Thesis (doctoral)--University of Lapland, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Prior research has focused on studying female fertility, but male fertility remains overlooked. Using data from the 2001 Demographic Yearbook, the 1964 to 2002 Taiwan-Fukien Demographic Yearbooks, the 2004 National Statistics Reports and the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) Cycle 6, this dissertation examines male and female fertility at the aggregate and individual levels by studying men’s and women’s fertility differentials in rates and in determinants. Based on examining the age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) and the total fertility rates (TFRs) for men and women during the 1990 to 1998 period in 43 countries and places, results show that male and female age-specific fertility mainly differs in the older age groups. In those age groups, male fertility largely outnumbers female fertility. And this pattern is especially apparent in low fertility countries (TFR<2,200). With regard to total fertility, male and female TFRs tend to be similar in countries with TFR values lower than 2,200 where female fertility tends to be higher than male fertility. The opposite pattern is true for countries with male and female TFRs higher than 2,200. In the analysis of Taiwan fertility, results reveal that male and female TFRs for most years during 1975 to 2004 are far from identical. The ASFRs for men and women also differed over time and varied by educational attainment. Although fertility determinants at the aggregate level impact men’s and women’s fertility similarly, models combining these factors are more powerful when explaining female than male fertility. The individual level analyses of the U.S. samples also show significant fertility differentials by gender. Age, marriage, and Hispanic origin increase men’s fertility to a greater extent compared to women’s fertility. Family income increases men’s fertility but decreases women’s fertility. Participating in the labor force shows a much stronger positive effect on male than on female childbearing. Cohabitation experience, however, has a significantly stronger impact increasing women’s than men’s fertility. And an increased number of sexual partners is more likely to reduce men’s children compared to women. These findings reported draw research attention to male fertility and contribute to understanding the dynamics of male fertility.

Texte remanié de: Thesis--Universiteit Leiden. / Bibliogr. p. 304-317.

A research report submitted to the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health 24th October, 2014 / Background: Male circumcision (MC) has a substantial effect in reducing HIV infections in men by 60 -70% making it one of the best available evidence-based biomedical HIV prevention interventions. Swaziland included Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) as part of its comprehensive HIV prevention package but the national scale up has been constrained by the limited availability of trained physicians, who are the only professionals permitted to perform the surgery. Task-shifting has been proposed as a possible strategy to increase service providers in the face of HIV and AIDS and the human resource for health crisis. Study Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of doctors and nurses towards task shifting of male circumcision procedures to nurses in 2012. Methodology: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey was carried out. A self-administered questionnaire with close-ended rating and reverse coded questions was distributed to all nurses and doctors affiliated to the non-governmental organization (NGO), governmental, missionary and privately-run VMMC clinics nationwide. Data from returned questionnaires were entered, cleaned and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22 and Microsoft Excel. Analysis of the internal reliability of the questionnaire scale and sub-scales was conducted. The main statistical procedures were descriptive statistics and tests of association. Results: The study recruited 398 participants (25.4% doctors and 74.6% nurses), of which 44.2% were male and 56% were Swaziland nationals. This study found that 80.4% of the participants (doctors and nurses) had a positive attitude towards the reform of task-shifting VMMC to nurses. Nurses had a more positive attitude than doctors (p<0.001), while male nurses had a significantly more positive attitude than female nurses (p<0.001).However, there was no significant difference between the attitudes of male and female doctors (p=0.130). The study found that sex (p=0.001), profession (doctor vs. nurse) (p<0.001), nationality (expatriate vs. local) (p<0.001) and having ever practically performed the surgical procedure (p<0.001) were significantly associated with the participants attitude. However, their primary role (administrator vs. clinician) (p=0.059) and time spent in the VMMC programme (p=0.112) did not significantly influence the participants’ attitude towards the task-shifting policy reform. Conclusions and Recommendations: Doctors and nurses in Swaziland generally have a positive attitude towards task-shifting of male circumcision to nurses. Nurses, males, participants with longer exposure and practical experience in VMMC, older participants and expatriates had even more positive attitudes towards the reform than their counterparts. The findings of the study suggest that the government should consider development of a task-shifting policy after further research that looks into determining attitudes of other stakeholders in VMMC and should also consider strategies to address the special groups that had lower or negative attitudes towards the reform than their counterparts, such as through sensitization campaigns. Feasibility, cost-effectiveness and other practical issues in our setting also need to be taken into consideration, including a possible trial (pilot). The reform should, however, be introduced with consideration of aspects of adequate training, development, supervision and support, administrative regulation, staff motivation and recognition.

