Higher Neighborhood Research Articles

Does Residing in a Neighborhood of High Social Participation Postpone Deterioration in Health among Middle-Aged Adults? A Multilevel Survival Analysis in Japan.

Social participation (SP) is known to have a favorable impact on an individual's health. This study examined whether residing in a neighborhood with a high SP level would be predictive of delayed deterioration in health outcomes, even after controlling for individual SP. With the 14-wave longitudinal data of 32,388 individuals (15,749 men and 16,639 women) aged 50-59 years residing in 2,477 neighborhoods in 2005, we used multilevel Cox proportional hazards models to examine the impact of neighborhood SP on the onset of problems in activities of daily living (ADL), poor self-rated health, and psychological distress. Residing in a neighborhood with high SP levels modestly postponed the onset of health problems in individuals. The hazard ratio (HR) of ADL problems in response to residing in a neighborhood with above-average SP levels was 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85-0.99) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.87-1.00) for men and women, respectively, even after controlling for an individual's SP and other attributes. The results for other health outcomes showed a similar pattern. These findings suggest that high neighborhood SP has a favorable impact on health among middle-aged adults, independent of individual SP. Policy measures to enhance and promote neighborhood SP are thus needed in terms of public health.

Ecological Predictors of Older Adults' Participation and Retention in a Physical Activity Intervention.

Research is still lacking regarding the question as to how programs to promote healthy ageing should be organized in order to increase acceptance and thus effectiveness. For older adults, ecological factors, such as the physical distance to program sites, might predict participation and retention. Thus, the key aim of this analysis was to examine these factors in a physical activity intervention trial. Adults (N = 8299) aged 65 to 75 years were invited to participate and n = 589 participants were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups with 10 weeks of physical activity home practice and exercise classes or a wait-list control group. Response, participation, and dropout data were compared regarding ecological, individual, and study-related variables. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression models were used to determine predictors of dropout. In total, 405 participants completed the study. Weekly class attendance rates were examined regarding significant weather conditions and holiday periods. The highest rates of nonresponse were observed in districts with very high neighborhood levels of socioeconomic status. In this study, ecological factors did not appear to be significant predictors of dropout, whereas certain individual and study-related variables were predictive. Future studies should consider these factors during program planning to mobilize and keep subjects in the program.

In Older Adults, Perceived Stress and Self-Efficacy Are Associated with Verbal Fluency, Reasoning, and Prospective Memory (Moderated by Socioeconomic Position).

Despite evidence that stress relates negatively to cognitive functioning in older adults, little is known how appraisal of stress and socioeconomic meso-level factors influence different types of cognitive functions in older adults. Here, we assess the relationship between perceived stress (PSS scale) and a battery of cognitive functions, including prospective memory in 1054 older adults (65+). A moderator analysis assessed whether this relationship varies with neighborhood socioeconomic status using an area-based measure of Socioeconomic Position (SEP). Perceived stress was associated with worse processing speed, verbal fluency, and inductive reasoning. The perceived self-efficacy subscale of the PSS is related to better performance in these measures. Higher self-efficacy was also associated with better prospective memory; this relationship was more pronounced for people with high neighborhood SEP. These findings indicate that not only do perceived stress and perceived self-efficacy relate to cognitive functioning in older age but also that neighborhood SEP is a moderator of this relationship.

High-Risk Neighborhoods and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infants Born Preterm

To study the association between neighborhood risk and moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 22-26months corrected age in children born at <34weeks of gestation. We hypothesized that infants born preterm living in high-risk neighborhoods would have a greater risk of NDI and cognitive, motor, and language delays. We studied a retrospective cohort of 1291 infants born preterm between 2005 and 2016, excluding infants with congenital anomalies. NDI was defined as any one of the following: a Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III Cognitive or Motor composite score <85, bilateral blindness, bilateral hearing impairment, or moderate-severe cerebral palsy. Maternal addresses were geocoded to identify census block groups and create high-risk versus low-risk neighborhood groups. Bivariate and regression analyses were run to assess the impact of neighborhood risk on outcomes. Infants from high-risk (n=538; 42%) and low-risk (n=753; 58%) neighborhoods were compared. In bivariate analyses, the risk of NDI and cognitive, motor, and language delays was greater in high-risk neighborhoods. Inadjusted regression models, the risks of NDI (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.04-1.98), cognitive delay (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.15-2.28), and language delay (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.15-2.16) were greater in high-risk neighborhoods. Breast milk at discharge was more common in low-risk neighborhoods and was protective of NDI in regression analysis. High neighborhood risk provides an independent contribution to preterm adverse NDI, cognitive, and language outcomes. In addition, breast milk at discharge was protective. Knowledge of neighborhood risk may inform the targeted implementation of programs for socially disadvantaged infants.

