Making Space for Urban Girls: A Politics of Geography and Gender

"This paper presents a multi-year case study of an after-school literacy initiative at an inner city high school. In order to understand the lived experiences and practices of urban girls, this study explores how African American girls, in particular, navigate public and private spaces of their everyday worlds. Spatial limitations, institutional pressures, and teens’ subjectivities shaped an extracurricular literacy program, built on a theoretical framework of participatory research and youth-led digital media production. By considering the politics of after-school programming and the landscape of urban contexts, I problematize programs such as Girlspace, as well as complicate understandings of youth literacies, geography, and participatory research. This paper argues that for youth development programs to succeed, the complexity of socio-cultural and spatial realities facing urban girls-- as well as their perspectives-- must be understood." Source: Institute for the Study of Social Change. U.C. Berkeley ISSC Fellows Working Papers. Paper ISSC_WP_31. [via escholarship repository]

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Digital Quality of Life: Understanding the Personal and Social Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution

In the new global economy information technology (IT) is the major driver of both economic growth and improved quality of life. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in its 2007 report Digital Prosperity: Understanding the Economic Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution documented how IT, since the mid-1990s, has been the principal driver of increased economic growth not only in the United States but also in many other nations. However, IT is also at the core of dramatic improvements in the quality of life for individuals around the world. In our new report, we show how IT is the key enabler of many, if not most, of today’s key innovations and improvements in our lives and society—from better education and health care, to a cleaner and more energy-efficient environment, to safer and more secure communities and nations. Source: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

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Sexually Assaulted Children: National Estimates and Characteristics

"Provides information on the estimated number and characteristics of children who were sexually assaulted in the United States in 1999. This Bulletin is the seventh in the Second National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART–2) series. Information on sexual assault was gathered from NISMART–2 interviews with victims and their families." Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

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Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008

"This report examines both the educational progress of American Indian/Alaska Native children and adults and challenges in their education. It shows that over time more American Indian/Alaska Native students have gone on to college and that their attainment expectations have increased. Despite these gains, progress has been uneven and differences persist between American Indian/Alaska Native students and students of other racial/ethnic groups on key indicators of educational performance." Source: National Center for Education Statistics


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Ashamed Not to Vote for an African-American; Ashamed to Vote for a Woman: An Analysis of the Bradley Effect from 1982-2006

"By systematically analyzing the universe of black, Latino, Asian American Senate and Gubernatorial candidates, a representative sample of female candidates, and a large sample of white male comparison cases, we demonstrate that there is a Bradley Effect for black candidates that continues to the present day. We also show that women are susceptible to a reverse Bradley Effect. In addition to this contribution, the article also introduces a model of preference falsification which fills a gap in the survey response bias literature and is consistent with our overall findings, though to our knowledge no data exists to test it directly."Source: Center for the Study of Democracy. U.C. Irvine Paper 08-08.

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Untapped Potential: Latinos and California Community Colleges

"Latinos are now the largest group of students who begin their postsecondary studies at a California community college after graduating from a public high school. This represents an opportunity to improve bachelor degree attainment among Latinos via the community college transfer function. This research brief describes current transfer rates among Latinos, reviews the literature on the barriers to transfer, and concludes with a cohort analysis of Latino community college students that describes their demographic profiles, coursework patterns, transfer readiness and outcomes. The author concludes that California’s community college system is not close to reaching its potential as a stepping-stone to four-year colleges and universities for Latino students." Source: Center for Latino Policy Research. Policy Reports and Research Briefs: Paper Chavez2008.

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Middle Class, By the Numbers

"With the economy in turmoil, the closing weeks of the presidential campaign are likely to focus increased attention on America's beleaguered middle class.

But just who is in the middle class? And how are things going for them?

The Pew Research Center surveyed 2,413 adults earlier this year, including 1,276 who identified themselves as "middle class." Pew researchers also analyzed U.S. Census data and other demographic and economic statistics." Source: Pew Research Center: Social and Demographic Trends

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Trends in Unauthorized Immigration: Undocumented Inflow Now Trails Legal Inflow

"There were 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in March 2008, according to new Pew Hispanic Center estimates. The size of the unauthorized population appears to have declined since 2007, but this finding is inconclusive because of the margin of error in these estimates.

However, it is clear from the estimates that the unauthorized immigrant population grew more slowly in the period from 2005 to 2008 than it did earlier in the decade.

It also is clear that from 2005 to 2008, the inflow of immigrants who are undocumented fell below that of immigrants who are legal permanent residents. That reverses a trend that began a decade ago. The turnaround appears to have occurred in 2007." Source: Pew Hispanic Center

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Many Say Press Has Been Too Tough on Palin

"Strong majorities of the public say the press has been fair to John McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. But fewer than four-in-ten (38%) say the press has been fair to Sarah Palin. Many more believe the press has been too tough on Palin (38%) than say it has been too easy (21%).

