Unequal Sets Research Articles

“I Just Had to Go With It Once I Got There”: Inequality, Housing, and School Re-optimization

Residential segregation by race and class is a durable form of inequality. Yet, we know less about how the unequal sorting of families into neighborhoods and schools occurs. Drawing on interviews with a diverse sample of 156 families, we examine whether residential and school decisions are connected and how they differ by household income. We find that, for higher-income families, residential decisions maintain and build on existing educational advantages, while lower-income parents churn between both houses and schools, doing the continuous work of compensating for unequal settings. Only the highest income—mostly White—parents report that they can combine their housing and school decisions and achieve satisfaction in both domains. In contrast, housing insecurity and unequal, racially-stratified geographies constrain less advantaged, primarily minority families to prioritize affordable shelter over school choice. When such trade-offs lead to inadequate educational experiences for their children, these families try to improve their children’s schools through re-optimization strategies, withdrawing and re-enrolling them into different schools. While some parents perceive that these changes benefit their children, such school transfers can also increase educational instability. More generally, the lack of quality schools in affordable neighborhoods burdens families by requiring compensatory strategies to resolve housing and educational shortcomings.

Development of polyresistance in microorganisms during antibiotic therapy in a multidisciplinary hospital during a pandemic COVID-19

Background. Irrational and excessive use of antimicrobials drugs (AMD) creates conditions for the development of a global crisis of health systems around the world associated with antibiotic resistance.
 Aim. To conduct a retrospective study of the impact of the use of AMD on the change in the microbiological landscape and the sensitivity of microorganisms in the conditions of pandemic of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in 2020–2021 in intensive care departments (ICD) of a multidisciplinary hospital.
 Materials and methods. In the course of the work, strains of microorganisms isolated from patients and from the surfaces of the hospital environment and changes in their sensitivity to significant groups of AMD in ICD for somatic and infectious patients with COVID-19 were compared. The sensitivity of the isolates was evaluated in accordance with the criteria of requirements of European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing – EUCAST, version 10.0, 2020.
 Results. A total of 1,394 isolates were studied, including 1,379 clinical and 15 isolates from the surfaces of the hospital environment. It was found that in all ICD in 2020–2021, gram-negative microorganisms prevailed in infectious loci in 70% of cases or more. In 2021, in the ICD in infectious patients with COVID-19, the persistent dominance of the Acinetobacter baumannii microorganism was revealed with an increase in the number of poly- and pan-resistant strains – 48.7%. While in the ICD for somatic patients Klebsiella Pneumoniae prevailed among gram-negative microorganisms – 37.5% in 2020 and 43.7% in 2021. It has been shown that in one department or in adjacent departments of the same medical institution, various nosocomial microorganisms with an unequal set of resistance genes and sensitivity to AMD may appear over time.
 Conclusion. The necessity of conducting constant microbiological monitoring and a passport of the medical department with mandatory registration of not only isolated strains of microorganisms, but also resistance genes in order to optimize the appointment of timely adequate empirical antimicrobial therapy is substantiated. The period of the latter should be as short as possible, and confirmed by convincing clinical signs of bacterial infection, and subsequently by the isolation of nosocomial flora from the biomaterial of critical loci from patients.

Behavioural nudges for water conservation in unequal settings: Experimental evidence from Cape Town

This study addresses the use of behavioural nudges in reducing households' use of water across a large sample (>360,000 households) of domestic users. The impacts of several behavioural interventions are estimated for residential water consumption in Cape Town, South Africa, during the onset of a three-year drought considered to have been the worst in a century. Since income distribution is a key issue in South Africa, the paper also examines whether average treatment effects are heterogeneous across the income spectrum. Behavioural messages did affect water use, with an average reduction of between 0.6 and 1.3 per cent across the various treatments after 6 months. The most effective nudges were those that officially recognised a household's water conservation efforts (social recognition) and those that appealed to households to act in the public interest (public good). Between-treatment test results indicate that social recognition significantly outperformed other treatments. Treatment effects were sensitive to income distribution; specifically, wealthier households were more responsive to social incentives such as public recognition of water conservation, appeals to the public good, and social norm comparisons, while financial feedback nudges also drive behaviour in the low-middle income range. Households in the lowest income group were unresponsive to the nudges. Overall, behavioural nudges played a role in reducing households' water consumption in the City of Cape Town and particularly in wealthier households that typically consume significantly more water. Our results show that the long-term reductions in water usage were over and above those attributable to rising tariffs and increasingly stringent physical restrictions and campaigns introduced as the drought unfolded.

