Essay 1: New directions in psychosocial models of fertility decision making

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula E. Hollerbach
1978 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-382
Author(s):  
M. Javed Akbar Zaki

To many social theoreticians, the population explosion, particularly in the developing nations presents a crippling threat to their developmental pro¬cesses. Their argument's validity rests mainly on the assumption that expected economic progress is swallowed up by unbalanced rise of numbers in the population. The book being reviewed deals mainly with this subject matter and is divided into two parts, each containing three articles contributed by various researchers. Part one, 'The Social context of Fertility Decision' is focused on analyzing the role of factors affecting fertility at the micro-level decision making process. The first article 'Fertility decision in rural India' by Vinod Jainath, examines the applicability to rural India of various models of the process of fertility decision making and finds most of these wanting with respect to the Indian social situation. While analyzing the fertility patterns of Rural India, he points out the positive need for larger families among the poor small farmers mainly due to labour supply considerations. The author argues that unemployment and under¬employment actually motivate the poor to have more children as it better ensures their economic security in their old age. As the chances of gaining employ¬ment for their offspring diminish, they are induced to increase the total number of children in order that atleast one will be able to support them. Thus a vicious circle of poverty arises in large families because of each of the parents wanting to increase their children's chances of employment by ultimately reducing the overall employment opportunities even further and exacerbating their poverty.


Author(s):  
Ellen Sweeney

There is increasing evidence that raises specific concerns about prenatal exposures to toxic substances which makes it necessary to consider everyday exposures to industrial chemicals and toxic substances in consumer products, including endocrine disrupting chemicals. Pregnant women have measurable levels of numerous toxic substances from exposures in their everyday environments, including those which are associated with adverse developmental and reproductive health outcomes. As a result, environmental contexts have begun to influence the decisions women make related to fertility, as well as the formal guidelines and advice provided by healthcare professionals. This article provides an overview of the potential role for obstetricians and gynecologists in educating their patients about the role of toxic substances in fertility decision-making and pregnancy. It explores the emerging guidelines and recommendations from professional organizations and problematizes the limitations of these approaches.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Maree Maher

OECD data suggest a significant gap between desired fertility rates and the total fertility rate achieved in developed industrial nations. In a qualitative study conducted in Australia in 2002 and 2003, people were asked how family policies influenced their decisions to have children. Participants did not clearly associate their fertility choices and prevailing policy settings. But their decision-making was grounded in commonplace accounts of incompatibility in balancing work and family. This article considers how individual choices may be shaped by such social and policy discourses and what implications this has for our understanding of the relationship between fertility choices and policy settings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Magnus Hvattum

AbstractThe increasing availability of data from sports events has led to many new directions of research, and sports analytics can play a role in making better decisions both within a club and at the level of an individual player. The ability to objectively evaluate individual players in team sports is one aspect that may enable better decision making, but such evaluations are not straightforward to obtain. One class of ratings for individual players in team sports, known as plus-minus ratings, attempt to distribute credit for the performance of a team onto the players of that team. Such ratings have a long history, going back at least to the 1950s, but in recent years research on advanced versions of plus-minus ratings has increased noticeably. This paper presents a comprehensive review of contributions to plus-minus ratings in later years, pointing out some key developments and showing the richness of the mathematical models developed. One conclusion is that the literature on plus-minus ratings is quite fragmented, but that awareness of past contributions to the field should allow researchers to focus on some of the many open research questions related to the evaluation of individual players in team sports.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I P Y Lo

