Superstorm Sandy is not the only culprit in New Jersey’s deteriorating transport, electric, and water/wastewater systems. Other priorities, deferred maintenance and lack of upgrades have produced a weakened state backbone. According to Facing Our Future, this state needs to spend $70 billion to correct the glaring deficiencies highlighted in this report; $40 billion alone for the water sector. “This report presents a vision for infrastructure needs within each of three prioritized areas and discusses those needs in the historical context of long-standing neglect and under-funding. The report also identifies funding ideas to support the investments, and provides recommendations for how to achieve the required funding for each area…”(5) Links to federal and state reports featured in this report, as well as additional studies, are available. A podcast on this report is at NJ Spotlight (one of our favorite New Jersey issues-oriented sites); news reports/editorials are at The Star-Ledger, Press of Atlantic City, newjerseynewsroom, and NJ 101.5. Recently, the American Society of Civil Engineers released its highly regarded 2013 Report of America’s Infrastructure; the state report for New Jersey makes for interesting reading.
Archive for April, 2013
Racial Disparities In Wealth Building
According to this Urban Institute report – Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation – whites had double the income of Hispanics and blacks but six times the wealth in 2010. This has been an ongoing process for decades. It must be remembered that the term ‘wealth” includes not only income but insurance, savings, pensions, the ability to get loans for homes and cars(these are also indicators of wealth), and the means of passing along material goods to the younger generation (inheritance); all these are assets that need to be factored into the wealth equation. Other informative Institute reports in its series entitled “The Changing Wealth of Americans” include: Changes in Wealth of Low-Income Neighborhood Residents: A Local View of the Financial Crisis; Does Financial Support and Inheritance Contribute to the Racial Wealth Gap?, and Coping with the Great Recession: Disparate Impacts on Economic Well-Being in Poor Neighborhoods among others. Its home page also features timely blog entries and “major media coverage.” This is a site is constantly updated with current reports and information. This 2013 report from Brandeis University supports the Institute contentions – The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide as does this 2011 document from the Pew Research Center – Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between White, Black, Hispanics.
Stacks of Statistics
Since 2013 is the International Year of Statistics, we strongly urge you to visist Statistics Resources and Big Data on the Internet 2013 for national and international facts and figures from a plethora of sources. And many of the major foreign sites present their findings in English.
Hudson County Gets an “F” For Air Quality
That is what the American Lung Association gives the county in its annual State of the Air Report. As the report states: “If you live in Hudson County, the air you breathe may put your health at risk.” However, we are not alone; most of the state rates an “F” with the exception of Atlantic, Cumberland and Passaic counties that rate a not-much-better grade of “D”. You can read the whole report(179 pages), skip to the key findings, or compare cities.
Recent Cybersecurity Reports
Some notable reports include: Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (with threat assessments; all volumes available); 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report (Verizon); State of the Internet, 4th Quarter, 2012 (Akamai, free registration required, has a separate section on security); Cybersecurity: Selected Legal Issues (CRS); The 2013 Cybersecurity Executive Order: Overview and Considerations for Congress, (CRS); 2013 Internet Security Threat Report (Symantec); FireEye Advanced Threat Report – 2H 2012; Cybersecurity – A Better Defined and Implemented National Strategy Is Needed to Address Persistent Challenges (GAO); and Cybersecurity Privacy Practical Implications (EPIC).
Free Access to The New York Times Video Library
For some time, The New York Times had erected a paywall around some of its features, including the video library. Now, with underwriting from corporate sponsors, this valuable learning tool is once again free. Covering the world, arts, science, business and other topics, these films can act as useful adjuncts for current events research.
During the Economic Recovery, the Rich Got Richer While the Other 93% Lost Wealth
According to the Pew Research Center’s report – A Rise in Wealth for the Wealthy; Declines for the Lower 93% – in the economic recovery during 2009-2011, the net worth per household of the top 7% gained 28% while the other 93% registered a 4% decrease. Numerous charts reinforce this bleak document.
Human Rights Around the World in 2012
The U.S. Department of State has issued its Country Reports of Human Rights Practices for 2012, the latest annual version of this ongoing publication. The information is available in individual country or regional reports, or filtered by specific themes. or accessed by previous volumes. In addition, a few 2011 country reports have been translated into the national language. A global overview and selected relevant documents are also offered. For example, you can read about the terrible conditions in Syria, how the new state of South Sudan is attempting to protect human rights, or the current state of human rights in Brazil. Each country is profiled with a multitude of factors, among them freedom of internet access, human trafficking, and corruption and lack of transparency in goverment. The United Nations maintains a Human Rights section replete with reports and deliberations; Human Rights Watch has country reports; and Amnesty International has been at the forefront of the human rights movement for years. Its country reports and regional reports are of great value.
Information on Chechnya
One of the reasons definitive information on Chechnya is so elusive is that it is not an independent country so it does not show up in national/international datasets or reports. And being a federal republic of Russia does not make for transparency either. However, reliable and valid information is out there; to wit: Chechnya Profile (a very good overview along with a timeline, BBC News); In Depth: Inside the Chechen Conflict (another good site from the BBC); The Diversity of the Chechen Culture (UNESCO); Chechens( from Countries and Their Cultures, slow to load but worth the wait); Times Topics: Chechnya (The New York Times); Chechnya and the North Caucasus (Lords Library Note – UK Parliament); Backgrounder: Chechen Terrorism (and more reports from the Council on Foreign Relations); Chechnya (Center for Strategic and International Studies); Chechnya (Strategic Studies Institute); The North Caucasus: Islam, Security and Politics (Chatham House, N.B. Chechnya is in the North Caucasus); Stability in Russia’s Chechnya and Other Regions of the North Caucasus: Recent Developments (CRS); and The War in Chechnya: Russia’s Coduct, the Humanitarian Crisis, and United States Policy and Chechnya: Implications for Russia and the North Caucasus (both hearings from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee).
Online Primary Sources for American History: Treaties with Indian Nations
Over this country’s history, hundreds of treaties have been negotiated between the government and Indian tribes. Many, of course, were broken or imposed such severe terms on the nations that they were disruptive of their lives; for example, see Indian Treaties and the Removal Act of 1830 from the State Department, and Indian Treaties as Sovereign Contracts. One of the earlier full text compilations of Indian treaties is contained in volume 7 of the Statutes at Large. (A point of interest, until 1948 ALL treaties were recorded in the Statutes.) The major edition of treaties will be found in the seven-volume work Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties; these volumes include both treaties as well as laws and executive orders. In total 366 of the 375 recognized treaties are contained therein; the other nine treaties can be found in Early Recognized Treaties with American Indian Nations.
The Most Endangered Rivers in This Country
With rivers supplying 60% of our drinking water (River Science at the U.S. Geological Survey, 1), it is disconcerting to remark that this precious resource has been taking considerable hits of late. Silting, poor water management policies, pollution, and excessive drawdowns have all contributed to some rivers being labeled “endangered.” This year’s list is led by the Colorado River, a river so abused that barely any water reaches its mouth. The report, issued by the advocacy group American Rivers, focuses on ten rivers in trouble; none, thankfully, in our part of the country. Additional information can be found at the National Academy of Sciences River Basin Systems with links to online books and reports; Rivers and Lakes from Nature Conservancy; and Hudson River Water Quality (Riverkeeper).
How Other Countries Assess Students and Evaluate Teachers
Much has been written of late on teacher evaluation and ongoing student assessment at both the state and federal levels. (See the 2010 RAND report Incorporating Student Performance Measures into Teacher Evaluation Systems; Brookings’ 2011 report Passing Muster: Evaluating Teacher Evaluation Systems; New Jersey Teacher Evaluation, RU-GSE External Assessment, Year 1 Report, a 2013 report from Rutgers; Achieve NJ: Teach. Lead. Grow; and Race to the Top.) But what are other countries doing? Since 2009, the OECD has embarked on a program that investigates such topics in its member states. It is a voluntary program that has involved many participants and a major 3-year review of the work results has been published – the 700+ page document Synergies for Better Learning: An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment. This tome provides for international comparisons within a common framework. Individual country reviews (14 in all) and 17 country background reports form the main components of this synthesized report along with numerous reports and studies (including literature reviews).
