Why the Poor Play the Lottery: Sociological Approaches to Explaining Class-based Lottery Play

Why do the poor spend more on lottery tickets than their wealthier and better educated peers? While social scientists generally agree that there is an inverse relationship between socio-economic position and patterns of lottery play, there is debate on what factors cause lottery gambling. Using survey data from a nationwide probability sample, we test three sociological approaches – socio-structural, cultural and social network accounts – to explain why the poor play the lottery. While controlling for cognitive bias theory, we find that peer play, educational attainment and self-perceived social deprivation have strong effects on lottery play. Culture, the study finds, plays a much lesser role. Although lottery players demonstrate fatalistic value orientations, it is not a lack of a ‘Protestant’ work ethic that makes the poor spend proportionally more on lottery tickets. The findings of this study generally point to the importance of social structures in explaining lottery gambling.Social Stratification and the Demand for Lottery Tickets Data and Methods Results Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes Reference

Environmental concern areas

Veel woningen in stedelijke gebieden in Nederland ondervinden milieuproblemen. Met name de grote steden hebben last van geluidsoverlast en vervuilde lucht. Dit blijkt uit een inventarisatie van het RIVM. Dit rapport biedt een globaal overzicht van de milieuproblemen in stedelijk gebied. In opdracht van het ministerie van VROM inventariseerde het RIVM de milieubelasting in stedelijke gebieden. Hierbij werd gekeken naar luchtkwaliteit, geluid, bodem en externe veiligheid. Bij de inventarisatie is naar stedelijke postcodegebieden gekeken waarin zich woningen met een kritieke milieubelasting bevinden. Uit de inventarisatie blijkt dat veel woningen in stedelijke gebieden een overschrijding van kritische grenswaarden voor milieubelasting ondervinden. De overschrijding wordt vaak veroorzaakt door luchtvervuiling, in de vorm van hoge concentraties fijn stof en stikstofdioxide, en lawaai van weg- en railverkeer. Vooral in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht en Noord-Brabant spelen deze problemen. Deelkaarten in dit rapport geven per postcodegebied aan welke milieuproblemen zich ter plaatse voordoen en hoe ernstig deze zijn. De kaarten bieden beleidsmakers en planologen een overzicht van de gebieden die in milieutechnisch opzicht aandacht vragen.Many urban residential areas in the Netherlands experience environmental problems. Particularly within the major cities, extensive environmental damage is caused by noise and air pollution from roadway traffic. This was concluded from an inventory carried out by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). This report presents an overview of urban problem areas. By order of the Ministry of Housing and Spatiol Planning, the RIVM made an inventory of environmental problems in urban regions in the Netherlands due to air pollution, noise, potential soil pollution and external safety risks. Environmental problems (exposure or exposure risks) were related to the presence of dwellings in each postal area where critical limit values are exceeded. From the inventory, it appears that the critical exposure values are exceeded at many dwellings. Exceedences are often caused by air pollution (particulate matter and nitrogen oxide) and noise from road- and railway traffic. Many of these dwellings can be found in major cities with ringways (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht ) and also in the Province of Noord-Brabant. Inventories are presented in a set of color coded maps, showing the type of environmental damage occurring and indicating the number of dwellings critically exposed in each postal area. The maps give policy makers and urban planners an overall picture of the residential areas demanding attention from an environmental point of view.VROM-DGM-LM

