Foreclosure Depresses Voter Turnout

From the press release:

California neighborhoods reeling from record foreclosures also experienced lower levels of voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside.

Voters who lost their homes were not the only ones who appear to have been affected, sociologist Vanesa Estrada-Correa and political scientist Martin Johnson determined in a study believed to be the first to assess the effect of foreclosure on political participation. Voters who remained in neighborhoods impacted by foreclosure were less likely to vote than individuals in more stable communities, the researchers discovered.

The findings of Estrada-Correa and Johnson appear in “Foreclosure Depresses Voter Turnout: Neighborhood Disruption and the 2008 Presidential Election in California,” published in the peer-reviewed journal Social Science Quarterly and available online.  The journal is published by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Nationally more than 3.5 million families were dislocated by foreclosures in 2008. In California, nearly 641,000 homes were lost to foreclosure between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2011. Communities in the Inland Empire in Southern California and the Central Valley were hit especially hard. People of color and low-income homeowners were more likely to experience foreclosure.

Source: University of California, news

Read entire press release for further details.
Download pdf publication via Wiley Online Library

The Psychological Basis of Quality Decision Making

From the abstract of: The Psychological Basis of Quality Decision Making

Effective strategic management requires analysis, decisions and actions by an organization to create and sustain competitive advantage. Good decisions are obviously desirable but whether the decision is good is a judgment call, often after the fact, and is itself subject to bias. What is less subject to debate is the process that leads to accuracy or quality decision making. This requires not just access to available information but proper processing, interpretation and integration of that data. Critical is the consideration of multiple options and perspectives at all stages and there are a myriad of reasons why people do not do that. Defective decisions come from poor information search, selective bias in processing the information, a lack of considering alternatives, a failure to examine the risks of the preferred choice and a rush to judgment (Janis and Mann 1977). In short, the selection, interpretation and integration of information is “biased”.

 Source: Nemeth, Charlan Jeanne. (2012). The Psychological Basis of Quality Decision Making. UC Berkeley: Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/84f0q6jj [eScholarship repository]

Download full pdf publication of The Psychological Basis of Quality Decision Making

How Long Are Patients Willing to Wait in the Emergency Department Before Leaving Without Being Seen?

From the abstract of How Long Are Patients Willing to Wait in the Emergency Department Before Leaving Without Being Seen?

Our goal was to evaluate patients’ threshold for waiting in an emergency department (ED) waiting room before leaving without being seen (LWBS). We analyzed whether willingness to wait was influenced by perceived illness severity, age, race, triage acuity level, or insurance status.

Source: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine Articles in Press, Department of Emergency Medicine (UCI), UC Irvine Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7zp2r62t

Download PDF publication of How Long Are Patients Willing to Wait in the Emergency Department Before Leaving Without Being Seen?.

Computer Simulation as a Tool to Enable Decision-Making in a Pandemic Influenza Response Scenario

From the Abstract of :  Computer Simulation as a Tool to Enable Decision-Making in a Pandemic Influenza Response Scenario

We sought to develop and test a computer-based, interactive simulation of a hypothetical pandemic influenza outbreak. Fidelity was enhanced with integrated video and branching decision trees, built upon the 2007 federal planning assumptions. We conducted a before-and-after study of the simulation effectiveness to assess the simulations’ ability to assess participants’ beliefs regarding their own hospitals’ mass casualty incident preparedness.

Source: UC Irvine: Department of Emergency Medicine (UCI). Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7jm3d907 [eScholarship Repository]

Download full pdf publication of  Computer Simulation as a Tool to Enable Decision-Making in a Pandemic Influenza Response Scenario

Equality and Human Rights Report: How fair is Britain?

From the Executive Summary:

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a public body set up to challenge discrimination, to protect and promote equality and respect for human rights, and to encourage good relations between people of different backgrounds. Our vision is of a society at ease with its diversity, where every individual has the opportunity to achieve their potential, and where people treat each other with dignity and respect.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (UK)

Download full report: "How Fair is Britain?"

Does Race Matter in Educational Diversity? A Legal and Empirical Analysis

Abstract: This article reports The Educational Diversity Project’s findings on two empirical questions: (1) Do students differ by race upon entering law school? (2) Do any differences contribute educational benefits to students, institutions, or society? Extensive quantitative and qualitative empirical data support the finding that a racially diverse law student body provides educational benefits. Many differences students present are associated with diversities of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, expectations, and outlooks that are related to their race. Diversity fosters richer interactions and positive educational outcomes. Race contributes to the achievement of educational diversity that benefits students, their institution, and society. Source: Daye, Charles E., Panter, A. T. , Allen, Walter R. and Wightman, Linda F., Does Race Matter in Educational Diversity? A Legal and Empirical Analysis (August 1, 2012). Rutgers Race and the Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2101253 Download "Does Race Matter in Educational Diversity?" pdf format

Home environment relationships with children's physical activity, sedentary time, and screen time by socioeconomic status

Abstract Background: Children in households of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be overweight/obese. We aimed to determine if home physical activity (PA) environments differed by SES and to explore home environment mediators of the relation of family SES to children’s PA and sedentary behavior. Methods: Participants were 715 children aged 6 to 11 from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids (NIK) Study. Household SES was examined using highest educational attainment and income. Home environment was measured by parent report on a survey. Outcomes were child’s accelerometer-measured PA and parent-reported screen time. Mediation analyses were conducted for home environment factors that varied by SES. Results: Children from lower income households had greater media access in their bedrooms (TV 52% vs. 14%, DVD player 39% vs. 14%, video games 21% vs. 9%) but lower access to portable play equipment (bikes 85% vs. 98%, jump ropes 69% vs. 83%) compared to higher income children. Lower SES families had more restrictive rules about PA (2.5 vs. 2.0). Across SES, children watched TV/DVDs with parents/siblings more often than they engaged in PA with them. Parents of lower SES watched TV/DVDs with their children more often (3.1 vs. 2.5 days/week). Neither total daily and home-based MVPA nor sedentary time differed by SES. Children’s daily screen time varied from 1.7 hours/day in high SES to 2.4 in low SES families. Media in the bedroom was related to screen time, and screen time with parents was a mediator of the SES--screen time relationship. Conclusions: Lower SES home environments provided more opportunities for sedentary behavior and fewer for PA. Removing electronic media from children’s bedrooms has the potential to reduce disparities in chronic disease risk. Source: U.C. San Diego [via eScholarship Repository] Download the pdf full report: Home environment relationships with children's physical activity, sedentary time, and screen time by socioeconomic status

“Open For Business: How Immigrants Are Driving Small Business Creation In The United States”

The Partnership for a New American Economy has released the following report.

“Open For Business: How Immigrants Are Driving Small Business Creation In The United States” analyzes the increasing importance of foreign-born entrepreneurs on U.S. economic growth and job creation. Picking up and moving to another country is brave and risky, so perhaps it is not surprising that immigrants are venturing out and starting new businesses at a rate that far outpaces their share of the population. From local neighborhood shops to America’s largest companies, immigrant business owners contribute more than $775 billion dollars in revenue to our annual Gross Domestic Product and employ one out of every ten American workers at privately-owned companies across the country.

The report is available for download in pdf format “Open For Business: How Immigrants Are Driving Small Business Creation In The United States”