Safest cities for families with young children revealed

The study, "Safest Cities for Families with Young Children," evaluated the 50 largest U.S. cities on specific criteria that contribute to home, community and overall personal safety. The results showed that 10 cities lead the way in helping reduce risk of fire deaths, pedestrian accidents and other mishaps that contribute to the estimated 14 million potentially disabling, unintentional injuries that children sustain each year.

The 2010 "Safest Cities for Families with Young Children" include:

* Boston
* Columbus, Ohio
* Louisville, Ky.
* Minneapolis, Minn.
* New York
* Portland, Ore.
* San Francisco
* Seattle
* Tampa, Fla.
* Virginia Beach, Va.

Source: United Underwriters

More information about the Study online at United Underwriters (link)

Toward a Culture of Consequences : Performance-Based Accountability Systems for Public Services

Summary Abstract

Performance-based accountability systems (PBASs), which link incentives to measured performance as a means of improving services to the public, have gained popularity. While PBASs can vary widely across sectors, they share three main components: goals, incentives, and measures. Research suggests that PBASs influence provider behaviors, but little is known about PBAS effectiveness at achieving performance goals or about government and agency experiences. This study examines nine PBASs that are drawn from five sectors: child care, education, health care, public health emergency preparedness, and transportation. In the right circumstances, a PBAS can be an effective strategy for improving service delivery. Optimum circumstances include having a widely shared goal, unambiguous observable measures, meaningful incentives for those with control over the relevant inputs and processes, few competing interests, and adequate resources to design, implement, and operate the PBAS. However, these conditions are rarely fully realized, so it is difficult to design and implement PBASs that are uniformly effective. PBASs represent a promising policy option for improving the quality of service-delivery activities in many contexts. The evidence supports continued experimentation with and adoption of this approach in appropriate circumstances. Even so, PBAS design and its prospects for success depend on the context in which the system will operate. Also, ongoing system evaluation and monitoring are integral components of a PBAS; they inform refinements that improve system functioning over time.

Source: RAND Corporation

Download full pdf publication | Download pdf Executive Summary | Link to online abstract

Who Gives More? A Comparative Perspective of Philanthropic Giving through Foundations within the UEFA and the NFL

Abstract:

Due to the specifics of the football governance systems and cultures of Europe and the United States, we hypothesize that the charitable foundation involvement of the National Football League (NFL) and its teams is more pronounced than that of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and its Champions League (UCL) clubs. On the basis of a literature review, web research and emails to foundation staff, the study produces the following findings that support our hypothesis: At both the association/league and team level, the NFL is stronger as well as longer involved in charitable foundations than the UEFA. At the team level, 3 times as many NFL foundations as UCL club foundations exist. The minimum amount of giving of NFL team foundations is 13 times higher than that of UCL club foundations. On average, NFL team foundations are twice as old as their UEFA equivalents.

Source: Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich Working Paper Series

Download full pdf publication | Link to online abstract

Vital Signs: Binge Drinking Among High School Students and Adults

From the Abstract:

Background: Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of the estimated 79,000 deaths and two thirds of the estimated 2.3 million years of potential life lost as a result of excessive drinking each year in the United States during 2001--2005.

Methods: CDC analyzed data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men during the past 30 days) among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the BRFSS survey by landline or cellular telephone. Data also were analyzed from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on the prevalence of current alcohol use (consuming at least one alcoholic drink during the 30 days before the survey), and binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours during the 30 days before the survey) among U.S. high school students, and on the prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use.

Source: U.S. Center for Disease Control

Download full pdf report | Link to online abstract and report

A Positive Approach to Studying Diversity in Organizations

From the Executive Summary:
Considering that the topic of workplace diversity often garners unhappy discussions of prejudice, isolation, and conflict, it's not surprising that many researchers avoid the topic altogether. Only 5 percent of articles published in management journals from 2000-2008 included race or gender in their keywords. In this paper, Harvard Business School professors Lakshmi Ramarajan and David Thomas propose a positive approach to studying diversity, with hopes that this will lead managers to feel more positive about adopting diversity policies in the workplace.

Source: Harvard Business School Working Papers

Download full pdf publication | Link to Executive Summary and abstract

Resource Brief : Ancient Manuscripts, Archives, and more

OR view with quicktime viewer ....

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Resources in the Resource Brief video:

New Online Exhibition from The European Library: "Reading Europe: European Culture Through the Book"
http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/exhibition-reading-europe/

British Library Digitized Manuscripts...
http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/

British Library's YouTube Feature:
http://www.youtube.com/user/britishlibrary?feature=mhum


National Library of Medicine online collection
http://collections.nlm.nih.gov


Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/

Open Library
http://openlibrary.org/

Latinos and the 2010 Elections: Strong Support for Democrats; Weak Voter Motivation

From Overview:

In a year when support for Democratic candidates has eroded, the party's standing among one key voting group-Latinos-appears as strong as ever. Two-thirds (65%) of Latino registered voters say they plan to support the Democratic candidate in their local congressional district, while just 22% support the Republican candidate, according to a nationwide survey of Latinos. If this pro-Democratic margin holds up on Election Day next month, it would be about as wide as in 2008, when Latinos supported Barack Obama for president over John McCain by 67% to 31%.

