Asynchronous vs didactic education: it's too early to throw in the towel on tradition

Background:

Asynchronous, computer based instruction is cost effective, allows self-directed pacing and review, and addresses preferences of millennial learners. Current research suggests there is no significant difference in learning compared to traditional classroom instruction. Data are limited for novice learners in emergency medicine. The objective of this study was to compare asynchronous, computer-based instruction with traditional didactics for senior medical students during a week-long intensive course in acute care. We hypothesized both modalities would be equivalent. Methods This was a prospective observational quasi-experimental study of 4th year medical students who were novice learners with minimal prior exposure to curricular elements.

Source: Biomedical Education via eScholarship Repository

Download: Asynchronous vs didactic education: it's too early to throw in the towel on tradition

New York City’s Small High Schools Continue to Significantly Raise Graduation Rates

From the overview:

Over half of the new small schools created between the fall of 2002 and the fall of 2008 were intended to serve students in some of the district’s most disadvantaged communities and are located mainly in neighborhoods where large, failing high schools had been closed. MDRC has previously released two reports on these “small schools of choice,” or SSCs (so called because they are small, are academically nonselective, and were created to provide a realistic choice for students with widely varying academic backgrounds). Those reports found marked increases in progress toward graduation and in graduation rates for the cohorts of students who entered SSCs in the falls of 2005 and 2006. The second report also found that the increase in graduation rates applied to every student subgroup examined, and that SSC graduation effects were sustained even after five years from the time sample members entered high school.

This report updates those previous findings with results from a third cohort of students, those who entered ninth grade in the fall of 2007. In addition, for the first time it includes a look inside these schools through the eyes of principals and teachers, as reported in interviews and focus groups held at the 25 SSCs with the strongest evidence of effectiveness.

Source: MDRC
 Download "Sustained Progress" report in pdf format.

More Tweets, More Votes: Social Media as a Quantitative Indicator of Political Behavior

Abstract:

Is social media a valid indicator of political behavior? We answer this question using a random sample of 537,231,508 tweets from August 1 to November 1, 2010 and data from 406 competitive U.S. congressional elections provided by the Federal Election Commission. Our results show that the percentage of Republican-candidate name mentions correlates with the Republican vote margin in the subsequent election. This finding persists even when controlling for incumbency, district partisanship, media coverage of the race, time, and demographic variables such as the district’s racial and gender composition. With over 500 million active users in 2012, Twitter now represents a new frontier for the study of human behavior. This research provides a framework for incorporating this emerging medium into the computational social science toolkit.

Source: Social Science Resource Network

Download pdf of  More Tweets, More Votes

Social Networking Sites in Romantic Relationships: Attachment, Uncertainty, and Partner Surveillance on Facebook

Social networking sites serve as both a source of information and a source of tension between romantic partners. Previous studies have investigated the use of Facebook for monitoring former and current romantic partners, but why certain individuals engage in this behavior has not been fully explained. College students (N=328) participated in an online survey that examined two potential explanatory variables for interpersonal electronic surveillance (IES) of romantic partners: attachment style and relational uncertainty. Attachment style predicted both uncertainty and IES, with preoccupieds and fearfuls reporting the highest levels. Uncertainty did not predict IES, however. Future directions for research on romantic relationships and online surveillance are explored.

Jesse Fox and Katie M. Warber. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. -Not available-, ahead of print. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0667. 

Download pdf publication Social Networking Sites in Romantic Relationships

Study Provides Insights on Habits and Motivations of Burglars

From the Press Release:

The researchers delved into the decision-making processes and methods of 422 incarcerated male and female burglars selected at random from state prison systems in North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio. This investigation explored offender motivation; target selection considerations; deterrence factors; burglars’ techniques; and gender differences in motivations, target selection and techniques.'

 Source: The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
 Read more of the findings: “Understanding Decisions to Burglarize from the Offender’s Perspective”

OpenSecrets.org launches Anomaly Tracker tool for researching government funding.

From the OpenSecrets blog:

For years, our researchers have analyzed and crunched numbers looking for outliers -- instances where a politician relies to an unusual degree on one group of donors, for instance, or contributors from one geographic area dominate a candidate's fundraising. Earlier this week we introduced a new tool so users of our site can join us in this search: the Anomaly Tracker.

The tracker will look for four different types of anomalies:

1. Lawmakers sponsoring legislation that was lobbied by only one company or other organization whose employees or PAC also donated to the sponsoring lawmakers.
2. Lawmakers receiving twice as much in contributions from their top donors as their next highest donors.
3. Lawmakers receiving twice as much in contributions from their top donor industries as their next highest donor industries.
4. Lawmakers receiving more than 50 percent of their itemized contributions from out of state.

Explore the  Anomaly Tracker.

Game-based learning: latest evidence and future directions

From the Press Release:

The role of video games in teaching and learning is a source of debate among many educators, researchers and in the popular press. Detractors and advocates have been discussing the influences and the potentials of video games for quite some time, and we feel that sound evidence and informed advice on these topics is still very much needed. Against this background, Futurelab at NFER felt that it was timely to provide practitioners, industry and researchers with an up-to-date account of what the evidence tells us about game-based learning and its potential impact on learning and teaching. The review aims to bridge academic and non academic domains, to provide insights that will be of interest to educators, educational researchers, industry and others seeking to engage in a more thoughtful debate about the types of educational values that can be attached to gaming. In particular, we provide accessible advice for practitioners, in the belief that innovation in education is always underpinned by informed and critical teaching.

Source: The National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales
Download pdf publication: Game-based learning: latest evidence and future directions

Evaluation of Internet Child Safety Materials Used by ICAC Task Forces in School and Community Settings

Abstract:

This project involves content and process evaluations of current internet safety education (ISE) program materials and their use by law enforcement presenters and schools. Despite a proliferation of internet safety programs over the last decade, there is little information that can guide law enforcement, policy makers or the public in determining which materials or delivery methods are most likely to increase children’s online safety.

 ISE content and process evaluation results indicated that the educational approach and messages of current ISE fail to incorporate critical elements of effective prevention education, including: 1) research-based messages; 2) skill-based learning objectives; 3) opportunities for youth to practice new skills; and 4) sufficient time for learning. Our analyses indicate that the ISE field has been slow to include research-based information on internet predators and online harassment and there is no research to support the assumption that many of the popular educational slogans/messages around privacy and digital reputation concerns (e.g., “Think Before You Click”) will lead to improved youth online behavior.

 The failure to define research-supported program logic means that most ISE is a highly speculative and experimental undertaking, whose success cannot be assumed. Recommendations are made for re-conceptualizing ISE and developing a more effective approach to helping protect youth.

Source: National Institute of Justice (U.S.)
For Download:

• Executive Summary (pdf, 16 pages)

• Final Report (pdf, 114 pages)

Children with sleep apnea have higher risk of behavioral, adaptive and learning problems

"This study provides some helpful information for medical professionals consulting with parents about treatment options for children with SDB that, although it may remit, there are considerable behavioral risks associated with continued SDB," said Michelle Perfect, PhD, the study's lead author and assistant professor in the school psychology program in the department of disability and psychoeducational studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "School personnel should also consider the possibility that SDB contributes to difficulties with hyperactivity, learning and behavioral and emotional dysregulation in the classroom."

