Diverse Residents Research Articles

East of East

While Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley is best known for being the “first suburban Chinatown,” it is actually a lively, multiethnic, and multiracial community with a complex past, and an emerging arts scene that celebrates that complexity. Today, the “SGV” constitutes the largest, majority-Asian American and Latino community in the United States. Its social and cultural mix make it a vibrant example of suburban cosmopolitanism, in which diverse residents live in relative harmony, with mutual respect for difference. Local groups such as the South El Monte Arts Posse have begun to make work that reflects this ethos, and could reshape normative ideas of what it means to be American.

Shades of cosmopolitanism: EFL teachers' perspectives on English accents and pronunciation teaching in the Gulf

Research suggests that passing for a native English speaker (NES) is often perceived as desirable by teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and employers, and students may claim to prefer certain NES accents as learning models. While this may be partly motivated by the prevalence of a particular regional accent in ESL contexts or indicative of a stronger socioeconomic orientation towards, for instance, either the US or the UK in EFL contexts, this is not the case in Oman, where English is widely used as a lingua franca between ethnically diverse residents. Such an environment might encourage a cosmopolitan view to notions of correctness and appropriateness with respect to accents and pronunciation and lead to support for diversity with regard to accents in teaching materials over an emphasis on inner-circle English. This study explores the extent to which EFL teachers nationwide in Oman place importance on teaching particular accents in the classroom. Results showed that, overall, teachers display a high degree of sensitivity towards the linguistic diversity of their students' immediate environment and favour similar diversity in teaching materials and as learning models. Stronger orientation towards particular inner-circle accents (particularly British English) was found among self-identifying non-native English-speaker teachers.

The Capital of Diversity: Neoliberal Development and the Discourse of Difference in Washington, DC

Complicating top-down analyses of neoliberal development, this article charts how demographically diverse residents in Columbia Heights—a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Washington, DC—reinforce and resist dominant narratives of diversity that praise multicultural, mixed urban spaces. These narratives often not only fail to discuss power and equity, they are typically used to market state-sponsored, upscale development that actively threatens the very diversity appropriated to sell a neighborhood. I argue that many residents initially reproduce this rhetoric of diversity, but discuss power and difference more candidly in their discussion of the neighborhood's history and amenities. Most residents who recently moved to the neighborhood juxtapose praise of diversity with comments that associate crime, litter, and “grime” with that diversity. Residents who grew up in Columbia Heights moved from praising the influx of development and new (largely upper-middle class) residents to expressing concerns about exclusion, disrespect, and possible displacement.

Would Rural Residents Will to Pay for Environmental Project? An Evidence in China

This research estimated Chinese rural residents’ willingness to pay for rural solid wastes recycling project. Dichotomous choice format contingent valuation method was employed to diverse rural residents’ preference. 4795 Households had been interviewed for collecting primary data, and had been estimated respondents’ will by logistic regression model. It indicated that the respondents would refuse to support solid wastes recycling project due to households’ income restriction. The mean annual WTP of rural residents were 23.41 Chinese Yuan per household. In conclusion the rural solid wastes recycling project is acceptable and accessible for implementation in Chinese rural area.

Patterns and predictors of health behaviors among racially/ethnically diverse residents of low-income housing developments.

To examine behavioral patterns and sociodemographic predictors of diet, inactivity, and tobacco use among a diverse sample of residents from low-income housing developments. In this cross-sectional survey study, households and residents were randomly selected using multistage cluster sampling. Setting . The study was conducted in 20 low-income housing developments in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. Subjects were 828 residents who completed the survey (response rate = 49.3%). Forty-one percent of participants were Hispanic and 38% were non-Hispanic Black. Measures . Outcomes measured were diet, inactivity, and tobacco use. Predictors measured were age, race/ethnicity, gender, education, country in which the subject was born, language spoken, and financial hardship. Analysis . Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of three health behaviors with sociodemographic factors. Age, gender, language spoken, and financial hardship showed significant relationships with all three behaviors. For example, those who reported less financial hardship (odds ratio [OR] = 1.75) were more likely to eat healthier. Residents who spoke no English, or at least one language in addition to English, were significantly more likely to report healthier eating (OR = 2.78 and 3.30, respectively) than those who spoke English only. Men were significantly more likely to report less healthy eating (OR = 0.65) than were women. Similar trends emerged for inactivity and tobacco use. Effective health promotion interventions in low-income housing developments that leverage protective factors while addressing risk factors have the potential to reduce income-related health disparities in these concentrated resource-deprived neighborhoods.

