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A growing number of studies investigate the relative importance of the major deservingness criteria (control, attitude, reciprocity, identity, need) in explaining the perceived welfare deservingness of different social groups. This paper addresses the roles of those criteria in predicting the perceived deservingness of a rarely examined group, single mothers. We conducted a survey in Hungary and compare the responses to direct questions about deservingness to the results of a vignette-based survey experiment in which the deservingness criteria were translated to characteristics of hypothetical mothers. Our results show that in the absence of deservingness cues (direct questions), respondents relied on the attitude, reciprocity/control, identity (measured by traditional family values), and need criteria to the same extent. On the other hand, in the presence of specific deservingness cues (vignette experiment), people disregarded their family values and stereotypes, and the perceived need became the strongest predictor of single mothers' deservingness. These results support the existence of the deservingness heuristic, however, compared to previous literature that emphasized the role of perceived control and reciprocity of recipients, in the case of single mothers, the deservingness heuristic seems to direct people's attention to the perception of need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased attention paid to federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) schemes after the Great Recession (2007–2009), research examining the policy characteristics and the underlying logic shaping the social protection provided by a federal-state UI system is limited. Integrating the perspectives of policy design theory, comparative welfare politics, and fiscal welfare, this paper examines the unequal social protection under the American UI system during and after the Great Recession. By using model-based cluster analysis and fixed-effect panel regression models, this paper identifies three distinct UI approaches, i.e. the limited social protection approach, the unbalanced social protection approach, and the balanced social protection approach. The policy choices made by those states that follow the three approaches reflect different mixtures of policy logic, including social protection, economic stabilization, work disincentives, and interstate competition. The overall downward trend in social protection signals that the American UI system is under-prepared for the next economic recession, thereby exposing unemployed workers to the risk of economic insecurity. These findings provide implications for future policy designs aiming to strengthen the social protection of the federal-state UI system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the support networks of older people in populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households and examines the most vulnerable network types in terms of loneliness and isolation. Current common typologies of support networks may not be sensitive to differences within and between different cultures. This paper uses cross-sectional data drawn from 590 elders (Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis) living in the United Kingdom and South Asia. Six variables were used in K-means cluster analysis to establish a new network typology. Two logistic regression models using loneliness and isolation as dependent variables assessed the contribution of the new network type to wellbeing. Four support networks were identified: ‘Multigenerational Households: Older Integrated Networks’, ‘Multigenerational Households: Younger Family Networks’, ‘Family and Friends Integrated Networks’ and ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’. Older South Asians with ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’ were more likely to be lonely and isolated compared to others. Using network typologies developed with individualistically oriented cultures, distributions are skewed towards more robust network types and could underestimate the support needs of older people from familistic cultures, who may be isolated and lonely and with limited informal sources of help. The new typology identifies different network types within multigenerational households, identifies a greater proportion of older people with vulnerable networks and could positively contribute to service planning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Lambda calculus is the basis of functional programming and higher order proof assistants. However, little is known about combinatorial properties of lambda terms, in particular, about their asymptotic distribution and random generation. This paper tries to answer questions like: How many terms of a given size are there? What is a ‘typical’ structure of a simply typable term? Despite their ostensible simplicity, these questions still remain unanswered, whereas solutions to such problems are essential for testing compilers and optimizing programs whose expected efficiency depends on the size of terms. Our approach toward the aforementioned problems may be later extended to any language with bound variables, i.e., with scopes and declarations. This paper presents two complementary approaches: one, theoretical, uses complex analysis and generating functions, the other, experimental, is based on a generator of lambda terms. Thanks to de Bruijn indices (de Bruijn, N. (1972) Lambda calculus notation with nameless dummies, a tool for automatic formula manipulation, with application to the Church-Rosser theorem. Indagat. Math.34(5), 381–392), we provide three families of formulas for the number of closed lambda terms of a given size and we give four relations between these numbers which have interesting combinatorial interpretations. As a by-product of the counting formulas, we design an algorithm for generating λ-terms. Performed tests provide us with experimental data, like the average depth of bound variables and the average number of head lambdas. We also create random generators for various sorts of terms. Thereafter, we conduct experiments that answer questions like: What is the ratio of simply typable terms among all terms? (Very small!) How are simply typable lambda terms distributed among all lambda terms? (A typable term almost always starts with an abstraction.) In