The five-year study, which appears in the April issue of the journal SLEEP, utilized data from a longitudinal cohort, the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study (TuCASA). The TuCASA study prospectively examined Hispanic and Caucasian children between 6 and 11 years of age to determine the prevalence and incidence of SDB and its effects on neurobehavioral functioning. The study involved 263 children who completed an overnight sleep study and a neurobehavioral battery of assessments that included parent and youth reported rating scales.

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine

 Read: Children with sleep apnea have higher risk of behavioral, adaptive and learning problems.

How Housing Matters Survey Finds American Attitudes Transformed by Housing Crisis, Changes in Lifestyle

From the introduction:

The How Housing Matters Survey, a new national survey conducted by Hart Research Associates and commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation, found while financial markets, as well as homebuilding and home sales data, may suggest the prolonged housing crisis is over, the American public is not ready to agree, with nearly 8 in 10 (77%) believing we are still in the middle of the crisis, or that the worst is yet to come. When it comes to remedying the housing crisis, two-thirds of adults (65%) now believe the focus of national housing policy should be split fairly equally between rental and ownership, as opposed to promoting one over the other. Three in five adults (61%) now believe that renters can be just as successful as owners in achieving the American Dream.

Source: MacArthur Foundation 
Read the survey report (pdf) or complete survey data.

New Report on First Premarital Cohabitation in the United States

From the Report Description:

This report provides an updated description of trends and patterns in first premarital cohabitations among women aged 15–44 in the United States using the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Trends in pregnancies within first premarital cohabiting unions and differences by Hispanic origin and race, and education are also presented.

About the survey:

The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) gathers information on family life, marriage and divorce, pregnancy, infertility, use of contraception, and men's and women's health. The survey results are used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and others to plan health services and health education programs, and to do statistical studies of families, fertility, and health.

Source: Centers for Disease and Control Prevention National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)

Download pdf Report on First Premarital Cohabitation in the United States

Self-Image and Strategic Ignorance in Moral Dilemmas

Abstract: 

Avoiding information about adverse welfare consequences of self-interested decisions, orstrategic ignorance, is an important source of corruption, anti-social behavior and even atrocities. We model an agent who cares about self-image and has the opportunity to learn the social benefits of a personally costly action.  The trade-off between self-image concerns and material payoffs can lead the agent to use ignorance as an excuse, even if it is deliberately chosen. Two experiments, modeled after Dana, Weber, and Kuang (2007), show that a) many people will reveal relevant information about others' payoffs after making an ethical decision, but not before, and b)  some people are willing to pay for ignorance. These results corroborate the idea that Bayesian self-signaling drives people to avoid inconvenient facts in moral decisions.

Source:  Departmental Working Papers, Department of Economics, UCSB, UC Santa Barbara [via eScholarship Repository]

Download full pdf publication: Self-Image and Strategic Ignorance in Moral Dilemmas

After the Withdrawal: A Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan

From RAND Corpoation:

Testimony presented before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Joint Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa and Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on March 19, 2013.

 Download full pdf publication

Research Report: 2012 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners

The 2012 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners provides critical statistics to gauge women’s advancement into leadership and highlights the gender diversity gap. Each year Catalyst tracks:

•  Women’s share of all Executive Officer and top earner positions. 
•  Companies with 0 percent, 25 percent or more, and 40 percent or more women Executive Officers. 

The appendices provide additional points of comparison by region and industry, as well as list companies with the highest and lowest representation of women Executive Officers.

• In 2012, women held 14.3 percent of Executive Officer positions at Fortune 500 companies and 8.1 percent of Executive Officer top earner positions. 
• In both 2011 and 2012, one-fifth of companies had 25 percent or more women Executive Officers, yet more than one-quarter had no women. 

Source: Catalyst 

Download full pdf research report | Go directly to Catalyst site for multiple downloads

Digitized: The Historic Mexican and Mexican American Press collection

About the collection:

The Historic Mexican and Mexican American Press collection documents and showcases historic Mexican and Mexican American publications published in Tucson, El Paso, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sonora, Mexico from the mid-1800s to the 1970s. The collection covers important periods in Mexican-American history, from the Mexican Revolution to the Bracero Program to the Chicano Movement. There are about 1,900,000 Latino and Hispanic population in Arizona and more than 50 million in the United States. Having this collection available to the public through digitization of these materials, will raise awareness to issues that advance the image and identity of Latinos in American politics and media and their contributions to the United States.

Source: University of Arizona Libraries

 Link to The Historic Mexican and Mexican American Press collection

Wilson Center Digital Archive: Declassified Historical Documents available to the Public

About:

The Digital Archive is a resource where students, researchers and specialists can access once-secret documents from governments and organizations all over the world.
Constructed and maintained by the Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program, the Digital Archive contains newly declassified historical materials from archives around the world—much of it in translation and including diplomatic cables, high level correspondence, meeting minutes and more. The historical documents presented in the ever-expanding Digital Archive provide fresh, unprecedented insights into recent international history. By making new sources available and easily accessible, the Digital Archive serves to deepen and enrich international scholarship, history education, and public policy debate on important global issues and challenges.

Included collections:

The Cold War International History Project (CWIHP)

The Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. It seeks to accelerate the process of integrating new sources, materials and perspectives from the former "Communist bloc" with the historiography of the Cold War which has been written over the past few decades largely by Western scholars reliant on Western archival sources.

The North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP)

The North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP) serves as an informational clearinghouse on North Korea for both the scholarly and policymaking communities by widely disseminating newly declassified documents on the DPRK from its former communist allies as well as other resources that provide valuable insight into the actions and nature of the North Korean state.

The Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP)

The Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP) is a global network of individuals and institutions engaged in the study of international nuclear history through archival documents, oral history interviews and other empirical sources. Recognizing that today’s toughest nuclear challenges have deep roots in the past, NPIHP seeks to transcend the East vs. West paradigm to work towards an integrated international history of nuclear weapon proliferation.

Browsing and Search options available: Wilson Center Digital Archive: International History Declassified.

Library of Congress Publication: Perspectives on Personal Digital Archiving

From the description:

In addition to the challenges institutions face with preserving their large collections of digital material, individuals are also facing the same challenges.  The challenge is – how to preserve these valuable materials for the long term, more and more of which are in digital format?  The ease involved in creating all this personal digital “content” – whether it’s email, digital photographs, scanned documents, etc. – belies the fact that all digital material, whether in large amounts or small, is fragile.  This fragility can be due to software/hardware obsolescence, not being able to find the files, or even just physical damage.

 Source Library of Congress

Download Library of Congress Publication: Perspectives on Personal Digital Archiving

Difference Among Latina/o, Asian American, and White Online [voter] Registrants in California

From the Introduction: 

On 19 September 2012, the state of California launched its online voter registration system. During the just under five-week window available for eligible voters to register online, 839,297 took advantage of this option.1 This large take-up by voters is especially notable given the state did not advertise its availability, nor did it launch a media campaign to inform voters about this option. Given that, it is reasonable to assume that voters heard about online voter registration from their social networks or from visits to the secretary of state’s website.

