Sharing Health Risk and Income Risk within Households: Evidence from Japanese Data

We examine the question of which household members should consume medical services, and in what quantities, by using Japanese household-level data. We employ two key concepts, health risk and income risk, and investigate whether family heads or dependents bear these risks. Health risk is the risk that a household member falls ill, while income risk is the risk that future household income decreases. We find that both heads and dependents make fewer visits to doctors as household size increases. We also find that only dependents visited doctors less frequently following the reform of the public health insurance system, which raised the co-payment rate of family heads from 10% to 20%. These findings imply that heads and dependents share health risk but dependents bear income riskco-payment; health risk; income risk; public health insurance

Assessing the Effect of Relocation Control on Psychological Well-being of Assisted Living Residents

ABSTRACT Recent evidence and prior research document that increasing numbers of older adults are experiencing relocation to an assisted living facility (ALF), and that involuntary ALF relocatees face a great risk of psychological distress because of the numerous stressors associated with this relocation. However, little empirical research has clearly investigated the interrelationship among major factors and their effects on the psychological well-being of AL residents: relocation control, mediators of stress (e.g., social support, self-reported health, and functional impairment) and psychological well-being. This study had two aims: (a) to investigate the relationship between relocation control and psychological well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction) among assisted living (ALF) residents, controlling for demographic factors; and (b) to evaluate whether social support from family and friends, self-reported health, and functional impairment (e.g., ADLs and IADLs) mediate the relationship between the perceived relocation control and psychological well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction). Guided by the stress process perspective, this cross-sectional study examined the hypothesized relationships of 336 relocated individuals age 65 and older who were purposefully sampled from 19 assisted living facilities in eastern Tennessee. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that greater resident involvement over relocation was associated with lower levels of depression and higher levels of life satisfaction, whereas resident control over relocation was not associated with anxiety before and after relocation, controlling for demographic factors. The second critical finding from this study was the statistically significant mediation results of a trend for social support to be a mechanism through which relocation control affected psychological well-being (e.g., depression and life satisfaction). However, an indirect linkage of relocation control and anxiety via social support was not statistically significant. Surprisingly, the hypothesis that the mediation relationship from relocation control to self-reported health to psychological well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction) was not demonstrated. Furthermore, functional impairment mediated the association between relocation control and psychological well-being (e.g., anxiety and life satisfaction). Functional impairment did not act as a mediator between relocation control and depression. Limitations, implications from the study findings for social work practice, policy, and future directions are also presented

Self-Incrimination, Compulsion, and the Undercover Agent—Illinois v. Perkins, 110 S. Ct. 2394 (1990)

As a rule, police officers must advise suspects held in custody of their rights before interrogating them. In Illinois v. Perkins, the Supreme Court created an undercover agent exception to this rule. The Perkins Court concluded that the rule does not apply because undercover interrogations do not compel criminal defendants to incriminate themselves. This Note examines the impact of the Perkins exception and concludes that the rule should apply even when undercover agents conduct the inherently compelling custodial interrogation

The Quo Vadis Problem and Solution in Historicism of Daniel 11

Currently Historicism scholars are hesitant about the relevancy to the text of Daniel 1, specifically 11:36-45, although relevancy of the text with history in Daniel 2, 7, 8, 9 and Revelation 13 is clear and somewhat consistent. Starting with the Victorian Age, historicists still interpreted the whole chapter as literal and Uriah Smith (1877) interpreted the last verses (vv. 36-45) in the light of Turkey’s history and the French. James White objected to his political literal application of these last verses of Daniel 11 and wanted him to consider a continuation of Rome as fourth empire to the end. White (1877) used Rome as an umbrella statement to include both Pagan Rome and the Holy Roman Empire. Shortly after 1900 some scholars objected by papers against Smith. There were those stressing the symbolical application and those stressing the literal application. Arguments for and against each other were regularly presented. The methodology of the symbolical interpreters for these last verses sometimes followed a concordance method of interpretation and ideas or meanings were carried in from other parts of the Old Testament. Others (since the late 1980’s) used literary structure to discover chiastic structures minimally and another current scholar as maximally, to superimpose meanings on this grey area of understanding. A number of problems were identified in this research of the symbolical interpreters, especially, that geographical terms became shelved. In the literal understanding of the text, nations like Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya are considered as they are currently, and Moab, Ammon, and Edom as Jordan. They are all allies of the USA. The other problem identified is that symbolical historicists are not consistent since they have Daniel 11:1-35 literal but switch to symbolical at verse 36 all the way to verse 45. They further caused a problem by making the papacy ‘come to its end’ in Daniel 11:45 as if that is the Second Coming of Christ, when the text of Daniel sees this end as the beginning of the Time of Trouble and during that Time, Christ will come. Resurrection is not in Daniel 11:45 but separated in time and later, as Daniel 12:2-3 indicated. This researcher entertained and suggested a literal interpretation that used the second beast of Revelation 13, commonly understood by all historicists in both the Victorian as well as currently, as the USA for Daniel 11:36-45. The other solution is to see not a bipolar setting for Daniel 11:40 but a tripartite division as: 911, the USA with many ships and Saddam Hussein as the king of the north. Independently also other historicists came near to this solution. A case is made for the role of Justinian and Theodora (538 A.D.) in Daniel 11:21-32 and Daniel 8:9-10 in the Appendices

College Students\u27 Motivations for Using Podcasts

Despite potential benefits of podcasts for college education, little research has examined students’ psychological drives for using podcasts. To explore the relationship between the use of podcasts and college students’ appreciation of them, this study investigated students’ motivations, attitudes and behaviors with regard to podcasts use including their learning environment. Based on a survey with 636 college students, this study found that six dimensions of motivations were prominent for podcasts use: (1) voyeurism/social interaction/companionship, (2) entertainment/relaxation/arousal, (3) education/information, (4) pastime/escape, (5) habit, and (6) convenience. In particular, motivations catering to relationship consolidation, excitement and educational achievement better explained the actual use of podcasts as well as students’ appreciation than other motivations identified. In addition, students’ attachment to the medium is a strong predictor of their podcasts use and gratification. Students also used podcasts to satisfy their fashion motivation. Theoretical and practical implications of using podcasts for digital literacy in college education were discussed

Combination of Medicinal Herbs KIOM-79 Reduces Advanced Glycation End Product Accumulation and the Expression of Inflammatory Factors in the Aorta of Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

Previous studies have reported that KIOM-79 shows a strong inhibitory effect on AGE formation and inhibited a proinflammatory state in a murine macrophage cell line. In the present study, we investigated the effect of KIOM-79 on AGE accumulation and vascular inflammation in the aorta of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, a commonly used model of type 2 diabetes. Seven-week-old male ZDF rats were treated with KIOM-79 (50 mg/kg) once a day orally for 13 weeks. We examined the dissected aortas for AGE accumulation, expression of the receptor for AGEs (RAGE), and the expression of proinflammatory factors, including monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were also measured by Southwestern histochemistry, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), and immunohistochemistry, respectively. KIOM-79 markedly reduced the accumulation of AGEs and the expression of RAGE in the aorta. We also found that KIOM-79 attenuated the expression of inflammatory factors including NF-κB, MCP-1, VEGF, VCAM-1, and iNOS in the aortas of ZDF rats. These data suggest that KIOM-79 may prevent or retard the development of inflammation in diabetic vascular disease

Effects of music therapy and rhythmic exercise on quality of life, blood pressure and upper extremity muscle strength in institution-dwelling elderly women.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of music therapy and rhythmic exercise on health related quality of life, blood pressure and upper extremity muscle strength in the institution-dwelling elderly women. Methods: The study was designed using a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants consisted of 35 elders (18 in the experimental group and 17 in the control group). The music therapy and rhythmic exercise were developed by the investigators. The experimental group took part in this program twice a week for 8 weeks. The Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire, blood pressure and grasp power scale were used as instruments. The data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that music therapy and rhythmic exercise had positive effects on quality of life, especially on vitality, general health and mental health. Also, there were statistically significant differences in diastolic blood pressure and upper extremity muscle strength between the pretest and posttest in the experimental group. Conclusion: The study suggests that this program can be applied for older women in long-term facilities to improve quality of life, blood pressure and upper extremity muscle strength