Use and Usability of Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly: An Observation Study in Gothenburg Sweden

To meet the demographic development, measures were initiated by the Swedish government entailing changed conditions for municipal eldercare, such as assisted living. Participant observation is used to study the daily use of common spaces in 14 assisted living units in Gothenburg. The results show examples where the current use diverges from the intended use and suggest diverging objectives and conflicts of use. The observations indicate that the degree of usability is determined by the physical environment itself in some cases, by the users and by changes in use in other cases, and by a combination of both in some cases.     

Factors That Influence Willingness to Help the Homeless

Homelessness is an ongoing challenge for many families and individuals. Many struggle to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter. Unfortunately, we know very little about the people who directly help homeless people meet these needs. The present study examines the relationships between empathy, religion, household income, political orientation, gender, race, and people's expressed willingness to assist the homeless. Results demonstrate a strong and consistent link between empathy and willingness to help. Moderately consistent associations are found for religion and race. Limitations, suggestions for further research, and for practical application are discussed.     

A Case for “Reverse One-Child” Policies in Japan and South Korea? Examining the Link Between Education Costs and Lowest-Low Fertility

Household spending on children’s pre-tertiary education is exceptionally high in Japan and South Korea, and has been cited as a cause of low fertility. Previous research attributes this high spending to a cultural emphasis on education in East Asian countries. In this paper, we argue that institutional factors, namely higher education and labor market systems, play an important role in reinforcing the pressure on parents to invest in their children’s education. We review evidence showing that graduating from a prestigious university has very high economic and social returns in Japan and South Korea, and examine the implications for fertility within the framework of quantity–quality models. Finally, we put forward ‘reverse one-child’ policies that directly address the unintended consequences of these institutional factors on fertility. These policies have the additional virtues of having very low fiscal requirements and reducing social inequality.     

Influence of Satisfaction with Services on Assisted Living Resident Satisfaction

The purpose of our investigation was to provide insight into the service domains that most heavily influenced self-reported resident satisfaction among residents in assisted living facilities. Data was gathered from the 2008 Press Ganey Assisted Living Survey. Satisfaction with service domains was measured using 7 subscales addressing the areas of activities, staff attentiveness, meals, apartment space, facility attractiveness, personal issues, and management. Generalized linear mixed models were specified to assess the influence of demographics, functional status, self-rated health, and satisfaction with service domains on resident satisfaction. In the final multivariate model self-rated health, independence with laundry and finances, and satisfaction with aides, meals and management demonstrated a significant positive effect on resident satisfaction. As the number of assisted living facilities continues to increase, senior management would be wise to consider which domains of service are particularly salient in assisted living environments.     

Reexamining the link of early childbearing to Marriage and to subsequent fertillty

Using data from the 1980, 1985, and 1990 Current Population Surveys, we show that the link between early fertility and nonmarital births has become stronger. Women who give birth earlier are increasingly likely to be unmarried. In contrast, we find a weaker association between first births at young (versus older) ages and (1) a rapid pace of subsequent childbearing and (2) higher completed fertility. We discuss possible causes and consequences of these changes.