However, Hispanic registered voters appear to be less motivated than other voters to go to the polls. Just one-third (32%) of all Latino registered voters say they have given this year's election "quite a lot" of thought. In contrast, half (50%) of all registered voters say the same. And when it comes to their intent to vote, half (51%) of Latino registered voters say they are absolutely certain they will vote in this year's midterm election, while seven-in-ten (70%) of all registered voters say the same.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center

Download full pdf Report | Link to online overview

Boosting Financial Literacy in America: A Role for State Colleges and Universities

Perspective from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities

Given the overarching ramifications that financial literacy plays in the modern economy, this paper contends that a renewed emphasis on financial literacy is central to individual, family and communal economic security. New responsibilities and opportunities given to consumers, such as retirement planning, have increased the need for more sophisticated consumer financial knowledge. State colleges and universities can fulfill a meaningful role by offering financial education programs and services to students, faculty, staff and members of their communities. Included in this paper is a series of replicable practices that promote improved financial literacy.

Source: American Association of State Colleges and Universities

Download full pdf publication | Link to online introduction

The Statute of Anne and its Progeny: Variations Without a Theme

Abstract:

Scholars generally agree that no definitive account can be given of the specific circumstances surrounding the passage of the Statute of Anne or the precise meaning ascribed to it by Parliament. The result was that its content remained hotly contested for the next century in Britain. Ultimately the model established by the Statute was abandoned in Britain, but not without first having significant effects in its former colony, the new United States. This paper explores the instability that the open texture of the Statute of Anne introduced into the new American copyright system, and traces the statute's footprints into the twenty-first century. The simple fact that United States adopted the Statute of Anne without agreeing then or since on the objectives and appropriate scope of copyright does much to explain the tortured history of copyright doctrine in this country, and the fervor of the modern so-called "copyright wars."

Source: New York University Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Download full pdf publication | Link to online abstract

Spoofing Herzog and Herzog Spoofing

Abstract:

This essay explores how humor, parody, and self-parody have shaped and reshaped the public image of the filmmaker Werner Herzog, especially since the 1990s and with the help of various spectators, particularly those who create and circulate their own images of the iconic German director. To see this dynamic at work, we have to look not only at Herzog’s films, but also at his many interviews and public appearances, at his performances in films made by other directors, at animated cartoons and reality TV programs, at Internet blogs and streaming videos, at comedy websites and live-comedy shows. Collectively, this material suggests that the revitalization of Herzog’s career in recent years has relied in part on humor and parody: that of the filmmaker and that of his audience.

Source: TRANSIT, Department of German, UCB, UC Berkeley

Download full pdf publication | Link to online record in eScholarship Repository

Future industry clusters

The old economic order is shifting. As the global economy recovers some emerging markets are likely to grow faster than traditional economic powers. At the industry level, these shifts are even more apparent with accelerating capital flows, fundamental demographic changes, and the rise of state capitalism reshaping the world map for many sectors. PwC's Macro Consulting team has developed a tool to map future clusters across the world. This report uses this tool to highlight the geographical locations that will host the largest clusters in five industries:

* pharmaceuticals
* automobile assembly
* asset management
* filmed entertainment and
* tertiary education

The expected top locations in 2025 and 2040 are disclosed for each of these sectors highlighting key trends for the industry and how the new economic order will influence future geographical winners.

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)

Download full pdf publication | Link to PWC online site

The State of Recorded Sound Preservation in the United States: A National Legacy at Risk in the Digital Age

From the Online Overview

This is the first comprehensive, national-level study of the state of sound recording preservation ever conducted in the U.S. The authors, Rob Bamberger and Sam Brylawski, have produced a study outlining the web of interlocking issues that now threaten the long-term survival of our sound recording history. This study tells us that major areas of America's recorded sound heritage have already been destroyed or remain inaccessible to the public. It suggests that the lack of conformity between federal and state laws may adversely affect the long-term survival of pre-1972-era sound recordings in particular. And, it warns that the continued lack of national coordination among interested parties in the public and private sectors, in addressing the challenges in preservation, professional education and public access, may not yet be arresting permanent loss of irreplaceable sound recordings in all genres.

Source: Council on Library and Information Resources (Commissioned for and sponsored by the National Recording Preservation Board, Library of Congress)

Download full pdf publication | Link to online overview

2010 Kids and Family Reading Report : Turning the Page in the Digital Age

From the Press Release

The study, conducted by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and Harrison Group, a leading marketing and strategic research consulting firm, found that from age 6 - 17, the time kids spend reading books for fun declines while the time kids spend going online for fun and using a cell phone to text or talk increases. Parents express concern that the use of electronic and digital devices negatively affects the time kids spend reading books (41%), doing physical activities (40%), and engaging with family (33%).

The study also found indications that technology could be a positive motivator to get kids reading -- 57 percent of kids (age 9-17) say they are interested in reading an eBook, and a third of children age 9-17 say they would read more books for fun if they had access to eBooks on an electronic device. This includes kids who read 5-7 days per week (34%), 1 to 4 days per week (36%) and even those who read less than one day per week (27%).

