Ethnic Segregation Research Articles

Obstructive sleep apnea predicts 10-year cardiovascular disease-related mortality in the Sleep Heart Health Study: a machine learning approach.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is considered to be an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to develop and evaluate a machine learning approach with a set of features for assessing the 10-year CVD mortality risk of the OSA population. This study included 2,464 patients with OSA who met study inclusion criteria and were selected from the Sleep Heart Health Study. We evaluated the importance of potential features by mutual information. The top 9 features were selected to develop a random forest model. We evaluated the model performance on a test set (n = 493) using the area under the receiver operating curve with 95% confidence interval and confusion matrix. A random forest model awarded the highest area under the receiver operating curve of 0.84 (95% confidence interval: 0.78-0.89). The specificity and sensitivity were 73.94% and 81.82%, respectively. Sixty-three years old was a threshold for increased risk of 10-year CVD mortality. Persons with severe OSA had higher risk than those with mild OSA. This study demonstrated that a random forest model can provide a quick assessment of the risk of 10-year CVD mortality. Our model may be more informative for patients with OSA in determining their future CVD mortality risk. Li A, Roveda JM, Powers LS, Quan SF. Obstructive sleep apnea predicts 10-year cardiovascular disease-related mortality in the Sleep Heart Health Study: a machine learning approach. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(2):497-504.

Ethnic segregation and native out-migration in Copenhagen

In this article, we study how the local concentration of ethnic minorities relates to the likelihood of out-migration by natives in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. In US studies, a high or increasing proportion of racial or ethnic minorities in inner-city neighborhoods is seen as an important motivation for White middle-class families’ out-migration to racially and ethnically homogeneous suburbs. The relatively egalitarian Scandinavian setting offers a contrasting case, where inner cities are less deprived and where minority groups primarily consist of immigrants and the children of immigrants who have arrived over the past few decades. We use population-wide, longitudinal administrative data covering a 12-year period, and measures of individualized neighborhoods based on exact coordinates for place of residence, to examine whether out-migration is associated with minority concentrations in the Copenhagen area. Our results largely support the presence of a native out-migration mobility pattern, in contrast to much existing literature. We also show that responses to increasing minority concentrations vary across the life course and between natives and children of immigrants.

46. Readmission between 90 days and 2 years following spinal surgery: What role do socioeconomic and community factors play?

<h3>BACKGROUND CONTEXT</h3> Socioeconomic status (SES) underlies three prominent determinants of health inequity: access and quality of care, environmental exposure and health behavior. We analyzed how the qualities of a patient's community, their access to health care and socioeconomic status affect their risk of readmission between postoperative day (POD) 90- and 2-years postop. <h3>PURPOSE</h3> To discern how socioeconomic determinants, the qualities of a patient's community, their access to health care, and socioeconomic status, affect their risk of readmission between postoperative day (POD) 90- and 2-years post-op. <h3>STUDY DESIGN/SETTING</h3> Tertiary care facility. <h3>PATIENT SAMPLE</h3> A total of 3,079 patients undergoing spinal surgery between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively identified from a prospectively collected database. <h3>OUTCOME MEASURES</h3> (1) Readmissions 90-180-day postoperative; (2) 180 day-2-year readmissions. <h3>METHODS</h3> Utilizing our prospectively collected institutional database, 3,079 patients undergoing spinal surgery between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively identified. During the year that each patient underwent surgery, social and economic neighborhood determinants were calculated for each patient-specific zip code using publicly available databases. Utilizing the 2012-2018 versions of the American Community Survey (ACS), a surrogate for each patient's annual income was estimated. We characterized each patient by their age, race, sex, employment status and insurance status. An income distribution was generated for each patient by utilizing the Public Use Micro Area level (the smallest, sub-county, geographic unit). Each patient was assigned the median measurement of the income distribution specific to their demographic characteristics and zip code. Differences in socioeconomic measures when compared to nonreadmitted patients were discerned using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Dunn's post-hoc tests. Significance was defined as P<0.05. <h3>RESULTS</h3> Patients readmitted between POD90-180 resided in neighborhoods where families living below the federal poverty line (FPL) were 28.6% more prevalent (13.57% vs 10.55%; P=0.01). The racial distribution of those neighborhoods was 28.3% more nonwhite (39.2% vs 29.7%; P=0.02), and a significantly greater proportion of residents cited experiencing chronic physical distress (P=0.04), mental distress (P=0.01) and encountering chronic activity limitation due to infrastructural barriers (P=0.04). In addition to those same significant differences observed at POD180, patients readmitted by 2 years additionally had 15.7% lower surrogate incomes than those who were never readmitted ($42,687.76 vs $50,640.42, P=0.0027). Importantly, there were stark differences between White patients and Black/African American patients within each cohort of readmitted patients (POD180 and 2 Year). For example, at 180D, Black/African American patients had 20.9% lower surrogate income ($48,078 vs $38,007; P=0.013) and resided in neighborhoods with 8.5% higher GINI Income Inequality Index Scores (0.51 vs 0.47; P<0.0001). Those neighborhoods additionally had 159.9% higher prevalence of families residing below the FPL (23.7% vs 9.1%; P<0.0001), 53.8% lower median household value ($132,527 vs $287,137; P<0.0001), 19.6% higher obesity prevalence (10.9 vs 9.2; P<0.0001), 8.8% more patients per primary care provider (PCP) (1.36 vs 1.25; P=0.0013), and 179.5% greater proportion of nonwhite residents (66.5% vs 23.8%; P<0.0001). <h3>CONCLUSIONS</h3> Patterns of racial and ethnic segregation in urban environments have given rise to significant disparities in access and quality of care. In this retrospective study of long-term postoperative readmissions, we found patients readmitted after 90 days had lower estimated personal income and resided in neighborhoods with lower access to care, greater activity limitation, and more economic disparity, especially among Black/African American patients. <h3>FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS</h3> This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.

