Is cash allowance a way to ease child care burden? Views of carers in Hong Kong

Caring for the carers is not only a policy challenge for the government but also a global concern to achieve gender equality by restructuring welfare for care. Paying informal carers is one of the measures that address their needs, which is being practiced in Western countries for more than 10 years now. Financial support for care does not only value the contribution of carers but also compensate for the loss of carers caused by unpaid care duties. However, cash for care is a complex issue because it is located within a number of different policy domains that may be considered controversial. This study discusses the views of carers on cash allowance and identifies issues affecting the support provided to the informal care system in Hong Kong. The discussion is based on the findings from the focus group interviews with 11 groups of carers with different socioeconomic backgrounds.     

Percentile bounds and tolerance limits for the birnbaum-saunders distribution

In this paper, a confidence interval for the lOOpth percentile of the Birnbaum-Saunders distribution is constructed. Conservative two-sided tolerance limits are then obtained from the confidence limits. These results are useful for reliability evaluation when using the Birnbaum-Saunders model. A simple scheme for generating Birnbaum-Saunders random variates is derived. This is used for a simulation study on investigating the effectiveness of the proposed confidence interval in terms of its coverage probability.     

An alternative estimator for randomized response sampling with continuous distributions from a dichotomous population

In this paper, we introduce an alternative estimator of a population proportion from a dichotomous population when using randomized response sampling with continuous randomizing distributions. We also propose the alternative use of exponential randomizing densities. The estimator is obtained by method of moments and is compared with Franklin's (1989) estimator using normal and exponential distributions. The proposed estimator is more efficient than Franklin's (1989) estimator under suitable conditions for the two distributions.     

A functional marked point process model for lupus data

Modelling for marked point processes is an important problem, but has received remarkably little attention in the statistical literature. The authors developed a marked point process model that incorporates the use of functional data analysis in a joint estimation of the frequency function of the point process and the intensity of the mark, with application to data from 22 lupus patients consisting of times of flares in symptom severity combined with a quantitative assessment of the severity. The data indicate that a rapid decrease in drug dose is significantly associated with a decrease in flare frequency. Experiments with simulated data designed to model the actual data further support this conclusion. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 40: 517–529; 2012 © 2012 Statistical Society of Canada     

Revisiting calendar effects in Malaysian finance stocks market: Evidence from threshold GARCH (TGARCH) model

Recent research reveals that calendar effects have largely disappeared from stock markets. However, majority of the past studies focus on stock markets at the aggregate level but do not provide firm-level evidence. Therefore, this study investigates day-of-the-week and month-of-the-year effects in Malaysian finance stocks market for the period 1/1/1997–31/12/2014. The empirical results from threshold GARCH (TGARCH) model suggest that certain daily and monthly seasonality effects are prevalent along with asymmetric news effect. The findings of study indicate inefficiency in the weak-form sense, implying that it is possible for investors to obtain the observed abnormal returns by using timing strategies.     

Interaction Effects of Gender,SES, and Race‐Ethnicity on Postsecondary Educational Choices of U.S. Students

The authors present data for a subsample of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88; 1996). All participants in the study had attended a postsecondary institution within 2 years of graduation from high school and had selected a field of study. Educational choices were categorized by predominant Holland types (e.g., Realistic, Social, Conventional). There was a 3‐way Gender × SES × Race‐Ethnicity interaction. Race‐ethnicity effects were strongest for men at lower SES levels and weakest for women at high SES levels. The nature of gender and SES effects differed across racial‐ethnic groups.     

Context-driven gero-infusion: lessons learned from a curriculum development institute cohort

This article describes and compares the successes and challenges experienced by three social work programs in the United States working to infuse geriatric competencies into foundation Master of Social Work (MSW) courses, including field education. Adhering to the Planned Change Model each project utilized a range of approaches and strategies that emerged in each setting’s unique organizational and community context. This article examines and analyzes three context-driven accounts of curricular infusion for gerontological social work and lessons learned in this effort to establish gerontology as part of the implicit curriculum in social work programs in universities diverse in mission, size, programming priorities, and student population. Given the experiences of these programs, following the Planned Change Model, maintaining the context as being central to the process, anticipating common challenges, and preparing to engage strategies to overcome challenges are offered as recommendations for successful infusion and sustainment of the efforts.     

Majority vote of even and odd experts in a polychotomous choice situation

The performance of majority vote by an odd number of voters in a dichotomous situation is a much-studied subject. In this paper, we study the performance of group consensus in a situation of polychotomous choice. The differences in majority vote behaviour between even and odd numbers of expert panellists are examined, and the effects of adding new members are derived. Unlike the dichotomous model, optimality in the present context may not be uniquely defined, so the probabilities of the consensus being correct or erroneous are both considered as the number of experts is increased.     

NEURO-ONCOLOGIC PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR THE OLDER PERSON

Due to the uncertainty of the course of diagnoses, patients with neuro-oncological malignancies present challenges to the physical therapist. At times, the presentation of impairments and disabilities of these patients with neuro-oncological diagnoses do not necessarily coincide with the involved area of the brain or spinal cord. It is our intention to provide guidance to the physical therapist who will be working with these patients with neuro-oncological diagnoses, in hopes that their encounters will be more productive and meaningful. This article describes a brief overview of common central nervous system malignancies, its medical treatment, as well as possible complications and side effects that would need to be considered in rehabilitating these patients. Special consideration is given to the elderly patients with neuro-oncological diagnoses. Pertinent physical therapy assessments and interventions are discussed.     

Meeting healthcare costs: the case of childhood cancer in Singapore

Social security in Singapore is met by a compulsory personal savings scheme under the Central Provident Fund. Part of these savings go towards the individual's healthcare needs which are met through a spectrum of three schemes – Medisave, Medishield and Medifund, or the '3Ms'. This study examines the effectiveness of the '3Ms' in making healthcare services affordable to families with cancer-stricken children. The extent to which the '3Ms' support costly cancer treatment is an indication of the healthcare financing system's ability to meet diverse healthcare needs. Literature research and interviews with medical social workers and families with cancer-stricken children indicate that the '3Ms' are unable to support these families' medical needs without the help of voluntary welfare organisations. This suggests that there is a need to question a rigid adherence to financial prudence and consider a more flexible healthcare system that is responsive to varied needs.