Does an Urban Wilderness Promote Gentrification? A Case Study from Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

The Knoxville Urban Wilderness (KUW) is a successful example of a growing global movement to utilize vacant urban land as many cities “de-urbanize”. A key question is whether this particular kind of green space promotes social inequality via green gentrification. Our analysis shows how the KUW has affected nearby home prices. Socioeconomic data including income, educational attainment, and race is also presented to explore the possibility of gentrification in South Knoxville. Our findings do not support strong evidence of gentrification, which implies that lower-income households are benefiting from advances in environmental amenities. Other households in specific areas are benefiting from both increases in home values and from expansions of the KUW. These are encouraging results for urban planning efforts that seek to utilize large areas of vacant urban land while also having positive social and economic impacts.

Women’s views on accepting COVID-19 vaccination during and after pregnancy, and for their babies: a multi-methods study in the UK

Background COVID-19 vaccines are advised for pregnant women in the United Kingdom (UK) however COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant women is inadequate. Methods An online survey and semi-structured interviews were used to investigate pregnant women’s views on COVID-19 vaccine acceptability for themselves when pregnant, not pregnant and for their babies. One thousand one hundred eighty-one women, aged over 16 years, who had been pregnant since 23rd March 2020, were surveyed between 3rd August–11th October 2020. Ten women were interviewed. Results The majority of women surveyed (81.2%) reported that they would ‘definitely’ or were ‘leaning towards’ accepting a COVID-19 vaccine when not pregnant. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was significantly lower during pregnancy (62.1%, p < 0.005) and for their babies (69.9%, p < 0.005). Ethnic minority women were twice as likely to reject a COVID-19 vaccine for themselves when not pregnant, pregnant and for their babies compared to women from White ethnic groups (p < 0.005). Women from lower-income households, aged under 25-years, and from some geographic regions were more likely to reject a COVID-19 vaccine when not pregnant, pregnant and for their babies. Multivariate analysis revealed that income and ethnicity were the main drivers of the observed age and regional differences. Women unvaccinated against pertussis in pregnancy were over four times more likely to reject COVID-19 vaccines when not pregnant, pregnant and for their babies. Thematic analysis of the survey freetext responses and interviews found safety concerns about COVID-19 vaccines were common though wider mistrust in vaccines was also expressed. Trust in vaccines and the health system were also reasons women gave for accepting COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusion Safety information on COVID-19 vaccines must be clearly communicated to pregnant women to provide reassurance and facilitate informed pregnancy vaccine decisions. Targeted interventions to promote COVID-19 vaccine uptake among ethnic minority and lower-income women may be needed.

The association between financial strain and volatility in daily relationship uncertainty: A dyadic investigation

Prior research suggests that financial strain negatively impacts relational outcomes and that fluctuations (i.e., volatility) in daily reports of relationship aspects may be detrimental for relational outcomes. Daily relational uncertainty may also be associated with financial stressors; however, little is known about the association between financial strain and levels of daily relational uncertainty, as well as the volatility in day-to-day relational uncertainty. The current study includes both members of 100 adult different-sex couples (relationship length M = 7.0 years, SD = 7.1) who completed 14 days of daily diaries. We examined whether greater baseline financial strain is associated with higher levels of daily relational uncertainty and greater day-to-day volatility in relational uncertainty among actors and partners. Individuals who reported greater financial strain also reported higher overall levels of daily relationship uncertainty, as well as greater volatility in daily relationship uncertainty. The association between actor financial strain and volatility in daily relationship uncertainty was moderated by gender and marital status, such that financial strain was only associated with greater volatility in daily relationship uncertainty for men (but not for women) and for unmarried (but not married) individuals. Evidence for partner effects were also found, where partners’ higher levels of financial strain was associated with less volatility in actors’ daily relational uncertainty; however, this relationship was moderated by income, gender, and marital status. Individuals with lower income levels (versus high income levels) reported less volatility in their daily relationship uncertainty when their partners reported higher financial strain. Males rather than women reported lower volatility in daily relational uncertainty when their partners reported greater financial strain. In addition, unmarried rather than married individuals reported greater volatility in daily relationship uncertainty when their partners reported higher financial strain. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Does Lower Income Affect the Development of One's Innovative Ability in the Education Niche

The need of using creative and innovative education strategies in the low-income consumer setting has never been felt until this wake of the pandemic to assist for sustainable well-being. In this chapter, the role of improved education as a collective innovation measure in promoting awareness of the inclusive cover to the low-income consumers in the emerging countries will be perused in the wake of the 2019-nCoV virus in their struggle to cope with the unexpected management of risks in a more calculated way. The study provides the education challenges in the low-income insurance area posed to both consumers and providers and explains how their involvement is important through innovative programmes in the low-income cover niche such as digitalization amongst others. Since education indeed plays a huge role in enhancing participation in this field of low-income cover to entail sustainability, it will be wise that the policymakers, government officials, and others work closely with their consumers so that this problem can assist for sustainable livelihoods.