Is Nonsymbolic Arithmetic Truly "Arithmetic"? Examining the Computational Capacity of the Approximate Number System in Young Children.

Young children with limited knowledge of formal mathematics can intuitively perform basic arithmetic-like operations over nonsymbolic, approximate representations of quantity. However, the algorithmic rules that guide such nonsymbolic operations are not entirely clear. We asked whether nonsymbolic arithmetic operations have a function-like structure, like symbolic arithmetic. Children (n = 74 4- to -8-year-olds in Experiment 1; n = 52 7- to 8-year-olds in Experiment 2) first solved two nonsymbolic arithmetic problems. We then showed children two unequal sets of objects, and asked children which of the two derived solutions should be added to the smaller of the two sets to make them "about the same." We hypothesized that, if nonsymbolic arithmetic follows similar function rules to symbolic arithmetic, then children should be able to use the solutions of nonsymbolic computations as inputs into another nonsymbolic problem. Contrary to this hypothesis, we found that children were unable to reliably do so, suggesting that these solutions may not operate as independent representations that can be used inputs into other nonsymbolic computations. These results suggest that nonsymbolic and symbolic arithmetic computations are algorithmically distinct, which may limit the extent to which children can leverage nonsymbolic arithmetic intuitions to acquire formal mathematics knowledge.

Income Inequality and Socioeconomic Disparities in Alcohol Use Among Eastern European Adolescents: A Multilevel Analysis

PurposeIn this study, we tested the “golden youth” hypothesis, which suggests that in Eastern Europe, affluent adolescents are at an increased risk of alcohol use. Also, we hypothesized that the relationship between high socioeconomic position (SEP) and more alcohol use is stronger in countries with wider income inequality. MethodsIn total, 50,421 adolescents aged 13–15 years were included from 16 Eastern European countries participating in the 2013–2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed. ResultsAffluent adolescents had greater odds of weekly alcohol use (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.23–1.41) and binge drinking (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.16–1.32) than their peers from low-SEP families. However, no significant difference was observed between middle- and low-SEP adolescents. In countries with wider income inequality, the relationship between high family-SEP and weekly alcohol use (p interaction = .006), as well as high family-SEP and binge drinking (p interaction = .007), was stronger compared to countries with lower income inequality. DiscussionPossibly, influenced by the lifestyle choices of their parents, and using alcohol as a status symbol to establish and maintain friendly relationships with peers, Eastern European adolescents from affluent families, particularly in the most unequal settings, are at increased risk of alcohol use, confirming the golden youth hypothesis. Insecure self-image and perceived threat to their high status might be explanatory factors. More research is needed to identify the precise individual and family characteristics responsible for increased alcohol use among wealthy adolescents, especially in Eastern European countries with high income inequality.

