Small area estimation of mean price of habitation transaction using time-series and cross-sectional area-level models

In this paper, a new small domain estimator for area-level data is proposed. The proposed estimator is driven by a real problem of estimating the mean price of habitation transaction at a regional level in a European country, using data collected from a longitudinal survey conducted by a national statistical office. At the desired level of inference, it is not possible to provide accurate direct estimates because the sample sizes in these domains are very small. An area-level model with a heterogeneous covariance structure of random effects assists the proposed combined estimator. This model is an extension of a model due to Fay and Herriot [5], but it integrates information across domains and over several periods of time. In addition, a modified method of estimation of variance components for time-series and cross-sectional area-level models is proposed by including the design weights. A Monte Carlo simulation, based on real data, is conducted to investigate the performance of the proposed estimators in comparison with other estimators frequently used in small area estimation problems. In particular, we compare the performance of these estimators with the estimator based on the Rao–Yu model [23]. The simulation study also accesses the performance of the modified variance component estimators in comparison with the traditional ANOVA method. Simulation results show that the estimators proposed perform better than the other estimators in terms of both precision and bias.     

儿童监护事务的国家干预标准--以儿童最大利益原则为基础

儿童最大利益原则下监护事务的国家干预以司法干预为核心,发展方向从最小干预走向扩大干预,并趋于采用多元化的干预方式。司法干预的过程涉及到科学的评估,最大利益有以父母角度或者儿童角度考察者,而列清单的模式基于对相关构成要素与干扰要素的深入分析,对本原则进行司法化具有无可替代的优越性。以监护资格剥夺第一案为例,探讨儿童最大利益原则的司法适用问题,提出既需要遵守当前立法,也需要合理运用法官的自由裁量权。     

委托代理视角下杭州市民间组织参与居家养老服务的实践研究

民间组织参与居家养老服务是一种具有多层级特征的间接委托代理模式。针对各地普遍面临的委托代理问题,杭州市近年来探索形成了"以老年人需求为本、政府主导、社区协助、民间组织具体运作"的居家养老服务模式。该模式实践中的创新主要体现在地方政府职能角色定位、老年人权利强化、民间组织功能激发等方面。优化民间组织参与居家养老服务实践尚需进一步采取强化对地方政府和民间组织的激励和向老年人增权等措施。     

The Symptom of Insomnia in University Students

Abstract

The treatment of insomnia in a university health setting is discussed. Transient, stress-related insomnia is distinguished from chronic insomnia, and methods of treatment for each condition are presented. The causes of chronic insomnia include depression, conditioned-arousal insomnia, anxiety, chronic overwork or stress, the Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, and abuse of alcohol and drugs. The author reviews medications used for the treatment of insomnia, emphasizing the importance of communicating to the patient that medication use is to be short term and that the aim of treatment is to restore the ability to sleep without drugs. A list of suggestions designed to help patients encourage normal sleep is included.     

The Japanese Touch

ABSTRACT

Touch, as it is conventionally conceived, appears to be lacking in everyday Japanese intimate relationships. Here, the “touching spaces” between Japanese people are explored, challenging assumptions about closeness and intimacy. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Japan, this review suggests that “finite” conceptions of touch, body, and subjectivity limit our understanding of experiences of closeness in a Japanese cultural context. Instead, how the space between people is inhabited, and the feelings in this space, seems much more significant. In sum, Japanese experiences of touch, particularly in a familial context, should best be seen as a tangible and sensuous connection that is not just felt in the body. Focusing on two body practices, this review explores the connection and embodied experience of closeness in the Japanese family vis-à-vis co-bathing and co-sleeping. It ends with a summary of the design of these sites of intimacy and some ways in which communication and bonding can be enhanced.     

“桂林山水甲天下”翻译赏析

＂桂林山水甲天下＂依托＂East or west,home is best!＂的英译文＂East or west,Guilin landscape is best＂得到译学界的普遍赞誉。文章基于话语修辞观和评价系统结合仿拟辞格进行翻译赏析,期望对旅游外宣公示语翻译有所启示。     

The Attitude of the Shari'a Courts to Parental Alienation Syndrome: Understanding the Dynamics of the Syndrome in Arab Society

In addition to the many factors leading to parental alienation syndrome (PAS), including the narcissistic injury felt by the abandoned parent, or the custodial parent's personal difficulty, there are further factors unique to Arab society—including strong influence by the extended family on the child. Although all the components of PAS exist and are well known to the shari'a courts, no parallel concept is found in the Arab legal lexicon. This article presents 1 case of a shari'a court hearing that illustrates this phenomenon. The conclusions indicate that the shari'a court considers this a serious phenomenon and sees coping with the situation as an essential and preliminary condition to the custody hearing.     

Fictions and Facts about Parents and Parenting Older First-Time Entrants to Foster Care

Knowledge about the parents of older first-time entrants into foster care is embedded in fictions created by media images, anecdotal stories of professionals in the child welfare system, as well as reports and observations of youths who have experienced foster care. Even though there are caring and effective nonrelatives who are foster parents, the public perception of non-relative foster parents is sometimes quite negative. In order to separate some of the facts from some of the fictions about the parents/caregivers of older first-time entrants to foster care, this article will describe the parents and relative caregivers (grandparents and others) of older first-time entrants to foster care in an urban public welfare agency by examining maltreatment data.     

The L'Arche Program for Persons with Disabilities

The International Federation of L'Arche is made up of intentional, ecumenical, faith-based communities where people with and without developmental disabilities live together. Data on the worldwide federation offers an understanding of L'Arche communities that celebrate and encourage diversity and solidarity. Characteristics of clients and assistants as well as the daily running of homes reveal the inner workings of the program. Through assessing strengths and weaknesses, it is shown that even though L'Arche is a small movement that cannot serve every person with a developmental disability by providing a home and a place of belonging, this program offers a program model with many strengths that should be replicated.     

House-building tradition of the shtetl in memorials and memories (based on materials of field studies in Podolia)

This study examines house-building traditions in the Podolian shtetl, as evidenced by surviving buildings and by the folk memory of building practices. Using oral sources, taken from extensive field research in Ukraine, the study considers the extent to which members of remaining Jewish communities in the former Pale of Settlement function as “carriers” of this folk memory, and what they can tell us about the manner in which Jewish houses in the shtetl were constructed and their meaning as socio-cultural spaces.