Neighborhood-level Asian American Populations, Social Determinants of Health, and Health Outcomes in 500 US Cities.

The US Asian American (AA) population is projected to double by 2050, reaching ~43 million, and currently resides primarily in urban areas. Despite this, the geographic distribution of AA subgroup populations in US cities is not well-characterized, and social determinants of health (SDH) and health measures in places with significant AA/AA subgroup populations have not been described. Our research aimed to: 1) map the geographic distribution of AAs and AA subgroups at the city- and neighborhood- (census tract) level in 500 large US cities (population ≥66,000); 2) characterize SDH and health outcomes in places with significant AA or AA subgroup populations; and 3) compare SDH and health outcomes in places with significant AA or AA subgroup populations to SDH and health outcomes in places with significant non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations. Maps were generated using 2019 Census 5-year estimates. SDH and health outcome data were obtained from the City Health Dashboard, a free online data platform providing more than 35 measures of health and health drivers at the city and neighborhood level. T-tests compared SDH (unemployment, high-school completion, childhood poverty, income inequality, racial/ethnic segregation, racial/ethnic diversity, percent uninsured) and health outcomes (obesity, frequent mental distress, cardiovascular disease mortality, life expectancy) in cities/neighborhoods with significant AA/AA subgroup populations to SDH and health outcomes in cities/neighborhoods with significant NHW populations (significant was defined as top population proportion quintile). We analyzed AA subgroups including Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Other AA. The count and proportion of AA/AA subgroup populations varied substantially across and within cities. When comparing cities with significant AA/AA subgroup populations vs NHW populations, there were few meaningful differences in SDH and health outcomes. However, when comparing neighborhoods within cities, areas with significant AA/AA subgroup vs NHW populations had less favorable SDH and health outcomes. When comparing places with significant AA vs NHW populations, city-level data obscured substantial variation in neighborhood-level SDH and health outcome measures. Our findings emphasize the dual importance of granular spatial and AA subgroup data in assessing the influence of SDH in AA populations.

Super-multiplex imaging of cellular dynamics and heterogeneity by integrated stimulated Raman and fluorescence microscopy

SummaryObserving multiple molecular species simultaneously with high spatiotemporal resolution is crucial for comprehensive understanding of complex, dynamic, and heterogeneous biological systems. The recently reported super-multiplex optical imaging breaks the “color barrier” of fluorescence to achieve multiplexing number over six in living systems, while its temporal resolution is limited to several minutes mainly by slow color tuning. Herein, we report integrated stimulated Raman and fluorescence microscopy with simultaneous multimodal color tunability at high speed, enabling super-multiplex imaging covering diverse molecular contrasts with temporal resolution of seconds. We highlight this technique by demonstrating super-multiplex time-lapse imaging and image-based cytometry of live cells to investigate the dynamics and cellular heterogeneity of eight intracellular components simultaneously. Our technique provides a powerful tool to elucidate spatiotemporal organization and interactions in biological systems.

