Force Status Research Articles

Digital exclusion and functional dependence in older people: Findings from five longitudinal cohort studies.

Older people are more likely to be excluded from the digital world, and this has been linked to poor health outcomes. The extent and direction of the influence of digital exclusion on functional dependency is, however, not well understood. We aimed to investigate the association between digital exclusion and functional dependency among older adults from high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this multicohort study, we pooled individual-level data from five longitudinal cohort studies that included nationally representative samples of older adults across 23 countries, including the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). The digital exclusion was recorded as an absence from internet use by self-reported. We assessed basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and we used interval-of-need methods to categorize the functional dependency. We applied generalized estimating equations models fitting Poisson model to investigate the association of digital exclusion with difficulties in BADL or IADL and functional dependency, adjusting for the causal-directed-acyclic-graph (DAG) minimal sufficient adjustment set (MSAS), including gender, age level, labour force status, education, household wealth level, marital status, and co-residence with children. We included 108,621 participants recruited between 2010 and 2018 with a median follow-up of 3 phrases. Digital exclusion in older adults varied across countries, ranging from 23.8% in Denmark (SHARE) to 96.9% in China (CHARLS). According to the crude model, digital exclusion was significantly associated with functional dependency. In the MSAS-adjusted model, those associations remained statistically significant: HRS (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34-1.48 for BADL; 1.71 [1.61-1.82] for IADL), ELSA (1.31[1.22-1.40] in BADL and 1.37 [1.28-1.46] in IADL), SHARE (1.69 [1.61-1.78] in BADL and 1.70 [1.63-1.78] in IADL), CHARLS (2.15 [1.73-2.67] in BADL and 2.59 [2.06-3.25] in IADL), and MHAS (1.15 [1.09-1.21] in BADL and 1.17 [1.09-1.25] in IADL). In the subgroup analyses, the associations were more pronounced in the oldest-old (aged≥80 years old). There is a substantial proportion of older adults who are excluded from the Internet, especially those in LMIC. Older people excluded from the Internet regardless of whether they live in HICs or LMICs are more likely to develop functional dependency. It should be made a priority to remove barriers to Internet access in order to assist older people in maintaining their independence and, consequently, to reduce the care burden associated with the ageing population worldwide. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71904004).

Oral environment and cerebral blood flow in patients with neurodegenerative dementia: comparison of Alzheimer type dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.

The number of patients with dementia is increasing worldwide. Modifying risk factors may significantly reduce the prevalence and cost of dementia. The number of remaining teeth, occlusal force, denture use, and periodontal disease status are associated with the risk of developing dementia. The oral environment may be a risk factor for dementia. This study aimed to investigate the association between the oral environment and cerebral blood flow in patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia (either Alzheimer type dementia (ATD) or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)). We aimed to identify differences in the oral environment according to the underlying neurodegenerative disease. The participants were 25 patients with ATD and 25 patients with DLB who visited the Department of Dementia and Geriatric Medicine, Kanagawa Dental University Hospital. Patients were diagnosed with ATD and DLB by well-trained specialists certified by the Japanese Dementia Society and categorised as Level 3 or 4 by the Functional Assessment Staging of Alzheimer Disease scale. The correlation between oral environment (number of teeth, periodontal tissue, and oral function) and cerebral blood flow in each brain area calculated by single photon emission computed tomography was examined. The DLB group showed a significant correlation between masticatory performance and cerebral blood flow in some areas, while no such correlation was observed in the ATD group. Significant correlations were found between periodontal pocket depth and bleeding on probing and cerebral blood flow in some areas in both groups, although the correlation was considerable in the ATD group. The results of this study suggest that the association between changes in the oral environment and cerebral blood flow may differ among patients with ATD and DLB, depending on the underlying causative disease.

Dynamic characteristics analysis of an in-service SYMS based on long-term field monitoring

The soft yoke mooring system (SYMS), which is widely used in China Bohai Bay and Gulf of Mexico, is the main mooring structure used by floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) in shallow water. Due to its multi-joint connection mode, the SYMS can realize the weathervane effect and ensure that FPSO vessel is at a position with the minimized ocean environmental loading. However, the complexity of ocean environmental loads and the non-linearity of SYMS structures make it difficult to predict the motion behaviors and force states that will be experienced by in-service SYMS, which can affect estimations of structural health status. Dynamic characteristics analysis of in-service SYMS is capable of addressing this complex problem and providing accurate estimations for improving mooring system design and safety. In this paper, a multi-body dynamic model for long-term service SYMS is established. Based on the data from a field monitoring system, the long-term motion characteristics of an in-service SYMS is analyzed. By combining the multi-body dynamic model with monitoring data, the long-term internal force statuses of each hinge joint is calculated. Then, the distribution of hinge joints load and horizontal restoring force are obtained, which provide effective numerical references for service life predictions of future SYMS and safety analysis of in-service SYMS.