Experiência na criação de um dicionário bilíngue de parônimos para alunos de língua estrangeira

In this paper, we would like to present a new version of a German-Russian and Russian-German paronym dictionary. This book is a pioneering work and so far unique of its kind to serve as a reference work for foreign language learners (Russian or German as L2 language), warning them of the dangers of confusing similar sounding words in their spoken language. The previous edition (PAVLOVA; SVETOZAROVA, 2012) includes many types of paronyms which are described in the paper, but this work needs to be expanded by more keywords and paronym groups. The previous version of this Dictionary will also be extended by a few more classes of paronyms. The Dictionary is primarily aimed at two target groups consisting of foreign language (L2) learners. In this case, these are Russians who learn German and Germans who learn Russian as second language. For L2 learners, the difference between words with high and low neighborhood density is larger than for native speakers. This is proven by both the “Slips of the tongue” Corpus we created and by modern psycholinguistic studies to which we refer in this paper. This is the reason why we include more paronym pairs and groups in our Dictionary than traditional reference works of this kind do. In this paper, we describe different types of paronyms, explain our methods for the selection of keywords, and clarify the structure of our Dictionary.

Subjective Aging in Context: Neighborhood Social Environment and Self-perceptions of Aging among Older Adults

Self-perception of aging (SPA), one’s attitude toward one’s own aging, has been associated with health and well-being in later life. Whereas existing literature identifies individual-level predictors of SPA (e.g., education and health), little is known about the role of neighborhood context. The present study examines whether 1) neighborhood social environment is related to SPA and 2) age moderates this relationship. Our analytic sample includes 11,394 adults aged 50+ from the 2014 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (Mean Age=68, SD=10.14, range 50-98). Indicators of neighborhood social environment include (a) perceived neighborhood social cohesion (the trust and social ties among community residents), (b) neighborhood friends, and (c) relatives living in the neighborhood. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations of each neighborhood-level indicator with the positive and negative dimensions of SPA. The models controlled for demographic, socio-economic, and health covariates. Greater neighborhood social cohesion (B=0.13, SE=0.01, p<.001) and having neighborhood friends (B=0.14, SE=0.02, p<0.001) were associated with higher levels of the positive SPA. As for the negative dimension of SPA, neighborhood social cohesion was the only significant predictor (B=-0.13, SE=0.01, p<0.001). Furthermore, we found significant interaction effects between neighborhood social cohesion and age: higher neighborhood cohesion was associated with more positive (B=-.003, SE=.00, p<.001) and less negative SPA ratings (B=-.003, SE=.00, p<.001) at younger ages than older ages. Our findings provide insights into how neighborhood social context shapes subjective aging, suggesting that a socially cohesive neighborhood may promote more favorable perceptions of aging, particularly for younger residents.

Psychosocial Stress Profiles and Cognitive Function in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adults

We developed comprehensive multi-domain profiles of psychosocial stress in urban-dwelling, racially and ethnically diverse adults (age range: 25-65; N=256; 63% Non-Hispanic Black; 25% Hispanic; 9% Non-Hispanic White) and evaluated associations with cognitive function. Participants completed psychosocial stress measures tapping into ten domains and tasks of processing speed, working memory, and episodic memory. Latent profile analyses controlling for age yielded four-profiles: high neighborhood stress, moderate versus high work stress and daily discrimination, and high health and relationship stress. Profiles significantly differed in income, age, and employment status. The profile with moderate work stress and daily discrimination and the profile with high neighborhood stress each had significantly lower working memory than the other profiles. The finding of lower working memory among individuals in the moderate work stress and daily discrimination profile was not due to sociodemographic variables. Results highlight the potentially cumulative influence of different contextual stressors on cognition.

