Quantitative And Qualitative Research Methods - 1694 Words

In this paper, I will outline quantitative and qualitative research methods and provide illustrations in the context of some social issues, which will hopefully offer insight into how each method is properly applied. Social issues around the world are very broad and diverse. They are usually made up of issues or concerns which directly or indirectly affect a person or a certain group of a society and are considered to be problems, controversies or both and are related to moral values, therefore their immediate social environment may become vulnerable in some respect which may also effect several individuals environment and in turn society. Quantitative research uses an empirical reasoning also known as the top down approach starting†¦show more content†¦The census utilizes statistics; which are any function of a number of random variables, usually identically dispersed that will be used to estimate a population parameter (Collins online dictionary, 2012). One useful statistic in social research is the Chi Square, as Faherty (2008. p 149) describes the Chi square test is always non parametric since it uses nominal level data, or ordinal data treated as nominal level in both dependent and independent variables. One example of this was a study that was completed in Oregon relating to how African American adolescents viewed the variable – respect, particularly as it was experienced by them from others. The research involved 200 African American males ranging between 14 and 18 years. Of the 200 African American males, 100 of them were incarcerated while the other 100 were not incarcerated but had connection with a community youth development program. Researchers administered the 20-item African American Respect Scale (AARS) a standardized scale and a 45-item Scale of Racial Socialization – Adolescent Version to all participants. This 45 items scale was used to assess the level of racial socialization the participants had received. Of the variables, four measured by these two instruments were: societal respect, family respect, peer respect, and racial socialization. A correlation analysis is the measure of connotation between variables, and thisShow MoreRelatedQualitative Quantit ative Research Methods1047 Words   |  5 PagesQualitative amp; Quantitative Research Methods PSY 326 Dr. Willow Aureala March 29, 2011 Qualitative amp; Quantitative Research Methods There are two types of research methods: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research methods are complex meaningful analyses characterized by processes and meanings that are not measured in terms of mathematical measurements. Quantitative research however, relies and builds on mathematical procedures and methods, such as frequency, quality, amountRead MoreQualitative And Quantitative Research Methods936 Words   |  4 PagesQualitative and quantitative research methods are two alternative applications for research methods. Both are very different in how data is collected, what data is collected, and how data is measured. Both of these research methods are utilized amongst the major areas of psychology and the social sciences. This paper will provide a brief description of qualitative and quantitative methods, provide the differences between the two approaches along with the terminology used for both; I will alsoRead MoreQualitative And Quantitative Research Methods1285 Wor ds   |  6 Pages Qualitative and Quantitative Research Ravi Teja Mora Dr. Jimi Peters Research Methods Stratford University â€Æ' Qualitative and Quantitative Research Introduction There has been a widespread of debate in recent years regarding the quantitative and qualitative research methods, wether one or the other has to be emerged as superior. Although there have been so many theories and conclusions, this paper intends to discuss on the similarities and differences between the qualitative and quantitative researchRead MoreQuantitative And Qualitative Research Methods Essay1218 Words   |  5 Pagesindividuals are confused about or not aware of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods. Some think those terms can be used interchangeably. Describe the key features (up to 5) that distinguish quantitative research from qualitative research. Provide examples to demonstrate your main points. Firstly, qualitative and quantitative research methods are used for different purposes. Quantitative methods try to explain and make predictions, confirm and validate an existingRead MoreQuantitative And Qualitative Research Methods Essay1850 Words   |  8 Pages3.2 Research Methods â€Å"Quantitative and Qualitative† were the two principal approaches in psychological research currently (Bavelas, 1998). Quantitative research is concerned with applying statistical approaches to test hypotheses. Statistical methods are to consider as the analysis of data, it normally concerned with â€Å"probabilistic model† as a background. (Sibson, 1999), the prominent characteristic of probabilistic model is as the analysis of data was collected, which is considered about â€Å"mean,Read MoreQuantitative And Qualitative Research Methods871 Words   |  4 Pagessociology, researchers can use a different range of research methods to acquire new data. The various forms of research methods include surveys, ethnomethodology, experiments and documentary research. A common distinction is often made in sociology between quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative methods intend to measure social phenomena by using mathematical methods and statistical ana lysis. On the other hand, qualitative methods mean to collect rich, detailed data, allowing forRead MoreResearch On Quantitative And Qualitative Methods2146 Words   |  9 Pages Regina Merriweather 5/19/2016 Question #1- Research (Program Outcomes 3 and 5) Part A: Quantitative and qualitative methods differ from one another as to their research design elements as listed below: †¢ Research methods purposes; †¢ Types of sampling; †¢ Data collection procedures; †¢ Data analysis techniques; and †¢ Conclusions that can be drawn from data analysis. Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative methods on each of the elements listed. Please use scholarly, academicRead Morequalitative and quantitative research methods1823 Words   |  8 PagesPsychological Research Methods: Exploring Qualitative and Quantitative Research In psychology, answers to our questions are not as succinct as in other types of sciences, and the findings essentially depend upon the underlying epistemology used. This essay seeks to define and examine the fields of qualitative and quantitative research. It will address the different epistemologies and methodologies of each paradigm, and aim to give you a brief overview of the two main research methodsRead MoreQuantitative And Qualitative Methods Of Research Essay899 Words   |  4 Pages Quantitative versus qualitative (Lichtman, M. 2006) It is true that most of the management in the business world go for mixed methodologies in order to attain comprehensive and accurate findings of the research. Having said that there are pros and cons of both the methods that are taken into account by the management in order to achieve set goals and overcome hindrances in the business. Qualitative method of research is a speedy process that provides fresh and inventive results with in- depth analysisRead MoreQuantitative And Qualitative Research Methods1039 Words   |  5 PagesThis research project followed a multipronged approach combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods. After addressing the sample size and exclusions, the second section of Part I examines the strengths and shortcomings of the qualitative research methods, including the interviews and the on-site observations of fresh evidence matters. Finally, I hope to demonstrate why it was necessary to turn to the source of the case la w to mine the raw data to sustain my working hypotheses.

The Problem with The Average American Diet - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1346 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/02/15 Category Health Essay Level High school Topics: Diet Essay Did you like this example? In this very second, approximately 350 slices of pizza are being consumed across the nation totaling 100 acres of pizza being eaten each day making it a $30 billion per year industry. Cheese has been found to be 70% fat, yet that has not stopped it from being a highly popular dish. The infamous Big Macs from McDonalds are sold each second for a total of $2304 at the rate of their demand. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Problem with The Average American Diet" essay for you Create order Consequently, Americans also spend $60 billion annually in weight loss programs. When the dietary components of the average American consist of 42% dairy and animal products, 51% refined and processed foods, and only 7% fruits and veggies, it shouldn’t be too surprising to find that our nation is being plagued with obesity and diseases such as heart attacks and diabetes at unprecedented rates. The invention of fast food has increased our convenience as well as our waistline. Furthermore, it can be noted that the biggest problem with this diet is specifically the fact that animal products are being processed and consumed in ways that is putting the health of Americans at risk. Nearly 15,000 years ago humans began hunting and gathering. Our eyes evolved to have the ability to see the bright colors of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables from many feet away while the meat that was hunted provided our ancestors with the protein that they needed to survive and make offspring. Due to the fact that meat has done so and it is synonymous with the word protein, many are led to the conclusion that vegan or vegetarian diets are not healthy; thus filling up their plates with steaks, fried chicken, and extra cheese pizza with processed pepperoni on top. However, besides providing people with protein, meat also comes packed with cholesterols and saturated fats that can raise your blood pressure and increase your chance of heart attack. Omnivores have a startling 50% chance of developing heart disease while lacto-ovo vegetarians are at 15% and vegans are at a mere 6%. Eating the flesh of cows is not the only health offense here; the trouble with drinking the milk of these mammals should also be noted. There is no other species on the planet that takes the milk from another animal and drinks it past their nurturing period, but we humans cruelly contribute to the slaughtering of more than 245,000 dairy cows per year only for the sake of our own selfish â€Å"needs.