Resource Disadvantage Research Articles

Social determinants of health and outcome disparities in spine tumor surgery. Part 2: Neighborhood disadvantage and long-term outcomes.

Neighborhood-level resource disadvantage has been previously shown to predict extent of resection, oncological follow-up, adjuvant treatment, and clinical trial participation for malignancies, including glioblastoma. The authors aimed to characterize the association between neighborhood disadvantage and long-term outcomes after spine tumor surgery. The authors analyzed all patients who underwent surgery for primary or secondary (all metastatic pathologies) spine tumors at a single spinal oncology specialty center in the United States from 2015 to 2022. The Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a validated metric compositing 17 social determinants of health variables that ranges continuously from 0% (higher advantage) to 100% (higher disadvantage), was used to quantify neighborhood disadvantage. Patient addresses were matched to ADI on the basis of the census block of residence. Subsequently, the study population was dichotomized into advantaged (ADI 0%-33%) and disadvantaged (ADI 34%-100%) cohorts. The primary endpoint was functional status, as defined by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status Scale grade, with secondary endpoints including inpatient outcomes, mortality, readmissions, reoperations, and clinical research participation. Multivariable logistic, gamma log-link, and Cox regression adjusted for 14 confounders, including patient and oncological characteristics, general and tumor-related presenting severity, and treatment. In total, 237 patients underwent spine tumor surgery from 2015 to 2022, with an average age of 53.9 years, and 57.0% had primary tumors whereas 43.0% had secondary tumors; 55.3% (n = 131) were classified by ADI into the disadvantaged cohort. This cohort had higher rates of ambulation deficits on presentation (39.1% vs 23.5%, p = 0.015) and nonelective surgery (35.1% vs 23.6%, p = 0.030). Postoperatively, disadvantaged patients exhibited higher odds of residual tumor (OR 2.55, p = 0.026), especially for secondary tumors (OR 4.92, p = 0.045). Patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods additionally exhibited significantly higher odds of poor functional status at follow-up (OR 3.94, p = 0.002). Postoperative survival was 74.7% (mean follow-up 17.6 months), with the disadvantaged cohort experiencing significantly shorter survival (HR 1.92, p = 0.049). Moreover, this population had higher odds of readmission (OR 1.92, p = 0.046) and, for primary tumors, reoperation (OR 9.26, p = 0.005). Elective participation in prospective clinical research was lower among the disadvantaged cohort (OR 0.45, p = 0.016). Neighborhood disadvantage predicts higher rates of residual tumor, readmission, and reoperation, as well as poorer functional status, shorter postoperative survival, and decreased elective research participation. The ADI may be used to risk stratify spine oncology patients and guide targeted interventions to ameliorate neurosurgical disparities and to reduce barriers to research participation.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: Perceived risks, management strategies and emerging opportunities for small and medium agri-food enterprises in a developing country

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to small- and medium-sized agrifood enterprises (SMAEs) in developing countries. However, research investigating what risks Covid-19 posed to these firms, how they responded, and what business opportunities emerged to SMAEs from the pandemic remains scanty. Drawing on a sample of 166 specialist SMAEs in Egypt, this study addressed these entwined questions by using multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) and mediation analysis. Our results point out that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed Egyptian SMAEs to complex and multidimensional risks, and caused profound effects on both upstream and downstream stages of their supply chains. In general, Egyptian SMAEs adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to cope with such Covid-19 risks and impacts, which was attributed to their lack of sufficient financial resources to develop risk management strategies and formalize structures to deal with unexpected events. Interestingly, the results showed that several business opportunities emerged from pandemic; but SMAEs' resource disadvantages constrained their capacity to seize and exploit these opportunities. Moreover, we found that mitigation strategies adopted by SMAEs present a mediating factor between perceived Covid-19 risks and perceived business opportunities. Overall, our findings call for a paradigm shift in relation to enterprise risk management in developing countries' SMAEs toward more holistic frameworks to enhance their preparedness to future shocks, make mature operational and strategic management decisions, and exploit strategic opportunities.