 22.6% percent of online registrants were Latina/o (N=189,502); 11.1% were of Asian origin (N=92,923); and 59.8% were white (N=501,614).2 These numbers are similar to the ethnoracial distribution of November 2012 registrants overall, of whom 22% were Latina/o, 9.1% were Asian American, and 61.4% were white. Our analysis of these voters shows that young Latinas/os were most likely to register online, Latina/o and Asian American online registrants were strongly Democratic in their party identification, and Latina and Asian American women registered online and turned out at higher rates than Latino and Asian American men. We also find that majorities of Latina/o and white online registrants were low or middle income, rather than affluent. Our analysis makes clear that studies of the California voting population need to look comparatively across ethnoracial3 groups and to consider gender, class, and age differences within those groups.

Source: Policy Reports and Research Briefs, Center for Latino Policy Research, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, UC Berkeley [via eScholarship Repository]

Download full pdf publication: Difference Among Latina/o, Asian American, and White Online [voter] Registrants in California
 

NIJ Report: Predicting and Preventing Wrongful Convictions

From the overview:

Why are innocent people wrongfully convicted in certain cases yet acquitted in others? Could policy interventions prevent future erroneous convictions? NIJ-funded researchers at American University studied 460 violent felonies that occurred between 1980 and 2012 to find the answers.
The researchers did not study the factors that lead to the factually innocent people entering the criminal justice system in the first place. They focused instead on why some innocent people are convicted while others are released.

The researchers used a case comparison method — with a control group and logistic regression analysis — instead of the "case study" method researchers have used in the past. A group of 260 cases were identified from across the country where an innocent defendant was exonerated after conviction. These were matched with 200 "near miss" cases in which an innocent defendant was acquitted or the charges were dismissed before trial.

Source: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

Download full pdf publication (433 pgs) | Download segments of report on the website

Individual Creativity, Ex-ante Goals and Financial Incentives

Abstract:

Creativity is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon that has hardly been considered by economists, despite a great deal of economic importance. This paper presents a series of experiments where subjects face creativity tasks where, in one case, ex-ante goals and constraints are imposed on their answers, and in the other case no restrictions apply. The effects of financial incentives in stimulating creativity in both types of tasks is then tested, together with the impact of personal features like risk and ambiguity aversion. Our findings show that, in general,financial incentives affect “in-box” (constrained) creativity, but do not facilitate “blue sky”(unconstrained) creativity. However, in the latter case incentives do play a role for ambiguity averse agents, who tend to be significantly less creative and seem to need extrinsic motivation to exert effort in a task whose odds of success they don’t know. We do find that measures of creative style, sensation-seeking preferences, and past involvement in artistic endeavors are related to our creativity score, but do not find any difference across gender for either form of creativity.

Source: Departmental Working Papers, Department of Economics, UCSB, UC Santa Barbara

Download full pdf publication:  Individual Creativity, Ex-ante Goals and Financial Incentives

Student Survey on Financial Literacy Shows Early Debt Correlates with Risky Behavior

About the Report:

Money Matters on Campus is a new report detailing the findings from a survey of 40,000 first-year college students from across the U.S. and demonstrating to colleges and universities how student financial problems not only impact individual student outcomes but also the institutional mission.

 The study—conducted by EverFi and sponsored by Higher One—surveyed students on banking, savings, credit cards and school loans. The majority of participants (91.2 percent) were first-year college students (mean age = 18.2 years). One of the many survey findings revealed a strong correlation between incurring early debt and not being affiliated with a banking institution. Further, an increased risk of negative financially related outcomes, as students and later in life, was correlated with current risky financial attitudes/behaviors.

Download pdf Report: Money Matters on Campus

Food Hardship in America Report

From the Press Release:

Millions of Americans continued in 2012 to struggle to afford enough food, according to new, up-to-date food hardship data from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). More than one in six Americans (18.2 percent) said in 2012 that there had been times over the past 12 months that they didn’t have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed.

 FRAC’s food hardship report – Food Hardship in America 2012 (pdf) – analyzes data that were collected by Gallup and provided to FRAC. The data were gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, which has been interviewing almost 1,000 households daily since January 2008. FRAC has analyzed responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” The report contains data throughout 2012 for every state, region, congressional district, and 100 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas (MSA).

Source:  Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)

Download FRAC’s food hardship pdf report – Food Hardship in America 2012

Recent college graduates in the U.S. labor force: data from the Current Population Survey

From the press release:

Data collected each October in the School Enrollment Supplement to the Current Population Survey provide an annual snapshot of the demographic characteristics, labor force activity, and school enrollment status of each year's cohort of recent college graduates 

Every year, thousands of recent graduates of colleges and universities across the United States enter the labor force with newly minted degrees and high hopes about their employment prospects.1 In October 2011, 74.5 percent of the 1.3 million 2011 recent college graduates were employed, according to data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The unemployment rate for the 2011 cohort of recent college graduates was 12.6 percent. CPS data also show variation in the labor force status of bachelor's and advanced degree recipients.

Download full pdf publication

Pew Research: Twitter Reaction to Events Often at Odds with Overall Public Opinion

Online Report:

The reaction on Twitter to major political events and policy decisions often differs a great deal from public opinion as measured by surveys. This is the conclusion of a year-long Pew Research Center study that compared the results of national polls to the tone of tweets in response to eight major news events, including the outcome of the presidential election, the first presidential debate and major speeches by Barack Obama.

At times the Twitter conversation is more liberal than survey responses, while at other times it is more conservative. Often it is the overall negativity that stands out. Much of the difference may have to do with both the narrow sliver of the public represented on Twitter as well as who among that slice chose to take part in any one conversation.

Source: Pew Research Center

Read online report: Twitter Reaction to Events Often at Odds with Overall Public Opinion

How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms

From the overview:

A survey of teachers who instruct American middle and secondary school students finds that digital technologies have become central to their teaching and professionalization. At the same time, the internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to teachers, and they report striking differences in access to the latest digital technologies between lower and higher income students and school districts.

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Download full pdf report: How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms

Download Survey Questions

Reconciling Gender Differences in the Returns to Education in Self-Employment: Does Occupation Matter?

Abstract:

Compared to self-employed men, self-employed women have more education but considerably lower earnings, generating differences in the returns to education by gender. This paper finds evidence that men typically benefit from a complementary relationship between education and earnings. However, women are heterogenous in their returns to education. Women who self-employ in traditionally female occupations do not benefit from this complementary relationship, and women who self-employ in traditionally male occupations earn returns that are more similar to the male experience.

Source:  The Journal of Socio-Economics
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2013.02.022

Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the United States

From the description:

This statistical profile of the Latino population is based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). Users should exercise caution when comparing the 2011 estimates with estimates for previous years. Population estimates in the 2011 ACS are based on the latest information from the 2010 Decennial Census; the 2005 to 2009 ACS estimates are based on the latest information available for those surveys—updates of the 2000 Decennial Census.