M.A. / In today’s world, men are often under represented within the domain of the victim. Dominant narratives such as feminism and those that inform masculinity could be seen as maintaining this under representation. One area where this is particularly evident concerns the male victim of rape. This study utilised a phenomenological methodology in an attempt to describe the phenomenon of male rape from the victims’ perspectives. The methodology that was employed relied on transcendental phenomenology in order to create the descriptions of this phenomenon. Through the application of this method it was discovered that the phenomenon of male rape has a dominant structure that is related to the destruction and reconstruction of the masculine self. The research also revealed several textural themes that include the characteristics of the assault, the treatment and support that victims receive, the effect of the assault on the self, disclosure about the assault, the learning’s and life changes brought about by the assault, the victims’ feelings towards their assailants and the effect of the assault on the victims’ relationships. The research furthermore provides individual textural and structural descriptions for each of the individual participants who took part in the study. Composite textural and structural descriptions were also created for the group of participants as a whole. The final description that was created through the research process includes the intuitive integration of the fundamental composite textural and structural descriptions into a unified statement of the essences of the experience of male rape as a whole.

acase@tulane.edu / Anthropogenic noise is an evolutionarily recent phenomenon and many animals respond by changing the pitch and timing of their vocalizations to avoid masking. A benefit to modifying a vocal mating signal in the context of noise is increased transmission distance. This same modification may pose a fitness cost if that signal feature is also sexually selected. Bird song is a well-studied sexual signal used in territory defense and mate attraction. Physically difficult to produce components of song are thought to be honest signals of male quality. One such trait is a male's ability to maximize the rate of note production at a given frequency bandwidth; this tradeoff is known as vocal performance. Studies have shown modifications to song in the context of noise, specifically to trill rate and bandwidth. Costs of these modifications may include increased conflict with neighboring males, which could potentially lead to decreased body condition, loss of a territory, or less time spent attracting a female. Few studies have investigated this tradeoff between environmentally induced selection (i.e. natural selection) and social selection (i.e. sexual selection) on song in an urban landscape. Therefore, a gap remains in our knowledge of the consequences on fitness of urban song adaptation for signalers. Using the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, the objectives of my dissertation research include 1) testing if vocal performance is a salient signal for white-crowned sparrows, 2) testing if receivers are responding specifically to variation in trill rate or bandwidth, and 3) testing the effect of ambient noise level on receiver assessment of vocal performance. Overall, my dissertation research suggests that both anthropogenic and natural soundscapes shape the evolution of song and receiver behavior. Modifications to song structure that increase signal detection come at the cost of decreased signal salience for male competitors. Additionally, anthropogenic noise appears to change how males utilize vocal performance. Therefore, species living in noisy areas may face consequences of decreased fitness over time due to masked honest signals and increased male-male conflict. / 1 / Jennifer N. Phillips

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

This study examined the role that rigid sex-role stereotyping and male socialization played in differentiating the three typologies of male batterers. The first purpose was to utilize a cluster analysis to determine whether the three male batterer clusters (Family Only (FO), Borderline-Dysphoric (BD) and Generally Violent- Antisocial (GVA)) theorized by Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) could be reproduced using the MMPI-2. 101 adult court referred males on probation for domestic violence were given the MMPI-2, and three distinct batterer typologies emerged. Once the clusters were established, this study attempted to determine if the theoretical model proposed by Jennings and Murphy (2000), which emphasized male socialization and its potential effect on male-female interactions within intimate relationships, is influential in creating differentiation among the cluster typologies. Specifically, an emphasis was placed on examining how the FO male batterer cluster differed from the BD and GVA clusters. Four variables were theorized to best represent Jennings and Murphy'™s (2000) model, including: the Masculine-Feminine (MF) clinical scale, Social Introversion (Si) clinical scale, Gender-Masculine (GM) supplementary scale and Low Self-Esteem (LSE) content scale. A MANOVA was utilized to see if the three batterer typologies differed on the variables (MF, Si, GM, and LSE) that encompass the male socialization construct. Results indicated that statistically significant differentiation did exist between the three clusters. Furthermore, there was indication that the FO men adhered more closely to rigid traditional male roles and displayed higher self-esteem. Discussion focused on the importance of matching treatment to batterer typology and the importance of incorporating discussion of male socialization into group therapy treatment.

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-115).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-67).