Fertility And The Male Life Cycle In The Era Of Fertility Decline

This volume challenges the orthodox position on two of the main themes in fertility transition studies: the inevitable link between fewer children and quality of life and the focus on women as the sole important objects of study. In an era of unprecedented fertility decline, there is increasing concern about the lessening worldwide role that men play in the upbringing of children. The immense worldwide variation in the timing and sequencing of a man's life course events, the rise and fall in personal forunes, and the weight of society's hierarchies, all combine to affect the number of children a man fathers, when he fathers them, the number of partners he fathers them with, and the kind of support and recognition he bestows on them. The cross-disciplinary approach favoured here, including ethnographies, national surveys, and historical texts, avoids the narrow focus of many fertility studies texts. By providing detailed studies on a variety of countries ranging from Germany to Papua New Guinea, the contributors build an accurate picture of the global situation, while two Overview chapters give a wider perspective, and the Introduction synthesizes the themes identified and conclusions reached.

This book discusses the biological, methodological and sociological issues that have caused men to be overlooked in demographic and sociological literature of fertility. It explores the patterns and determinants of male fertility and studies male fertility rates as compared to those of females in 43 countries and places, over time. Data used in the aggregate level analysis come from multiple sources, including the 2001 United Nations Demographic Yearbook, the 1964 to 2004 Taiwan-Fukien Demographic Yearbooks, and National Statistics Reports by the Statistics Bureau of Republic of China. To explore male fertility determinants, the book analyzes individual data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) in the United States. The findings presented here demonstrate that male fertility differs from female fertility in both rates and determinants, which suggests that female fertility cannot fully represent human fertility.

This book provides andrologists and other practitioners with reliable, up-to-date information on all aspects of male infertility and is designed to assist in the clinical management of patients. Clear guidance is offered on classification of infertility, sperm analysis interpretation and diagnosis. The full range of types and causes of male infertility are then discussed in depth. Particular attention is devoted to poorly understood conditions such as unexplained couple infertility and idiopathic male infertility, but the roles of diverse disorders, health and lifestyle factors and environmental pollution are also fully explored. Research considered stimulating for the reader is highlighted, reflecting the fascinating and controversial nature of the field. International treatment guidelines are presented and the role of diet and dietary supplements is discussed in view of their increasing importance. Clinicians will find that the book’s straightforward approach ensures that it can be easily and rapidly consulted.

Publisher Description

This comprehensive handbook provides an overview and update of the issues, theories, processes, and applications of the social science of population studies. The volume's 30 chapters cover the full range of conceptual, empirical, disciplinary, and applied approaches to the study of demographic phenomena. This book is the first effort to assess the entire field since Hauser and Duncan's 1959 classic, The Study of Population. The chapter authors are among the leading contributors to demographic scholarship over the past four decades. They represent a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives as well as interests in both basic and applied research.

This comprehensive handbook provides an overview and update of the issues, theories, processes, and applications of the social science of population studies. The volume's 30 chapters cover the full range of conceptual, empirical, disciplinary, and applied approaches to the study of demographic phenomena. This book is the first effort to assess the entire field since Hauser and Duncan's 1959 classic, The Study of Population. The chapter authors are among the leading contributors to demographic scholarship over the past four decades. They represent a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives as well as interests in both basic and applied research.

According to the classic and widely accepted statement by Hauser and Duncan (1959: 2), demography is defined as “the study of the size, territorial distribution, and components of population, changes therein, and components of such changes.” Almost all disciplines of social sciences and most disciplines of natural sciences deal with human beings in one way or another, either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, demographic concepts (e.g., birth rate, death rate, and migration) and methods and analysis strategies (e.g., life table analysis) can be readily extended to other species (insects, animals, plants, etc.) and inanimate collectives (enterprises, automobiles, etc.). Clearly, demography is an important thematic field in science and it may provide the empirical foundation for studying human beings, animals, and inanimate collectives on which other relevant scientific research is built. The volume aims to be of value to the various audiences of both non-specialists and experts who seek a comprehensive understanding of issues related to human population. As reviewed in the very beginning of the Theme Introduction, “interdisciplinary” is one of the three major features of demography. Given the rapid development in techniques for collecting not only demographic data but also other related data concerning health, biomarkers, genetics, behaviors, and social and natural environments in conventional population surveys, as well as rapidly enhancing computing powers, this volume shows and concludes that demography will be even more interdisciplinary in the coming decades. A notable example is that the cross-field “marriage” between bio-medical sciences and demography will lead us to enter an era in which bio-medical and demographic methods will be well integrated. As indicated by James R. Carey and James W. Vaupel in Chapter 13 of this volume, the bio-demographic branches of demography are vibrant areas of demographic research that are rapidly growing and that have great potential to enrich and enlarge the domain of demography. Not only can demographers learn much from biologists and epidemiologists, but demographers can contribute much to research on life in general and to research on population health. The increasing availability of data sources and much enhanced computing/internet power will also lead demography to be more interactive with the other fields, such as psychology, environmental science, economics, business and management, etc. As discussed in this volume’s Chapter 11 by Swanson and Pol, for example, it is now possible to link conventional demographic data sources of census, surveys, and vital statistics with administrative records such as social security, tax reporting, medical insurance, hospital records, school registration, supermarket purchasing cards use, etc., while protecting individuals’ privacy. Such linkages will substantially increase the value of demographic methods, surveys and administrative records for scientific research and policy analysis, as well as the applicability of demography in business and governmental decision making processes.

We are still only beginning to understand the increasingly complex set of interdependencies among gender, health and globalization. This book brings together a diverse group of distinguished scholars and activists to explore the new risks and freedoms for men and women in a global society and their health determinants. They map the gendered impact of these processes and present a health landscape that takes us beyond nation states into trans-border flows of capital, people, goods and services. Each chapter begins with a global analysis of specific trends followed by two 'In Perspective' pieces by authors from contrasting disciplines and geographies.