Abstract Study question How does the cultural importance attached to biological family ties shape Chinese lesbians’ decision-making processes regarding whether and how to have children? Summary answer The cultural significance of biological ties shapes Chinese lesbians’ fertility decisions, including those regarding conception methods, who will get pregnant, and whose sperm to use. What is known already Previous research has shown that normative expectations towards opposite-sex marriage and biological parenthood impose significant psychological burden on lesbians in China, where same-sex couples are not entitled to the rights to partnership/marriage, assisted reproductive technology (ART), and parenthood. Despite the legal barriers, online discussions on same-sex parenthood and commercial consultation services targeted at same-sex couples who want to travel overseas to use ART have emerged in recent years. While more lesbians have become parents of donor conceived children in Western developed countries, little is known about Chinese lesbians’ reproductive experiences in the context of increasing reproductive transactions that transgress borders. Study design, size, duration In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 Chinese lesbians between July 2017 and June 2018 in Beijing, China. To better understand the context and social and clinical implications of global ART services for Chinese society, I also carried out participant observation by attending informal gatherings organised by the local lesbian community and public events targeted at (same-sex) individuals and couples who want to travel overseas to use ART and producing fieldnotes after the events. Participants/materials, setting, methods Participants were aged between 25 to 45. The majority were in their thirties. Each interview took around 2 hours and was audio-recorded and transcribed. The interview guide covered questions about their family beliefs, views on and/or experiences of donor conception, and perceived and actual difficulties in pursuing motherhood. With the assistance of NVivo (a qualitative data analysis software), I carried out thematic analysis of the interviews and fieldnotes to identify common patterns across the dataset. Main results and the role of chance Participants shared a belief that being biologically connected with their (prospective) children was, to varying extents, important to their families. They were at different stages of fertility decision-making, ranging from achieved motherhood (8 participants), actively planning to pursue motherhood (9), hesitation in taking action (11), and a lack of interest in or hope of becoming a mother (7). Almost all participants expressed that they did not prefer adoption and that they were reluctant to involve known sperm donors, who were considered a threat to their parental status. Rather, they were inclined to seek ART overseas in order to create their desired biological ties in a clinical setting. Issues including donor screening, desire for family resemblances, the status of biological and social mothers, and plans to purchase sperms from the same donor to conceive “siblings” were discussed in the interviews. It is evident that when deciding on whether to have a child and how to involve any third parties, participants tended to embrace the relational self and carefully balance individuals desires with familial and social expectations. The felt need to legitimise their relationships with donor conceived children imposes psychological burden on lesbian intended parents and discourages many from pursuing motherhood. Limitations, reasons for caution The findings of this qualitative study are not intended to be generalised to the whole lesbian population in China. Given the hidden nature of this population, my research, despite its small sample size, represents a significant step forward and calls for more quantitative and qualitative studies on lesbians’ fertility health. Wider implications of the findings: This study shows that lesbians’ journeys to donor conception require not only medical and legal support but also psychosocial care that attends to one’s perceived importance of biological ties and family beliefs. It sensitises healthcare professionals to the specific fertility-related psychosocial needs and concerns among lesbians in a family-centred context. Trial registration number Not applicable


2021 ◽  
pp. 130-144
Author(s):  
Richard W. Benfield

Abstract This chapter highlights a number of urban programs related to gardens that rank as the most noteworthy of gardens' new directions in an urban milieu. New directions in garden tourism in urban areas are marked by reaching out to new audiences (where neighborhood demography is changing), community programming, local participation in decision making, attracting new ethnic audiences, and overall outreach to their own particular neighbors. Botanic gardens are also playing a lead role in the application of and education about the need for a sustainable future. Examples of urban garden initiatives in the USA, UK and New Zealand are highlighted.


2004 ◽  
Vol 359 (1451) ◽  
pp. 1737-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zeki ◽  
O. R. Goodenough ◽  
Paul J. Zak

This paper introduces an emerging transdisciplinary field known as neuroeconomics. Neuroeconomics uses neuroscientific measurement techniques to investigate how decisions are made. First, I present a basic overview of neuroanatomy and explain how brain activity is measured. I then survey findings from the neuroeconomics literature on acquiring rewards and avoiding losses, learning, choice under risk and ambiguity, delay of gratification, the role of emotions in decision-making, strategic decisions and social decisions. I conclude by identifying new directions that neuroeconomics is taking, including applications to public policy and law.


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