Regional analysis on the implementation of Madrid International Plan on ageing

The world’s population is rapidly ageing, are countries all geared up to withstand the impacts brought by the demograph­ical changes? 2002 marked an historical moment for the ageing world, where the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (hereafter ‘MIPAA’) was adopted by 159 countries worldwide at the Second World Assembly on Ageing held in Spain. Countries pledged their commitments to building a society for all ages by means of institutional arrangement, poli­cies and programmes. The document sets out objectives and priority areas in dealing with the ageing population, which serve as guiding principles to policymakers and service providers. 10 years since MIPAA was adopted in 2002, how much progresses countries have made since then? How far countries are from the goals established in 2002? The paper will provide a detailed account the progress on the implementation of MIPAA in regard to ageing policies and programmes based on the responses from 30 countries and areas s in Asia and Pacific region under three priority directions (1) Older Persons and Development; (2) Advancing Health into Old Age; and (3) Ensuring Enabling and Supportive Environments . 「马德里国际老龄问题国际行动计划地域性分析」 摘要 全球人口急速老化，世界各国是否已为人口结构转变而来的挑战做好应对的准备？2002年是历史性的一年，全球159个国家于第二次老龄问题世界大会签订《马德里老龄问题国际行动计划》（下称《行动计划》），承诺以政策及服务建构全龄社会。《行动计划》勾划了国家应对人口老化的政策目标与服务方略，为政策制定者及服务提供者提供指导性原则。从2002年起转眼十年，世界各国进展如何？距离2002年订定的目标还有多远？本论文将就亚太地区30个国家就《行动计划》的三大优先方向：（1）老年人与发展、（2）增进老年人的健康和福祉及 （3）确保老年人有利的支助性环境所实施的老龄政策与项目探讨《行动计划》的落实情况

The Perceptions of Macao Undergraduates Regarding Help Websites for Problem Gambling

This study conducted a web-surfing exercise and a questionnaire survey among a group of Macao undergraduate students regarding the websites that offered help with problem gambling. The results of this study found that most help websites in Macao and Hong Kong provided basic information-sharing service. The students indicated that they would choose their preferred help organization based on factors such as trust, familiarity, and the characteristics of the websites. They also gave comments/suggestions related to the publicity, design, contents, and focus of the websites. This study discussed the results and their implications for future research and practice

Effect of grain size on the electrical properties of (Ba,Ca)(Zr,Ti)O₃ relaxor ferroelectric ceramics

2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

MIX-crowds, an anonymity scheme for file retrieval systems

In this paper, we propose an anonymous scheme for file retrieval systems, MIX-Crowds, in which it is harder for an attacker to identify the requester of the file by making use of the idea of MIX [7] and Crowds [20] to establish a path from the requester to the file holder. Result shows that predecessor attack [26] is much more difficult to succeed compared with Crowds [20]. We are able to reduce the estimated number of rounds needed for successful predecessor attack for MIX-Crowds. We also propose a file transfer strategy according to file size. With such strategy, requests for small size files can be completed faster while the downloading time of large size files only increases slightly. © 2009 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 28th International Conference on Computer Communications (IEEE INFOCOM 2009), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19-25 April 2009. In Proceedings of the IEEE Infocom, 2009, p. 1170-117

Confidence-interval construction for rate ratio in matched-pair studies with incomplete data

Matched-pair design is often used in clinical trials to increase the efficiency of establishing equivalence between two treatments with binary outcomes. In this article, we consider such a design based on rate ratio in the presence of incomplete data. The rate ratio is one of the most frequently used indices in comparing efficiency of two treatments in clinical trials. In this article, we propose 10 confidence-interval estimators for the rate ratio in incomplete matched-pair designs. A hybrid method that recovers variance estimates required for the rate ratio from the confidence limits for single proportions is proposed. It is noteworthy that confidence intervals based on this hybrid method have closed-form solution. The performance of the proposed confidence intervals is evaluated with respect to their exact coverage probability, expected confidence interval width, and distal and mesial noncoverage probability. The results show that the hybrid Agresti–Coull confidence interval based on Fieller’s theorem performs satisfactorily for small to moderate sample sizes. Two real examples from clinical trials are used to illustrate the proposed confidence intervals.postprin

Exploring the developmental changes in automatic two-digit number processing

Even when two-digit numbers are irrelevant to the task at hand, adults process them. Do children process numbers automatically, and if so, what kind of information is activated? In a novel dot-number Stroop task, children (Grades 1-5) and adults were shown two different two-digit numbers made up of dots. Participants were asked to select the number that contained the larger dots. If numbers are processed automatically, reaction time for dot size judgment should be affected by numerical characteristics. The results suggest that, like adults, children process two-digit numbers automatically. Based on the current findings, we propose a developmental trend for automatic two-digit number processing that goes from decomposed sequential (activation of decade digit followed by that of unit digit) to decomposed parallel processing (simultaneous activation of decade and unit digits). © 2011 Elsevier Inc.postprin

Copper aluminate spinel in the stabilization and detoxification of simulated copper-laden sludge

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of stabilizing copper-laden sludge by the application of alumina-based ceramic products. The processing temperature, material leaching behaviour, and the effect of detoxification were investigated in detail. CuO was used to simulate the copper-laden sludge and X-ray Diffraction was performed to monitor the incorporation of copper into the copper aluminate spinel (CuAl2O4) phase in ceramic products. It was found that the development of CuAl2O4 increased with elevating temperatures up to and including 1000°C in the 3h short-sintering scheme. When the sintering temperature went above 1000°C, the CuAl2O4 phase began to decompose due to the high temperature transformation to CuAlO2. The leachability and leaching behaviour of CuO and CuAl2O4 were compared by usage of a prolonged leaching test modified from US EPA's toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. The leaching results show that CuAl2O4 is superior to CuO for the purpose of copper immobilization over longer leaching periods. Furthermore, the detoxification effect of CuAl2O4 was tested through bacterial adhesion with Escherichia coli K12, and the comparison of bacterial adhesion on CuO and CuAl2O4 surfaces shows the beneficial detoxification effect in connection with the formation of the CuAl2O4 spinel. This study demonstrates the feasibility of transforming copper-laden sludge into the spinel phase by using readily available and inexpensive ceramic materials, and achieving a successful reduction of metal mobility and toxicity. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.postprin