Satisfaction with Personal Assistance Services of People with Disabilities in Korea

An essential component for achieving independence in a community setting for people with disabilities is the ability to perform personal care activities with or without assistance. This paper aims to evaluate the level of satisfaction of people who used personal assistance services (PAS) during 2007 in Korea. People's satisfaction was high when they were able to use all of the assigned hours and when they had been assigned enough hours to meet their needs. Therefore, policymakers must try to increase service hours for people with disabilities so that they have enough help from attendants. The more the opinions of people with disabilities were considered in shaping the plan of care, the higher the satisfaction score. To increase the satisfaction, service users' involvement with the program has to be incorporated into the program as much as possible.     

Onward and Upward

No abstract available for this article.     

Chapter 21: A Commentary on the Integration of EAPs

Abstract

This article addresses the notion of integration-past and present. The author discusses his earlier experiences and research in the field when the dominant model of service delivery was occupational alcoholism programs and counselors of the day sought to integrate these programs into the personnel management function as a means of more effectively serving the employee and the employer. This article also reviews the evolution of this earlier model into employee assistance programs and points out the success and continued growth of these programs was the direct result of empirical research that demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of EAPs. The author reminds the reader to be mindful of the need to maintain the core technology ascribed to EAPs as the range of workplace human service programs continues to expand. Lastly, the author reiterates the necessity of empirical research to demonstrate the value of adding of work-life and wellness services to the broadening scope of programs aimed at maximizing human capital.     

Social assistance trajectories in Switzerland: do they follow discernible patterns?

Dynamic research on poverty to date tends to stress the temporalised and democratised nature of the phenomenon. It describes poverty as a short or transient experience shaped essentially by individual characteristics. Empirical evidence, however, remains inconclusive. Recent studies focussing on social assistance paint a more nuanced picture that reveals the existence of both short- and long-term trajectories. The present study aims to advance this debate by exploring trajectory patterns of social assistance recipients in Switzerland. Trajectory patterns have been substantiated by means of sequence analysis. Multinominal logistic regression analysis was then used to study the effect of individual and contextual factors on these trajectories. Results yield four clearly discernible patterns associated with well-established indicators of poverty risk and social inequalities. The study concludes that poverty, defined as social assistance benefit receipt, is neither a highly temporalised nor a markedly individualised phenomenon.     

Evaluation of Occupational Health Promotion Programs

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of Corporate Health Promotion Program proliferation and to propose a methodology to determine the effectiveness of these programs from a benefit to cost perspective. A national survey of firms sponsoring health promotion activities was conducted to ascertain a variety of information. The specific goal of this study was to determine the extent to which firms were actually conducting financial analyses in order to ascertain whether their health promotion programs were generating benefits that justified continued program funding. The results of the study showed that although the concept of Corporate Health Promotion Programs is rather popular, there is very little concern on the part of the sponsoring firms for measuring the effectiveness of their programs, particularly from a financial perspective. This suggests a vulnerability insofar as those programs are concerned. If such program costs cannot be justified on some quantifiable basis, the possibility of their cancellation seems rather likely if it becomes necessary to reduce expenditures.     

Alcohol and Drug Use,and Sources of Stress

ABSTRACT

The purposes of this survey were to assess the prevalence of self-reported chemical use, concerns regarding coworker and family members' chemical use, and issues relating to life stress. A total of 2,567 faculty, staff, and administrators from a medium-sized, eastern, land-grant institution responded to a 20 item survey. Results indicated that tobacco was the most frequendy used chemical followed by alcohol. Participants were most concerned both about coworkers drinking and family member's drinking. Respondents also reported significant concerns regarding coworker's drug use. Applications for prevention, intervention and programming are discussed. Suggestions for future research are also provided.     

Does public housing reduce housing cost burden among low-income families with children?

ABSTRACT

About half of all renter households and over three-quarters of very low-income households in the United States experience a housing cost burden, with higher rates among families with children. Public housing may be an important tool for reducing families’ housing cost burdens. The current study uses nearly four decades of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Assisted Housing Database to explore the relationship between public housing and housing cost burden among children in low-income families. Results from fixed effects models suggest that public housing is associated with a greatly reduced risk of experiencing housing cost burden when housing assistance receipt is measured a year before housing cost burden. These findings highlight the importance of public housing for reducing low-income families’ housing cost burdens.     

中国农民工社会保障研究

随着我国工业化、城镇化的快速推进，以及农村经济体制改革和产业结构调整的逐步深化，越来越多的农民选择了到城市谋求发展的空间。他们为社会的发展做出了巨大贡献，但同时我们也应该看到，这一群体长期以来都游离在我国现有的社会保障体系之外，成为我国一大不容忽视的弱势群体。究其原因主要有长期以来的城乡二元体制桎梏、农民工社会保障的立法缺失以及人们的一些思想观念阻碍等多因素共同造成的。因此，改革户籍制度、建立健全有关农民工社会保障的法律、法规并逐步完善农民工的社会保障制度等是农民工社会保障的理性选择。