The concept of genetic identity–by–descent (IBD) has markedly advanced our understanding of the genetic similarity among relatives and triggered a number of developments in epidemiological genetics. However, no empirical measure of this relatedness throughout the whole human genome has yet...

The birth-interval approach to the study of fertility reflects two aspects of the process of reproduction: (1) the quantum of fertility as indicated by the proportion of women who move to the next higher parity; and (2) the tempo of fertility, as measured by the time it takes to make the...

Notwithstanding the extensive social scientific research, there are still unanswered questions regarding the persistence of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Although fertility behaviour depends on multiplicity of factors, childhood mortality is regarded as an important determinant.However,...

This paper goes beyond the physiological impact of infant deaths on fertility by examining whether such deaths elicit an explicit, conscious and intentional fertility response in sub-Saharan Africa. The major research questions are: what are the long term implications of childhood mortality on...

Using Canadian time use data, we exploit exogenous variation in local unemployment rates to investigate the cyclical nature of sleep time and show that for both men and women, sleep time decreases when the economy is doing relatively better. Our results suggest that in a recession Canadians...

In seeking to increase the flexibility of their use of employee time, employers can pursue strategies based on the employment of casual and part-time workers (numerical flexibility) or strategies based on ad hoc variation of the working hours of permanent employees (working time flexibility)....

Whilst financial markets are not strangers to academic and professional scrutiny, they still remain epistemologically contested. For individuals trying to profit by trading shares, this uncertainty is manifested in the varying trading styles which they are able to utilize. This paper examines...

What role do community norms play in the diffusion and persistence of new organizational practices? We explore this question through an examination of the widespread practice of wage arrears, the late and non-payment of wages, in Russia during the 1990s. Existing research on wage arrears most...

This dissertation brings together two distinct strands of labor market research. Studies on union decline seek to explain the dramatic drop in union membership and influence in the post-World War II era. Studies on occupational sex segregation seek to document how and understand why most women...

Tastes and odours are amongst the few water quality standards immediately apparent to a consumer and, as a result, account for most consumer complaints about water quality. Although taste and odour problems can arise from a great many sources, from an operational point of view they are either...