Source: Pew Research Hispanic Center

Download full pdf report | Download excel data

Berkeley Forum on Better Health Care at Lower

From the Executive Summary:

California private and public sector leaders came together in an unprecedented collaborative effort, with academic expertise and analytic support provided by the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health, to address these challenges. Determined to avoid solutions divorced from societal, regulatory and political realities, the Forum has devised a transformational, bottoms-up approach to creating a more affordable, cost-effective healthcare system that would, at the same time, improve Californians’ health and well-being.

 Source: Berkeley Forum (U.C. Berkeley)

Download full pdf report: Berkeley Forum on Better Health Care at Lower Cost

Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century

Description:

Americans have long recognized that investments in public education contribute to the common good, enhancing national prosperity and supporting stable families, neighborhoods, and communities. Education is even more critical today, in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges. Today's children can meet future challenges if their schooling and informal learning activities prepare them for adult roles as citizens, employees, managers, parents, volunteers, and entrepreneurs. To achieve their full potential as adults, young people need to develop a range of skills and knowledge that facilitate mastery and application of English, mathematics, and other school subjects. At the same time, business and political leaders are increasingly asking schools to develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-management - often referred to as "21st century skills."

Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century describes this important set of key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking. These labels include both cognitive and non-cognitive skills- such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to learn. 21st century skills also include creativity, innovation, and ethics that are important to later success and may be developed in formal or informal learning environments.

This report also describes how these skills relate to each other and to more traditional academic skills and content in the key disciplines of reading, mathematics, and science. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century summarizes the findings of the research that investigates the importance of such skills to success in education, work, and other areas of adult responsibility and that demonstrates the importance of developing these skills in K-16 education. In this report, features related to learning these skills are identified, which include teacher professional development, curriculum, assessment, after-school and out-of-school programs, and informal learning centers such as exhibits and museums.

Source: National Academies Press

Read  Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century online. Download pdf

Children with Special Health Care Needs in California: A Profile of Key Issues

Description:

Compared to children in other states, California’s children with special health care needs receive care that is less coordinated, less family-centered, and fails to meet many of the key quality indicators prescribed by the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, according to this new analysis of the 2009/10 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs.

Source:  Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs, launched by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health.

Download full pdf publication of  Children with Special Health Care Needs in California: A Profile of Key Issues

New Resosurce: Open States

Open States lets you find information about your state representatives and legislation: identify your representative, search and track legislation, explore bill history and votes and contact lawmakers.

Video Tutorial:
Openstates.org is a free tool and makes both their bulk data and api available for others to use.

Mega-States: An Analysis of Student Performance in the Five Most Heavily Populated States in the Nation

Description:

California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas enroll close to 40 percent of the nation’s public school students. The importance of these “Mega-States” goes beyond the sheer size of their population. They now serve more than half of the nation’s English language learners (ELL), as well as some of the largest concentrations of children from lower-income families. As policymakers and educators look at the nation’s changing demographics and explore ways to close achievement gaps, the educational progress of children in these states is of interest far beyond their state borders. That’s why the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Assessment Governing Board focused this special report on educational outcomes in the five largest states.

 Mega-States generally do not perform higher than the nation, but they have made some gains over time.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Download full pdf publication

Young Adults After the Recession: Fewer Homes, Fewer Cars, Less Debt

From the overview:

After running up record debt-to-income ratios during the bubble economy of the 2000s, young adults shed substantially more debt than older adults did during the Great Recession and its immediate aftermath—mainly by virtue of owning fewer houses and cars, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Federal Reserve Board and other government data.

Source: Pew Research

Download complete pdf report: Young Adults After the Recession: Fewer Homes, Fewer Cars, Less Debt

Developing the Capacity to Understand and Prevent Homicide

Excerpt from the Authors' Abstract: 

The Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission (MHRC) was established in May 2004 to address the city’s persistent lethal violence problem. The MHRC is a multi-tiered intervention with four levels, each of which involves participation by a different set of agencies and stakeholders. A key assumption underlying the four levels of MHRC review, and driving its decision to include stakeholders outside of the traditional criminal justice arena, was that the development and implementation of homicide prevention strategies is a complex and multi-faceted process that can be strengthened by input and buy-in from stakeholders throughout the community. The goal of the MHRC was to foster and support innovative homicide prevention and intervention strategies using the emerging tool of strategic problem analysis.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Download full pdf: Developing the Capacity to Understand and Prevent Homicide: An Evaluation of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission

Are Countries Moving Towards More Equitable Education Systems?

From EducationWeek:

Several countries that consistently top U.S. performance in the Program for International Student Assessment also have more equitable education systems, but American schools are making progress, according to a new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which administers the PISA.

The study, "Are Countries Moving Towards More Equitable Education Systems? (pdf)" found that in 2009, countries often held up as educational role models, including Finland, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, had significantly higher PISA reading performance as well as smaller socioeconomic gaps. Socioeconomic status of the 15-year-old test-takers was measured using an index of parents' education and careers, as well as educational and other resources available in the children's homes.

Source: EducationWeek Inside School Research

Download pdf report: "Are Countries Moving Towards More Equitable Education Systems?"

The Affordable Care Act: The Value of Systemic Disruption

Abstract

It is important to recognize the political and policy accomplishments of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), anticipate its limitations, and use the levers it provides strategically to address the problems it does not resolve. Passage of the ACA broke the political logjam that long stymied national progress toward equitable, quality, universal, affordable health care. It extends coverage for the uninsured who are disproportionately low income and people of color, curbs health insurance abuses, and initiates improvements in the quality of care. However, challenges to affordability and cost control persist. Public health advocates should mobilize for coverage for abortion care and for immigrants, encourage public-sector involvement in negotiating health care prices, and counter disinformation by opponents on the right. 

Source: Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print February 14, 2013: e1-e4. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301180 via eScholarship Repository

Download pdf publication of : The Affordable Care Act: The Value of Systemic Disruption

Neuroeconomics: Eyes, Brain, Business

From the introduction:

Humans are often delighted by objects with vaguely humanoid characteristics—think Pet Rocks, toy robots, or sock puppets. But there is a point at which an object looks almost human, yet not quite human enough, and the result is disturbing. It's called the uncanny valley. And for Christine Looser, it's the starting point for a line of research aimed at discovering how our brains detect life, and how we distinguish the cognizant from the mindless.

Source: Harvard Business School : Working Knowledge

Read full paper:  Neuroeconomics: Eyes, Brain, Business online

Children with brain lesions able to use gestures important to language learning

Abstract:

Children with pre/perinatal unilateral brain lesions (PL) show remarkable plasticity for language development. Is this plasticity characterized by the same developmental trajectory that characterizes typically developing (TD) children, with gesture leading the way into speech? We explored this question, comparing eleven children with PL – matched to thirty TD children on expressive vocabulary – in the second year of life. Children with PL showed similarities to TD children for simple but not complex sentence types. Children with PL produced simple sentences across gesture and speech several months before producing them entirely in speech, exhibiting parallel delays in both gesture + speech and speech-alone. However, unlike TD children, children with PL produced complex sentence types first in speech-alone. Overall, the gesture–speech system appears to be a robust feature of language learning for simple – but not complex – sentence constructions, acting as a harbinger of change in language development even when that language is developing in an injured brain.

