Private returns to education in urban China

The paper examines the marginal returns of education in China for 4 years covering the period 1989–2000. We find, in common, with others that such returns were small in 1989 and 1993, but have increased steadily since 1993. We also find that the returns for women exceed those for men and go some way to reducing the gender earnings gap. Crucially, however, the returns to education decline with the length of time since the individual left school which is consistent with the hypothesis that education enhances ability and skills which in turn enhances earnings, but that the value of such skills deteriorates over time. Finally we find evidence for gravity effects by which earnings decline with distance from Beijing, and more noticeably, Shanghai.     

Diagnosis of pregnancy in bloodstains. Study of progesterone and luteinizing hormone levels

The objective of this work is to establish the diagnostic efficiency of the determination of progesterone and luteinizing hormone in bloodstains on an absorbent surface. In a stain consisting of woman's blood, the establishment of pregnancy or birth may be significant in cases of criminal abortion or infanticide, or to determine the probable date of the events. A total of 61 women between the ages of 16 and 47 years were studied (mean age 29.54 years; S.D. 7.82). Subjects were distributed in three groups: pregnant women, women in labour and non-pregnant women. We found statistically significant differences in progesterone and LH levels between the non-pregnant group and pregnant women in labour in 24 and 48-h bloodstains. We found no statistically significant differences between progesterone and LH levels in pregnant women in 24, 48 and 72-h stains and at 6 and 7 days. We can conclude that progesterone and LH measurements in bloodstains at least 1 week old and probably much older can be very useful in establishing the diagnosis of pregnancy up until and including the time of birth.     

The London Agreement and the cost of patenting in Europe

This paper analyses the consequences for the European patent system of the recently ratified London Agreement, which aims to reduce the translation requirements for patent validation procedures in 15 out of 34 national patent offices. The simulations suggest that the cost of patenting has been reduced by 20–30% since the enforcement of the LA. With an average translation cost saving of €3,600 per patent, the total savings for the business sector amount to about €220 millions. The fee elasticity of patents being about −0.4, one may expect an increase in patent filings of 8–12%. Despite the translation cost savings, the relative cost of a European patent validated in six (thirteen) countries is still at least five (seven) times higher than in the United States.     

Women’s age at last childbearing and its determinants: a case study of Antwerp (Flanders,Belgium) on the basis of the multi-source COR* historical sample

Declines in the age at last childbearing in the first demographic transition reflected conscious changes in fertility behaviour during that period, in particular efforts to limit the total number of children. Such fertility limitation behaviour was the net result of ‘cultural causal factors’ on the one hand and ‘structural and economic causal factors’ on the other hand. This paper analyses the evolution of women’s age at last childbearing by reconstructing women’s life histories based on data from the multi-source COR* historical sample for Antwerp in the period 1846–1920. The paper also assesses the causes of this evolution through a number of theoretically grounded structural/economic, cultural and life course determinants, placing these concepts in a macro-micro framework of methodological individualism. For this purpose, in the first place a Kaplan-Meier analysis is applied to 10-year birth cohorts; a proportional hazard model is also applied to three different birth cohorts (mothers born before 1840; born in the period 1840–1859; and born after 1860); and a range of cultural and life course determinants are analysed, including women’s literacy status, marriage witness characteristics, the seasonality of marriages and births, and birth histories. The analysis confirms the decline in the age at last childbearing especially in the late cohort, and also highlights inter-cohort differences caused by cultural and life course determinants.     

Intimate partner violence and unintended pregnancy among bangladeshi women

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and unintended pregnancy using data from women reporting IPV in the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey. The analysis included 4,695 married women, aged 15 to 40 years, who had at least one birth in the last 5 years. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between IPV and pregnancy. About one third (30.4%) of women were abused physically and/or sexually and about one third (30.9%) of their births in the last 5 years were unintended. Compared with women who suffered no IPV, women who were abused sexually had a 1.64-fold increased risk of unintended pregnancy, which is higher than those who suffered physical abuse only (odds ratio: 1.35). The prevalence of unintended pregnancy among those who experienced severe physical violence was 1.60 times higher than those who reported no abuse. The findings indicate a significant relationship between IPV and unintended pregnancy among Bangladeshi women.     