Benefits of noise measures

Vermindering van omgevingsgeluid door het weg- en railverkeer in stedelijke gebieden in Nederland levert forse maatschappelijke baten op. Hierdoor worden gebieden nabij deze bronnen aantrekkelijker om te wonen en te bouwen. Dit blijkt uit onderzoek van het RIVM in opdracht van het ministerie van VROM. Het RIVM inventariseerde de maatschappelijke baten van diverse geluidsmaatregelen, zoals stille banden, geluidsarm asfalt en geluidsschermen. Dit gebeurde aan de hand van Hedonic Pricing, een manier om de invloed van geluid op huizenprijzen te beoordelen. Ook is gekeken naar verschillen in grondprijzen voor gebieden die wel of niet geschikt zijn voor nieuwe woningbouw. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat voor wegverkeer stille banden en geluidsarm asfalt het meest kosteneffectief zijn. Deze maatregelen pakken het geluid aan bij de bron. Geluidsschermen zijn minder kosteneffectief. Ook langs spoorwegen zullen bronmaatregelen forse baten opleveren. De totale omvang van de te realiseren baten bedraagt circa 7 miljard euro in de vorm van waardestijging van woningen en bouwgronden. De meeste van de gebieden grenzen aan stedelijke verkeerswegen en spoorwegen. Geluidsmaatregelen kunnen ook de waarde van natuur- en stiltegebieden verhogen. Deze waardetoename wordt geschat op ruim 60 miljoen euro, op grond van een hogere betalingsbereidheid bij bezoekers voor stiltekwaliteit. Het is echter meestal niet mogelijk om deze baten kosteneffectief te realiseren. Alleen in natuurgebieden die veel bezoekers trekken, zoals bijvoorbeeld het Nationaal Park 'Dwingelderveld' in Drenthe, kunnen de baten opwegen tegen de kosten.Reduction of noise from road- and railway traffic will generate major social benefits in urban areas in the Netherlands. This will improve the environmental quality of residential areas and areas for new housing estate. This followed from an investigation carried out by the RIVM for the Dutch Ministry of Housing Spatial Planning and the Environment. In the investigation benefits from noise measures, such as silent tires, quiet pavements and noise barriers were evaluated. The method of Hedonic Pricing was used to value the effect of noise on the market value of dwellings. Also the influence of reducing noise on the market value of building lands was investigated. In general measures at the source, such as silent tires, quiet pavements or tracks , appear to be highly cost-effective. Noise barriers seem less cost effective. The results of this study indicate that the total benefits from cost-effective noise measures amounts to 7 billion euros. The bulk of these benefits is be obtained alongside urban roads and railways. In addition to the social benefits from noise measures in dense built-up urban areas, benefits may also be attained by improving noise quality in nature areas and noise abatement zones in rural parts of the Netherlands. An indication based on the 'willingness to pay' of visitors for enjoying undisturbed nature amounts to over 60 million euros for all nature areas and noise abatement zones. In general, these benefits cannot be achieved cost-effectively. However, it is possible to find some areas with relatively large numbers of visitors where noise measures could prove cost-effective. One example in the Netherlands is the 'Dwingelderveld' National Park.VROM-DGM-LM

Wer spielt Lotto? Umverteilungswirkungen und sozialstrukturelle Inzidenz staatlicher Lotteriemärkte

Auf Basis bevölkerungsrepräsentativer Daten untersuchen wir sozialstrukturelle Umverteilungseffekte des staatlichen Lotteriespiels in Deutschland. Lotterien sind hoch besteuerte wirtschaftliche Transaktionen, deren Einnahmen zugleich einen signifikanten Anteil am öffentlichen Haushaltsbudget darstellen. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass Lotterien eine Form der regressiven Besteuerung darstellen. Ferner zeigen wir am Beispiel der Breitensportförderung, dass die hierfür zweckgebundene Verwendung staatlicher Lotterieeinnahmen die Regressivität der Besteuerung nicht verringert, sondern noch verstärkt. Innerhalb zentraler soziodemografischer Kategorien wie Einkommens-, Bildungs-, Alters- und Migrationsschichten können wir steuerliche Umverteilungswirkungen nachweisen. Von diesen Befunden ausgehend, diskutieren wir im Schlussteil Implikationen zur Verwendung dieser Einnahmen.On the basis of representative survey data, we examine the distribution effects state lotteries have on the social structure of Germany. Lotteries are highly taxed economic transactions whose proceeds make up a significant share of public fiscal revenues. Our analysis shows that lotteries are a form of regressive taxation. Further, taking the funding of amateur sports as an example, we show that earmarking lottery money increases the regressivity of this tax rather than reducing it. Using key demographic indicators such as levels of income, education, age and migration, we demonstrate the effects of fiscal redistribution. Based on these findings, we discuss implications of earmarking lottery revenues.1. Einleitung 2. Struktur und Volumen des Glücksspielmarkts 3. Fiskalische Relevanz des Glücksspiels 4. Forschungsstand 5. Daten und Methode 6. Resultate 7. Schluss Notes Literatu

