Predicting the recipients of social work support,and its impact on emotional and behavioural problems in early childhood

This paper examines the recipients of social work support in the Millennium Cohort Study. Using panel analysis and fixed effects models, it investigates the factors that lead to the receipt of any type of social work support for individuals with young children and the effects of this support on changes in the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in these children. We find that divorce or separation, and episodes of homelessness are two important factors that lead to the receipt of social work support. Mothers with male children are also more likely to receive social work support. However, we find no clear evidence that social work support has any effect on changes in children's emotional and behavioural problems over time. The implications of these findings for social work research and for practice and policy are discussed.     

‘Nothing about us without us’: the emerging disability movement and advocacy in China

The disability movement and disabled persons’ self-help organizations (DPOs) are emerging in China, some of which succeeded in promoting policy and social changes with special strategies. Based on an original survey and interview, this article explains the development and survival strategies of China’s DPOs, and especially interprets some successful cases of social advocacy and policy advocacy in the emerging disability movement. It is hoped that scholars will pay more attention to the advocacy and public engagement of the disability community in non-western settings in the future.     

The impact of age,BMI and sex hormone on aging males’ symptoms and the international index of erectile function scores

Objective: To analyze the impact of age, BMI and sex hormone on aging males’ symptoms (AMS) and the 5-item version of the international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) scores in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jiashan County. A total of 969 men, aged between 40 and 80 years old, were admitted. Physical examination and the sex hormones were measured, and AMS and IIEF-5 scores were assessed.

Results: The oneway ANOVA analysis indicated older age groups had higher AMS total-scores, somatic and sexual sub-scores, and lower IIEF5 scores (all p?r_pairwise) analyses showed the significant associations between AMS and age or sex hormone (cFT, Bio-T, SHBG, and LH) levels, and similar for IIEF5. However, when age was adjusted, the correlation coefficients (r_partial) weakened, and correlation significance disappeared, except LH (for AMS: r_partial?=?0.096, p?=?.009; for IIEF-5: r_partial?= ?0.140, p?=?.001). Multiple linear regressions confirmed the influence of increased age and LH on the AMS and IIEF5 scores.

Conclusion: CFT, Bio-T and SHBG failed to yield any additional predicting information when age was adjusted. To improve the male reproductive health, future research should pay more attention on aging-related comorbidities and how to improve general wellness.     

Bootstrap-calibrated empirical likelihood confidence intervals for the difference between two Gini indexes

Measuring the difference between two Gini indexes is important in comparing the inequality between two groups. This paper systematically provides confidence intervals for this difference. First, normal approximation- and bootstrap-based confidence intervals are provided for the difference. Second, empirical likelihood (EL)-based confidence intervals are proposed according to a ratio statistic that is proven to have a weighted Chi-squared distribution with one degree of freedom. Third, two calibration approaches are established to improve the undercoverage issue of the EL method; these two approaches are augmented EL and bootstrap-calibrated EL. Monte Carlo simulations show that bootstrap-calibrated EL generally outperforms other methods in constructing confidence intervals. In the simulations, these methods are compared with the permutation method to test the equality of two Gini indexes. Lastly, these methods are applied to real data.     

Combined asymmetric spatial weights matrix with application to housing prices

In this study, a combined asymmetric spatial weights matrix is proposed for capturing the unequal spatial dependence of housing prices, where the advantage of this matrix was demonstrated by a non-nested hypothesis test. To explore the heterogeneous spatial impacts of urban essential characteristics on housing prices over the eastern, central, and western regions of China, after the Lagrange multiplier and likelihood ratio tests, the spatial Durbin model using the proposed weights matrix was applied to each region. The estimation results showed that the direct impacts of college and new employment were significantly negative in the eastern region, but not significant in the central and western regions. By contrast, the direct impacts of hospitals and scenic spots were significantly positive in eastern China, but not significant in central and western China. In addition, the indirect impacts of the four variables were not significant in the three regions. These results suggest that in eastern China, the government may increase the requirements for using medical resources and close tourist attractions in a single city to cool down the skyrocketing housing prices in this area.     

Statistical analysis of dependent competing risks model in accelerated life testing under progressively hybrid censoring using copula function

This article considers statistical analysis of dependent competing risks model from Weibull distribution in accelerated life testing, in which copula function is used to examine the dependence structure between competing failure modes. We derive the maximum likelihood estimates, the approximate, and Bootstrap confidence intervals of the parameters. The effects of different dependence structures on the estimates of parameters are investigated. The simulation is given to compare the performance of the estimates when the competing failure modes are dependent with those when the failure modes are independent. Finally, one dataset was used for illustrative purpose in conclusion.     

Monitoring the coefficient of variation using a variable sample size and sampling interval control chart

This article proposes a CV chart by using the variable sample size and sampling interval (VSSI) feature to improve the performance of the basic CV chart, for detecting small and moderate shifts in the CV. The proposed VSSI CV chart is designed by allowing the sample size and the sampling interval to vary. The VSSI CV chart's statistical performance is measured by using the average time to signal (ATS) and expected average time to signal (EATS) criteria and is compared with that of existing CV charts. The Markov chain approach is employed in the design of the chart.     

The heterogeneous impact of pension income on elderly living arrangements: evidence from China’s new rural pension scheme

This paper investigates the impact of pension income on living arrangements of the elderly. Taking advantage of a unique opportunity due to the recent establishment and expansion of the New Rural Pension Scheme in China, we explicitly address the endogeneity of pension status and pension income through a fixed-effect model with instrumental variable approach by exploiting exogenous time variation in the program implementation at county level. We find an overall positive effect of pension income on independent living as well as considerable heterogeneity. The positive income effects of the NRPS are concentrated among the elderly with adult children living nearby, of higher socio-economic status, and with better health at baseline; for other groups, the effects are insignificant. We also find that more generous programs exhibit larger effects. Our results highlight that living arrangement is multidimensional in rural China.     

孩次、生育时间与生育水平——基于中日韩妇女平均生育年龄变动与差异的机制研究

文章描述1990 ～2015年间中日韩三国妇女平均生育年龄的变化特征,揭示孩次结构和分孩次生育时间对平均生育年龄指标的影响,分析三国部及国家间妇女平均生育年龄时期变化与国别差异的影响机制.研究发现,观察期间中国妇女的平均生育年龄先下降后上升;平均生育年龄的提高是孩次减少与生育推迟共同作用的结果,后者的影响极为显著,但21世纪近5年的在机制表现值得关注.与日韩相比,中国妇女总体及分孩次的平均生育年龄都相对偏低;三国妇女的平均生育年龄上升态势后的在机制存在差异.文章还就平均生育年龄指标在衡量生育时间的准确性问题,以及全面两孩政策背景下生育时间在提升生育水平方面的政策意义进行讨论.