† We grow up believing that dairy milk is packed with calcium that will provide us with strong healthy bones due to the fact that the dairy industry is loaded with money and can spend millions on advertising and biased research that will lead us to believe so. Ironically, countries with the highest dairy consumption are also the ones with the highest rates of osteoporosis. In a world where corrupted industries are in control, it is crucial to become a conscious critical consumer who is aware of how the food we eat affects not only ourselves but the environment around us. Our addiction with animal products requires the raising of animals in ways that use unsustainable amounts of land, food, energy, and water. According to the Worldwatch Institute, over 51% of global greenhouse-gas emissions are a result of animal agriculture. As cows are being mainly conventionally fed GMO corn that is not natural to them, they release methane gas which further contributes to the climate change that is being experienced in this century. The land that is being used to farm these commercial animals in the first place is vastly inefficient. It takes up to 10 pounds of grains just to produce to produce 1 pound of meat, and the United States is using 56 million acres of land to grow feed for animals while only 4 million acres of land are used to grow feed for humans as repor ted by the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. Not only does it take vast amounts of land to sustain the average American diet, but it also uses insane amounts of the most crucial element on our planet: water. A single dairy cow needs to hydrate itself with 50 gallons of water per day, and twice that on a particularly hot day. More than 244 gallons of water are used to produce 1 pound of beef and it is well known that hamburgers are prevalent among our nation. The statistics and reports from environmentally conscious agencies, in regards to animal agriculture, point to the direction of being in disfavor to raising farm animals as their research outlines the impact that a diet consisting of meat and dairy has on our environment. With our cynical human nature, it can be easy to forget the impact that animal agriculture has on the animals themselves. Animal cruelty laws are strictly enforced in the defense of household pets, yet they do not seem to apply to the flesh that was slaughtered in order to end up in our digestive system. Why is it that mainly household animals have the privilege to live a long healthy life while cows and chickens are destined to live a life full of misery and abuse in a slaughterhouse? Every year, over 56 billion farmed animals are senselessly killed so that people’s taste buds can satisfied. Prior to having their lives flashed before their eyes, farmed animals are subjected to the cruelest living conditions. The factory farming industry does its best to maximize output while minimizing costs. In order to do so, animals are constrained of space to the point where they can’t even turn around or lie down. To make matters worse, antibiotics are used to make the animals gro w abnormally large and keep them alive in unsanitary conditions. This use of antibiotics has also been known to lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can threaten human health. Essentially, factory farms have egg-laying hens clustered in small cages, chickens and pigs in jam-packed sheds, and cows in crowded filthy lots. Female cows are further victims of cruelty as they are born into a tragedy in which they are artificially inseminated and genetically manipulated to produce 4.5 times as much milk than they naturally would. Calves are taken from their mothers 1 to 3 days after their birth with females being sentenced to the same fate as their mothers and male calves becoming disregarded as worthless by the dairy industry to become veal. When the facts and the solid truth behind this particular problem- the problem with the average American diet-is brought into light, the solution becomes quite obvious: Americans need to simply stop selfishly consuming flesh foods that hurt themselves and the whole ecosystem. Despite how sensitive of a topic diet can be the truth must outweigh this. Most of our population is sadly addicted to the unhealthy foods in their diet; for instance, when people make the experimental switch to a vegan diet a majority of them report missing cheese above everything else. This makes sense since cheese contains dairy proteins, called casomorphins, that act as mild opiates attaching to the same brain receptors as heroin and other narcotics inducing a tiny hit of dopamine with every bite. However, like any addiction, it can be very difficult to overcome but it is not impossible. Social support from our culture can help. Over the years, in this information era, more people have been switching to a ve gan diet. No longer do we have vegan markets as a scarcity within cities, but we now have entire markets, food brands, and restaurants that promote vegan food in their business: Whole Foods, Daiya, Earth Balance, are just a few examples. There is hope that our external world is adapting and a decision to change among individuals must come from within. Switching to a vegan diet has become known to reverse diabetes symptoms and help heal other health diseases. Currently, vegans are the ones with the lowest BMIs out of every other diet. Without a doubt, deciding to be part of a diet that is plant-based will help benefit not only your own health, but also the state of the environment, and it will save the lives of innocent farm animals. One person can make a difference.

