Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals

To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. Additionally, female reproductive skew is higher in polygynous human populations than in polygynous nonhumans mammals on average. This patterning of skew can be attributed in part to the prevalence of monogamy in humans compared to the predominance of polygyny in nonhuman mammals, to the limited degree of polygyny in the human societies that practice it, and to the importance of unequally held rival resources to women's fitness. The muted reproductive inequality observed in humans appears to be linked to several unusual characteristics of our species-including high levels of cooperation among males, high dependence on unequally held rival resources, complementarities between maternal and paternal investment, as well as social and legal institutions that enforce monogamous norms.

Communication in a chiropractic clinic: how a D.C. treats his patients

This study of a chiropractor and his patients represents the first interaction analysis of an alternative practitioner. Relationships between the types and quantities of communications in clinical exchanges and patient satisfaction with treatment are examined using both quantitative and qualitative analysis of verbal dialogue and clinical observations. Findings suggest that patient satisfaction is enhanced by a practitioner-patient relationship characterized by initial transmission of large amounts of comprehensible information successively supplanted by personal affective dialogue. New patients are usually unfamiliar with the chiropractic belief system and may have special communication needs due to the psychoemotional component to their, often chronic, problems. The chiropractor provides the patient with a structured, supportive environment and theoretical explanations designed to take the mystery out of process and problems. In essence, the chiropractor first manipulates a patient's belief structure before manipulating his or her physical structure, providing an analogous structural realignment in both the mind and body. Contrasts between biomedical and chiropractic clinical encounters are noted.