Digital Inequality

Unpicking and understanding if and how the web is linked to inequality means: Recognising that the access divide is not over, Thinking beyond hardware, Thinking beyond demographic variables, Developing a conceptual and theoretical toolkit, Beyond technological determinism, Co-constitution, Intersectionality, Technical capital

Qualidade de vida em pacientes com paralisia de Bell

Avaliou-se a qualidade de vida em 30 pacientes com paralisia de Bell e 30 controles são, pareados por idade e gênero, tendo como objetivo estimar as diferenças nesta entre os pacientes e as pessoas sem paralisia. Utilizou-se a enquete SF-36 para avaliar a qualidade de vida, a escala House Brackmann para estimar o nível de severidade da paralisia, e uma enquete para determinar a idade, o gênero, o lado afetado do rosto e o tempo de evolução. Aplicou-se a prova de rangos assinalados de Wilcoxon, com o fim de obter as diferenças nas dimensões da qualidade de vida entre os pacientes e os controles sãos. Esta análise mostrou diferenças significativas nas dimensões de limitações no rol: problemas físicos (p = .002), e funcionamento social (p = .002). Por meio do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman se observou um nível de relação significativo entre estas mesmas dimensões da qualidade de vida (p = .000 e p =.003 respectivamente) e a severidade da paralisia. Através da prova U de Mann Whitney comparou-se a qualidade de vida de acordo com o lado afetado. A análise permitiu ver uma pontuação significativamente menor na dimensão de saúde geral nos pacientes com afetação do lado direito do rosto (p = .024). Não se encontraram diferenças associadas à idade, ao gênero ou ao tempo de evolução. Os resultados permitem sugerir a inclusão de aspectos relacionados com as dimensões limitações no rol: problemas físicos e funcionamento social nos programas de intervenção dirigidos a estes pacientes.

Gross Inequality and Inequality of Opportunities in Basic Education: Were they affected by Latin America’s Economic Boom?

In the context of economic growth and recovering socio-economic conditions, many Latin American countries have implemented deep educational reforms since the beginning of the century. This paper aims to analyse whether these changes have promoted equality of educational opportunities in the region. Both the access and knowledge and skills dimensions are evaluated for six important countries, deepening the analysis for Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, in order to better understand the trends observed. Results point to reasonable progress in access, but reflect an unsatisfactory evolution of the level and distribution of knowledge and skills as reflected by PISA test scores.

Inequality of opportunity in educational achievement in Latin America: evidence from PISA 2006-2009

We assess inequality of opportunity in educational achievement in six Latin American countries, employing two waves of PISA data (2006 and 2009). By means of a non-parametric approach using a decomposable inequality index, GE(0), we rank countries according to their degree of inequality of opportunity. We work with alternative characterizations of types: school type (public or private), gender, parental education, and combinations of those variables. We calculate incremental contributions of each set of circumstances to inequality. We provide rankings of countries based on unconditional inequalities (using conventional indices) and on conditional inequalities (EOp indices), and the two sets of rankings do not always coincide. Inequality of opportunities range from less than 1% to up to 27%, with substantial heterogeneity according to the year, the country, the subject and the specificication of circumstances. Robustness checks based on bootstrap and the use of an alternative index confirm most of the initial results.

How do inequality affect tax morale in Latin America and Caribbean?

Latin America is well known as an inequitable region. As it is recognized, inequality and corruption perception weaken the way that political institutions works and the democratic system. Focusing on Latin American and Caribbean countries, this paper analyzes what are the elements shaping tax morale. In particular, how the context influences ethical grounds decisions such as the predisposition to pay taxes is analyzed, using the survey carried out in 2005 by Latinobarometro. The objective is to analyze how country performance determines tax morale. To do so, four probitmodels are estimated using Gini index, Transparency International Corruption Perception Index and Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPpc) as explanatory variables. As expected we found that some socio-demographic variables play a relevant role. Interestingly, we also found that, in this attitude, LAC countries do not register a gender bias. However, those are not our main contributions to the literature on the field. The most important results are linked to: 1) the levelmatters, GDPpc increases the probability of people having tax morale, 2) moreover, income distributionalso influence on tax morale but in opposite direction and 3) corruption perception also reduces tax morale. Those results show that the quality of institutions matters and therefore, the way that democracy works play a relevant role.

Adaptación social de los deficientes visuales (estudio a través del cuestionario de BELL).

