Through gendered lens:explaining Chinese caregivers' task performance and care reward

The Chinese cultural norm of xiao, or filial piety, has long been held responsible for the practice of familial caregiving for older parents. Yet few explore the gendered nature of such a cultural practice in the current changing economic dynamics. Using data collected in 1997-1999 from 110 Chinese caregivers who were caring for physically dependent elder parents, this researcher explores the influence of changing economic conditions and Chinese cultural values in caregiver task performance and reward. Findings suggest that Chinese caregiving is highly gendered: Women are more likely to be unemployed and provide more personal care than men; sons are not more likely than daughters to provide financial assistance for parents. Chinese cultural values are playing an important role sanctioning caregiver task performance. Caregivers who believed in patrilocal norms provided more financial assistance; caregivers who reported higher social pressure provided more personal care. While the caregivers' report of social pressure is positively related to the caregivers' performance in personal care tasks, it is negatively related to caregiver reward. The author further explores the gendered implications for the changing economy and culture in China.     

Gender difference in physical performance, body composition and dietary intake in homebound elders

Considering that the most vulnerable subgroup of elders for poor nutritional status and functional decline is the increasing number of homebound women, we examined gender differences in physical performance, body composition, and dietary intake in a randomly recruited sample of 345 homebound elders (81% women, 48% black, > 65% income < $750/month). After controlling for demographic and health-related factors, the results from multivariate analyses indicated that women were more likely than men to report the lowest nutrient intake and were 2.9 times more likely to be at the worst level of overall physical performance. These results suggest a heightened vulnerability of homebound older women to poor physical performance, low dietary intake, and increased Body Mass Index (BMI). Prospective research is now needed to examine the interrelationships between physical performance, dietary intake, and body composition among the growing homebound older population.     

Gender Differences in Physical Performance,Body Composition,and Dietary Intake in Homebound Elders

ABSTRACT

Considering that the most vulnerable subgroup of elders for poor nutritional status and functional decline is the increasing number of home-bound women, we examined gender differences in physical performance, body composition, and dietary intake in a randomly recruited sample of 345 home-bound elders (81% women, 48% black > 65% income < $750/month). After controlling for demographic and health-related factors, the results from multivariate analyses indicated that women were more likely than men to report the lowest nutrient intake and were 2.9 times more likely to be at the worst level of overall physical performance. These results suggest a heightened vulnerability of homebound older women to poor physical performance, low dietary intake, and increased Body Mass Index (BMI). Prospective research is now needed to examine the interrelationships between physical performance, dietary intake, and body composition among the growing homebound older population.     

Self-selection and the performance of return migrants: the source country perspective

In this paper, using the framework of a Roy theoretical model, we examine the performance of return migrants in Albania. We ask two main questions: (i) Had they chosen not to migrate, what would be the performance of return migrants compared to the non-migrants? and (ii) What would be the performance of non-migrants had they decided to migrate and return? Both the selection estimates and the semi-parametric approach allow us to conclude that the flows of return migrants are negatively selected. We find that, had they decided to migrate and come back, the non-migrants would have earned more than twice the wages of return migrants.     

进城农民受歧视的根源分析与对策探究

进城农民受歧视问题日益突出。文章概述了进城农民受歧视的突出表现,分析了进城农民受歧视的根源,最后提出了一些解决问题的想法。     

Data Envelopment Analysis for Composite Indicators: A Multiple Layer Model

The development of a composite indicator (CI) over a set of individual indicators is worthwhile in case the methodological aggregation process is sound and the results are clear. It can then be used as a powerful tool for performance evaluation, benchmarking, and decision making. In this respect, data envelopment analysis (DEA), as a self appraisal technique, has recently received considerable attention in the construction of CIs for policy analysis and public communication. However, due to the ever increasing complexity of numerous performance evaluation problems, more and more potential indicators might be developed to represent an evaluation activity in a more comprehensive way. These indicators might also belong to different categories and further be linked to one another constituting a multilayer hierarchical structure. Simply treating all the indicators to be in the same layer as is the case in the basic DEA model thereby ignores the information on their hierarchical structure, and further leads up to weak discriminating power and unrealistic weight allocations. To overcome this limitation, a multiple layer DEA-based CI model is developed in this study to embody a hierarchical structure of indicators in the DEA framework, and both its primal and dual form are realized. The proposed model is illustrated by constructing a composite road safety performance index for a set of European countries.     

Impacts of Homeownership and Residential Stability on Children’s Academic Performance in Hong Kong

While purchasing a home is usually made by the parents, the impact of homeownership on children, especially younger children who spend much more time in the home environment than other members of the family, should not be overlooked. In this paper, we assess the impact of both homeownership and residential stability by measuring how these factors affect children’s academic performance at school. Based on a three-stage six-model analytical framework, the analysis shows that homeownership has a positive impact on school performance of children. More interestingly, frequent moving is detrimental to school performance while parents’ higher educational background may compensate for the lack of homeownership in renter families. This paper presents a number of issues for consideration of long term land and housing policies including the importance of promoting homeownership through steady supply of residential land, as well as targeting public housing welfare to different household groups with different measures.     