From street address to survival: Neighborhood socioeconomic status and pancreatic cancer outcomes

BackgroundNeighborhood factors may influence cancer care through physical, economic, and social means. This study assesses the impact of neighborhood socioeconomic status on diagnosis, treatment, and survival in pancreatic cancer. MethodsPatients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma were identified in the 2010–2016 Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (divided into tertiles) was based on an National Cancer Institute census tract-level composite score, including income, education, housing, and employment. Multivariate models predicted metastasis at time of diagnosis and receipt of surgery for early-stage disease. Overall survival compared via Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards. ResultsFifteen thousand four hundred and thirty-six patients (29.7%) lived in low neighborhood socioeconomic status, 17,509 (33.7%) in middle neighborhood socioeconomic status, and 19,010 (36.6%) in high neighborhood socioeconomic status areas. On multivariate analysis, neighborhood socioeconomic status was not associated with metastatic disease at diagnosis (low neighborhood socioeconomic status odds ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval 0.97–1.07; ref: high neighborhood socioeconomic status). However, low neighborhood socioeconomic status was associated with decreased likelihood of surgery for localized/regional disease (odds ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.54–0.68; ref: high neighborhood socioeconomic status) and worse overall survival (low neighborhood socioeconomic status hazard ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.15–1.21; ref: high neighborhood socioeconomic status). ConclusionPatients from resource-poor neighborhoods are less likely to receive stage-appropriate therapy for pancreatic cancer and have an 18% higher risk of death.

Association of neighborhood‐level socioeconomic advantage with cognition and dementia risk factors in an Australian cohort

AbstractBackgroundResiding in areas of low socioeconomic advantage is associated with increased risk of dementia1 and associated brain pathology2,3. Given the long and insidious course of dementia pathologies, it is critical to establish the effect of ‘exposomic’ risk factors in midlife and to understand which groups of people are particularly vulnerable. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine whether cognitive performance or dementia risk factors differed according to neighborhood‐level socioeconomic advantage in cognitively normal middle‐aged people.MethodsOur sample comprised 4798 participants from the Healthy Brain Project, an online cohort of community‐dwelling Australians aged 40‐70 years. Socioeconomic advantage was computed by matching participants’ residential address to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Index of Relative Socioeconomic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD), assigning each participant a decile score (10 being the most advantaged). Scores were related to dementia risk estimated using the CAIDE dementia risk score and cognitive performance measured with the Cogstate Brief Battery (CBB) in linear regression models.ResultsOf the 4798 participants (mean age±SD 56±7 years, 26% male), 2762 (58%) were classified as living within an area of high neighbourhood socioeconomic advantage (IRSAD scores ≥ 8th decile), 1296 resided in rural or regional areas (27%), and 984 identified as “non‐European” (21%). Each decile unit increase in neighborhood socioeconomic advantage was associated with a lower CAIDE dementia risk score (β±SE= ‐0.088±0.024, p &lt;0.001), following adjustments for race and rurality, and with better memory performance (β±SE= 0.084±0.024, p &lt;0.001), following adjustments for age, sex, race, education, and rurality. An interaction was observed with differences in memory performance between levels of neighborhood advantage (comparing scores above and below the 8th decile) being larger at older ages and in people with higher dementia risk scores (Figure 1). There was no association between neighborhood‐level advantage and attention.ConclusionsIn a middle‐aged Australian cohort, higher neighborhood‐level socioeconomic advantage was associated with superior memory and lower dementia risk scores. Efforts to lower dementia risk factors, particularly in relation to reducing the negative impacts of disadvantage, are needed to curtail the growing burden of dementia.

Inflammatory breast cancer, trimodal treatment, and mortality: Does where you live matter?

BackgroundThe objective of this study is to examine the associations among neighborhood socioeconomic status, trimodal treatment, and disease-specific mortality among inflammatory breast cancer patients using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. MethodsPatients diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (T4d) from 2010 to 2016 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. The cohort was stratified into neighborhood socioeconomic status groups (low, middle, high) based on National Cancer Institute census tract-level index. Trimodal treatment was defined as receipt of modified radical mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Bivariable analysis, log-rank test, and a Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratio, 95% confidence interval) were conducted to evaluate the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status, trimodal treatment, and disease-specific mortality. ResultsIn total, 4,374 patients met study criteria. There was no difference between the neighborhood socioeconomic status groups in receipt of trimodal treatment (P = .19). On multivariable analysis, there was no association between low neighborhood socioeconomic status (hazard ratio 1.13, 0.98–1.30; ref high neighborhood socioeconomic status) or middle neighborhood socioeconomic status (hazard ratio 1.01, 0.88–1.64; ref high neighborhood socioeconomic status) and disease-specific mortality. Notably, triple negative subtype (hazard ratio 2.66, 2.21–3.20; ref luminal A) and Black race (hazard ratio 1.41, 1.16–1.72; ref White) were associated with a higher disease-specific mortality. ConclusionFor inflammatory breast cancer patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, disease-specific mortality appears to be driven by tumor biology and patient characteristics instead of treatment disparities or neighborhood socioeconomic status.