Racial and Ethnic Residential Segregation by Family Structure and the Presence of Children in Metropolitan America

Racial and Ethnic Residential Segregation by Family Structure and the Presence of Children in Metropolitan America

The Spatial Structure and Local Experience of Residential Segregation

This study examines the extent to which road connectivity and physical barriers—such as highways, railroad tracks, and waterways—structure spatial patterns of racial and ethnic residential segregation and shape how segregation is locally experienced by residents. Our focus is on physical barriers that are also social boundaries—features of the built environment that reduce physical connectivity and mark a social boundary between geographic areas. We measure residential segregation with attention to the proximity and road connectivity between locations, which allows us to identify areas where physical barriers mark a social boundary between geographic areas with different racial and ethnic compositions. Our approach integrates ethnographic observation of three such areas in Houston, Texas, to investigate residents' perceptions and local experience of social and spatial division. The results reveal that physical barriers are associated with heightened levels of ethnoracial segregation, and residents experience the barriers as symbolic markers of perceived distinctions between groups and physical impediments to social connection. Although barriers like highways, railroad tracks, and bayous are not inherently harbingers of ethnoracial segregation, our study demonstrates that physical barriers can provide the infrastructure for social boundaries and facilitate durable neighborhood racial divisions.

Advancements in data analysis and visualisation techniques to support multiple single-subject analyses: an assessment of movement coordination and coordination variability.

Vector coding is a data analysis technique that quantifies inter-segmental coordination and coordination variability of human movement. The usual reporting of vector coding time-series data can be difficult to interpret when multiple trials are superimposed on the same figure. This study describes and presents novel data visualisations for displaying data from vector coding that supports multiple single- subject analyses. The dataset used in this study describes the lumbar-pelvis coordination in the transverse plane during a gait cycle. The data visualisation techniques presented in this study consists of the use of colour and data bars to map and profile coordination pattern and coordination variability data. The use of colour mapping provides the option to classify commonalities and differences in patterns of coordination between segment couplings and between individuals across a big dataset. Data bars display segmental dominancy data that can provide an intuitive summary on coupling angle distribution over time. The data visualisation in this study may provide further insight on how people with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis perform goal-orientated movements following an intervention, which would support clinical management strategies.

Residential segregation of ethnic minorities and sustainable city development. Case of Kumasi, Ghana

The influx of people of different sociocultural and ethnic background affects the composition of the city in ways that go beyond the conventional disaggregation by age, sex and income. The paper examines (i) the nature and patterns of residential segregation of ethnic minorities, (ii) the factors and processes underlying the locational choice of ethnic minorities, and (iii) the knowledge or perception on dimensions and effects of ethnic residential segregation on sustainable city development. This paper uses two migrant communities – Aboabo and Asawase – in Kumasi, Ghana's fastest growing city as case studies. The study adopts household surveys, focus group discussions, secondary data and agency interviews to achieve the objectives of the research. Findings of the paper generally show that even in highly dense populated and multi-ethnic neighbourhoods, some levels of clustering are possible for several reasons. The existence of migrant communities has both positive and adverse implications on environmental, social and economic sustainability of the city. There is however no urban planning or management regime in place to harness the potentials of such neighbourhoods for sustainable city development.

Changes in ethnic spatial segregation across English housing market areas (2001-2011): identifying ethnic and context configurations

Using a combination of segregation indices – calculated with aggregated census data obtained for small geographies (lower layer super output areas, LSOAs) – the paper shows levels and changes in spatial segregation in eight housing market areas (HMAs) in England between 2001 and 2011, for the six most numerous non-white ethnic minority groups (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Caribbean, and African). The double comparison between HMAs and between groups, together with the use of different measures of segregation, enables identifying different patterns of segregation, as well as ‘ethnic’ and ‘context’ configurations. Specifically, while some segregation patterns are distinctive to certain ethnic minority groups independently of their location, others are specific to some or most groups residing in certain contexts. As examples of the first, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis’ segregation levels are often the highest, independently of their HMA of residence; and also seem to be following specific (and contrasting) patterns of change over time. As regards context configurations, Birmingham appears as a favourable context for changes in spatial segregation, while the opposite is observed for Leicester and Bradford.

When Ethnicity and Gender Align: Classroom Composition, Friendship Segregation, and Collective Identities in European Schools

AbstractUsing survey data on school classes in four European countries, we study how the social relations and identities of adolescents develop depending on the degree to which ethnic and gender boundaries align with each other. Minority students will have mostly same-ethnic friends, we find, when classmates of different ethnic origins tend to be of the opposite sex as well. Within such local topographies of boundaries, minority students will also end up identifying less as members of the nation. In contrast, majority students are not affected by the alignment of ethnic and gender boundaries, and gender identities of both minorities and majorities are less malleable as well: Neither friendship segregation along gender divides nor the development of gender role attitudes depend on the degree to which gender and ethnic origin align. We argue that gender boundaries and feelings of national belonging among majority students are widely taken for granted and thus less sensitive to attribute alignment at the local level. The article builds a bridge between the literatures on ethnic segregation of friendship networks, adolescent ethnic identities, and gender role attitudes by integrating them into a structuralist framework that identifies the conditions under which the local configuration of boundaries affects social life.