Sub-Saharan Africa An Extraordinary Period of Change Free Essays

Africa’s hopes for a better future depend in large part on improving the health of its people. Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a period of extraordinary change. Across the continent, policy reforms are contributing to dynamic economic growth. We will write a custom essay sample on Sub-Saharan Africa: An Extraordinary Period of Change or any similar topic only for you Order Now Greater political openness has strengthened the commitment of African governments to meeting the basic needs of their people. Despite these positive trends, sub-Saharan Africa faces a development challenge greater than any other region. Much of the continent’s population remains desperately poor. With record numbers of adolescents entering their childbearing years, in less than three decades Africa’s population is projected to double again from the current level of 620 million. Meanwhile, many African nations are struggling to provide health and education services to populations expanding at a small percent a year. In many countries, rapid population growth is contributing to degradation of the environment and undermining prospects for prosperity. Africa’s hopes for a better future depend in large part on improving the health of its people. Better access to good quality reproductive health services, particularly family planning, is key to improving health status – especially for women. The reality of reproductive health in Africa, however, is far from ideal. Women begin child-bearing in their teens and have an average of six children. Meanwhile, AIDS has struck hard in Sub-Saharan Africa, where roughly 1 in 10 adults – both men and women – are infected with HIV. Yet traditional attitudes favoring large families are changing rapidly, owing to the growth of cities, the rising cost of living and lower child death rates, among other factors. Demand for family planning has increased dramatically in some countries, and the decline in birthrates ,limited as recently as a decade ago to only a few countries in the region, appears to be spreading steadily across the continent. In much of Africa, however, large families are still the norm. This situation is reinforced by low levels of education, particularly among women, and social barriers to the full economic participation of women. Yet, school enrollment rates declined or came to a standstill during the economic crisis many African countries experienced in the 1980s. Compared to countries in other developing regions, African countries have only recently begun to adopt population policies and initiate family planning and related reproductive health programs. However, African governments increasingly recognize the individual and societal benefits of smaller families. In the last decade there has been steady growth in the number of countries establishing national family planning programs and in the scope of these efforts. Still, Sub-Saharan Africa has a long way to go. In addition to meeting the growing need for family planning and reproductive health services, African countries must expand access to education for girls and economic opportunities for women. This will require significantly increased financial contributions from African governments and house-holds, as well as international donors. In sum, addressing poor reproductive health and rapid population growth is a daunting task requiring comprehensive action on many different fronts. A priority area is population growth. This is a function of birth or fertility, mortality, and net migration. Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind other regions in its demographic transition. The total fertility rate, the total number of children the average woman has in a lifetime. For Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole has remained at about 6. 5 for the past 25 years, while it has declined to about 4 in all developing countries taken together. Recent surveys appear to signal, however, that several counties, are at or near a critical demographic turning point. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to maintain the highest total fertility rates in the world. The total fertility rate is the average number of children a women will bear during her reproductive years, usually between 15 and 49 years old, although some analysts have expanded this range to include 10 and 55 year old’s. Families in the region average an estimated 6. 4 children. Although there is considerable variation by region, socioeconomic status, and place of residence (rural vs. urban). Disease vectors are not solely responsible for low fertility rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries have made significant inroads in their family planning efforts to reduce fertility. You can separate fertility rates into two types of determinants: first being the direct that relates to the behavioral and biological aspects of fertility. And the second are indirect factors such as socioeconomic (one’s income, education, cultural, historical, environmental, and politic-institutional factors Marriage patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa have a number of features that are unique and quite distinct from North America and Europe. Most marriages, particularly in traditional societies, are universal and occur at an early age. This may also be view as a reason to the problem of rapid population growth. The belief systems, customs, traditions, and values of Sub-Saharan Africans have significant impact on fertility levels. The African family structure is male dominated, and decisions about reproduction and family size are usually deferred to the husband. This may tend to make the women find it difficult to talk to their husbands about family planning. Since a high premium is placed on children, African women aspire to elevate their status, comparing with their husband’s request to have more children. Mortality levels in Sub-Saharan Africa have declined substantially over the years, thus converging towards levels associated with more developed countries. Improvements in health, sanitation, and nutrition standards; massive vaccination campaigns against measles, small pox, and other diseases; and increased efforts on the part of World Health Organization and the International Red Cross have all contributed to this downward trend. Even