women; (b) they have no formal training; (c) they work for friends, neighbors, and relatives and receive a sari as compensation; (d) they cannot handle complicated deliveries; (e) they deliver 3-4 children a year; (f) their sterilizing procedures depend upon soap, water, and folk beliefs; (g) most think midwifery is a worthwhile service; (h) about one-half have a general understanding of the reproduction process; (i) most do not know how to prevent conception; and (j) about half think that it is a good idea to participate actively in a family planning program.     

Perceptions of intimate partner violence, age, and self-enhancement bias

Educational programs in human service professions such as social work, criminal justice, psychology, and public administration stress the importance of recognizing domestic/intimate partner violence as well as elder abuse. Students' abilities to recognize domestic violence in older couples have not been well-investigated. In this study, three vignettes were developed (Pat and Lee at age 75, Pat and Lee at age 30, Imagine yourself with Lee at age 75) in which intimate partner violence was perpetrated by the character Lee. Twenty-five items followed each vignette. When the variables of educational standing (graduate/undergraduate), ethnicity, and academic major were controlled, there were significant differences between the vignettes in 14 of 25 items (General Linear Model, F = 1.552, df = 50, p = .012). More than three out of four respondents for each vignette identified this as domestic violence and believed there was potential for serious harm. However, respondents were less likely to believe that a 75-year-old partner would know when to terminate a relationship in which there was intimate partner violence. Respondents who were asked to imagine themselves with Lee at 75 were likely to perceive Lee as more dangerous than respondents for the other vignettes. Implications are considered for educators.     

Shareholder Value Effects of Voluntary Emissions Reduction

The relationship between emissions reduction and firm financial performance has been studied with mixed results. We consider potential sources of this ambiguity by examining announcements of voluntary emissions reduction (VER) from 1990 to 2009. We measure the stock market reaction associated with VER announcements to estimate the effects of time, emissions type, and whether the reduction was announced ex ante or ex post. We find that the market reaction to VER significantly decreased over time. The changing nature of the market reaction to VER over time highlights the importance of evaluating the financial impact of any VER in the current context rather than relying on past findings. We also find that the market reaction is more positive if the reduction is for greenhouse gas (GHG) rather than other emissions types. In light of the increasing concern with GHGs, this finding should be welcome news for managers. Last, we find a more positive market reaction for VER announcements that are pledges or statements of intent rather than realized achievements of VER. Managers contemplating VER might find benefit (and at least no harm) in announcing their intent to reduce emissions rather than waiting until they have achieved the reduction.     

The Effects of Religious Fundamentalism and Religiosity on Preference for Traditional Family Norms*

This study examines the effects of religion on preference for a patriarchal family, one in which the husband makes decisions while the wife is subservient to him. The effects of both religious fundamentalism and personal religiosity are considered using a survey of adults in a Southwestern city. The analysis reveals a strong positive direct effect of adherence to a fundamentalist doctrine on support for the patriarchal family, but no direct effect of personal religiosity. An interaction effect of these two variables, reported in some other studies of the effect of religion on other family issues, is not found. The effect of religious fundamentalism is equal in magnitude to the effect of age, and greater than the effects of education, gender, family income, head of household occupational prestige, subjective class identification, race and rural background. With the exceptions of age and gender, religious fundamentalism serves as a crucial intervening variable in the relationships between these variables and endorsement of patriarchal norms in the husband-wife relationship.     

Extended mutual imagery in work with anxious and phobic clients

Imagery and metaphor have a long history as tools for helping and healing. This article traces that history to the present and defines and explains the author's variation of using imagery called Extended Mutual Imagery (EMI). The emphasis on mutuality is, from the social work perspective, an essential ingredient for the effectiveness of EMI. EMI has been found to be effective with anxious and phobic clients who use metaphoric and imaging language. A case example using EMI with a 47 year old anxious female client is provided followed by discussion.     

RATIONALITY, EVOLUTION, AND ACQUISITIVENESS

The first part of this paper discusses Alchian's classic 1950 article "Uncertainty, Evolution, and Economic Theory" and argues against the notion that it is easy to eliminate rationality from economic behavior by appealing to evolution as a substitute. The second section discusses rationality and develops a specc meaning for this term that distinguishes it from the axioms of choice found in economic theory. In the final section, I use this definition and link rationality to a behavioral propensity almost unique to the human species—acquisitiveness, concluding from this linkage that acquisitiveness can speed up the evolution of intelligence.