新疆农村贫困程度测度与扶贫资金动态绩效分析

新疆作为一个多民族、多宗教、多文化、多语言共存的特殊地区,扎实应对和稳步解决新疆贫困问题,事关祖国边疆的安全与稳定。首先,通过测算1994—2009年FGT贫困指数后发现:新疆农村的贫困广度、贫困深度和贫困强度的变化趋势具有波动性和阶段性特征,而且近几年减贫速度明显放缓,甚至有趋于加重的趋势;新疆农村居民的收入差距状况也不容乐观,正处于危险的边缘。然后,利用状态空间模型分析扶贫资金对贫困程度的动态扶贫绩效,得出以下结论:信贷扶贫资金的整体表现最佳,财政扶贫资金作用居中,以工代赈资金则在降低贫困强度方面表现较好;同时,总结出以下规律:当贫困程度较深时,具有较强盈利性的信贷扶贫资金和较强扩散性的财政扶贫资金更为有效;当由大范围贫困转为少数人贫困时,具有较强针对性的以工代赈资金更为有效。     

The differential effects and considerations of family planning programs in basic units]

It has been discovered that the grassroots units that did not well in family planning (FP) programs in China were short of funding, while those units that performed poorly had more funds at their disposal. One of the reasons is that communities which did a good job in FP have less violations of the birth policy, and therefore, fewer fines could be collected by the FP unit. But in those grassroots units were the FP policy was not well implemented, there were more cases of births exceeding the birth quota, and more fines could be collected. Such an outcome was penalizing the diligent and rewarding those who did not work hard. This phenomenon was caused by a severe short fall of funding for the FP program. The program budget allocated by the local government was only 1/5 of what was needed, the remaining part was to be provided by fines. The negative consequences of such a practice was damaging to the morale of FP workers. The following suggestions were make for solving the problem. First, the government budget allocation to the FP program should be increased, and part of the budget allocation should be determined by the performance of the FP program. Second, the spending of income from FP fines should be closely monitored to prevent misuse of the fund. Third, fine collection should not be used as means of income generation for the program, and not other agencies should reallocate the funds from fines. Fourth, the government and FP agencies at all administrative levels should pay attention to the management of funds from fines. FP organizations at higher levels should be able to reallocate the funds from fines collected by units with a poor performance to the units with good program performance as an incentive and to supplement their income.     

Role expectations and definitions: a comparison of female transsexuals and lesbians

A new study on female transsexuals and lesbians is reported. A matched-group comparison of 15 women in each sample suggests that the two groups do not differ in overall intelligence, although lesbians, unlike female transsexuals, tended to have a significantly higher verbal IQ than performance IQ. Both groups showed a similar response pattern on the Embedded Figures Test but differed on the Draw-A-Person Test, The Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey, and the Bem Androgyny Scale. Whereas the female transsexual group reflected a more rigid gender role stereotype, the lesbians saw their options as more androgynous.     

Perceptions of Caregivers of Elderly Parents by College Students:

College students (144 females and 96 males) evaluated a briefly depicted stimulus person on 31 7-point bipolar scales that described personality traits, job performance characteristics and role overload variables. Each participant rated one of eight employed married adults who was described as either female or male, eithcr providing care for an elderly mother ("primary caregiver") or hiring someone to provide such care ("secondary caregiver"), and as having two children who either still lived or no longer lived at home. Women were viewed as experiencing more role overload than men. Primary caregivers were perceived as experiencing more role overload, as being less job-oriented, and as being more nurturant than secondary caregivers.     

Central exit examinations increase performance... but take the fun out of mathematics

We study the causal effect of state-mandated (central) exit examinations (CEEs) on student performance in Germany and find a small positive effect. We also investigate what actually drives this effect. We find that the teachers’ main reaction to CEEs is to increase the amount of homework and to check and discuss homework more often. Students report increased learning pressure, which has sizeable negative effects on student attitudes toward learning. Students who take central exit exams in mathematics like mathematics less, think it is less easy, and are more likely to find it boring.     

Ceo Satisfaction and Firm Performance in Family Firms: Divergence between Theory and Practice

This study employs structural equationmodeling (LISREL 8.0) to investigate a model of therelationship between chief executive officer (CEO) joband life satisfaction, as well as the relationshipbetween CEO job and life satisfaction and firmperformance. Consistent with recent research, ourmodel also includes several potential mediators of thejob/life satisfaction relationship – overall stress,work conflict, nonwork conflict, and nonworksatisfaction. We rely on questionnaire data from 221owner/managers of family owned and controlledautomobile dealerships. Results indicate that CEO joband life satisfaction are more strongly correlatedthan among average American workers, as predicted, butthat there is no moderator effect on firm performance.Nor does life satisfaction mediate the relationshipbetween job satisfaction and firm performance.Contrary to theory, there are no significantrelationships with firm performance. Theorganizational implications of CEO satisfaction forfirm performance are considered.     

