Women's employment decisions in Malaysia: Does religion matter?

Religion may influence female employment decisions because different religions specify different life styles. This study investigates whether religion is a significant determinant of married and single women's paid-work and full-time employment in Malaysia. Using the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey and a sequential logit approach, this paper finds that religion is less influential in urban areas than in rural areas.     

关于农民工类型的思考

改革开放以来,在农民社会分化的基础上,出现了不同类型的农民工。按其居住地和从事职业的不同,可以划分为在乡在土型、在乡离土型、离乡离土型、离乡在土型四种类型。在乡在土型农民工既在家乡附近的企业打工,又经营土地,二者所得为其经济来源;在乡离土型农民工在家乡附近的企业里打工,不再经营土地,完全把打工收入作为经济来源;离乡离土型农民工离开家乡到外地打工,完全和先前的承包地脱离关系,打工收入为其经济来源;离乡在土型农民工虽然离开家乡到外地打工,但家庭承包地仍然经营着,二者所得为其经济来源。文章的目的在于更深入地研究农民工,认识不同类型农民工的特征、存在的主要问题、需求,为有关部门的科学决策提供依据,有效地解决农民工问题。     

How culture influences foreign trade: evidence from the U.S. and China

Using a gravity model of trade and the U.S. and Chinese panel data, I present evidence that supports the views that linguistic links have become more important in foreign trade than geographical proximity and that linguistic influence on trade is more significant in China than in the U.S. The estimated result based on a broad panel of economies shows little overall relation between religious similarity and foreign trade in both the U.S. and China. But there is an indication that the religious dissimilarity tends to retard foreign trade with poor countries and regions and to encourage foreign trade with richer places. I also found that, although religious retardation on foreign trade is more significant in China than in the U.S., religious dissimilarity tends to retard the US export more than that of China; by contrast, it tends to retard the Chinese import more than that of the U.S. At last, the socio-economic implications of the estimated results are discussed.     

《围城》与《四世同堂》讽刺艺术之比较

<围城>与<四世同堂>是在讽刺艺术方面取得卓越成就的优秀之作.两部作品在讽刺视角、讽刺形象的塑造、讽刺哲理思索等方面均有不同之处,在讽刺艺术内在指向上也存在差异.     

亲情感对老年人生活满意度的影响

在现实生活中 ,亲情感对老年人的生活满意度有重要影响。家庭居住形式、老年人与亲人互动的精神生活中所体现的亲情感影响着老年人晚年生活的满意度。社会经济文化变迁对老年人亲情满足感会产生一些不利影响 ,社区服务、劳务储蓄等都可以使老年人感到心理充实、增加生活满意度     

Neighborhood conditions,religious coping,and uncontrolled hypertension

The purpose of this study is to see whether God-mediated control beliefs moderate the relationship between living in rundown neighborhoods and uncontrolled hypertension. God-mediated control refers to the belief that God will help people handle the stressors that arise in life. Data are provided by a nationwide survey of adults (N = 1919). Three ways of assessing uncontrolled hypertension are examined: a binary format contrasting people with and without uncontrolled hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure scored continuously, and a four ordinal category scheme recommended by the American Heart Association. The data suggest that stronger God-mediated control beliefs moderate the relationship between neighborhood conditions and uncontrolled blood pressure when blood pressure is scored continuously and when the American Heart Association scheme are used as outcomes.     

Leaving my religion: Understanding the relationship between religious disaffiliation,health, and well-being

Religious disaffiliation—leaving the religious tradition in which one was raised for no religious affiliation in adulthood—has become more common in recent years, though few studies have examined its consequences for the health and well-being of individuals. We use an innovative approach, comparing the health and subjective well-being of religious disaffiliates to those who remain affiliated using pooled General Social Survey samples from 1973 through 2012. We find that religious disaffiliates experience poorer health and lower well-being than those consistently affiliated and those who are consistently unaffiliated. We also demonstrate that the disadvantage for those who leave religious traditions is completely mediated by the frequency of church attendance, as disaffiliates attend church less often. Our results point to the importance of the social processes surrounding religious disaffiliation and emphasize the role of dynamics in the relationship between religious affiliation and health.     

Reaching Isolated Older People

In the second part of a paper reporting a unique single day a week adult day program, the service methodologies developed in the program are described as well as a study of outcomes in four areas: success in reaching the target group, attendance, length of participation, and resolution of psychosocial and health related problems. Outcomes, illustrated by statistical and case material, indicate success in achieving the overall goal of maintenance and enhancement of the participant's life and functioning as a whole. Such a resource is recommended as a vital one for the target population of isolated older people described in the paper.     

Studying children in armed conflict: data production,social indicators and analysis

The authors seek to give an overview of ways in which social indicators relevant to research on children affected by armed conflict can be developed, and how such research can be carried out. Technical and methodological challenges involved in this pursuit are discussed. It is argued that data production must consider issues of definition and delineation of the phenomenon of war-affected children more actively than it does currently. An analytical approach is proposed, in which children’s characteristics in different situations, or in different stages of conflict, may be used as intakes to understanding how the social processes pertaining to life histories of children in armed conflict are created and reproduced.

中国高龄老人生活自理能力纵向动态研究

利用"中国老年健康长寿跟踪调查"1998年、2000年、2002年的跟踪数据分析中国高龄老人ADL的变动趋势及其影响因素。个体增长模型结果显示,高龄老人ADL状况随年龄增长出现了明显的下降趋势,ADL个体差异十分显著。个体之间的差异解释了ADL总差异的31.13%。经历三次追踪调查的高龄老人ADL均值较高,状况较好,下降速度较慢;基期具有3-4项残障的高龄老人,未来ADL下降最为迅速;基期ADL水平高的高龄老人,ADL下降较慢。从ADL的个体影响因素来看,对于基期ADL水平影响最大的变量是"年龄"、"疾病状况"以及"居住安排"等,而对观测期ADL变动速度影响最大的变量是"年龄"以及"过去是否经常从事体力劳动"等。