An Integrated Decision Methodology for Designing and Operating an Air‐Express Courier's Distribution Network*

DHL, an international air‐express courier, has been operating in Hong Kong for many years. In 1998, the new international airport located at a site considerably distant from the old location opened in Hong Kong (HK). Other airport‐related infrastructure facilities have also been developed or are being developed, resulting in major changes in transport structure as well as a shift in customer demand. In this paper a multiyear distribution network is designed for DHL(HK) using an integrated network design methodology, which consists of a macro model and a micro model. The macro model, a mixed 0–1 LP, determines in an aggregate manner the least‐cost distribution network. The micro model, a simulation, evaluates the operational viability and efficacy of the network according to its service coverage and service reliability. We also illustrate how coverage and reliability can be improved via the integrated use of the two models. Extensive discussion on relevant planning and operational issues of an air‐express courier are included. The methodology has been successfully implemented at DHL(HK). It has been used to design the network, to test strategic decisions, and to update the network.     

How Effective are Helpers to Older Adults’ Life Satisfaction?

The effectiveness of help received from home care workers and volunteers to the life satisfaction of community-dwelling older adults is vital but uncharted. To address the effectiveness, this study aims to optimize the use of social resources for the older adults’ life quality. The study thus surveyed 398 community-dwelling older adults in a city of China about the help and life satisfaction. Results showed a significant positive effect of help from home care workers, but not that from volunteers, on the older adult’s life satisfaction. Moreover, the effect of help from volunteers was significantly greater when the older adult had higher education or lower family income. These effects are explicable with resource theory and need fulfillment theory. They imply the worth of promoting help from home care workers generally and volunteers conditionally to champion older adults’ life satisfaction.     

Children’s Resilience-Related Beliefs as a Predictor of Positive Child Development in the Face of Adversities: Implications for Interventions to Enhance Children’s Quality of Life

This paper reports the findings of a longitudinal childhood resilience study which investigated the relationship between resilience-related beliefs and positive child development. Three waves of data collection (T1, T2, and T3) were completed in January 2005, July 2005, and January 2006 with a sample of 843 grade 4 pupils, drawn from six primary schools in Hong Kong, and their parents or guardians. At T1, parents/guardians responded to a 24-item inventory of life adversities affecting their children since birth; at T1 and T3, they completed a 25-item Parental Assessment of Child’s Habit, which provided parental evaluation of children’s performance at home and in school. At T1, T2, and T3, children responded to a 58-item Child and Youth Resilience Measure, a 9-item scale on Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, and an 11-item Chinese Resilience Measure for Children and Adolescents in Hong Kong. Regression analyses, based on linear mixed models, controlling for gender, T1 and T2 scores, personal variables, and random effects of schools, were conducted to test and validate the hypothesis that children’s resilience beliefs are predictive of positive child development, and that this predictive relationship is stronger with increasing adversity in children’s lives. Implications of these findings for the development of resilience-based interventions to enhance the quality of life of children facing adversities are examined.     

Contributions of Family Factors to Career Readiness: A Cross‐Cultural Comparison

The authors examined the contributions of perceived family intrusiveness to career decision‐making difficulties (CDMD) and the mediating effect of family orientation as a personality trait in different cultural settings. In Study 1, a web‐based survey of 1,563 Hong Kong college students showed that perceived family intrusiveness significantly contributed to CDMD. This relationship was mediated by the relational personality trait emphasizing family orientation. Study 2 compared this pattern of relationship between a Hong Kong sample of 392 college students and a U.S. sample of 367 college students. The mediation model was only supported in the Hong Kong sample. Specifically, although the contributions of family intrusiveness to CDMD were demonstrated across the 2 cultural settings, the significant influences of family orientation were only supported in the Hong Kong sample. Implications for career development and counseling with college students from different cultural backgrounds are discussed.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Hong Kong Welfare Programmes in Reducing Child Poverty

This paper examines the effectiveness and efficiency of welfare programmes that are relevant to child poverty reduction in Hong Kong. We employ data from a cross‐sectional survey of a representative sample of families, conducted in 2015 through face‐to‐face interviews. Our results indicate that all four welfare programmes were inadequate in alleviating child poverty. This was either due to the deep poverty gap to be filled or high rates of exclusion error. Most programmes are also inefficient because of inclusion error. We conclude by suggesting some policy implications for the welfare programmes.     

Supervision and Treatment of Juveniles with Sexual Behavior Problems

Responses to a survey, distributed at the 2005 Conference for Sex Offender Management, were studied to identify treatment theories, client behavior expectations, and level of interagency collaboration relied upon to produce positive outcomes for Juveniles with Sexual Behavior Problems (JSBP). Analysis of 112 responses to the 31-item survey identified three potential subscales (Integration of Theory, Readiness for Program Release, and Collaboration) and indicated support for an integrative approach to treatment. Clinicians were more likely than probation, institutional officers and caseworkers to use cognitive-behavioral approaches to enhance positive outcomes. Results are discussed regarding three controversial issues related to JSBP supervision and treatment: use of polygraphs with juvenile sex offenders, referrals to 12-Step Sexual Addiction programs, and victim/offender reunification.     

A Social Work Perspective on Using Social Return on Investment (SROI) in Humanistic Social Care

Service administrators and social workers are increasingly adopting business terminology in practice, including such terms as “social impact”, “social capital”, “social investing”, “social accounting”, “social benefits”, and “social return on investment” (SROI). These concepts, especially SROI, must be examined for inconsistency with social work values. Clients must not be stigmatised, and their voices must be heard when this controversial measurement tool is used. A prudent mentality must accompany the application of business ideas to humanistic social care.     

Quality of Life in Older Adults: Benefits from Caring Services in Hong Kong

Many older adults are in need of care. Therefore, older people would generally benefit from the use of caring services, notably including home care, residential care, nursing, and medical services. The contributory factors underlying caring services tend to be a caring perspective that aspires to sustain older peoples social relationships and real-life involvement. To gauge the benefits from various social and health services, the present study relies on a large-scale survey of 3000 older adults in Hong Kong, using quality of life as a criterion. Results showed that an older adult who had used (ordinary or enhanced) home care services for a longer time turned out to have appreciably more improvement in quality of life. Besides, those who joined an interest group more frequently were higher in quality of life, including the health domain. On the other hand, frequent use of medical and meal-to-home services were signals that reflected problems detrimental to the older users quality of life. Despite this, the quality of clinics or hospitals, as perceived by the older adult, was the most beneficial. As such, caring services that foster older adults interests, cater to their health care needs, and embody quality can have principal contribution to their users quality of life.     

The Asylum‐Integration Paradox: Comparing Asylum Support Systems and Refugee Integration in The Netherlands and the UK

This article explores the impact of asylum support systems on refugee integration focusing on the UK and the Netherlands. Both have adopted deterrent approaches to asylum support. The Dutch favour the use of asylum accommodation centres, segregating asylum seekers from the general population. The UK disperses asylum seekers to housing within deprived areas, embedding them within communities. Both countries have been criticized for these practices, which are viewed as potentially anti‐integrative: something of a paradox given that both promote the importance of refugee integration. We analyse national refugee integration surveys in both countries and provide original empirical evidence of negative associations between asylum support systems and refugees’ health, which differ in relation to mental and physical health. The integration and asylum policy implications of these findings are discussed.