The influence of social connectedness and self-esteem on participant retention in a bi-ethnic longitudinal study

In prospective studies it is essential that the study sample accurately represents the target population for meaningful inferences to be drawn. Understanding why some individuals do not participate, or fail to continue to participate, in longitudinal studies can provide an empirical basis for the development of effective recruitment and retention strategies to improve response rates. This study examined the influence of social connectedness and self-esteem on long-term retention of participants, using secondary data from the “San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging” (SALSA), a population-based study of Mexican Americans (MAs) and European Americans (EAs) aged over 65 years residing in San Antonio, Texas. We tested the effect of social connectedness, self-esteem and socioeconomic status on participant retention in both ethnic groups. In MAs only, we analyzed whether acculturation and assimilation moderated these associations and/or had a direct effect on participant retention. ^ Low income, low frequency of social contacts and length of recruitment interval were significant predictors of non-completer status. Participants with low levels of social contacts were almost twice as likely as those with high levels of social contacts to be non-completers, even after adjustment for age, sex, ethnic group, education, household income, and recruitment interval (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.26–3.01, p = 0.003). Recruitment interval consistently and strongly predicted non-completer status in all the models tested. Depending on the model, for each year beyond baseline there was a 25–33% greater likelihood of non-completion. The only significant interaction, or moderating, effect observed was between social contacts and cultural values among MAs. Specifically, MAs with both low social contacts and low acculturation on cultural values (i.e., placed high value on preserving Mexican cultural origins) were three and half times more likely to be non-completers compared with MAs in other subgroups comprised of the combination of these variables, even after adjustment for covariates. ^ Long term studies with older and minority participants are challenging for participant retention. Strategies can be designed to enhance retention by paying special attention to participants with low social contacts and, in MAs, participants with both low social contacts and low acculturation on cultural values. Minimizing the time interval between baseline and follow-up recruitment, and maintaining frequent contact with participants during this interval should also be is integral to the study design.^

Ethnic differences in food availability at home among 3--5 year old preschoolers attending Head Start centers in 2008

Background. The childhood obesity epidemic has disproportionately impacted the lives of low-income, minority preschoolers and their families. Research shows that parents play a major role as "gatekeepers" who control what food is brought into the home and as role models for dietary practices. Currently, there is limited research regarding ethnic differences in families of low-income preschoolers. ^ Objective. The objective of this study was to look at ethnic differences in food availability at home among the low-income families of Hispanic and African American preschoolers attending Head Start centers in Harris County, Texas. ^ Design/Subjects. Descriptive data on food availability at home between Hispanic and African American families were used and analyzed for this study. Parents or primary caregivers (n = 718) of children enrolled at Head Start Centers in Houston, Texas completed the Healthy Home Survey. ^ Methods. In the Healthy Home Survey, participants were asked to answer open-ended questions regarding various types of foods currently available at home, such as fresh, canned or jarred, dried and frozen fruits; fresh, canned or jarred, and frozen vegetables; salty snacks, sweet snacks, candy, and soda. Descriptive analyses were conducted to identify significant differences between Hispanics and African Americans via a paired t-test to compare the means of variables between the study groups and a Pearson's chi-square or Fischer's exact (if cell size was <5) test calculated for food availability (food types) between ethnicities to determine differences in distributions. ^ Results. Although both Hispanics and African Americans reported having all categories of food types at home, there were statistically significant differences between ethnic groups. Hispanics were more likely to have fresh fruits and vegetables at home than African Americans. At the same time, more African American families reported having canned or jarred fruits and canned green/leafy vegetables than Hispanics. More Hispanic families reported having diet, regular, and both diet and regular sodas available compared to African American families. However, high percentages of unhealthy foods (including snacks and candy) were reported by both ethnicities. ^ Conclusions. The findings presented in this study indicate the implicit ethnic differences that exist in the food availability among low-income families of Hispanic and African American preschoolers. Future research should investigate the associations between food availability and children's weight status by ethnicity to identify additional differences that may exist.^