While opinions about Palin coverage are highly partisan, many independents share the view that the press has been too tough on the Alaska governor. Among independents, 41% say the press has been too hard on Palin, 20% say the press has been too easy and 36% say the press has been fair. Republicans overwhelmingly believe the press has been too hard on Palin (63%). Just 7% say the press has been too easy on her. Nearly one-in-five Democrats (18%) agree that coverage of Palin has been too tough." Source: PewResearch Center for People and the Press

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Resolving the Foreclosure Crisis: Modification of Mortgages in Bankruptcy

Abstract: For over a century, bankruptcy has been the primary legal mechanism for resolving consumer financial distress. In the current foreclosure crisis, however, the bankruptcy system has been ineffective because of the special protection it gives most home mortgages. Debtors may modify the terms of all debts in bankruptcy except those secured by mortgages on their principal residences. A bankrupt debtor who wishes to keep her house must pay the mortgage according to its original terms down to the last penny. As a result, many homeowners who are unable to meet their mortgage payments are losing their homes in foreclosure, thereby creating significant economic and social deadweight costs and further depressing the housing market.

This Article empirically tests the economic assumption underlying the policy against bankruptcy modification of home mortgage debt - namely that protecting lenders from losses in bankruptcy encourages them to lend more and at lower rates, and thus encourages homeownership. The data show that the assumption is mistaken; permitting modification would have little or no impact on mortgage credit cost or availability. Because lenders face smaller losses from bankruptcy modification than from foreclosure, the market is unlikely to price against bankruptcy modification.

In light of market neutrality, the Article argues that permitting modification of home mortgages in bankruptcy presents the best solution to the foreclosure crisis. Unlike any other proposed response, bankruptcy modification offers immediate relief, solves the market problems created by securitization, addresses both problems of payment reset shock and negative equity, screens out speculators, spreads burdens between borrowers and lenders, and avoids both the costs and moral hazard of a government bailout. As the foreclosure crisis deepens, bankruptcy modification presents the best and least invasive method of stabilizing the housing market. Source: Georgetown Law. Georgetown Law Faculty Working Papers. Paper 86.

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Gender, Source Country Characteristics and Labor Market Assimilation Among Immigrants: 1980-2000

"We use 1980, 1990 and 2000 Census data to study the impact of source country characteristics on the labor supply assimilation profiles of married adult immigrant women and men. Women migrating from countries where women have high relative labor force participation rates work substantially more than women coming from countries with lower relative female labor supply rates, and this gap is roughly constant with time in the United States. These differences are substantial and hold up even when we control for wage offers and family formation decisions, as well as when we control for the emigration rate from the United States to the source country. Men's labor supply assimilation profiles are unaffected by source country female labor supply, a result that suggests that the female findings reflect notions of gender roles rather than overall work orientation. Findings for another indicator of traditional gender roles, source country fertility rates, are broadly similar, with substantial and persistent negative effects of source country fertility on the labor supply of female immigrants except when we control for presence of children, in which case the negative effects only become evident after ten years in the United States." Source: National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Headed for a Crunch: An Update on Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Heading into an Economic Downturn

"This annual 50-state survey of state officials on Medicaid and state budget actions by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) finds enrollment in Medicaid began to rise in fiscal year 2008 with states expecting even larger increases for fiscal year 2009 as they confront a weakening economy. With the increased enrollment, Medicaid spending is also rising more rapidly than in the recent past, raising the potential for program cutbacks as states confront the combined impact of more enrollees and fewer available resources.

The survey finds that Medicaid enrollment across the country grew 2.1 percent in fiscal year 2008, more than erasing a slight decline in enrollment experienced the previous year. States also experienced spending growth of 5.3 percent, up significantly from the previous two years. For fiscal year 2009, states expect to see even larger increases in Medicaid enrollment and spending.

Conducted by Kaiser researchers with the KCMU and researchers with Health Management Associates, the eighth annual budget survey of state officials found that more states made restorations, enhancements or expansions to their Medicaid programs than made cuts for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. These include changes to provider reimbursement levels, in Medicaid eligibility requirements and enrollment processes, in benefits, and in home- and community-based services for long-term care." Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

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Economy seems better to the educated, whites and Republicans, the National Annenberg Election Survey shows

"As widely reported, polls have shown that the percentage of the American public reporting that the economy is faltering has increased over the past year. Some groups see the situation as more dire than others do. Results from the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey show that college-educated adults, whites, and Republicans are less likely than their demographic counterparts to believe that economic conditions in the country today are worse than they were one year ago, even when controlling for gender, age, education, income, race, ethnicity, and party identification." Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center

Note: This is the work of Kathleen Hall Jameson (CASBS Fellow 2004)