Effect of social capital on youth self-employment in Holeta town, Ethiopia

PurposeSocial resources have gained considerable interest from scholars for their effect on youth's labor market outcomes. The available evidence indicates that social capital is a crucial factor in determining youth's labor force status. This paper examines the effect of social capital components on youth self-employment in Holeta town, Ethiopia.Design/methodology/approachUsing youth survey data, principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on social capital components datasets. This provided the construction of composite indicators for measuring social capital component, which are robust and exhibited construct validity. Following this, the effect of social capital component on youth self-employment was examined using Logit model.FindingsThe results show that institutional trust positively affects the likelihood of young people's decision to be self-employed.Practical implicationsThe finding reveals a need to improve the transparency of the institutions' resource delivery, the competency of the institutions' workforce, communication, and information sharing of the institutions with the youth.Originality/valueLooking at different social capital components simultaneously, the paper provides insight into the wide range of effects of social capital on youth self-employment.

Тraditional values and book culture

The draft Presidential Decree on the fundamentals of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, put out by Likhachev Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage in January 2022, for public consideration, was analyzed. Based on the ancient cult of the book as a sacred revelation, the book culture is understood as a creative and communication activity of human society carried out in the book form through symbols. In the history of Russian civilization, the book culture has acquired the status of traditional national value and productive force that ensures the development of material, spiritual and humanistic culture. The technocratic society of the twentieth century is at risk of self-destruction. Risks such as environmental crisis (environmental pollution, climate change), biological mutations (viral pandemic, genetic degradation), technological accidents (computer program failure, nuclear facility collapse), geopolitical follies (arms race, terrorism, aggressive globalization, loss of national identity and sovereignty, genocide, fanaticism), and many other anthropogenic threats have acquired global proportions. Successful opposition to dangerous technogenic risks is possible only if we rely on the humanistic book and library traditions. The conclusion is made on the expediency of the need to develop a scientifically and practically sound state strategy for humanistic book culture in modern Russia.

Young Australians' labour market engagement and job aspiration in the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractYoung people tend to bear the brunt of adverse employment consequences of a crisis due mainly to the precarious nature of their job and their over‐representation among jobseekers who are having to find employment when jobs are scarce. Using quarterly welfare payment data for the period 2019–2021 from the Department of Social Services, we noted a marked increase in the percentage of 16‐ to 21‐year‐olds who received youth allowance (other) payments. While a greater proportion of Indigenous youth than non‐Indigenous youth received the payments from 2019 to 2021, the gap widened following the outbreak of the pandemic. Further, applying regression analysis to data from the 2019 and 2020 waves of the 2015 Cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Youth (LSAY), we find no statistically significant change in individual‐level labour force status between 2019 and 2020. However, pandemic‐induced labour market crises appear to have been associated with reduced work hours, heightened career concerns and sustained nonemployment, where potential impacts are larger among traditionally vulnerable youth groups such as female, Indigenous and overseas‐born young persons. The study highlights the need for recognising the intersectionality of youth and other forms of identity (such as gender, Indigenous status and nativity) while designing labour market policies.

Reassessing classification errors in the analysis of labor market dynamics

Classification error–misreporting of true labor force statuses by survey respondents–can impact our broader understanding of labor markets in two critical dimensions: (i) measurement of labor market stocks (e.g., the unemployment rate); and (ii) the flows between these states (e.g., sources of unemployment fluctuations). This paper makes three contributions to the literature. First, this paper provides a single unifying framework for the classification error of labor market states, which can be used to analyze both stocks and flows. Second, I compare the proposed model implications with other classification-error correction models and show that the proposed latent variable approach generates similar labor market dynamics as re-interview-survey-based methods. Third, I show that correcting for classification errors with this alternative approach supports but moderates the results of previous studies in terms of the measurement of the unemployment rate and sources of unemployment fluctuations. It (i) mutes the magnitude of an underestimate of the U.S. official unemployment rate and (ii) points to a more (less) prominent role of the job separation margin (the labor force participation margin) in explaining the unemployment fluctuations.