Resource industry dependence and high-quality economic development of Chinese style: Reexamining the effect of the “Resource Curse”

In resource-dependent regions, the meaning of high-quality economic development has yet to be clarified by published research, despite substantial scholarly interest in the topic. With the help of the economic development index developed by the Chinese government, this paper accurately measures high-quality economic development in 30 provinces in China and investigates how resource dependence and government governance capability affect regional high-quality economic development. Research has found that resource industry dependence has a significant inhibitory effect on high-quality economic development. Additionally, the analysis of the mechanisms revealed that resource industry dependence reduces high-quality economic development through a series of effects including crowding out innovation, weakening coordination, lagging green development, hindering global openness, and sharing in weakening. Further research has revealed that government governance capacity weakens the impact of resource industry dependence on high-quality economic development. A detailed analysis of three subsystem indicators of government governance capacity, namely policy planning, capability commitment, and performance assessment, indicates that they all have a weakening effect. To this end, the paper proposes policy recommendations, including increasing innovation inputs, advancing industrial restructuring, promoting green development, enhancing marketization levels, and constructing a diversified employment system. These measures aim to transform resource disadvantages into resource advantages and facilitate high-quality economic development.

The Influence of Corporate Executive Team Behavior and Willingness to Innovate To the Innovative Performance of Technology Companies in China

Under the wave of knowledge economy and information technology, the process of enterprise technological innovation has gradually accelerated, and the importance of knowledge and information technology for enterprise innovation is further highlighted. As the main force of innovation and entrepreneurship activities and high-quality economic development, information technology enterprises have played an important role in promoting China's overall economic development and scientific and technological progress. However, due to the intensification of international trade disputes, the continuous instability of the world political pattern and the ups and downs of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the market competition environment faced by information technology enterprises is becoming increasingly complex, and the dynamic nature of this environment highlights the new disadvantages and resource disadvantages of information technology enterprises, which seriously affects the innovation performance of enterprises. This study aimed to assess the influence of Corporate Executive Team Behaviour to the innovative performance of technology companies in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China. Keywords: Executive Team Behavior, Innovation Willingness, Innovation Performance, Environmental Dynamics, Executive Proactive Personality

Risk Factors Associated With Urban Gang Membership in Juveniles: A Systematic Review

The involvement of juveniles in urban gangs has increased in different territories. Consequently, government resources have been invested to dismantle and contain such gangs. The aim of this paper was to analyze studies that relate risk factors with the increasing integration of juveniles into urban gangs. Nine scientific articles were included, out of a total of 394 publications. Different risk factors significantly related with the integration of juveniles into urban gangs were identified: social disorganization, unsafety neighborhood, school failure, absenteeism, and failure to pass assessment standards, involvement of family members in criminal acts, depression, substance use, low self-esteem, rebelliousness and elevated feelings of leadership, social disadvantage, or lack of resources. The risk factors analyzed should be integrated into prevention programs.

Law Enforcement Murdered in the Line of Duty: A County-Level Analysis of Contributing Factors

The current study examines the macro-level covariates influencing law enforcement officers (LEOs) shot and killed in the line of duty. Social disorganization theory, as well as literature on police training, police presence, and gun availability, creates the theoretical framework underpinning the current investigation. LEO firearm deaths between 2011 and 2019 were obtained from the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP), aggregated to the county level, then merged with county- and state-level data from secondary sources. Negative binomial regression was utilized to examine the effect of social disorganization, police training, police presence, and gun availability on LEO firearm deaths. Of the social disorganization measures, resource disadvantage is found to have the strongest impact on LEO firearm deaths. While population instability and density also significantly increase these deaths, ethnic heterogeneity has a significant negative effect. Furthermore, police presence has a protective effect against these murders, while gun availability increases these deaths. Limitations of the study, along with policy implications and suggestions for future research, are discussed.

From Inclusive to Equitable Pedagogy: How to Design Course Assignments and Learning Activities That Address Structural Inequalities

Current approaches to building inclusive classrooms for first-generation and working-class students tend to emphasize communicative strategies: receiving students with welcoming messages that acknowledge and value their life experience and promoting a growth mindset. These methods are important, but they do little to address structural sources of exclusion, such as academic inequities and disadvantages in resources like time. Communicative strategies alone secure inclusion without equity. Equity, however, involves teaching and learning activities that promote fair treatment and access at a structural level in order to offer students a concrete path to classroom success. In this article, we develop a framework for designing assignments and learning activities that addresses the type of structural barriers that most affect first-generation, working-class, and racially minoritized students. We identify three distinct types of structural disadvantages—academic inequities, resource disadvantages, and cultural discrimination—and propose three strategies for equitable design: deliberative interdependence, transformative translation, and proactive engagement. We illustrate each strategy with concrete teaching methods. We conclude by suggesting that only a transformative, comprehensive shift to equity mindedness is capable of doing justice to the increasing diversity of college classrooms.

