Examining Localized Patterns of Air Quality Perception in Texas: A Spatial and Statistical Analysis

Environmental and human health issues associated with outdoor air pollution, such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants in metropolitan regions, are an area of growing concern for both policy officials and the general public. Increasing attention from the news media, new health data, and public debate over the effectiveness of clean air regulations have raised the importance of air quality in the public consciousness. While public perceptions of air quality have been studied thoroughly dating back to the 1960s, little empirical research has been conducted to explain the spatial aspects of these perceptions, particularly at the local level. Although recent studies suggest characteristics of local setting are important in shaping perceptions of air quality, the roles of proximity, neighborhood characteristics, and location have not been clarified. This study seeks to improve understanding of the major factors shaping public perceptions of air quality by examining the spatial pattern of local risk perception, the role of socioeconomic characteristics in forming these perceptions, and the relationship between perceived and scientifically measured air pollution. First, we map the spatial pattern of local air quality perceptions using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across the Dallas and Houston metropolitan areas. Next, we explain these perceptions through local contextual factors using both bivariate correlations and multivariate regression analysis. Results indicate that perceptions of air quality in the study areas are not significantly correlated with air quality based on readings of air monitoring stations. Instead, perceptions appear to be influenced by setting (urban vs. rural), state identification, access to information, and socioeconomic characteristics such as age, race, and political identification. We discuss the implications of the findings and provide direction on how further research can provide a deeper understanding of the local contextual factors influencing public perceptions.     

Does the capital of social capital matter? Relational resources of the board and the performance of Brazilian companies

Based on theories of social capital, in this study, we seek to assess the impact of a board’s social capital on the market value of companies listed on the Brazilian stock exchange. As our indicator of social capital, we use the relational resources identified in the direct, indirect and heterogeneous ties of the board. Employing panel data from 508 observations, our results indicate that heterogeneous relational resources have a stronger and more significant influence than the resources available from board members’ direct relationships. Additionally, as the effects of board interlock are endogenously determined by several factors related to the firm level, we seek to mitigate the endogeneity problem using models of instrumental variables and simultaneous equations. Our hypotheses were consistent after controlling for endogeneity. We also check whether the board’s social capital could present a U-inverted effect on the market value. This relationship was only plausible in social capital by indirect ties. Finally, we isolate the effect of relational resources within and between industries on Tobin’s Q. There was no significant effect through interlocks within the same industry. However, ties with companies in several other industries were significant.     

Government Capital,Intimate and Community Social Capital,and Food Security Status in Older Adults with Different Income Levels

Whether government‐based forms of food assistance such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), communal efforts including food pantries, aid from friends and family, or alternative means such as gardening are the appropriate means to reduce the prevalence of household food insecurity is a continuous source of policy contention. To inform this debate, we examine the relative importance of these forms of food assistance and acquisition to a sample of U.S. older adults from the 2010 Brazos Valley Health Assessment of central Texas households that have been stratified by income eligibility for SNAP, low‐income SNAP ineligibility, and above low income status. To identify how membership in these socioeconomic groups constrains household capacity to acquire sufficient food to maintain an adequate and healthy diet, we explore the varied associations of assets received from government; communal and intimate social networks; and alternative food sources such as gardening, hunting, and fishing with household food security across socioeconomic status, while examining the importance of place of residence on the use of capital assets. SNAP participation was the only specific capital asset associated with all levels of food insecurity for both SNAP‐eligible and ineligible low‐income groups, thus emphasizing the continued importance of food assistance among poverty‐level older adults.     

An evaluation of physical fitness parameters for graduate students

Although graduate physical therapy students are taught the principles of fitness for incorporation into their professional lives, they have difficulty finding the time to implement these principles during graduate school. The authors studied 3 successive classes of graduate physical therapy students at the beginning and ending of their respective programs. They found that the women's percentages of body fat were significantly greater over the period of the study. The men's lower extremity strength decreased at the slower speeds (60 degrees/second), and the women showed increased strength at the higher speeds (180 and 240 degrees/second, respectively). Male grip strength significantly increased over the period of the study. To decrease students' percentages of body fat and increase their strength, the authors asserted that physical therapy students should be allowed more time to participate in fitness activities during their graduate school years.     

