Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market: A Field Experiment

Decades of racial progress have led some researchers and policymakers to doubt that discrimination remains an important cause of economic inequality. To study contemporary discrimination we conducted a field experiment in the low-wage labor market of New York City. The experiment recruited white, black, and Latino job applicants, called testers, who were matched on demographic characteristics and interpersonal skills. The testers were given equivalent resumes and sent to apply in tandem for hundreds of entry-level jobs. Our results show that black applicants were half as likely to receive a callback or job offer relative to equally qualified whites. In fact, black and Latino applicants with clean backgrounds fared no better than a white applicant just released from prison. Additional qualitative evidence from our testers' experiences further illustrates the multiple points at which employment trajectories can be deflected by various forms of racial bias. Together these results point to the subtle but systematic forms of discrimination that continue to shape employment opportunities for low-wage workers.race, field experiment, discrimination, labor markets

Review of 'Digitally Enabled Social Change: Activism in the Internet Age'

Sociolog

Vagueness and Roughness

The paper proposes a new formal approach to vagueness and vague sets taking inspirations from Pawlak’s rough set theory. Following a brief introduction to the problem of vagueness, an approach to conceptualization and representation of vague knowledge is presented from a number of different perspectives: those of logic, set theory, algebra, and computer science. The central notion of the vague set, in relation to the rough set, is defined as a family of sets approximated by the so called lower and upper limits. The family is simultaneously considered as a family of all denotations of sharp terms representing a suitable vague term, from the agent’s point of view. Some algebraic operations on vague sets and their properties are defined. Some important conditions concerning the membership relation for vague sets, in connection to Blizard’s multisets and Zadeh’s fuzzy sets, are established as well. A classical outlook on a logic of vague sentences (vague logic) based on vague sets is also discussed

New neighborhood based rough sets

Neighborhood based rough sets are important generalizations of the classical rough sets of Pawlak, as neighborhood operators generalize equivalence classes. In this article, we introduce nine neighborhood based operators and we study the partial order relations between twenty-two different neighborhood operators obtained from one covering. Seven neighborhood operators result in new rough set approximation operators. We study how these operators are related to the other fifteen neighborhood based approximation operators in terms of partial order relations, as well as to seven non-neighborhood-based rough set approximation operators

Safety and efficacy of Botulinum toxin type A preparations in cerebral palsy — an evidence-based review

The introduction of botulinum toxin more than 25 years ago for the management of paediatric lower and upper limb hypertonia has been a major advance. BoNT-A as a part of multimodal treatment supports motor development and improves function disturbed by spasticity or hypertonia. The aim of this paper was to compare the efficacy and safety of three major BoNT-A preparations present on the market: abo-, inco-, and onaobotulinumtoxinA in the treatment of children with cerebral palsy. Based on an analysis of the available literature, all three preparations have been established to reduce hypertonia in the upper and lower extremities, with some conflicting evidence regarding function. There were no differences in treatment safety, with a low incidence of adverse events which were mostly temporary and mild. Any form of universal conversion ratio between all preparations is not recommended

Functional improvement of young children with cerebral palsy treated with integrated/intensive rehabilitation and botulinum toxin injections

Introduction. Patients with cerebral palsy (CP) present mobility limitations altering their activity and participation in social life. The aim of this study was to assess changes in Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Functional Mobility Scale (FMS) in children with CP who received repeated BoNT-A injections within a rehabilitation treatment over a five-year follow-up period. Material and methods. This retrospective, observational study included 200 consecutive children with bilateral CP (GMFCS I–IV). Annual assessments of the five-year follow-up period were analysed. Results. The mean age of the patients at the beginning was 32.23 months (± 6.96). The GMFCS level improved in 67 (33.5%) (p < 0.001) and worsened in four (2%) children. In children with GMFCS III and IV levels, improvement was observed in 50% and 40%, respectively. FMS 5 and 50 metres improved in 54% and 52.5% of children respectively. Conclusions. Our study showed a significant, positive effect of integrated treatment on functional mobility in patients with CP

Selektywna rizotomia grzbietowa w leczeniu spastyczności u pacjentów z mózgowym porażeniem dziecięcym