with the lowering of death rates, there are still slight regional variations in mortality levels that reflect environmental, economic, and sociocultural factors. Death rates may be prone to drought, areas with high incidence of AIDS and those areas that have experienced social unrest, civil war, and political upheaval also may have relatively high mortality rates. Migration involves the movement from one administrative unit to another, resulting in a change in permanent residence. Recent estimates show that Sub-Saharan Africa contains 35 million international migrants, almost half of the world’s total. Another concern like many other countries has been the â€Å"brain drain† of African intellectuals and students. Another concern regarding international migration is the refugee crisis, which has taken on added proportions recently. The most widely used definition is one which characterizes refugees as anyone who,†owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail himherself of the protection of that country. † Average per capita food production has declined in many countries, per capita calorie consumption had stagnated at very low levels, and roughly 100 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are food insecure.. The average African consumes only about 87 percent of the calories needed for a healthy and productive life. Women’s Time, and Their Role in Rural Production and Household Maintenance Systems Most women in Sub-Saharan Africa bear heavy responsibilities for food crop production, weeding and harvesting on men’s fields, post-harvest processing, fuel wood and water provision, and household maintenance. But the burdens on rural women are increasing, as population growth outpaces the evolution of agricultural technology and growing numbers of men leave the farms for urban and industrial jobs. Many factors underlie the persistence of very high human fertility rates. The fundamental problem is low demand for fewer children. Environmental degradation, agricultural problems, food insecurity and poverty, and the heavy work burdens of woman all play a part in this respect. High infant and child mortality rates are a major factor explaining the persistent high demand for large number of children in Africa. Where girls are kept our of school to help with domestic tasks, this negatively affects their fertility preferences and their ability to make informed decisions about family planning once they reach childbearing age. The appropriate policy response and action program to address these problems are not easily brought into compatible focus. Many of the most immediately attractive remedies have been tried and have failed. A key aspect will be to increase demand for fewer children. Educational efforts, directed at both men and women, are needed to raise awareness of the benefits of fewer children. Women’s work loads need to be eased to reduce the need for child labour. Dynamic agricultural development and improved food security will also reduce the demand for children. Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Farm productivity per unit area must be raised significantly to generate more output with little increase in the area farmed. To minimize negative impacts on the environment, much more emphasis is required on â€Å"environmentally benign and sustainable† technologies. Numerous such agricultural techniques have been developed and successfully applied, often through adaptation of traditional practices that have evolved in response to local agro-ecological and socioeconomic condition. However, intensification with these technologies alone is unlikely to be sufficient in most Sub-Saharan African countries to achieve agricultural growth rates of 4 percent per year and more. Improved variety/fertilization/farm mechanization technologies will also be necessary. Increased use of fertilizers will be especially important to raise yields and maintain soil fertility. Intensive and resource-conserving agriculture must be made less risky and more profitable. This requires appropriate marketing, price, tax and exchange rate policies as well as investments in rural infrastructure, health and education facilities. Creating parks, reserves and community-owned range land and protecting these against conversion into crop land will be important to conserve natural resources and bio diversity. So will reducing infrastructure development in forests and other fragile areas to discourage settlement in these areas. Since this will limit the scope for further expansion of cropped land and, potentially, the scope for agricultural production growth, there is a trade-off between conservation and agricultural growth. Creating additional protection areas will only be feasible and sustainable if agricultural production can be intensified at the rate suggested here (i. e. to about a 3. 5 percent annual increase in farm out put per unit of land farmed). in this sense, conservation and agricultural intensification are complementary. As African farmers have shown, land scarcity leads to agricultural intensification — if the necessary advice and inputs are available, intensification can be made sustainable and the rate of intensification greatly accelerated. Infrastructure Development and Settlement Policy The strong bias in urban infrastructure investments favoring the few major cities needs to be abandoned. Adequate transport lines to product markets are major factors associated with the intensification of farming — even where population densities are comparatively low. Rural roads and improved tracks navigable for animal-drawn vehicles are crucial. Major efforts are also needed to promote the use of locally suitable and appropriate intermediate transport technology, especially animal-drawn implements, and of improved off-road transport. Infrastructure development also has a major impact on the productivity of rural labour and on key determinants of fertility. Roads provide access to health facilities and schools. Better educated and healthier farmers are more productive and more likely to be innovators. Water supply and sanitation facilities have significant impact on health and labour productivity. Rural water supply, sanitation, health and education facilities and services are particularly important in terms of their impact on infant and child mortality and on female education — both critical