Comprobar cuál es el grado de adaptación de los adolescentes ciegos, atendiendo a diversos factores. 62 adolescentes entre los 12 y los 15 años del Colegio Inmaculada Concepción de Madrid, siendo 37 varones y 25 hembras. Conoce la ceguera como defecto en sí mismo considerado, analizando las distintas definiciones que sobre ellas se dan, las causas que pueden provocarla, las tasas existentes en España y la atención educativa de que es objeto la población ciega en edad escolar. A continuación analiza las posibles causas o factores que pueden condicionar la adaptación social de los ciegos así como la comprobación del nivel de adaptación social de los adolescentes ciegos atendiendo a diversas variables. A este fin, aplican el cuestionario de adaptación para adolescentes BELL. 1)Los niños ciegos totales presentan un mayor grado de adaptación social que los ciegos parciales. 2) El grado de adaptación social de las niñas ciegas, totales o parciales, coincide el situarse, generalmente, dentro de la normalidad. 3) Los niños ciegos totales alcanzan un mayor grado de adaptación social que las niñas ciegas totales. 4) Las niñas ciegas parciales presentan un mayor grado de adaptación social que los niños ciegos parciales. 5) El grado de adaptación de los niños ciegos totales y parciales, cuya ceguera apareció después de los cinco años, es superior al grado de adaptación de los niños ciegos totales y parciales que lo son desde antes de esa edad. 6) El grado de adaptación social de los niños ciegos totales, que lo son antes de los cinco años es inferior al de las niñas ciegas totales que son igualmente desde antes de esa edad. 7) El grado de adaptación social de las niñas ciegas parciales que los son desde antes de los cinco años es mayor que el de los niños ciegos parciales que son igualmente desde antes de esa edad.

La adaptación social de preadolescentes y adolescentes sordos : estudio experimental a través del Bell.

Estudiar la adaptación social en preadolescentes y adolescentes con sordera. Se presenta un estudio teórico sobre diferentes aspectos de la sordomudez, la noción, la etiología y su patogenia, la adaptación del niño sordo, junto con una parte experimental, aplicando el cuestionario de Bell, referente a la adaptación social. La muestra consta de 51 sujetos de edades comprendidas entre los 12-17 años escolarizados en el colegio 'La purísima' de Málaga. El trabajo se divide en varios capítulos: en el capítulo primero, se hace noción de la deficiencia auditiva, las clases de deficiencia auditiva, y la terminología adecuada. En el capítulo segundo, se explica la patología y la patogenia de la sordomudez, hereditaria y adquirida y la sordera endémica. En el tercer capítulo, se hace referencia a la adaptación de los deficientes auditivos. 1) Todos los sujetos sordos encuestados sienten placer por ir a sitios donde hay muchas personas. 2) A la casi la totalidad de los sujetos, les gusta acercarse a saludar a alguna persona, cuando van a una reunión. 3) En las chicas hay un claro predominio de las que no les cuesta acordarse de una determinada frase, los chicos tienen mayor dificultad. 4) En las edades de 12, 13 y 15 años hay un mayor porcentaje que en los sujetos de 16 y 17 años. 5) La mayoría de los sujetos sordos han tomado la iniciativa para animar una reunión aburrida. Esto ocurre más frecuentemente en los varones que en las mujeres. 6) Más de la mitad de los sujetos manifiestan su personalidad con personas desconocidas cuando van en autobús o en tren. 7) Aproximadamente la mitad declara que no se le presta atención cuando están con un grupo de personas, apreciándolo más los varones y los grupos de edad entre 14-17 años.

The geography of tyranny and despair: development indicators and the hypothesis of genetic inevitability of national inequality

Development geography has long sought to understand why inequalities exist and the best ways to address them. Dependency theory sets out an historical rationale for under development based on colonialism and a legacy of developed core and under-developed periphery. Race is relevant in this theory only insofar that Europeans are white and the places they colonised were occupied by people with darker skin colour. There are no innate biological reasons why it happened in that order. However, a new theory for national inequalities proposed by Lynn and Vanhanen in a series of publications makes the case that poorer countries have that status because of a poorer genetic stock rather than an accident of history. They argue that IQ has a genetic basis and IQ is linked to ability. Thus races with a poorer IQ have less ability, and thus national IQ can be positively correlated with performance as measured by an indicator like GDP/capita. Their thesis is one of despair, as little can be done to improve genetic stock significantly other than a programme of eugenics. This paper summarises and critiques the Lynn and Vanhanen hypothesis and the assumptions upon which it is based, and uses this analysis to show how a human desire to simplify in order to manage can be dangerous in development geography. While the attention may naturally be focused on the 'national IQ' variables as a proxy measure of 'innate ability', the assumption of GDP per capita as an indicator of 'success' and 'achievement' is far more readily accepted without criticism. The paper makes the case that the current vogue for indicators, indices and cause-effect can be tyrannical.