Search Results (10)

Grounded in the existing literature on administrative burden and using a qualitative and community-engaged research approach, the research examined the administrative burden experienced in accessing disability, retirement, and survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The research team held in person and virtual focus groups and interviews with 40 adults with disabilities, older adults, and family members of people with disabilities who resided in rural areas of the U.S. State of New Hampshire in 2024. The qualitative analysis revealed that rural residents, regardless of type of SSA benefit receipt, were experiencing high levels of administrative burden in their interactions with the SSA and preferred to turn to in-person assistance at local SSA field offices (rather than phone, mail, or web-based service options) to address these concerns. Overall, people living in rural counties that do not have local SSA field offices voiced a distinct disadvantage in terms of knowing where to turn with questions about their benefits. A lack of ready and reliable access to information and advice led to endangering their own economic stability and to increased calls and visits to the SSA. Persons with stronger social networks were better able to overcome these barriers to services. Full article

This study examined the relationships between financial literacy, financial product ownership, confidence in financial advisers, and confidence in retirement readiness across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. By using data from the Flash Eurobarometer 525 survey (March 2022) and applying categorical data analysis methods, including chi-square tests and Cramér’s V, the findings revealed that a higher financial literacy and confidence in financial advisers are significantly associated with greater retirement preparedness. The ownership of financial products, particularly among active investors, is also strongly correlated with improved retirement outcomes. These results highlight the importance of financial education, accessible advisory services, and policies promoting financial literacy and product ownership to mitigate retirement risks and enhance financial security in the Baltic region. Full article

The potential of renewable energy sources to lower greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our reliance on fossil fuels has accelerated their integration globally, and especially that of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Malaysia has shown great progress in the adoption of photovoltaic systems thanks to its plentiful solar resources. On the other hand, energy storage systems (ESSs) are becoming more and more necessary in order to guarantee grid stability and fully realize the benefits of PV systems. This study attempts to assess the current condition of PV installations in Malaysia with an emphasis on their economic feasibility, regulatory compliance, technological capabilities, and compatibility with various energy storage technologies. Malaysian photovoltaic (PV) systems’ readiness to integrate energy storage systems (ESSs) using second-life electric vehicle batteries (SLEVBs) is examined in this article. Integrating PV systems with SLEVBs in residential ESSs shows economic viability, with a 15-year payback and 25% return on investment (ROI). Therefore, for every 1 MW of installed PV capacity, with ESS integration it is estimated to reduce approximately 3504 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually in Malaysia. The homeowner benefits from large electricity bill savings, net metering revenue, and various incentives or financing alternatives that make the project financially attractive despite the extended payback time. Energy storage solutions are needed to improve grid stability, energy usage, and solar power generation in Malaysia as renewable energy adoption increases. Reusing retired EV batteries for stationary storage could solve environmental and economic issues. This study examines the feasibility, regulatory frameworks, and economic viability of combining second-life EV batteries with PV installations in Malaysia. Full article

The year 2024 marks the 125th anniversary of aspirin, still one of the most frequently used drugs worldwide. Despite its veritable age, it is still relevant in pharmacotherapy and its use has spread to new areas over time. Due to aspirin’s multiple pharmacological actions unified in one single molecule (i.e., analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and antiviral effects), it continues to attract considerable attention in the scientific community and is subject to intense basic and clinical research. In fact, recent results confirmed aspirin’s potential role as an antiviral drug and as an agent that can block harmful platelet functions in inflammatory/immunological processes. These features may open up new horizons for this ancient drug. The future of aspirin looks, therefore, bright and promising. Aspirin is not yet ready for retirement; on the contrary, its success story continues. This 125th anniversary paper will concisely review the various therapeutic uses of aspirin with a particular emphasis on the latest research results and their implications (e.g., use as an antiviral agent). In addition, the reader is provided with future perspectives for this remarkable drug. Full article

