At which geographic scale does ethnic diversity affect intra-neighborhood social capital?

The claim that ethnic diversity within the living environment would hamper bonding and bridging social capital has been studied extensively, producing highly inconsistent findings. We studied whether ethnic diversity effects depend on the geographic scale at which ethnic diversity is measured. We examined ethnic diversity effects on intra- and inter-ethnic contacts in the neighborhood, respectively on opposition to ethnic in- and out-group neighbors. Hypotheses were derived from Blau's meeting opportunities thesis and contact theory, ethnic competition theory, and constrict theory. Using information about 2545 Dutch respondents with their locality defined as egohoods and administrative units, we found that ethnic diversity effects vary with the geographic scale. Ethnic diversity of smaller localities is positively associated with bridging social capital. At larger scales, the findings are mixed: ethnic diversity is positively related to inter-ethnic contacts and opposition to out-group neighbors. Ethnic diversity of smaller localities is negatively related to bonding social capital. In contrast to often-made claims that diversity within the local context would matter most, estimates of diversity effects are not always stronger when diversity measures are aggregated to smaller geographic areas.

Relations between policy for medical teaching and basic need satisfaction in teaching.

Policy initiatives that aim to elevate the position of medical teaching to that of medical research could influence the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs related to motivation for medical teaching. To explore relations between the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs towards medical teaching and two policy initiatives for medical teaching: (Junior) Principal Lecturer positions [(J)PL positions] and Subsidized Innovation and Research Projects in Medical Education (SIRPMEs). An online questionnaire was used to collect data about medical teaching in the setting of a university hospital. We adapted the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction scale (Van den Broeck et al. in J Occup Organ Psychol, 83(4):981-1002, 2010), in order to measure feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in teaching. We examined the relations between (J)PL positions and SIRPMEs and the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs. A total of 767 medical teachers participated. The initiatives appear to be related to different beneficial outcomes in terms of feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in medical teaching. Either a (J)PL position is obtained by teachers who feel competent and related towards medical teaching, or obtaining a (J)PL position makes teachers feel more competent and related towards teaching, or these relations could be interacting. Also, either a SIRPME is obtained by teachers who feel competent and autonomous towards medical teaching, or obtaining a SIRPME makes teachers feel more competent and autonomous towards teaching, or these relations could be interacting. Additional research needs to scrutinize the causal or interacting relations further and to determine optimal conditions for these policy initiatives more specifically. Implications for future research are discussed.

A review of abortion laws in Western-European countries. A cross-national comparison of legal developments between 1960 and 2010.

The extent to which women have had access to legal abortions has changed dramatically in Western-Europe between 1960 and 2010. In most countries, abortion laws developed from completely banning abortion to allowing its availability on request. Both the timing and the substance of the various legal developments differed dramatically between countries. Existing comparative studies on abortion laws in Western-European countries lack detail, usually focus either on first-trimester abortions or second trimester abortions, cover a limited time-span and are sometimes inconsistent with one another. Combining information from various primary and secondary sources, we show how and when the conditions for legally obtaining abortion during the entire gestation period in 20 major Western-European countries have changed between 1960 and 2010. We also construct a cross-nationally comparable classification of procedural barriers that limit abortion access. Our cross-national comparison shows that Western-Europe witnessed a general trend towards decreased restrictiveness of abortion laws. However, legal approaches to regulating abortion are highly different in detail. Abortion access remains limited, sometimes even in countries where abortion is legally available without restrictions relating to reasons.