this paper, abstractions and applications have size 1 and variables have size 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a key indicator of two main causes of death worldwide: CVD and diabetes. The present paper aimed to perform a review of the population-based research on the association of dietary patterns and the MetS in terms of methodology and findings. For the purpose of the present study, a scoping literature review was conducted using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases and hand searching in Google Scholar. Thirty-nine population-based studies were selected. Most of these studies used the factor analysis method and the a priori dietary approach, which had been initially extracted via a posteriori methods such as using the Mediterranean dietary pattern. The main finding was that following the Mediterranean or similar ‘healthy’ pattern reduced risk of the MetS, while following a ‘Western’ pattern increased risk of the MetS. The methodological approach in determining the dietary pattern of a population, whether a priori or a posteriori, should be chosen based on the purpose of the research. Overall, evidence suggests a diet based on the components of the Mediterranean diet and the avoidance of the ‘Western’ diet can aid in preventing the MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the support networks of older people in populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households and examines the most vulnerable network types in terms of loneliness and isolation. Current common typologies of support networks may not be sensitive to differences within and between different cultures. This paper uses cross-sectional data drawn from 590 elders (Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis) living in the United Kingdom and South Asia. Six variables were used in K-means cluster analysis to establish a new network typology. Two logistic regression models using loneliness and isolation as dependent variables assessed the contribution of the new network type to wellbeing. Four support networks were identified: ‘Multigenerational Households: Older Integrated Networks’, ‘Multigenerational Households: Younger Family Networks’, ‘Family and Friends Integrated Networks’ and ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’. Older South Asians with ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’ were more likely to be lonely and isolated compared to others. Using network typologies developed with individualistically oriented cultures, distributions are skewed towards more robust network types and could underestimate the support needs of older people from familistic cultures, who may be isolated and lonely and with limited informal sources of help. The new typology identifies different network types within multigenerational households, identifies a greater proportion of older people with vulnerable networks and could positively contribute to service planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern categorical logic as well as the Kripke and topological models of intuitionistic logic suggest that the interpretation of ordinary "propositional" logic should in general be the logic of subsets of a given universe set. Partitions on a set are dual to subsets of a set in the sense of the category–theoretic duality of epimorphisms and monomorphisms–which is reflected in the duality between quotient objects and subobjects throughout algebra. If "propositional" logic is thus seen as the logic of subsets of a universe set, then the question naturally arises of a dual logic of partitions on a universe set. This paper is an introduction to that logic of partitions dual to classical subset logic. The paper goes from basic concepts up through the correctness and completeness theorems for a tableau system of partition logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of whether psychopathology constructs are discrete kinds or continuous dimensions represents an important issue in clinical psychology and psychiatry. The present paper reviews psychometric modelling approaches that can be used to investigate this question through the application of statistical models. The relation between constructs and indicator variables in models with categorical and continuous latent variables is discussed, as are techniques specifically designed to address the distinction between latent categories as opposed to continua (taxometrics). In addition, we examine latent variable models that allow latent structures to have both continuous and categorical characteristics, such as factor mixture models and grade-of-membership models. Finally, we discuss recent alternative approaches based on network analysis and dynamical systems theory, which entail that the structure of constructs may be continuous for some individuals but categorical for others. Our evaluation of the psychometric literature shows that the kinds–continua distinction is considerably more subtle than is often presupposed in research; in particular, the hypotheses of kinds and continua are not mutually exclusive or exhaustive. We discuss opportunities to go beyond current research on the issue by using dynamical systems models, intra-individual time series and experimental manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical Remez inequality [‘Sur une propriété des polynomes de Tchebycheff’, Comm. Inst. Sci. Kharkov13 (1936), 9–95] bounds the maximum of the absolute value of a real polynomial $P$ of degree $d$ on $[-1,1]$ through the maximum of its absolute value on any subset $Z\subset [-1,1]$ of positive Lebesgue measure. Extensions to several variables and to certain sets of Lebesgue measure zero, massive in a much weaker sense, are available (see, for example, Brudnyi and Ganzburg [‘On an extremal problem for polynomials of $n$ variables’, Math. USSR Izv.37 (1973), 344–355], Yomdin [‘Remez-type inequality for discrete sets’, Israel. J. Math.186 (2011), 45–60], Brudnyi [‘On covering numbers of sublevel sets of analytic functions’, J. Approx. Theory162 (2010), 72–93]). Still, given a subset $Z\subset [-1,1]^{n}\subset \mathbb{R}^{n}$, it is not easy to determine whether it is ${\mathcal{P}}_{d}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$-norming (here ${\mathcal{P}}_{d}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ is the space of real polynomials of degree at most $d$ on $\mathbb{R}^{n}$), that is, satisfies a Remez-type inequality: $\sup _{[-1,1]^{n}}|P|\leq C\sup _{Z}|P|$ for all $P\in {\mathcal{P}}_{d}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ with $C$ independent of $P$. (Although ${\mathcal{P}}_{d}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$-norming sets are precisely those not contained in any algebraic hypersurface of degree $d$ in $\mathbb{R}^{n}$, there are many apparently unrelated reasons for $Z\subset [-1,1]^{n}$ to have this property.) In the present paper we study norming sets and related Remez-type inequalities in a general setting of finite-dimensional linear spaces $V$ of continuous functions on $[-1,1]^{n}$, remaining in most of the examples in the classical framework. First, we discuss some sufficient conditions for $Z$ to be $V$-norming, partly known, partly new, restricting ourselves to the simplest nontrivial examples. Next, we extend the Turán–Nazarov inequality for exponential polynomials to several variables, and on this basis prove a new fewnomial Remez-type inequality. Finally, we study the family of optimal constants $N_{V}(Z)$ in the Remez-type inequalities for $V$, as the function of the set $Z$, showing that it is Lipschitz in the Hausdorff metric. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the opinions of Spanish older people regarding the ideal living situation in later life – living in their own home, co-residing in a relative's home or institutionalisation – differentiating between two hypothetical situations: healthy ageing and frailty. Data are drawn from the Instituto de Mayores y Servicios Sociales (Institute of Older People and Social Services; IMSERSO) survey Encuesta de Mayores 2010 (Older People Survey 2010), comprising 2,535 individuals aged 65 and over living in private dwellings. The results confirm that residential preferences vary depending on expected health conditions. Remaining in one's own home is preferred when older people foresee a healthy old age, whilst co-residence at a relative's home turns into the favoured solution if older people have to face some physical or cognitive limitation. The particularities of the Spanish context regarding family-oriented values about care responsibilities and the structural deficiency in the provision of formal support, in addition to other socio-demographic, psychological and attitudinal aspects, were explanatory factors of the lower desirability for ageing at home in the case of frailty. The findings question the uniform image of ‘ageing in place’ as a preference, inviting reflections on the need to distinguish between later-life stages and national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Worldwide, populations are ageing and consequently so are the consumer profiles for most organisations. Understanding how best to ensure satisfaction in interactions with older customers, patients, members of organisations, and so on is therefore increasingly important. This paper examines two research questions: (a) How satisfied or dissatisfied are older people with their customer service experience, and what are the factors associated with dissatisfaction? and (b) What prompts older people to want to change service providers? The research questions are addressed using a mixed-methods approach – quantitative analysis of observation logs, supported by illustrative quotes from focus groups. We find that on the whole older people are generally satisfied with their interactions with organisations, although a substantial minority of interactions lead to dissatisfaction or lower-than-expected satisfaction. Dissatisfaction with interactions is mostly associated with impersonal communications, including interactions that are not conducted face to face, and those that are one-off interactions rather than repeated interactions. Media and communications firms prompted the greatest levels of dissatisfaction among older consumers. Dissatisfied older consumers from our sample are more than 12 times more likely to report an intention to switch providers than satisfied consumers. This highlights the potential costs to organisations of poor customer interactions with older people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The impact of disparities in socio-economic status on the health of older people is an important issue for policy makers in the context of population ageing. As older people live in different types of economic circumstances and because, as people age, their desires and needs are different to those of younger generations, measures of living standards need to be appropriate for older people. This paper reports on the validation of a measure of living standards for older people based on Sen's Capability Approach. Using this approach, living standards are conceptualised as varying from constraint to freedom rather than from hardship to comfort. Using the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing omnibus survey of 3,923 adults aged 50–87 years, the validity of the measure was assessed. The results indicate that this measure assesses what older people are able to achieve. In addition, this measure discriminates better at the higher end of the living standards spectrum than an existing measure that assesses living standards from hardship to comfort in terms of what people possess. From this, a short form of the measure has been developed which offers a conceptually based and valid measure useful for survey research with older people. This measure of living standards provides future avenues for improved understandings of socio-economic position in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background. A history of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is consistently cited as one of the strongest predictors of future suicidal behavior. However, stark discrepancies in the literature raise questions about the true magnitude of these associations. The objective of this study is to examine the magnitude and clinical utility of the associations between SITBs and subsequent suicide ideation, attempts, and death. Method. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar for papers published through December 2014. Inclusion required that studies include at least one longitudinal analysis predicting suicide ideation, attempts, or death using any SITB variable. We identified 2179 longitudinal studies; 172 met inclusion criteria. Results. The most common outcome was suicide attempt (47.80%), followed by death (40.50%) and ideation (11.60%). Median follow-up was 52 months (mean = 82.52, S.D. = 102.29). Overall prediction was weak, with weighted mean odds ratios (ORs) of 2.07 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.76-2.43] for ideation, 2.14 (95% CI 2.00-2.30) for attempts, and 1.54 (95% CI 1.39-1.71) for death. Adjusting for publication bias further reduced estimates. Diagnostic accuracy analyses indicated acceptable specificity (86-87%) and poor sensitivity (10-26%), with areas under the curve marginally above chance (0.60-0.62). Most risk factors generated OR estimates of <2.0 and no risk factor exceeded 4.5. Effects were consistent regardless of sample severity, sample age groups, or follow-up length. Conclusions. Prior SITBs confer risk for later suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, they only provide a marginal improvement in diagnostic accuracy above chance. Addressing gaps in study design, assessment, and underlying mechanisms may prove useful in improving prediction and prevention of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background.Depression and anxiety persist within and across diagnostic boundaries. The manner in which common v. disorder-specific genetic and environmental influences operate across development to maintain internalizing disorders and their co-morbidity is unclear. This paper investigates the stability and change of etiological influences on depression, panic, generalized, separation and social anxiety symptoms, and their co-occurrence, across adolescence and young adulthood.Method.A total of 2619 twins/siblings prospectively reported symptoms of depression and anxiety at mean ages 15, 17 and 20 years.Results.Each symptom scale showed a similar pattern of moderate continuity across development, largely underpinned by genetic stability. New genetic influences contributing to change in the developmental course of the symptoms emerged at each time point. All symptom scales correlated moderately with one another over time. Genetic influences, both stable and time-specific, overlapped considerably between the scales. Non-shared environmental influences were largely time- and symptom-specific, but some contributed moderately to the stability of depression and anxiety symptom scales. These stable, longitudinal environmental influences were highly correlated between the symptoms.Conclusions.The results highlight both stable and dynamic etiology of depression and anxiety symptom scales. They provide preliminary evidence that stable as well as newly emerging genes contribute to the co-morbidity between depression and anxiety across adolescence and young adulthood. Conversely, environmental influences are largely time-specific and contribute to change in symptoms over time. The results inform molecular genetics research and transdiagnostic treatment and prevention approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present paper investigates the mechanism of interface closure in the root region of the solutions for steady deep-cellular growth. This phenomenon is determined by a transcendentally small factor beyond all orders. It is found that the root region comprises three inner-inner regions; the inner system in the root region has a simple turning point, whose presence generates the so-called trapped-waves mechanism, which is responsible for the interface closure at the bottom of root. The quantization condition derived from the trapped-waves mechanism yields the eigenvalue that determines the location of interface closure and its dependence on the interfacial energy and other physical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The representation of social groups in advertising has been a major concern in academia. However, research focusing on older people has been scant and mainly conducted inWestern countries. In Japan, the country that has been most affected by demographic change, this research area has received little attention. Through a content analysis of a systematic sample of 2,972 television advertisements broadcast on the five major commercial television stations in Japan in 1997 and 2007, this paper tries to fill this research gap, examining changes in the representation of older people in Japanese television advertising. When comparing 2007 to 1997, we found that older people appeared more often, were increasingly alone and in major roles, and were portrayed in more favourable ways, which suggests that their status changed. These changes appear to be related to the fact that older people have become more important within Japanese society. However, some aspects have remained unchanged; older people continue to be under-represented, which does not reflect demographic reality, and are used in advertisements for foods and beverages, confirming findings from previous studies. Our findings indicate that the representation of older people in Japanese television advertising has changed but remains unrealistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory Factor Analysis and Principal Component Analysis are two data analysis methods that are commonly used in psychological research. When applying these techniques, it is important to determine how many factors to retain. This decision is sometimes based on a visual inspection of the Scree plot. However, the Scree plot may at times be ambiguous and open to interpretation. This paper aims to explore a number of graphical and computational improvements to the Scree plot in order to make it more valid and informative. These enhancements are based on dynamic and interactive data visualization tools, and range from adding Parallel Analysis results to "linking" the Scree plot with other graphics, such as factor-loadings plots. To illustrate our proposed improvements, we introduce and describe an example based on real data on which a principal component analysis is appropriate. We hope to provide better graphical tools to help researchers determine the number of factors to retain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retirement is an event that often brings about great changes in a person's personal and social life. For many people, work is not only a way to fill time and earn money, but also important for their identity and meaning in life. After retirement, these benefits of work are lost, and it is expected that people will seek substitutes for this loss. This paper focuses on the effects of retirement on informal civic activities such as the support given to family and friends as well as more formal types such as volunteering and organisational involvement. Using two waves from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, a conditional change model is employed. Two groups are compared: men and women who kept working, and men and women who retired. Results show that following retirement, people appear to change the nature of some relationships by providing more instrumental support. Furthermore, retirees seem to start spending more time volunteering after retirement, and they increase their organisational memberships. Implications, strengths and limitations of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Maintaining quality of life and wellbeing into advanced age is a major challenge to societies. Driving is one factor contributing to an ageing individual's independence. Understanding antecedents of driving-related self-regulation is important for designing interventions to preserve safe driving in old age. This paper reports on a study that investigated factors associated with two forms of self-regulation in driving (SRD) – avoidance of difficult driving conditions and voluntary cessation of driving – in a sample of 860 Israeli drivers aged 70 and over. We examined roles of health, vision, driving experience, driving-related self-efficacy (DRSE) and global self-esteem in SRD. Health and DRSE had direct effects on SRD, and effects of vision and driving experience were mediated by DRSE. Participants who had ceased driving were older, with poorer vision and health, and less driving confidence and experience than active drivers. Statistical analyses demonstrated that SRD is affected by a reduced sense of confidence due to an initial lower level of driving experience, compounded by deteriorating vision, and that older drivers are sensitive to factors affecting their ability to drive safely. Our results demonstrate that older drivers tend to self-regulate their driving. Programmes for older adults can be introduced for diagnosing driving capabilities, improving skills and confidence, and/or helping to develop self-regulation habits of avoiding driving in difficult conditions, and assisting drivers who must adjust to driving cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The challenges of population ageing and globalisation have been addressed by many welfare states in terms of active ageing policies, which in turn confront individuals with new demands such as keeping up to date with technological developments. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how individuals negotiate the demands of active ageing. The outcome variable was change in primary and secondary control strategies with regard to demands of active ageing over the course of one year. In a German sample of N = 602 men and women aged 55–75 years, we found a strong preference for engagement with these demands and a low preference for disengagement. Furthermore, a higher load of demands of active ageing was associated with an increase in engagement with these demands. However, when people perceived their everyday surroundings as unfavourable, their disengagement with demands of active ageing increased. Higher internal control beliefs concerning demands of active ageing were associated with an increase in engagement and a decrease in disengagement. We conclude that individuals strengthen their efforts to master demands of active ageing when they believe that they can control them. When the everyday ecology seems unfavourable, though, strategies are preferred that enable people to avoid a presumably lost case. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With financial modelling requiring a better understanding of model risk, it is helpful to be able to vary assumptions about underlying probability distributions in an efficient manner, preferably without the noise induced by resampling distributions managed by Monte Carlo methods. This paper presents differential equations and solution methods for the functions of the form Q(x) = F−1(G(x)), where F and G are cumulative distribution functions. Such functions allow the direct recycling of Monte Carlo samples from one distribution into samples from another. The method may be developed analytically for certain special cases, and illuminate the idea that it is a more precise form of the traditional Cornish–Fisher expansion. In this manner the model risk of distributional risk may be assessed free of the Monte Carlo noise associated with resampling. The method may also be regarded as providing both analytical and numerical bases for doing more precise Cornish–Fisher transformations. Examples are given of equations for converting normal samples to Student t, and converting exponential to normal. In the case of the normal distribution, the change of variables employed allows the sampling to take place to good accuracy based on a single rational approximation over a very wide range of sample space. The avoidance of branching statements is of use in optimal graphics processing unit (GPU) computations as it avoids the effect of branch divergence. We give a branch-free normal quantile that offers performance improvements in a GPU environment while retaining the best precision characteristics of well-known methods. We also offer models with low probability branch divergence. Comparisons of new and existing forms are made on Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan and Tesla C2050 GPUs. We argue that in both single- and double-precisions, the change-of-variables approach offers the most GPU-optimal Gaussian quantile yet, working faster than the Cuda 5.5 built-in function. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the prevalence of incapacity in performing daily activities and the associations between household composition and availability of family members and receipt of care among older adults with functioning problems in Spain, England and the United States of America (USA). We examine how living arrangements, marital status, child availability, limitations in functioning ability, age and gender affect the probability of receiving formal care and informal care from household members and from others in three countries with different family structures, living arrangements and policies supporting care of the incapacitated. Data sources include the 2006 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for Spain, the third wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2006), and the eighth wave of the USA Health and Retirement Study (2006). Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions are used to estimate the probability of receiving care and the sources of care among persons age 50 and older. The percentage of people with functional limitations receiving care is higher in Spain. More care comes from outside the household in the USA and England than in Spain. The use of formal care among the incapacitated is lowest in the USA and highest in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper deals with ambivalence in the working generation's attitudes towards the elder generation in the German welfare state. Whereas most researchers focus on either norms or self-interest in intergenerational relationships, ambivalence is widely neglected. Ambivalence denotes a simultaneous positive and negative evaluation of the elder generation. The theoretical framework is developed by combining two common perspectives on intergenerational relationships in the welfare state. The first is age-based self-interest that is often discussed in the context of ageing societies with scarce welfare state resources. The second perspective concerns the norms that individuals internalise when growing up both in society and in the family. Drawing on survey data from the Population Policy Acceptance Study in Germany, the empirical analysis first presents evidence of intergenerational ambivalence and, second, investigates whether the structural contradictions that confront individuals in certain situations cause ambivalent attitudes towards the elder generation. The findings show that the higher the structural contradictions of being young and holding strong societal norms towards the elder generation the higher the ambivalent attitude towards this group in the context of the welfare state. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines how the relationships between the factors (predisposing, enabling and illness) of the 1973 Andersen framework and service use are influenced by changes in the caring role in older women of the 1921–26 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Outcome variables were the use of three formal community support services: (a) nursing or community health services, (b) home-making services and (c) home maintenance services. Predictor variables were survey wave and the following carer characteristics: level of education, country of birth, age, area of residence, ability to manage on income, need for care, sleep difficulty and changes in caring role. Carer changes were a significant predictor of formal service use. Their inclusion did not attenuate the relationship between the Andersen framework factors and service use, but instead provided a more complete representation of carers' situations. Women were more likely to have used support services if they had changed into or out of co-resident caring or continued to provide co-resident care for a frail, ill or disabled person, needed care themselves, and reported sleep difficulties compared with women who did not provide care. These findings are important because they indicate that support services are particularly relevant to women who are changing their caring role and who are themselves in need of care. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the relationship between age and training in the 15 European Union countries (EU-15) that were member states prior to the 2004 enlargement. The analysis is carried out using European Union Labour Force Survey data. We report cross-country comparisons of the training undertaken by older people (aged 50–64) and younger people (aged 20–49). We extend previous research by adding an analysis of the training undertaken by non-workers as well as that of workers. We also consider whether training is work-related, whether it is undertaken during normal work-hours and the time spent in training. Our results show that across the EU-15 not only are older people less likely to participate in training in general but, more importantly, they are less likely to participate in work-related training. Our evidence suggests that there is considerable scope for raising the training rates of older people and particularly older people who are out of work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In their paper De Bot, Lowie and Verspoor (henceforth DBL&V) attempt to recast SLA research from a non-modular and psychometric position that is based on the assumption that “all variables are interrelated and therefore changes in one variable will have an impact on all other variables that are part of the system” (p. 8). In such grand endeavour their paper naturally raises a large number of issues in SLA research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we review some recent results on the stochastic comparison of order statistics and related statistics from independent and heterogeneous proportional hazard rates models, gamma variables, geometric variables, and negative binomial variables. We highlight the close connections that exist between some classical stochastic orders and majorization-type orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let $\mathfrak{a}$ be a homogeneous ideal of a polynomial ring $R$ in $n$ variables over a field $\mathbb{k}$. Assume that $\mathrm{depth} (R/ \mathfrak{a})\geq t$, where $t$ is some number in $\{ 0, \ldots , n\} $. A result of Peskine and Szpiro says that if $\mathrm{char} (\mathbb{k})\gt 0$, then the local cohomology modules ${ H}_{\mathfrak{a}}^{i} (M)$ vanish for all $i\gt n- t$ and all $R$-modules $M$. In characteristic $0$, there are counterexamples to this for all $t\geq 4$. On the other hand, when $t\leq 2$, by exploiting classical results of Grothendieck, Lichtenbaum, Hartshorne and Ogus it is not difficult to extend the result to any characteristic. In this paper we settle the remaining case; specifically, we show that if $\mathrm{depth} (R/ \mathfrak{a})\geq 3$, then the local cohomology modules ${ H}_{\mathfrak{a}}^{i} (M)$ vanish for all $i\gt n- 3$ and all $R$-modules $M$, whatever the characteristic of $\mathbb{k}$ is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a