Elderly Korean immigrants' socially and culturally constructed definitions of elder neglect

Little research has been conducted among the elderly on the topic of neglect. Not only is there a paucity of research, but also there is the problem of widely varying definitions of neglect. These two challenges led to a study of how neglect is understood by elderly Korean immigrants as it pertains to behaviors of adult children and family members. Interviews with 124 elderly Korean immigrants were conducted to assess conceptualizations of elder neglect. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results revealed five interrelated themes with strong connections to dimensions of health and mental health: (a) culture-specific definitions of elder neglect, (b) contexts in which elder neglect occurs, (c) impact of neglect on elders, (d) expectations from adult children, and (e) strategies for dealing with elder neglect. Implications for culturally competent, family-centered service delivery to elderly Korean immigrants are discussed, specifically focusing on service provision of health and mental health care.     

Surviving grief: An analysis of the exchange of hope in online grief communities

Online grief communities represent relatively new forms of peer support. However, the degree to which they are helpful for individual grieving processes is unknown. To date, no research has evaluated the type or quality of support exchanged in online grief communities. To begin to address these questions, this study analyzed 564 messages from internet grief websites to: (1) classify the type of helping skills used, and (2) extract themes contained in the content of the messages. Messages selected for analysis were the first response to an original post, assuming they would be the first effort to provide support to a grieving individual. Results revealed a majority of responses contained self-disclosure. Themes in the messages suggested provision of more than "one-way" support; messages themes also included exchanging hope for the future by sharing one's own story, validating the grief experience, providing resources, and exchanging psychosocial support. Clinical implications and research recommendations are discussed.     

A股市场上大股东减持的时机选择和市场反应研究

利用公开披露的减持公告数据,从短时间窗口考察大股东减持的时机选择能力以及减持披露后的市场反应机制的研究结果显示,减持公告前后累计超额收益(CAR)呈先升后降的倒V形,CAR［-20,-1］和CAR［0,20］分别高达4.12%和-2.61%,大股东在减持中表现出精准的时机选择能力,并获利丰厚,而市场认为减持传达了估值偏高或前景不佳的新信息,对此作出了显著的负面反应。在公告当日,市场对绩差公司、民营控股公司的大股东减持以及大额的减持作出更大的负面反应;在公告后的较长时间内,绩差公司、控股股东的减持负面影响更持久。可见,精准的时机选择能力反映出大股东在交易中的确利用了重要的私有信息,减持前高达4.12%的超额收益为强化监管提供了有力的经验支持。     

The Right Side of the Tracks: Affluent Neighborhoods in the Metropolitan United States*

Objectives. We describe the geography, population composition, and housing stock of extremely affluent neighborhoods and evaluate the extent to which conclusions about these neighborhoods differ across definitions of affluence. Methods. Using Census 2000 data on tracts in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, we compare neighborhoods at the very top of the income distribution (highest 2 percent) to their counterparts in lower‐income categories. The distributions for median household income, median family income, per‐capita income, and the household income ratio allow us to define affluence in alternative ways. Results. Contrary to past findings, rich neighborhoods are no longer concentrated in the Northeast, and they exhibit substantial proportions of foreign‐born and Asian residents and average labor force participation rates. Other of their characteristics (e.g., educational level, professional‐managerial employment, housing size and value) seem more predictable. Although certain results vary depending on how affluence is defined, the majority do not. Conclusion. Our analysis lays an empirical foundation for future work on affluent neighborhoods, which have received scant research attention. It also makes a conceptual contribution, demonstrating that such neighborhoods stand out irrespective of the definitional approach taken.     

Informant accuracy in social-network data V. An experimental attempt to predict actual communication from recall data

This paper seeks to discover whether the known inaccuracy of informant recall about their communication behavior can be accounted for by experimentally varying the time period over which recall takes place. The experiment took advantage of a new communications medium (computer conferencing) which enabled us to monitor automatically all the interactions involving a subset of the computer network. The experiment itself was administered entirely by the computer, which interviewed informants and recorded their responses. Variations in time period failed to account for much of the inaccuracy, which continues, as in previous experiments at an unacceptably high level. One positive finding did emerge: although the informants did not know with whom they communicated, the informants en masse seemed to know certain broad facts about the communication pattern. All other findings were negative. For example, it is impossible to predict the people an informant claimed to communicate with but did not; and it is impossible to predict who the five people are that an informant forgot to mention that she or he had communication with. Thus, despite their presumed good intentions, our findings here confirm what we have learned from six previous experiments: What people say about their communications bears no resemblance to their behavior. This suggests that other forms of data gathering, based on questions which require that informants recall their behavior, may well be suspect.