‘Left to Fend for Themselves’: Immigration,Race Relations and the State in Twentieth Century Northern Ireland

Race relations legislation was only introduced to Northern Ireland in 1997, 31 years later than in Britain. This article examines the obstacles and challenges faced by minorities there during the twentieth century. By providing a case study of Northern Ireland, the article shifts the focus away from British inner cities, emphasising that outlying regions – so often overlooked within the context of UK race relations historiography – also had to grapple with issues surrounding race and immigration. The article challenges the notion that Northern Ireland was exclusively white, showing how ethnic minorities there were repeatedly overlooked and excluded.     

Self- vs proxy-reported mobility using the mobility assessment tool-short form in elderly preoperative patients

Background

Mobility is fundamental to maintenance of an independent lifestyle and can predict clinical outcomes after health events among older individuals. However, certain clinical situations do not accommodate physical or self-assessments. This investigation examines whether proxy-reported assessments of function using the Mobility Assessment Tool-short (MAT-sf) form is a reliable alternative.

Methods

Sixty-six older persons (≥ age 70) and their proxies were enrolled. Proxies rated patients’ mobility using the MAT-sf as did the patients.

Results

The mean age of patients was 78.4 yr. (±6.2); 44% were female and 86% were white. Spouses made up 55% of the proxies, while 39% were children/in-laws. The correlation coefficient between patient and proxy MAT-sf scores was 0.81 (p?<?0.01); a comparison of the slope of the regression line relating patient- and proxy-reported MAT-sf to a line of identity showed disagreement (p?<?0.01), with proxy reports underreporting patient responses by 8.3% in lower mobility patients. The intra-class correlation characterizing agreement between repeated proxy reports 0.81.

Conclusion

Proxy reports of mobility in older patients have good reliability. However, in patients with poor mobility, the proxies tend to report a lower mobility than the patients.

     

Preventive Benefits of U.S. Childcare Subsidies in Supervisory Child Neglect

Using data from age 3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the current study explores the complex relationships between U.S. childcare subsidies and neglect. Specifically, the study examines two research questions: (i) Are U.S. childcare subsidies associated with self‐reported neglect among low‐income mothers? (ii) What individual types of self‐reported neglect are significantly reduced by receipt of childcare subsidy? Using negative binomial regression examining the relationships among mothers who were income‐eligible for childcare subsidy, we found that childcare subsidy was associated with lower levels of supervisory neglect, indicating an important role of subsidy in the lives of low‐income families.     

Quantitative Assessment of the Health Risk for Livestock When Animal Viruses Are Applied in Human Oncolytic Therapy: A Case Study for Seneca Valley Virus

Some viruses cause tumor regression and can be used to treat cancer patients; these viruses are called oncolytic viruses. To assess whether oncolytic viruses from animal origin excreted by patients pose a health risk for livestock, a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was performed to estimate the risk for the Dutch pig industry after environmental release of Seneca Valley virus (SVV). The QRA assumed SVV excretion in stool by one cancer patient on Day 1 in the Netherlands, discharge of SVV with treated wastewater into the river Meuse, downstream intake of river water for drinking water production, and consumption of this drinking water by pigs. Dose–response curves for SVV infection and clinical disease in pigs were constructed from experimental data. In the worst scenario (four log₁₀ virus reduction by drinking water treatment and a farm with 10,000 pigs), the infection risk is less than 1% with 95% certainty. The risk of clinical disease is almost seven orders of magnitude lower. Risks may increase proportionally with the numbers of treated patients and days of virus excretion. These data indicate that application of wild‐type oncolytic animal viruses may infect susceptible livestock. A QRA regarding the use of oncolytic animal virus is, therefore, highly recommended. For this, data on excretion by patients, and dose–response parameters for infection and clinical disease in livestock, should be studied.     

Control variates for stochastic gradient MCMC

Statistics and Computing - It is well known that Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods scale poorly with dataset size. A popular class of methods for solving this issue is stochastic gradient...     

Objective and subjective rationality and decisions with the best and worst case in mind

Theory and Decision - We study decision under uncertainty in an Anscombe–Aumann framework. Two binary relations characterize a decision-maker: one (in general) incomplete relation, reflecting...     

Sex references in the mass media∗

This study investigates the mass media's coverage of sexual topics during the years 1950, 1960, and 1970. An examination is made of the quantity of references to sex, the percentage of liberal references, and the coverage of specific sexual activities. It is ascertained that specific references to extramarital sex and noncoital sex decreased from 1950 to 1970. References both to sex relations leading to pregnancy and to sexual deviance have doubled in the number and percentage of total sexual references in this same period. The possible effects of the activities of special interest groups in altering the mass media's coverage of sexual activities is also taken into consideration.     

Australian baby boomers retiring ‘early’: Understanding the benefits of retirement preparation for involuntary and voluntary retirees

The first of the baby boomers have reached retirement age, but some have retired ‘early’ with varying degrees of personal choice. Preparation for retirement can lead to well-being in later life, but few studies have considered the preparations of involuntary retirees or the pathways that link their preparations with retirement outcomes. This research draws on a sample of 304 retirees from the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia Study (2009) to examine how preparedness for retirement relates to voluntary and involuntary retirees' life satisfaction and how this relationship is explained by psychological, activity-based, and economic theories. Preparedness predicted life satisfaction for voluntary and involuntary retirees and each of theoretical pathways was supported. Although those retiring involuntarily were less prepared than voluntary retirees, their preparatory behaviours were still associated with life satisfaction. These results suggest that retirement policy and planning initiatives should aim to facilitate a holistic approach to retirement planning for future retirees, particularly those facing an early and unexpected retirement.     

Greater Self,Lesser Self: Dimensions of Self‐Interest in Chinese Filial Piety

While self‐interest is depreciated in Confucian ethics the processes of family relations in traditional China are animated by the self‐interested actions of family members. The paper outlines the Confucian ideology of filial piety which is commensurate with the governance of family life organized hierarchically and through the senior male's management of the joint‐family's collective property. The structure, operations and principles of membership in traditional Chinese families are indicated, highlighting the tensions within them between consanguinity and conjugality and their material bases. The differential operation of self‐interested actions by husbands and wives is also presented. A non‐Confucian model of the relational‐self is outlined in which both the collective context of Chinese families and the self‐interested actions of individual family members within them is explicated.