Ethnic Politics, Regime Support and Conflict in Central and Eastern Europe

Ethnicity and ethnic parties have often been portrayed as a threat to political stability. There is also no shortage of conflicts with an ethnic flavor. Yet, this book challenges the notion that the organization of politics in heterogeneous societies should necessarily overcome ethnicity. Rather, descriptive representation of ethnic groups arguably has potential to increase regime support and reduce conflict. The book studies partisan-descriptive representation of up to 130 ethnic groups in central and eastern European democracies. Ethnic minority parties are found to only run and succeed if they can expect electoral support sufficient to pass the electoral threshold. Conditional on gender and strategies of representation, ethnic representation increases satisfaction with democracy among the minority population. While protest rises given moderate levels of representation, it is reduced once ethnic groups have access to executives. In conclusion, a proportional vision of power-sharing between ethnic groups receives some qualified empirical support.

Men and heart disease : an atlas of racial and ethnic disparities in mortality /

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Childhood ethnic differences in ametropia and ocular biometry:the Aston Eye Study

Purpose: To describe the methodology, sampling strategy and preliminary results for the Aston Eye Study (AES), a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of refractive error and its associated ocular biometry in a large multi-racial sample of school children from the metropolitan area of Birmingham, England. Methods: A target sample of 1700 children aged 6–7 years and 1200 aged 12–13 years is being selected from Birmingham schools selected randomly with stratification by area deprivation index (a measure of socio-economic status). Schools with pupils predominantly (>70%) from a single race are excluded. Sample size calculations account for the likely participation rate and the clustering of individuals within schools. Procedures involve standardised protocols to allow for comparison with international population-based data. Visual acuity, non-contact ocular biometry (axial length, corneal radius of curvature and anterior chamber depth) and cycloplegic autorefraction are measured in both eyes. Distance and near oculomotor balance, height and weight are also assessed. Questionnaires for parents and older children will allow the influence of environmental factors on refractive error to be examined. Results: Recruitment and data collection are ongoing (currently N = 655). Preliminary cross-sectional data on 213 South Asian, 44 black African Caribbean and 70 white European children aged 6–7 years and 114 South Asian, 40 black African Caribbean and 115 white European children aged 12–13 years found myopia prevalence of 9.4% and 29.4% for the two age groups respectively. A more negative mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was observed in older children (-0.21 D vs +0.87 D). Ethnic differences in myopia prevalence are emerging with South Asian children having higher levels than white European children 36.8% vs 18.6% (for the older children). Axial length, corneal radius of curvature and anterior chamber depth were normally distributed, while SER was leptokurtic (p < 0.001) with a slight negative skew. Conclusions: The AES will allow ethnic differences in the ocular characteristics of children from a large metropolitan area of the UK to be examined. The findings to date indicate the emergence of higher levels of myopia by early adolescence in second and third generation British South Asians, compared to white European children. The continuation of the AES will allow the early determinants of these ethnic differences to be studied.

Finding natural groups in data:an application to strategic group research

The best way of finding “natural groups” in management research remains subject to debate and within the literature there is no accepted consensus. The principle motivation behind this study is to explore the effect of choices of method upon strategic group research, an area that has suffered enduring criticism, as we believe that these method choices are still not fully exploited. Our study is novel in the use of a variety of more robust clustering and validation techniques, rarely used in management research, some borrowed from the natural sciences, which may provide a useful and more robust base for this type of research. Our results confirm that methods do exist to address the concerns over strategic group research and adoption of our chosen methods will improve the quality of management research.

