The Influence of Gaming Expenditure on Crime Rates in South Australia: A Local Area Empirical Investigation

Although there has been much speculation about the possible links between gambling and crime rates, relevant quantitative evidence has been practically non-existent in Australia to date. This paper reports the results of research that utilised a model designed to investigate the potential relationship between electronic gaming machine expenditures and property (income-generating) crime rates reported to police in local areas in South Australia in 2002–2003. The research found that the higher the expenditures on gaming machines in a particular local area per adult, the higher the income-generating crime rate in that area. No such relationship was found between gaming machine expenditure and non-income-generating crime rates. However, further research is required before any policy-relevant conclusions can be drawn.     

Energy crop production in an urban area: a comparison of habitat types and land use forms targeting economic benefits and impact on species diversity

In urban areas, the potential of biomass production is rarely utilized, although many biomass sources are located in cities, ranging from road margins to public parks. There is, however, increasing interest in these potential biomass sources, as they are close to consumers and provide options to reduce maintenance costs of urban green areas. We analyzed the costs and benefits of utilizing biomass, and compared it to the biodiversity maintained on 17 urban land use forms the Ruhr Metropolitan Area (Germany). Economic costs and benefits were reflected by contribution margins, while biodiversity was measured by species numbers of plants, birds and butterflies. For the 17 land use types, there is a weak overall correlation between contribution margins and species numbers. However, this is mainly due to the two land use forms with the highest contribution margins (cultivation of energy maize and fertilized grassland), which are characterized by the lowest species numbers. For the remaining cases, there is no relationship between contribution margins and species numbers. Comparatively high contribution margins and high mean species numbers were observed for road margins, industrial fallows with wood cutting for biogas production and water-influenced grassland mown traditionally. We conclude that biomass production and the maintenance of urban biodiversity is not necessarily a contradiction.     

Voices from the stories untold: Lesbian,gay, bisexual,trans, and queer college students' experiences with campus climate

ABSTRACT

Twelve self-identified college students within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) spectrum were interviewed on campus climate perceptions and their experiences of discrimination and isolation at their university. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes from the data. This process resulted in the emergence of three themes, identified as discrimination, isolation, and avoidance. The most salient experiences of discrimination and isolation reported by participants came from within LGBTQ organizations or from lesbian or gay male individuals that participants sought out for social support. LGBTQ intra-community discrimination was considered to be particularly damaging to participants' sense of belonging and involvement within the LGBTQ community. Discrimination and isolation from straight-identified organizations or individuals was reported mostly in the context of fraternities/sororities and religious organizations. Furthermore, actions by members of these latter groups caused participants to avoid these groups out of expectations of negative interactions. These results inform empirical research to bring awareness to acts of discrimination that continue to take place within the university toward LGBTQ students. Specific implications for social work practice with LGBTQ college students and future research on diverse LGBTQ populations and resources are discussed.     

Tenure and Spending Within UK Households at the End of the Recent Recession

Housing costs form a substantial share of aggregate demand in the UK. This study examines the distribution of total expenditure-to-income by homeownership status at the end of the recent recession in 2010. Multivariate quantile regressions uncover four important points. First, owner-occupiers in England have considerably higher mean spending ratios than their peers in other parts of the UK; an indication of their wealthier status. Second, the average spending ratio for residential-occupiers in all UK regions, with the exception of Northern Ireland, is significantly higher than the mean ratio for tenants in both private and public properties. In this last region, the spending rate for private tenants is more prominent. Third, the disparity in the expenditure ratio between owner-occupiers and tenants is significantly more pronounced in England. Fourth, renters in public housing in Scotland and Wales have much higher spending ratios than their counterparts in private properties, reflecting a greater overall social security provided by the devolved government there. Policy implications allied with heterogeneity in the consumption effect of housing wealth across the different homeownership cohorts is discussed.     

Attitudinal and structural drivers of preferred versus actual residential landscapes in a desert city

Urban Ecosystems - Residential landscaping decisions can have important implications for water use and conservation in urban areas. Yard preferences are generally closely related to actual yard...