Demokratischer Smog? Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Zusammenhang zwischen Sozialschicht und Umweltbelastungen

For years the public and scientific debate about Environmental Justice was mostly confined to the U.S. Only recently, the question about the existence and strength of the “social gradient” of environmental pollution has entered the European debate. Earlier research simply records subjective perceptions of pollution and correlates them with indicators of social status. Objective measures of environmental quality are seldom used, and even then only in studies of small geographic areas. In contrast, the present study uses various objective measures of air pollution (nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone) and road traffic noise (day, night) and assigns them to the respondents of the Swiss Environmental Survey 2007 (N?=?3 369) using a geographic information system (GIS). The combination of objective GIS coded data with subjective measures allows for a new approach in Environmental Sociology that takes spatial context into account, which is often neglected in sociological studies. Using bivariate and multivariate statistical methods this objective data on pollution is related to indicators of social stratification such as income, education and nationality as well as the subjective perception of pollution. Subjective and objective measures of pollution are positively correlated with the interesting exception of ozone. Surprisingly, and contrary to the expectations, income is not significantly correlated with the pollutants considered and there is even a significant and positive correlation with education. In the multivariate analysis, however, a significant and negative correlation with income is observed, although this effect is fairly weak. Also, foreigners from Non-Western countries suffer from a higher burden of environmental pollution. However, in comparison to social and minority status differences in environmental impact between urban areas and the countryside are much more pronounced. We suppose that problems of environmental justice may be more accentuated in countries with a higher degree of segregation than in the Swiss population.     

Classification-Error Models and Labor-Market Dynamics

Measurement error is often a severe problem in longitudinal data such as labor-market flows. Two correction methods have been used for labor-market flows, but the methods tend to adjust the data in opposite directions. One method shows a rigid labor market with long unemployment spells, whereas the other shows the opposite. Because the methods appear theoretically similar, one might interpret the differing results as an indictment of both procedures. This article documents and explains the differences between the two methods. More important, it argues that the differences result from the reliance of one method on assumptions that are theoretically implausible and rejected by the data.     

Reflective Listening in Heraclitus

To provide authentic language use situations for classroom activities, videotaped materials have been introduced in teaching and learning settings. In language testing, these materials raise our expectations about the potential usefulness to measure academic listening ability of non-native speakers of English. In spite of this apparent superior authenticity of a videotape formatted listening test (VFLT), much more theoretical justification and experimental research are needed to support the usefulness of VFLTs. The purpose of this study was to investigate validity evidence for the VFLT usefulness as a measure of academic lecture listening ability. Validity evidence was assessed with 83 ESL students enrolled at a midwestern university. Concurrent validity evidence, empirical item analysis, and experimental manipulation were tested. Analysis of the test results provided convincing support of the validity evidence of the VFLT. Moreover, the strong relationship between test performance and aspects of authentic and interactive tasks in the VFLT provides a justification for revision of test method facets in conventional ESL listening tests.     

Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection in a Female College Student Population

Abstract

“Physical Dependence on Nicotine in Gum: A Placebo Substitution Trial,” JOHN R. HUGHES, et al. To test whether ex-smokers become physically dependent on nicotine in gum, we entered eight ex-smokers who were using nicotine gum into a randomized, double-blind, placebo-substitution trial. When placebo was substituted, seven of the eight subjects were observed to have withdrawal symptoms and two relapsed to smoking or nicotine gum. This result suggests that physical dependence (i.e., withdrawal) may be a cause of behavioral dependence on nicotine gum (i.e., use of gum beyond the recommended period) and physicians should emphasize the need for gradual reduction of nicotine gum. (Journal of the American Medical Association 1986;255:3277–3279.)

“Absence of Therapeutic Benefit From Antacids or Cimetidine in Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia,” OLOF NYREN, et al. We randomly assigned 159 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia, defined as chronic or recurrent epigastric pain without concomitant symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome and with no evidence of organic disease, to treatment for three weeks with an antacid suspension one and three hours after meals, 400 mg of cimetidine twice a day, or placebo, according to a double-blind, double-dummy model. The intensity and duration of epigastric pain were recorded by the patients four times daily during a one-week period without therapy and during the three weeks of treatment. The mean reduction in pain intensity after three weeks in the placebo group was 25 percent. Neither antacid nor cimetidine treatment resulted in more than a 4 percent better effect. The reduction of pain was statistically significant (P < 0.01) in all three groups. The time course of the pain scores in the groups receiving active drugs followed closely those in the placebo group, and there were no significant differences between the groups at any stage of the treatment. We conclude that the neutralization or suppression of gastric acid is of no clinical value in patients with this syndrome. (New England Journal of Medicine 1986;314:339–43.)     

Dynamic Simulation as an Approach to Understanding Hurricane Risk Response: Insights from the Stormview Lab

This article investigates the use of dynamic laboratory simulations as a tool for studying decisions to prepare for hurricane threats. A prototype web‐based simulation named Stormview is described that allows individuals to experience the approach of a hurricane in a computer‐based environment. In Stormview participants can gather storm information through various media, hear the opinions of neighbors, and indicate intentions to take protective action. We illustrate how the ability to exert experimental control over the information viewed by participants can be used to provide insights into decision making that would be difficult to gain from field studies, such as how preparedness decisions are affected by the nature of news coverage of prior storms, how a storm's movement is depicted in graphics, and the content of word‐of‐mouth communications. Data from an initial application involving a sample of Florida residents reveal a number of unexpected findings about hurricane risk response. Participants who viewed forecast graphics, which contained track lines depicting the most likely path of the storm, for example, had higher levels of preparation than those who saw graphics that showed only uncertainty cones—even among those living far from the predicted center path. Similarly, the participants who were most likely to express worry about an approaching storm and fastest to undertake preparatory action were those who, ironically, had never experienced one. Finally, external validity is evidenced by a close rank‐order correspondence between patterns of information use revealed in the lab and that found in previous cross‐sectional field studies.     

Bruno Bettelheim and His Window to the Soul

Bruno Bettelheim, a clinical psychologist, was among the most respected voices among American intelligentsia in the twentieth century. His controversial writings covered vast territory and focused on topics ranging from society, art, education, the Holocaust, and fairy tales to child-rearing. It was his clinical work with disturbed children, however, that brought him international acclaim. Yet, subsequent to his death, controversies about him and his ideas erupted and his reputation plummeted. This article is an attempt to keep some of Dr. Bettelheim’s most meaningful contributions from fading further into obscurity.     

Ein Optimierungsmodell für die wöchentliche Tourenplanung unter Einbeziehung der EU-Sozialvorschriften

The Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 and the Directive 2002/15/EC concern the driving and working hours as well as breaks and rest periods of drivers in road transportation. Although the regulations have an enormous effect on vehicle routing and scheduling, only parts of them have been integrated in few solution approaches and some vehicle routing models so far. This paper starts with the presentation of the restrictions of the relevant European Community regulations. Then, a mixed integer linear programming model for the vehicle routing problem with time windows including all rules of the regulations for a planning horizon of an entire week is presented. The model is solved with CPLEX and the impact of the regulations on the resulting vehicle schedules is analyzed by means of computational experiments.