Revisiting Reference Groups: Antecedents and Processes of Social Comparison and Peer Aspiration

Reference groups are a central source of feedback and vicarious learning, and an important source of firm heterogeneity. Despite its importance, we have a limited understanding of reference groups and whom do organizations learn from. This symposium centers on the theme of reference groups, focusing on antecedents and processes of reference groups selection and social comparison by organizations. The symposium aims to extend existing research underscoring the importance of reference groups and provide directions for future research. Effect of Reputation on Reference Group Selection: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach Presenter: John Kim; U. of California, Irvine Evaluator search costs and gender differences in risk-taking in careers Presenter: Hyeun Lee; U. of Toronto Presenter: Anne Bowers; U. of Toronto Riders on the Storm: Individual Risk-Taking and Organizational Resource Disadvantages Presenter: Siddharth Sharma; Indian School of Business Presenter: Thomas P. Moliterno; Vrije U. Amsterdam

CURRICULUM DESIGN OF VIRTUAL SIMULATION EXPERIMENT OF THERMISTOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract Background In order to meet the social demand for applied and innovative talents and meet the “advanced, innovative and challenging” university education standard of the Ministry of education, colleges and universities continue to explore new training modes and teaching forms. High quality experimental teaching plays an important role in cultivating students' practical ability and innovative ability. Thermistor is an important category of sensors. Through experimental operation, students can effectively understand and master its physical structure, working principle and application characteristics. Subject and Method In order to overcome the disadvantage of limited resources of traditional thermistor equipment, the design of this virtual simulation experiment follows the principle of “maximum authenticity, combination of virtualization and authenticity”. From the perspective of educational psychology, taking the temperature control link of central heating and air supply system as the background, the experimental steps are designed around the thermistor, and the students are guided to carry out the temperature measurement characteristic experiment of thermistor in combination with the knowledge points such as PID control algorithm and single chip microcomputer data processing. Each step of the experiment is designed to test students' mastery of corresponding knowledge and skills. In addition, by scientifically simplifying and virtualizing each link of the gas supply system, on the premise of ensuring the integrity of the process and the authenticity of the experience, the experimental steps outside the scope of the “sensor” course are still “achievable” for the experimenter. Form the whole process of communication before, during and after the experiment to effectively explain knowledge to students. Before the experiment, students should learn the theoretical knowledge, precautions and operation skills required by the experiment; During the experiment, students should understand information, make plans and collect data; After the experiment, students and teachers make full use of the scattered time segments to communicate on the problems in the experiment. Results Students can query the technical data, choose the design scheme, observe the experimental results, deepen the understanding of thermistor knowledge, improve the engineering practice ability, and get rid of the limitations of time and space in the process of repeatedly “making mistakes” and “correcting mistakes”. The project can completely copy a system through virtual instrument. No physical heat source, no equipment performance degradation, no special safety control requirements, and no restrictions on equipment resources, site and time. It can effectively solve the problems that thermistor is easy to cause performance attenuation, precision decline and affect the effect of experimental teaching. Conclusion After long-term use, the experimental design will not lead to the decline of component performance and material consumption. The experimenter can remotely complete the experimental operation anytime and anywhere through the computer connected to the network, so as to obtain the sensory experience close to the actual operation of the experimental equipment. In short, we should carry out relevant combination of industry and education according to our own advantages and characteristics. Make clear the goal of motivation by example, and regularly hold activities such as successful model sharing, experience introduction and project display, so as to set a successful example for positive emotions, clarify the specific objectives of the activities, form a strong psychological momentum, stimulate internal potential and help the realization of positive behavior. We should strengthen professional guidance, give full play to the concentration of professionals, high intelligence, professional knowledge in business fields, and give full play to the advantages of talents and intelligence. We can organize experts and scholars to establish a professional bid winning guidance team, give full play to the business projects of experts and scholars in their respective fields, and carry out scientific research on relevant projects. Acknowledgements Supported by a project grant from Ministry of Education Collaborative Education Project (202102343015).

