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Metropolitan Cities (metropolitan + city)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%
Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Typologies of Advantage and Disadvantage: Socio-economic Outcomes in Australian Metropolitan Cities

GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2005
SCOTT BAUM
Abstract Australia's metropolitan cities have undergone significant social, economic and demographic change over the past several decades. In terms of socio-economic advantage and disadvantage these changes, which are often associated with globalisation, wider economic and technological restructuring, the changing demographics of the population and shifts in public policy are not evenly dispersed across cities, but represent a range of often contrasting outcomes. The current paper develops a typology of socio-economic advantage and disadvantage for locations across Australian metropolitan cities. More specifically, the paper takes a range of Australian Bureau of Statistics data and uses a model-based approach with clustering of data represented by a parameterised Gaussian mixture model and discriminant analysis utilised to consider the differences between the clusters. These clusters form the basis of a typology representing the range of socio-economic and demographic outcomes at the local community level. [source]

The Impact of Life Events on Perceived Financial Stress, Clothing-Specific Lifestyle, and Retail Patronage: The Recent IMF Economic Crisis in Korea

FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 1 2000
Soyeon Shim
Using Andreasen's Model of Life Change Effects as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to develop and test a model that depicts the direct and indirect influence of a life event, the Korean International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis, on financial stress, clothing-specific lifestyle, and retail patronage behavior. A total of 502 females from two major metropolitan cities in Korea responded to a survey questionnaire. A structural equation modeling technique was used to test the hypotheses. Several statistical criteria supported theoretical, causal relationships among the measurement models in the study, providing strong support for Andreasen's model. More specifically, the IMF impact had affected retail patronage behavior directly as well as indirectly through clothing-specific lifestyles and financial stress. Both clothing-specific lifestyles and financial stress had an influence on retail patronage behavior. The IMF event had a stronger direct and total impact than financial stress on changes in retail patronage behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. [source]

Typologies of Advantage and Disadvantage: Socio-economic Outcomes in Australian Metropolitan Cities

Improving transfer of mental health care for rural and remote consumers in South Australia

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 2 2009
Judy Taylor BA Dip Soc Wk MSW PhD
Abstract In Australia, it is commonplace for tertiary mental health care to be provided in large regional centres or metropolitan cities. Rural and remote consumers must be transferred long distances, and this inevitably results in difficulties with the integration of their care between primary and tertiary settings. Because of the need to address these issues, and improve the transfer process, a research project was commissioned by a national government department to be conducted in South Australia. The aim of the project was to document the experiences of mental health consumers travelling from the country to the city for acute care and to make policy recommendations to improve transitions of care. Six purposively sampled case studies were conducted collecting data through semistructured interviews with consumers, country professional and occupational groups and tertiary providers. Data were analysed to produce themes for consumers, and country and tertiary mental healthcare providers. The study found that consumers saw transfer to the city for mental health care as beneficial in spite of the challenges of being transferred over long distances, while being very unwell, and of being separated from family and friends. Country care providers noted that the disjointed nature of the mental health system caused problems with key aspects of transfer of care including transport and information flow, and achieving integration between the primary and tertiary settings. Improving transfer of care involves overcoming the systemic barriers to integration and moving to a primary care-led model of care. The distance consultation and liaison model provided by the Rural and Remote Mental Health Services, the major tertiary provider of services for country consumers, uses a primary care-led approach and was highly regarded by research participants. Extending the use of this model to other primary mental healthcare providers and tertiary facilities will improve transfer of care. [source]

Speaking Foreign Languages in the United States: Correlates, Trends, and Possible Consequences

MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2006
JOHN P. ROBINSON
With President George W. Bush's unprecedented call in January 2006 to expand the foreign language capacity of the United States, it has become clear that languages other than English (LOE) are of great interest to public policy in the United States. Yet the language capacity of the United States remains poorly documented. The 2000 General Social Survey (GSS) included new questions concerning the languages spoken by 1,398 respondents. Although about one quarter (26%) of respondents to this GSS sample claimed they could speak another language, only 10% overall said they could speak it very well. Those respondents who speak a foreign language were typically aged 25,44, graduate school educated, self-identified as being of a race other than White, and living in large metropolitan cities and on the coasts. Spanish (50%), French (15%), and German (9%) were the most common languages spoken by the survey respondents. Whereas 67% of respondents who learned the language at home as a child said they could speak it very well, only 10% of those who learned it in school or elsewhere did speak it very well. As expected, LOE speakers gave significantly more responses revealing support of LOE and policies favorable to immigration, with LOE-home speakers being more positive about these issues than LOE speakers who learned the language at school. These findings can help to inform national policy debates concerning how best to address the language needs of the United States. [source]

Alcohol abuse in a metropolitan city in China: a study of the prevalence and risk factors