Life cycle strategies for traction batteries, such as remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling of retired automotive lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), have received growing attention, as large volumes of LIBs will retire in the near future and the demand for LIBs continues to grow. At the same time, the relevance of the sustainability of a battery system over its entire life cycle is increasing as factors such as the EU Battery Regulation provide greater market and product transparency. As a result, research and industry require forecasts in order to assess the future market situation and to make well-founded decisions. Therefore, this paper provides forecasts of the return volumes of battery systems from BEVs and PHEVs up to 2035. Additionally, a representative European battery pack for PHEVs and BEVs was evaluated for each year since 2013, based on the ten vehicles with the largest market share in each year until 2021. In addition, the battery return streams are divided into three different 3R strategies based on expert interviews in order to evaluate the upcoming workload in these areas. The term “3R” refers to the sum of the currently existing pathways around reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. In 2030, about 38.8 GWh will return and enter the recycling process annually. For battery reuse, about 13 GWh will return every year from 2030 onwards, ready to be used in stationary storage for energy transition. Compared to this, battery remanufacturing is expected to be supplied with a slightly lower volume of approximately 11 GWh per year. Full article

The phenomenon of an ageing population coupled with diminishing birth rates has given rise to an increasingly aged workforce in numerous nations. The undertaking to extend the working age beyond retirement holds great significance and poses formidable challenges in the fostering of readiness for active ageing among individuals within the age cohort of 45–59. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess WHO’s active ageing perception and practices and the social support of the educational personnel in the government sector of Nakhon-Si-Thammarat Province, southern Thailand. Data were collected through a multi-stage random sampling of 271 participants between October and November 2021. Descriptive statistics and point-biserial analyses were used to examine the correlations between the variables. The study participants consisted predominantly of females (81.2%), with an average age of 50.4 years (SD 4.3). The majority of the participants were married (56.5%) and had obtained a bachelor’s degree (78.2%). Most of the participants had not been diagnosed with noncommunicable diseases (52.0%) and had a good level of active ageing perception (95.9%), a moderate level of practice (68.6%), and a good level of social support (90.4%). Extra income and social support were correlated with practices at a low level (r = 0.252; p-value < 0.001 and r = 0.214; p-value < 0.001, respectively). In summary, the maintenance of a stable income emerged as a compelling incentive to engage in active ageing initiatives. The proactive promotion of active ageing practices among educational staff is of the utmost significance to the Thai government, particularly in the context of population ageing, with the anticipation of heightened awareness and backing from both families and educational institutions. Full article

Medication, antibiotics, and immunization are three major and cost-effective medical interventions but their use is balanced. Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) are a cornerstone. This retrospective study aims at analyzing KAP related to these concerns among the public service population in order to establish the basis for the implementation of selective preventive actions. From a cross-sectional anonymous online questionnaire-based survey among the insurees of a French mutual organization (Union Prévention Santé pour la Fonction publique, UROPS), 33 questions related to medication, antibiotics and vaccination were extracted to evaluate KAP. New variables were constituted: levels of knowledge, antibiotic misuse, proactive behavior and vaccinophobia. Multiple correspondence analysis was performed to identify respondents’ homogenous groups. In addition, bivariate statistical comparisons were provided and logistic regressions were carried out to identify determinants of these new variables. Public service population (workers and retired) were highly exposed to polymedication (8.7% vs. 24.4%, p < 0.0001), hypnotics overtake (24.3% vs. 18.4%, p < 0.0001), and misuse antibiotics (33.2% vs. 22.6%, p < 0.0001) despite good levels of knowledge. Proportions of vaccinophobia was low (0.8% vs. 1.7%, p < 0.0001). However, workers have different KAP than retired, without shared determinants in the 3 health domains studied. Respondents were proactive (85.8% vs. 81.6%, p < 0.0001), used multiple sources of trustworthy information and seems to be ready for the delegation of health tasks. Thus, preventive actions related to antibiotics and polymedication should be a priority in vaccination education for mutual organizations such as UROPS. Studying their insurees longitudinally could be interesting to highlight the impact of selective prevention on behaviors, through trusted health professionals (general practitioners, pharmacists…). Full article