Out of prison, out of crime? The complex interplay between the process of desistance and severe resource disadvantages in women‘s post-release lives

Out of prison, out of crime? The complex interplay between the process of desistance and severe resource disadvantages in women‘s post-release lives

Out of prison, out of crime? The complex interplay between the process of desistance and severe resource disadvantages in women‘s post-release lives

We examine the influence of social capital, subjective changes and post-release resource disadvantages on women‘s desistance and reentry pathways. Using a sample of 1478 formerly incarcerated women, we estimate logistic hybrid random-effects models to assess the influence of several factors on offending during a 7-year follow-up period. We use interviews with a subsample of women to explore the mechanisms underlying the quantitative findings. Results show that the effect of often-studied forms of social control are to a large degree dependent on (unmeasured) individual differences and circumstances, such as pre- and post-incarceration adversities, and the quality of forms of social control. A desire to desist from crime is often blocked by severe resource advantages.

Strategic flexibility in small firms

ABSTRACT Contrasted with their larger counterparts, small firms are disadvantaged due to their limited resources, economies of scale, and managerial expertise. However, the ability to respond and adapt promptly in today’s rapidly changing environment provides SMEs advantage over larger firms. In this paper, we argue that SMEs need to overcome resource disadvantages, leverage structural advantages, and develop new relational advantages in collaboration with partners to enhance their strategic flexibility for gaining competitive advantage. Specifically, we conjecture that building proactively strategic relationships with suppliers and logistics providers in addition to improving information quality could allow these entities to develop strategic flexibility and improve performance. We use structural equation modeling to assess the proposed model on a sample of 75 small firms located in India.

Will Environmental Regulation Narrow the Gap in Regional Economic Growth?

Empirical studies have shown that China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law (APPCL2000), as an environmental regulation, has significantly alleviated the air pollution problem and improved the TFP of air polluting enterprises. However, few scholars have studied the regional heterogeneity of this policy. To study this issue, this manuscript introduces the "Hu Line" from the perspective of regional resource endowment differences and divides China into a resource advantage area (A area) and a resource disadvantage area (B area). Subsequently, this manuscript uses the triple difference model and big data of Chinese industrial enterprises to verify. The results show that under environmental regulations, the TFP of air polluting enterprises in B area has increased more than in A area, and the rapid decline in the proportion of low-efficiency air polluting enterprises in B area is the main mechanism. It shows that environmental regulation is beneficial to narrow the gap of regional economic growth and realize economic catch-up in resource-disadvantaged areas.

Research on Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base Based on Energy Saving, Emission Reduction and New Energy Development

Innovative companies often face strong resource disadvantages, making it difficult to gain a foothold in emerging industries. Existing research still lacks an in-depth investigation of the internal mechanism of how innovative companies in emerging industries break through resource constraints, successfully develop entrepreneurial opportunities, and then build competitive advantages. Based on this, this article sets a new orientation for the training objectives of innovative and entrepreneurial professionals in the maintenance of new energy vehicles, designs a connection plan, builds an integrated curriculum system, and optimizes professional courses at different stages.

Gender, race, and unpaid work in family-owned businesses during the Great Depression

ABSTRACT Studies of labor market distress show that dislocated workers often react to joblessness by starting their own small enterprises. But these studies overlook the possibility that such persons may also react by becoming unpaid workers in family-owned businesses. The present study addresses this oversight, examining the extent to which women responded to joblessness in the Great Depression by becoming unpaid workers in family-owned proprietorships. Regression analyses of Census data show that white women’s employment as unpaid family workers made a small yet noteworthy contribution to the number of whites who used retail enterprise to obtain relief from joblessness. However, the analyses also reveal that unpaid work and self-employment made no contribution to blacks’ efforts to find shelter from labor market distress. These results advance our understanding of how resource disadvantage limited blacks’ capacity to use survivalist entrepreneurship as a means of overcoming joblessness during the Great Depression.

From unemployment to self-employment: Can enterprise policy intensify the risks of poverty?

Analysis of the large rise in the numbers of self-employed in the UK reveals high levels of in-work poverty, especially among those coming off of social security benefits. Policies that are developed to alleviate social and economic risk regularly lead to behavioural responses to perceptions about the nature of such risk and to make individuals more accountable. Informed by accounting, finance and economic theories of risk, interviews with key informants who are experiencing self-employment and poverty, along with professionals from business and community development and poverty alleviation, are used to explore the support available to new entrepreneurs. Findings include that policy push from unemployment to self-employment shifts the social risks and responsibilities of employment from state and employers to those individuals with least capacity to bear them. Measures to mitigate resource disadvantage, including the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme, are found to be wanting and inadequate for the main client groups, and fail to reduce the social and economic risks faced in starting up a new business.

