A CDC report released today shows that the chance of a child being diagnosed with autism has risen to 1 in 88; in New Jersey, it is 1 in 49. This study is based on 14 separate site reports; the one for New Jersey was based at UMDNJ (Table 1). As reported in The New York Times, “… researchers cannot agree on whether the trend is a result of heightened awareness, an expanding definition of the spectrum, an actual increase in incidence or some combination of those factors.”(article) More information is available from: The Star-Ledger, Time, WebMD, Wall Street Journal, and Autism Speaks.
Archive for March, 2012
Early Films of New York City
This site from the Library of Congress – The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906 – features 45 short films from either the Edison Company or the American Mutoscope and Biography Company. You can watch Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show parade down 5th Avenue or see a panoramic view from one of the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge. You can search by film title, subject or keyword; three viewing formats are available for each film: RealMedia, MPEG, and Quick Time. The Library of Congress also hosts Edison Motion Pictures, a collection of 341 of his and his company’s films including those in the previous New York City site. An informative biography and history is also appended.
Amelia Earhart Online Collection
With Amelia Earhart recently back in the news, we recommend a virtual trip to this site – George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers – containing as it does over 3500 items from letters to telegrams to newspaper clippings ranging from 1897 to 1971. You can search via material type, full text, subject, or date. The site also includes a biography, links to other Earhart sites, and a select bibliography. If you are interested, please read her The fun of it : random records of my own flying and of women in aviation published in 1932.
Arguments Before the Supreme Court on Health Care Reform
While we have no objection to the frenzy surrounding Tim Tebow’s introduction to the New York media today, we would like to point to a more momentous occurrence in Washington, D.C. – the three days’ of oral arguments over health care reform before the Supreme Court. Being as there will be NO electronic recording devices in the Court, information will be handed out in dribs and drabs as reporters exit the hearings, file their observations, and go back into the hearings. Audio recordings and unofficial transcripts will be generated as quickly as possible by the Court. Here are several excellent sources of information, presented in accessible language without the legal obfuscation that clouds minds: Health Care Reform and the Supreme Court (Times Topics, with guide, background materials, and additional links); The Court and Health Care Reform (Oyez Today, contains briefs, filings, arguments of the original cases that have wound their way up the judicial ladder); Health Care Resource Page (SCOTUSblog, includes in-depth reviews of the individual cases along with numerous links, one the best ways of keeping up with what is happening anytime at the Court); Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Health Care (C-SPAN, video resources of the various court cases that have preceded today’s oral arguments as well as providing same-day audio recordings of said arguments); and these CRS reports –Health-Related Revenue Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (April 2010), Health Care: Constitutional Rights and Legislative Powers (April 2010), and Grandfathered Health Plans Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA (January 2011).
Immigration Statistics
Lots of updated statistics on a large number of immigration issues can be found at the Migration Policy Institute’s Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. It should be considered a first stop for current figures that are all available in one place without the need for repeated searching in various other data sources.
Lack of Foreign Language Skills is a National Security Issue
As U.S. Education Reform and National Security from the Council on Foreign Relations states: “The lack of language skills and civic and global awareness among American citizens increasingly jeopardize their ability to interact with local and global peers or participate meaningfully in business, diplomatic,and military situations. The United States is not producing enough foreign-language speakers to staff important posts in the U.S. Foreign Service, the intelligence community, and American companies.”(11) This finding combined with other weaknesses that have been covered in this blog in previous entries (here, here, and here), present a grave risk to America’s competitive standing in the world and undermine its ability to interact with other countries and cultures in a competent manner. The report continues, bemoaning the fact that public schools have largely abandoned the teaching of civics. citizenship, and cultural awareness.(15) Pointing to various national and international tests (refer to entries above), the report shows how the United States is lagging behind in so many areas. To remedy this situtaion, the report lists three recommendations: expand the Common Core State Standards to include subjects vital to national security such as languages, science, and technology; “enhanced choice and competition” [charter schools]; and accountability.(44-45) The report also includes dissenting opinions by some of the 30-member task force (a CFR trademark feature) as well as informative endnotes. News/reactions/opinions are at: The New York Times; Christian Science Monitor; Education Week (via HispanicBusiness.com); Wall Street Journal; BloombergNews, and PBSNewsHour (via YouTube).
