Sampling Strategies for Toxic Air Contaminants

Annual concentrations of toxic air contaminants are of primary concern from the perspective of chronic human exposure assessment and risk analysis. Despite recent advances in air quality monitoring technology, resource and technical constraints often impose limitations on the availability of a sufficient number of ambient concentration measurements for performing environmental risk analysis. Therefore, sample size limitations, representativeness of data, and uncertainties in the estimated annual mean concentration must be examined before performing quantitative risk analysis. In this paper, we discuss several factors that need to be considered in designing field-sampling programs for toxic air contaminants and in verifying compliance with environmental regulations. Specifically, we examine the behavior of SO2, TSP, and CO data as surrogates for toxic air contaminants and as examples of point source, area source, and line source-dominated pollutants, respectively, from the standpoint of sampling design. We demonstrate the use of bootstrap resampling method and normal theory in estimating the annual mean concentration and its 95% confidence bounds from limited sampling data, and illustrate the application of operating characteristic (OC) curves to determine optimum sample size and other sampling strategies. We also outline a statistical procedure, based on a one-sided t-test, that utilizes the sampled concentration data for evaluating whether a sampling site is compliance with relevant ambient guideline concentrations for toxic air contaminants.     

Grounded Neural Networking: Modeling Complex Quantitative Data

The latest advances in artificial intelligence software (neural networking) have finally made it possible for qualitative researchers to apply the grounded theory method to the study of complex quantitative databases in a manner consistent with the postpositivistic, neopragmatic assumptions of most symbolic interactionists. The strength of neural networking for the study of quantitative data is twofold: it blurs the boundaries between qualitative and quantitative analysis, and it allows grounded theorists to embrace the complexity of quantitative data. The specific technique most useful to grounded theory is the Self‐Organizing Map (SOM). To demonstrate the utility of the SOM we (1) provide a brief review of grounded theory, focusing on how it was originally intended as a comparative method applicable to both quantitative and qualitative data; (2) examine how the SOM is compatible with the traditional techniques of grounded theory; and (3) demonstrate how the SOM assists grounded theory by applying it to an example based on our research.     

Stripping in the New Millennium: Thinking about Trends in Exotic Dance and Dancers' Lives

With the increasing presence of sex and sexuality in American popular culture, the stripping industry is undoubtedly undergoing important subcultural and organizational transition. What are the implications of these changes for the individuals involved? The current paper reviews much of the literature on exotic dance to consider the potential transformations in the organization of the sex industry and how these changes may impact the lives of those involved. Specifically, I note some key differences in the literature that suggest how exotic dance has shifted. I then pose some questions for empirical inquiry. I argue that transformations in the exotic industry are creating new opportunities and challenges for women, and may be particularly deleterious for poor and minority women. I call for sociologists to investigate the consequences of organizational transferal in sexual labor, reevaluate the dynamics of agency and exploitation, and consider the potential differential impact of these trends on poor women and women of color.     

Classifying At‐Risk High School Youth: The Influence of Exposure to Community Violence and Protective Factors on Academic and Health Outcomes

Using cluster analysis, 789 predominately Latino and African American high school youth were classified into varying academic at‐risk profiles using self‐reported levels of academic confidence, motivation to attend school, perceived family support, connections with teachers and peers, and exposure to violence. Six clusters emerged, 5 of which were identified as “at‐risk.” The clusters were examined in relation to academic stress, health status, grades, and school retention. Exposure to violence was one distinguishing feature of youth identified as most vulnerable, vulnerable, and resilient; however, youth identified as resilient recorded better academic outcomes.     

A qualitative comparative analysis of strategies for an ageing society, with special reference to pension and employment policies

The primary purpose of this study is to typify the respondent strategies of the OECD countries based on the interconnected structure of income and employment guarantees. More specifically, this article seeks to typify welfare policies into four types (welfare-to-work, welfare emphasis, labour emphasis, market emphasis) based on the leniency of the pension system and active state intervention in employment security. With the resultant four types, this article then places them as the dependent variable while incorporating per capita GDP, aged dependency ratio, pension maturity level, union density, constitutional structure index and degree of decommodification as causal variables. Through this process, this article aims to derive the decisive variable for each type through qualitative comparative analysis.     

