Ma, Ka Yan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-176). / Abstracts and appendix I in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / List of Figures --- p.V / List of Tables --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Research Background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research Questions and Objectives --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Research Significance --- p.2 / Chapter 1.4 --- Outline of Thesis --- p.3 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Previous Studies on Fertility Decline --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- "Defining Total Fertility Rate, Below Replacement Fertility level and Lowest-low Fertility level" --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- Determinants of Low Fertility --- p.6 / Chapter 2.3 --- Theories of Fertility Decline --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Demographic Transition --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Easterlin's Framework: Supply-Demand Analysis --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Caldwell's Net Intergenerational Wealth Flow Theory --- p.11 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Coleman's Theoretical Approach to contemporary Low Fertility --- p.12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Studies on Fertility Decline in Europe --- p.13 / Chapter 2.5 --- Studies on Fertility Decline in East Asia --- p.15 / Chapter 2.6 --- The Relationship between City Development and Fertility --- p.16 / Chapter 2.7 --- Studies on Fertility Decline in Hong Kong --- p.18 / Chapter 2.8 --- Summary --- p.20 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Research Framework and Methodology --- p.22 / Chapter 3.1 --- Consideration of Research Methodology --- p.22 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research Framework --- p.24 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Conceptual Framework --- p.24 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Research Framework --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3 --- Research Design --- p.30 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Data Collection --- p.32 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Data Analysis --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Fertility Change and Socio-economic Development in Hong Kong / Chapter 4.1 --- Economic Changes since the 1960s --- p.40 / Chapter 4.2 --- Social Changes since the 1970s --- p.44 / Chapter 4.3 --- "Fertility, Marriage and Demographic Characteristics of the Population in Hong Kong" --- p.47 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Fertility --- p.47 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Marriage --- p.49 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Socio-economic Characteristics of Women --- p.52 / Chapter 4.4 --- Summary --- p.57 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Comparing Fertility and Factor Importance among Three Women Groups --- p.58 / Chapter 5.1 --- Overview of Respondents and their Fertility Level in three different periods --- p.58 / Chapter 5.2 --- Demographic and Socio-economic Characteristics of Respondents in Three Groups --- p.61 / Chapter 5.3 --- Factors that Affect Respondents' Fertility Decision --- p.66 / Chapter 5.4 --- Factors that Affect the Societal Fertility Level of Hong Kong --- p.80 / Chapter 5.5 --- Summary and Discussion --- p.96 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Comparing the Importance of Fertility Factors among Three Age Groups: Considering the Effects of Socio-economic Status --- p.101 / Chapter 6.1 --- Difference in Socio-economic Status of Women --- p.101 / Chapter 6.2 --- Controlling the Effects of Educational Attainment on the Mean Importance of Factors in Respondents' Fertility Decision --- p.102 / Chapter 6.3 --- Controlling the Effects of the Type of Economic Activities on the Mean Importance of Factors in Respondents' Fertility Decision --- p.118 / Chapter 6.4 --- The Effects of Education Attainment on the Mean Importance of Factors on Societal Fertility Level --- p.136 / Chapter 6.5 --- The Effects of Type of Economic Activities on the Mean Importance of Factors on Societal Fertility Level --- p.142 / Chapter 6.6 --- Summary and Discussion --- p.147 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.153 / Chapter 7.1 --- Research Background --- p.153 / Chapter 7.2 --- Major Findings --- p.154 / Chapter 7.3 --- Limitations --- p.160 / Chapter 7.4 --- Areas for further study --- p.160 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.162 / APPENDIX / Chapter Appendix I --- The questionnaire of this study --- p.177 / Chapter Appendix II --- Questions employed in the interview --- p.191

Rural-urban differentials in fertility behaviour are neither new nor surprising, but a difference of over four children per woman as observed between rural Ethiopia and the country's national capital, Addis Ababa, in 1990 is rare, possibly unique. Reported fertility in Addis Ababa in 1990 was about 2.6 children per woman. By the mid-1990s, it declined further to 1.8 children per woman. This study investigates the dimensions, components and causes of this remarkable reproductive change. ¶ The study specifically asks and seeks to answer the following questions. Is the decline real, or is it merely an illusion created by faulty reporting? If it is real, how has it come about? Did it result from a change in the onset of reproduction or a decline in the proportion of women reaching high parities or both? And in what context has such a fundamental, even revolutionary, change taken place in a country and a continent that are mostly yet to join the global transition to a small family-size norm. ¶ Data for the study were drawn from two national population censuses, undertaken in 1984 and 1994, two fertility surveys, conducted in 1990 and 1995, and a number of supplementary sources, including a qualitative study conducted by the investigator. Results from the study confirm that the trend of declining fertility and the recent fall to below-replacement-level are indeed real. As the analysis shows the decline was largely driven by changes in the marriage pattern, and supplemented by the increased propensity of fertility control observed across all birth orders and age groups. All socio-economic groups in the city have had a decline in cohort fertility and this was brought about both by shifts in population composition (a composition effect) and increased intensity of fertility control within each group (a rate effect). The institutional and cultural factors that are believed to have prompted these changes are discussed in the thesis in some detail.

