Abstracts » Zoology and wildlife conservation

Sex statistics unreliable

Article Abstract:

The potential validity of a controversial British survey of sexual behavior designed to learn how AIDS is spread is questioned. The survey was recently criticized by the British government; its subject matter was considered too intrusive to be funded with public monies. But the issue of offending the British public is perhaps the least important one raised by the survey. The methods of the survey would be inherently inaccurate for two reasons. First, even though people would be contacted at random and asked to participate (which should assure a fair mixture of responses representing the population) anyone would be free to refuse participation. Thus the resulting group of respondents would be self-selected, meaning they chose to participate. Persons who would choose to complete the questionnaire might be more likely to follow certain lifestyles than those who would refuse. It is possible that the final group of respondents would not mirror the attitudes and behaviors of the general population. The second criticism of methodology is that respondents would have filled out the survey alone and sealed it, with no supervision. If they needed clarification on a question they found confusing, they could contact a survey official. However, participants might be too embarrassed to ask, and as a result would misunderstand a question. Researchers would then have no way of knowing which questions had been answered inaccurately. The AIDS questionnaire would be complicated and technical, increasing the chance that respondents would need clarification; these problems occurred with a long complex survey on abortion that was conducted in 1966. The proposed British study on sexual behavior should be rejected based on its methods and design, regardless of moral or social objections.

Methods, Sexual behavior surveys, Great Britain, letter to the editor

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Back-door regulation

Article Abstract:

The British government has succeeded in incorporating in the final version of a bill on the management of schools a provision that will allow central directionof all educational institutions supported by the central government. The provision was not discussed during the committee stage of the bill in the Houseof Commons. At this stage, only the House of Lords can stop this infringement on the right of academic institutions to run themselves as they choose fit.

Laws, regulations and rules, Education, Academic freedom

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Psychiatric care

Article Abstract:

The notion of 'Care in the Community' lead the British government to fund local authorities to take care of psychiatric patients discharged from hospitals. The patients suffering from chronic depression need special treatment and facilities to bring relief to them. The British Department of Health proposes to conduct research for developing drugs that will be effective in removing depression and provide better care facilities for the discharged patients.

Care and treatment, Depression, Mental, Depression (Mood disorder), Psychotherapy patients, Care of the sick

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