New Directions for Canadian Cultural Policy

Over the last two years of the pandemic, the arts, culture and heritage sectors have experienced unique challenges. These sectors have been amongst those hit hardest and longest by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has not only affected their economic viability but also their relationship with the public, whose interests, expectations, access and behaviours have shifted dramatically over the last two years. The pandemic accelerated a shift already underway in Canadian society. Polarization, disinformation, an unequal set of rules for the foreign online broadcasters and social media companies challenge social cohesion in Canada. This reality, combined with growing awareness of systemic racism and a greater acceptance of the need to confront the climate crisis have created a need to reimagine policies, principles, and practices to ensure continued long-term, sustainable growth, competitiveness, and vitality of the arts, culture, and heritage sectors in Canada. Canada’s arts, culture and heritage sectors play a fundamental role in building a stronger, more cohesive and resilient society. These sectors are not only significant economic drivers but they also contribute to Canada’s identity and social fabric. They help Canadians create meaning and forge a stronger shared identity based on shared values. However, to achieve these beneficial effects, there needs to be a renewed and shared understanding of these sectors’ fundamental roles and value. The Government of Canada convened the National Culture Summit: The Future of Arts, Culture and Heritage in Canada to help these sectors recover and thrive as well as mobilized these sectors around positive economic and social outcomes for Canada and discussed ways to support their own recovery and long-term growth and competitiveness. The Summit brought together leaders from across the country from these sectors for a national conversation on resilience, sustainability and transformation of the arts, culture and heritage sectors in Canada. The summit’s four themes were: •Promoting long-term competitiveness and growth; •The return of visitors and engaging new audiences; •The role of digital platforms in arts, culture and heritage sectors; and •The contribution of cultural sectors to reconciliation, combatting climate change and building an open and more inclusive society.

Enhancement Of Gale-Shapley algorithm with imbalanced sets for hiring and job finding applications

In this paper, <span>we discuss a modification to the Gale Shapley algorithm in this study. We concentrated on how the modified algorithm would operate if the data sets for men and women were not equal. We showed how to measure the average energies of men and women with equal and unequal sets, how the new design of the algorithm will benefit both parties by duplicating sets of data to fill the unequal sets of data, resulting in an equal set of pairings, and how to measure the average energies of men and women of the new algorithm in this paper. Having stated that, each couple will have a stable partner and/or will be queued to the algorithm's suggested stable partner.</span>

A mixed-methods study on the design of Artificial Intelligence and data science-based strategies to inform public health responses to COVID-19 in different local health ecosystems: A study protocol for COLEV.

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science research are promising tools to better inform public policy and public health responses, promoting automation and affordability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, AI has been an aid to forecast outbreak spread globally. The overall aim of the study is to contribute to the ongoing public health, socioeconomic, and communication challenges caused by COVID-19. Protocol: COLEV is a five-pronged interdisciplinary mixed methods project based on AI and data science from an inclusive perspective of age and gender to develop, implement, and communicate useful evidence for COVID-19-related response and recovery in Colombia. The first objective is identification of stakeholders' preferences, needs, and their use of AI and data science relative to other forms of evidence. The second objective will develop locally relevant mathematical models that will shed light on the possible impact, trajectories, geographical spread, and uncertainties of disease progression as well as risk assessment. The third objective focuses on estimating the effect of COVID-19 on other diseases, gender disparities and health system saturation. The fourth objective aims to analyze popular social networks to identify health-related trending interest and users that act as 'super spreaders' for information and misinformation. Finally, the fifth objective, aims at designing disruptive cross-media communication strategies to confront mis- and dis-information around COVID-19. To understand stakeholders' perspectives, we will use semi-structured interviews and ethnographic work. Daily cases and deaths of COVID-19 reported from the National Surveillance System (INS) of Colombia will be used for quantitative analysis, and data regarding the online conversation will be obtained from Facebook and Twitter. Conclusions: COLEV intends to facilitate the dialogue between academia and health policymakers. The results of COLEV will inform on the responsible, safe and ethical use of AI and data science for decision-making in the context of sanitary emergencies in deeply unequal settings.

Parametric estimation of location and scale parameters based on ranked set sampling with unequal set sizes

Ranked set sampling with unequal set sizes (RSSU) are some of the important variants of ranked set sampling with equal set sizes (RSS). The sets that arise naturally in many applications are typically of different set sizes. One may prefer to use the largest sets available naturally along with the smaller sets rather than an attempt to form artificial equal-sized sets. This article develops maximum likelihood estimators for the location-scale family of distributions based on ranked set sampling with unequal set sizes (RSSU). The closed form expressions for MLE under RSSU do not exist, we have proved the existence of MLE for location and scale parameters for some standard distributions for RSSU data. It is proved that MLE based on MedRSSU are more efficient than their counterparts based on SRS for some standard distributions for location-scale parameters. It is also shown that asymptotic efficiencies of the MLE based on MedRSSU are considerably better than those of the estimators based on RSS with the same number of observations. A simulation study is conducted to compare the performances of the MLE’s from RSS and MedRSSU with the corresponding SRS estimators when the underlying distributions are normal and logistic.