Source: Journal of Child Language / Volume 40 / Special Issue 01 / January 2013, pp 69-105 Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305000912000220

Download pdf of Gesturing with an injured brain: How gesture helps children with early brain injury learn linguistic constructions

Compare50.org : database for comparing economic indicators across 50 States

Info:

Supported by the nonprofit Next 10 foundation, [David] Neumark and [U.C. Irvine] economics graduate student Jennifer Muz compiled data on fundamental economic measures – including economic growth, job growth, layoffs and unemployment, earnings, income distribution and poverty – from 1990 to 2011 for all 50 states. Sources included the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages and Current Population Survey.

Compare50.org is a Next 10 project. Next 10 is focused on innovation and the intersection between the economy, the environment, and quality of life issues for all Californians. We create tools and provide information that fosters a deeper understanding of the critical issues affecting all Californians. Through education and civic engagement, we hope Californians will become empowered to affect change.

Go to: Compare50.org

National Institute of Justice Firearms Studies

Two technical reports on firearms are made available to the public through the National Criminal Justice Reference:

New Approaches to Understanding and Regulating Primary and Secondary Illegal Firearms (pdf, 177 pages)

Authors: Glenn Pierce, Anthony Braga, Garen Wintemute, Matthew Dolliver

Abstract:

This report confirms previous study results demonstrating the usefulness of trace data in policing illicit firearms. The data show that jurisdictions with gun regulations appear to recover fewer illicitly distributed weapons compared to jurisdictions without regulations. The authors present conclusions suggesting more regulation will reduce the availability and distribution of illicit firearms. 
The findings have some limitations. The unit of analysis is limited to guns recovered by law enforcement and submitted to ATF for tracing between 2003-2006, but the system of tracing has changed significantly in recent years. Also, the guns submitted in this study generally are referred to in the report as “crime guns” although the data indicate that more than 75 percent of the weapons in the study were not used directly in the commission of a crime, but were recovered in the process of law enforcement apprehension, investigation or Search & Seizure, buy backs, and other confiscations.

Strategies for Disrupting Illegal Firearms Markets: A Case Study of Los Angeles (pdf, 92 pages)
Authors: Greg Ridgeway, Glenn L. Pierce, Anthony A. Braga, George Tita, Garen Wintemute, Wendell Roberts
Authors' Abstract:
In 2001, with the support of a grant from the National Institute of Justice, RAND initiated a research and program-development effort to understand the nature of illegal gun markets operating in the city of Los Angeles, California. The primary goal of this project was to determine whether a data-driven, problem-solving approach could yield new interventions aimed at disrupting the workings of local, illegal gun markets serving criminals, gang members, and juveniles in Los Angeles.
The authors created a new software tool to help law enforcement analyze patterns in crime-gun data and identify and trace illicit pathways by which criminals acquire guns. Second, the findings were incorporated into an interagency working-group process that developed a community-based intervention designed to disrupt the illegal flow of guns to Los Angeles-area criminals; this intervention may had an impact on straw purchasing. Key participants in the working group included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Los Angeles Police Department; the U.S. Attorney's Office; state and city prosecutors; academics; and other criminal-justice agencies. Finally, they assessed the utility of retail ammunition-purchase records in identifying prohibited firearm possessors, recommending a cost-benefit analysis on this measure. 

Source: National Institute of Justice (United States)

Patenting Prosperity: Invention and Economic Performance in the United States and its Metropolitan Areas

From the online overview:

This report examines the importance of patents as a measure of invention to economic growth and explores why some areas are more inventive than others. Why should we expect there to be a relationship between patenting and urban economic development? As economist Paul Romer has written, the defining nature of ideas, in contrast to other economic goods, is that they are non-rival: their use by any one individual does not preclude others from using them. Although useful ideas can be freely transmitted and copied, the patent system guarantees, in principle, temporary protection from would-be competitors in the marketplace (i.e. excludability). Thus, one would expect regions to realize at least some of the value of invention, as has been shown for individual inventors and companies that patent. Yet there is no guarantee that patents generated in a specific location will generate wealth in that same location—a set of conditions (the presence of a skilled and diverse labor force, an “ecosystem” of businesses providing complementary goods and services, financing and marketing capabilities among them) have to be met for invention to be commercialized. Research has established that patents are correlated with economic growth across and within the same country over time.

Source: Brookings Institution
Authors: Jonathan Rothwell, José Lobo, Deborah Strumsky and Mark Muro

Download: Patenting Prosperity: Invention and Economic Performance in the United States and its Metropolitan Areas

Also Available: Appendix, Interactive Feature

Immigration of Temporary Lower-Skilled Workers: Current Policy and Related Issues

U.S. employers in various industries argue that they need to hire foreign workers to perform lower-skilled jobs, while others maintain that many of these positions could be filled by U.S. workers. Under current law, certain lower-skilled foreign workers, sometimes referred to as guest workers, may be admitted to the United States to perform temporary service or labor under two temporary worker visas: the H-2A visa for agricultural workers and the H-2B visa for nonagricultural workers. Both programs are administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) and the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA).

Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Download full pdf of "Immigration of Temporary Lower-Skilled Workers: Current Policy and Related Issues"

New Resource: The Civil Rights Movement as Theological Drama

From the Press Release:

The University of Virginia’s Project on Lived Theology has launched a new online resource, The Civil Rights Movement as Theological Drama, that brings together hundreds of firsthand accounts of how religious convictions played a multifaceted role in the Civil Rights Movement.

“During that extraordinary period in American history, white conservatives, civil rights activists, black militants, black moderates and Klansmen all staked their particular claims for racial justice and social order on the premise that God was on their side,” said Charles Marsh, director of the Project on Lived Theology and professor of religious studies in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The new digital archive includes full-length interviews, newspaper articles, field reports, letters, court filings and other primary sources from the Civil Rights Movement – much of which is drawn from the Project on Lived Theology’s paper archive and Marsh’s decades of research – and organizes everything by actors, scenes, themes and keywords, to show how people lived out their theological beliefs in the world, said Kelly West Figueroa-Ray, manager of the new resource and a doctoral student in religious studies.

Link to online resource:  The Civil Rights Movement as Theological Drama

Public School Graduates and Dropouts from the Common Core of Data

Highlight:

 Seventy-eight percent of high school students, nationwide, graduated on time; an increase of 2 percentage points from the previous year. This graduation rate is based on the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate calculated from enrollment and graduation counts reported to the National Center for Education Statistics at the Institute of Education Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Education. This report presents the latest release of the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) and the Event Dropout Rate. These rates are disaggregated by year, race/ethnicity, gender, and, where applicable, grade.