Religion in Civil Society: The Influence of Black Religious Ecology on Crime in the South

The civil society perspective predicts that civic and voluntary organizations promote the welfare of communities by enhancing social capital and cohesion. Here, I examine whether black Protestant churches, because of their dual emphasis on personal piety and social justice, function as agents of civil society in the southern United States by reducing crime, and whether structural context moderates the relationship between black religious ecology and crime. With data from the 2010 Religious Congregations and Membership Survey, I used spatial regression analyses to estimate models of arrest rates in 799 southern counties. I examined indices representing both property and violent crime provided in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports. In main effects models, black Protestant density related inversely to county-level property crime arrest rates, but it was unrelated to violent crime arrest rates. Interactive models revealed that black Protestant affiliation was particularly protective of property crime in counties with the highest levels of resource disadvantage. While black Protestant affiliation was protective of both property and violent crime in low-income counties, it had a positive association with arrest rates in high-income counties. Net of total religious adherence, the Black Church has a uniquely protective effect against crime in the most disadvantaged southern communities. Findings were largely consistent with ecological theories related to social capital, social organization, and collective efficacy. They also highlight limits to the moral communities thesis. Results suggest that more scholarship should examine racialized law enforcement practices in high-income counties.

Ethnicity, Institutions, and Female Representation

ABSTRACTWhat impact does the size of the ethnic minority population have on the representation of women in national legislatures? We examine this question by using provincial-level data from 32 Latin American and postcommunist countries. Our study finds that the size of the ethnic minority population shapes female legislative representation but only in candidate-centric electoral systems. In party-centric systems, any gender bias or resource disadvantage that female legislative candidates face in minority areas appears to be muted by electoral rules.

What maternal morbidities are and what they mean for women: A thematic analysis of twenty years of qualitative research in low and lower-middle income countries.

BackgroundWith an estimated 27 million annual incidents of maternal morbidity globally, how they are manifested or experienced is diverse and shaped by societal, cultural and personal influences. Using qualitative research to examine a woman's perception of her pregnancy, its complications, and potential long-term impact on her life can inform public health approaches and complement and inform biomedical classifications of maternal morbidities, historically considered a neglected dimension of safe motherhood. As part of the WHO’s Maternal Morbidity Working Group’s efforts to define and measure maternal morbidity, we carried out a thematic analysis of the qualitative literature published between 1998 and 2017 on how women experience maternal morbidity in low and lower-middle income countries.Results and conclusionsAnalysis of the 71 papers included in this study shows that women’s status, their marital relationships, cultural attitudes towards fertility and social responses to infertility and pregnancy trauma are fundamental to determining how they will experience morbidity in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. We explore the physical, economic, psychological and social repercussions pregnancy can produce for women, and how resource disadvantage (systemic, financial and contextual) can exacerbate these problems. In addition to an analysis of ten themes that emerged across the different contexts, this paper presents which morbidities have received attention in different regions and the trends in researching morbidities over time. We observed an increase in qualitative research on this topic, generally undertaken through interviews and focus groups. Our analysis calls for the pursuit of high quality qualitative research that includes repeat interviews, participant observation and triangulation of sources to inform and fuel critical advocacy and programmatic work on maternal morbidities that addresses their prevention and management, as well as the underlying systemic problems for women’s status in society.

Unpredictable and competitive cues affect prosocial behaviors and judgments

Why natural selection would favor thoughts or behaviors that benefit others at the cost of oneself (prosociality) in humans is an intriguing question. The present studies explored two kinds of cues representing overarching environmental factors that might affect prosociality: unpredictability, which represents the variability of extrinsic threats, and competition, which represents the relevance of others' performance to one's fitness. In three experiments, we also took into account the interaction between the two environmental factors and two moderators, namely resource availability and prosocial thinking types. In each experiment, participants were exposed to cues of unpredictability and/or competition before assessment of spontaneous prosocial behaviors (Studies 1 and 2) or prosocial judgments in dual-choice dilemmas (Study 3). Results showed that unpredictable cues generally led to lower prosocial behaviors and fewer prosocial judgments (Studies 2 & 3). In contrast, competitive cues led to lower prosocial behaviors among individuals with resource disadvantages (Study 1), and when combined with unpredictable cues (Study 2). However, competition also led to higher prosocial behaviors among individuals with resource advantages (Study 1) and more prosocial judgments in response to rational, utilitarian dilemmas (Study 3). Taken together, these results indicated that human prosociality is affected by environmental factors in predictable ways.