Statistics on America’s Women Veterans
There are 1.5 million female veterans in this country and Puerto Rico according to this report – America’s Women Veterans. Demographic and socioeconomic breakdowns are enumerated as is their utilization of VA services.
Mass Layoffs in New Jersey During 2011
This report generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, notes that there were 585 mass layoffs (defined as affecting 50 persons from a single employer) involving 66,811 people, the second highest number in New Jersey since 1996. Selected industrial sectors are highlighted along with numbers back to 2009. More information on a national scale can be found at Mass Layoff Statistics.
Teens Would Rather Text Than Phone
All the mind-numbing statistics can be found in the report Teens, Smartphones and Texting from the ever-reliable Pew Internet and American Life Project.
What Are the Best Hospitals in New Jersey?
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services has just issued its Hospital Performance Report New Jersey 2011. In it hospitals are evaluated and ranked on various health care measures, performances, and outcomes. On page 30, comparisons to national figures are given. The level of quality care in New Jersey can be searched by hospital, county, or medical condition at this site.
New Jersey Least Corrupt State in the Nation
We know some may not believe the heading of this entry, but according to this report – State Integrity Investigation– New Jersey ranks highest in the number of laws governing state-level ethics and the efforts to enforce them. The report gives us this insight: “I’m still in shock,” Senate Majority Leader Lorretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) said, laughing. “If we’re number one, I feel bad for the rest of the states.” (From How Did New Jersey Finish First?) Indeed, New Jersey scored a B+ overall because: “…New Jersey’s strong points are clear: extensive financial disclosure requirements for the governor, a transparently-run pension fund, and an aggressive ethics enforcement agency. The state also boasts some of the nation’s toughest anti-pay-to-play laws for contractors.”(from Overview) Just a little over 50% of the states received a D or F rating. Here is the complete New Jersey report. All the other states are available as well; each report lists the questions asked, the answers received, and the enabling legislation. In addition, each state report is accompanied by selected news articles highlighting ethics (or lack thereof).
50,000+ Books on Theology and Religion
The Theological Commons, residing at the Princeton Theological Seminary, features tens of thousands of books freely available in digital format. The vast majority of these titles date from the 1801 to the present; almost 40,000 are in English. Searching can be done by author, title, date, language, and full text; if you go to the Internet Archive version of this collection, you can search by subject. When we were earnest gaduate students, our doctoral work (alas, never completed) centered on the Waldensian faith, a pre-Reformation dissident group whose descendants still practice both here and in Europe. (For those interested, here are some brief treatments from encyclopedia.com as well as a short monograph written in 1880 but still referenced – Waldo and the Waldensians before the Reformation by Emilio Comba or its longer companion from 1889 – The History of the Waldenses of Italy) Using the Theological Commons and searching under “Waldensians,” and its variants “Waldenses” and “Vaudois,” we were able to call up works that 35 years ago were very difficult to find, let alone read. A great place to research the history of religions using contemporary sources. (For those further intrigued by the Waldensians, please peruse these volumes of the Bollettino della societa di studi valdesi. Again, if we only had had access to these digital versions back in the day!)
Diabetes Could Reach Epidemic Proportions by 2050
If this report – Projection of the year 2050 burden of diabetes in the US adult population: dynamic modeling of incidence, mortality, and prediabetes prevalence (from Population Health Metrics) – is correct, then the prevalence of diabetes in this country could be a catastrophic health care burden as 33% of the U.S. population could be affected. Some counter-measures are discussed that can impact this disturbing trend, but without vigilance, diabetes will become a national scourge. Previous blog entries provide additional information on this disease.
