Local Inequality Research Articles

Audio-diary reflections after community focus groups to address local racial inequities in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Audio-diary reflections after community focus groups to address local racial inequities in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Uncertainty Principles for the Weinstein Wavelet Transform

In the present paper we explore the localization properties of the Weinstein continuous wavelet transform via entropy and we introduce a version of Lp local uncertainty inequalities.

Appealing for Local Control and Spatial Inequality: Reforming Governance and Development Rationalities in Southern California

Several limitations have thwarted the implementation of California housing law for over fifty years. This paper sheds light on the evolution of municipal-state relations at a period of reform by analyzing the contentious implementation of state housing law in Orange County, California, a region of concentrated affluence. Systemic privilege has historically allowed some jurisdictions to influence decision-making at higher levels, skewing housing policy and planning outcomes. Nonetheless, and despite contention between different government levels and localities, the leverage of reactionary local politics is weakening.

Anthropocenic Futures and Precarious Bodies. A Reading of "Mugre rosa" (2020) by Fernanda Trías

Mugre rosa (2020), by Uruguayan author Fernanda Trías, depicts a near-future Montevideo, where the population is confronted with climatic disaster and the propagation of a devastating disease. In this article, I explore the representation of bodily precarity in the context of environmental catastrophe, arguing that this vulnerability constitutes a point of resistance from which to rethink human identity. On the one hand, exposure to an anthropogenic environment is interpreted as instrumental to late capitalist biopolitics. This is revealed through the cartographies of precarity emerging from the novel, which reflect not only the chasm between Global North and Global South but also local inequalities. On the other hand, this corporeal exposure constitutes a challenge to traditional representations of the human. Through the analysis of the depiction of the illness, I discuss how this deconstruction of the body favours the emergence of a new, interconnected identity. Ultimately, I suggest that a destabilising age such as the Anthropocene constitutes not only a profound moment of crisis but also a privileged space to rethink human subjectivity and its modes of representation.

Local Income Inequality and the Value of Corporate Tax Responsibility

ABSTRACT Corporate tax responsibility, or the obligation of companies to pay their “fair share” of taxes, is increasingly perceived as a component of firms’ social responsibility. Considering tax payments through the redistributive function, we examine how the association between corporate tax responsibility and firm value varies based on the presence of a salient social issue—local income inequality. Firms headquartered in areas of average income inequality have a negative relation between effective tax rate (ETR) and firm value, consistent with traditional economic theory and prior research. However, as local income inequality rises above average, the relation between ETR and firm value becomes more favorable (i.e., less negative). We interpret these findings as evidence that the relation depends on the salience of tax payments as a social issue. Further, the results are substantiated by firms whose socially responsible tax payments are consistent with their reputation as good corporate citizens. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: D22; H23; H25; H32.

Reaching national Covid-19 vaccination targets whilst decreasing inequalities in vaccine uptake: Public health teams' challenges in supporting disadvantaged populations

BackgroundUK local authority public health teams (LAPHT) supported delivery of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, particularly to disadvantaged populations. We explored the challenges encountered and lessons learnt by LAPHTs in tackling low Covid-19 vaccine uptake. The aim of this study was to understand what works, and how, in addressing local inequalities in relation to uptake of the Covid-19 vaccination with a view to generalising insights to building back fairer after the pandemic and into the future. Study designQualitative. MethodWe conducted in-depth on-line interviews with Directors of Public Health or their representatives from 21 English local authorities covering a total population of over 8 million people. Data were analysed thematically. ResultsAccessing the requisite (and accurate) data, engaging with communities, and working with National Health Service (NHS) organisations presented challenges in delivering initiatives to improve vaccine uptake, particularly for disadvantaged groups. LAPHT’s assets beneficial to the programme - in-depth knowledge and experience of their communities and locality - were not considered in the national vaccination programme. Community engagement and relationships with local NHS featured heavily in the majority of LAPHTs responses to improving vaccine uptake rates. ConclusionsIncorporating local public health infrastructure, expertise and existing relationships into national vaccination planning during epidemics or pandemics is crucial. Community engagement and good relationships with NHS staff help to reach and serve disadvantaged populations. How these can be developed and maintained in the longer term without future investment was a concern. Future research should explore the design and implementation of PH and NHS joint service delivery models to tackle health inequalities, informed by experiences of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and with input from community partners.