Description:

This report presents the number of high school graduates, the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), and the dropout data for grades 9–12 for public schools in school year 2009–10 as reported by State Education Agencies to the NCES Common Core of Data Universe Survey of public elementary and secondary institutions.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Download full pdf publication | Link to online description and file download site

Redefining Information Warfare Boundaries for an Army in a Wireless World

Abstract:

In the U.S. Army as elsewhere, transmission of digitized packets on Internet-protocol and space-based networks is rapidly supplanting the use of old technology (e.g., dedicated analog channels) when it comes to information sharing and media broadcasting. As the Army moves forward with these changes, it will be important to identify the implications and potential boundaries of cyberspace operations. An examination of network operations, information operations, and the more focused areas of electronic warfare, signals intelligence, electromagnetic spectrum operations, public affairs, and psychological operations in the U.S. military found significant overlap that could inform the development of future Army doctrine in these areas. In clarifying the prevailing boundaries between these areas of interest, it is possible to predict the progression of these boundaries in the near future. The investigation also entailed developing new definitions that better capture this overlap for such concepts as information warfare. This is important because the Army is now studying ways to apply its cyber power and is reconsidering doctrinally defined areas that are integral to operations in cyberspace. It will also be critical for the Army to approach information operations with a plan to organize and, if possible, consolidate its operations in two realms: the psychological, which is focused on message content and people, and the technological, which is focused on content delivery and machines.

Source: RAND Corporation of California

Download full pdf of  "Redefining Information Warfare Boundaries for an Army in a Wireless World" | Download pdf Summary only

White Paper: "Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving while talking on hands-free phones is risky behavior"

While many people know texting while driving increases crash risk, cell phone conversation while driving is also risky. Talking on hands-free or handheld cell phones requires the brain to multitask – a process it cannot do safely while driving.

To explain what happens to the human brain when talking on cell phones while driving, NSC has a white paper, “Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving while talking on hands-free phones is risky behavior.”

 Source: National Safety Council, United States

Download white paper "Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving while talking on hands-free phones is risky behavior” | Link to NSC page on Distracted Driving

Gun Violence in U.S. Cities Compared to the Deadliest Nations in the World

Via the Atlantic

The sad reality is that many American cities have rates of gun homicides comparable to the some of the most violent nations in the world.

 Link to: Gun Violence in U.S. Cities Compared to the Deadliest Nations in the World

Making Legal: The Dream Act, Birthright Citizenship, and Broad-Scale Legalization.

Abstract: 

Some of the most controversial topics in immigration and citizenship law involve granting lawful immigration status—or citizenship itself—to persons who might otherwise be in the United States unlawfully. In this Article, I examine arguments for and against three ways to confer lawful status: (1) the DREAM Act, which would grant status to many unauthorized migrants who were brought to the United States as children; (2) the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, under which almost all children born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens; and (3) broad-scale proposals to grant lawful immigration status to a substantial percentage of the current unauthorized population. I first explain how arguments both for and against the DREAM Act reflect some mix of fairness and pragmatism. Though birthright citizenship seems different from the DREAM Act, the arguments are similar. I next show that although children figure much more prominently in the DREAM Act and birthright citizenship, similar patterns of argument apply to broad–scale legalization, and the arguments in favor are just as strong. Finally, I explain that the “rule of law” is a highly malleable concept that provides no persuasive case against any of these ways to confer lawful immigration or citizenship status. Rule of law arguments in favor of conferring status are stronger than rule of law arguments against doing so.

Source: (2013). UC Los Angeles: UCLA School of Law. Author: Motomura, Hiroshi. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7wv3v5z5

Download pdf of Making Legal: The Dream Act, Birthright Citizenship, and Broad-Scale Legalization.

Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama - 2013

My favorite paragraph:

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.  For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.  Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law -- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.   Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.   Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity -- until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.   Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm. 

Source: The White House

Link to full text

Statewide Law Enforcement/Mental Health Efforts: Strategies to Support and Sustain Local Initiatives

Abstract:

This report examines how states have developed structures and standards to make police encounters with people with mental illnesses safer for all involved and to produce better mental health and criminal justice system outcomes. The report offers a starting point for policymakers, practitioners, and others interested in planning or enhancing a statewide initiative that will support such local-level specialized policing responses as crisis intervention and law enforcement/mental health co-response teams.

Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance, United States Department of Justice

Download full pdf publication

Pew Forum research package on Abortion in 2013

A Pew Forum research package includes results from a new public opinion survey, a slideshow on how opinion differs among various demographic groups, a discussion of the legal issues and a summary of religious groups' positions.

Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

Link to online research package at Pew

Compensation Matters: The Case of Teachers

Research Brief from Boston College, Center for Retirement Research

The brief’s key findings are:

• Many public sector pension plans have recently cut pension benefits for new hires, thereby reducing compensation.

• The analysis looks at how such cutbacks could affect the quality of teachers.

• One proxy for teacher quality is the average SAT score at a teacher’s undergraduate institution.

• The analysis finds that school districts with higher wages and/or higher pensions are able to hire teachers from institutions with higher SAT scores.

• These results suggest that cutting compensation for new teachers is not costless, as it will likely reduce applicant quality.

 Download pdf brief

New Pew Report: Library Services in the Digital Age

Key Findings:

...a notable share of Americans say they would embrace even wider uses of technology at libraries such as:

• Online research services allowing patrons to pose questions and get answers from librarians: 37% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use an “ask a librarian” type of service, and another 36% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.
• Apps-based access to library materials and programs: 35% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use that service and another 28% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.
• Access to technology “petting zoos” to try out new devices: 35% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use that service and another 34% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.
• GPS-navigation apps to help patrons locate material inside library buildings: 34% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use that service and another 28% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.
• “Redbox”-style lending machines or kiosks located throughout the community where people can check out books, movies or music without having to go to the library itself: 33% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use that service and another 30% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.
• “Amazon”-style customized book/audio/video recommendation schemes that are based on patrons’ prior library behavior: 29% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use that service and another 35% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

When Pew Internet asked the library staff members in an online panel about these services, the three that were most popular were classes on e-borrowing, classes on how to use handheld reading devices, and online “ask a librarian” research services. Many librarians said that their libraries were already offering these resources in various forms, due to demand from their communities.
These are some of the key findings from a new national survey of 2,252 Americans ages 16 and older by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and underwritten by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The interviews were conducted on October 15-November 10, 2012 and done on cell phone and landlines and in English and Spanish.

 Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Download full pdf report | Download topline questionnaire | Link to online summary

Explore Government Subsidies Data by State

 From the New York Times:

The New York Times spent 10 months investigating business incentives awarded by hundreds of cities, counties and states. Since there is no nationwide accounting of these incentives, The Times put together a database.

 Explore Government Subsidies Data by State

UNESCO Freedom of Expression Toolkit

From the Summary:

The Freedom of Expression Toolkit builds on the premise that freedom of expression, as well as press freedom and freedom of information, are indispensable elements in the attainment of all human rights. Throughout this Toolkit there will be an emphasis on the four key elements of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely the right to hold opinions without interference, the right to seek information, the right to receive information and the right to impart information to others.

 Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Download pdf of UNESCO Freedom of Expression Toolkit

New Resource from Census Bureau uses ACS Data

 The Census Bureau updated its popular QuickFacts site with the new American Community Survey statistics, making it even easier for people to find information about a town, county or state.

The American Community Survey (ACS) data released includes the combined years from 2007 to 2011, providing the only statistics down to the neighborhood level on school enrollment, jobs, housing and many other measures.