Forming Parameters on Friction during Single Point Incremental Forming

Friction in the single point incremental forming (SPIF) process is the main factor affecting the surface quality and forming performance of the workpiece. In order to study the effect of process parameters on friction in SPIF, the contact area between the forming tool and the metal sheet was taken as the analysis object according to the principle of SPIF and the characteristics of friction in the forming process. The force status was analytically expressed under the condition of considering friction, and a correlation expression between the forming force and the friction coefficient was given. On this basis, the friction coefficient values under different process parameters were calculated through experimental force measurement, and the accuracy and validity of the obtained friction coefficient were verified by finite element simulation. Finally, the influence of the forming parameters on the friction coefficient and the prediction model of the friction coefficient were analyzed using the surface response method. The research results revealed that the increase of tool diameter or spindle speed helped to reduce the friction coefficient between the contact surfaces, while the increase of layer feed, feed rate, or forming angle increased the friction coefficient to different degrees. The results obtained in this work may provide a reference in theory and technology for improving the surface quality and formability of parts.

Mothers’ caregiving during COVID: The impact of marital property laws on women’s labor force status

If mothers take care of children more than fathers, then after the onset of COVID-19 mothers’ employment is expected to drop more than that of fathers. This gender gap is likely to be larger where women are less concerned about the financial repercussions of opting out of the labor force, and therefore the gender gap in employment is likely to grow more where community property or homemaking provisions give more protection to homemakers in case of union dissolution. Difference-in-differences and dynamic study estimations applied to CPS data for 2019–2020 show that after the onset of COVID-19 the labor force participation of mothers of school-age children—but not of fathers--dropped more in states with marital property laws more generous to parental caregivers. These results stand in contrast to how these groups’ labor force participation changed after the Great Recession, compared to pre-recession levels.

Labor force status as a buffer against mortality risks associated with alcohol consumption: A study of adult U.S. women, 2001–2015

The association between women's labor force participation, their alcohol consumption patterns, and mortality risk is unclear. This study assessed all-cause mortality risk among women in the United States, considering their labor force status and alcohol drinking. This study used discrete-time hazard models to examine this association using 2001–2015 National Health Interview Survey-Linked Mortality Files (NHIS-LMF) data (n = 147,714) for women aged 25 to 65 with 5725 deaths in this sample. Complex survey-weighted adjustments and E-values calculations were used to limit quantitative and observational biases. Alcohol consumption and labor force status together lead to substantial mortality risks. There is a statistically significant mortality risk among unemployed women (HR 2.15, 95% CI 1.18–3.91) and women not in labor force (HR 2.38, 95% CI 1.87–3.01). In the stratified models, non-Hispanic blacks (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.30–1.67) and Asians (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.54–2.44) have heightened mortality risks borne out of employment. Women with higher psychological distress have a 26% higher risk of all-cause mortality when not in labor force. With the help of cross-sectional data, this study demonstrates that women not in labor force and unemployed women are more likely to be affected by their drinking habits, and their employment status is associated with lower mortality risk. Further research should be focused on cause-specific mortality, gender roles and norms, reasons for unemployment, and comorbidities using more recent data, causal modeling techniques, and an extended mortality follow-up period.

ECONOMIC TRENDS OF UKRAINE’S DEVELOPMENT AND PRIORITIES OF REALIZATION OF NATIONAL ECONOMY POTENTIAL

The aim of the article is to analyze the state and trends of Ukraine’s economy at the current stage of its development, as well as to substantiate the strategic priorities of state policy to overcome challenges and ensure better realization of the potential of Ukraine’s national economy. The study reveals the urgency of the problem of forming and effective use of Ukraine’s economic growth potential. The analysis of the structure of the population of Ukraine (by the status of labor force, employed and unemployed) in 2010-2021. The situation regarding wages and arrears of its payment in the types of economic activity of the economy of Ukraine is analyzed. The dynamics of volumes of industrial products sold by domestic enterprises in 2010-2021, including by industries of Ukraine, is reflected. The structure of domestic industrial production as of January 2022 is described. The information on indices of construction products and agriculture, forestry and fisheries in Ukraine in 2015-2021 is given. The analysis of positions of economy of Ukraine in the world rating of digital competitiveness is carried out. The key problematic aspects and obstacles to the realization of Ukraine’s economic potential are summarized, in particular, the deterioration of intellectual and human resources and the growth of the volume and level of unemployment; low level of wages and increase in arrears of wages; irrational structure and small volumes of industrial production; instability of production and sales of products of the real sector of the economy; weak positions of big business entities; low innovation and technological activity and the ability to carry out full-scale digital transformation of the national economy. The applied significance of the research results is that the strategic priorities of the systemic state policy of establishing an effective model of economic growth in Ukraine, namely – the diversification of international economic relations and foreign trade; ensuring the stability and independence of the financial system of the state; convergence of the social security system with leading international practices; realization of the potential of “drivers” of economic sovereignty and development; strengthening energy independence, increasing energy efficiency and savings; building and improving the capacity of critical infrastructure elements; ensuring the functional and structural integration of the economic complex.