Download full pdf release | Link to Annenberg Public Policy Center

American public has much to learn about presidential candidates’ issue positions, National Annenberg Election Survey shows

From Press Release:
"Many Americans are unable to identify where the major party candidates’ stand on various issues ranging from health care to abortion to free trade, according to recent data collected by the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey. Only a little over a quarter (28 percent) of adults were able to identify Senator John McCain as the presidential candidate more likely to support free trade agreements like NAFTA." Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center

Note: This is the work of Kathleen Hall Jameson (CASBS Fellow 2004)

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2008 State of College Admission report

"As the number of high school graduates grows, so, too, does the number of applications they are submitting to the nation’s four-year colleges and universities, according to the 2008 State of College Admission report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). The association released the sixth annual report during its national conference in Seattle, WA.

While the number of students and applications reached another all-time high, the average (mean) acceptance rate for four-year colleges and universities is much the same as it was when such statistics were first measured nationally in the 1980s. The increasing number of applications students submit may contribute to a more complicated admission environment, including increased uncertainty for colleges about who will attend if accepted, more admission strategies aimed at identifying students likely to attend, and greater attention to factors like a student’s interest in attending a college in the admission decision. Source: National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)."

Download full pdf report | Link to NACAC

Demography Defeated: Florida's K-12 Reforms and Their Lessons for the Nation

This study examines the 10-year impact of these reforms and finds remarkable improvement in Florida’s test scores. Between 1992 and 1998, Florida’s already-low fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores were declining. In 1999, when these reforms were enacted, nearly half of Florida fourth-graders scored “below basic” on the NAEP reading test, meaning that they could not read at a basic level. But by 2007, less than a decade after the education reforms took effect, 70 percent of Florida’s fourth-graders scored basic or above. Florida’s Hispanic students now have the second-highest statewide reading scores in the nation, and African-Americans score fourth-highest when compared with their peers. Source: Goldwater Institute

Download pdf publication: Demography Defeated: Florida's K-12 Reforms and their Lessons for the Nation.

Ten Questions and Answers About the Housing Crisis and the Financial Bailout— In Plain English

From the Press Release: "As Congress tries to hammer out a $700 billion financial rescue plan, many people are still trying to understand how our financial institutions got into so much trouble in the first place, and why the government needs to take action to bail them out. In a new issue brief from The Century Foundation, economist and senior fellow Bernard Wasow answers ten crucial questions about the housing crisis. In “A Guide to the Housing Crisis: Ten Questions and Answers” Wasow offers straightforward answers to basic questions such as:

* Why did lenders make so many bad loans for mortgages?
* Why are so many different banks and brokerages all over the world in hot water?
* Who will eventually own the real estate properties involved?
* What will happen to the bankers and brokers who operated the institutions that created all these bad loans?
* What is the “worst case” outcome of this crisis?
* What is the “best case” outcome of this crisis?"
Source: the Century Foundation

Download pdf of “A Guide to the Housing Crisis: Ten Questions and Answers”

Widespread Confusion About the Voting Rights of People with Criminal Records

"A report released by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law reveals widespread misunderstanding among state election officials of laws governing the right to vote of citizens with felony convictions.

A second ACLU report, also released today, finds that voter registration forms in states across the country fail to clearly explain the eligibility of voters with criminal records.

Both reports reveal widespread problems that endanger the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters in a presidential election year. " Source: Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

Download pdf of "De Facto Disenfranchisement" from Brennan Center
Download pdf of "Voting With a Criminal Record: How Registration Forms Frustrate Democracy" from the ACLU

Revolving Door

"Whether they are a presidential appointee plucked from an elite position in corporate America to run a government commission or an outgoing member of Congress looking for a more lucrative job in the influence industry, OpenSecrets.org's Revolving Door database tracks anyone whose résumé includes positions of influence in both the private and public sectors. Government employees may have had the president’s ear or may have simply been the doorkeeper of the congressional cloakrooms. Influence-peddlers merely have to be in a position to influence government policy on someone else's behalf, commonly as a "hired gun" at a K Street firm, an executive of a professional trade association or as a vice president of government relations for a large company." Source: OpenSecrets.org

Link to Revolving Door

Public Vs. Private Good Research at Land-Grant Universities

"The basic concern of this paper is the effect of private sponsorship of university research on the allocation of expenditures between public good research and commercial applications. Throughout the land-grant university system, there is much concern that as a result of reduced government funding, fundamental research will be neglected at the expense of research that is geared toward commercial applications. This paper attempts to shed some light on the relationship between research priorities and the availability of public funding for university research. In particular, we use both a static and a dynamic model to investigate the conditions under which university/private research partnerships can "crowd-in" or "crowd-out" basic science research as public funding becomes scarcer." Source: Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley. CUDARE Working Paper 1066. [via escholarship repository]

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