W artykule przedstawiono możliwości wykorzystania selektywnej rizotomii grzbietowej (SDR, selective dorsal rhizotomy) w leczeniu spastyczności u pacjentów z mózgowym porażeniem dziecięcym (MPD). W tym celu dokonano przeglądu literatury, wykorzystując bazy danych Medline, Embase, PEDro, Cochrane. Użyto słów kluczowych „selektywna rizotomia grzbietowa” (selective dorsal rizhotomy) w połączeniu z „mózgowe porażenie dziecięce” (cerebral palsy). Wyniki wybranych przez autorów badań przedstawiono zgodnie z Międzynarodową Klasyfikacją Funkcjonowania, Niepełnosprawności i Zdrowia (ICF, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health), w domenie struktury i funkcji, aktywności oraz uczestnictwa w życiu codziennym. Podsumowano również wskazania do wykonania zabiegu oraz jego najczęstsze efekty uboczne. Metoda SDR jest interwencją operacyjną, której poziom skuteczności pozwala na jej rekomendację w leczeniu spastyczności. Zabieg SDR pozytywnie wpływa na wszystkie domeny życia pacjentów z MPD opisane w klasyfikacji ICF

Realistics Premises of Epistemic Argumentation for Dynamic Epistemic Logics

In the paper, certain rational postulates for protocols describing real communicating are introduced.These rational postulates, on the one hand, allow assigning a certain typology of real systems of interactions, which is consistent with the reality of epistemic argumentation in systems of communicating, and on the other one – defining rules of using argumentation in real situations. Moreover, the presented postulates for protocols characterize information networks and administering knowledge in real interactivity systems. Due to the epistemic character of the considerations, the problem undertaken in the paper concerns working out fundamental assumptions that refer to building of epistemic logics. They allow establishing the correctness of the discourse defined by rational postulates of protocols of real communication. In the context of the presented problem there are the following two research questions distinguished: 1) How do we determine the rule of building of real dynamic epistemic logics? and 2) How should we define semantics for these logics? Within the framework of considerations relating to the research questions asked, certain epistemic operators, relativized to types of communicating, are introduced. Basic logical relations between using these operators are established for these operators. The relations are presented by a diagram called the square of epis temic operators. On the basis of these logical relations some axioms for real dynamic epistemic logics are presented. The semantics of real dynamic epistem ic logics is extended by the methods of lower and upper approximation of formula evaluating. This allows defining ‘approximation Kripke models’. The results of conceptualization of knowledge on real premises of epistemic argum entation presented in this paper can be applied to rhetoric in real systems of interaction

Componentes lipofílicos y evaluación de las actividades citotóxicas y antioxidantes de Impatiens glandulifera Royle e Impantiet noli-tangere L. (Balsaminaceae)

The chemical composition of the lipophilic fractions of Impatiens glandulifera Royle and I. noli-tangere L. were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)., The study focused on the fatty acids, triterpenoids and sterols in the leaves, roots and seeds. Most of the identified compounds are new for these species. a-linolenic, oleic and palmitic acids were the most abundant in the fatty acid fractions, β-amyrin and 5a-lup-20(29)-en-3β-ol in the triterpenoid fractions, and β-sitosterol, spinasterol and chondrillasterol in the sterol fractions. The fatty acid and triterpenoid fractions showed strong antioxidant activity, similar to positive controls. Moreover, the triterpenoid fraction from I. noli-tangere seeds significantly inhibited HL-60 human leukemia cells. Other fractions showed moderate cytotoxicity. The present study suggests that I. glandulifera and I. noli-tangere are good source of omega-3 fatty acids, and they might be considered as antioxidant and chemopreventive agents.La composición química de las fracciones lipofílicas, centrada en los ácidos grasos, triterpenoides y esteroles de las partes aéreas, raíces y semillas de Impatiens glandulifera Royle e Impatient. noli-tangere L. se analizaron por cromatografía de gases-espectrometría de masas (GC-MS). La mayoría de los compuestos identificados son nuevos para estas especies. Los ácidos a-linolénico, oleico y palmítico fueron los más abundantes en las fracciones de ácidos grasos, β-amirina y 5a-lup-20 (29)-en-3β-ol en las fracciones triterpenoides, y β-sitosterol, espinasterol y condriplasterol en las fracciones de esteroles. Las fracciones de ácidos grasos y triterpenos mostraron una fuerte actividad antioxidante, similar a los controles positivos. Además, la fracción triterpenoidea de las semillas de I. noli-tangere inhibió significativamente las células de leucemia humana HL-60. Otras fracciones mostraron citotoxicidad moderada. El presente estudio sugiere que I. glandulifera e I. noli-tangere son la buena fuente de ácidos grasos omega-3, y podrían considerarse antioxidantes y agentes quimiopreventivos