Neighbourhood tobacco retail access and tobacco use susceptibility in young adolescents in urban India

BackgroundNeighbourhood tobacco retail access may influence adolescent tobacco use. In India, we examined the association between neighbourhood tobacco retail access and cognitive risks for tobacco use during early adolescence.MethodsIn 2019–2020,...

Abstract 11327: Relationship of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation with Outcomes of a Comprehensive STEMI Protocol

Introduction: Social determinants of health have an established impact on cardiovascular outcomes. STEMI quality improvement programs have resulted in reductions in door to balloon time (D2BT) and improved STEMI outcomes nationally. We evaluated whether a comprehensive STEMI protocol (CSP) improves care and outcomes in patients with moderate and high socioeconomic deprivation. Methods: Patients with STEMI treated with PCI at a single tertiary care hospital before (1/1/11-7/14/14, n=674) and after (7/15/14-7/15/19, n=1087) implementation of a CSP were included. Patients were stratified into low ( &lt; 50 th percentile), medium (51-90 th percentile), and high (&gt;90 th percentile) deprivation groups based on census block group level area deprivation index. Outcomes were D2BT and mortality. Results: Neighborhood deprivation was 29.0% low (174 pre-CSP, 338 post-CSP), 40.8% moderate (268 pre, 450 post), and 30.2% high (232 pre, 299 post). Female sex (low 28.3%, moderate 31.9%, high 38.6%, p=0.001) and black race (2.5%, 20.7%, 61.8%, p&lt;0.001) were associated with higher levels of deprivation. Improvements in median D2BT were observed in all deprivation groups after CSP implementation (Figure). Risk-adjusted median D2BT among ER/hospital patients from higher neighborhood deprivation levels was significantly non-inferior (non-inferiority limit = 5m) to those from lower deprivation levels after CSP implementation. In-hospital mortality was similar before and after CSP implementation in the low deprivation group (4.6% vs. 3.6%, p=0.56), and decreased significantly in moderate/high deprivation groups (7.0% vs. 3.1%, p=0.001). Conclusions: A CSP was associated with improvements in D2BT across all deprivation groups and a substantial mortality reduction in moderate/high deprivation groups. Standardized quality improvement initiatives may mitigate social determinants of health in time-sensitive high acuity conditions such as STEMI.

Socio-ecological determinants of under-five mortality in Nigeria: exploring the roles of neighbourhood poverty and use of solid cooking fuel.

Globally, despite the decline in under-five mortality rate from 213 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 132 per 1000 live births in 2018, the pace of decline has been slow, and this can be attributed to poor progress in child survival interventions, including those aimed at reducing children's exposure to household pollution. This study examined the influence of neighbourhood poverty and the use of solid cooking fuels on under-five mortality in Nigeria. Data for the study comprised a weighted sample of 124,442 birth histories of childbearing women who reported using cooking fuels in the kitchens located within their house drawn from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive and analytical analyses were carried out, including frequency tables, Pearson's chi-squared test and multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional regression model. The results showed that the risk of under-five mortality was significantly associated with mothers residing in areas of high neighbourhood poverty (HR: 1.44, CI: 1.34-1.54) and the use of solid cooking fuels within the house (HR: 2.26, CI: 2.06-2.49). Government and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria should initiate strategic support and campaigns aimed at empowering and enlightening mothers on the need to reduce their use of solid cooking fuels within the house to reduce harmful emissions and their child health consequences.

The influence of vapor on the particle transport in high humid neighborhood environment

The particle transport characteristics have a significant effect on the exposure of residents and pedestrians to traffic pollutants in the street canyon. Around the lakeside environment, the diffusion of water vapor affects the flow characteristics of the gas mixture, which has a considerable influence on particle transport in the street canyon. A computational domain containing water bodies from which droplets were emitted by evaporation, a lakeside avenue and architectural groups were constructed. The RNG k-ε turbulence model and discrete phase model were applied to study the velocity, pressure, density of the airflow and particle transport characteristics in the street canyon with the absolute humidity increase (AHI) of 0, 3.8×10-4 g/kg, 1.7×10-3 g/kg, 3.1×10-3 g/kg. The saturated vapor pressure on the surface of droplets was modified by the pressure correction equation, which can limit the evaporation rate of the droplets. The simulation results demonstrated that, the diffusion of vapor could reduce the airflow velocity and increase the air pressure and density. The particle concentration in the street canyon increased with the AHI. Most of the pathogens in the air are transmitted with the flow of particle, and the study has some guiding significance to prevent the transmission of viruses.

