Evaluating Unpaid Time Contributions by Seniors: A Conceptual Framework

In the past, considerable research in gerontology has focused on services provided to seniors. Recently, however, there has a been a growing recognition of the contributions made by seniors to their families, communities and to society. Empirical estimates have been provided by researchers to show how much these contributions are worth in terms of savings in dollar amounts. A critical review of the literature identifies unresolved issues concerning which contributions to count and how to measure and value these contributions. As yet, no clear criteria exist that readily identify the distinction between volunteer activities and unpaid work, what specifically should be counted as an unpaid time contribution, how it should be quantified, and how this unit of contribution should be monetarily valued. The market replacement approach and the opportunity cost approach that are used to assign value to unpaid work often use very different wage rates or levels of income loss. This paper reviews the relevant literature and identifies important issues in evaluating unpaid time contribution of seniors. The authors propose a framework which addresses some of the methodological shortcomings identified in previous research and which provides a guide for future research in this area.seniors; valuing unpaid work

Verifying Safety Properties With the TLA+ Proof System

TLAPS, the TLA+ proof system, is a platform for the development and mechanical verification of TLA+ proofs written in a declarative style requiring little background beyond elementary mathematics. The language supports hierarchical and non-linear proof construction and verification, and it is independent of any verification tool or strategy. A Proof Manager uses backend verifiers such as theorem provers, proof assistants, SMT solvers, and decision procedures to check TLA+ proofs. This paper documents the first public release of TLAPS, distributed with a BSD-like license. It handles almost all the non-temporal part of TLA+ as well as the temporal reasoning needed to prove standard safety properties, in particular invariance and step simulation, but not liveness properties

The effectiveness and efficiency of home-based nursing health promotion for older people: A review of the literature

Despite the large potential role that community nurses have in providing individualized health promotion to older people, there is a lack of consensus in the literature regarding this role's effectiveness and efficiency. This article presents a literature review and synthesis of 12 randomized controlled trials selected from 344 published studies on preventive home visitation programs for older people. The findings suggest that a diversity of home visiting interventions carried out by nurses can favorably affect health and functional status, mortality rates, use of hospitalization and nursing homes, and costs. Further research is needed that focuses on the outcomes of quality of life, mental health, social support, caregiver burden, the acceptability of intervention, and specific subgroups of clients who benefit most. Findings also indicate the need for a theoretical foundation, increased emphasis on health-promotion strategies, and more research using a more complete economic evaluation to establish efficiency

From a Static Impossibility to an Adaptive Lower Bound: the Complexity of Early Deciding Set Agreement

In the year 2007 a reform was established that allowed private citizens in Sweden to make tax deductions on companies providing services pertaining to the household (called RUT-deduction). The year later another reform was introduced granting citizens additional tax deductions but this time concerning household renovation, reconstruction and extensive construction (called ROT-deduction). These tax deductions resulted in higher employment and more jobs being executed legally. The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze what kind of effects these types of tax deductions would have on workers’ real wages and to look at to what extent these effects differ within a female dominated occupation and a male dominated occupation, from a gender perspective. The two professions that are chosen to be researched in this paper are the cleaning and painting professions. Furthermore, the purpose with this study is to examine whether this effect differs within the two separate professions. The study is executed with the use of econometric models, point estimation, economic theory and empirical studies. The result indicates that the RUT-deduction has the biggest positive impact on cleaners’ real wages. This paper shows that one underlying reason to this outcome could be that the cleaning service is a more price sensitive service and that the RUT-deduction might therefore have generated an excess in demand for that service. Nonetheless, to establish an equilibrium in the labor market the wages are required to rise in order to attract more cleaners to enter the certain market. However, this paper is unable to eliminate the possible theory of there being a general wage increase among workers in the private sector. In addition, this study is comprised of an inadequate amount of observations which impedes any reliable conclusions from being made based on evidence

The Organization and Financing of Public and Private Sector Long Term Care Facilities for the Elderly in Canada - Saskatchewan Report

This report is one of ten provincial reports on long term care facilities for the elderly in Canada. The provincial reports are based on a nationwide survey of provincial ministries/departments of health and social services, long term care associations and university researchers. The survey was conducted during 1988 and 1989 and the information in the provincial reports reject provincial contacts, data, guidelines and policies in 1988. Since updating this report would require an on-going survey of provinces, the information contained in these reports do not reject any changes in each province which may have occurred since the survey was conducted. Although attempts were made to standardize the date for the collection and reporting of information, some information in the provincial reports were for different dates within the same reporting year.

The secret world of shrimps: polarisation vision at its best

Animal vision spans a great range of complexity, with systems evolving to detect variations in optical intensity, distribution, colour, and polarisation. Polarisation vision systems studied to date detect one to four channels of linear polarisation, combining them in opponent pairs to provide intensity-independent operation. Circular polarisation vision has never been seen, and is widely believed to play no part in animal vision. Polarisation is fully measured via Stokes' parameters--obtained by combined linear and circular polarisation measurements. Optimal polarisation vision is the ability to see Stokes' parameters: here we show that the crustacean \emph{Gonodactylus smithii} measures the exact components required. This vision provides optimal contrast-enhancement, and precise determination of polarisation with no confusion-states or neutral-points--significant advantages. We emphasise that linear and circular polarisation vision are not different modalities--both are necessary for optimal polarisation vision, regardless of the presence of strongly linear or circularly polarised features in the animal's environment.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Effect on birth outcomes of a formalised approach to care in hospital labour assessment units: international, randomised controlled trial

Objective To determine if a complex nursing and midwifery intervention in hospital labour assessment units would increase the likelihood of spontaneous vaginal birth and improve other maternal and neonatal outcomes

Ethics, economics and the regulation and adoption of new medical devices: case studies in pelvic floor surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Concern has been growing in the academic literature and popular media about the licensing, introduction and adoption of surgical devices before full effectiveness and safety evidence is available to inform clinical practice. Our research will seek empirical survey evidence about the roles, responsibilities, and information and policy needs of the key stakeholders in the introduction into clinical practice of new surgical devices for pelvic floor surgery, in terms of the underlying ethical principals involved in the economic decision-making process, using the example of pelvic floor procedures.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Our study involves three linked case studies using, as examples, selected pelvic floor surgery devices representing Health Canada device safety risk classes: low, medium and high risk. Data collection will focus on stakeholder roles and responsibilities, information and policy needs, and perceptions of those of other key stakeholders, in seeking and using evidence about new surgical devices when licensing and adopting them into practice. For each class of device, interviews will be used to seek the opinions of stakeholders. The following stakeholders and ethical and economic principles provide the theoretical framework for the study:</p> <p indent="1"><b>Stakeholders </b>- federal regulatory body, device manufacturers, clinicians, patients, health care institutions, provincial health departments, and professional societies. Clinical settings in two centres (in different provinces) will be included.</p> <p indent="1"><b>Ethics </b>- beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice.</p> <p indent="1"><b>Economics </b>- scarcity of resources, choices, opportunity costs.</p> <p>For each class of device, responses will be analysed to compare and contrast between stakeholders. Applied ethics and economic theory, analysis and critical interpretation will be used to further illuminate the case study material.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The significance of our research in this new area of ethics will lie in providing recommendations for regulatory bodies, device manufacturers, clinicians, health care institutions, policy makers and professional societies, to ensure surgical patients receive sufficient information before providing consent for pelvic floor surgery. In addition, we shall provide a wealth of information for future study in other areas of surgery and clinical management, and provide suggestions for changes to health policy.</p