Do measures matter? Comparing surface-density-derived and census-tract-derived measures of racial residential segregation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Racial residential segregation is hypothesized to affect population health by systematically patterning health-relevant exposures and opportunities according to individuals' race or income. Growing interest into the association between residential segregation and health disparities demands more rigorous appraisal of commonly used measures of segregation. Most current studies rely on census tracts as approximations of the local residential environment when calculating segregation indices of either neighborhoods or metropolitan areas. Because census tracts are arbitrary in size and shape, reliance on this geographic scale limits understanding of place-health associations. More flexible, explicitly spatial derivations of traditional segregation indices have been proposed but have not been compared with tract-derived measures in the context of health disparities studies common to social epidemiology, health demography, or medical geography. We compared segregation measured with tract-derived as well as GIS surface-density-derived indices. Measures were compared by region and population size, and segregation measures were linked to birth record to estimate the difference in association between segregation and very preterm birth. Separate analyses focus on metropolitan segregation and on neighborhood segregation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Across 231 metropolitan areas, tract-derived and surface-density-derived segregation measures are highly correlated. However overall correlation obscures important differences by region and metropolitan size. In general the discrepancy between measure types is greatest for small metropolitan areas, declining with increasing population size. Discrepancies in measures are greatest in the South, and smallest in Western metropolitan areas. Choice of segregation index changed the magnitude of the measured association between segregation and very preterm birth. For example among black women, the risk ratio for very preterm birth in metropolitan areas changed from 2.12 to 1.68 for the effect of high versus low segregation when using surface-density-derived versus tract-derived segregation indices. Variation in effect size was smaller but still present in analyses of neighborhood racial composition and very preterm birth in Atlanta neighborhoods.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Census tract-derived measures of segregation are highly correlated with recently introduced spatial segregation measures, but the residual differences among measures are not uniform for all areas. Use of surface-density-derived measures provides researchers with tools to further explore the spatial relationships between segregation and health disparities.</p

Die Strandaster-Seidenbiene Colletes halophilus Verhoeff, 1944 (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) ist weit verbreitet an der Ostseeküste von Dänemark und Deutschland

The Sea Aster mining bee Colletes halophilus Verhoeff, 1944 is known as an endemic of the western European coasts of the Atlantic and the North Sea. The species has specific habitat requirements and is restricted to coastal habitats with populations of the Sea Aster (Tripolium pannonicum), its preferred host plant. Due to the late summer activity of adults and habitat specialisation, this solitary bee species is easily overlooked. In 2019, C. halophilus was first found at the Baltic Sea coast of the island of Fyn (Denmark), 2020 on the island of Rügen (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany) and in 2021 in Sehlendorf (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany), demonstrating that the species is far more widespread and also occurring along the more continental Western Baltic Sea coast and Kattegat. Targeted sampling in 2022 revealed that C. halophilus is now present in most of the potentially suitable coastal habitats in Schleswig-Holstein and at least in some parts of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. We here present data on the currently known distribution of C. halophilus along the Baltic Sea coast of Denmark and Germany and discuss hypotheses of a potential recent range extension.Die Strandaster-Seidenbiene Colletes halophilus Verhoeff, 1944 ist ein Endemit der Atlantik- und Nordseeküste Westeuropas und aufgrund ihrer spezifischen Habitatansprüche an Küstenbiotope mit Vorkommen der Strandaster (Tripolium pannonicum) als bevorzugter Futterpflanze gebunden. Aufgrund der späten Flugzeit und ihrer Habitatspezifität kann die Art leicht übersehen werden. Durch Funde der Art auf der Insel Fünen (DK) 2019, Rügen (MV) 2020 und Sehlendorf (SH) 2021 wurde deutlich, dass die Art deutlich weiter verbreitet ist und auch im Bereich der kontinentaleren Ostseeküste vorkommt. Durch gezielte Nachsuche im Jahr 2022 konnte die Art in den meisten potentiell geeignet erscheinenden Küstenhabitaten in Schleswig-Holstein und einigen Gebieten in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festgestellt werden. Der aktuelle Kenntnisstand zur Verbreitung von C. halophilus an der Ostseeküste wird vorgestellt und Hypothesen einer möglichen rezenten Aus- breitung der Art werden diskutiert

Bed-Sharing in Couples Is Associated With Increased and Stabilized REM Sleep and Sleep-Stage Synchronization