determinants of fertility preferences. With the major exceptions of the humid regions of Central and coastal West Africa, almost all of Sub-Saharan Africa will be facing water shortages or water scarcity early in the next century. There is an urgent need for effective hydrological planning and for prudent demand management. Water must be recognized as the critical and limiting resource it is. it must be carefully allocated, and must be protected against pollution. Planning for water use must be based on natural hydrological units such as river basins and integrated with planning for land use and other activities that affect, and are affected by, water development. Since water resources are frequently shared among countries, it is important to cooperate closely in planning for long-term water sharing. Twenty-one of the world’s thirty poorest countries are in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly half the region’s people live in absolute poverty – the equivalent of a dollar a day or less. Positive per capita growth in the past four years has not been enough to prevent an increase in the absolute number living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. By end of 1998, nearly 23 million adults and children were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa – accounting for 2/3 of the world’s infected persons. More than 1. 8 million Africans will die from AIDS this year. New infection rates are staggering: in South Africa, 1,750 are infected by AIDS daily. Problems extend beyond the health sector. HIV/AIDS has raised the cost of doing business, killing professionals, schoolteachers and farmers, reducing incomes now and investments in the future. HIV/AIDS is overloading social welfare systems. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 95% of the 13 million children worldwide who will be orphaned by AIDS by end of 2000. At current rates of population growth, sub-Saharan Africa will grow to over one billion people by 2020, despite declining birthrates and increasing number of deaths from AIDS. Contraceptive prevalence rates have been rising for the last three decades, yet remain under 10% in most of sub-Saharan Africa. The high rate of population growth intensifies existing social, political, economic, and environmental pressures. Aids assists African countries to reduce these pressures through family planning programs emphasizing healthier, smaller families, and through support of girls education, a major determinant of family size. As a result of the above information you can see that rapid population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa at the present time is a moment of opportunity on the African continent. Africa is making new headway: democracy and economic reform are revitalizing the continent, and a number of countries are experiencing dynamic economic growth. With greater political open-ness, African governments are increasingly seeking to address the health and education needs of their people. Despite these positive trends, sub-Saharan Africa faces a development challenge greater than any other region. Africa’s progress has not reached enough people, and too much of the continent is still plagued by political instability. Many African nations are struggling to meet the health and education needs of populations expanding at about three percent a year. In too many countries, rapid population growth continues to threaten the natural resource base and future prospects for prosperity. The region’s ability to slow current high rates of population growth is thus key to achieving its full potential for development. The international community has good reason to care about African development. The continent is endowed with ample mineral and agricultural resources, including the greatest potential in the world for increases in farm productivity. Africa is also one of the last untapped markets for goods and services; industrialized countries thus stand to benefit by trading with a more prosperous Africa. Beyond economic self-interest, there are strong humanitarian reasons to support efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa, home to 11 percent of the world’s population. In many respects, Africa in the late 1990s resembles the East Asian economies as they began their economic take-off three decades ago. African governments need to emphasize three key strategies in their efforts to improve individual well-being and slow population growth. The first priority should be to expand reproductive health and family planning services to meet existing unmet needs. The second, to expand educational and economic opportunities, especially for women, both to improve the lives of individuals and to help encourage a desire for smaller families. The third, to slow the momentum of future population growth through education and reproductive health programs that help young people choose to delay childbearing. Carrying out the comprehensive agenda described above will require enormous effort by African governments. The task is large, yet attainable if these governments increase their current low levels of commitment to reproductive health and family planning programs. Governments and donors should be prepared to invest years of sustained effort to build successful population programs. Over the long haul, there are bound to be setbacks and difficulties. Currently, there is no reason to expect that either the fertility or development transitions will occur more quickly and with less external aid in sub-Saharan Africa than they did in other places. Yet the needs are pressing, and Africa must accelerate the development of population programs and the current trend towards smaller families. This may be possible if African countries are willing to learn as much as possible from the experiences of other regions, while at the same time recognizing the continent’s own special challenges, such as the HIV/AIDS crisis. Africa’s relatively recent establishment of population policies and programs has given it the chance to learn from both the mistakes and achievements of other regions which have grappled with the problem of rapid population growth. African countries, with help from the world community, have the potential to build on these experiences and create their own success story. How to cite Sub-Saharan Africa: An Extraordinary Period of Change, Papers