The findings from the Kids and Family Reading Report indicate that the ebook market will continue to grow. While only 6% of parents surveyed currently own an electronic device used for reading eBooks and other digital publications, 16% plan to purchase one in the next year. And parents are not hesitant to share those devices with their children – approximately 8 in 10 (83%) of these parents say they do or will allow/encourage their child to use their eReading device.

Source: Scholastic



Download full pdf publication | Link to Scholastic

Pew Report : Online Product Research

From the Online Overview

The commercial use of the internet by American adults has grown since the mid-2000s, with 58% of Americans now reporting that they perform online research concerning the products and services that they are considering purchasing. That is an increase from 49% who said they conducted product or service research online in 2004.

Morever, the number of those who do research about products on any given day has jumped from 15% of adults in September 2007 to 21% in September 2010. From February 2004, the number of adults conducting research on any given day has more than doubled, up from 9%.

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Download full pdf report | Download pdf questionnaire | Link to online overview

Portrayal of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People on the BBC

September 2010: As part of the BBC's diversity strategy, we have carried out research and consultation on the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people across broadcast media including the BBC. During 2010 we have carried out qualitative and quantitative research, and conducted a public consultation in the most comprehensive study ever done into this area by a broadcaster.

The BBC's Working Group has made five recommendations which the BBC has agreed to take action on.

3 pdf publications are available for download:

Portrayal of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People on the BBC – Executive summaries and recommendations (235KB)

Portrayal of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People on the BBC – Consultation report (355KB)

Portrayal of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People on the BBC – Research report (2828KB)

Link to the BBC Report Site

Recruiting and Retaining America's Finest : Evidence-Based Lessons for Police Workforce Planning

Overview:

Personnel management is a critical but oft neglected function of police organizations. While much attention is given to recruiting and retention, these are only tools for accomplishing a larger goal: achieving and maintaining the profile of officers by experience and rank that satisfies agency needs and officer career aspirations. Police agencies often have little ability to assess their organization and environment, and they receive little guidance on how best to build and maintain their workforces. In this monograph, the authors seek to fill the gap of information available to police agencies through a survey on their recruitment and retention practices. The survey, sent to every U.S. police agency with at least 300 sworn officers, sought to document such characteristics as authorized and actual strength by rank, officer work and qualifications, compensation, and recruiting efforts. The authors used these data to provide an overview of current recruitment and retention practices, to describe how they affected police recruitment and personnel profiles, and to identify future research needs. Findings include that police compensation, city size, and crime rates had statistically significant effects on police recruiting. Advertising and recruiting incentives had little effect on the number of recruits. Cohort sizes and structures highlighted current and future personnel management challenges. To facilitate comparative and longitudinal analyses of police staffing, the authors recommend ongoing national data collection.

Source: RAND Corporation

Download full pdf publication | Link to online overview

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1860-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

Coverage includes Cleavland, Garfield (and assassination), McKinley, and Roosevelt administrations. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Annexation of Hawaii etc.

I had a bit of fun just searching for "Monet" limited to the year 1922 and found a NY Tribune article on August 13, 1922 announcing the the French Gallery to house his paintings. Great quote:

"Whether Monet's art is of permanent value may be debatable..."

Link to "Chronicling America" at the Library of Congress

Southwest Border Violence: Issues in Identifying and Measuring Spillover Violence

There has been a recent increase in the level of drug trafficking-related violence within and between the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. This violence has generated concern among U.S. policy makers that the violence in Mexico might spill over into the United States. Currently, U.S. federal officials deny that the recent increase in drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico has resulted in a spillover into the United States, but they acknowledge that the prospect is a serious concern.

Source: Congressional Research Service [via Secrecy News]

Download full pdf report

Snapshot of U.S. Television Usage: What We Watch… and How

With the new TV season upon us, Nielsen has provided a look at what, and how, we watch TV in the U.S. Throughout 2009-2010, television viewing continued to fragment and adapt to new technologies such as digital video recorders and high-definition television.

Source: Nielsen


download Nielsen State of TV fact sheet (pdf)

Black-White Gap in Self-Employment in the U.S.: Do Cohort and Within Race Differences Exist?

Abstract:

In this paper we ask three questions: First, is there evidence of a Black-White gap in self-employment between 1994-2002 and could the inclusion of the White immigrant population be driving this result? Second, do within race differences in self-employment exist among the U.S. born? Finally, do cohort differences in the Black-White self-employment gap exist among the U.S. born? These questions are based on some of the regression findings in our earlier paper focused on the role of information and institutions in understanding the Black-White gap in self-employment. We find that the Black-White self-employment gap is not driven by the existence of White immigrants in the data set. In addition, we find that within race and cohort differences exist in the Black-White self-employment gap. A subgroup of U.S. born African-Americans have a self-employment probability that is identical to that of U.S. born White-Americans. In addition, younger cohorts of African-Americans have a much smaller self-employment gap than do older African-Americans.

Source: Institute for the Study of Labor


Download full pdf publication | Link to online abstract