Article 28: The Right to Education

Abstract‘I would tell him to fix the lower income places where these schools are … because some of the schools the cafeteria do not serve proper food for the children at lunch time and stuff.’ (Latin America/Caribbean)

Initiating Financial Technology (Fintech) as an Innovation of Communication Technology on Credit Cooperatives in Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to describe the possibility to initiate Finansial Technology (Fintech) as an innovation of communication technology on the credit cooperatives in Indonesia. This study is based on the phenomenon of tremendous growth of credit / financial business by using FinTech in Indonesia . Fintech so far has grew uncontrolablely among illegal financial institutions and gave unexpected impact on lower income people in Indonesia. On the other hand, the credit cooperatives as legal financial institutions which could facilitate lower income people for financial services lag behind. This study used quantitative-desciptive method, and resulted in some findings: (1) Cooperatives can become the fintech P2PL Platform model, as an alternative business model by changing conventional savings and loan businesses into the P2PL platform. The model could also be seen as a solution to prevent moral hazard due to miss-used of this technology among illegal credit instituions, (2) Fintech as an innovation is recognized feasible to apply. It has good relative advantage due to giving more efficiency and effectiveness on mana gement, it has good trialability because it may be easily experimented with on a limited basis, and has good observability because the result is visible to others, it has less complexity since it is easy to learn and apply. This study has implications for policies that fintech flatform model could be developed for credit cooperatives in Indonesia both in rural and urban areas..

Exploring Distrust in the Wait and See: Lessons for Vaccine Communication

We conducted in-depth interviews with survey respondents who were distrusting of government authorities and/or communications, and also undecided about accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Our sample was racially and ethnically diverse, mostly lower income without a college degree. Participants were concerned about their own health and cared about public health, but expressed mistrust in the government and the media. They generally felt ignored by public and institutional systems and expressed a desire to be listened to. These attitudes all influenced lack of confidence in the vaccine. We identify specific opportunities for intervention and communication in vaccine promotion. We propose longer-term solutions for improving trust, which is essential for the effective delivery of future health interventions.

Divergent Approaches to Access: How Selective College Admissions Offices Recruit Lower-Income, First-Generation, and Working-Class Students

In recent years, selective colleges and universities have made diversifying their student bodies a top priority, yet the class diversity on these campuses has barely shifted. While most research on class disparities in college admissions focuses on student explanations, this study seeks to understand how campus admissions approaches to recruitment may also contribute to why so few lower-income, first-generation, and/or working-class students (LIFGWC students) attend selective colleges. To address this question, we conducted interviews with seven admissions officers from selective campuses with both relatively strong and weak records of LIFGWC students recruitment. Institutions with stronger records of recruiting LIFGWC students actively sought out new initiatives to make their college more accessible for LIFGWC students, and these actions were motivated by a shared focus on improving larger societal inequality. Although campuses with weaker records also expanded their recruitment strategies, their efforts were often piecemeal and motivated by competition for students and institutional rankings rather than a larger mission to improve diversity and equity. These findings suggest that institutional missions and philosophies are central to increasing access.

Identifying regional variation in place visit behavior during a global pandemic

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2019 lead to a global pandemic that altered the activity behavior of most people on our planet. While government regulations and public concern modified visitation patterns to places of interest, little research has examined the nuanced changes in the length of time someone spends at a place, nor the regional variability of these changes. In this work, we examine place visit duration in four major U.S. cities, identify which place types saw the largest and smallest changes, and quantify variation between cities. Furthermore, we identify socio-economic and demographic factors that contribute to changes in visit duration and demonstrate the varying influence of these factors by region. The results of our analysis indicate that the pandemic's impact on visiting behavior varies between cities, though there are commonalities found in certain types of places. Our findings suggest that places of interest within lower income communities experienced less change in visit duration than others. An increase in the percentage of younger, Black or Hispanic populations within a community also resulted in a smaller decrease in visit duration than in other communities. These findings offer insight into the factors that contribute to changes in visiting behavior and the resilience of communities to a global pandemic.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Dry Eye Symptoms after Successful Dacryocystorhinostomy for Patients with Lacrimal Passage Obstruction

Purpose To investigate the prevalence of dry eye symptoms after successful dacryocystorhinostomy and explore the potential risk factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 565 patients with lacrimal passage obstruction (LPO) who underwent external dacryocystorhinostomy. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) total score of 13 or more was regarded as presence of dry eye symptoms. OSDI total score greater than 22 combined with self-reported dry eye was defined as symptomatic dry eye. Logistic regression and linear regression were used to examine the associations between OSDI scores and its potentially predictive factors. Results: Of the 565 patients, 344 completed the questionnaire, among which 101(29.4%) patients presented with dry eye symptoms, including 53(15.4%) mild, 14(4.1%) moderate and 34(9.9%) severe, and 48(14.0%) patients can be defined as symptomatic dry eye. Univariate logistic regression revealed that age, educational levels, income levels, and hypertension were significantly correlated with the presence of dry eye symptoms ( P < 0.05). After multivariate adjustment, lower income levels were found significantly associated with dry eye symptoms ( P < 0.05). Univariate linear regression demonstrated that age, lower educational levels, surgery history, and hypertension were significantly associated with OSDI total score ( P = 0.037, 0.012, 0.022, 0.029 respectively). Multivariate stepwise linear regression manifested that educational levels and the surgery history influenced the OSDI total score mostly ( P = 0.021, 0.036 respectively). Conclusions: Dry eye problem of LPO patients after successful dacryocystorhinostomy cannot be ignored. In the preoperative evaluation, we should pay special attention to the elderly patients with lower educational levels, lower income levels or systemic diseases.