Psychosocial Well-Being of the Elderly and Their Perception of Matured Estate in Singapore

This article explores various relationships between the elderly's psychosocial well-being and components of aging-friendly community (continuity, compensation, connection, challenge, and contribution), in order to understand their perception of a matured estate and to discuss implications in housing neighborhood urban design. Interviews with elderly residents living in Bukit Merah (Redhill), one of the matured housing estates in Singapore with a high percentage of elderly residents, were conducted to understand how eldercare infrastructure and social spaces developed within the fabric of a high-rise, high-density public housing estate can support or inhibit their psychosocial well-being, as indicated by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Our results postulate that different groups of elderly form friendships and participate in activities in both formal social service centers and informal public spaces. The friendships formed in these places and the convenience of amenities around their houses may affect their perception of their current residences. While the elderly residents are generally satisfied with physical infrastructure, a comprehensive, integrated urban design is further needed to facilitate physical activities, social interactions, and active aging in the elderly in order to enhance their psychosocial well-being.     

超主权国际货币运行的实证研究——模拟估值、汇率体系与绩效检验

2008年的国际金融危机暴露出当前国际货币体系的严重缺陷,关于超主权国际货币的讨论成为学术界的热点。超主权国际货币以美元、欧元、日元、英镑和人民币等五种货币为基础,每种货币的权重取决其所属经济体的国内生产总值、国际储备和对外贸易总额,并采用加权平均计算的方法构建。通过对2006—2010年间超主权国际货币的模拟运算及计量分析表明,超主权国际货币体系具有以下三点优势:(1),相对于以美元为核心的国际货币体系,超主权国际货币体系具有更稳定的汇率体系,即各种主要货币对世元汇率的变异系数与汇率偏离度更小;(2),在超主权国际货币体系下,外汇衍生品的交易量会下降,从而导致因外汇交易所付出的佣金支付金额减少,即国际经济活动的交易成本会降低;(3),在超主权国际货币体系下,以石油为代表的大宗商品的价格波动会减缓,从而减小了世界经济发展的不确定性。     

Job-Seeking Behavior in Young Adults: Do Unemployment Insurance Benefits Hurt Job Search Efforts?

ABSTRACT. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association between extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and young adults’ job-seeking behavior. In particular, the study evaluated if the extension of UI benefits to 99 weeks in 2008 had direct effects on job search efforts. Three waves (2007–2009) of data (N = 915) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were analyzed using multiple regression models to assess the association of UI benefits to young adults’ job search efforts. Additionally, the homogeneity of slope coefficients of the UI benefit on job search effort was evaluated across 3 years using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results of regression analyses suggest that UI benefits were negatively associated with job search efforts for 2007 and the pooled sample of 2007 to 2009, but the relationship was not significant for 2008 and 2009. The results of the ANCOVA suggest that the UI benefit extension of 2008 did not have any negative association with job search efforts. Future studies should explore the subjective experiences and decisions young adults make in consideration of unemployment, UI benefits, and job search efforts.     

Preferences and Expectations for Delivering Bad News Among Korean Older Adults

ABSTRACT

 The purpose of this study was to explore Korean older adults’ perspectives toward physicians’ disclosure of serious illness to patients. Seventy Korean older adults residing in the community were interviewed in person using a semistructured interview guide. Major themes included conflicting desires among participants to: 1) inform the patient directly, 2) inform the patient indirectly, and 3) inform only the family. Subthemes under the first theme included: a) decision making about treatment, b) planning and preparation for the future, c) need for use of an ethical standard, d) consideration of patient coping responses, and e) disclosure of serious illness as a relational process. Disclosure of bad news is more than revealing or concealing information. Needs and preferences regarding to what extent and how information is delivered differ by culture. Thus, understanding preferred communication pathways for advanced care planning in specific cultural frameworks is important. Future studies using clear concepts and measures about serious illness disclosure can better prepare health care professionals in interacting with those from minority cultures. In addition, studies of those with poor health status from diverse cultural groups may further assist social workers to tailor interventions to accommodate cultural needs and expectations in end-of-life settings.     

Home and Community-based Services and Life Satisfaction among Homebound and Poor Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Little evidence exists regarding the role of Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) utilization on life satisfaction among older people who are both homebound and low-income. Guided by the personal-environment (P-E) fit perspective, this study aims to: (1) describe characteristics of older people with homebound and low-income status; (2) investigate how the combination of homebound and low-income status is associated with life satisfaction; and (3) examine whether HCBS utilization moderates the association between homebound and low-income status and life satisfaction. Data were drawn from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study, and the sample included respondents who were 51+ years who completed a questionnaire for HCBS utilization (n= 1,662). Results describe sociodemographic, health-related, and environmental characteristics of older adults. Combined homebound and low-income status was a significant predictor of lower life satisfaction (β = ?0.15, p< .05), but better life satisfaction when they used HCBS (β = 0.33, p <.10). These findings suggest that promoting HCBS utilization is a promising strategy to enhance well-being among those homebound and poor. Further studies are needed to test the effectiveness of HCBS with longitudinal data and to investigate the details of effective HCBS utilization such as frequency of use and types of services.     

论辜鸿铭及其历史文化观

辜鸿铭是中国传统文化坚定的捍卫者,辜鸿铭通过中西文明的比较,坚定支持中国传统文化,并向西方世界积极宣扬中国传统思想文化,对推动中学西渐产生了有利的影响.批判性地接收辜鸿铭对中国传统文明的观点,对当今世界的价值取向仍然有其积极的意义.     

Rethinking Women and Their Bodies in the Age of Biotechnology: Feminist Commentaries on the Hwang Affair

Many Korean women felt strongly positive about donating their eggs for Hwang Woo Suk’s research, in spite of the fact that Hwang was accused of fraud. It is said that there is a kind of unique ‘egg donation culture’ among Korean women, which urged them to donate their eggs for his research. However, positing such a Korean ‘egg donation culture’ does not seem to give a sufficient explanation of why so many Korean women were seemingly willing to provide their own eggs for Hwang’s research. Instead, we suggest that egg donation issues in the Hwang affair can be interpreted under the paradoxical context, in which Korean women are situated in the age of biotechnology. On the one hand, the invisibility of women as subjects in the public sphere led to their lack of social control over ova trafficking and made it possible for a huge number of eggs to be supplied secretly for Hwang’s team. The patriarchal structure of family, the myth of economic growth, and the restricted activities of feminist organizations are possible contributors to the invisibility of Korean women. On the other hand, in the practices of bodily technologies such as cosmetic surgery and reproductive technologies, Korean women have been highly visible. With the help of those technological instruments, women have been empowered to own their own bodies and to have them at their disposal. We argue that these dualistic realities of women as egg owners can explain the egg donation culture among Korean women in the Hwang affair.

An Application of Master Schedule Smoothing and Planned Lead Time Control

Make‐to‐order (MTO) manufacturers must ensure concurrent availability of all parts required for production, as any unavailability may cause a delay in completion time. A major challenge for MTO manufacturers operating under high demand variability is to produce customized parts in time to meet internal production schedules. We present a case study of a producer of MTO offshore oil rigs that highlights the key aspects of the problem. The producer was faced with an increase in both demand and demand variability. Consequently, it had to rely heavily on subcontracting to handle production requirements that were in excess of its capacity. We focused on the manufacture of customized steel panels, which represent the main sub‐assemblies for building an oil rig. We considered two key tactical parameters: the planning window of the master production schedule and the planned lead time of each workstation. Under the constraint of a fixed internal delivery lead time, we determined the optimal planning parameters. This improvement effort reduced the subcontracting cost by implementing several actions: the creation of a master schedule for each sub‐assembly family of the steel panels, the smoothing of the master schedule over its planning window, and the controlling of production at each workstation by its planned lead time. We report our experience in applying the analytical model, the managerial insights gained, and how the application benefits the oil‐rig producer.     

Korean patterns of women's labor force participation during the period, 1960-1980

"This article investigates how the patterns of Korean women's labor force participation have changed during the 1960s and the 1970s, [periods] of rapid economic development and social changes. The discussion focuses on the comparison of three sets of cross-sectional data derived from the 1960, 1970 and 1980 [Republic of Korea] censuses. Although not dramatic, the gross rates of women's labor force participation show an upward trend. A very high and rapidly increasing rate of rural women's labor force participation did not result in a big increase in the total rate because of the significant rise in the proportion of the population living in urban areas. However, the employment structure and patterns of women's labor force participation have changed significantly, especially in urban areas."     

IBSTPI教师能力视域下我国高校辅导员专业标准研究

对ISBTPI教师能力标准进行了介绍,并根据该标准,对高校辅导员的教师情感态度和教学能力等两方面的专业标准进行了分析,并对该标准应包含的内容提出了自己的观点和见解,此外,根据高校辅导员工作特点,指出教师专业知识也应是高校辅导员专业标准的必备内容。