Published in Population today
This paper presents the profiles of Gregory Pincus, popularly known as the "Father of the Pill". Pincus was considered a brilliant scientist who developed an oral contraceptive in 1950. He had already achieved in vitro fertilization of rabbit eggs, foreshadowing later successes in assisted human reproduction that have enabled tens of thousands of c...
Published in Population today
During South Africa's democratic transition, legislators seized the opportunity to redress racial injustice through its formulation of the National Water Act. Historically, under apartheid, water had been so inequitably distributed that water policy reform became a lead component of the new government's Reconstruction and Development Program. Looki...
Published in Population today
According to a report by the German government, there is a real prospect that population growth will soon slow down and produce a much more steady state. Evidence indicates that growth rates of megacities--urban agglomerations of 10 million or more residents--have declined sharply. However, such a decline is misleading because these cities still ha...
Published in Population today
To examine the hypothesis that phone-based discrimination exists, an undergraduate course was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. It was noted that racial housing audits were designed in such a way that teams of White and Black auditors were assigned similar identities and characteristics. To this effect, systematic differences in treatmen...
Published in Population today
This article reports experts' views on the important population trends and events observed in the 20th century. One expert mentioned that demographically the 20th century was the most remarkable century ever. Among its major features were the following: highest rate of growth; highest annual increment; shortest period in history to add 1 billion pe...
Published in Population today
The two surveys on teens, namely, the National Survey of Family Growth and the National Survey of Adolescent Males, reported that teenage birth rate continued its decline after rising sharply between 1986 and 1991. These declines may be linked to a decrease in sexual activity, an increase in the use of condoms and injectable contraceptives that off...
Published in Population today
This article presents a profile of John D. Rockefeller 3rd, statesman and founder of the Population Council. It is noted that Rockefeller took a broad view of population control as a means to address poverty and economic development rather than as an end in itself. In 1952 he initiated the convocation of the Conference on Population Problems held i...
Published in Population today
Low birth rates and unprecedented improvements in life expectancy had brought a shrinking society to a rapidly expanding retirement-age population. In 1999, people aged 65 and older make up 15% or more of the populations in 19 countries. Furthermore, 14 country populations are already experiencing natural decrease, and a lot more will start to decl...
Published in Population today
Female genital cutting (FGC), a prevalent practice in most African countries not just seriously endangers a girl's lifetime health, but it is also considered a human rights violation. In June 1999, the Intra-Agency Working Group on FGC held a symposium with US Agency for International Development (USAID) staff to explore ways of incorporating into ...
Published in Population today
This article discusses the findings of the Household Transportation Use and Urban Air Pollution study prepared by the Population Reference Bureau and researched by experts in Bangkok, Mexico City, and Washington. The overall result of this multiurban study on public attitudes toward urban air pollution indicate that people are not willing to give u...
