This thesis is concerned with development of some methods and concepts by which kinship behaviour in Western urban societies may be studied quantitatively, and with the data derived from an experimental application of them. Questionnaires filled out by 185 students in the introductory course in Anthropology were analyzed. In the light of this analysis, the inadequacies of some definitions and uses of the term "kindred" are demonstrated, and the concepts of "potential kindred" and "effective kindred" are suggested. In an approach to the investigation of the importance of kin relationships, kin terminology and the naming of children are considered, and a "kin-use index" is derived for the quantitative expression of dependence upon kin for support. Findings stress the importance of the nuclear family, and suggest a matrilateral bias in kinship knowledge and behaviour. The influence of propinquity and separation upon kin relationships is explored by means of an application of the concept of pheric distance and the development of a numerical index of interaction between kinsmen. Again the findings show a nuclear family pattern with a matrilateral bias. Also considered in this connection are findings that suggest an uxorilocal pattern of residence. In conclusion, the implications of the findings are discussed in comparison with the model of American kinship presented by Talcott Parsons, and some suggestions about the application of modified versions of the methods and concepts used in this study are made. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

The social problem under investigation is that of widespread poverty amongst households comprising minor chidren and a lone parent, whether this household has arisen due to a birth outside a stable union, separation, divorce or widowhood. The scale and features of this poverty are identified with reference to demographic data from Canada and the United Kingdom. Possible policies for reform are identified through a thorough review of literature from the Commonwealth and the United States. Special attention is paid to empirical investigations and the relationship between public and private support of single parent families. Whilst none of the four hypothetical reforms proposed - a system of insurance, rigorous enforcement of court orders, constraining judicial discretion, expanded rights to public support - is unconditionally accepted, only insurance is rejected as offering nothing of value. The conclusion is that the non-custodial parent's responsibility for his or her children must continue to be emphasised but that public resources should be expended with a view to assisting the single parent to obtain, enforce and periodically vary orders in favour of the children. For the single parent himself or herself, the aim must be to reverse the current process of marginalisation within society and this independence can best be achieved by reforms of the labour market rather than by reforms of the legal process. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate