Financial Inadequacy Research Articles

Impact of Instagram on Financial Self-Perception A Study of Pakistani Adolescents

This study investigates the connection between Instagram use and feelings of financial inadequacy among Pakistani adolescents. As digital mediaplatforms progressively permeate daily life, their effect on users' self-perception and financial outlook has turned into a critical area of exploration. Thispaper focuses on Instagram, a platform known for its visual-driven content that frequently exhibits material riches and lavish ways of life.Using a quantitative approach, a survey was conducted and distributed among 50 adolescents from ages 15-19 from different socio-economicbackgrounds living in Lahore, Pakistan. The findings uncover a strong correlation between Instagram use and feeling of financial inadequacy.Adolescents who had lower family income were more likely to feel financially inadequate. Data also showed that adolescents also use Instagram toavoid personal problems and it further explained how content depicting wealth and peer comparison on Instagram worsen these sentiments of financial inadequacy. The research highlights the requirement for mindfulness and potential interventions to moderate the unfavorable mental effects of socialmedia on young users in developing countries.

Assessment of Solid Waste Management Strategies in Elele Community, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Solid waste management has become the greatest problem facing many semi-urban and rural communities like Elele in Nigeria, and is fast becoming a serious health concern. The study therefore was carried out to assess the strategies developed by Elele community in solid waste management and recommend proper solid waste disposal strategies. Materials and Methods: The study adopted survey research method using data collected through self-administered questionnaire which were analyzed to generate data for the study. Results and Discussions: The result from the field research showed that majority 96.19% of the respondents have heard of solid waste, and (34.83%) of the solid wastes generated in Elele community was Garbage, composed majorly of food waste which were compostable to make local manure; 29.62% refuse waste made up of papers, plastics, cans and glass were generated. The result revealed also that dumping in open spaces (69.82%) was the most prominent disposal method practiced in Elele and only 1.09% of the population practice Land fill (Burial method). There was inadequate provision of closed top compacting trucks (29.03%) to handle refuse collection with protective measure in mind. The respondent’s acknowledgement on the indiscriminate disposal of Solid waste in Elele was high (96.67%) and listed factors responsible like: lack of awareness on accepted methods of solid waste disposal (38.55%), Lack of Community Participation (16.23%), and Financial inadequacy of government (l4.78%). Conclusion: The study revealed that dumping in open spaces (69.82%) was the most prominent disposal method, while the least was land fill practice (Burial method) 1.09%. The study recommends the participation of the Local Governments in enhancing and building the capacities of local communities to identify and promote proper waste disposal and management. In addition, develop strategies that minimize waste at household and community levels through re-use like in manure, or recycling in their vicinity.

A prospective study of psychological distress among patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.

Cancer can impact the psychological well-being of both patients and their informal caregivers. We investigated the joint trajectories of psychological distress among Singaporean advanced cancer patients-caregiver dyads. We also examined predictors of trajectory group membership. This study utilised data from 299 patients with advanced solid cancer and their caregivers over 33 months (12 times points). Group-based trajectory modelling was used to examine the joint trajectories of patient anxiety, patient depression, caregiver anxiety and caregiver depression scores using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Four joint trajectory groups were found: (1) Patient-caregiver low distress (27%), (2) patient-caregiver increasing distress (28.5%), (3) patient low- caregiver borderline distress (25%), (4) patient-caregiver high distress (19.5%). Dyads where the patient is below 50 years of age were more likely to be in Group 4. Dyads where caregiver-patient emotional closeness was low were more likely to be in Groups 2 or 4 where dyads reported increasing/high distress. Dyads that reported financial inadequacy were more likely to be in Groups 2, 3 and 4, while dyads with caregivers who were employed were more likely to be in group 3. A substantial proportion of patients and caregivers reported anxiety and/or depression that lasted or increased throughout the study duration. We found significant heterogeneity in how dyads experienced psychological distress, suggesting that efforts should consider dyadic differences when providing psychological support. Particular focus should be placed on identifying dyads that are at risk and who require additional support.

The influence of social and commercial pension insurance differences and social capital on the mental health of older adults-Microdata from China.