Historical perspectives on adolescent pregnancy and education in the United States

Adolescent births in early America often were viewed as part of broader concerns about premarital sexual activity and out-of-wedlock births in general. In the second half of the 20th century, adolescent pregnancies and teen out-of-wedlock births were seen as special challenges to American society. There is growing unease about the lack of high-quality education received by young mothers. Periodically, the federal government has taken an active interest in trying to reduce unintended adolescent pregnancies as well as to provide more educational opportunities for everyone. Many of those initiatives have had only limited impact so far.     

Reproductive behaviour in the Lutheran urban family from historical Poland (the Parish of St. Peter from Poznań, the second half of the nineteenth century)

Fertility and reproductive behaviour in the nineteenth-century Lutheran family from the city of Poznań was characterized. Use was made of the St. Peter parish (Peterkirche) registers from 1840s to 1870s, upon which reconstructions of the individual histories of 463 families were based. Fertility was assessed on the basis of the length of between-birth intervals according to their order and age of women. Next, the age-specific fertility rates of women f_x and Coale Index of marital fertility I_g were calculated. From a seasonal rhythm of both marital and illegitimate births, and reconstructed on the basis of these, the annual rhythm of marital and prenuptial conceptions were characterized. In the Lutheran Parish of St. Peter from the city of Poznań illegitimate births and prenuptial conceptions accounted for almost 10% and over 5% of all births, respectively. Lack of seasonality for marital births was noted here. Illegitimate births, by contrast, were characterized by a statistically significant annual rhythm: their maximum was noted in April, which was a result of conceptions during summer. The average woman with completed reproduction cycle gave birth to the first and to the last child at the ages of 29 and 40 years, respectively. She therefore used 32% of her whole reproductive period. Late age of birth of the first child was associated with late age of marriage of women (on average 28 years). An average woman with completed reproduction gave birth to 4.8 children. The average length of the protogenesic interval was 18 months. The highest fertility occurred in women aged between 20 to 29 years. The value of the I_g index was 0.67, and proved a lack of birth control rather than conscious birth regulation. Generally, Lutheran women from Poznań were characterized by fairly high reproductive potential.     

Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Is Women Empowerment a Reducing Factor? A Study from a National Bangladeshi Sample

This article explores how women empowerment affects Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Bangladesh using a cross-sectional investigation of currently married women (n = 4,181) sampled via the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS), 2007. About one-fourth (24%) of currently married Bangladeshi women experienced both physical and/or sexual IPV in the past year. Prevalence of physical and sexual violence was 19.4% and 10.5%, respectively. Younger generation (age 15–24), illiterate, rural, and the poorest household wealth categorized women were much victimized. Current employment status predicted intimate partner violence. Household decision-making pattern also emerged as a predictor of IPV. Likelihood of all forms of IPV increases with increase of number of participation in household decision-making. Promoting women empowerment in the household without men’s support may put women at more risk of IPV.     

Gender Based Violence: Correlates of Physical and Sexual Wife Abuse in Kenya

This study explored factors associated with physical and sexual wife abuse on a sample of 4,876 married women aged 15–49 years in the 2003 Kenya Demographic Health Survey. Results indicate that 40% of married women reported at least one type of violence; 36% were physical and 13% were sexual. Multivariate analysis showed that living in poorer households, being Christian, being in a polygamous marriage, having a husband who drinks alcohol, and being in sales, agricultural, or unskilled jobs significantly increased the wife’s risk of physical and sexual abuse. Wife’s education had significant effect on both physical and sexual abuse, but the relationships were not linear. Wife’s age and number of children were significantly associated only with physical abuse; husband’s education had a marginal but significant effect only on sexual abuse. Research implications are discussed.     

