Where the lawn mower stops: The social construction of alternative front yard ideologies

The front yard landscape with its trademark lawn has evolved to be woven socially within the fabric of our society. Associated with this phenomena, a rising concern has echoed about the environmental, as well as the social pressures caused by maintaining a lawn. In order to see if alternative front yard ideologies exist, and understand their social construction, a qualitative study was employed in three Midwest communities. This study was an attempt to try and understand what sociological factors may help to explain why people go against normative practices of having a lawn, while their neighbors reflect normative ideologies of having a wellmaintained front lawn. To accomplish this, various sociological theories were incorporated including, Goffman\u27s dramaturgical analysis, Mills\u27 vocabulary of motive, Scott and Lyman\u27s accounts, and Sutherland\u27s differential association. In the Spring of 1999, data from 24 respondents of single-family-detached-houses were collected, 18 of which displayed Lawn Deviance (LD), and 6 of which displayed Lawn Conformity (LC). Results indicate LD respondents will give justifications for not having the conventional front yard; LD respondents will have had associations with people who are also lawn deviants; LD respondents will present themselves as environmentalists; LD respondents will indicate resistance to conspicuous consumption; LD and LC respondents will see their front yard landscape as an extension of their social self. Many differences exist between Lawn Deviance and Lawn Conformity respondents. Lawn Deviance respondents exhibit higher ethical values in association with environmental issues than Lawn Conformity respondents. This study appears to reveal some interesting insights into the social actions and underlying themes of front yard landscaping within the Midwest communities that were studied

Epidemiologic analysis of racial/ethnic disparities: Some fundamental issues and a cautionary example

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.11.04

A further critique of the analytic strategy of adjusting for covariates to identify biologic mediation

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic research is often devoted to etiologic investigation, and so techniques that may facilitate mechanistic inferences are attractive. Some of these techniques rely on rigid and/or unrealistic assumptions, making the biologic inferences tenuous. The methodology investigated here is effect decomposition: the contrast between effect measures estimated with and without adjustment for one or more variables hypothesized to lie on the pathway through which the exposure exerts its effect. This contrast is typically used to distinguish the exposure's indirect effect, through the specified intermediate variables, from its direct effect, transmitted via pathways that do not involve the specified intermediates. METHODS: We apply a causal framework based on latent potential response types to describe the limitations inherent in effect decomposition analysis. For simplicity, we assume three measured binary variables with monotonic effects and randomized exposure, and use difference contrasts as measures of causal effect. Previous authors showed that confounding between intermediate and the outcome threatens the validity of the decomposition strategy, even if exposure is randomized. We define exchangeability conditions for absence of confounding of causal effects of exposure and intermediate, and generate two example populations in which the no-confounding conditions are satisfied. In one population we impose an additional prohibition against unit-level interaction (synergism). We evaluate the performance of the decomposition strategy against true values of the causal effects, as defined by the proportions of latent potential response types in the two populations. RESULTS: We demonstrate that even when there is no confounding, partition of the total effect into direct and indirect effects is not reliably valid. Decomposition is valid only with the additional restriction that the population contain no units in which exposure and intermediate interact to cause the outcome. This restriction implies homogeneity of causal effects across strata of the intermediate. CONCLUSIONS: Reliable effect decomposition requires not only absence of confounding, but also absence of unit-level interaction and use of linear contrasts as measures of causal effect. Epidemiologists should be wary of etiologic inference based on adjusting for intermediates, especially when using ratio effect measures or when absence of interacting potential response types cannot be confidently asserted

A Difference-in-Differences Approach to Assess the Effect of a Heat Action Plan on Heat-Related Mortality, and Differences in Effectiveness According to Sex, Age, and Socioeconomic Status (Montreal, Quebec).

BackgroundThe impact of heat waves on mortality and health inequalities is well documented. Very few studies have assessed the effectiveness of heat action plans (HAPs) on health, and none has used quasi-experimental methods to estimate causal effects of such programs.ObjectivesWe developed a quasi-experimental method to estimate the causal effects associated with HAPs that allows the identification of heterogeneity across subpopulations, and to apply this method specifically to the case of the Montreal (Quebec, Canada) HAP.MethodsA difference-in-differences approach was undertaken using Montreal death registry data for the summers of 2000-2007 to assess the effectiveness of the Montreal HAP, implemented in 2004, on mortality. To study equity in the effect of HAP implementation, we assessed whether the program effects were heterogeneous across sex (male vs. female), age (≥ 65 years vs. < 65 years), and neighborhood education levels (first vs. third tertile). We conducted sensitivity analyses to assess the validity of the estimated causal effect of the HAP program.ResultsWe found evidence that the HAP contributed to reducing mortality on hot days, and that the mortality reduction attributable to the program was greater for elderly people and people living in low-education neighborhoods.ConclusionThese findings show promise for programs aimed at reducing the impact of extreme temperatures and health inequities. We propose a new quasi-experimental approach that can be easily applied to evaluate the impact of any program or intervention triggered when daily thresholds are reached. Citation: Benmarhnia T, Bailey Z, Kaiser D, Auger N, King N, Kaufman J. 2016. A difference-in-differences approach to assess the effect of a heat action plan on heat-related mortality, and differences in effectiveness according to sex, age, and socioeconomic status (Montreal, Quebec). Environ Health Perspect 124:1694-1699; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP203

Socioeconomic inequality in neonatal mortality in countries of low and middle income: a multicountry analysis