Increased New Jersey School Aid for 2012-2013, by District and County
This site from the New Jersey Department of Education lists the counties and local districts that will get increased school aid in the upcoming year. Also, there is a separate link showing what school districts are receiving preschool education aid.
Employer-Paid Compensation for State and Local Workers
These figures, as of December 2011, illustrate how much employers pay out in compensation (salaries + benefits + plus other mandated costs) to their employees; of particular interest are university teachers and their compensation: table 4(p.9) lists university teachers in the state/local sphere, while table 10(p.19) looks at their private industry counterparts.
2012 March Madness Statistics
Courtesy of the NCAA, College Sports Statistics and Reports, offers a plethora of ever-expanding statistical tables on all NCAA sports in its three divisions; information is available on all individual teams as well as all players. There are also historical statistics as well.If this is not enough, try ESPN Stats & Info. Have fun with your pools!
Is Jersey City Going Underwater?
If you read these two research articles in conjunction with this interactive map, and if you consult various state reports ( here is New Jersey), you will see that selected lower parts of Jersey City have an “Over 1 in 6 chance sea level rise + storm surge + tide will overtop+1ft by 2020 at nearest flood risk indicator site: The Battery – New York Harbor, 2.8miles away. ” And by 2030, many cities face an increased risk of catastropic flooding. You can search for thousands of coastal cities to find the impact of rising seas. A very informative basics section takes you through the research and methodologies involved; the “links” take you to among other sites, a special issue on sea level from the June 2011 issue of Oceanography. This article from The New York Times provides a good overview.
International Unemployment Rates
This Bureau of Labor Statistics site tracks unemployment in selected industrial countries and the EU. Some of the figures and charts extend back to 2008. For comparison’s sake, you can also consult the CIA world employment rankings where the numbers range from the late 1990s through 2011. The 15 Highest Unemployment Rates in the World is an informative article from The Atlantic examining and, in the CIA’s case, questioning the validity of the figures used. Other sources include: International Labour Office, OECD, Trading Economics (including news links), and The World Bank.
Japan Disasters – One Year Later
The images of the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdowns that plagued Japan beginning on March 11, 2011 are ever-present. A year later, the Japanese people distrust their government and have gone so far as to buy their own radiation detectors. Here are some relevant reports: The Death of Trust and The Dream that Failed (both from The Economist); U.S. Nuclear Power Safety One Year After Fukushima (Union of Concerned Scientists); Nuclear Power Plant Designs and Seismic Safety Considerations (CRS); Fukushima in Review: A Complex Disaster, a Disastrous Response (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists). A great meta-site devoted to preserving electronic pages on these disasters is at Digital Archive of Japan’s 2011 Disasters; also check out the Internet Archive‘s 2011 Japan Earthquakes.
History of the Crusades
This six-volume work, taking over 20 years to publish, covers the gamut of this centuries-long conflict. The articles are written by experts and provide in-depth information from architecture to the Albigensian Crusade. Browsing by volume is available as is a full text search; each volume is also accompanied by a gazetteer. Volume six concludes with a very lengthy bibliography on the Crusades. A comprehensive and invaluable work on this subject. (We have it in paper at home.) Excerpted translations of primary sources are here at the Medieval Sourcebook. Some other translations include: Crusades, A Documentary History; The First Crusade; The Accounts of Eye-Witnessess and Other Participants; Crusade of Richard I, 1189-92. Extracts….; Memoirs of the crusades, by Villehardouin & De Joinville; The Fourth Crusade (selected translations); Letters of the Crusaders; and The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy. The History Channel had a two-part presentation on the Crusades; here they are: Part 1 and Part 2. A brief overview of the Crusades is at infoplease. Maps, timelines, online lectures and course material are available from Professor Knox of Boise State (well done, sir!).
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 