Reproductive health,birth control,and fertility change in Sweden,circa 1900–1940

This article deals with two aspects of reproductive health during the latter part of the Swedish fertility decline: failing health as a motive for birth control, and failing health as a possible consequence of illegal abortions. The main argument is that reproductive health was an important factor in most reproductive decisions during this period, a circumstance largely ignored by researchers of the fertility decline. Questions that are addressed include: How can aspects of reproductive health be viewed as explanatory factors of the fertility decline? How did men react to women's need to stop bearing children for health reasons? How did couples seeking abortion, sometimes for health reasons, perceive the risks associated with abortion? A source material mainly consisting of letters, written in the 1930s and sent to the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, has been used to discern how aspects of health, contraception and abortion were experienced by ordinary men and women. The analysis shows that reproductive health became a motive for birth control, at this point in history, for at least two reasons. Firstly, the experience of childbirth had changed through institutionalization and secularization and, secondly, respectable masculinity was increasingly constructed to include sexual respect towards women. Still, when couples decided to abort, aspects of health were largely ignored. Often abortion was sought because the health risks associated with childbirth were perceived as larger than those associated with abortion. The connection between reproductive health and birth control was, therefore, of a rather complex kind.     

Strength in Numbers or Quality over Quantity? Examining the Importance of Criterion Measure Selection to Define Validity Groups in Performance Validity Test (PVT) Research

Mirroring clinical guidelines, recent Performance Validity Test (PVT) research emphasizes using ≥ 2 criterion PVTs to optimally identify validity groups when validating/cross-validating PVTs; however, even with multiple measures, the effect of which specific PVTs are used as criterion measures remains incompletely explored. This study investigated the accuracy of varying two-PVT combinations for establishing validity status and how adding a third PVT or applying more liberal failure cut-scores affects overall false-positive (FP)/-negative (FN) rates. Clinically referred veterans (N = 114; 30% clinically identified as invalid) completing a six-PVT protocol as during their evaluation were included. Concordance rates were calculated across all possible two-and three-PVT combinations at conservative and liberal cutoffs. Two-PVT combinations classified 72–91% of valid (0–4% FPs) and 17–74% of invalid (0–40% FNs) cases, and three-PVT combinations classified 67–86% of valid (0–6% FPs) and 57–97% of invalid (0–24% FNs) at conservative cutoffs. Liberal cutoffs classified 53–86% of valid (0–15% FPs) and 39–82% of invalid (0–30% FNs) cases for two-PVT combinations and 46–75% of valid (3–27% FPs) and 60–97% of invalid (0–17% FNs) cases for three-PVT combinations. Irrespective of whether a two-or three-PVT combination or conservative/liberal cutoffs were used, many valid and invalid cases failed only one PVT (3–68%).Two-PVT combinations produced high FNs and were less accurate than three-PVTs for detecting invalid cases, though variable accuracy was found within both types of combinations based on the specific PVTs in the combination. Thus, both PVT quantity and quality are important for accurate validity classification in research studies to ensure reliability and replicability of findings. Applying more liberal cutoffs yielded increased sensitivity, but with generally higher FPs yielding problematic specificity, particularly for three-PVT combinations.     

Abortion and gender relationships in Ukraine, 1955–1970

This article examines the sociocultural conditions underpinning the so-called ‘abortion culture’ in Soviet Ukraine. Unlike previous studies on abortion in the Soviet Union which have primarily used country-level data, this study employs original sources – in-depth biographical interviews and archival materials – to investigate local conditions and the manner in which decisions regarding abortion were made. The author studied couples whose reproductive years comprise the period from 1955 to 1970, when modern contraceptives were not readily available but abortion was legal. Two localities in Ukraine – the cities of Lviv and Kharkiv – are included in the investigation. The findings suggest that local patriarchal gender regimes and their associated spousal dynamics defined when and how women exercised their agency in birth control and abortion decisions. In couples where spouses communicated about birth control and abortion decisions, the women sought less abortions. These women did not feel a need to exercise their agency, as the husband took over both responsibilities. When abortion was practised as a routine family-size-limitation method, spouses did not communicate about birth control and abortion, and the two were practised solely as a husband's and wife's responsibility, respectively. These women sought abortions to fulfil their own goals and, at the same time, to maintain the dominant patriarchal order in marital relationships as they understood it. Additionally, peer networks seemed to be the crucial element reinforcing women's agency in these processes.     