Divided we abstain: Testing the effect of local income inequality on individual-level turnout using Norwegian administrative panel data

This paper investigates the relationship between income inequality and voting by utilizing exceptionally granular data that offer novel insights into local disparities. Existing research documents a larger turnout gap between rich and poor in areas characterized by high income inequality, causing concerns about further underrepresentation for low-income individuals and a larger democratic deficit. While previous studies have focused on inequality at higher aggregation levels, this paper advances the field by employing administrative data with complete income and validated voting records measuring inequality for neighborhoods hosting 1212 residents on average. The longitudinal setup allows rigorous modeling following the same individual in the same context over time. The results suggest that living in a neighborhood where the income difference between rich and poor becomes more pronounced discourages participation in national elections among low-income voters while it boosts participation among the rich, further accentuating the class-based inequality in political voice.

A priori estimates and Liouville type results for quasilinear elliptic equations involving gradient terms

AbstractIn this article we study local and global properties of positive solutions of − Δmu = ∣u∣p−1u+M∣∇u∣q in a domain Ω of ℝN, with m > 1, p, q > 0 and M ∈ ℝ. Following some ideas used in [7, 8], and by using a direct Bernstein method combined with Keller–Osserman’s estimate, we obtain several a priori estimates as well as Liouville type theorems. Moreover, we prove a local Harnack inequality with the help of Serrin’s classical results.

Distributed event-triggered algorithm for convex optimization with coupled constraints

This paper develops a distributed primal–dual algorithm via an event-triggered mechanism to solve a class of convex optimization problems subject to local set constraints, coupled equality and inequality constraints. Different from some existing distributed algorithms with the diminishing step-sizes, our algorithm uses the constant step-sizes, and is shown to achieve an exact convergence to an optimal solution with an ergodic convergence rate of O(1/k) for general convex objective functions, where k>0 is the iteration number. Based on the event-triggered communication mechanism, the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce the communication cost without sacrificing the convergence rate. Finally, a numerical example is presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Understanding the Determinants of Digital Innovation in California Local Governments Digital Inequality and Agency Assignment Perspectives

Many local governments have adopted digital innovations and advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of things, and big data to address unprecedented problems, improve the processes and procedures of their services, and enhance citizen engagement. Yet, there are considerable variations in the adoption of digital innovation among local communities, and such variations lead to inequality in access to digital technologies among individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels. Drawing on insights from institutional theory, this study examines whether community wealth, education level, and the presence of an independent IT department matter for a city's level of engagement with digital innovation and technologies. It examines a dataset obtained from the 2023 Local Digital innovation Survey with California city governments. A set of logistic regression analyses provide evidence that community wealth/education and independent IT departments play significant roles in influencing California city governments’ level of engagement with digital innovation and technologies.

Relationships, Reflection, and Response: An Iterative Collaborative Research Process to Address Mental Health inequities.

The authors share insights about methodology learned through a three-year (and counting) community-based participatory research (CBPR) process centered on enhancing the mental health of Bhutanese youth in Cincinnati, Ohio. We will illustrate how we collaboratively designed, paused, responded to community and societal concerns, redesigned, and enacted our research goals through multiple iterations, and explain how others might use this process in their own research. By uniting community organizations, university researchers, and the support of Robert Wood Johnson Interdisciplinary Research Leaders we are using this deeply iterative process to address the implications of global and local racism and address mental health inequities. We end with specific suggestions for how researchers can learn from our experiences to enhance the potential for future research to support social justice.