2013 Pulitzer Prizes Announced
For all the awards, the citations, biographical information, and the runners-up, please come here.
National Security Reports – April 2013 Update
Cybersecurity – A Better Defined and Implemented National Strategy Is Needed to Address Persistent Challenges (GAO); Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States (Senate Intelligence Committee); International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, vol.1, v.2 (State Department); A UnifiedNational Security Budget? Issues for Congress (CRS); The Iraq War Ten Years After (National Security Archive); Europe’s Energy Security: Options and Challenges to Natural Gas Supply Diversification (CRS); and Publishing Scientific Papers with Potential Security Risks: Issues for Congress (CRS).
Have You Felt Tired or Exhausted Lately?
Well, if you have, you are not alone. This recent CDC QuickStat – Percentage of Adults Who Often Felt Very Tired or Exhausted in the Past 3 Months,* by Sex and Age Group – National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2010-2011† – shows that women aged 18-44 were almost twice as likely to have experienced fatigue than their male counterparts. Other age/gender comparisons are readily available as well.
How Much Does Each New Jersey School District Spend on Its Students?
Issued concurrently with the School Performance Reports, The Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending 2013 presents an array of data pertaining to the educational costs per pupil in each school district. Charter schools are listed alphabetically in the county in which they operate, and they are also clustered together in the “group” category. Comparisons can be made to the state figures as well as to school districts of similar size. In many cases, the information is presented for a three-year time span, allowing for ease of tracking the numbers up or down. There are 21 separate indicators (with their definitions) listed, from budgetary cost per pupil to total equipment cost. In addition, transportation efficieny is rated.
2011-2012 New Jersey School Reports Cards Online
Now called School Performance Report, this newest annual iteration has three main criteria as expressed by federal and state legislation:
- Focus attention on metrics that are indicative of college and career readiness.
- Benchmark a school’s performance against other peer schools that are educating similar students, against statewide outcomes, and against state targets to illuminate and build upon a school’s strengths and identify areas for improvement.
- Improve educational outcomes for students by providing both longitudinal and growth data so that progress can be measured as part of an individual school’s efforts to engage in continuous improvement (Introduction)
Schools can be found by name or by county/town; charter schools are also included. The reports are constructed so that the information is presented in both a narrative and graphical manner. There is a great deal of information about individual school’s performances on the various standardized tests; the result are broken down into distinct student populations. Occasionally, information is presented in a comparative format from previous years so the reader can judge whether progress has been made and targets met. The language used is readily accessible and specific.
Country Cultural Information
There are several sites worth visiting to glean cultural information about various countries. While Canadian in perspective, Multicultural Canada provides a great deal of data on hundreds of ethnic groups/cultures; the details cover economic life, kinship and family, culture, religion, education, and intergroup relations. Every entry is supplemented by a well thought-out bibliography. Another Canadian site that should be looked at is Country Insights from the Centre for Intercultural Learning; dozens of countries and their cultures are examined. Countries and Their Cultures offers profiles including folklore, rites of passage, living conditions, and social problems inter alia. The Cultural Orientation Resource Center focuses on refugee populations, explaining their cultural background. Ethnomed is based out of Seattle and addresses the health and cultural concerns of the minority communities there. The CIRRIE, SUNY Buffalo, has developed a 13-volume series – The Rehabilitation Provider’s Guide to Cultures of the Foreign-Born – examining the cultural beliefs of major ethnic groups/cultures.
Could “Jurassic Park” Actually Come True?
If one reads this letter in Nature that discusses the discovery of organic matter – collagen – in 190 million year-old fossils, then maybe the movie could become reality. As is mentioned in the abstract: “This discovery also provides the oldest evidence of in situ preservation of complex organic remains in a terrestrial vertebrate.” An explanation in layman’s terms can be found at Nature.com : Oldest dinosaur embryo fossils discovered in China; the Los Angeles Times also has an informative report.
The U.S. Budget for FY 2014
President Obama submits his latest budget to Congress today. CNN has an early preview. Let the partisan bickering commence!
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 