Speleology meteorology and cartography to develop portraits of caves as complex, evolving systems. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century the scientific value of caves was considered only in its contribution to other branches of science, and cave studies were considered part of the larger disciplines of geography, geology or archaeology. Very little cave-specific study was undertaken prior to the work of Édouard-Alfred Martel (1859–1938), the 'father of modern speleology', who through his extensive and well-publicised cave explorations introduced in France the concept of speleology as a distinct area of study. In 1895 Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, the first organization devoted
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality professional members. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS, or "quad-S"), formed in 1957, is a non-profit, international professional membership organization, based in the United States, that says it is "the oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality." It reports to have more than 1,000 members and has a quarterly newsletter, "Sexual Science". It produces two other publications: According to its website, SSSS was established in 1957 by psychologist Albert Ellis to encourage the rigorous, systematic study of sexuality. In 1980, organizer Robert Francoeur invited Philadelphia biologist