These estimates are ideal for measuring trends for areas with populations of less than 20,000. The Census Bureau has also launched "Easy Stats," a tool that allows users to build their own tables by selecting a desired topic and geography. Early next year, the Census Bureau will release "Dwellr," a mobile app designed to put Census Bureau statistics directly in the hands of new users in an engaging way.

QuickFacts: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html 

Easy Stats: http://www.census.gov/easystats/

Overview of substance use disorders and incarceration of African American males

Abstract:

Incarceration affects the lives of many African American men and often leads to poverty, ill health, violence, and a decreased quality of life. There has been an unprecedented increase in incarceration among African American males since 1970. In 2009, the incarceration rate among black males was 6.7 times that of white males and 2.6 times of Hispanic males. Substance abuse in African American males leads to higher mortality rates, high rates of alcohol-related problems, more likely to be victims of crimes, and HIV/AIDS. African Americans comprised only 14% of the U.S. population but comprised 38% of the jail population. The cost of incarcerating persons involved in substance related crimes has increased considerably over the past two decades in the U.S. A reduction in the incarceration rate for non-violent offences would save an estimated $17 billion per year. Substance use disorder makes the individual more prone to polysubstance use and leads to impulse control problems, selling drugs, and other crimes. The high rate of incarceration in U.S. may adversely affect health care, the economy of the country, and will become a burden on society. Implementation of good mental health care, treatment of addiction during and after incarceration will help to decrease the chances of reoffending. Therapeutic community programs with prison-based and specialized treatment facilities, cognitive behavioral therapy treatment for 91–180 days, and 12-step orientation with staff specialized in substance abuse can be helpful. It is essential for health care professionals to increase public awareness of substance abuse and find ways to decrease the high rates of incarceration.

Source: doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00098 Frontiers in Forensic Psychiatry

Read:  Overview of substance use disorders and incarceration of African American males

Human Performance Modification: Review of Worldwide Research with a View to the Future

From the Summary: 

The development of technologies to modify natural human physical and cognitive performance is one of increasing interest and concern, especially among military services that may be called on to defeat foreign powers with enhanced warfighter capabilities. Human performance modification (HPM) is a general term that can encompass actions ranging from the use of “natural” materials, such as caffeine or khat as a stimulant, to the application of nanotechnology as a drug delivery mechanism or in an invasive brain implant. Although the literature on HPM typically addresses methods that enhance performance, another possible focus is methods that degrade performance or negatively affect a military force’s ability to fight.

Advances in medicine, biology, electronics, and computation have enabled an increasingly sophisticated ability to modify the human body, and such innovations will undoubtedly be adopted by military forces, with potential consequences for both sides of the battle lines. Although some innovations may be developed for purely military applications, they are increasingly unlikely to remain exclusively in that sphere because of the globalization and internationalization of the commercial research base.
Based on its review of the literature, the presentations it received, and on its own expertise, the Committee on Assessing Foreign Technology Development in Human Performance Modification chose to focus on three general areas of HPM:

• Human cognitive modification as a computational problem (Chapter 2), 
• Human performance modification as a biological problem (Chapter 3), and 
• Human performance modification as a function of the brain-computer interface (Chapter 4).

 Source: Committee on Assessing Foreign Technology Development in Human Performance Modification, Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council.

Read: Human Performance Modification: Review of Worldwide Research with a View to the Future

Nielsen Social Media Report 2012: Social Media Comes of Age

Introduction:

Social media and social networking are no longer in their infancy. Social media continues to grow rapidly, offering global consumers new and meaningful ways to engage with the people, events and brands that matter to them. According to Nielsen and NM Incite’s latest Social Media Report, consumers continue to spend more time on social networks than on any other category of sites—roughly 20 percent of their total time online via personal computer (PC), and 30 percent of total time online via mobile. Additionally, total time spent on social media in the U.S. across PCs and mobile devices increased 37 percent to 121 billion minutes in July 2012, compared to 88 billion in July 2011. The recent proliferation of mobile devices and connectivity helped fuel the continued growth of social media. While the computer remains as the predominant device for social media access, consumers’ time spent with social media on mobile apps and the mobile web has increased 63 percent in 2012, compared to the same period last year.

 Source: NielsenWire

View Nielsen Social Media Report 2012: Social Media Comes of Age online

Congressional Salaries and Allowances

From the Summary:

This report provides basic information on congressional salaries and allowances.

First, the report briefly summarizes the current salary of Members of Congress, limits on their outside earned income and honoraria, available life and health insurance, and retirement benefits.

Second, the report provides information on allowances available to Representatives and Senators to support them in their official and representational duties. These allowances cover official office expenses, including staff, mail, travel between a Member’s district or state and Washington, DC, and other goods and services.

Third, the report lists the salaries of Members, House and Senate officers and officials, and salary limits for committee staff.

Source: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress (Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress)

Download full pdf report: Congressional Salaries and Allowances

Addressing the Long-Run Budget Deficit: A Comparison of Approaches

From the Summary:

A small share of federal spending is for direct provision of domestic government services, which many people may think of when considering federal spending. Since this spending is normally about 10% of total federal spending and about 2% of GDP and deficits excluding interest are projected to be as much as 7.7% of GDP by 2037, cutting this type of spending can make only a limited contribution. Transfers and payments to persons and state and local governments constitute most of federal spending, about 70%. Defense spending, currently accounting for about 20% of spending, has declined over the past 35 years, but also tends to vary depending, in part, on the presence and magnitude of international conflicts.

Source: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress (Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

Download full pdf report: Addressing the Long-Run Budget Deficit: A Comparison of Approaches by Jane G. Gravelle, Senior Specialist in Economic Policy

Predicting Violent Behavior

From the "Background and Context" section:
 

Following the tragic mass shooting at the Fort Hood Soldier Readiness Center on 5 November 2009, then-Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates established the Department of Defense Independent Review Related to Fort Hood, led by Admiral Vern Clark, U.S. Navy (Ret), and the Honorable Togo West. Two months after an attack that claimed thirteen lives and wounded forty-three others, the Independent Review Panel issued its report, Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood.1 

The findings and recommendations of the Independent Review Panel addressed four key issue areas relevant to preventing future mass-casualty attacks within the DoD community, including personnel policies, force protection procedures, emergency response plans, and mental health care support. Significantly, the panel’s findings provided an overarching framework to guide numerous follow-on studies, reviews, and assessments conducted in the wake of the Fort Hood tragedy.

Source: Defense Science Board, United States Department of Defense
Download pdf publication:  Predicting Violent Behavior

Understanding Peer Effects in Financial Decisions

Abstract:

Using a high-stakes field experiment conducted in partnership with a large financial brokerage in Brazil, we attempt to disentangle channels through which a person's financial decisions affect his peers'. When someone purchases an asset, his peers may want to purchase it as well, both because they learn from his choice (“social learning") and because his possession of the asset affects others' utility of owning the same asset (“social utility"). We randomize whether one member of a peer pair is allowed to possess an asset that he chose to purchase. Then, we randomize whether the second member of the pair 1) receives no information about the first member, or 2) is informed of the first member's desire to own the assetandthe result of the randomization that determined possession. This allows us to estimate the effects of (a) learning plus possession, and (b) learning alone, relative to a control group, allowing us to separately identify effects of the “social learning" and “social utility" channels. In the control (no information) group, 42% of individuals purchased the asset; this increases to 71% in the “social learning only" group; and, it increases to 93% in the “social learning and social utility" group. We find thatboth“social learning" and “social utility" channels are quantitatively important, and have independent, statistically significant effects on the decision to purchase the asset.