Multiplicatively Exact Algorithms for Transformation and Reconstruction of Directed Path-Cycle Graphs with Repeated Edges

For any weighted directed path-cycle graphs, a and b (referred to as structures), and any equal costs of operations (intermergings and duplication), we obtain an algorithm which, by successively applying these operations to a, outputs b if the first structure contains no paralogs (i.e., edges with a repeated name) and the second has no more than two paralogs for each edge. In finding the shortest sequence of operations to be applied to pass from a to b, the algorithm has a multiplicative error of at most 13/9 + ε, where ε is any strictly positive number, and its runtime is of the order of nO(ε−2.6), where n is the size of the input pair of graphs. In the case of no paralogs, equal sets of names in the structures, and equal operation costs, we have considered the following conditions on the transformation of a into b: all structures in them are from one cycle; all structures are from one path; all structures are from paths. For each of the conditions, we have obtained an exact (i.e., zero-error) quadratic time algorithm for finding the shortest transformation of a into b. For another list of operations (join and cut of a vertex, and deletion and insertion of an edge) over structures and for arbitrary costs of these operations, we have obtained an algorithm for the extension of structures specified at the leaves of a tree onto its interior vertices. The algorithm is exact if the tree is a star—in this case, structures in the leaves may even have unequal sets of names or paralogs. The runtime of the algorithm is of the order of nΧ + n2log(n), where n is the number of names in the leaves, and Χ is an easily computable characteristic of the structures in the leaves. In the general case, a cubic time algorithm finds a locally minimal solution.

Of Women’s Bonds: Female Friendship and Feminist Ethics of Care in Tabish Khair’s Just Another Jihadi Jane

Set in a contemporary British Muslim context, Tabish Khair's 2016 novel Just Another Jihadi Jane grapples with the issue of religious extremism from a female perspective. The narrative arc, however, journeys from radicalisation to redemption, which is captured in powerful and enduring female bonds. The article examines how the female bonds, as portrayed in the novel, are shaped by and reshape the context and what they mean for the feminist conversation on solidarity and sisterhood. Drawing on feminist scholarship on friendship and psychoanalysis, the article explores how the novel's charting of female bonding and its vicissitudes underline an unequal personal and political setting within which female friendship is being forged. Nonetheless, the multiple sisterhoods depicted in the novel evince ethical and subversive potential. Offering a close reading of the text through the prism of care ethics, the essay argues that the text locates ethical relationality in its female bonds and sisterhoods, which in turn advances an ethic of care that both recognises and transcends differences.

COVID-19 incidence and mortality in the Metropolitan Region, Chile: Time, space, and structural factors.

Demographic, health, and socioeconomic factors significantly inform COVID-19 outcomes. This article analyzes the association of these factors and outcomes in Chile during the first five months of the pandemic. Using the municipalities Metropolitan Region’s municipalities as the unit of analysis, the study looks at the role of time dynamics, space, and place in cases and deaths over a 100-day period between March and July 2020. As a result, common and idiosyncratic elements explain the prevalence and dynamics of infections and mortality. Social determinants of health, particularly multidimensional poverty index and use of public transportation play an important role in explaining differences in outcomes. The article contributes to the understanding of the determinants of COVID-19 highlighting the need to consider time-space dynamics and social determinants as key in the analysis. Structural factors are important to identify at-risk populations and to select policy strategies to prevent and mitigate the effects of COVID-19. The results are especially relevant for similar research in unequal settings.

Neyman-Pearson Hypothesis Testing, Epistemic Reliability and Pragmatic Value-Laden Asymmetric Error Risks

We show that if among the tested hypotheses the number of true hypotheses is not equal to the number of false hypotheses, then Neyman-Pearson theory of testing hypotheses does not warrant minimal epistemic reliability (the feature of driving to true conclusions more often than to false ones). We also argue that N-P does not protect from the possible negative effects of the pragmatic value-laden unequal setting of error probabilities on N-P’s epistemic reliability. Most importantly, we argue that in the case of a negative impact no methodological adjustment is available to neutralize it, so in such cases the discussed pragmatic-value-ladenness of N-P inevitably compromises the goal of attaining truth.

