The Relationship between Local Identification,Urban Disorder Sensitivity,and Prejudice Toward Immigrants: The Role of Autochthony

Autochthony is the belief that a place belongs to those who were born there and that they are more entitled. Autochthony and local identification can foster sensitivity to any source of disorder that threatens local stability. The aims of this study were to determine whether: (a) local identification is associated with a higher level of sensitivity to urban disorder and a higher level of prejudice toward immigrants; (b) higher city identifiers use autochthony (entitlement for first comers) as a justification for both of these attitudes. A self‐report questionnaire was administered to 254 adult residents of Turin, Italy. Local identification was found related to autochthony and to urban disorder sensitivity, autochthony was positively associated with both urban disorder sensitivity and prejudice toward immigrants and it mediated the relationship between local identification and prejudice.     

The Diffusion of Youth-Led Participatory Research in Urban Schools: The Role of the Prevention Support System in Implementation and Sustainability

This article discusses the dissemination of a process of youth-led participatory research in urban secondary schools within the Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF) developed in collaboration with the CDC and its university partners (Wandersman et al. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3-4) 2008). The focus here is on the development of the Prevention Support System with respect to general and innovation-specific capacity building. The specific process under study involves youth-led needs assessment and research to inform the planning of prevention programs and policies to address students' health and developmental needs. The article first briefly describes the youth-led research process, its potential benefits, and a case example in two urban secondary schools. It then describes challenges and responses in providing support for the diffusion of this model in 6 secondary schools. The settings are urban public schools with a majority of students of color from diverse ethnic groups: Asian-American, Latino, and African-American. This project constitutes a collaborative partnership with a university school of public health and community-based organizations (CBOs) to build capacity for long-term, sustainable implementation of this innovative process within the local school system. The perspectives of the university-based researcher and the CBO partners on the development and effectiveness of the Prevention Support System are presented.     

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Diagnosis for Youth from Violent, Impoverished Communities

We examine the historical development and use of the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder that has been primarily applied to war veterans. We explore how study of this population and refinement of this diagnosis were influenced by changing paradigms and the emergence of new theory. From this context, we then explore similarities and differences between the symptoms, stressors, and social supports of war veterans with those of youth living in violent, impoverished communities. Based upon this analysis, we conclude with implications for researchers, education, mental health, and social service policy-makers and service providers.     

Community Violence and Youth: Affect, Behavior, Substance Use, and Academics

Community violence is recognized as a major public health problem (WHO, World Report on Violence and Health, 2002) that Americans increasingly understand has adverse implications beyond inner-cities. However, the majority of research on chronic community violence exposure focuses on ethnic minority, impoverished, and/or crime-ridden communities while treatment and prevention focuses on the perpetrators of the violence, not on the youth who are its direct or indirect victims. School-based treatment and preventive interventions are needed for children at elevated risk for exposure to community violence. In preparation, a longitudinal, community epidemiological study, The Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project, is being fielded to address some of the methodological weaknesses presented in previous studies. This study was designed to better understand the impact of children’s chronic exposure to community violence on their emotional, behavioral, substance use, and academic functioning with an overarching goal to identify malleable risk and protective factors which can be targeted in preventive and intervention programs. This paper describes the MORE Project, its conceptual underpinnings, goals, and methodology, as well as implications for treatment and preventive interventions and future research.     

Physiological responses to urban design during bicycling: A naturalistic investigation

The current research set out to measure the moderating effect that urban design may have on bicyclist physiology while in transition. Focusing on the hilly City of Wuppertal, Germany, we harnessed bicyclists with mobile sensors to measure their responses to urban design metrics obtained from space syntax, while also adjusting for known traffic, terrain, and contextual factors. The empirical strategy consisted of exploratory data analysis (EDA), ordinary least squares (OLS), and a local regression model to account for spatial autocorrelation. The latter model was robust (R² = 68%), and showed that two statistically significant (p < 0.05) urban design factors influenced bicyclist physiology. Controllability, a measure of how spatially dominated a space is, increased bicyclist responses (i.e., decreased comfortability); while integration, which is related to accessibility and connectivity, had the opposite effect. Other noteworthy covariates included one-way streets and density of parked automobiles: these exerted a negative influence on bicyclist physiology. The results of this research ultimately showed that nuanced urban designs have a moderate influence on bicycling comfort. These outcomes could be utilized by practitioners focused on implementing appropriate interventions to increase bicyclist comfort levels and this mode share.     