Views of Male University Students About Social Gender Roles; An Example From East of Turkey

Social gender roles refer to the roles that are traditionally associated with women and men. Social gender role includes the personal attributes and behaviors which are culturally assigned to women and men. This study was conducted to determine the views of male students at Caucasian University Health School on social gender roles at work, social life, marriage, and family life. The study was conducted on male students studying at Kars Health School, Nursing and Health Officers Department during 2007–2008 academic year. The students were given 24 statements relating to work life, social life, marriage, and family life to determine their views on social gender roles. Results indicated that 30.2% of the male students stated that women could work in a paid job, 56.9% believed in equality of women and men, 44.8% approved honor killing, 40.5% said the girls should receive education as far as they can go, 54.3% said the role of the women was to “provide moral support to their husband and children”, 37.1% stated that husbands could beat their wives under certain circumstances, 52.6% said they witnessed violence in their family at some stage of their lives, 51.7% said the women’s environment should be decided by the spouses together, 25% said the women should engage in sexual intercourse with their spouses even if they did not want to. Men who thought the role of the women was to do housework/giving birth to children/looking after the elderly members of the house, and who approved honor killing and disapproved working of their spouses, and who did not believe in equality of women and men, were found to support violence to women by men. Moreover, the students who witnessed violence at some stage of their lives supported this view as well. It was considered that the students should be educated on the definition of violence and situations involving violence, and directed to consultant services.     

Implementation of section 403(a)(2) of Social Security Act; bonus to reward decrease in illegitimacy ratio. Administration for Children and Families, HHS. Final rule

The Administration for Children and Families is issuing a final rule describing how we will award a bonus to those States that experience the largest decreases in out-of-wedlock childbearing and also reduce their abortion rates. The total amount of the bonus will be up to $100 million in each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002, and the award for each eligible State in a given year will be $25 million or less. This incentive provision is a part of the welfare reform block grant program enacted in 1996--the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program.     

Alcohol and Domestic Violence: A Cross-Over Study in Residences of Individuals in Brazil

The objective of this study was to investigate psychological or physical violence associated with the use of alcohol, in residences of individuals in Brazil and, also describe the social characteristics of aggressors and victims. Therefore, this study expects to contribute to studies in Brazil that seek to clarify the relations between alcohol and violence in residences. A total of 454 respondents, 12–65 years old, were assessed, they were sorted by the Kish method, and the residences randomly. The SAMHSA questionnaire was utilized after translated and adapted to Brazilian conditions. 26% of the individuals reported psychological violence, and 16% reported physical violence. The study’s main results set the differences in the reports for physical violence (OR 7, 95% CI: 4–13) and psychological violence (OR 5, 95% CI: 3–8) in residences where someone arrived or became intoxicated with alcohol (P < 0.05). 50% of the aggressors were under the effects of alcohol, and 77% of the victims were relatives of their aggressors. Acts of violence are not necessarily associated with alcohol consumption. Men and women reported acts of domestic violence; psychological violence was the most prevalent form. Men are currently the primary aggressors, while women are primarily the victims     

‘I Wasn’t Really Bonded with My Family’: Attachment,Loss and Violence among Adolescent Female Offenders

This study analyzes the role of trauma and disrupted attachments in the development of adolescent girls’ violent behavior. A grounded theory approach was applied to the narratives of 24 young women (age 13–16 years old) who were adjudicated and remanded to custody for an assault or robbery. Three types of loss were inductively derived from the data (death of a loved one, physical absence, and psychological unavailability) as were two categories of violence (in the home and in the community). Findings suggest that extensive losses and violent experiences disrupted the young women’s attachment to their caregivers, and these experiences were disregarded or inadequately addressed. Detachment and the absence of supportive others left the young women poised to engage in a variety of maladaptive behaviors including violence. Theoretical and programmatic implications are discussed.