Ethnic geography: Measurement and evidence

We know little about how ethnic geography, i.e., the distribution of ethnic groups across space, shapes comparative economic, political and social development. To make progress and to harness the growing availability of spatially explicit data, we need indices summarizing key aspects of ethnic geography. We develop and axiomatize a novel index of ethnic segregation that takes both ethnic and spatial distances between individuals into account. We can decompose this index into indices of generalized ethnic fractionalization, spatial dispersion, and the alignment of spatial and ethnic distances. For our application, we compute different country-level versions of the segregation index and its components based on either ethnographic maps or geo-referenced survey data. Reassuringly, the different versions of the segregation index are highly correlated. We explore the relation of our indices to (i) existing measures of ethnic segregation and diversity; (ii) climatic and geographical factors; and (iii) the quality of government, economic development, and trust.

Ethnic switching: Longitudinal evidence on prevalence, correlates, and implications for measuring ethnic segregation

Ethnic divisions are prominent in many countries and associated with various societal ills, ranging from discrimination to violence and intra-state conflict. Commonly seen as exogenous, individuals' ethnicity is not necessarily fixed or unmalleable, however. We first use individual-level panel data for Indonesia, the U.S. and India, to document the prevalence of generic, undirected intra-individual ethnicity change. Second, we focus on potential correlates of ethnic switching and find that ethnic switching is predictable and follows logical patterns. By zooming in on individuals’ choices to switch to a specific ethnicity, we similarly find strong evidence that such directed ethnic switching occurs systematically and is guided by deliberate individual decision making. Third, considering potential implications of endogenous ethnicity, we find that ethnic switching can severely inflate official numbers on ethnic segregation, specifically on marital endogamy. We conclude that ethnic switching is real and highly relevant for the study of ethnic diversity and segregation.

An Adaptive Recovering Algorithm for The Color Bar Code Image Based on Gamma Transforms

Aiming at the problem of error reading caused by color deviation under abnormal light source, a color bar code image restoration algorithm adaptively acquiring correction parameters is proposed. According to degree of exposure, the variation range of parameter γ is selected the step size is set. Gamma transformation is then implemented sequentially for the luminance component. Furthermore, the root means square error of enhanced image and source image, as well as the information entropy of enhanced image are sequentially obtained. The best balance point is captured, yielding corresponding γ for image recovery. Finally, the image is segmented based on histogram equalization principle to achieve the best recovery performance. The experimental results show that the algorithm is able to obtain the correction parameters adaptively and recover true color of color bar code images effectively under low-light or non-uniformly intense light of particular light sources.

A Critical and Extensive Review of the Historical Rise and the Contemporary Resurgence of Interest in Positivism in Geography

The positivist methods of explaining geographical phenomena enjoyed prominence and revolutionized the methods of geographical research up to the 1950s where the criticisms were largely that the methods cannot account for any role in human geography and the subsequent rise of humanism as an alternative mode of explanation. These critiques and the introduction of many concepts in humanism inadvertently slowed down the progress in seeking for acceptable scientific methods to explain human experiences in geographical research. These criticisms in the 1980s and 90s reduced the popularity and application of the quantitative methodologies which were powerful research techniques in human geography. Geography by its nature is a dual discipline with one half on physical and the other on human geography. Human geographers have used quantitative methodologies to study a multitude of topics including demographics, migration, housing and settlement patterns and ethnic segregation. Human activities like migration, journey to work, retail capital patronage, have adopted some element of scientific laws and models have been focused on transportation, migration, settlement development, innovation diffusion, population growth and distribution, urban land use etc. The shortcomings of the philosophy of humanism have not provided a good alternative in explaining geographical phenomenon and has over time become the gains of the positivist school of thought. The resurgence in the interest in positivism as a tool for explanation of geographical phenomena bores down from the fact that the humanistic methods is laced with subjectivity, the language of discourse is abstract and difficult to comprehend while the logical sequence of the positivist methods make the approach real and achievable.