Higher Neighborhood Population Density Is Associated with Lower Potassium Intake in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

Current U.S. dietary guidelines recommend a daily potassium intake of 3400 mg/day for men and 2600 mg/day for women. Sub-optimal access to nutrient-rich foods may limit potassium intake and increase cardiometabolic risk. We examined the association of neighborhood characteristics related to food availability with potassium intake in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). 13,835 participants completed a 24-h dietary recall assessment and had complete covariates. Self-reported potassium intake was calibrated with an objective 24-h urinary potassium biomarker, using equations developed in the SOL Nutrition & Physical Activity Assessment Study (SOLNAS, N = 440). Neighborhood population density, median household income, Hispanic/Latino diversity, and a retail food environment index by census tract were obtained. Linear regression assessed associations with 24-h potassium intake, adjusting for individual-level and neighborhood confounders. Mean 24-h potassium was 2629 mg/day based on the SOLNAS biomarker and 2702 mg/day using multiple imputation and HCHS/SOL biomarker calibration. Compared with the lowest quartile of neighborhood population density, living in the highest quartile was associated with a 26% lower potassium intake in SOLNAS (adjusted fold-change 0.74, 95% CI 0.59–0.94) and a 39% lower intake in HCHS/SOL (adjusted fold-change 0.61 95% CI 0.45–0.84). Results were only partially explained by the retail food environment. The mechanisms by which population density affects potassium intake should be further studied.

The effect of mild dementia on speech perception in quiet and noise

Difficulty understanding speech, particularly in background noise, is a common complaint of older adults. In quiet, speech perception is often assumed to be relatively automatic. In background noise, however, additional cognitive abilities likely play a more substantial role in successful communication (Koeritzer et al., 2018; Rönnberg et al., 2013). We used a word identification task in quiet and two levels of speech-shaped noise ( + 6 and + 3 SNR), to examine the impact of mild dementia on speech perception. In addition to noise, the number of similar sounding words (i.e., number of neighbors) also influences spoken word recognition — words with high neighborhood density (many competitors) are more difficult to perceive compared to low-density words (Luce and Pisoni, 1998). We predicted that individuals with dementia would perform significantly worse in conditions with the highest cognitive demands (high-density words, least favorable SNR). Preliminary results revealed that identification scores were significantly lower for conditions with more background noise and that, even after controlling for hearing loss, individuals with dementia had significantly reduced performance in all conditions. These results suggest that after accounting for differences in hearing, individuals with mild dementia still struggle with speech understanding, even in the absence of background noise.

Effects of Neighborhood Ethnic Density and Psychosocial Factors on Colorectal Cancer Screening Behavior Among Asian American Adults, Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey, United States, 2014-2019.

IntroductionWe examined how neighborhood ethnic composition influences colorectal cancer (CRC) screening behavior in Asian American adults and explored whether associations between psychosocial predictors, including knowledge, self-efficacy, and barriers affecting CRC screening behavior, varied by level of neighborhood ethnic composition.MethodsFilipino, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans (N = 1,158) aged 50 years or older were included in the study. Psychosocial factors associated with CRC screening, CRC screening behavior, and sociodemographic characteristics were extracted from participants’ data. Neighborhood ethnic composition was characterized as the census-tract–level percentage of Asian residents. Participants’ addresses were geocoded to the census tract level to determine whether they resided in an ethnically dense neighborhood. Multilevel logistic regression models were run with and without interaction terms.ResultsIn mixed-effects logistic regression model 1, residing in an ethnically dense neighborhood was associated with lower odds of CRC screening (odds ratio [OR] = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.45–0.93; P = .02) after controlling for age, sex, education, ethnic group, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Greater perceived barriers to CRC screening (OR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.50–0.77; P < .001) resulted in significantly lower odds of obtaining a CRC screening, while higher self-efficacy (OR = 1.17, 95% CI, 1.11–1.23, P < .001) was associated with higher odds. In model 2, among those residing in a high ethnic density neighborhood, greater barriers to screening were associated with lower odds of having obtained a CRC screening (OR = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.30–0.96; P = .04).ConclusionWe found that residing in an ethnically dense neighborhood indicated higher disparities in obtaining CRC screenings. Future studies should examine socioeconomic and cultural disparities, as well as disparities in the built environment, that are characteristic of ethnically dense neighborhoods and assess the impact of these disparities on CRC screening behaviors.