Time and professional work in public sector organisations: an examination of four occupational groups in education and medicine

The aim of this thesis is to examine the experience of time of four professional occupational groups working in public sector organisations and the factors affecting this experience. The literature on time and work is examined to delineate the key parameters of research in this area. A broad organisation behaviour approach to the experience of time and work is developed in which individual, occupational, organisational and socio-political factors are inter-related. The experience of secondary school teachers, further education lecturers, general medical practitioners and hosoital consultants is then examined. Multiple methods of data collection are used: open-ended interviews, a questionnaire survey and the analysis of key documents relating to the institutional settings in which the four groups work. The research aims to develop our knowledge of working time by considering the dimensions of the experience of time at work, the contexts in wlhich this experience is generated and the constraints these contexts give rIse to. By developing our understanding of time as a key feature of work experience we also extend our knowledge of organisation behaviour in general. In conclusion a model of the factors relating the experience of time to the negotiation of time at work is presented.

Ethnic groups as market segments: implications of the demand structure

Ethnic market potential in Britain has not yet been thoroughly researched. Important recent trends have focused mainly on the affective and emotional aspects of ethnicity, and included deliberations on the emergence of a revitalised neo-ethnic consciousness; its identification; politicisation, and the impact on it; of a rising third-world consciousness. This investigation attempts to take cognizance of the consuner demand of the ethnic Asian and West Indian groups, as specific market segments. It discusses the rationale for ethnic segmentation on the underlying premise, that the starting point for all product marketing is a response to perceived market opportunities. On the basis of this approach, the UK laundry detergent and automobile markets were investigated; as being representative of product categories constitutirg extremes along the purchase-search-time continuun in consuner decision-making. Ethnic groups were further analysed for their retail patronage patterns; media usage, and the differential effectiveness of alternative advertisirg strategies. The basic technique of marketing research namely the sample survey, was used with the aim of applying scientific techniques in obtaining information on ethnic groups. The integrated marketirg framework utilised allowed, moreover, for the collection of market research data on the specific issues of ethnic product penetration dealing with retailing, advertising and product promotion. The evidence highlights the fact that the cultural orientations of ethnic groups are instrunental in providing for differential demand structures. It points to the answer that ethnicity is an anchor not only for a deeper sense of identity; but also serves as a focus for the economic interests of ethnic groups. On this basis it is argued here, that since cultural levelling would eventually produce stagnation; current marketing strategies should utilise ethnic diversity as an econanic artifact; which; per se is necessary for profitability and growth; especially in innovative product design and development.

Ethnic differences in health related quality of life for patients with type 2 diabetes

Background - The objective of this study was to investigate the association between ethnicity and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods - The EuroQol EQ-5D measure was administered to 1,978 patients with type 2 diabetes in the UK Asian Diabetes Study (UKADS): 1,486 of south Asian origin (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or other south Asian) and 492 of white European origin. Multivariate regression using ordinary least square (OLS), Tobit, fractional logit and Censored Least Absolutes Deviations estimators was used to estimate the impact of ethnicity on both visual analogue scale (VAS) and utility scores for the EuroQol EQ-5D. Results - Mean EQ-5D VAS and utility scores were lower among south Asians with diabetes compared to the white European population; the unadjusted effect on the mean EQ-5D VAS score was −7.82 (Standard error [SE] = 1.06, p < 0.01) and on the EQ-5D utility score was −0.06 (SE = 0.02, p < 0.01) (OLS estimator). After controlling for socio-demographic and clinical confounders, the adjusted effect on the EQ-5D VAS score was −9.35 (SE = 2.46, p < 0.01) and on the EQ-5D utility score was 0.06 (SE = 0.04), although the latter was not statistically significant. Conclusions - There was a large and statistically significant association between south Asian ethnicity and lower EQ-5D VAS scores. In contrast, there was no significant difference in EQ-5D utility scores between the south Asian and white European sub-groups. Further research is needed to explain the differences in effects on subjective EQ-5D VAS scores and population-weighted EQ-5D utility scores in this context.