Conservatism of the Accident Sequence Evaluation Program HRA Procedure

This paper presents a limited assessment of the conservatism of the Accident Sequence Evaluation Program (ASEP) human reliability analysis (HRA) procedure described in NUREG/CR-4772. The data for this study are derived from simulator examination reports from the NRC requalification examination cycle for nuclear power plant operators. The ASEP procedure was used to estimate human error probability (HEP) values for critical tasks, and the HEP results were compared with the failure rates observed in the examinations. The ASEP procedure was applied by PNNL operator license examiners who supplemented the limited information in the examination reports with expert judgment based upon their extensive simulator examination experience. Comparison of the average of the ASEP HEP values with the fraction of the population actually failed and demonstrated that the ASEP HEP values are larger (conservative) by a statistically significant average factor of two. Partitioning of tasks into subgroups based on the ASEP HEP values and comparison of the subgroup average ASEP HEP values with observed subgroup failure rates showed little or no conservatism for small ASEP HEP values, but considerable conservatism for larger ASEP HEP values.     

The influence of the economic crisis on quality of care for older people: system readiness for innovation in Europe

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of the recent economic crisis on the quality of long-term care for older people in Belgium and the Netherlands. A mixed-method approach was applied, primarily focused on conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with health professionals working in a management role in organizations providing long-term care for older people. The results show that Dutch organizations seem to be prepared for the influences of the economic crisis on the quality of its care provision primarily in terms of a sound system readiness. At the same time, Belgian organizations seem to be prepared for the influences of the economic crisis on the quality of its care provision primarily in terms of a favorable sociopolitical context. Comparing two countries allows for reciprocal lesson-drawing. The conclusion drawn in this study is that a sustainable long-term care system requires above all stability and structure.     

The Multi-method Comprehensive Review: Synthesis and Analysis when Scholarship is International,Interdisciplinary, and Immense

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This article presents a new strategy for reviewing large, multidisciplinary academic literatures: a multi-method...     

HISPANIC MEDIA USE AND PERCEPTIONS OF DISCRIMINATION:

This study utilizes data from the Latino National Political Survey to evaluate the relationship between several social and cultural variables, media use, and Hispanic perceptions of discrimination. We examine the effects that level of income and education, personal experience, ethnicity, and political party preference and media exposure have on these perceptions. The examination builds on social-psychological theories and media framing/cultivation arguments. The cross-section, regression analysis considers Hispanics as a whole and as various subgroups (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans), respectively. Contrary to conventional wisdom that media use is positively related to perceived discrimination, we find that socioeconomic and ethnic conditions are of greater import for understanding perceptions. Further, it appears that media use has little impact on perceptions of discrimination.     

Developmental trends in proxemic spacing behavior between surrounding companions and strangers in casual groups

This study examined age differences in the pattern of proxemic behavior observed in casual groups frequenting public environments. Observations were made in the corridors of large shopping malls and along sidewalks of small towns. The relative positions of all walking subjects were inconspicuously recorded in photographs, and interpersonal distances were measured by projecting slides on a calibrated grid. Distances to first, second, and third nearest companions and first, second, and third nearest strangers were computed for subjects in six age classes: preschool children, grade school children, teenagers, young adults, middle adults, and senior adults. All classes showed significant age differences in the distances maintained to companions (p = .00001), but only senior adults differed in their spacing toward strangers, by maintaining significantly closer distances than the other age groups (p < .01). Tests of spatial patterns showed significant aggregations between first, second, and third nearest companions, and essentially random spacing toward first nearest strangers in all age groups. Senior adults showed a significant tendency to aggregate with their second and third nearest surrounding strangers. These results are discussed in the light of oer research and in the context of the ecology and development of proxemic behavior.Funding was provided by a National Science Foundation grant, BNS 79-06843, to J.W. Burgess. Additional fundint was provided by a grant from the Consumer Research Center, University of California (Robert Sommer, Director), and by Sigma Xi grants to J.W. Burgess. The author thanks Ms. Deanna Johnson for expert help in behavioral observation and decoding.