Seagrass radiation after Messinian salinity crisis reflected by strong genetic structuring and out-of-Africa scenario (Ruppiaceae).

Many aquatic plant and seagrass species are widespread and the origin of their continent-wide ranges might result from high gene flow levels. The response of species when extending northwards since the Last Glacial Maximum can be opposed to the structuring of their populations that survived glaciation cycles in southern regions. The peri-Mediterranean is a complex series of sea basins, coastlines, islands and river deltas with a unique history since the Messinian Crisis that potentially influenced allopatric processes of aquatic life. We tested whether vast ranges across Europe and the peri-Mediterranean of a global seagrass group (Ruppia species complexes) can be explained by either overall high levels of gene flow or vicariance through linking population genetics, phylogeography and shallow phylogenetics. A multigene approach identified haplogroup lineages of two species complexes, of ancient and recent hybrids with most of the diversity residing in the South. High levels of connectivity over long distances were only observed at recently colonized northern ranges and in recently-filled seas following the last glaciation. A strong substructure in the southern Mediterranean explained an isolation-by-distance model across Europe. The oldest lineages of the southern Mediterranean Ruppia dated back to the period between the end of the Messinian and Late Pliocene. An imprint of ancient allopatric origin was left at basin level, including basal African lineages. Thus both vicariance in the South and high levels of connectivity in the North explained vast species ranges. Our findings highlight the need for interpreting global distributions of these seagrass and euryhaline species in the context of their origin and evolutionary significant units for setting up appropriate conservation strategies.

Understanding youth civic engagement: debates, discourses, and lessons from practice

While civic engagement provides a rich rationale for intervention, the array of discourses urging a focus on youth engagement or action means that the concept can be confusing, cluttered, and lacking consistent operationalization. From the perspective of policy-makers and program managers, it can be challenging to disentangle the competing messages and assumptions about young people that underpin the rhetoric in relation to youth engagement. Using a wide range of international research, the purpose of this paper is to provide clarity regarding the key multiple concepts and issues pertinent to the concept of youth civic engagement. In particular, the paper answers the following questions: what are the definitions, typologies, and discourses in which the concept of youth civic engagement operates, and what are the putative beneficial outcomes of youth engagement identified? We also discuss some of the broader considerations on the positioning of young people in society, which impact the trajectory of civic engagement efforts. As a means for reflecting on their own practices, programs, and approaches, our intent is to provide those involved in both the application and research of youth engagement with a more coherent roadmap of the diversity residing in this field.

Developing Human Wellbeing Indicators in the Puget Sound: Focusing on the Watershed Scale

Planning for and monitoring human wellbeing (HWB) as a component of ecosystem recovery is a growing trend in environmental management. Within the Puget Sound specifically, organizations at the watershed and basin scale have been developing recovery action plans with placeholders for HWB or quality of life indicators. While the actual incorporation of HWB into policy has been limited, there is significant interest to receive guidance for developing indicators and begin addressing HWB in practice. This article describes the results of a pilot process to develop scientifically and practically relevant HWB indicators for the Hood Canal watershed of the Puget Sound. We gathered data on why residents and visitors value the Hood Canal from prior surveys, workshops, and nineteen open-ended interviews with diverse residents from the region. We coded these values into potential indicators of HWB for six domains: Psychological, Cultural, Social, Physical, Economic, and Governance. Three facilitated workshops with expert-stakeholders and an online survey with social scientists helped refine and rate indicators for recommendation to the regional watershed recovery coordinating council. We present the final indicators, detail the methods for getting to them, and discuss how they will be applied to enhance watershed recovery in the Hood Canal watershed. We then describe how this process can be replicated elsewhere and how it will be used to test hypotheses about scalability of HWB indicators in the Puget Sound.

The effect of language on functional capacity assessment in middle-aged and older US Latinos with schizophrenia

The U.S. Latino population is steadily increasing, prompting a need for cross-cultural outcome measures in schizophrenia research. This study examined the contribution of language to functional assessment in middle-aged Latino patients with schizophrenia by comparing 29 monolingual Spanish-speakers, 29 Latino English-speakers, and 29 non-Latino English-speakers who were matched on relevant demographic variables and who completed cognitive and functional assessments in their native language. There were no statistically significant differences between groups on the four everyday functioning variables (UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment [UPSA], Social Skills Performance Assessment [SSPA], Medication Management Ability Assessment [MMAA], and the Global Assessment of Functioning [GAF]). The results support the cross-linguistic and cross-cultural acceptability of these functional assessment instruments. It appears that demographic variables other than language (e.g., age, education) better explain differences in functional assessment among ethnically diverse subpopulations. Considering the influence of these other factors in addition to language on functional assessments will help ensure that measures can be appropriately interpreted among the diverse residents of the United States.