Interest groups in multiple streams:specifying their involvement in the framework

Although interests inhabit a central place in the multiple streams framework (MSF), interest groups have played only a minor role in theoretical and empirical studies until now. In Kingdon’s original conception, organized interests are a key variable in the politics stream. Revisiting Kingdon’s concept with a particular focus on interest groups and their activities—in different streams and at various levels—in the policy process, we take this argument further. In particular, we argue that specifying groups’ roles in other streams adds value to the explanatory power of the framework. To do this, we look at how interest groups affect problems, policies, and politics. The influence of interest groups within the streams is explained by linking the MSF with literature on interest intermediation. We show that depending on the number of conditions and their activity level, interest groups can be involved in all three streams. We illustrate this in case studies reviewing labor market policies in Germany and chemicals regulation at the European level.

Moving Boundary: A Virtual Museum of the Ethnic Groups

The virtual museum of ethnic groups “Moving boundary” is a proposition for dialogue on an important topic in today's world – ethnic coexistence. The project's goal is to make various resources (photos, documents, etc.) available for use by teachers, professors and students, thus forming and strengthening connections between educational institutions.

Health beliefs and health care options of disparate black communities in the United States

According to the 1999 U.S. Census, there were approximately thirty-three million African Americans and approximately 1.8 million non-Hispanic black immigrants in the United States. The 1997 U.S. Census estimated that there were as many as 554,000 foreign-born Haitians and 505,000 foreign-born Jamaicans living in the United States, mainly residing in Florida and New York. The U.S. Census claims that blacks are one of the largest emerging ethnic groups in America constituting at least twelve percent of this country's population. Because of this increase, their specific health beliefs and health care options are increasingly nationally significant. ^ In the present intra-black and inter-ethnic study, two hundred seventy African Americans, Haitian immigrants, and Jamaican immigrants residing in South Florida were quantitatively and qualitatively surveyed in order to investigate their health beliefs and health care options. According to the reviewed literature, the three black ethnic groups researched in this study have not been compared or contrasted before in relation to these beliefs and health care choices. ^ As was discovered by the present research, differing health beliefs and health care options were the cultural products of the ethnic differences of the researched communities. It was expected that differing health beliefs among the researched black groups might indicate disparate patterns of health care utilization of either western or non-western models. Additionally, it was projected that by investigating the health beliefs and the health care options of these emerging black ethnic groups, western health care providers in the United States could become better versed in medically servicing growing ethnically-disparate black populations. The study yielded results about the researched groups that supported major findings in the reviewed literature. The data were reported and examined, and theoretical generalizations from the data were discussed. The most important of these findings was that, within a race, health beliefs and health care options were determined by specific ethno-cultural variables dependent on national origins. ^

Intra-racial relations among blacks in the United States: dissimilarities, partnerships, and common identities

In the wake of a steadily increasing diversity in ethnicity among Blacks in the United States, efforts need to be made to analyze and understand the dynamics of the relations among the various Black ethnic groups in the United States. This thesis explores the present state of relations among these groups by utilizing an extensive literature review on the topic in conjunction with in-depth interviews. What is of particular interest here are the differing and similar intergroup perspectives on self-identity, as well as any cultural similarities and dissimilarities that exist. We find that the cultural dissimilarities create barriers to harmonious relations among the groups, while particular ideologies such as Pan-Africanism and Black nationalism provide the basis for strong unified fronts and partnerships for those who embrace them.

Multi-ethnic neighborhood in New York

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

The Political Economy of Ethnic Empowerment in India

This dissertation consists of three papers, which together examine whether policies meant to address inequality, succeed in mitigating the impact of traditional institutions such as caste and enable ethnic minorities to claim their rights. Using experimental and quasi-experimental methods with data from a variety of primary and secondary sources, this dissertation analyzes whether policies meant to empower vulnerable groups in India have succeeded in doing so. The findings suggest that while legislations in the form of mandated political representation or freedom of information laws are necessary in terms of increasing the accountability of government towards citizens, they may not be sufficient in ensuring adequate and uniform delivery of public services, especially to citizens belonging to marginalized groups. Further, empowering citizens – especially those belonging to groups that have faced historic discrimination – to actively participate in civic and political life may require more active and intensive policy and programmatic interventions.