Size does matter: Passive sampling in urban parks of a regional bat assemblage

Urban Ecosystems - We studied the occurrence of bats in urban parks in the city of Madrid (Spain), and the resulting patterns were compared with bat occurrence in the surrounding region. In this...     

Ethnic and Socioeconomic Segregation in Belgium: A Multiscalar Approach Using Individualised Neighbourhoods

Segregation may have profound effects when it is paired with an accumulation of inequalities. This is namely the case when ethnic and socioeconomic segregation overlap. Few studies in Europe have, however, addressed the relationship between ethnic and socioeconomic segregation in a comprehensive manner. This paper first aims at investigating the interrelation between ethnic and socioeconomic segregation in Belgium. Second it looks into the role of scale in the relationship between ethnic and socioeconomic segregation. The analyses are based on the newly available geocoded data from the 2011 Belgian census. These data were used to construct individualised neighbourhoods at nine scales with a nearest-neighbours approach for the urban agglomerations of Brussels, Antwerp, and Liege. Ethnic and socioeconomic indicators calculated for these individualised neighbourhoods were then inputted in independent factor analyses for each agglomeration. The results reveal remarkably similar segregation patterns in the three cities. Our analyses give way for three main conclusions: there is an undeniable process of spatial isolation of deprived migrants in Belgium’s inner cities; despite the central location of neighbourhoods with high concentration of migrants and poverty, the scope of isolation is considerably high, both in extension and in population density; and macro/national factors such as housing policies and territorial processes seem to shape the segregation patterns in Belgian cities.     

Corporate social responsibility,board of directors,and firm performance: an analysis of their relationships

This paper aims to contribute to the empirical evidence relating corporate social responsibility (CSR), board composition, and firm performance. Using a sample of Spanish listed firms included in the IBEX 35 over the period 2005–2010 the results show that the percentage of independent directors affect firm CSR activities, and that this effect is moderated by the resources available to the firm (measured by return on assets). Also, the CSR has a mediating role on the relation between the independence of the board of directors and firm value. These results hold for other board characteristics (board size and women as directors).     

A materialist take on minoritization,emancipation, and language revitalization: Occitan sociolinguistics since the 1970s

This paper introduces and discusses Occitan sociolinguistics as it evolved from the 1970s onward as a theory of language contact as conflict. It was developed in conjunction with its Catalan counterpart and as a reaction to Joshua Fishman's allocational model of diglossia, and came as a response to conditions of swift social and linguistic change in Southern France after the Second World War. This model, proposed mainly at first by Robèrt Lafont in Montpelhièr, is strongly materialist in that it focuses on the material conditions of language production and replaces the language movement among other social struggles. This paper first explores the roots of the contemporary Occitan movement and its links with the birth of Occitan sociolinguistics. It then analyzes key concepts in Occitan sociolinguistics such as diglossic ideology as essential to understand processes of minoritization, linguistic alienation, and social domination. Finally, it looks at how this approach conceptualizes language revitalization not as a linguistic issue but as a social one and suggests that Occitan sociolinguistics provides an alternative to models of language loss and revival rooted in cultural and identity politics.     

Embedding latent class regression and latent class distal outcome models into cluster-weighted latent class analysis: a detailed simulation experiment

Usually in latent class (LC) analysis, external predictors are taken to be cluster conditional probability predictors (LC models with external predictors), and/or score conditional probability predictors (LC regression models). In such cases, their distribution is not of interest. Class-specific distribution is of interest in the distal outcome model, when the distribution of the external variables is assumed to depend on LC membership. In this paper, we consider a more general formulation, that embeds both the LC regression and the distal outcome models, as is typically done in cluster-weighted modelling. This allows us to investigate (1) whether the distribution of the external variables differs across classes, (2) whether there are significant direct effects of the external variables on the indicators, by modelling jointly the relationship between the external and the latent variables. We show the advantages of the proposed modelling approach through a set of artificial examples, an extensive simulation study and an empirical application about psychological contracts among employees and employers in Belgium and the Netherlands.     

Adaptation of a community-based participatory research model to gain community input on identifying indicators of successful parenting

Parenting models are generally based on families in stable homes, rather than in transitional situations such as in foster care, homeless shelters, and other temporary, at-risk residences. Consequently, these models do not recognize the unique challenges of families in transition. This study explored the domains of the Circumplex Model and examined its fit for transitional families using tenets from community-based participatory research. Findings suggest that in addition to the Circumplex Model's components, caregivers with children living in transition believe that managing the scrutiny of external authority systems and countering the negative influences of poverty and racism are two indicators that contribute to parenting success. Obtaining consumer-informed views of parenting not only is an important contributor to standards of practice, but also a promising avenue for future research.     

Predicting Developmental Change in Healthy Eating and Regular Exercise Among Adolescents in China and the United States: The Role of Psychosocial and Behavioral Protection and Risk

This article reports a cross‐national study of developmental change in health‐enhancing behavior—healthy eating and regular exercise—among adolescents in China and the United States. The application of a conceptual framework comprising psychosocial and behavioral protective and risk factors—both proximal and distal and at both the individual and social contextual level—is shown to provide a substantial account of variation in change in those behaviors over a 2‐year interval. The explanatory account has generality across gender, the 3 grade cohorts, and most importantly, across the 2 markedly diverse societies.     

Smoking risk factors and gender differences among Spanish high school students

The objectives of the present study were to analyze the pattern of tobacco use among Spanish adolescents, as well as to determine gender differences in specific risk factors of cigarette use. The study sample was made up of 1,483 boys and 1,358 girls, aged 12-16 (M = 14). Participants were asked to answer an ad-hoc instrument to evaluate the pattern of use, perceived availability, risk of harm, family- and peer-use, engagement in leisure activities, drive for thinness, and self-esteem. Results showed no gender differences in the pattern of use. With regard to risk and protector factors, a predictive analysis showed that peer-related variables were the most determinant for tobacco use both for boys and girls. Some gender differences were also detected: Playing sports was protective for boys only, and listening to music for girls only. Drive for thinness and self-esteem were not related to tobacco use for either boys or girls. These findings help increase our understanding of smoking risk factors in adolescence and to pay special attention to the group of friends when planning prevention programs to reduce risk factors.     

Interpersonal Distances in Group Walking

The spatial organization of 1,020 groups comprised of adolescents and young adults, observed in an ecological setting while walking, was analyzed. Observations were made in an urban environment where walking speed could be considered. The results showed that male dyads and triads tended to walk abreast less often than female dyads. Mixed dyads walked abreast more often than same-sex dyads; and the males preceded the females in two-thirds of the cases. The male groups walked at a higher rate of speed than the female groups. Walking speed was correlated to misalignment between group members when walking. The most frequent spatial arrangement in triads was a “<” formation (as seen from above, while the walking direction was from left to right), with the middle individual positioned slightly behind in comparison to the lateral individuals. Groups comprised of more than three individuals tended to split themselves into single individuals, dyads, and triads.