Subjective dignity and self-reported health: Results from the United States before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

AimsTo describe disparities in depressive symptoms and self-rated health with a novel, individual-level measure of subjective dignity administered before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsNational survey data were collected across the United States by the Gallup Organization in Spring (2017) (n ​= ​1459) and again in Spring (2021) (n ​= ​1244). Subjective dignity is measured by self-reported perceptions of dignity in one’s own life. Numerous demographic subgroups constructed across age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, urbanicity, labor force status, and political background are used to test for robustness of dignity-health associations within and across years. ResultsAll demographic subgroups studied reported numeric decreases in dignity from 2017 to 2021, with many of these decreases being both large and significant. With few group-year exceptions, subjective dignity relates to lower levels of depression and higher self-rated health, with dignity-depression associations significantly increasing from 2017 to 2021. ConclusionsDignity, as a pluralistic moral concept, is purported to anchor legal, human rights, and cultural discourses on justice, equity, and social inclusion. This study provides timely, original evidence that subjective appraisals of dignity should be considered as a public health indicator, especially across periods of societal unrest or adversity. Given groupwise robustness of dignity-health associations as documented here, subgroup determinants and lay definitions of dignity may merit closer attention.

Friction induced vibration and energy generation study of two-degree-of-freedom piezoelectric coupled system

Friction induced vibration (FIV) and its application for energy generation through two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) piezoelectric coupled structure are modelled, described, and studied in this work. The FIV mathematical model of 2-DOF system in the direction of friction is established. A 2-DOF energy generator is designed as a sample structure to transform single direction continuum friction motion to high frequency vibration for energy generation. During the operation of a moving plate compressed and sliding on top of the friction excitation module, varying friction force and contact status (sliding and stick) will lead to the dynamic piezoelectric compression deformation, which can generate continuum electrical power for energy absorbing and harvesting applications. Through numerical simulation and parameter studies, the influences of different stiffness ratios, mass ratios, normal force, velocity, acceleration, structure parameter and friction coefficients on the system power generation are analyzed. Through simple structural design, W level power generation can be obtained with few piezoelectric materials. This work revealed the possibility of transforming low frequency excitation to high frequency vibration of general 2-DOF structure for energy generation.

Changes in the health status of the Hungarian Defence Forces in an ageing society

Abstract Introduction The continuous collection, monitoring, and analysis of morbidity data enable health professionals to plan the capacity of the care system, to organise and optimise care, to measure the burden of diseases resulting from each morbidity, and to estimate its expected evolution. Material and methods In our study, we analyse the data of patient flow reports for the period 2011 to 2020 for the healing and preventive basic service defined as the basic task of the primary health care system (troop health service) of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Results Over 850,000 doctor-patient encounters over the ten-year period were mostly due to some form of acute care need, infection, and respiratory illness. The morbidity structure has not changed significantly over the period. In all cases, the top three were diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99), diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99), as well as musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases (M00-M99). In 2020, the highest number of people with restrictions for health reasons in the period under review was 131 for diseases of the circulatory system and 179 for musculoskeletal disorders. In recent years, the time spent on medical leave or on sick leave has increased significantly in terms of the number of cases of incapacity to work. Conclusions Accurate knowledge of morbidity and health data can also provide the military leadership with important information on combat fitness, especially when the ever-increasing task load (mission activity, border tasks, Covid-19) has to be met by an armed corps selected from an ageing population.