Examining social cohesion and victimization in a Malaysian multiethnic neighborhood

The ecological theories linking neighborhood characteristics to victimization have rarely been tested in Asia. This article examines three conceptual models of social cohesion (collective efficacy, sense of belonging and feeling of morale) that are designed to explain the residents' victimization in Malaysia. This study focuses on the effects of social cohesion on crime using a sample of 294 ethnically diverse residents living in a high-crime neighborhood. The study shows the relevance of all three conceptual models in predicting victimization for both males and females. The findings indicate that a greater sense of belonging and feeling of morale among the neighborhood residents is significantly associated with lower levels of victimization. Contrary to the literature, the collective efficacy measure was associated with higher reported victimization. Our model also links social cohesion measures to neighborhood racial heterogeneity, a finding that adds knowledge to the study of ethnic diversity and crime–community relationships.

Digital superdiversity in Luxembourg: The role of Luxembourgish in a multilingual Facebook group

The concept of superdiversity (Vertovec, 2007) is useful for describing the linguistic and demographic situation of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has a historically trilingual language situation incorporating Luxembourgish, French and German. In addition to this, the growth of the financial sector has increased the presence of English as a lingua franca. In addition to changing migration patterns, new online phenomena also influence language and communication practices in Luxembourg. This paper analyses digital communication practices related to superdiversity in a Facebook group associated with Luxembourg. Although the main purpose of this group is to facilitate the gifting of consumer goods, it has the side-effect of promoting intercultural and multilingual contact among diverse residents of Luxembourg. The paper focuses on how communication is organised between the diverse members of the group, based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of language practices over the first eighteen months of the group׳s existence. The analysis illustrates how language became an issue with the growth of the group, shows how members׳ language practices changed over time, and highlights the role of the group administrators, who intervened to regulate incidents within the group and facilitate group communication. The paper also considers how technical features of this particular digital environment impact on communication practices within the group. The results of the analysis show that language practices of group members tend inexorably towards homogenisation rather than diversification, putting into question the relationship between a superdiverse context and superdiverse communicative practices.

Mentorship and pursuit of academic medicine careers: a mixed methods study of residents from diverse backgrounds

BackgroundMentorship influences career planning, academic productivity, professional satisfaction, and most notably, the pursuit of academic medicine careers. Little is known about the role of mentoring in recruiting Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino residents into academia. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of mentoring on academic medicine career choice among a cohort of racially and ethnically diverse residents.MethodsA strategic convenience sample of U.S. residents attending national professional conferences between March and July 2010; residents completed a quantitative survey and a subset participated in focus groups.ResultsOf the 250 residents, 183 (73%) completed surveys and 48 participated in focus groups. Thirty-eight percent of residents were white, 31% Black/African American, 17% Asian/other, and 14% Hispanic/Latino. Most respondents (93%) reported that mentorship was important for entering academia, and 70% reported having sufficient mentorship to pursue academic careers. Three themes about mentorship emerged from focus groups: (1) qualities of successful mentorship models; (2) perceived benefits of mentorship; and (3) the value of racial/ethnic and gender concordance. Residents preferred mentors they selected rather than ones assigned to them, and expressed concern about faculty using checklists. Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and female residents described actively seeking out mentors of the same race/ethnicity and gender, but expressed difficulty finding such mentors. Lack of racial/ethnic concordance was perceived as an obstacle for minority mentees, requiring explanation of the context and nuances of their perspectives and situations to non-minority mentors.ConclusionsThe majority of residents in this study reported having access to mentors. However, data show that the lack of diverse faculty mentors may impede diverse residents’ satisfaction and benefit from mentorship relationships compared to white residents. These findings are important for residency programs striving to enhance resident mentorship and for institutions working to diversify their faculty and staff to achieve institutional excellence.

