Search

We study the relationship between education and fertility, exploiting compulsory schooling reforms in England and Continental Europe, implemented between 1936 and 1975. We assess the causal effect of education on the number of biological children and the incidence of childlessness. While we find a negative relationship between education and fertility in England, this result cannot be confirmed for Continental Europe. The additional education generated by schooling expansions on the Continent did not lead to a decrease in the number of biological children nor to an increase in childlessness. These findings are robust to a number of sensitivity and falsification checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor cancer survival rates in the United Kingdom are often blamed on delayed medical care. A local audit of endometrial cancer revealed a variety of preventable delays. We surveyed practice in the South West of England to see if this was an isolated or widespread problem.Methods: All 15 hospitals in the South West of England collected information prospectively from all women with endometrial cancer over 3 months in the spring of 2009.Results: There were delays in all stages of the uterine cancer pathway. Excluding extraneous cases, 52% of women waited more than a month and 12% waited more than 6 months to see their GP from the onset of symptoms. Almost half the cases said they were unaware that abnormal bleeding was a symptom of cancer. Only a quarter of women had treatment within 31 days from the outpatient visit to first definitive treatment and 18% waited more than the target of 62 days for their treatment.Conclusions: Significant treatment delays occur because women do not report bleeding. If this is replicated throughout Britain, approximately 1000 women per year will delay presentation for at least 3 months and 600 will wait for more than 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of the design for an innovative retaining structure built to support an existing highway on the Isle of Wight. At Afton Down on the south-west coast of the island the A3055 Military Road passes above high chalk cliffs. Continuing erosion at the toe of the cliffs led to the cliff edge receding to within 15 m of the highway. As a result options to maintain the road were investigated. A public inquiry ruled out realignment inland onto the adjacent downland, whilst measures to prevent erosion at the toe of the cliffs were unacceptable for environmental whilstcoastal management reasons. Consequently the road was kept open, with instrumentation installed to warn against failure of the cliff, and work began on the design of a scheme to maintain the road along its existing alignment. An environmental assessment was carried out to address the potential impacts of schemes on the adjacent downland, with the resulting arrangement of a tied retaining wall aiming to minimise these. Furthermore, outline methods for decommissioning the structure when it reaches the end of its serviceable life were identified. Planning permission was granted in 2002, and following a series of trials the scheme was constructed in 2003 and the road reopened to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]