Trends in mortality due to non-communicable diseases in the Brazilian adult population: national and subnational estimates and projections for 2030

BackgroundMonitoring and reducing premature mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a global priority of Agenda 2030. This study aimed to describe the mortality trends and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to NCDs between 1990 and 2017 for Brazil and to project those for 2030 as well as the risk factors (RFs) attributed deaths according to estimates of the Global Burden of Disease Study.MethodsWe analyzed cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, neoplasms, and diabetes, and compared the mortality rates in 1990 and 2017 for all of Brazil and states. The study used the definition of premature mortality (30–69 years) that is used by the World Health Organization. The number of deaths, mortality rates, DALYs, and years of life lost (YLL) were used to compare 1990 and 2017. We analyzed the YLL for NCDs attributable to RFs.ResultsThere was a reduction of 35.3% from 509.1 deaths/100,000 inhabitants (1990) to 329.6 deaths/100,000 inhabitants due to NCDs in 2017. The DALY rate decreased by 33.6%, and the YLL rate decreased by 36.0%. There were reductions in NCDs rates in all 27 states. The main RFs related to premature deaths by NCDs in 2017 among women were high body mass index (BMI), dietary risks, high systolic blood pressure, and among men, dietary risks, high systolic blood pressure, tobacco, and high BMI. Trends in mortality rates due to NCDs declined during the study period; however, after 2015, the curve reversed, and rates fluctuated and tended to increase.ConclusionOur findings highlighted a decline in premature mortality rates from NCDs nationwide and in all states. There was a greater reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases, followed by respiratory diseases, and we observed a minor reduction for those from diabetes and neoplasms. The observed fluctuations in mortality rates over the last 3 years indicate that if no further action is taken, we may not achieve the NCD Sustainable Development Goals. These findings draw attention to the consequences of austerity measures in a socially unequal setting with great regional disparities in which the majority of the population is dependent on state social policies.

Art Centers and Peripheral Art [A Lecture at the University of Hamburg, October 15, 1982

Change in the history of art has many causes, but one often overlooked by art historical institutions is the complex, unequal set of relationships that subsist between art centers and peripheries. These take many forms, from powerful penetration of peripheral art by the subjects, styles and modes of the relevant center, through accommodation to this penetration to various degrees and kinds of resistance to it. Mapping these relationships should be a major task for art historians, especially those committed to tracing the reception of works of art and the dissemination of ideas about art. This lecture, delivered by Nicos Hadjinicolaou in 1982, outlines a “political art geography” approach to these challenges, and demonstrates it by exploring four settings: the commissioning of paintings commemorating key battles during the Greek War of Independence; the changes in Diego Rivera's style on his return to Mexico from Paris in the 1920s; the impact on certain Mexican artists in the 1960s of “hard edge” painting from the United States; and the differences between Socialist Realism in Moscow and in the Soviet Republics of Asia during the mid-twentieth century. The lecture is here translated into English for the first time and is introduced by Terry Smith, who relates it to its author's long-term art historical quest, as previously pursued in his book Art History and Class Struggle (1973).

An Introduction to Nicos Hadjinicolaou's “Art Centers and Peripheral Art” (1982)

Change in the history of art has many causes, but one often overlooked by art historical institutions is the complex, unequal set of relationships that subsist between art centers and peripheries. These take many forms, from powerful penetration of peripheral art by the subjects, styles and modes of the relevant center, through accommodation to this penetration to various degrees and kinds of resistance to it. Mapping these relationships should be a major task for art historians, especially those committed to tracing the reception of works of art and the dissemination of ideas about art. This lecture, delivered by Nicos Hadjinicolaou in 1982, outlines a “political art geography” approach to these challenges, and demonstrates it by exploring four settings: the commissioning of paintings commemorating key battles during the Greek War of Independence; the changes in Diego Rivera's style on his return to Mexico from Paris in the 1920s; the impact on certain Mexican artists in the 1960s of “hard edge” painting from the United States; and the differences between Socialist Realism in Moscow and in the Soviet Republics of Asia during the mid-twentieth century. The lecture is here translated into English for the first time and is introduced by Terry Smith, who relates it to its author's long-term art historical quest, as previously pursued in his book Art History and Class Struggle (1973).

