Sunday, November 23, 2008
Economic downturn hits U.S. police with double whammy | Special Coverage | Reuters
Economic downturn hits U.S. police with double whammy Special Coverage Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The growing financial crisis is a double whammy for police in many U.S. cities: They face budget cuts as they brace for an expected surge in burglaries, thefts and robberies."
The “broken windows” theory of crime is correct | Can the can | The Economist
The “broken windows” theory of crime is correct Can the can The Economist: "A PLACE that is covered in graffiti and festooned with rubbish makes people feel uneasy."
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Analyzing the Impact of Proposition 209 in California Higher Education, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Proposition 209 was passed by referendum in California in 1996. After legal challenges were settled, the proposition went into effect in 1997. The 1998 freshman class within the University of California system was the first to feel the effects of the ban on affirmative action.
The Daily Bruin - Divided on the brink of greatness
Compared to the previous year, the UCLA freshman class of 1998 had 42 percent fewer black students, 33 percent fewer Latino students and 62 percent fewer Native American students.
Recent trends in Black higher education
Once black PhD’s are hired at predominantly white colleges, they appear to encounter the same old racism that generations of earlier African-American scholars faced within white institutions. From 1993 to 2003, the number of African-Americans in tenured faculty positions increased by 20 percent, up from 10,555 to 12,707; however, the percentage of African-American faculty who have been awarded tenure has actually declined, from 40.8 percent in 1993 down to 38.1 percent in 2003. At least 70 percent of all black PhD’s aren’t even employed in full-time jobs. They hold part-time, adjunct and half-time positions, many of which have no pensions or medical benefits.
Prop 209: Ten Long Years
Jarring statistics about UCLA's freshman class this year testify to Prop 209's devastating impact on diversity in higher education. Only 100 African-Americans enrolled--2 percent of the 4,802 total and twenty-five fewer than last year. Twenty of those 100 were recruited athletes. This year's number is the lowest in more than thirty years--particularly troubling considering that the percentage of African-American applicants who meet minimum requirements to be considered eligible for admission to the University of California system has risen steadily in the past decade. "That is the strongest evidence of an anti-civil rights and anti-equal opportunity measure," says the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Plumber From Ohio Is Thrust Into Spotlight - NYTimes.com
“His answer actually scared me even more,” Mr. Wurzelbacher said. “He said he wants to distribute wealth. And I mean, I’m not trying to make statements here, but, I mean, that’s kind of a socialist viewpoint. You know, I work for that. You know, it’s my discretion who I want to give my money to; it’s not for the government decide that I make a little too much and so I need to share it with other people. That’s not the American Dream.”
Real Deal on ‘Joe the Plumber’ Reveals New Slant - NYTimes.com
Real Deal on ‘Joe the Plumber’ Reveals New Slant - NYTimes.com
That encounter wound up on YouTube and led to appearances on the Fox News Channel, interviews with conservative bloggers and a New York Post editorial, all of whom seized on a small part of Mr. Obama’s long reply. “I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody,” Mr. Obama had said.
Understanding Students Who Were 'Born Digital' :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs
Understanding Students Who Were ‘Born Digital’
Kids these days! If the technologies students use — and sometimes abuse — add up to an overwhelming jumble for some professors who teach them, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser have written a book that they hope will bridge the generation gap, at least when it comes to an understanding of the different habits, learning styles and ideas about privacy attributed to so-called “digital natives.” Their book, Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (Basic Books, 2008), covers a lot of the territory mined at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, where Palfrey is a faculty director, and is part of its ongoing Digital Natives project. Palfrey, a professor and vice dean at Harvard Law School and Gasser, a professor of law at the University of St. Gallen, in Switzerland, and a Berkman fellow, answered questions via e-mail on whether professors should ban Internet from the classroom, the ongoing evolution of libraries, and whether students are learning differently thanks to new technologies.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Green v. County School Board of New Kent County - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green v. County School Board of New Kent County - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Circuit Judge John J. Parker led many in the South in interpreting Brown as a charge not to segregate, but not an order to integrate. In 1963 the Court ruled in McNeese v. Board of Education and Goss v. Board of Education in favor of integration, and showed impatience with efforts to end segregation.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Mandatory diversity training may do more harm than good | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
Mandatory diversity training may do more harm than good | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
By Philip Walzer
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 5, 2008
For hospital employees of Sentara Healthcare, it starts with a required one-hour online class each year. The goal: “to deliver respectful care to people with diverse backgrounds,” said Pat Evans, director of recruitment and workforce planning.
BYU research finds less pot use by religious kids - Salt Lake Tribune
BYU research finds less pot use by religious kids - Salt Lake Tribune
BYU research finds less pot use by religious kids
A correlation is also found for tobacco and alcohol, but not for the use of harder drugs
By Brian Maffly
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched: 10/02/2008 11:18:34 AM MDT
Brigham Young University sociologists analyzing survey data about drug use found that teens who are religiously active are half as likely to smoke marijuana or cigarettes or drink alcohol.
The findings, to be published this month in the "Journal of Drug Issues," suggest that kids' participation in religion counteracts the powerful pressure to smoke pot when their friends are getting high.
"After we accounted for family and peer characteristics, and regardless of denomination, there was an independent effect that those who were religious were less likely to do drugs, even when their friends were users," said co-author Stephen Bahr, a professor in BYU's sociology department. "The power of peers is less among youths who are religious, meaning if you are religious, the pressure from peers to use drugs will not have as much effect."
The researchers based their findings on an analysis of two data sets - a national longitudinal study that has tracked more than 13,000 students since the 1990s, and a survey of about 5,000 Utah teens Bahr conducted about a decade ago.
While most sociologists agree that peer pressure is a major determinant in the choices teens make, there has been widespread disagreement about whether religion plays a role in teens' choice not to use drugs. The Bahr study affirms the argument that faith plays a role not just in marijuana use, but also for alcohol and tobacco -
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even when kids' friends are puffing and drinking.
"We found it with heavy drinking, smoking tobacco - across the board, religiosity had a dampening effect both in Utah data, which is what you would expect, but we also found it nationally," said co-author John Hoffman, also a professor of sociology.
But the authors added a few cautionary notes. First, the study does not conclusively draw a causal link between religion and kids' drug choices. Moreover, the religion correlation was weak for heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and other hard drugs.
"We tried to look at more illicit drugs, but we didn't find a statistically significant effect, although it pointed in the same direction," Hoffman said. "It could be that once kids get involved in these types of drugs, religiosity doesn't do much for them."
The researchers also found that religious fervor within the community has little effect on teens' drug behavior.
"Previously, it was thought that if someone grew up in a religious community and went to church, then the community's religious strength would make a difference," Bahr said. "We basically found that this was not the case. Individual religiosity is what makes the difference."
bmaffly@sltrib.com
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