Exploring Antecedents of Charitable Giving and Their Impact on Subjective Well-Being in Singapore

There is a declining number of donors and increasing number of charities competing for donations in Singapore. In this study we explore the values and attitudes (i.e. empathy, individualism and materialism) associated with donation behaviour and their consequences on the donor’s subjective well-being among 226 Singaporeans from a cross-section of society. We found individuals who value warm relationships with others are more likely to have an empathetic attitude and donate money to charities. However, we did not find a relationship between individualism and donation behaviour nor materialism and donation behaviour. Moreover, helping those in need (donation behaviour) did not influence the donor’s subjective well-being. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and suggestions for future research provided.     

Development of activity monitoring for determining load carriage patterns in school students

The loads that school students are carrying to, around and from school is an issue of increasing concern particularly as the long term effects of excessive load carriage on school students' musculoskeletal health is unknown. A greater understanding of the temporal patterns of students' load carriage, which usually involves backpacking, would assist in determining the magnitude of the problem that is faced by school students. The aim of this study was to determine the duration of school students' walking, running and stair climbing while backpacking and identify when students take off and put on their backpacks using activity monitoring and video, and therefore validate activity monitoring as a tool for measuring the temporal patterns of backpacking in school students. An activity monitor was secured in the backpacks of six school students while they completed a predefined physical activity course. Participants firstly completed the course following a set time pattern ('set course') and then repeated the course while performing activities as they pleased ('free course'). Video footage and activity monitor data were captured simultaneously. The activity monitor provided consistent visual differentiation between walking, running and taking off and putting on a backpack. The greatest variation between measures was for walking during the 'free course' (mean 8, SD 7 seconds), while the least variation between measures was for stair climbing during the 'set course' (mean 3, SD 2 seconds). There were no statistical differences between the activity monitor and video camera determined durations for any of the activities. These preliminary results suggest that activity monitoring may enable valid analysis of the temporal patterns of backpacking with little disruption to the user, although more work is required to verify this.     

Life-Cycle Assessment in Relation to Risk Assessment: An Evolving Perspective

A life-cycle approach takes a cradle-to-grave perspective of a product's numerous activities from the raw material extraction to final disposal. There have been recent efforts to develop life-cycle assessment (LCA) to assess both environmental and human health issues. The question then arises: what are the capabilities of LCA, especially in relation to risk assessment? To address this question, this paper first describes the LCA mass-based accounting system and then analyzes the use of this approach for environmental and human health assessment. The key LCA limitations in this respect are loss of spatial, temporal, dose-response, and threshold information. These limitations affect LCA's capability to assess several environmental issues, and human health in particular. This leads to the conclusion that LCA impact assessment does not predict or measure actual effects, quantitate risks, or address safety. Instead, LCA uses mass loadings with simplifying assumptions and subjective judgments to add independent effects and exposures into an overall score. As a result, LCA identifies possible human health issues on a systemwide basis from a worst case, hypothetical hazard perspective. Ideally, the identified issues would then be addressed by more detailed assessment methods, such as risk assessment.     

Expressions of love, sex, and hurt in popular songs: a content analysis of all-time greatest hits

This research analyzed the 100 most popular songs (1958–1998) for artist characteristics and expression of love. In the 1990s women and black artists recorded more hits than in earlier periods. Over time, references to love in lyrics performed by women artists decreased. References to sex in lyrics peaked during 1976–1984 when women used sexual references five times more than men; however, during 1991–1998, men used more sexual references. Later songs and songs performed by white, female artists expressed greater selfishness. The quality of love expressed in lyrics remained the same. Results are discussed relative to cultural change.     

Work,Childcare, or Both? Experimental Evidence on the Efficacy of Childcare Subsidies in Raising Parental Labor Supply

Journal of Family and Economic Issues - As a policy tool aimed at raising parental labor supply, childcare subsidies come with high expectations. Using data from a factorial survey conducted in the...