flaw in Murasugi–Przytycki’s Memoir ‘An index of a graph with applications to knot theory’ [Mem. Amer. Math. Soc. 106 (1993)]. We point out and partly fix a gap occurring in the proof of Murasugi–Przytycki’s braid index inequalities involving the graph index. We explain why their notion of index fails to precisely reflect the reduction of Seifert circles by their diagram move, and redefine the index to account for that discrepancy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the interesting problems on the stochastic behavior of random recurrent events in a random time interval is to obtain the conditions under which the reliability properties of a random time T are inherited by N(T), where {N(t):t≥0} is a stochastic process. Most of the studies on the topic has been done under the assumption that the random time T and the stochastic process {N(t):t≥0} are stochastically independent. However, in practice, there can be different cases when appropriate dependence structure is more appropriate. In this paper, we study the preservation of a renewal process stopped at a random time when they are “stochastically dependent.” We discuss the stochastic ordering properties and the preservation of reliability classes for the random counting variables N(T) when the corresponding counting process is a renewal process. Furthermore, we study the preservation of NBUE (NWUE) reliability class when the counting process is a homogeneous Poisson process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel analytical framework for Dynamic Quaternion Ship Domain (DQSD) models has been initially proposed via the Quaternion Ship Domain (QSD) model structure. Unlike previous ship domains, the proposed DQSD model is able to capture essential subjectivity and objectivity of ship domains. To be specific, the significant characteristics are as follows: (1)The proposed DQSD model is integrated by three independent submodels of ship, human and circumstance, which are determined by ship manoeuvrability, navigator's states, and navigation circumstance, respectively.(2)The ship manoeuvrability derived from the MMG-type ship motion model is employed to establish the ship submodel which identifies the DQSD scale.(3)A novel navigator reliability model is proposed to realize the human submodel which defines the ship domain shape with navigator ability, physical and mental states being input variables.(4)In addition, visibility, wind force, wave and traffic congestion are incorporated into the circumstance submodel which is employed to zoom in or out of the DQSD-type ship domain.Finally, the well-known Esso Osaka tanker model is used to conduct simulation studies on various typical stationary and dynamic situations, and comparative investigations with each other have been comprehensively analysed. Simulation results demonstrate that the DQSD model can capture critical dynamics of ship domains and undoubtedly be effective and superior to previous ship domains in terms of performance and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we consider the simultaneous representation of pairs of positive integers. We show that every pair of large positive even integers can be represented in the form of a pair of linear equations in four prime variables and k powers of two. Here, k=63 in general and k=31 under the generalised Riemann hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although type reconstruction for dependently typed languages is common in practical systems, it is still ill-understood. Detailed descriptions of the issues around it are hard to find and formal descriptions together with correctness proofs are non-existing. In this paper, we discuss a one-pass type reconstruction for objects in the logical framework LF, describe formally the type reconstruction process using the framework of contextual modal types, and prove correctness of type reconstruction. Since type reconstruction will find most general types and may leave free variables, we in addition describe abstraction which will return a closed object where all free variables are bound at the outside. We also implemented our algorithms as part of the Beluga language, and the performance of our type reconstruction algorithm is comparable to type reconstruction in existing systems such as the logical framework Twelf. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An allocation problem is a type of aggregation problem in which the values of individuals' opinions on some set of variables (canonically a set of mutually exclusive and exhaustive possibilities) sum to a constant. This paper shows that for realistic allocation problems, namely ones in which the set of possible opinion values is finite, the only universal aggregation methods that satisfy two commonly invoked conditions are the dictatorial ones. The two conditions are, first, that the aggregate opinion on any variable depends only on the individuals' opinions on that variable and not on their opinions on any other variable and, secondly, that the aggregate opinion minimally preserves unanimous individual opinion. Connections between this result and similar ones in the literature on judgment aggregation are explored and their significance assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a constructive proof of the amenability of C(X), where X is a compact space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X1 and X2 be two independent and nonnegative random variables with distributions F1 and F2, respectively. This paper proves that if both F1 and F2 are of Weibull type and fulfill certain easily verifiable conditions, then the distribution of the product X1X2, called the product convolution of F1 and F2, belongs to the class 풮* and, hence, is subexponential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let a, b, c, x and y be positive integers. In this paper we sharpen a result of Le by showing that the Diophantine equation axm - byn = c; gcd(ax, by) = 1 has at most two positive integer solutions (m, n) satisfying min(m, n) > 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following R. A. Rankin's method, D. Zagier computed the nth Rankin-Cohen bracket of a modular form g of weight k1 with the Eisenstein series of weight k2, computed the inner product of this Rankin-Cohen bracket with a cusp form f of weight k = k1 + k2 + 2n and showed that this inner product gives, up to a constant, the special value of the Rankin-Selberg convolution of f and g. This result was generalized to Jacobi forms of degree 1 by Y. Choie and W. Kohnen. In this paper, we generalize this result to Jacobi forms defined over H × C(g,1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we will investigate different axiomatic theories of truth that are minimal in some sense. One criterion for minimality will be conservativity over Peano Arithmetic. We will then give a more fine-grained characterization by investigating some interpretability relations. We will show that disquotational theories of truth, as well as compositional theories of truth with restricted induction are relatively interpretable in Peano Arithmetic. Furthermore, we will give an example of a theory of truth that is a conservative extension of Peano Arithmetic but not interpretable in it. We will then use stricter versions of interpretations to compare weak theories of truth to subsystems of second-order arithmetic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that a simple deduction engine can be developed for a propositional logic that follows the normal rules of classical logic in symbolic form, but the description of what is known about a proposition uses two numeric state variables that conveniently describe unknown and inconsistent, as well as true and false. Partly true and partly false can be included in deductions. The multi-valued logic is easily understood as the state variables relate directly to true and false. The deduction engine provides a convenient standard method for handling multiple or complicated logical relations. It is particularly convenient when the deduction can start with different propositions being given initial values of true or false. It extends Horn clause based deduction for propositional logic to arbitrary clauses. The logic system used has potential applications in many areas. A comparison with propositional logic makes the paper self-contained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we extend the results in the literature for boundary layer flow over a horizontal plate, by considering the buoyancy force term in the momentum equation. Using a similarity transformation, we transform the partial differential equations of the problem into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations. We first analyse several special cases dealing with the properties of the exact and approximate solutions. Then, for the general problem, we construct series solutions for arbitrary values of the physical parameters. Furthermore, we obtain numerical solutions for several sets of values of the parameters. The numerical results thus obtained are presented through graphs and tables and the effects of the physical parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are discussed. The results obtained reveal many interesting behaviours that warrant further study of the equations related to non-Newtonian fluid phenomena, especially the shear-thinning phenomena. Shear thinning reduces the wall shear stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractHigher-order abstract syntax is a simple technique for implementing languages with functional programming. Object variables and binders are implemented by variables and binders in the host language. By using this technique, one can avoid implementing common and tricky routines dealing with variables, such as capture-avoiding substitution. However, despite the advantages this technique provides, it is not commonly used because it is difficult to write sound elimination forms (such as folds or catamorphisms) for higher-order abstract syntax. To fold over such a data type, one must either simultaneously define an inverse operation (which may not exist) or show that all functions embedded in the data type are parametric. In this paper, we show how first-class polymorphism can be used to guarantee the parametricity of functions embedded in higher-order abstract syntax. With this restriction, we implement a library of iteration operators over data structures containing functionals. From this implementation, we derive ?fusion laws? that functional programmers may use to reason about the iteration operator. Finally, we show how this use of parametric polymorphism corresponds to the Sch?rmann, Despeyroux and Pfenning method of enforcing parametricity through modal types. We do so by using this library to give a sound and complete encoding of their calculus into System . This encoding can serve as a starting point for reasoning about higher-order structures in polymorphic languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose new separated decision variables that are derived by directly using the normal distribution of each measurement error and allowing substitution of the chi-square variable of the conventional method. In the derivation of the proposed decision variables, we considered not only the related mathematical model, but also the additional unmodelled properties of GPS measurements. Using the sequential pseudo-moving-average technique, we developed a method that easily obtains the combined results of multiple epochs. To verify our proposed algorithm, we analysed its performance using real data and compared the results with those of the conventional method. Our proposed approach performs better than the conventional approach, and effectively reduces computational effort by approximately 60%. Our results demonstrate that our method achieves a solution that is as reliable as the conventional technique, while reducing the time required to only 15% of that required by the conventional technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty about the actual orientation of the measurement device has been claimed to open a loophole for hidden variable models of quantum mechanics. In this paper I describe the statistics of inaccurate spin measurements by unsharp spin observables. A no-go theorem for hidden variable models of the inaccurate measurement statistics follows: There is a finite set of directions for which not all results of inaccurate spin measurements can be predetermined in a non-contextual way. In contrast to an earlier theorem (Breuer 2002) this result does not rely on the assigment of approximate truth values, and it holds under weaker assumptions on the measurement inaccuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]