Many older adults consider driving a crucial aspect of their daily routine and the prospect of driving cessation to be disruptive to their current lifestyle. Driving cessation is associated with multiple adverse consequences, including poorer health trajectories, and increased depressive symptoms. Research suggests that driving cessation may be disruptive to identity. This study aimed to explore the characteristics that are associated with driver identity and whether identity impacted people’s readiness for mobility changes. Of interest was whether stopping driving was perceived as either a positive or negative event. Participants, (N = 410) older adults recruited via Prolific survey panel between July and November 2021, responded to questions about transport and travel behaviors, driver identity, and perceptions of mobility changes. Driving cessation was generally perceived as a negative change. However, individuals with self-reported low readiness for mobility change also had higher overall scores for Identity, and for the subscales, Centrality and Ingroup Affect. These findings suggest that people with more concerns for mobility transition may think about and have more of an emotional investment regarding driving. The findings provide novel insight into the psychosocial dynamics of driving and the factors that influence driver identity, however further research, co-designed with older drivers and retired drivers is required. Full article

Thailand recently reached “aged” society status, signifying that over twenty percent of the population is over sixty. Considering that Thailand has a low literacy rate, a fractured pension system, and no regulations that could provide sufficient income to cover basic needs after retirement, there will be economic repercussions if the situation is not handled soon. The government and financial institutions have been encouraging Thai citizens to prepare retirement plans but lack understanding of the root causes of being unprepared for retirement. The objectives of this qualitative research were to explore the behavior, knowledge, and preparedness towards retirement in governmental and private wageworkers. Moreover, the study aims to identify the pain points of being unprepared for retirement and deliver the optimal solutions and sustainable retirement plans suitable for each segment. This article employed a sample of 46 wageworkers in Khon Kaen, Thailand with ages ranging from 20 to 59 years old. Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews and qualitative content analysis were conducted with the respondents asking about their income, expenses, pains, and problems towards saving for retirement, their desired outcome after they retire, and how they would achieve it. The framework used for the in-depth qualitative interview was by utilizing the customer, problem, and solution zoom tool. The research contributions were to facilitate Thai citizens being ready for retirement stages and overcome post-retirement risks sustainably. The results revealed that the sample could be divided into four segments by their characteristics. Two low-income segments share the same traits and behaviors that can prove that financial literacy plays an essential role in retirement readiness. Lower-income wage workers do not have their money put in place to prepare for retirement. Additionally, this article discussed the study’s implications for wageworkers, employers, and the Thai government. This article recommended that Thai citizens should accumulate wealth in various ways, including investment in financial assets and earning additional income from a second job. Employers should provide suitable retirement contribution schemes. The government should launch a policy enabling above-60-year-old seniors to continue working. Full article

The prediction of whether active NBA players can be inducted into the Hall of Fame (HOF) is interesting and important. However, no such research have been published in the literature, particularly using the artificial neural network (ANN) technique. The aim of this study is to build an ANN model with an app for automatic prediction and classification of HOF for NBA players. We downloaded 4728 NBA players’ data of career stats and accolades from the website at basketball-reference.com. The training sample was collected from 85 HOF members and 113 retired Non-HOF players based on completed data and a longer career length (≥15 years). Featured variables were taken from the higher correlation coefficients (<0.1) with HOF and significant deviations apart from the two HOF/Non-HOF groups using logistical regression. Two models (i.e., ANN and convolutional neural network, CNN) were compared in model accuracy (e.g., sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC). An app predicting HOF was then developed involving the model’s parameters. We observed that (1) 20 feature variables in the ANN model yielded a higher AUC of 0.93 (95% CI 0.93–0.97) based on the 198-case training sample, (2) the ANN performed better than CNN on the accuracy of AUC (= 0.91, 95% CI 0.87–0.95), and (3) an ready and available app for predicting HOF was successfully developed. The 20-variable ANN model with the 53 parameters estimated by the ANN for improving the accuracy of HOF has been developed. The app can help NBA fans to predict their players likely to be inducted into the HOF and is not just limited to the active NBA players. Full article