The impact of a child bike seat and trailer on the objective overtaking behaviour of motorized vehicles passing cyclists

IntroductionThe lateral clearance distance of a motorized vehicle while overtaking a cyclist is a key indicator of safety. This lateral clearance distance has never been measured for cyclists transporting a child. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the behaviour of motorized vehicles in overtaking cyclists with and without a child on the same bicycle.MethodsThe lateral clearance distance of the overtaking manoeuvres of motorized vehicles was measured using an instrumented bicycle when performing 19 cycling trips on one single road with two different types of cycling infrastructure (a bike lane and shared lane marking) in the Brussels Capital Region (Belgium). Mixed effect regression was used to examine the effect of cycling condition (cyclist without a child [control], cyclist with a child bike seat and cyclist with a child bike trailer) and secondary independent variables (i.e. cycling infrastructure, peak traffic hours and traffic density) on the lateral clearance distance.ResultsThe mean lateral clearance distance in ‘cyclists without child’ was significantly smaller (117.3 cm) than in ‘cyclists with child’ (128.8 cm) (95%CI [7.2;15.9]). Looking at ‘morning peak traffic hours’ (i.e. 7:00 to 9:00 a.m.) a cyclist with child bike seat was overtaken at greater lateral clearance distances than a cyclist with a child bike trailer or a cyclist without child (p=0.041). Furthermore, the percentage of passing manoeuvres under 100 cm was significantly higher in ‘cyclist without child’ (35.3%) in comparison to ‘cyclist with child bike seat’ (21.8%) and ‘cyclist with child bike trailer’ (21.8%) (Chi2=29.19, p<0.001). No significant differences were found between a shared lane marking and bike lane.ConclusionDrivers of motorized vehicles do adapt their overtaking manoeuvre when they overtake cyclists transporting a child, keeping greater and therefore safer lateral clearance distances. In morning peak traffic hours and/or crowded circumstances the child bike seat can be considered as the safest way to transport a child in terms of lateral clearance distance. In general, with 25.3% overtaking manoeuvres under 100cm, police should monitor compliance with the traffic rules with regard to cyclists, and motorists should be more aware of the overtaking traffic rules.     

The affective politics of policy making spaces: Gendered and racial embodiments of neoliberal deservingness and power in a city council meeting

Bringing together feminist works on affect, neoliberalism, and the racial dimensions of dependency discourse, this paper discusses affective politics in policy making spaces by examining a Durham (North Carolina, USA) City Council meeting. We focus on a 2017 Housing Needs Hearing where bodily gestures and speech acts were crucial parts of emotional interactions that defined, maintained, and challenged subject positions and power structures. We argue that embedded within legacies of racial and gender inequality, neoliberal sensibilities work through embodied emotional performances that impact policy conversations. Our analysis reveals how, despite progressive aspirations and accomplishments in Durham, the meeting's extractive set up perpetuates inequities by positioning those seeking assistance to prove their worth through a contradictory performance of desperation and self-actualization while enabling supporters of housing affordability, including city officials, to adopt the role of caring advocates. We find that a performance of pain and the rhetorical proof of self-responsibility opens up potential access to affordable housing and in doing so reveals both the limits and impact of a broken housing system. We thus extend analysis of the neoliberal condition of US housing inequality by deepening understanding of how neoliberal deservingness is embodied and shapes racialized, classed, and gendered subject positions.     

Peer and school problems in the lives of urban adolescents: Frequency, difficulty, and relation to adjustment

This study examined the occurrence of problem situations in the peer and school domains and their relation to adjustment among urban adolescents. Students from three urban middle schools (N = 176) serving a predominantly African American population rated 61 problem situations identified in a previous qualitative study and completed measures of adjustment. Ratings of frequency and difficulty confirmed the relevance of these situations for this population. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that covariation in the frequency and difficulty of problem situations could be represented by separate factors representing peer situations involving friends, other peer situations, and school situations. The number of different problem situations experienced was significantly correlated with physical and relational aggression, delinquency, depression, anxiety, and self-worth. Several of these relations were strongest for peer situations that did not involve friends. There were few gender differences in the strength of these relations.     

城市贫困人口心理和社会稳定

由于社会转型,产业结构的调整以及个人等方面原因产生了下岗职工、农村进城务工人员和贫困大学生等大量的城市贫困人口。笔者从城市贫困者的个人社会等级评定、对贫富分化现状的态度以及分化程度的容忍度上分析城市贫困者心理差异对社会稳定的影响。