Reducing the risks of nuclear war to humanity

Reducing the risks of nuclear war to humanity

Design and Experiment of Automatic Clip-Feeding Mechanism for Vegetable-Grafting Robot

Aiming to solve the problems of poor performance and low stability in the automatic clip-feeding of a grafting machine, an automatic clip-feeding mechanism with a precise single-clip discharge mechanism was designed, and a clip-feeding performance test was carried out. Taking the grafting clip of the 2TJGQ-800 type of vegetable-grafting robot as the research object, the clamping-force analysis model of the grafting clip was constructed by ABUQUS finite-element analysis software, and the variation law of clamping force, steel wire diameter, and opening deformation, as well as the calculation equation of clamping force, were obtained. The grafting clip model was verified by mechanical test, and test results showed that the grafting clip with a steel wire diameter of 0.7 mm proved safe and reliable for grafted cucumber and watermelon seedlings; the grafting clip with steel wire diameter of 0.8 mm had a risk of producing injury to grafted cucumber and watermelon seedlings when clamping. The method of single-clip discharge in the inclined discharging slideway was put forward, and the components for clip discharge and clip pushing were designed. The critical thrust for sending out the grafting clip in the clip-feeding slideway was 0.603 N after analyzing the force status of the grafting clip in the clip-feeding slideway. Test results showed that the success rate of automatic clip-feeding reached 98.67% when inclination angle of row-discharging slideway was 50° and the thrust of clip-pushing cylinder (input air pressure of 0.4 MPa) was 8.04 N, which met the technical requirements of mechanical grafting. The inclination of the grafting clip and the damaged clip in the feeding slideway is the main reason for the failure of clip-feeding. The research results can provide theoretical and design references for the innovative research of the automatic clip-feeding mechanism of grafting robots.

The externality of her retirement – evidence from China

ABSTRACT While women are more active in the labour force than ever, they are still doing most of the housework. Despite the important roles that women play in both the workplace and family life, limited literature has examined the health impact of women’s labour force status on their spouses. Using data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this paper estimates how women’s retirement affects their spouses’ subjective health. To this end, we implement a regression discontinuity design. The results indicate that the retirement of women imposes a negative externality on their husbands’ health.

The Health Status of Labor Force in East Kalimantan Province: Effect of Individual Characteristics and Household Conditions

The aims of this research are first, to explore the factors that are associated with health status. Second, to address the individual characteristics and household conditions that affect the health status of labor force, taking into account the urban-rural differences. This research utilized data from SUSENAS Cor 2018, and employed a cross sectional - multinomial logistic regression analysis method. The dependent variable is the health conditions of the labor force. The findings show that, age and number of household members were significant for both sick and very sick health status in all two type of areas analyzed. In urban and rural areas simultaneously gender, expenditure per capita, and drinking water were only significant for sick health group while marital status, education, employment status, sanitation, house area was only significant for very sick health status group. In urban areas, the results indicated that gender, employment status, and drinking water were only significant for sick health status, while marital status, education, sanitation, and house area significant for very sick health status. Moreover, in rural areas, marital status was only significant for sick health status whereas, sanitation and house area were significant for the very sick health status.

Determinant of Labor Force Resilience Against The Employment Impact of The Covid-19 Pandemic in Bali Province, Indonesia: An Application of Survival Analysis

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is not only on health problems, but also has a negative impact on economic. The sector that economically worst affected by the pandemic is the tourism and its derivatives. As a result of depending heavily on the tourism sector, Bali is the province with the most labor force that has stopped working during the pandemic. In this study, data from the national labor force survey were analyzed using the Weibull-Gamma Shared Frailty Survival Model to explore the determinants of labor force resilience against the event of stop working due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The results show that gender, education level, experience in training, marital status, and age of labor force are variables that significantly affect on how quickly a labor force experiences an event of stop working. Moreover, variations among regions where they work (regencies/cities) also have a significant effect on stop working acceleration.

The importance of sureties and guarantees granted by the State Treasury in implementing new technical or technological solutions - an analysis from the financial law perspective

The study discusses the subject matter of sureties and guarantees granted by the State Treasury and their importance in implementing new technical and technological solutions and investment projects in which sureties and guarantees granted by the State Treasury are applied, emphasizing their relationship with new technical and technological solutions. An analysis of these issues leads to a conclusion that the technical and technological progress lies at the axiological basis of the surety-guarantee system which has been operating in Poland for a few decades. The research is narrowed down to projects that implement new technical and technological solutions. The paper primarily makes use of two research methods, that is an analysis of the law in force and an analytical investigation. These methods are applied to examine relevant literature, current legislative acts and statistical data contained in information on State Treasury sureties and guarantees granted in 2016-2020.The study takes account of the legal status in force on 30 April 2022