In the past the identification and explanation of spatial variations in fertility was seen as an important contribution to the field of population geography. By the 1980s with the substantial declines in fertility and the ' end ' of the demographic transition came the belief low fertility equated with little variation between groups and across space. Recent evidence however suggests the interaction of various factors including place - specific factors has led to spatio - temporal changes in fertility that have not been expected based on theoretical and national patterns of fertility. The objective of this thesis was to investigate if spatial differentials in fertility still exist, and have relevance in a low fertility setting. The study examines the geography of fertility in the State of South Australia from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s using unpublished issue data from the 1976, 1981, 1986 and 1996 Australian Censuses for women aged 45 - 49 years and 15 - 44 years. In addition to identifying the patterns trends towards convergence or divergence in the patterns over time and the reasons for the patterns were also identified. The findings of this study indicate strong spatial variations in fertility still exist, have persisted over time and there are localised conditions which temper overall expectations from theory. While it is assumed declines in fertility equate with a convergence in differentials, the statistical parameters used in this study showed trends towards convergence or divergence varied by geographical scale and age group. Despite the limited attention socio - economic factors have received in the examination of population issues in Australia, they remain central to explaining the fertility patterns and trends found in this study. In fact in metropolitan Adelaide fertility may be a significant contributor and influence on social polarisation. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Social Sciences, 2005.

NMES1 is a gene of unknown function first characterized in 2002. Reduction of the expression of this gene has been implicated in skin tumorigenesis in mice. Expression of NMES1 is observed in epithelial tissue but expression in the testis is significantly higher than in epidermis. Because stallion fertility is an economically important trait, we decided to characterize the NMES1 gene in stallions. We screened the CHORI241 library and obtained the full length equine NMES1 genomic sequence by direct sequencing off of clone CH241-11J8. In order to experimentally determine the 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions (UTRs) we conducted RLM-RACE experiments using stallion testis RNA. The equine NMES1 mRNA is 534 nt long and contains 5 exons. Fluorescence in situ hybridization mapped NMES1 to chromosome Eca1q23. In situ experiments to testis tissue sections were inconclusive and yielded no data confirming the physical expression pattern of NMES1 in stallion testis tissue. In order to determine the expression pattern of NMES1 mRNA we conducted qRT-PCR assays on a panel of stallion testis samples from horses with normal and abnormal fertility. We found that expression was variable among both groups, with significantly less expression in some individuals. We also conducted the qRT-PCR assay on a panel of five equine tissues and found that the expression of NMES1 was more than 100-fold greater in testis than in other tissues examined. miR-147b is a miRNA of unknown target found within the 3’ UTR of NMES1. We conducted a miRNA qRT-PCR assay to determine the expression levels in stallion testis samples from fertile and sub-fertile stallions. We observed similar expression among both groups and the ratio of mRNA to miRNA did not appear constant. We also investigated miR-147b expression in a panel of five equine tissues and found that equine spleen had more than 8-fold greater expression than testis.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1972. / Typewritten.

Thesis (doctoral)--Università degli studi di Roma "La Sapienza." / Title from title screen (viewed Mar. 14, 2003). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-169).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics, June 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 1997. / Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Department of Sociology. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Northwestern University, 2000. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 61-11, Section: A, page: 4441. Adviser: Caroline Bledsoe.

Natural disasters have previously been found to have a positive effect on fertility due to incentives to use births to replace children lost and insure against increased risk. Using a simple demand framework for children, this paper contributes to the literature by re-examining this interaction under a new set of methodological conditions through the inclusion of a wider spectrum of cases than often used in previous works. OLS fixed effects regressions are performed using data from Indonesia and no support for the hypothesis is found. The findings are robust and contrast with former research. To provide nuance and insight to the results, the wanted total fertility rate and the prevalence of contraceptive use are utilised as alternative dependent variables.