scholarly journals A Proposal for Finite But Unbounded Human Lifetimes

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Huang ◽  
Ross Maller ◽  
Brandon Milholland ◽  
Xu Ning

Close analysis of an extensive data set combined with independent evidence prompts our proposal to view human lifetimes as individually finite but collectively unbounded. We formulate a model incorporating this idea whose predictions agree very well with the observed data. In the model, human lifetimes are theoretically unbounded, but the probability of an individual living to an extreme age is negligible, so lifetimes are effectively limited. Our model incorporates a mortality hazard rate plateau and a late-life mortality deceleration effect in conjunction with a newly observed advanced age mortality acceleration. This reconciles many previously observed effects. The model is temporally stable: consistent with observation, parameters do not change over time. As an application, assuming no major medical advances, we predict the emergence of many individuals living past 120, but due to accelerating mortality find it unlikely that any will subsequently survive to an age of 125.

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1103-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joukje C Swinkels ◽  
Marjolein I Broese van Groenou ◽  
Alice de Boer ◽  
Theo G van Tilburg

Abstract Background and Objectives The general view is that partner-caregiver burden increases over time but findings are inconsistent. Moreover, the pathways underlying caregiver burden may differ between men and women. This study examines to what degree and why partner-caregiver burden changes over time. It adopts Pearlin’s Caregiver Stress Process Model, as it is expected that higher primary and secondary stressors will increase burden and larger amounts of resources will lower burden. Yet, the impact of stressors and resources may change over time. The wear-and-tear model predicts an increase of burden due to a stronger impact of stressors and lower impact of resources over time. Alternatively, the adaptation model predicts a decrease of burden due to a lower impact of stressors and higher impact of resources over time. Research Design and Methods We used 2 observations with a 1-year interval of 279 male and 443 female partner-caregivers, derived from the Netherlands Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Data Set. We applied multilevel regression analysis, stratified by gender. Results Adjusted for all predictors, caregiver burden increased over time for both men and women. For female caregivers, the impact of poor spousal health on burden increased and the impact of fulfillment decreased over time. Among male caregivers, the impact of predictors did not change over time. Discussion and Implications The increase of burden over time supports the wear-and-tear model, in particular for women. This study highlights the need for gender-specific interventions that are focused on enabling older partners to be better prepared for long-term partner-care.


2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 354-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn A Unsworth

Although there is increasing demand for greater accountability from occupational therapists for the outcomes of their practice, there are few quick, simple and psychometrically sound tools available to measure these outcomes. This paper reports on the first data collection exercise using a new outcome measure, the Australian Therapy Outcome Measures for Occupational Therapy (AusTOMs-OT). The aims of this paper are to present the scales, describe the data set and examine whether the scales are sufficiently sensitive to detect change over time in client status. Data were collected with 466 clients at 12 metropolitan and rural health care facilities using the 12 AusTOM-OT scales, which rate the client in relation to the four domains of Impairment, Activity limitation, Participation restriction and Distress/wellbeing. The findings indicated that the most frequently used scales were Self-care, Upper limb use, Transfers and Functional walking and mobility, and that all scales were successful in demonstrating statistically significant client change over time. The AusTOMs-OT can be used to document client outcomes in relation to four important practice domains and thus be of value in research and quality assurance activities seeking to provide evidence that occupational therapy does make a difference to the lives of clients.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinéad Harmey ◽  
Jerome D’Agostino ◽  
Emily Rodgers

The purpose of this paper is (1) to report on the design of the early writing observational writing rubric designed to observe and describe change over time in the writing of children emerging into conventional literacy (ages 6–7) within an instructional setting and (2) to investigate the initial reliability and validity of the rubric. We used an extant data set that included 52 videos of writing instruction in Reading Recovery lessons (approximately 520 minutes) and pre- and post-intervention test data, for 24 students, taken at multiple time points across a 20-week period. Dependent sample t-tests and HLM were used to ascertain if the rubric was sensitive to change over occasions. We also considered if the scores correlated with external literacy measures. The findings suggest that the rubric has good initial reliability and validity and is a useful tool for researchers to observe and measure change over time as young children write in an instructional setting; further validation work is required for use in other settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Paul Meara ◽  

This paper uses a bibliometric method to analyse the vocabulary research published in the journal System between 1976 and 2017. The bibliometric method used here is co-citation analysis, an approach which allows us to map the influences that have significantly impacted on vocabulary research. The analysis is intended to expand on an earlier analysis by Lei and Liu (2019), which studied the outputs in System but also analyses the features of all the papers published in the journal. This paper identifies five main clusters in the System data set. It also reports how these clusters grow and change over time. It argues that the data point to the emergence of a first paradigm in vocabulary research (Kuhn, 1971), and suggests some ways in which this paradigm might shift in response to demographic changes among the researchers who publish in System.


Risks ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Ramón Bermejo Climent ◽  
Isabel Figuerola-Ferretti Garrigues ◽  
Ioannis Paraskevopoulos ◽  
Alvaro Santos

This paper illustrates the impact of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure on European corporate equity performance. In this study, we use an extensive data set of European ESG ratings provided by Bloomberg to demonstrate that ESG disclosure is associated with improved return growth, with the Governance pillar exhibiting the strongest effect on corporate performance. The impact of ESG disclosure on volatility is changing over time, suggesting that the existence of opaque ratings limits the transmission of information disclosure into corporate performance.


Author(s):  
Katharine K Brewster ◽  
Mei-Chen Hu ◽  
Sigal Zilcha-Mano ◽  
Alexandra Stein ◽  
Patrick J Brown ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hearing loss (HL), late-life depression, and dementia are 3 prevalent and disabling conditions in older adults, but the interrelationships between these disorders remain poorly understood. Methods N = 8529 participants ≥60 years who were free of cognitive impairment at baseline were analyzed from National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set. Participants had either No HL, Untreated HL, or Treated HL. Primary outcomes included depression (15-item Geriatric Depression Scale ≥5) and conversion to dementia. A longitudinal logistic model was fit to examine the association between HL and changes in depressive symptoms across time. Two Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine HL and the development of dementia: Model A included only baseline variables and Model B included time-varying depression to evaluate for the direct effect of changes in depression on dementia over time. Results Treated HL (vs no HL) had increased risk for depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04–1.54, p = .02) and conversion to dementia (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.03–1.62, p = .03). Baseline depression was a strong independent predictor of conversion to dementia (HR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.77–3.05, p < .0001). Development/persistence of depression over time was also associated with dementia (HR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.47–2.42, p < .0001), but only accounted for 6% of the direct hearing–dementia relationship (Model A logHR = 0.26 [SE = 0.12] to Model B logHR = 0.24 [SE = 0.12]) suggesting no significant mediation effect of depression. Conclusions Both HL and depression are independent risk factors for eventual conversion to dementia. Further understanding the mechanisms linking these later-life disorders may identify targets for early interventions to alter the clinical trajectories of at-risk individuals.


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