From Food Desert to Food Mirage: Race, Social Class, and Food Shopping in a Gentrifying Neighborhood

New supermarkets in previous “food deserts” can benefit residents by improving their access to healthful, affordable food. But in gentrifying neighborhoods characterized by the inflow of middle-class, white residents and the outflow of working class, minorities, who benefits from a new supermarket that emphasizes organic food and environmental sustainability? This paper contributes to the food access literature by examining the food shopping behavior of diverse residents by using survey data and probability sampling in the Alberta neighborhood in Portland, Oregon (USA). Regression results show that college-educated (62%) and white residents (60%) are much more likely to shop there weekly, regardless of age, gender, owner-renter status, distance from supermarket, or length of time living in the neighborhood. These findings indicate that supermarkets that promote healthy living and environmental sustainability need to be sensitive to the racial “symbolic boundaries” and socioeconomic barriers that may create “food mirages” by limiting food access to poor and minority residents.

Ethnic disparities in adherence to breast cancer survivorship care.

122 Background: Two major components of breast cancer survivorship care include surveillance with mammograms and clinic visits after completion of definitive treatment. Identifying disparities in adherence to survivorship care is critical for improving the care delivery and outcomes of patients. Methods: We evaluated adherence to survivorship care among 4,212 racially/ethnically diverse Texan residents who underwent surgery for stage I-III breast cancer at the MD Anderson Cancer Center between January, 1997 and December, 2006 and completed one year of survivorship care. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) method to evaluate race/ethnicity differences in missed mammograms and clinic visits up to 4 years of survivorship care. Results: The mean age of the cohort was 53 years (range 22-91); 72% white, 11% black, 11% Hispanic and 5% other race/ethnicity. Over four years, 36% of patients missed an annual mammogram and 21% of patients did not have a minimum of 1 clinic visit per year. For the entire study cohort, the trend of missed annual mammograms per year of survivorship care follow-up was 6% (year 1), 17% (year 2), 19% (year 3) and 22% (year 4) (p-trend <0.0001). In multivariable GEE model adjusted for survivorship year, age, stage, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, radiation therapy and county of residence, Hispanic (OR 1.48 95% CI 1.22-1.80) and black (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.15-1.72) patients were more likely be nonadherent with annual mammograms compared to white patients. Hispanic (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.25-2.00) and black (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.14-1.84) patients were also more likely to be nonadherent with clinic visits compared to white patients. There was a significant interaction between ethnicity and non-receipt of adjuvant endocrine therapy on clinic visit nonadherence (p-interaction=0.04) and annual mammogram nonadherence (p-interaction=0.001) among Hispanic compared to white patients. Conclusions: Drop out of breast cancer survivorship care increases over time and black and Hispanic women are more likely to be nonadherent. Better characterization of the reasons for nonadherence is needed to design interventions to improve retention in breast cancer survivorship care, especially for patients not receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy.

Successful Efforts to Increase Diversity in a Cardiology Fellowship Training Program

A large volume of literature has documented racial disparities in the delivery of cardiovascular care in the United States and that decreased access to procedures and undertreatment lead to worse outcomes. A lack of diversity among physicians is considered to be a major contributor. The fellowship training program in cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center had never trained a fellow from a minority group underrepresented in medicine (URM) before 2007. In 2005, the fellowship made it a priority to recruit and match URM candidates in an effort to address the community's lack of diversity and disparities in cardiovascular care. Program leaders revised the recruitment process, making diversity a high priority. Faculty met with members of diverse residency programs during visits to other institutions, the focus of interview day was changed to highlight mentorship, additional targeted postinterview communications reached out to highly competitive applicants, and a regular mentoring program was constructed to allow meaningful interaction with URM faculty and fellows. Since these changes were implemented, the program has successfully matched a URM fellow for 5 consecutive years. Such candidates currently make up 4 of 16 total trainees (25%) in the fellowship in cardiovascular medicine. The cardiovascular medicine fellowship training program at The Ohio State University was able to revise recruitment to attract competitive URM applicants as part of a concerted effort. Other educational programs facing similar challenges may be able to learn from the university's experiences.

Housing, Home and Neighbourhood Renewal in the Era of Superdiversity: Some Lessons from the West Midlands

Following two decades of new migration, the EU is now home to the most diverse population ever. Much new migration has occurred into superdiverse escalator areas already experiencing high levels of deprivation. In the UK, housing market renewal areas (HMRA) had a particular challenge to address housing market failure and the high population turnover often associated with new migration while meeting the needs of established residents. Lack of knowledge about the diverse housing needs of residents risked hampering renewal efforts. This paper uses qualitative data collected from a superdiverse sample of settled and new residents located in the Urban Living HMRA in the West Midlands to examine the ways in which they conceptualise home. The paper argues that understanding the ways in which diverse residents conceptualise home and home making, offers potential for policymakers to understand how residents' needs can be met.