The number of older adults is rising rapidly in China. Various concerns such as chronic diseases, financial inadequacy, and a feeling of loneliness have adversely affected the mental health of older adults, and this has become an important public health and social issue. To realize healthy aging, the Nineteenth National People's Congress of China put forth the Healthy China strategy, speeding up the promotion activities of mental health and pension measures, carrying out public welfare pension insurance for the entire population, and contributing to the mental health of older adults. This study used data from China Family Panel Studies. This study mainly uses the random effect estimation method (random effect, RE) and the feasible generalized least squares estimation method (FGLS) to control for heterogeneity to explore the impact of social and commercial pension insurance on the mental health of older adults, the moderating effect of social capital on pension insurance, and the mental health of older adults. The results showed that social pension insurance is proportional to the mental health of older adults, whereas commercial pension insurance is inversely proportional to mental health. Social capital had a significant moderating effect on pension insurance. When a country develops an aging economy, the emphasis on social capital helps make targeted industrial development suggestions. The government's expansion of insurance coverage is crucial for improving the mental health of older adults.

PARENTAL STRESS IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM DISORDER

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of parental stress in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and the contributing factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 115 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder who were attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic, recruited through universal sampling. Those who fulfilled the selection criteria and gave informed consent were selected. Socio-demographic data, perceived parenting capacity, children’s data, and illness data were obtained from the patient during interview as well as from the clinical notes. Presence of parental stress and severity of psychiatric symptoms were measured using Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) respectively. Descriptive analysis was performed, followed by univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis, using International Business Machines (IBM®) Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24. Results: 60 out of 115 participants (52.2%) had parental stress. Factors associated with parental stress include ethnicity (p=0.032), total household income (p=0.004), parenting children with mental or learning disability (p=0.022), perceived financial inadequacy (p=0.049), perceived food inadequacy (p=0.049), and presence of psychiatric symptoms (p=0.001). Ethnicity, total household income, parenting children with mental or learning disability, and presence of psychiatric illness were the predictors for parental stress among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Conclusion: Parental stress is prevalent in this group. Hence, health care professionals should be able to identify the risk factors and to provide them with necessary support

Explaining High Performance Among Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officers: A Job Demands-Resources Perspective

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers are careerist senior civil servants (SCS) in the world’s largest democracy, holding senior roles of policymaking and implementation. Therefore, identifying exceptionally performing SCS to unravel their “job demands” along with “personal resources” should help with understanding how best to manage these critical human resources. Employing a qualitative approach, we interviewed 11 high performing IAS officers identified through a unique career progression index. Our data analysis revealed that the IAS suffers from the following job demands: difficulty in coordination with other departments and stakeholders, financial inadequacy, and dishonest subordinates or coworkers. This study also found that self-directed learning, personal reputation, empathy, and service orientation are essential personal resources for high-performing SCS. While expanding the list of job demands and personal resources in the public administration context, our research provides a deeper insight into the challenges confronting careerist SCS in lower-middle income developing countries.

Financial Management Capabilities Among Personnel in a State University in The Philippines

Financial management is a key factor in achieving financial autonomy. Like other employees overseas, Filipino employees too are facing financial inadequacy, in one way or another. Thus, this descriptive study was conducted to assess the financial management of the personnel in the West Visayas State University Calinog Campus, Iloilo, Philippines. Using the duly validated and pilot-tested questionnaire, this study examined the three (3) aspects of financial management, namely: financial literacy; financial attitude; and financial management practices. It revealed that the respondents have an average level of financial literacy indicating that employees already possess knowledge in handling personal finances. The financial attitude of the respondents is relatively practical spenders as evident in "comparing prices when shopping for purchases" and "spending less than income". As to financial management practices, most of the respondents put money in the bank in order to cope with the growing expenses of the respondents' children's education. At some point, some employees venture into investments such as livestock and business. Financial management program may be conducted to improve the economic and financial stability of the employees. Emphasis may center on budgeting, expenditure, and saving mechanisms to achieve financial literacy.

Disciplinary variations in the diffusion of heutagogical use of mobile technologies among student-teachers

Whilst teacher education in Malawi seems to be afflicted by numerous challenges emanating from financial inadequacy and human resource constraints, widespread ownership of mobile technologies among student-teachers and versatility of the devices offer prospects for an improved academic environment. This study examines disciplinary variations in the diffusion of heutagogical use of mobile technologies among student-teachers at Domasi College of Education in Malawi. It is a case study involving 394 student-teachers whose design included a situational analysis, intervention and follow-up phase. Data was collected across the phases using semi-structured interviews, two questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and participant journaling. Notwithstanding discipline, the findings reveal ubiquitous access to mobile technologies among the student-teachers as well as positive attitude towards academic usage of devices. Subject-based disparities, however, became apparent during the situational analysis in relation to actual usage although they were levelled during the intervention. Additionally, the occurrence of heutagogical practices increased significantly over the intervention period.

EXAMINING THE BARRIERS TO REPORTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN UNIVERSITIES

Purpose: Universities have responded to sexual harassment by putting in place formalized reporting processes through which victims can seek redress. Despite these processes, victims seldom invoke the grievance handling mechanisms that are enshrined in university sexual harassment policies. This study therefore sought to investigate why the vice is grossly under reported. Given the asymmetrical relationship between students and faculty as well as the gendered position of female students, this study specifically focused on why female undergraduate students seldom reported faculty perpetrated sexual harassment.
 Methodology: The study was carried out at a large public university in East Africa, was purely qualitative and involved 42 participants who included students, members of faculty and university administrators. The data was analyzed thematically
 Findings: These indicated that institutional and social cultural barriers coupled with power asymmetries and financial inadequacy play a role in the non-reporting of sexual harassment amongst female university students.
 Unique contribution to policy and practice: These findings are beneficial to universities especially as they seek to revise their existing sexual harassment policies. University managers ought to ensure that complaint handlers are well positioned to fairly handle sexual harassment complaints. This may help victims to build trust in the grievance handling mechanisms thus encouraging them to report the vice

Climate change adaptation and resilience among vegetable farmers

ABSTRACT Challenges associated with climate change have reduced vegetable production. Adoption of adaptation strategies for increased production has not resulted in a yield increase. Factors affecting climate change adaptation among 118 farmers involved in sustainable vegetable production were assessed. Vegetable farmers used a mix of adaptation measures that included traditional practices (minimum tillage, construction of the local dam, construction of drainage, avoidance of flood-prone area, increase the use of organic manure), and modern technology (construction of a water harvester, listening to early warning information, increased use of herbicide, increased use of fertilizer, use of pumping machine, sprinkler irrigation furrow irrigation), membership of the religious organization, access to timely information about the occurrence of climate change (β = 0.24, p < 05), and constraints to adaptation (β = 0.63, p < 05) had positive, significant, consequences on climate change adaptation procedures. It was determined that inadequate-skilled labor and financial constraints discouraged adaptation to climate change; access to timely information encouraged adaptation. More timely exchange of information and availability of tools to meet adaptation needs for vegetable production sustainability and profitability could help grower address challenges of climate change. Understanding factors affecting adoption could reduce constraints associated with inadequate-skilled labor, financial inadequacy, and exchange of information on climate change adaptation.

A Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Promote CRC Screening: A Pilot Study.

Appalachian Kentuckians suffer a disproportionate incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC) and are screened at lower rates (35%) compared with 47% of Kentuckians. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a motivational interviewing intervention delivered by trained Lay Health Advisors on CRC screening. Eligible participants recruited from an emergency department (ED) completed a baseline survey and were randomized to either the control or the motivational interviewing intervention provided by Lay Health Advisors. Follow-up surveys were administered 3 and 6 months after baseline. To evaluate potential differences in treatment and control groups, t tests, χ2, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used. At either the 3- or 6-month assessment, there was no difference in the CRC screening by group (χ2 = 0.13, P = .72). There was a significant main effect for the study group in the susceptibility to CRC model; regardless of time, those in the intervention group reported approximately 1-point higher perceived susceptibility to CRC, compared with controls (est. b = 0.68, P = .038). Age and financial adequacy had a significant effect related to CRC screening. Older participants (est. b = 0.09, P = .014) and those who reported financial inadequacy (est. b = 2.34, P = .002) reported more screening barriers. This pilot study elucidated important factors influencing the uptake of CRC for an ED transient population and this may be useful in the design of future interventions using motivational interviewing in EDs. Nurses can provide information about CRC screening guidelines and provide referrals to appropriate screening resources in the community.

Financial inadequacy and the disadvantageous changes in time perspective and goal‐striving strategies throughout life

SummaryAs inequality in wealth and income continues to grow, it is important to consider the implications of financial disparities for worker motivation and behavior. While workers with socioeconomic disadvantages have a decreased chance of career success and upward social mobility, the potential mechanisms linking financial status to work motivation outcomes are not fully known. Drawing on theory on resource scarcity, we address this issue and propose that financial inadequacy shapes the extent to which workers consider and plan for the future, with consequences for goal‐striving strategies throughout adulthood. Latent change analyses of data from a heterogeneous sample of 4,446 working adults largely supported the hypotheses. Results showed that a high level of financial inadequacy predicted increases in short‐term time horizon and decreases in future‐oriented planning, which then predicted disadvantageous changes in goal‐striving strategies over an 18‐year period. Short‐term time horizon also predicted subsequent increases in financial inadequacy. By highlighting the motivational challenges associated with inadequate finances that accompany low‐wage employment, our study offers evidence for the motivational mechanisms that may reinforce economic inequality and social mobility in the workforce.

Missing Dimensions of Poverty? Calibrating Deprivation Scales Using Perceived Financial Situation

AbstractDeprivation scales usually cover some but not all aspects of poverty. Missing dimensions could affect who is and is not identified as poor. Despite its importance, whether missing dimensions affect the measurement of poverty has not been empirically examined in the EU context. Such an examination requires data on missing dimensions that existing surveys do not usually collect. In this article, I get around this problem with an innovative design and using the rich content of the British Household Panel Survey (1999–2008). I use perceived financial inadequacy as a proxy for poverty and show that, independent of the deprivation status, having a need in healthcare, childcare, social care, or education increases the risk of reporting financial inadequacy. The main explanations for these effects are extra spending and reduced earnings of the families (as a response to having extra needs), and not other biases that might arise from using a self-assessed proxy measure such as scale heterogeneity, personality traits, state dependence, anticipations, or psychological negativity. These findings demonstrate the need for more comprehensive measures. Unless relevant indicators of missing dimensions (e.g. cost-related unmet needs in healthcare) are included in the analysis, deprivation scales might fail to identify some people experiencing poverty.

Why are Chinese university teachers (not) confident in their competence to teach? The relationships between faculty-perceived stress and self-efficacy

This study explored the relationships between university teachers’ perceived stress and their self-efficacy beliefs, and the differences in the relationships across teachers from different tiers of institutions. A sample of 2758 teachers from 25 higher education institutions in China participated in the study. This study shows that stress from organisational inadequacy and new challenges were negatively associated with self-efficacy. Although stress from financial inadequacy and undesirable student quality were positively related to self-efficacy, the effect sizes were very small and have no practical significance. The results of multi-group analysis revealed significant differences in the relationships between perceived stress and self-efficacy beliefs among teachers from different tiers of institutions. These results provide some implications for improving university teachers’ self-efficacy.

External Environmental Factors and Failure of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kano Metropolis

This study examines the relationship between external environmental factors and failure of SMEs in Kano metropolis, using samples of failed SMEs in Kano metropolis. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the sampled failed SMEs using snow ball method. The data was analyzed using multiple regression technique and descriptive statistics in order to establish the significance of the estimated relationships. The outcome reveals that external environmental factors have significant impact on the failure of SMEs in Kano metropolis, and inadequate infrastructure (II) is the major contributing factor to the failure of SMEs in the Kano; followed by market competition (MC), market demographics (MD), and financial inadequacy (FI). In order to reduce SMEs failure and achieve significant positive contribution of SMEs sub-sector to the economic development of the state, the study recommends that government and relevant stakeholders should create an enabling business environment with adequate infrastructures, fear competition, sound market places and financial support.

Revenue and Expenditure Structure of Vyas Municipality

The local governments or the municipalities are responsible to provide administrative services to the local level and to develop infrastructures to provide physical facilities to municipal people. Thus, the major functions of the municipalities are the building up the infrastructure and supra structure and protecting public places and so on. To conduct such philanthropic works it is essential to sustain themselves financially. This study has intense relation with revenue and expenditure of Vyas Municipalities regarding the objectives to analyze, examine and interpret the Revenue and Expenditure. Descriptive research design has been adopted to conduct present study. Under the descriptive research design this study focuses on analyzing income and expenditure pattern of Vyas municipality thus case study approach has been followed to conduct this research. There are 243 municipalities in Nepal which are considered as the population of this study. Among them Vyas municipality is taken as sample using convenience sampling method. This study focuses on municipal revenue and expenditure thus based on secondary data. Vyas municipality largely depends upon the revenue raised from external sources to fulfill the financial requirements. The total revenue has been occupied by internal revenue and external revenue. The average growth rate of internal revenue has been greater than external revenue during the study period. Vyas municipality itself has been suffering from financial inadequacy. So unnecessary expenditure made for the consumption purpose should be cut off. Expenditure made for unproductive sectors should be minimized and utilized effectively. The Journal of Nepalese Business Studies Vol. X No. 1 December 2017, Page: 42-55

Surgical treatment of primary cardiac tumors in children: Experience of a single institute.

In order to review the surgical experience of a single institute with regard to the treatment of primary cardiac tumors, data was collected on patients with a histopathological diagnosis of a primary cardiac tumor (with the exception of myxoma) in a retrospective analysis of those treated between 2004 and 2013. In total, 11 patients were identified, with a mean age at diagnosis of 23 months and a mean weight of 13 kg. The most frequent cause of referral was a cardiac murmur and the most frequent cardiac tumor was rhabdomyoma (5 cases), followed by fibroma (3 cases), angiofibroma (2 cases) and fibrosarcoma (1 case). Surgical removal of the tumor was performed in all patients due to the respective clinical symptoms. A subtotal resection was performed in a single patient (with angiofibroma invading the aortic root, superior vena cava and sinus node) due to financial constraints. This patient succumbed to tumor invasion 2 years later. Another of the patients (pericardial fibrosarcoma) succumbed 1 year after the total resection, as they were unable to undergo a repeat surgery for the relapsed tumor due to financial inadequacy. The remaining 9 patients have survived in good condition during the 1–6 year follow-up. Surgery is the preferred treatment for patients with symptomatic primary cardiac tumors, and has good early- and long-term outcomes. However, due to the current health care system inadequacies in China, certain parents cannot afford the medical expenses, thus, more comprehensive social security and medical insurance may require consideration.

Is perceived financial inadequacy persistent?

In an attempt to understand the determinants of financial inadequacy, this paper employs the ability of households to make ends meet as a measure of their perceived financial inadequacy. Using household‐level data from theEuropeanCommunityHouseholdPanel covering eight countries over the period from 1994 to 2001, this study applies a dynamic probit model that incorporates both state dependency and individual fixed effects. Exploiting a latterly enhanced bias‐corrected fixed‐effects probit model,Iaddress the persistent nature of subjective financial inadequacy by directly estimating fixed effects while correcting for incidental parameters and avoiding the initial conditions problem of dynamic models. The results reveal that employing time‐invariant individual effects to model subjective monetary perception is essential. However, by controlling for household heterogeneity, income, indebtedness, and health status,Ifind that in addition to the major differences acrossEuropean households, country‐specific factors can have adverse effects on the persistent nature of perceived financial inadequacy.

Predictors of adequate financial resources 5 years after breast cancer diagnosis in low-income women.

e20620 Background: Financial security is often viewed as a social determinant of health, especially in low income populations. Among low-income breast cancer patients, identifying early predictors of financial security could aid researchers in developing tools to improve long-term financial stability. Methods: A consecutive sample of 921 low-income, underinsured/uninsured women treated for stage 0-III breast cancer was surveyed 6 months following diagnosis. Women were surveyed again at 18, 36 and 60 months. Eligible participants were English/Spanish speaking women enrolled in California’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program. The relationship between clinical, demographic, economic, health variables and adequacy of financial resources at 60 months was explored using logistic regression. Results: Of 590 women with complete data at 60 months, 45% said they did not have adequate financial resources 60 months following the diagnosis of breast cancer. Of these women, 74% (n=197) did not have adequate financial resources at 6 months, and 26% (n=70) went from having adequate financial resources at 6 months to not at 60 months. In univariate analyses, predictors of 60 month financial inadequacy included: employment status at 6 months (p=.017), ethnicity (p&lt;.001), number of people living in the home (p=.004), age (p=.024), and adequate financial resources at 6 months (p&lt;.001). In multivariate analyses, ethnicity (p=.008) and adequate financial resources at 6 months (p&lt;.001) were independent predictors. Compared to non-Latina whites, Latinas had the lowest odds of having adequate financial resources at 60 months (adjusted OR: 0.51 95% CI: 0.32-0.82), followed by all other ethnicities (adjusted OR: 0.80 95% CI: 0.44-1.44). Conclusions: Financial stability after breast cancer diagnosis continues to be an issue faced by low income women five years following initial diagnosis. Ethnicity was an independent predictor of long-term financial stability. Latinas were especially likely to have inadequate financial resources 5 years after diagnosis. Long-term financial stability was not associated with any of the treatment and health or disease-related measures.

Explaining the Pathways between Approach-Avoidance Personality Traits and Employees’ Job Search Behavior

Research suggests that certain personality characteristics lead to greater (or lesser) withdrawal from work, yet little research has examined exactly how personality translates into withdrawal behavior. To address this question, the present study demonstrated that the approach-avoidance personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism each showed simultaneous positive and negative effects on job search behaviors of employed individuals depending on the mediating mechanism involved (i.e., ambition values, job search self-efficacy, perceived job challenge, work burnout, perceived financial inadequacy, and job satisfaction). Our findings extend theoretical insights on the pathways linking dispositional traits and employee withdrawal behaviors, and suggest how employers can more precisely anticipate and mitigate employees’search for new employment.