Growth and structural changes in Swiss uneven-aged forests over 100 years, and comparisons between 15 uneven-aged forest types of Europe, North America and Australia

Abstract Long-term changes in growth, physiology and stand structure, as well as differences due to species composition, were examined in six types of Swiss plenter forests: (1) Picea abies dominated, (2) mixtures of P. abies and Abies alba, (3) mixtures of P. abies, A. alba and Fagus sylvatica, (4) mixtures of Larix decidua, Pinus cembra/sylvatica and P. abies, (5) F. sylvatica dominated and (6) species diverse stands. Long-term changes were examined using 19 plots measured for an average of 94 years. These data were then combined with the literature plenter forest data to compare the growth and structure of 15 species compositions from Europe, North America and Australia. Over the past 100 years, common trends included increases in growth, maximum tree sizes, species diversity, and increasingly convex diameter distributions with fewer medium sized trees and more very large trees. Differences in growth between species compositions were generally consistent with their light-use efficiency, transpiration and water-use efficiency, which were calculated using a process-based model. Stand volume of each forest type was negatively correlated with the shade tolerance (but not crown architectures) of the species it contained, but no such correlations existed for stand basal area. This reflects the high structural variability of these forests (through time and between sites) as well as the high tree neighbourhood variability within plots, which appear to buffer the effects of stand density on regeneration and recruitment. This study shows that despite significant temporal and spatial variability in structure, the negative exponentially shaped diameter distributions were maintained in the long term by applying simple silvicultural principles rather than requiring a very specific stand structure, i.e. a certain stand density, or that all diameter classes strictly lie on the curve of a negative exponentially shaped diameter distribution. The values of stand structural characteristics reported in this study could be used as a guide for the conversion of relatively simply structured forests into plenter forests.

Admitting Students in Context: Field Experiments on Information Dashboards in College Admissions

ABSTRACT In this paper, we address whether the provision of contextual information about where students live and learn has the potential to expand postsecondary opportunities to students from disadvantaged neighborhoods and high schools. To examine this question, we describe the results of field experiments with admissions officers working in eight universities who re-read real applications from previous admissions cycles with a dashboard of contextual data about the applicant’s neighborhood and high school. In this low-stakes context, admissions officers from institutions utilizing holistic admissions practices were more likely to recommend admitting low-SES applicants when provided with contextual data. The experiment also primed admissions readers to treat students from highly disadvantaged high school and neighborhood contexts more favorably relative to the results of the high-stakes official read, even when the dashboard was not shown to study participants. The results of this experiment suggest that contextualized data can improve equity in admissions, but fidelity to holistic admissions practices is crucial.

Characterizing spatio-temporal patterns of multi-scalar drought risk in mainland China

Drought is complex geographical elements, which endangers China's food security, with coexistence of spatial and temporal heterogeneity and similarity. Thus, the recent abnormal characteristics of Chinese droughts warrant further study. This paper proposes a three-step framework to identify the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of drought events in China Mainland, using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at different time scales (1, 6 and 12 months). And then the drought characteristics are separated using the run theory. Finally, the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of meteorological, agricultural and hydrological drought risk in distance are investigated based on the geographic statistics analysis method (i.e., global and local Moran's index). Results show that the drought trend is gradually increasing in some basins, especially the Yellow River Basin, the Hai River Basin and the Southwest River Basins. The multi-variate attributes of drought characteristics in spatiotemporal evolution patterns at different time scales have the characteristics of regularity and mutation, for example, the drought frequency in northwestern China shows a low values in a low value neighbourhood, but the drought duration and intensity shows a high values in a high value neighbourhood. This indicates that the hydrological drought disaster in the region is extremely prominent. In addition, the risk of drought in inland River basins is the highest, followed by the Hai River basin and the Yellow River basin; the Pearl River basin has the lowest. Our results offer insights into the development of drought in China and provide support for disaster risk assessment and response planning.