Source: CEGA Working Papers, Center for Effective Global Action, UC Berkeley [via eScholarship repository]

Download pdf of Understanding Peer Effects in Financial Decisions

CRS Report: Government Transparency and Secrecy: An Examination of Meaning and Its Use in the Executive Branch

From the Summary:

This report subsequently examines the statutes, initiatives, requirements, and other actions that make information more available to the public or protect it from public release. It also examines transparency and secrecy from the standpoint of how the public accesses government information, and whether the release of government data and information may make operation of the federal government more or, counter-intuitively, less transparent. Finally, this report analyzes whether existing transparency initiatives are effective in reaching their stated goals. 

 Source: Congressional Research Service, via FAS Secrecy Blog

Download pdf report: CRS Report: Government Transparency and Secrecy: An Examination of Meaning and Its Use in the Executive Branch

2012 Election Data and Stats

If the Five-Thirty-Eight Blog wasn't enough for you, here are a couple more resources for 2012 election statistics:

Wolfram Alpha's blog post shows a bunch of ways to crunch their data

Pew Research for People and the Press has a election section with their reports, and you can view the actual questionnaires if you want a closer look.

No doubt Latino voters were a very important segment of the population: Pew Hispanic Center has a new report on the Latino Voters in the 2012 election. The appendix includes selected state results.

The Transformation of Mortgage Finance and the Industrial Roots of the Mortgage Meltdown

Abstract:

The 2007-2009 financial crisis was centered on the mortgage industry. This paper develops a distinctly sociological explanation of that crisis based on Fligstein’s (1996) markets as politics approach and the sociology of finance. We use archival and secondary sources to show that the industry became dominated by an “industrial” conception of control whereby financial firms vertically integrated in order to capture profits in all phases of the mortgage industry including the production of financial products. The results of multivariate regression analyses show that the “industrial” model drove the deterioration in the quality of securities that firms issued and significantly contributed to the eventual failure of the firms that pursued the strategy. We show that large global banks which were more involved in the industrial production of U.S. mortgage securities also experienced greater investment losses. The findings challenge existing conventional accounts of the crisis and provide important theoretical linkages to the sociology of finance.

Source: 
Fligstein, Neil (CASBS Fellow 1995); & Goldstein, Adam. (2012). The Transformation of Mortgage Finance and the Industrial Roots of the Mortgage Meltdown. UC Berkeley: Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2zx8r7fb

Download full pdf publication: The Transformation of Mortgage Finance and the Industrial Roots of the Mortgage Meltdown

FBI Report: Crime in the United States, 2011

...the estimated number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement (1,203,564) decreased for the fifth year in a row, while the estimated number of property crimes reported to law enforcement (9,063,173) decreased for the ninth year in a row.

The full report is available in multiple formats:

Download Crime in the United States, 2011 in a zipped file of pdf documents.
View various sections online and download individually

Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy

From The National Academies Press:

Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy encourages scientists to think differently about the use of scientific evidence in policy making. This report investigates why scientific evidence is important to policy making and argues that an extensive body of research on knowledge utilization has not led to any widely accepted explanation of what it means to use science in public policy. Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy identifies the gaps in our understanding and develops a framework for a new field of research to fill those gaps.

For social scientists in a number of specialized fields, whether established scholars or Ph.D. students, Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy shows how to bring their expertise to bear on the study of using science to inform public policy. More generally, this report will be of special interest to scientists who want to see their research used in policy making, offering guidance on what is required beyond producing quality research, beyond translating results into more understandable terms, and beyond brokering the results through intermediaries, such as think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups. For administrators and faculty in public policy programs and schools, Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy identifies critical elements of instruction that will better equip graduates to promote the use of science in policy making.

Full eBook available online:  Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy

Trickle-Down Anxiety: Study Examines Parental Behaviors that Create Anxious Children

Parents with social anxiety disorder are more likely than parents with other forms of anxiety to engage in behaviors that put their children at high risk for developing angst of their own, according to a small study of parent-child pairs conducted at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. 

...

Specifically, the Johns Hopkins researchers identified a subset of behaviors in parents with social anxiety disorder — the most prevalent type of anxiety — and in doing so clarified some of the confusion that has shrouded the trickle-down anxiety often seen in parent-child pairs.

Source: Johns Hopkins Children's Center

Read entire article online:  Trickle-Down Anxiety: Study Examines Parental Behaviors that Create Anxious Children

How Teens Do Research in the Digital World

Overview

The teachers who instruct the most advanced American secondary school students render mixed verdicts about students’ research habits and the impact of technology on their studies.
Some 77% of advanced placement (AP) and National Writing Project (NWP) teachers surveyed say that the internet and digital search tools have had a “mostly positive” impact on their students’ research work. But 87% say these technologies are creating an “easily distracted generation with short attention spans” and 64% say today’s digital technologies “do more to distract students than to help them academically.”

According to this survey of teachers, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in collaboration with the College Board and the National Writing Project, the internet has opened up a vast world of information for today’s students, yet students’ digital literacy skills have yet to catch up...

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project


Read Full PDF Report:  How Teens Do Research in the Digital World
Read Survey Questions (PDF)

Mind over chatter: Brainwave training boosts network for cognitive control and affects mind-wandering

From the Press Release:

A breakthrough study conducted in Canada has found that training of the well-known brainwave in humans, the alpha rhythm, enhances a brain network responsible for cognitive-control. The training technique, termed neurofeedback, is being considered as a promising new method for restoring brain function in mental disorders. Using several neuroimaging methods, a team of researchers at the Western University and the Lawson Health Research Institute have now uncovered that functional changes within a key brain network occur directly after a 30-minute session of noninvasive, neural-based training. Dysfunction of this cognitive-control network has previously been implicated in a range of brain disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

During neurofeedback, users learn to control their own brain activity with the help of a brain-computer interface. In the simplest case, this consists of a computer that records brainwaves through surface sensors on the scalp, known as an EEG (electroencephalogram). The system is then able to process and simultaneously represent a user's real-time brain activity, displayed from moment-to-moment during a training game on a computer. This setup is known as a neurofeedback loop, because information of brain activity is continually fed-back to a user reflecting their level of control. Such real-time feedback allows users to reproduce distinct brain states under physiologically-normal conditions, promising to be an innovative way to foster brain changes without adverse effects. This is possible because of neuroplasticity, a natural property of the brain that enables it to reorganise after continual training, resulting from adjustments to its own activity.

The research study, Mind over chatter: Plastic up-regulation of the fMRI salience network directly after EEG neurofeedback, has been published in the online issue of Neuroimage and is freely available through open access.