The role of public social expenditure for mitigating local income inequality: An investigation across spatial scales in Austria

AbstractThis paper investigates the role of municipal and provincial public social spending for local income inequality after taxes and transfers in Austria. We utilize a spatial multi‐level model, which allows us to analyze the contribution of three spatial scales (municipal, district, and provincial level) to municipal income inequality. Our analysis shows that the effect of public social spending on local Gini indices does not only differ across provinces but also across municipalities which indicates that the potential cushioning effect of social expenditure is highly localized. Further splitting total public social expenditure into three distinct categories (education, health, social protection) reveals that spending on social protection has the highest effect on local inequality across all provinces, while health spending does not exert a discernible influence in any province. The method and results presented in this paper are of international interest for policymakers and researchers who aim to investigate whether the same patterns hold true in other countries.

Hierarchical Robust Generalized Nash Equilibrium Seeking of High-Order Uncertain Nonlinear Systems.

This article investigates the distributed generalized Nash equilibrium (GNE) seeking problem of noncooperative games (NGs) for high-order strict-feedback nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs). In particular, the feasible action set of each agent is not only subject to local set and inequality constraints but also coupled through an equality constraint with other agents. This constraint structure is more general and covers most of the constraints in the GNE seeking literature. To accomplish the concerned GNE seeking objective, we propose a novel hierarchical GNE seeking approach in this article to decouple the distributed GNE seeking algorithm design into two layers. First, we construct a distributed primary-dual GNE estimator to generate virtual reference signals that converge to the GNE. Then, with the output of the estimator as the reference signal, we develop an adaptive tracking controller to solve the resultant tracking problems under output constraints. To overcome the negative effects of the disturbances, novel compensating terms associated with smooth functions and positive integrable time-varying functions are incorporated in the controller design, which thereby realizes the exact GNE seeking in the presence of nonvanishing mismatched disturbances. At last, an example is given to support the theoretical analysis of the proposed algorithms.

Generalised Local Fractional Hermite-Hadamard Type Inequalities on Fractal Sets

Generalised Local Fractional Hermite-Hadamard Type Inequalities on Fractal Sets

Abortion Attitudes Across Cultural Contexts

Abstract: We explored between-country and within-country variability in abortion attitudes, using country-level factors (e.g., gender equality) and individual-level factors (e.g., gender role attitudes) as predictors. Participants from Mexico ( N = 215), India ( N = 215), the United States ( N = 215), and the United Kingdom ( N = 206) were recruited via Qualtrics Panels. Regression models and ANOVAs were used to assess whether estimates of gender inequality, gender role attitudes, motherhood norms, belief in big/moralizing gods, and sexual strategy were associated with abortion attitudes. As predicted, individuals living in countries with greater gender inequality, and more restrictive abortion policy, reported more restrictive abortion attitudes and stronger support for banning abortion. Furthermore, individuals who endorsed more traditional gender role ideologies, who reported belief in big/moralizing gods and who used long-term sexual strategies also reported more restrictive abortion attitudes and stronger support for banning abortion. Exploratory analyses highlight how these relationships vary as a function of cultural context. We can conclude that both contextual factors (e.g., local abortion legislation and gender inequality) as well as individual factors (e.g., gender role attitudes and religious/spiritual belief) shape people’s attitudes toward abortion. Implications regarding the bidirectional relationship between attitudes and policy in reproductive health are discussed.

Bell inequality violation in relativity theory

A violation of Bell local realism inequalities in Clauser–Horne–Shimony–Holt form has been discovered in a relativistic Gedankenexperiment. This means that there are no definite joint probabilities and this finds a classical explanation in the structure of special relativity. The discovered nonlocality is weaker than Albert Einstein’s quantum ‘spooky action at a distance’, and its presence suggests certain parallels between special relativity and quantum mechanics.

