The timing of first birth

“The timing of first birth” is taken to mean the distribution of first births among a cohort of women. (1) How large is the final proportion of women who have at least one birth and (2) what is the distribution of women by age at first birth? “The percentage of non-fecund women” and “the age-specific risk for a fecund woman of remaining childless” are useful parameters in predicting final childlessness. These parameters are estimated. It is found that the risk of a fecund woman remaining childless is substantial even at the most common childbearing age. The effect of postponement of births on final childlessness is demonstrated and quantified. It is shown that the higher level of childlessness among women with long education can be explained by postponement of childbearing. The expression “later means fewer” is also true for first births. A method of predicting first birth rates, presented earlier by the author, is discussed and shown to give a good fit to Swedish data.     

Contrasting strategies for tree species to cope with heat and dry conditions at urban sites

Street trees planted at tree pits with impermeable pavements are exposed to a high level of both, atmospheric and edaphic stress. For many species tree physiology, optimal growth, and consequently long-term vitality may be hampered under these harsh conditions. Therefore, maintaining the vitality and promoting the ecosystem services provided by urban trees, for example aesthetic values and microclimatic benefits, it is important to establish trees with a high tolerance to stressful urban environments. Measurements of leaf gas exchange, leaf water potential, leaf surface temperature and chlorophyll-fluorescence were used for identification of specific response of Corylus corluna L., Ginkgo biloba L., Liriodendron tulipifera L., and Tilia cordata Mill. ‘Greenspire’. The summer months in 2013 with a period of heat and drought over eight weeks only interrupted by two rainy days were appropriate to access tree’s strategies to cope with low water availability. During the measurement period, the influence of high temperatures, high values of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and low soil water availability on stomatal conductance, water-use efficiency (WUE) and leaf water potential (Ψmin, Ψmax ) was highest for Liriodendron followed by Ginkgo. These species showed high reductions in WUE in case of higher air temperatures and high values of VPD. Results indicate an avoidance strategy under increasing heat and VPD. In contrast, Corylus and Tilia followed a tolerance strategy indicated by decreasing values of Ψmin and lower reductions of WUE. In conclusion, wide species-specific variation in response to high temperatures and high VPD indicates that substantial potential exists in the selection for dry and hot urban places.     

Effects of defense spending on the Texas economy: An example of concave programming

The projected defense buildup by the Reagan Administration through 1937 will provide strong stimulus to the Texas economy. In this paper, we provide numerical estimates of the emerging additional output and the number of jobs in 173 productive sectors of the state's economy. The calculations are carried out inside the framework of a new concave programming format which makes it possible to compare the need for labor in 23 aggregate sectors with the projected available workforce. In sectors with scarce labor supply, wages will start to rise. The general price level will then also rise from the cost side. Appropriated defense dollars will then buy less real goods and services than originally envisaged. The model was solved using a computer code for successive linear programming. The computations represent one of the larger applications of this particular computer code to date.     

Conceptualizing and Measuring Quality of Life for National Policy

The interests in social indicators andsocial reporting started in the 1960s with thenew awareness of poverty in the midst ofaffluence. In this paper I first discuss thepoverty concept and its implication for socialpolicy strategy. The poverty concept should bebut one in a system of concepts that throwslight on the whole distribution of income andwealth and how income from labor as well asincome from capital is generated. The centralconcepts in the system are income and economicstandard, which I explain in differentperspectives on command over resources.The command-over-resources concept is usedto get from a narrow concept of materialwelfare that can be measured in money to awider concept of welfare that includes theuniversal common social concerns. I confess tobeing intrigued by the fact that a list ofsocial concerns can be agreed upon that seemsto be relevant across cultures, politicalsystems and times. I suggest that thissurmised universality springs from the great``life projects'' that all humans face over thelife cycle.I then discuss the role of social indicatorsand social reporting as continuous informationon these common concerns in the context of anepistemology of the democratic process. Socialreporting would serve the democratic processbest if it answers ``how it is'' and leaves theanswers on ``how it ought to be'' and ``whatshould be done'' to come about throughdiscussion among citizens.     

Who Lacks Support and Why? An Examination of Mothers' Personal Safety Nets

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 12,140 person-waves) to identify characteristics associated with mothers' having or lacking "personal safety net" support from family and friends. We focus on characteristics that are likely to increase the importance of having support available but may also interfere with the maintenance of supportive ties: poverty, poor physical and mental health, and challenging child rearing responsibilities. By capitalizing on distinctions among these types of personal disadvantages and among types of personal safety nets (financial, housing, child care, and emotional), we help to explain why personal disadvantages are associated with weaker support. Our paper contributes to the literature emphasizing the importance of reciprocity in support relationships and introduces the idea that families that are more difficult to help will have less support available.     

Dignity and ethics in research photography

The aim of this paper is to provide new conceptual and practical insights about the issues associated with ethics and dignity when undertaking research involving the collection of photographic data. Case studies of photographs taken as part of a research project in Chennai, India, are employed to illuminate the significance of dignity. The case studies reveal that dignity-in-context provides a useful conceptual tool that encapsulates the range of ethical issues that might be encountered. This concept has two dimensions. The first, dignity-in-outcome, assists deciding what and whether to photograph by drawing attention to the need for those being researched to benefit from the research, to present an authentic view of the situation and to ensure that participants are not demeaned or reduced. The second is dignity-in-process that helps researchers decide why and how to photograph in terms of involving those being researched in the way an image is captured, choosing the right angle for the image and the impression the image will give if and when it is published.     

Vaginal Douching Practices Among Women Attending a University in the Southern United States

Abstract

The authors assessed the frequency, characteristics, and motivational antecedents of vaginal douching practices among 125 White and 155 Black female college students. Overall, 40% of the students had ever douched and half of those women currently douche. Black women were most likely to be encouraged to douche by their mothers, whereas White women were more influenced by television advertisements. Among the sexually active women, being Black, using oral contraceptives, using spermicides, and being encouraged to douche by their mothers or by the media were independently associated with ever having douched. These associations were present among both Black and White women and were stronger when current douching was compared with never having douched. Women who were discouraged from douching by a physician or nurse were more likely to have stopped the practice. Douching is common, even among educated young women; nurses' and physicians' advice to stop douching appears to have a salutary effect.     

Knowledge Sharing for Sustainable Development: An Examination of Practices in Local-Level NGOs in Tamil Nadu,India

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This study examines the knowledge sharing (KS) practices of local-level non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Operating...