ADDICTION, Issue 9 2004
Zhang Jiafang
ABSTRACT Aims To investigate the prevalence of alcohol abuse in modern China and to explore the risk factors that may be associated with alcohol abuse. Design A face-to-face interview was carried out in a random sample with 2327 respondents. Setting Respondents were selected randomly from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, between May and June 2002. Participants Fifteen,65-year-old urban Chinese adults. Measurements Scores for alcohol abuse and related risk factors were the main measures. Findings (1) Nearly 15% of urban Chinese adults aged 15,65 were alcohol abusers. (2) Deviant drinking habits of mother, schoolmates, colleagues or friends all had a negative impact on the respondent's alcohol drinking behaviours, and higher economic status, current smokers, being male and being older were identified as risk factors related to alcohol abuse. In particular, if a drinker's mother used alcohol frequently then this drinker was more likely to become an alcohol abuser than those drinkers whose mothers did not use alcohol frequently (P = 0.0001). Fathers' drinking behaviours do not have a significant impact on the alcohol abusers. Conclusions In addition to common risk factors such as economic status, deviant peers' and fellows' drinking behaviours and negative attitudes to alcohol drinking, maternal alcohol drinking habit influenced significantly the offspring's drinking habits. Therefore, efficient intervention and education of healthy drinking habits in early motherhood is necessary for Chinese women. [source]

The suitability of the BSRS-5 for assessing elderly who have attempted suicide and need to be referred for professional mental health consultation in a metropolitan city, Taiwan

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 10 2009
Wei-Jen Chen
Abstract Objectives The goals of this study are to (1) investigate the prevalence of necessary referral for professional mental health consultation for elderly people who attempted suicide ("suicide-attempted") in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan during 2006,2007, (2) assess whether the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) can be used as an efficient screening instrument for assessing the probability of a second suicide attempt among the elderly, and (3) examine predictors of needing referral among the suicide-attempted. Methods During the study period, 144 suicide-attempted elderly subjects were enrolled. Demographic data, BSRS-5, SAD PERSONS scale, and Medical Outcome Study Short Form-12 (MOS SF-12) data were collected by a trained semi-professional. The prevalence of necessary referrals for the suicide-attempted elderly was estimated, and the salient factors for their referral were evaluated with logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 109 participants out of the 144 recruited completed the questionnaires, giving a response rate of 75.7%. The prevalence of necessary referrals for professional mental health consultation was 33.9% (37/109). The significant predictors of needing referrals were lower scores for MCS (OR,=,0.89; 95% CI,=,0.83,0.96), family discord (OR,=,3.86; 95% CI,=,1.17,12.75), and type of interviewee (OR,=,4.97; 95% CI,=,1.57,15.74). Conclusion When the BSRS-5 is used to evaluate the referral of elderly patients who have attempted suicide for a professional mental health consultation, it is best to conduct in-person interviews to ask whether the elderly patient still has any suicidal ideation. In addition, evaluating quality of life and level of family discord may also be crucial for suicide prevention in the elderly. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Implementation of the Zuluaga-Raysmith (Z-R) Model for Assessment of Perceived Basic Human Needs in Home Health Clients and Caregivers

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 5 2000
Beatrice Harrison Zuluaga R.N., FRCNA
The Zuluaga-Raysmith (Z-R) model is a conceptual framework that incorporates accepted concepts of universal basic human needs developed by Maslow, yet removes the hierarchical nature of these. The Z-R model recognizes the existence of a health-illness continuum and accepts that an entity (individual, family, aggregate, or community) may move freely in the direction of greater health and self-actualization or towards illness and premature death. The Z-R model identifies 10 basic needs and recognizes that a perceived deficit in any one of these needs can adversely affect the level of wellness of the entity being considered. This exploratory and descriptive study used 11 nurses as interviewers. Subjects consisted of a convenience sample of homebound clients of a home health agency in a metropolitan city, and selected caregivers (n= 27). A modified functional wellness inventory (developed in 1993 by Louvenia Carter) was used with several open-ended questions, which together related to the 10 needs of the Z-R model. Reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.84. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, using means, percentages, and frequencies. Open-ended questions were grouped according to content and ranked in order of frequency. The five most pressing needs of this small sample were income; physical health; opportunity to make a contribution; mobility; and mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health (MESSH). Nurses unanimously reported that use of the instrument and the Z-R model helped them to focus on the total person, identify strengths in their clients, identify perceived needs deficits, and therefore, with the client, facilitate the preparation of a timely and cost-effective interdisciplinary plan of care to help the entity to move to a higher level of wellness despite the presence of chronic disease, disability, or impending death. These findings suggested that further research is warranted to explore the use of the Z-R model. A replication study is in progress. [source]