Continuity and change in work-life balance choices

This paper explores the ways in which the work-life balance choices made by heterosexual couples differ in different generations, how such choices are gendered, and the extent to which 'individualization' provides an adequate conceptualization of the effects of social change on heterosexual couples. It argues that processes of individualization need to be seen in the context of changing social institutions, and that it is the de-institutionalization of 'the family' and the life course that is leading to a de-gendering of work-life balance choices. The paper draws on findings from a restudy of the family and social change and a study of the gender dimensions of job insecurity both of which were carried out in the same geographical location. The studies provide evidence of generational change in work-life balance choices and increasing occupational differentiation between heterosexual partners. This leads to a situation where increasingly choices are made which blur gendered boundaries and which has been made possible by a process of de-institutionalization of the male breadwinner family. Our findings support the contention that processes of individualization are more apparent amongst younger than older generations and that, because of changes external to the family, there is more negotiation and pragmatism amongst younger generations about work-life choices.     

Relocation stress syndrome in older adults transitioning from home to a long-term care facility: myth or reality?

Relocation stress syndrome is a nursing diagnosis characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, and loneliness. It usually occurs in older adults shortly after moving from a private residence to a nursing home or assisted-living facility. The primary purpose of this study was to validate the symptoms of relocation stress syndrome. Eight nursing home residents and 8 assisted-living facility residents were interviewed 2 to 10 weeks after admission, when symptoms of relocation stress syndrome are most likely to appear. Results of this study indicate that the incidence of relocation stress syndrome may be overestimated. More accurate diagnosis and treatment of depression in older adults is needed.     

A combined mixed-s-skip sampling strategy to reduce the effect of autocorrelation on the X̄ scheme with and without measurement errors

In order to reduce the effect of autocorrelation on the X¯ monitoring scheme, a new sampling strategy is proposed to form rational subgroup samples of size n. It requires sampling to be done such that: (i) observations from two consecutive samples are merged, and (ii) some consecutive observations are skipped before sampling. This technique which is a generalized version of the mixed samples strategy is shown to yield a better reduction of the negative effect of autocorrelation when monitoring the mean of processes with and without measurement errors. For processes subjected to a combined effect of autocorrelation and measurement errors, the proposed sampling technique, together with multiple measurement strategy, yields an uniformly better zero-state run-length performance than its two main existing competitors for any autocorrelation level. However, in steady-state mode, it yields the best performance only when the monitoring process is subject to a high level of autocorrelation, for any given level of measurement errors. A real life example is used to illustrate the implementation of the proposed sampling strategy.KEYWORDS: Autocorrelation, measurement errors, mixed samples strategy, multiple measurements, skipping sampling strategy, steady-state, zero-state     

Impact of mindful self-care and perceived stress on the health related quality of life among young-adult students in West Virginia

ABSTRACT

There are substantial gaps in research on Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in students aged 18 and above in West Virginia. The purpose of this study is to explore the associations between mindful self-care, perceived stress, and the HRQoL in this population. We conducted a cross-sectional study between March and April 2017. We included participants who were students, aged 18 years and above, living in West Virginia and were able to answer online questions in English. Data was obtained from an online survey using a structured questionnaire, including the SF12v2®, mindful self-care scale- SHORT, and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10. We applied linear regressions to determine the predictors of HRQoL (physical health and mental health) using SF12v2®. 194 participants met the inclusion criteria of the study. Mindful self-care was negatively associated with perceived stress. Better mindful self-care mediated the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being, controlling for gender, age, race, marital status, education level, annual household income, and chronic disease status. Perceived stress and mindful self-care were not related to the physical well-being. Better mindful self-care may safeguard against perceived stress among students aged 18 years and above. Our findings in this study recommend more mindfulness-based interventions targeted to this subpopulation to improve psychological well-being.     