Methods Young healthy heterosexual couples underwent sleep-lab-based polysomnography of two sleeping arrangements: individual sleep and co-sleep. Individual and dyadic sleep parameters (i.e., synchronization of sleep stages) were collected. The latter were assessed using cross-recurrence quantification analysis. Additionally, subjective sleep quality, relationship characteristics, and chronotype were monitored. Data were analyzed comparing co-sleep vs. individual sleep. Interaction effects of the sleeping arrangement with gender, chronotype, or relationship characteristics were moreover tested. Results As compared to sleeping individually, co-sleeping was associated with about 10% more REM sleep, less fragmented REM sleep (p = 0.008), longer undisturbed REM fragments (p = 0.0006), and more limb movements (p = 0.007). None of the other sleep stages was significantly altered. Social support interacted with sleeping arrangement in a way that individuals with suboptimal social support showed the biggest impact of the sleeping arrangement on REM sleep. Sleep architectures were more synchronized between partners during co-sleep (p = 0.005) even if wake phases were excluded (p = 0.022). Moreover, sleep architectures are significantly coupled across a lag of ± 5min. Depth of relationship represented an additional significant main effect regarding synchronization, reflecting a positive association between the two. Neither REM sleep nor synchronization was influenced by gender, chronotype, or other relationship characteristics. Conclusion Depending on the sleeping arrangement, couple's sleep architecture and synchronization show alterations that are modified by relationship characteristics. We discuss that these alterations could be part of a self-enhancing feedback loop of REM sleep and sociality and a mechanism through which sociality prevents mental illness

FoxIT: Enhancing Mobile Users' Privacy Behavior by Increasing Knowledge and Awareness [to appear]

Albeit offering many benefits, smartphones can pose a severe privacy threat to users. While some users might simply be not aware of privacy issues, others are highly motivated to protect their data, but lack the ability and knowledge to do so. We developed an Android-based application called &quot;FoxIT&quot;, which provides users with several education modules as well as a static smartphone and app&nbsp; permission analysis to increase both, privacy awareness and knowledge of mobile users. We conducted a first evaluation of FoxIT in a twoweek field study with 31 users and were able to show that use of FoxIT not only leads to increased privacy awareness, but also improves knowledge about privacy related topics. Participants alsoreported to have improved the privacy conditions on their smartphone, actively informed themselves about privacy related topics, and prompted others to protect their data after using FoxIT. Our results indicate that it might be a promising approach to improve mobile users’ privacy behavior by raising awareness and providing background information about privacy related topics

Metropolitan isolation segregation and Black-White disparities in very preterm birth: A test of mediating pathways and variance explained

Residential isolation segregation (a measure of residential inter-racial exposure) has been associated with rates of preterm birth (Preterm birth Racial disparity Residential segregation Bayesian modeling Social determinants USA

Journalismus in der Pandemie

Journalismus in Corona-Zeiten – Die diesjährige Mediendozentur an der Uni Tübingen stand ganz im Zeichen der Pandemie. Im Rahmen des Kooperationsprojektes zwischen dem Institut für Medienwissenschaft und dem SWR-Studio Tübingen sind drei Radiofeatures und ein Videobeitrag entstanden. Am Beispiel des Landestheaters Tübingen gingen die Master-Studierenden der Frage nach, wie die Kulturbranche die letzten eineinhalb Jahre erlebt hat. Andere Projekt-Teilnehmer*innen wagten sich in die Tiefen des Internets vor und untersuchten, wie sich die Debattenkultur im Netz seit Corona verändert hat. Außerdem im Programm: Wie Wissenschaftsjournalismus und tagesaktuelle Berichterstattung in Zeiten von Covid-19 in Konflikt miteinander geraten. Und zu guter Letzt hat eine Studierenden-Gruppe Lisa Federle, Notärztin und Initiatorin des Tübinger Modellprojektes, besucht

Gender Stereotypes and Peer Selection in STEM Domains Among Children and Adolescents.

Gender stereotypes are harmful for girls' enrollment and performance in science and mathematics. So far, less is known about children's and adolescents' stereotypes regarding technology and engineering. In the current study, participants' (N = 1,206, girls n = 623; 5-17-years-old, M = 8.63, SD = 2.81) gender stereotypes for each of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains were assessed along with the relation between these stereotypes and a peer selection task in a STEM context. Participants reported beliefs that boys are usually more skilled than are girls in the domains of engineering and technology; however, participants did not report gender differences in ability/performance in science and mathematics. Responses to the stereotype measures in favor of one's in-group were greater for younger participants than older participants for both boys and girls. Perceptions that boys are usually better than girls at science were related to a greater likelihood of selecting a boy for help with a science question. These findings document the importance of domain specificity, even within STEM, in attempts to measure and challenge gender stereotypes in childhood and adolescence