Building collective power in citizen-led initiatives for health accountability in Guatemala: the role of networks

BackgroundCitizen-led accountability initiatives are a critical strategy for redressing the causes of health inequalities and promoting better health system governance. A growing body of evidence points to the need for putting power relations at the forefront of understanding and operationalizing citizen-led accountability, rather than technical tools and best practices. In this study, we apply a network lens to the question of how initiatives build collective power to redress health system failures affecting marginalized communities in three municipalities in Guatemala.MethodsNetwork mapping and interpretive discussions were used to examine relational qualities of citizen-led initiatives’ networks and explore the resources they offer for mobilizing action and influencing health accountability. Participants in the municipal-level initiatives responded to a social network analysis questionnaire focused on their ties of communication and collaboration with other initiative participants and their interactions with authorities regarding health system problems. Discussions with participants about the maps generated enriched our view of what the ties represented and their history of collective action and also provided space for planning action to strengthen their networks.ResultsOur findings indicate that network qualities like cohesiveness and centralization reflected the initiative participants’ agency in adapting to their sociopolitical context, and participants’ social positions were a key resource in providing connection to a broad base of support for mobilizing collective action to document health service deficiencies and advocate for solutions. Their legitimacy as “representatives of the people” enabled them to engage with authorities from a bolstered position of power, and their iterative interactions with authorities further contributed to develop their advocacy capabilities and resulted in accountability gains.ConclusionsOur study provided evidence to counter the tendency to underestimate the assets and capabilities that marginalized citizens have for building power, and affirmed the idea that best-fit, with-the-grain approaches are well-suited for highly unequal settings characterized by weak governance. Efforts to support and understand change processes in citizen-led initiatives should include focus on adaptive network building to enable contextually-embedded approaches that leverage the collective power of the users of health services and grassroots leaders on the frontlines of accountability.

Incarceration as Violence: Inflicting Pain in Portuguese Prisons*

This article sets the groundwork for understanding prison violence as a broad and interrelated phenomenon which is bound by shifting notions of legitimacy. We argue that the concept of violence can help understand how the “pains of imprisonment” are inflicted and punishment is produced in different prison settings. Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in several Portuguese prisons, we describe how unequal sets of circumstances are imposed on groups of inmates, who become differently exposed to the deprivations of confinement. Our argument is that the various types of prison violence should be understood against this backdrop, as well as relationship to the diverse circumstances in which they are produced and the subjectivities of the individuals involved.

Wenner Soundings for Apparent Resistivity Measurements at Small Depths Using a Set of Unequal Bare Electrodes: Selected Case Studies

The possibility of using a set of unequal electrodes, within limits, in a Wenner arrangement for the measurement of apparent resistivity at small depths is explored in this paper. A procedure in which only a simple preliminary calibration is necessary to obtain the best measurements of the apparent resistivity is proposed. On the basis of some case studies, a comparison with the usual procedures to obtain the apparent resistivity from resistance measurements is carried out. The results showed that when an unequal set of electrodes was used, the procedure proposed here was the only one that guaranteed the best apparent resistivity values for any value of electrode separation in the Wenner arrangement, especially for those associated with small depths.

Welfare regimes in the global South: does the capability approach provide an alternative perspective?

Standard definitions and classifications are inadequate to explain current welfare regimes, particularly in the global South. This article explores whether the capability approach can provide an alternative lens for welfare regime analysis. The development of welfare regime theory, and the primary dimensions of analysis are reviewed. The capability approach is critically applied to assumptions underlying comparative welfare regime research, in particular the centrality of institutions. The ‘expansion of real freedoms’ is proposed as an organising theme for welfare regime analysis across complex and unequal settings. Substantive and methodological limitations in operationalising a capability approach to welfare regime theory are discussed.