Intronic microRNAs support their host genes by mediating synergistic and antagonistic regulatory effects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MicroRNA-mediated control of gene expression via translational inhibition has substantial impact on cellular regulatory mechanisms. About 37% of mammalian microRNAs appear to be located within introns of protein coding genes, linking their expression to the promoter-driven regulation of the host gene. In our study we investigate this linkage towards a relationship beyond transcriptional co-regulation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using measures based on both annotation and experimental data, we show that intronic microRNAs tend to support their host genes by regulation of target gene expression with significantly correlated expression patterns. We used expression data of three differentiating cell types and compared gene expression profiles of host and target genes. Many microRNA target genes show expression patterns significantly correlated with the expressions of the microRNA host genes. By calculating functional similarities between host and predicted microRNA target genes based on GO annotations, we confirm that many microRNAs link host and target gene activity in an either synergistic or antagonistic manner.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These two regulatory effects may result from fine tuning of target gene expression functionally related to the host or knock-down of remaining opponent target gene expression. This finding allows to extend the common practice of mapping large scale gene expression data to protein associated genes with functionality of co-expressed intronic microRNAs.</p

Enhancing Financial Literacy among College Athletes

College students, including athletes, have limited exposure to financial education prior to enrolling in college (Britt et al., 2015). Athletes juggling two full-time roles as athlete and college student have limited time for financial education and the opportunity to work. Some athletes receive athletic scholarships and some do not, but either way, many athletes must seek additional funding and student loans to pay for college. Huston’s (2010) model demonstrated connections between financial literacy, behaviors, and education to serve as a framework for our study. The purpose of this study was to determine college athletes’ subjective and objective financial literacy, how they applied this knowledge, and their preferred mode(s) of financial education to pilot financial literacy education geared specifically for athletes based on their preferences. Data was collected from two institutions in the same Power 5 conference: monthly spending logs, focus groups, interviews, a financial knowledge survey, and pre- and post-tests flanking a financial literacy module in first-year experience courses and summer bridge. A Money 101 course was piloted over eight weeks, and peer financial counseling was offered. As athletes might gain access to their name, image, and likeness (NIL) for potential income in the near future, financial education is paramount

Knowledge-based gene expression classification via matrix factorization

Motivation: Modern machine learning methods based on matrix decomposition techniques, like independent component analysis (ICA) or non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), provide new and efficient analysis tools which are currently explored to analyze gene expression profiles. These exploratory feature extraction techniques yield expression modes (ICA) or metagenes (NMF). These extracted features are considered indicative of underlying regulatory processes. They can as well be applied to the classification of gene expression datasets by grouping samples into different categories for diagnostic purposes or group genes into functional categories for further investigation of related metabolic pathways and regulatory networks. Results: In this study we focus on unsupervised matrix factorization techniques and apply ICA and sparse NMF to microarray datasets. The latter monitor the gene expression levels of human peripheral blood cells during differentiation from monocytes to macrophages. We show that these tools are able to identify relevant signatures in the deduced component matrices and extract informative sets of marker genes from these gene expression profiles. The methods rely on the joint discriminative power of a set of marker genes rather than on single marker genes. With these sets of marker genes, corroborated by leave-one-out or random forest cross-validation, the datasets could easily be classified into related diagnostic categories. The latter correspond to either monocytes versus macrophages or healthy vs Niemann Pick C disease patients.Siemens AG, MunichDFG (Graduate College 638)DAAD (PPP Luso - Alem˜a and PPP Hispano - Alemanas