The applicability of the decisional conflict scale in nursing home placement decision among Chinese family caregivers: A mixed methods approach

This study aimed to 1) examine relationships between uncertainty, perceived information, personal values, social support, and filial obligation among Chinese family caregivers faced with nursing home placement of an older adult family member with dementia; and 2) describe the applicability of the Decisional Conflict Scale in nursing home placement decision making among Chinese family caregivers through the integration of quantitative and qualitative data. We used a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data analysis consisted of descriptive and correlational statistics. We utilized a thematic analysis for the qualitative data. Data transformation and data comparison techniques were used to combine qualitative and quantitative data. Thirty Chinese family caregivers living in Taiwan caring for an older adult with dementia participated in this study. We found a significant association among the quantitative findings, which indicated that perceived information, personal values, social support, and filial obligation, and nursing home placement decisional conflict. Mixed-method data analysis additionally revealed that conflicting differences existed between the traditional role of Chinese family collective decision making and the contemporary role of single family member surrogate decision making. Although the Decisional Conflict Scale can be utilized when exploring nursing home placement for an older adult with dementia among Chinese family caregivers, applicability issues existed regarding cultural beliefs and values related to filial piety and family collectivism. Findings strongly support the need for researchers to consider cultural beliefs and values when selecting tools that assess health-related decision making across cultures. Further research is needed to explore the role culture plays in nursing home decision making

Rationalizing Chinese hegemony

Doctor of PhilosophySecurity Studies Interdepartmental ProgramDavid GraffThis dissertation examines the Chinese style of imperialism in the early 21st century through China’s self-justifying rationalization and strategic thought. It develops a theory called Cultural Subjectivism to explore the PRC’s preferred world order. Specifically, it analyzes the characteristics of Chinese subjectivity and how Beijing shapes the roles of the self and others through the othering and altercating processes in order to justify the country’s overseas expansion. The international order that Beijing espouses reflects a realistic assessment of world politics. This realpolitik, however, is denied in the narratives for public consumption. Several idealistic principles that China claims are guiding its foreign policy (and devoid of strategic calculations) create a false impression that Beijing is an altruistic actor occupying the moral high ground. Anchoring Chinese behavior to the inherent benevolence of the PRC underpins an unfalsifiable self-justifying logic that, regardless of shifts in policies, Beijing’s behavior is always defensive, peaceful, non-expansionist and non-hegemonic. In accord with Beijing’s assessments of the post-Cold War peace, its narratives have grown more inclusive in that the opposing roles (the othering) between the self and others becomes less salient while the role congruence (the altercasting) that indicates shared interests gets more prevalent. This is tailored to meet China’s strategic needs of the attainment of material strength and international status in the era of post-Cold War globalization through engagement with countries around the world. Paralleling the increasing usage of inclusive rhetoric to rationalize Beijing’s overseas expansion is the growing discursive assertiveness of a China-espoused world order in which Chinese institutions and Chinese culture are said, due to their innate benevolence compared to hegemonic capitalism, to bring the world peace and prosperity. After all, the inclusive narratives and the role (re)construction spin around the concept of Chinese socialism, an embodiment of the PRC’s self-centeredness, and how it is good for both domestic development and international community. Beijing’s role construction operates within a quasi-world-like “Asia Pacific” that includes the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Eurasian continent. Within this expansive geographical scope, China adopts the grand strategy of “winning without fighting” which consists of the strategies of “cooperation” and limited provocations. The purpose is to amass resources through the land to cope with the challenges from the sea. As the strategic logic of winning without fighting dictates, the PRC intends to achieve its political goals during peacetime while, through disarming enemies and strengthening itself in its overseas expansion, preparing for a possible future war if non-war solutions prove impossible for obtaining its goals. Accordingly, “active defense” needs to be understood as a strategic guideline that directs the generation of resources and abilities for both non-war and war solutions. From a Chinese perspective, regardless of the means adopted, China’s behavior is always defensive and for the sake of peace wherever the activities occur. This unfalsifiable rationalization that relies on the benevolent nature of the self, rather than an admission of realistic calculations, to explain its own behavior functions on a global level and characterizes active defense. From the perspective of discursive rationalization, China exhibits the height of imperialism. Compared to Japan and the US, Beijing shows an unprecedented degree and scale in claiming itself moral in that it is altruistic and inclusive, while firmly believing in its own claims. It is the gulf between complicated realities and the extent of the PRC’s willingness to systematically deny such or cover up what happens on the ground and a lower degree of transparency in its strategic calculations for self-interests that make Chinese imperialism different from others