An Estonian-Russian Language Club as a Venue for Grassroots Ethnic Integration

AbstractOne third of Estonian residents identify Russian as their mother tongue, and despite having lived in Estonia for decades, many of them are not fluent in the Estonian language and choose to remain stateless rather than obtain Estonian citizenship by passing the state language exam. Ethnic segregation in Estonia continues to be a matter of bitter political debate, not least in the context of tensions with neighboring Russia and pressure from the EU to solve the problem. While a lot of state resources are being spent on what the Estonian-speaking public often perceives as vain attempts at integration of Russophones, several civil society initiatives have recently emerged to provide platforms for informal language socialization. In this article, I focus on the case study of theKeelegrupp(Language Group) which provides a venue for interaction between Estonian and Russian speakers, to analyze what makes this informal organization more successful at responding to the challenges of language-based segregation than professional, state-funded initiatives. Ethnographic documentation and analysis of this initiative is essential given that its experience and structure are highly applicable for and transferrable to many other states with similar situations of ethnic segregation, not the least the neighboring Baltic countries.

Single-family rentals and neighborhood racial integration✰

Neighborhood racial segregation continues to be a major social problem within America's metropolitan areas. One factor possibly accounting for segregation is the inability of minority households to afford housing in White neighborhoods, where housing units historically have been largely owner-occupied single-family homes. In recent years there has been a dramatic shift in the housing makeup of many of these neighborhoods, with single-family rentals increasing in share. Rentals lower the cost of neighborhood entry. Our results, which suggest that these rentals reduce neighborhood racial segregation for Blacks, support policies that seek to maintain and grow single-family rentals within White neighborhoods.

COVID-19 Mortality in English Neighborhoods: The Relative Role of Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors

Factors underlying neighborhood variation in COVID-19 mortality are important to assess in order to prioritize resourcing and policy intervention. As well as characteristics of area populations, such as health status and ethnic mix, it is important to assess the role of more specifically environmental variables (e.g., air quality, green space access). The analysis of this study focuses on neighborhood mortality variations during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in England against a range of postulated area risk factors, both socio-demographic and environmental. We assess mortality gradients across levels of each risk factor and use regression methods to control for multicollinearity and spatially correlated unobserved risks. An analysis of spatial clustering is based on relative mortality risks estimated from the regression. We find mortality gradients in most risk factors showing appreciable differences in COVID mortality risk between English neighborhoods. A regression analysis shows that after allowing for health deprivation, ethnic mix, and ethnic segregation, environment (especially air quality) is an important influence on COVID mortality. Hence, environmental influences on COVID mortality risk in the UK first wave are substantial, after allowing for socio-demographic factors. Spatial clustering of high mortality shows a pronounced metropolitan-rural contrast, reflecting especially ethnic composition and air quality.

The Relationship between Ethno-Linguistic Composition of Social Networks and Activity Space: A Study Using Mobile Phone Data

This study is a contribution to the discussion on the ethnic segregation cycle, through the examination of individuals’ activity spaces—including residence and workplace—and from the perspective of social networks. Bridging social ties can be a key factor in higher minority inclusion and in breaking the vicious circle of segregation. We compare the spatial behaviour of two ethno-linguistic population groups living in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital city (Estonian-speaking majority and Russian-speaking minority), each of which have co- and interethnic social networks, through the use of mobile positioning (call detail records) and call-graph data. Among our main findings, we show firstly that interethnic social networks are more common for the Russian-speaking minority population. The probability of having an interethnic network is related to the ethno-linguistic composition of the residential district concerned; districts with a higher proportion of residents from another ethnic group tend to favour interethnic networks more. Secondly, the activity space is related to the ethno-linguistic composition of the social networks. Spatial behaviour is most expansive for Estonian speakers with co-ethnic networks, and most constrained for Russian speakers with co-ethnic networks. At the same time, speakers of Estonian and Russian with interethnic networks show rather similar spatial behaviours: They tend to visit more districts where the proportion of people from the other ethno-linguistic group is higher. Interethnic networks are therefore related to spatial behaviour, which can indicate interethnic meeting points and locations, something that is regarded as being important in assimilation and segregation cycle theories.

Ethnic diversity and segregation in German cities

Based on geocoded data, we analyze the level and (co)variation of ethnic diversity and ethnic segregation across large cities in Germany. Overall, our results indicate that the level of ethnic segregation is relatively low in German cities. However, it differs across migrant groups and skill levels. Moreover, there is considerable variation in both segregation and diversity across cities, which shows some specific patterns. East German cities are characterized by a low population share of foreign workers and high diversity among migrants that coincide with an above-average degree of segregation. The largest West German cities tend to show a diverse population structure, which is accompanied by low segregation levels. This trend also applies to the main college towns in West Germany. In contrast, cities in the old industrialized Ruhr area are characterized by above-average segregation levels, which goes hand-in-hand with relatively low diversity. Altogether, we detect a negative correlation between ethnic diversity and segregation. The significant differences in diversity and segregation across urban areas might be the result of distinct migration histories of the cities and a pronounced persistence of the resulting spatial patterns.