Age Cohort, Ancestry, and Immigrant Generation Influences in Family Relations and Psychological Well-Being among Black Caribbean Family Members

Immigration is contributing to the U.S. population becoming increasingly ethnically diverse. This article examines the role of family relations and well-being among different generations of Black Caribbean immigrants. Family disruptions, such as migration, can have complex effects on the support networks and emotional well-being of family members. Data from a recently completed national study of American Blacks in the United States, however, reveal significant similarities across ancestry and immigrant status in family contact, solidarity and well-being. It is concluded that intrafamilial relations may serve to overcome barriers of geographical distance in providing comparable levels of contact, solidarity, and well-being for both U.S.-born and immigrant Black Caribbean family members of different generations. Because of the increasing numbers of immigrant elders, these sources of family support will become increasingly more important in bridging the gaps between government resources and needed assistance in an aging society.     

Earnings of Chinese Immigrants in the Enclave and Mainstream Economy*

La documentation sur le sujet n'est pas décisive quant à savoir si léconomie ethnique enclavée enregistre un rendement économique comparable chez les travailleurs et les entrepreneurs immigrants à ceux qui se situent dans le courant économique principal. Les auteurs de cette étude utilisent des données du Recensement du Canada de 2001 sur la langue la plus utilisée au travail din de mesurer la participation des immigrants chinois à léconomie enclavée. Après les avoir comparés au capital humain ainsi qu'aux variations liées au travail et au milieu urbain, les résultats démontrent que le rendement est moins élevé chez les hommes et chez les femmes de l'enclave que celui des gens qui se trouvent dans le courant économique principal. Les caractéristiques de la langue et le type de travail qui s'effectue dans léconomie enclavée expliquent pourquoi le rendement y est inférieur à celui obtenu dans le courant économique principal. The literature in inconclusive as to whether the immigrant enclave economy offers returns to immigrant workers and entrepreneurs comparative to those in the mainstream economy. This study uses data from the 2001 Census of Canada on language most often used at work to measure enclave economy participation for Chinese immigrants. The findings show that returns are lower for men or women in the enclave than those in the mainstream economy, respectively, after controlling for human capital, work‐related and urban variations. Language features of and job type in the enclave economy explain why returns are inferior to that of the mainstream economy.     

The Development of Anticipatory Smiling

When do infants begin to communicate positive affect about physical objects to their social partners? We examined developmental changes in the timing of smiles during episodes of initiating joint attention that involved an infant gazing between an object and a social partner. Twenty‐six typically developing infants were observed at 8, 10, and 12 months during the Early Social‐Communication Scales, a semistructured assessment for eliciting initiating joint attention and related behaviors. The proportion of infant smiling during initiating joint attention episodes did not change with age, but there was a change in the timing of the smiles. The likelihood of infants smiling at an object and then gazing at the experimenter while smiling (anticipatory smiling) increased between 8 and 10 months and remained stable between 10 and 12 months. The increase in the number of infants who smiled at an object and then made eye contact suggests a developing ability to communicate positive affect about an object.     

Entering a New Peer Group in Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Childcare Classrooms

This short‐term longitudinal study examined changes over time in social competence with peers as a function of child and classroom characteristics. One hundred and seventy ethnically diverse low‐income children, all new to their peer groups, entered childcare classrooms with heterogeneous entry policies and ethnic/racial compositions. We observed them with their teachers and peers at entry and again six months later. Observers rated aggressive, anxious/withdrawn, and prosocial behavior with peers and observed complexity of peer play. Children who lacked peers with a shared ethnic heritage and children who spoke a different language at home than the language most often used in the classrooms appeared to be struggling with peer interaction six months after entry into the peer group. Children who had a peer who shared their ethnic heritage and entered the most ethnically diverse classrooms increased their complex peer play more than other children.