Background Neonatal mortality rates (NMRs) in countries of low and middle income have been only slowly decreasing; coverage of essential maternal and newborn health services needs to increase, particularly for disadvantaged populations. Our aim was to produce comparable estimates of changes in socioeconomic inequalities in NMR in the past two decades across these countries. Methods We used data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for countries in which a survey was done in 2008 or later and one about 10 years previously. We measured absolute inequalities with the slope index of inequality and relative inequalities with the relative index of inequality. We used an asset-based wealth index and maternal education as measures of socioeconomic position and summarised inequality estimates for all included countries with random-eff ects meta-analysis. Findings 24 low-income and middle-income countries were eligible for inclusion. In most countries, absolute and relative wealth-related and educational inequalities in NMR decreased between survey 1 and survey 2. In fi ve countries (Cameroon, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, and Uganda), the diff erence in NMR between the top and bottom of the wealth distribution was reduced by more than two neonatal deaths per 1000 livebirths per year. By contrast, wealthrelated inequality increased by more than 1·5 neonatal deaths per 1000 livebirths per year in Ethiopia and Cambodia. Patterns of change in absolute and relative educational inequalities in NMR were similar to those of wealth-related NMR inequalities, although the size of educational inequalities tended to be slightly larger. Interpretation Socioeconomic inequality in NMR seems to have decreased in the past two decades in most countries of low and middle income. However, a substantial survival advantage remains for babies born into wealthier households with a high educational level, which should be considered in global eff orts to further reduce NMR

(Errors in statistical tests)3

In 2004, Garcia-Berthou and Alcaraz published "Incongruence between test statistics and P values in medical papers," a critique of statistical errors that received a tremendous amount of attention. One of their observations was that the final reported digit of p-values in articles published in the journal Nature departed substantially from the uniform distribution that they suggested should be expected. In 2006, Jeng critiqued that critique, observing that the statistical analysis of those terminal digits had been based on comparing the actual distribution to a uniform continuous distribution, when digits obviously are discretely distributed. Jeng corrected the calculation and reported statistics that did not so clearly support the claim of a digit preference. However delightful it may be to read a critique of statistical errors in a critique of statistical errors, we nevertheless found several aspects of the whole exchange to be quite troubling, prompting our own meta-critique of the analysis

Vulnerability to Heat-related Mortality: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-regression Analysis

International audienceBACKGROUND: Addressing vulnerability to heat-related mortality is a necessary step in the development of policies dictated by heat action plans. We aimed to provide a systematic assessment of the epidemiologic evidence regarding vulnerability to heat-related mortality. METHODS: Studies assessing the association between high ambient temperature or heat waves and mortality among different subgroups and published between January 1980 and August 2014 were selected. Estimates of association for all the included subgroups were extracted. We assessed the presence of heterogeneous effects between subgroups conducting Cochran Q tests. We conducted random effect meta-analyses of ratios of relative risks (RRR) for high ambient temperature studies. We performed random effects meta-regression analyses to investigate factors associated with the magnitude of the RRR. RESULTS: Sixty-one studies were included. Using the Cochran Q test, we consistently found evidence of vulnerability for the elderly ages \textgreater85 years. We found a pooled RRR of 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.97, 1.01) for male sex, 1.02 (95% CI = 1.01, 1.03) for age \textgreater65 years, 1.04 (95% CI = 1.02, 1.07) for age \textgreater75 years, 1.03 (95% CI = 1.01, 1.05) for low individual socioeconomic status (SES), and 1.01 (95% CI = 0.99, 1.02) for low ecologic SES. CONCLUSIONS: We found strongest evidence of heat-related vulnerability for the elderly ages \textgreater65 and \textgreater75 years and low SES groups (at the individual level). Studies are needed to clarify if other subgroups (e.g., children, people living alone) are also vulnerable to heat to inform public health program

Executive deficits detected in mild Alzheimer's disease using the antisaccade task

The antisaccade task, a hands- and language-free metric, may provide a functional index of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a region damaged in the later stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our objective was to determine if patients with mild AD made more errors relative to age-matched controls. Thirty patients with mild AD (Mini Mental Status Exam [MMSE] ≥ 17) and 31 age-matched controls completed a laptop version of the prosaccades and antisaccades tasks. Patients with AD made more antisaccade errors, and corrected fewer errors, than age-matched controls. Error rates, corrected or uncorrected, were not correlated with AD MMSE or Dementia Rating Scale scores. Our findings indicate that antisaccade impairments exist in mild AD, suggesting clinically detectable DLPFC pathology may be present earlier than suggested by previous studies

The Role of Adolescent Behaviors in the Female–Male Disparity in Obesity Incidence in US Black and White Young Adults

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93675/1/oby.2009.362.pd

Opportunities for Public Aquariums to Increase the Sustainability of the Aquatic Animal Trade

The global aquatic pet trade encompasses a wide diversity of freshwater and marine organisms. While relying on a continual supply of healthy, vibrant aquatic animals, few sustainability initiatives exist within this sector. Public aquariums overlap this industry by acquiring many of the same species through the same sources. End users are also similar, as many aquarium visitors are home aquarists. Here we posit that this overlap with the pet trade gives aquariums significant opportunity to increase the sustainability of the trade in aquarium fishes and invertebrates. Improving the sustainability ethos and practices of the aquatic pet trade can carry a conservation benefit in terms of less waste, and protection of intact functioning ecosystems, at the same time as maintaining its economic and educational benefits and impacts. The relationship would also move forward the goal of public aquariums to advance aquatic conservation in a broad sense. For example, many public aquariums in North America have been instrumental in working with the seafood industry to enact positive change toward increased sustainability. The actions include being good consumers themselves, providing technical knowledge, and providing educational and outreach opportunities. These same opportunities exist for public aquariums to partner with the ornamental fish trade, which will serve to improve business, create new, more ethical and more dependable sources of aquatic animals for public aquariums, and perhaps most important, possibly transform the home aquarium industry from a threat, into a positive force for aquatic conservation. Zoo Biol. 32:1-12, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc