A modified Conway–Maxwell–Poisson type binomial distribution and its applications

This article proposes a generalized binomial distribution, which is derived from the finite capacity queueing system with state-dependent service and arrival rates. This distribution is also generated from the conditional Conway–Maxwell–Poisson (CMP) distribution given a sum of two CMP variables. In this article, we consider the properties of the probability mass function, indices of dispersion, skewness and kurtosis, and give applications of the proposed distribution. The estimation method and simulation study are also considered.     

Ethnic dimensions of gender differentials in mortality in Malaysia

Higher mortality rates among males are a common occurrence across different cultures and countries. The causes of this higher mortality can be biological as well as behavioural in nature. The biological evidence applies across all nations and communities, but the behavioural causes, arising from the decision processes and communication strategies of individuals, will necessarily have cultural and environmental dimensions that change with time. This study examines gender disparities in mortality across ethnicity and time in Malaysia. The study shows that there is a consistent gender differential across time but it has widened for the Malays and the Indians and narrowed for the Chinese. Most importantly, it has widened considerably for young adults. Analysis of the leading causes of death show that young adult males are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour, and that the related causes and the extent of such causes vary across the ethnic groups.     

Hurka's Gamble and Methuselah's Paradox: a response to Cowen on normative population theory

The principle of total utility in population choice is seriously challenged by Hurka's Gamble and Methuselah's Paradox (and the associated Lewis-Cowen Theory). This paper defends the principle of total utility by attempting to resolve these apparent paradoxes by an opposite gamble and some other explanations.I wish to discuss elsewhere Cowen and High's challenge to the accepted solution to the St. Peterburg paradox in terms of bounded utility and their related challenge to normative population theory.     

Does Asymmetry of International Shocks Matter for the U.S. Business Cycle?

This article proposes and investigates the asymmetry hypothesis, which predicts that an international asymmetric shock tends to have a stronger and longer effect on the U.S. business cycle than a symmetric shock. The hypothesis finds empirical support in the impulse responses of U.S. output and inflation to symmetric and asymmetric shocks; those responses are estimated in a four-variable structural vector autoregression. The hypothesis also finds support in stylized facts: The longest U.S. expansions have tended to occur when the rest of the world was growing below potential.     

Quality of Life of Poor People Living in Remote Areas in Hong Kong

Based on three surveys carried out for studying living conditions of youth, women and elderly living in six remote areas (Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Sheung Shui, Fan Ling and Tai Po) in the New Territories of Hong Kong, this paper reports the poverty and social exclusion of these three groups of people. The quality of life of youth, women and elderly is adversely affected by limited job opportunities, high cost of travel for employment, and poor neighbourhoods in the community. However, perceptions of reasons for their problems are different for the three groups, due to differences in bonding and bridging social capital they have, as well as the differences in perceptions on social exclusion and discrimination directed upon them.     

“You are your only limit”: Appropriations and valorizations of affect in university branding

This article considers the role of affect in university branding in a context of neoliberal higher education, by way of examining the semiotic landscape of the Singapore Management University concourse. Contemporary branding often involves stimulating stakeholder/audience investments of meaning and affect into the brand, thereby appropriating consumers’ affective labour for brand‐building and communications. Adopting a discourse‐analytic approach, I examine how linguistic, visual and spatial modalities are utilized to evoke and semiotize particular affective meanings and orientations in the emplaced discourse within the university's brand space. This discourse, which includes organizational branding discourse as well as more organic student‐generated texts, becomes part of the affective regime, helping to encourage and enjoin what is deemed to be normative affective sensibilities and practices in that context. Consequently, the article also considers the kinds of affective subjectivities that are valorized, and how stakeholder/student‐subjects are interpellated in a context of neoliberal‐oriented higher education.     

Spatial variability of epibiotic assemblages on marina pontoons in Singapore

Berthing pontoons, one of the most ubiquitous structures in marinas, are known to provide recruitment substrate for a variety of marine biota but little has been reported on their capacity to support epibiotic organisms in tropical marinas, and even less is known about the factors that shape their distribution in such environments. We surveyed the epibiotic assemblages on the sides of pontoons in three Singapore marinas and examined the environmental conditions that influenced their distribution. A total of 94 taxa were recorded, with each marina hosting 43–65 taxa. Assemblages among marinas were highly distinct, and, key discriminants included components of biotic (alcyonarians, hexacorallians, bivalves, and annelids), as well as abiotic (sediment, bare area and shell fragments) origin. While the assemblage variation among marinas was influenced by local environmental conditions (e.g. water motion and sedimentation rate) and pontoon material, the variation in distribution within each marina was best explained by the distance of the pontoons from the marina’s entrance (epibiotic diversity and taxa richness were lower away from the marina entrance). Knowledge on the distribution of epibiotic assemblages on pontoons is essential to identify the factors that contribute to spatial variation and encourage the design and construction of ecologically-friendly marinas. Our findings suggest that improvements to pontoon design and layout would help to augment marina biodiversity, enhance the ecology of urbanised coasts, and mitigate development impacts.     

Quality of Life in Older Adults: Benefits from Caring Services in Hong Kong

Many older adults are in need of care. Therefore, older people would generally benefit from the use of caring services, notably including home care, residential care, nursing, and medical services. The contributory factors underlying caring services tend to be a caring perspective that aspires to sustain older peoples social relationships and real-life involvement. To gauge the benefits from various social and health services, the present study relies on a large-scale survey of 3000 older adults in Hong Kong, using quality of life as a criterion. Results showed that an older adult who had used (ordinary or enhanced) home care services for a longer time turned out to have appreciably more improvement in quality of life. Besides, those who joined an interest group more frequently were higher in quality of life, including the health domain. On the other hand, frequent use of medical and meal-to-home services were signals that reflected problems detrimental to the older users quality of life. Despite this, the quality of clinics or hospitals, as perceived by the older adult, was the most beneficial. As such, caring services that foster older adults interests, cater to their health care needs, and embody quality can have principal contribution to their users quality of life.     

Exploring personhood in dining experiences of residents with dementia in long-term care facilities

Despite the shift toward using person-centered approaches in dementia care, the relevance and applicability of the concept “personhood” remains unclear in everyday practice and activities, such as mealtime experience for residents with dementia. Based on a qualitative study, this paper presents emergent themes at mealtimes that support or undermine personhood of twenty residents with dementia in two long-term care facilities. Methods of data collection included conversational interviews with residents with dementia, participant observations, focus groups with staff and examination of available documents. Data analysis identified eight themes: (1) outpacing/relaxed pace, (2) withholding/holding, (3) stimulation, (4) disrespect/respect, (5) invalidation/validation, (6) distancing/connecting, (7) disempowerment/empowerment, and (8) ignoring/inclusion. These findings raised questions about current practice and identified areas for improvement. Although staff approaches seemed to have the greatest impact on residents' experiences, the physical environment and organizational milieu were also responsible for hindering and facilitating staff to provide the best possible care and interaction.     

朝鲜燕行使与中国琉璃厂

朝鲜李朝的燕行使和中国明清时期的琉璃厂有着千丝万缕的联系。朝鲜好多名人学士回国后都在著述里留有琉璃厂的记录,而燕行使与中国学者在琉璃厂结下的深厚友谊也在当时和后世传为佳话,由此可以看出,燕行使与琉璃厂的结缘对朝鲜吸收先进文化起到了重要作用。