A holistic and pluralistic perspective for justice through tourism: a regenerative approach

Justice is integral in transformative tourism approaches that call for a complete restructuring of the travel and tourism sector worldwide. While justice through alternative tourism models promotes responsible, sustainable transitions in the tourism sector, these models are frequently informed by a perceived binary between the social and the environmental and long-held patterns of West-centric thought and West versus ‘the rest’ power dynamics, found both in tourism theory and practice and within justice frameworks. In this article, we explore the potential of the regenerative development paradigm to bridge these divides and adopt a pluriversal lens to devise a more just practice of tourism. The holistic, transformative tenets and pluralistic perspective of regenerative development and tourism are used to build a novel framework for justice. The framework’s capacity to analyse, unlock and catalyse place regeneration in different knowledge systems and restore just relationships has been leveraged in two rural areas in Colombia and Ecuador. Collecting data through mixed qualitative methods that combine reflexive ethnography with in situ and online interviews, we identified actions taken to address local inequalities and challenges while fostering pathways to the systemic transformation of residents’ livelihoods. These place-specific actions inspired by ancestral traditions have revitalised the areas’ ecosystems, including local human communities and the latter’s tourism activities. The discussion of results examines the potential of pluriversal regenerative development and tourism principles grounded in diverse knowledge and ethics frames to guide actions for systemic social and environmental justice.

Exploring Urban Heat Distribution and Thermal Comfort Exposure Using Spatiotemporal Weighted Regression (STWR)

With rapid urbanization, many cities have experienced significant changes in land use and land cover (LULC), triggered urban heat islands (UHI), and increased the health risks of citizens’ exposure to UHI. Some studies have recognized residents’ inequitable exposure to UHI intensity. However, few have discussed the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in environmental justice and countermeasures for mitigating the inequalities. This study proposed a novel framework that integrates the population-weighted exposure model for assessing adjusted thermal comfort exposure (TCEa) and the spatiotemporal weighted regression (STWR) model for analyzing countermeasures. This framework can facilitate capturing the spatiotemporal heterogeneities in the response of TCEa to three specified land-surface and built-environment parameters (i.e., enhanced vegetation index (EVI), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), and modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI)). Using this framework, we conducted an empirical study in the urban area of Fuzhou, China. Results showed that high TCEa was mainly concentrated in locations with dense populations and industrial regions. Although the TCEa’s responses to various land-surface and built-environment parameters differed at locations over time, the TCEa illustrated overall negative correlations with EVI and MNDWI while positive correlations with NDBI. Many exciting spatial details can be detected from the generated coefficient surfaces: (1) The influences of NDBI on TCEa may be magnified, especially in rapidly urbanizing areas. Still, they diminish to some extent, which may be related to the reduction in building construction activities caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and the gradual improvement of urbanization. (2) The influences of EVI on TCEa decline, which may be correlated with the population increase. (3) Compared with NDBI, the MNDWI had more continuous and stable significant cooling effects on TCEa. Several mitigation strategies based on the spatiotemporal heterogeneous relationships also emanated. The effectiveness of the presented framework was verified. It can help analysts effectively evaluate local thermal comfort exposure inequality and prompt timely mitigation efforts.

EMPOWER: Enacting Materials to Promote Ownership, Engagement, and Relevance.

Fostering locally relevant and community-centered forms of science learning that develop students' critical science agency problematizes a "one-size-fits-all" model of teacher learning; teachers must examine how community needs and resources, local inequities and justice issues, and curriculum materials can converge to design novel learning opportunities for science learners. This paper presents the core commitments of EMPOWER, a cross-institutional effort that aims to support teachers' sensemaking and adaptations of curriculum materials to promote student ownership, engagement, and relevance at multiple sites across the U.S.

An expanded analysis of local fractional integral inequalities via generalized (s,P)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$(s,P)$\\end{document}-convexity

This research aims to scrutinize specific parametrized integral inequalities linked to 1, 2, 3, and 4-point Newton-Cotes rules applicable to local fractional differentiable generalized (s,P)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$(s,P)$\\end{document}-convex functions. To accomplish this objective, we introduce a novel integral identity and deduce multiple integral inequalities tailored to mappings within the aforementioned function class. Furthermore, we present an illustrative example featuring graphical representations and potential practical applications.