Determinants of the Safety Performance of Private Multi-storey Residential Buildings in Hong Kong

Given the high population and development density in Hong Kong, building failures can result in catastrophic consequences. It is thus worthwhile identifying those dilapidated buildings, and this explains why the Hong Kong government has considered launching a mandatory building inspection scheme in the city. Apart from the measurement of building safeness, however, it is equally important to explore the major determinants of the safety performance of buildings. Such information can help the government and other related organizations to rationalize their subsidies offered for building improvement and to make more informed strategies of urban regeneration in Hong Kong. To this end, the safety performance of 429 private multi-storey residential buildings was measured in this study using the Building Safety and Conditions Index developed by The University of Hong Kong. It was then followed by an explanatory analysis which found that older buildings were less safe than large, modern buildings. More importantly, the co-existence of a property management agent and a statutory owners’ association delivered the best building safety performance, and in this respect was the optimum building management regime for private multi-storey buildings in Hong Kong. These findings pose significant policy implications for building safety and urban regeneration in Hong Kong.     

The Association Between School Stress,Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Life Satisfaction as a Potential Mediator

The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships between school-related stress (school performance, teacher interaction), life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mediating role of life satisfaction on the association between school-related stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 1,239 adolescents (13–18 years of age) from public elementary and secondary schools in mid-Norway participated in the school-based survey. The data were analysed using structural equations modelling. The present study showed that stress of school performance was significantly and positively related to depressive symptoms and significantly and inversely related to life satisfaction. At the bivariate levels, stress of teacher interaction was associated with more depressive symptoms and reduced life satisfaction. However, these associations were non-significant in the multivariate analyses, controlled for stress of school performance. A significant inverse association was found between life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Further, life satisfaction partly mediated the association between stress of school performance and depressive symptoms. The results reflect the complexity of the interaction between adolescents’ experience of school performance stress and mental health, and the role of life satisfaction as a potentially relevant mediator of this association.     

Using Household Survey Data to Measure Educational Performance: The Case of Ghana

This paper shows how household data collected for the Ghana Living Standards Survey can be used to calculate national trends in educational performance (enrolment, completion rates and literacy). The resulting enrolment figures are shown to be more reliable than the rather different picture given by offcial statistics. In addition, a short English test conducted alongside the household survey in 1988 and repeated in 2003 gives a direct measure of changes in literacy.     

Mortality and economic development over the course of modernization: an analysis of short-run fluctuations in Spain, 1850-1990

Distributed lag models are used to explore the issue of the importance of economic factors for demographic performance over the course of the demographic and economic modernization of Spain. Mortality indicators are generated by age, sex, and cause and are assessed in terms of shifts in Gross Domestic Product. During the pre-transitional period, links between mortality and economic performance were simultaneous and rather weak but in the expected direction, declining to near 0 by the beginning of the twentieth century. Afterwards the importance of economic shifts for mortality fluctuations increased dramatically and delayed effects began to predominate, only disappearing after 1950. The paper explains the increase in the importance of economic factors and the change in the lag structure in terms of the greater economic volatility of the 1915-1950 period, the progressive implantation of more efficient public health systems and their sensitivity to economic fluctuations, and improving levels of nutrition and general health.     

Criteria for selecting a suitable method for producing post-2000 county population estimates: A case study of population estimates in Illinois

We compared 2000 county population estimates for Illinois against 2000 census counts. Administrative records (ADREC) and ratio correlation (Ratio-CORR) methods were used to produce two sets of controlled county estimates for 2000; a third set represented an average of the estimates reached using these methods. Another set using the ADREC method was not controlled to any estimate. Also, the 2000 estimates were adjusted for undercount in the 1990 census. We compared performance of these methods with the performance of two naive models: (i) do nothing and (ii) constant growth rate. ADREC estimates were more accurate than estimates from the Ratio-CORR or Average method in terms of Mean Absolute Percent (MAPE) or weighted MAPE. Undercount adjustment in general improved the accuracy of the estimates for all three methods. A top-down or bottom-up approach worked equally well. As a single method, ADREC performed best.     

农村中小学独生子女社会化状况的实证研究

文章运用社会化的有关理论,利用广西阳朔县436名中小学生的抽样问卷调查资料,以同龄的非独生子女为比较对象,对农村中小学独生子女的社会化状况进行了描述和分析。研究发现：农村中小学独生子女在生活技能、人际交往、价值观念和自我意识四个方面的社会化状况都比较好,并且在所有的指标上都和同龄非独生子女之间没有显著差别。