In sickness and in Health? Dynamics of health and cohabitation in the United Kingdom

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the dynamics of cohabitation and functional impairments among older people. Our research has three main aims. Firstly, we want to analyse the effects of cohabitation on disability. Secondly, we want to study time trends in disability and cohabitation jointly to explore relationships between the two. Thirdly, we examine socioeconomic differences -- as captured by educational attainment -- in disability. These issues are of great interest from several points of view. Firstly, they address an emerging theoretical debate concerning the effects of cohabitation on health and contribute to a sparse empirical literature on the topic. Secondly, our findings are highly policy relevant. Concerning long-term care for older people, for example, cohabitation is of double importance: firstly, since people who cohabit tend to be healthier, and secondly, since a partner is the typical provider of informal care. In a time where family structures among the old are likely to change (due to changes in life expectancy and divorce rates), our research will be useful for planning purposes. Finally, the model can be used to simulate populations of certain characteristics. Hence, it can be used to derive insurance premiums in order to reduce the problem of selection effects in the market for long-term care insurance. Using the British Household Panel Survey dataset, we apply panel data and simulation techniques to exploit the longitudinal characteristic of the panel. We estimate the two dependent variables -- cohabitation status and disability -- jointly, and allow for time trends, age effects and unobserved heterogeneity. We find that there are systematic differences between single and cohabiting people so that a cross sectional analysis would overestimate the causal relationship; nevertheless, cohabitation has a strong and positive effect on health. Furthermore, we find that bereavement of a partner has a significant negative impact on health

Investigating the market potential for customised long term care insurance products

Previous economic research into long-term care (LTC) has mainly been focussed on one issue: the reasons why the LTC insurance market has not been successful. In this contribution, we analyse the prospects for a new type of insurance policy, which offers a top-up on the resources already available to the individual. We abstract from most problems inherent in LTC insurance markets and derive premium rates for various types of insurance policies. Generally, we find that the top-up option reduces premium rates considerably, to the point where it might be expected that a substantial number of people would take up policies, were they available

Mn induced modifications of Ga 3d photoemission from (Ga, Mn)As: evidence for long range effects

Using synchrotron based photoemission, we have investigated the Mn-induced changes in Ga 3d core level spectra from as-grown ${\rm Ga}_{1-x}{\rm Mn}_{x}{\rm As}$. Although Mn is located in Ga substitutional sites, and does therefore not have any Ga nearest neighbours, the impact of Mn on the Ga core level spectra is pronounced even at Mn concentrations in the range of 0.5%. The analysis shows that each Mn atom affects a volume corresponding to a sphere with around 1.4 nm diameter.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review B, Brief Repor

The Role of Private Finance in Paying for Long Term Care

An ageing population and increased longevity means that long term care will become progressively more expensive. In 2009 the Government published a Green Paper on future funding options and a White Paper in 2010. This article considers the role of private finance products under the ‘Partnership’ option. It finds that few households are able to pay for LTC based on income and savings but the number increases if housing assets are included. We show that products can be devised for a range of circumstances, although state support would need to continue. We propose a simplified means testing system based on a combination of income and assets

Personal Care Savings Bonds: A New Way of Saving Towards Social Care in Later Life

An ageing population ushers in a completely new era requiring society to find new solutions to funding social care and looking after older people. This is not a temporary issue that will go away and there are no quick economic fixes. In the U.K. it is estimated that the population aged 75+ will double from 5 million to 10 million by 2040. Financial building blocks are needed to pay for social care that will be sustained for decades and provide extra security for the individual. This paper proposes a new savings product called Personal Care Savings Bonds (PCSBs), which are designed to encourage saving for social care by providing extra money at the time of greatest financial need. PCSBs are likely to be attractive to older people who have only a basic pension and modest savings, but also to other age groups, as they not only attract interest but also pay prizes. Based on reasonable assumptions, the paper shows how the fund could build into a substantial investment worth £70 billion with regular monthly prize pay-outs. In concept they are somewhat similar to Premium Bonds, another U.K. personal savings product that has been successfully operating since 1956

Human hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone levels are linked to emotion and social interaction.

The neurochemical changes underlying human emotions and social behaviour are largely unknown. Here we report on the changes in the levels of two hypothalamic neuropeptides, hypocretin-1 and melanin-concentrating hormone, measured in the human amygdala. We show that hypocretin-1 levels are maximal during positive emotion, social interaction and anger, behaviours that induce cataplexy in human narcoleptics. In contrast, melanin-concentrating hormone levels are minimal during social interaction, but are increased after eating. Both peptides are at minimal levels during periods of postoperative pain despite high levels of arousal. Melanin-concentrating hormone levels increase at sleep onset, consistent with a role in sleep induction, whereas hypocretin-1 levels increase at wake onset, consistent with a role in wake induction. Levels of these two peptides in humans are not simply linked to arousal, but rather to specific emotions and state transitions. Other arousal systems may be similarly emotionally specialized

Теоретичний аналіз динаміки розвитку творчої активності дошкільника

(uk) У статті проаналізовано динаміку розвитку творчої активності дошкільника. Зазначається, що процес формування особистості дошкільника досягається під час самореалізації її в творчій діяльності. Особлива увага приділена характеристиці етапів розвитку свідомості та творчій взаємодії «дитина – дорослий». Обґрунтовується необхідність створення сприятливих умов щодо творчої активності дошкільника.(ru) В статье проанализирована динамика развития творческой активности дошкольника. Отмечается, что процесс формирования личности дошкольника достигается во время самореализации ее в творческой деятельности. Особое внимание уделено характеристике этапов развития сознания и творческому взаимодействию «ребенок – взрослый». Обосновывается необходимость создания благоприятных условий относительно творческой активности дошкольника

Mechanical Behavior of Bio-Inspired Laminated Composites

To investigate if the relative high strength and stiffness of biological composites can be translated into man-made materials, innovative bio-inspired laminated composites with commercial materials (glass epoxy prepreg) were designed and manufactured by incorporating the distinctive helicoidal morphology observed in the exoskeletons of crustaceans. The helicoidal structure is characterized by a stacking sequence consisting of a gradual rotation of each lamina in the multi-layered laminated composites. Variations of the helicoidal structure were designed and produced to address some important issues encountered in the practical composites manufacturing process, including mid-plane symmetry. In addition, composite structures with a general quasi-isotropic configuration were made as a baseline structure. Selected material properties (flexural properties, shear strength) were evaluated through appropriate ASTM tests and laminated composites theory. Structure post-damage behavior was also investigated. Significant improvement in the mechanical performance of the bio-inspired structure was observed over the baseline structure

The Distribution of Redshifts in New Samples of Quasi-stellar Objects

Two new samples of QSOs have been constructed from recent surveys to test the hypothesis that the redshift distribution of bright QSOs is periodic in $\log(1+z)$. The first of these comprises 57 different redshifts among all known close pairs or multiple QSOs, with image separations $\leq$ 10\arcsec, and the second consists of 39 QSOs selected through their X-ray emission and their proximity to bright comparatively nearby active galaxies. The redshift distributions of the samples are found to exhibit distinct peaks with a periodic separation of $\sim 0.089$ in $\log(1+z)$ identical to that claimed in earlier samples but now extended out to higher redshift peaks $z = 2.63, 3.45$ and 4.47, predicted by the formula but never seen before. The periodicity is also seen in a third sample, the 78 QSOs of the 3C and 3CR catalogues. It is present in these three datasets at an overall significance level $10^{-5}$ - $10^{-6}$, and appears not to be explicable by spectroscopic or similar selection effects. Possible interpretations are briefly discussed.Comment: submitted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, 15 figure