DEVIL'S ADVOCACY AND DIALECTICAL INQUIRY EFFECTS ON PREDICTION PERFORMANCE: TASK INVOLVEMENT AS A MEDIATING VARIABLE

Critics of previous laboratory experiments comparing devil's advocacy (DA) to dialectical inquiry (DI) have suggested that these experiments produced misleading results because (1) they used subjects who had low levels of task involvement and (2) the DI treatment used was confusing to subjects and required further explanation to be useful. The present study examines the effects of four inquiry methods—expert (E), DA, DI, and DI with explanatory statement (DI+)—on subjects' performance at a financial prediction task. Results show that DA, DI, and DI + were superior to E when the state of the world differed significantly from assumptions underlying the expert's plan. For subjects with high task involvement, DI and DI + were more effective than E and DA. The results support some of the criticisms of previous laboratory research and suggest that future research on these decision aids should include task involvement as a factor.     

20世纪中国广告学理论的发展

广告学在中国是一门新兴的边缘学科。本世纪２０ 年代开始,我国已有少量广告学的研究及教学活动。此后由于社会经济条件的限制,广告学科在旧中国并没有自己生存的土壤。新中国成立后,计划经济体制限制了广告学的发展。改革开放的春风,使中国的广告学理论研究呈现出勃勃生机,有关重大理论问题的探索和研究,为我国广告事业的发展以及广告人才的培养奠定了基础,并极大地提升了广告业的整体水平。我国广告学理论研究从无到有,在很短的时间内形成自己的理论体系,为市场经济发展壮大注入了活力,并逐步与国际广告界接轨。     

关于中国GDP的国际比较

ＧＤＰ的国际比较常用汇率法和购买力平价法。用汇率作为评价标准测算的中国的ＧＤＰ显然被低估,而以购买力平价作为评价标准测算的中国的ＧＤＰ则可能被高估。真实的中国ＧＤＰ的规模大致处于两者之间。为了正确地进行中国ＧＤＰ的国际比较,一方面,有必要针对两种方法存在的问题作必要的修正和调整,另一方面还应当综合利用两种方法,对中国经济规模的真实水平进行测算和区间估计     

略论郑振铎对中国文学现代化的贡献

本文论述郑振铎在中国文学现代化进程中所作的贡献:发起成立文学研究会,倡导“血和泪”的文学,促使新文学现实主义主潮的形成;致力于“美文”建设;创造了散文式小说,丰富了小说文体;作为一位新诗的开拓者,赋予诗歌以鲜明突出的时代精神,探索新诗体式的多样化。郑振铎对中国文学现代化的贡献是巨大的     

全球化何时帮助穷人？

全球化与贫穷之间有何联系?发展中经济体长期以来一直将国际贸易和金融作为发展的解决方案,但全球35%的人口仍生活在国际贫困线以下。经济学家和政治学家探究了这种联系,但仍未得出结论。我们回顾了相关文献,认为要理解全球化与贫穷之间的联系,我们必须根本理解针对最贫困人口政策背后的政治动机。具体来说,我们主张学者需要明确发展中国家政府的意识形态立场,这一认同超越了发达国家主流的传统左右翼分歧的观点。我们为学者在全球范围内如何开始推动意识形态起作用以及为什么必须评估全球化与贫穷的联系提供了理论指导。此外,我们还对我们的论点提供了初步的定量和定性检验。最后,两个学科的学者为了评估贸易与贫穷之间的联系,必须开始评估政府对扶贫再分配的承诺(而不是受制于既得精英利益集团的政策)。     

Back to Brit: retired British migrants returning from Spain

Since the seminal research of O'Reilly, Karen [2000. The British on the Costa del Sol. London: Routledge] and King, Russell, Anthony Warnes, Allan Williams [2000. Sunset Lives: British Retirement Migration to the Mediterranean. New York: Berg Publishers] about British citizens on the Costa del Sol there has been a surge in the publication of lifestyle migration papers, books and research. Nonetheless, there is a part of the lifestyle migration process that has been rarely explored: a return move to the country of origin following retirement migration. Research has indicated a broad increase in the number of older British returnees, yet there has been no substantive research on the topic. This paper therefore attempts to fill this gap by using Spanish registry data to examine the number of British retirees since 2009 who have returned to the UK. In addition, the results of an electronic survey to older British people in Spain are presented which suggest that considerable numbers of British citizens aged over 55 living in the Northern Costa Blanca are likely to return in the next few years. These data therefore indicate the relevance of return migration from Spain to the UK as a significant issue to the academic community as well as to British and Spanish policy-makers.