Long-Run Purchasing Power Parity with Asymmetric Adjustment: Evidence from Mainland China and Taiwan

This study applies threshold cointegration test advanced by Enders and Siklos (2001) to investigate the properties of asymmetric adjustment in long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) for both Mainland China and Taiwan during the January 1986 to October 2009 period. Although there is evidence of long-run PPP for both Mainland China and Taiwan, the adjustment mechanism is asymmetric. These results have important policy implications for both Mainland China and Taiwan under study.threshold cointegration test; Purchasing Power Parity; asymmetric adjustment; Mainland China; Taiwan

Estimating the Impacts of Climate Change on Mortality in OECD Countries

The major contribution of this study is to combines both climatic and macroeconomic factors simultaneously in the estimation of mortality using the capital city of 22 OECD countries from the period 1990 to 2008. The empirical results provide strong evidences that higher income and a lower unemployment rate could reduce mortality rates, while the increases in precipitation and temperature variation have significantly positive impacts on the mortality rates. The effects of changing average temperature on mortality rates in summer and winter are asymmetrical and also depend on the location. Combining the future climate change scenarios with the estimation outcomes show that mortality rates in OECD countries in 2100 will be increased by 3.77% to 5.89%.Climate change; mortality; panel data model

Profile minimization on products of graphs

AbstractThe profile minimization problem arose from the study of sparse matrix technique. In terms of graphs, the problem is to determine the profile of a graph G which is defined asP(G)=minf∑v∈V(G)maxx∈N[v](f(v)-f(x)),where f runs over all bijections from V(G) to {1,2,…,|V(G)|} and N[v]={v}∪{x∈V(G):xv∈E(G)}. The main result of this paper is to determine the profiles of Km×Kn, Ks,t×Kn and Pm×Kn

Metallic foreign body deep in the prevertebral space after an endomyocardial biopsy: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Although inspirated or ingested foreign bodies constitute a common otolaryngologic emergency, the removal of a solitary retained foreign body from the neck has seldom been described in the literature. The ingestion of foreign bodies commonly results in perforated viscose or extraluminal migration to adjacent structures quite a long period of time after the fact. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first English language description of an endomyocardial biopsy complicated by a retained foreign body deep in the prevertebral space of the patient’s neck. We report such a case and share our experience in treating it. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old Asian man suffering right-sided heart failure underwent an endomyocardial biopsy via his right internal jugular vein. After undergoing the procedure, he was found to have retained a metallic cup tip which had become lodged in his neck. A surgeon then performed neck exploration and the foreign body was removed without adverse effect. CONCLUSIONS: Decision making as to whether to remove the foreign body or not remains controversial. However, the later incidence of adhesive fibrosis or, even worse, of a catastrophic abscess or adjacent vascular injury might occur if the foreign body was not removed. Early exploration is suggested, if the patient’s condition makes this feasible

Manpower Training System Design for Social enterprise

In the process of promoting social enterprise, socialentrepreneurs need to have ability of social impact and businessmanagement. This study constructs a talent nurturing system oftraining operation, management and social entrepreneurship forsocial enterprises. In the content, the talent nurturing system isbased on social requirement and business operation whichincludes course, teaching hours and teaching methods. In thetime horizon, the talent nurturing system includes operation skilltraining in the short-term, management training in the mid-term,and theory and analysis capability cultivation in the long-term.In the fostering agency, the talent nurturing system includesuniversities, government vocational training institutions (center),and social enterprise internship. The talent cultivation plan isbased on ability requirement of social enterprises operation andmanagement. Depending on the capabilities characteristics ofsocial enterprise required, the talent cultivation plan will providethe most suitable training courses and training methods