소형 아파트 주거환경의 유니버설 디자인 적용성 평가연구 - 전용면적 18평형 아파트를 중심으로 -

This study was intended to suggest that new small-sized apartment houses should be designed and provided on the base of the concept of universal design. This is based on the diversity of each resident, that is, resident of not as a family, but as an individual. On the background of this, this study evaluated the small-sized apartment house in aspects of universal design. The walk-through and the residents' evaluation were carried out by using 60 items related to the principles of universal design. The 18 pyung apartment complex and housing unit in Jangyou new town area was evaluated. Also, 100 residents living in that apartment housing unit were asked to evaluate these 60 items by using 5 point Likert scale. The walk-through with measuring and taking pictures was carried out by researchers. In general, the apartment house was not met the fundamental elements of universal design. Thus, it was not appropriate for the disabled or the elderly to live in. Specially, the door width of bathroom and kitchen balcony was too narrow to pass through. Also, the floor of entrance and bathroom was not flat, so that the wheelchair user cannot enter by alone. The residents evaluated negatively many items related to design, such as shape, color, and material. Therefore, in order to provide the living environments for diverse residents such as the elderly, or the disabled to live together, the new small-sized apartment houses should be designed on the base of the principles of universal design.

Addressing Remnants of the Past

Local governments, along with other American institutions, have integrated culturally and ethnically diverse residents into the mainstream of society. Yet, vestiges of segregation and exclusion continue to impact quality of life issues for minorities. These historical remnants pose equity, ethical, and practical dilemmas for local government managers as they wrestle with delivery and access of services and corrections of past environmental injustices for all residents. This article explores how these holdovers continue to challenge managers today and seeks from a practitioner’s point of view to provide methods to rectify these inequalities.

Intention to quit smoking and concerns about household environmental risks: findings from the Health in Common Study in low-income housing.

To assess the association between intention to quit smoking and perceptions of household environmental risks among racially/ethnically diverse residents of low-income housing. Baseline data were collected from 2007 to 2009 for the Health in Common Study, which assessed social and physical determinants of cancer risk-related behaviors among residents of 20 low-income housing developments in the Greater Boston metropolitan area. Participants were surveyed about their tobacco use and concerns about household exposures. Household environmental inspections were also conducted to identify conditions associated with increased risk of exposure to indoor environmental agents, including pesticides, mold, and cleaning products. Intention to quit smoking was associated with a greater degree of concern about exposures in the home, yet not with the actual presence of household hazards, as identified by home inspections and survey findings. An ecological approach targeting multiple levels of influence may help to highlight the importance of both quitting tobacco and reducing potential household environmental exposures as part of comprehensive efforts to promote individual and household health.

Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: The Town's Abuzz: Collaborative Opportunities for Environmental Professionals in the Slow City Movement

The global Slow Movement, a response to negative effects of speed on everyday life, seeks to reconnect people and their social and ecological environments. Slow Food and Cittaslow (Slow Cities) are allied Slow Movement networks operating in over 150 countries, including the United States (US). These two networks involve the interrelationship of numerous place-based factors important to social-ecological resilience: local and regional food markets, recovery and protection of biodiversity and local ecologies, support for cultural traditions, agricultural policy reform, climate adaptation planning, economic development, social inclusion, quality of life in the built environment, and the politics of land development. This article presents the philosophical underpinnings of Slow Food and the associated membership requirements of Cittaslow by using the example of Sonoma Valley, California, the first certified Cittaslow in the US (2009). The article then describes Sonoma Valley's Cittaslow Pollinator Stewardship Collaborative to show how the nascent organization has begun its work by facilitating the participation of environmental professionals in community life. In its first year, Cittaslow Sonoma Valley has used a combination of pleasure and responsibility to increase both the visibility of environmental concerns and the opportunities for diverse residents to act locally and globally on issues integrating environmental and economic support. Because it offers a different approach to environmental responsibility, the Slow Movement may be of particular interest to environmental professionals who are concerned about societal response to the complexity and uncertainty of global environmental change.