Suchergebnisse

AbstractPrevious literature on childhood poverty in Puerto Rico is sparse. This is surprising since Puerto Rico exhibits very high poverty rates as compared to the rest of the United States. In this paper, we apply a structural perspective and consider how economic characteristics, household structure and migration patterns influence child poverty rates in Puerto Rico. Data for this paper come from the 2006–2010 Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) summary files. We apply methods of exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial regression models to understand how municipio (county equivalents) level child poverty rates are influenced by these factors. A spatial modeling methodology was deemed appropriate since significant spatial structure is found for the child poverty rate and residuals from the Ordinary Least Squares model. Household composition, as measured by the percent of female headed households and the percent of grandparents caring for their own grandchildren consistently showed positive associations with child poverty. In terms of the economic sector variables, the proportion of the workforce in agriculture and proportion without a high school education showed significant positive effects on child poverty. With respect to migration, we find little to no impact, but we do find that child poverty is concentrated outside of the region adjacent to the capital of San Juan.

This paper assesses individual and social environment determinants of obesity in the adult Mexican population based on socioeconomic position, rural residence, and areal deprivation. Using a nationally representative health and nutrition survey, this analysis considers individual and structural determinants of obesity from a socioeconomic position and health disparities conceptual framework using multilevel logistic regression models. We find that more than thirty percent of Mexican adults were obese in 2006 and that the odds of being obese were strongly associated with an individual's socioeconomic position, gender, place of residence, and the level of marginalization (areal deprivation) in the place of residence. Surprisingly, areas of the country where areal deprivation was highest had lower risks of individual obesity outcomes. We suggest that programs oriented towards addressing the health benefits of traditional food systems over high-energy dense refined foods and sugary beverages be promoted as part of a public health program aimed at curbing the rising obesity prevalence in Mexico.

Franz Boas's study of the changes in bodily form of descendants of immigrants has stood for over ninety years as proof of environmental influences on cranial form. Recent reanalysis of his data have shown differing interpretations of the importance of his findings. Here, we explore the historical, political, and social setting of the study that could have led Boas to overstate the importance of his findings. We also include a discussion of the issue at large with respect to the study of modern and prehistoric human variation. Given the current state of population research using craniometric data we conclude, as many of Boas's early criticism have, that while some of the changes observed by Boas have statistical credibility, they generally lack biological meaning when considered in the scope of the degree of modern human variation. [Keywords: plasticity, immigration, craniometries, cranial index, human variation]

This article addresses what many observers of Texas' prison gangs perceive as significant changes in the hierarchical structure of various Latino groups. Focusing on the state's central and eastern regions, we provide a brief historical context and overview of contemporaneous gang factions. We attempt to understand gang dynamics as a function of emerging demographic patterns in the prison population. Examining prison admissions trends for males from Texas' four largest counties, we illustrate ongoing changes in race-age composition for these metropolitan areas that reinforce depictions of changing gang structure in unofficial reports, print media, and prison documentaries. We emphasize the need for multimethod approaches and analyses of the United States–Mexico Border region for a more complete view of the Texas gang landscape.

Purpose: Sexual harassment remains a persistent problem in the U.S. military despite extensive research and policy initiatives. Theoretical explanations identify individual circumstances (e.g., power differentials) and organizational factors (e.g., climate, culture). However, data constraints limit the capacity to link individual contexts with independent measures of environments. Data/Methods: A unique Defense Equality Opportunity Climate Survey allows assessment of organizational climates and individual experiences with multilevel analyses. Results: Sexist environmental context increases the likelihood of personal harassment experiences after controlling for individual-level variables. However, unit-level climate, group cohesion, and job satisfaction are not significant. Conclusion: Both individual and organizational factors are important. However, the organizational context has less to do with culture or unit cohesion and more to do with tolerance of sexism. Focusing on problem units may be effective for reducing the prevalence and persistence of sexual harassment.

Abstract
Most research on segregation focuses on racial residential segregation in metropolitan statistical areas and typically uses a-spatial measures of segregation. What is less clear is if segregation measures operate in a similar fashion in nonmetropolitan areas and if spatial patterns exist for poverty segregation in nonmetro counties. The purpose of this research was to examine multiple dimensions of poverty segregation in the United States the period 2006–2010 for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Data for this analysis come from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, the 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3 and the USDA Economic Research Service. Four different measures of poverty segregation were calculated, including both aspatial and spatial measures. A nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test for variation in the segregation indices across metro and nonmetro areas and spatially autoregressive models were used to examine the socioeconomic correlates of poverty segregation. Results indicate significant variation in poverty segregation patterns in metro and nonmetro counties in the US, and nonmetro counties outside of the South have significantly lower levels of poverty segregation. This research adds to the literature by exploring patterns of metro and nonmetro poverty segregation and measuring different dimensions of segregation with an explicit spatial referent across counties in the contiguous United States in an effort to note differences in how segregation works across rural and urban places.