Right to Buy… Time to Move? Investigating the Effect of the Right to Buy on Moving Behaviour in the UK
Right to Buy… Time to Move? Investigating the Effect of the Right to Buy on Moving Behaviour in the UK (PDF)
Source: Institute for the Study of Labor
One of the goals of the Right to Buy (RTB) was to stimulate labour migration by removing the debilitating effect of social housing on geographical mobility. This is the first study to examine rigorously whether the Right to Buy legislation did indeed ‘free-up’ those in social housing who bought their homes. Using longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and panel regression models we show that the probability of a RTB-owner making a lon...
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Docuticker - September 1, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Housing and real estate Social and cultural issues United Kingdom
The Public Availability of WARN Notices
The Public Availability of WARN Notices (PDF)
Source: AFL-CIO
Mass layoffs and plant closures inflict enormous social and economic costs on working people, their families, and communities throughout the United States. Communities lose vital tax revenues for investment in education and social services at a time when they are most needed. Suppliers and other businesses lose important customers for their products and services. And with each layoff, hundreds of workers lose their livelihoods. Such economic dislocations, often decided upon by employers without any public input, are cause for grave concern today. Mass layoffs ...
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Docuticker - September 1, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Government and politics Labor Legal and law enforcement
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
31 August 2010
1. Defense Acquisitions: Navy’s Ability to Overcome Challenges Facing the Littoral Combat Ship Will Determine Eventual Capabilities
2. Export Promotion: Increases in Commercial Service Workforce Should Be Better Planned
3. VA Drug Formulary: Drug Review Process Is Standardized at the National Level, but Actions Are Needed to Ensure Timely Adjudication of Nonformulary Drug Requests
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: GAO Government and politics
Can Governments Prevent Terrorism while Also Respecting Human Rights, or Must Authorities Trade Off Some Human Rights to Reduce Terrorism?
Can Governments Prevent Terrorism while Also Respecting Human Rights, or Must Authorities Trade Off Some Human Rights to Reduce Terrorism?
Source: American Political Science Association
A new research symposium investigates the interrelationships between terrorism and governmental respect for human rights, regarding both how political authorities respond to terrorist violence and how human rights abuses can predict subsequent terrorist attacks. Responding to a lack of systematic evidence and granular data on the linkages between these two areas, the symposium addresses issues both domestic and international, ranging from...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Human rights International Relations Terrorism
New Study Reinforces USW Position that Improper Chinese Subsidies Destroy Jobs in American Paper Industry
New Study Reinforces USW Position that Improper Chinese Subsidies Destroy Jobs in American Paper Industry
Source: Economic Policy Institute (via United Steelworkers)
A study released today documenting illegal subsidies to Chinese paper producers strengthens the argument of the United Steelworkers (USW) union that U.S., policymakers must intervene now to preserve the domestic paper industry and hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs.
The report, No Paper Tiger: Subsidies to China’s Paper Industry from 2002-2009, released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) documents $33 billion in government subsidies to the Chi...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics China Industries Labor
Katrina: Five Years Later – Are we better prepared?
Five Years Later – Are we better prepared? (PDF)
Source: Institute for Business and Home Safety
When Hurricane katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, it caused an estimated $41.1 billion in insured losses across six states, and took an incalculable economic and social toll on many communi- ties. Five years later, the recovery continues and some residents in the most severely affected states of alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are still struggling.
There is no question that no one wants a repeat performance of this devastating event that left at least 1,300 people dead. yet, the steps taken to improve the quality of ...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Housing and real estate Natural Disasters
Skin Tone’s Decreasing Importance on Employment: Evidence from a Longitudinal Dataset, 1985-2000
Skin Tone’s Decreasing Importance on Employment: Evidence from a Longitudinal Dataset, 1985-2000 (PDF)
Source: Institute for the Study of Labor
We investigate the effect of skin tone on employment probabilities in a longitudinal data set. Using an objective measure of skin tone from a light-spectrometer and a self-reported measure of race we find that over time the effect of skin tone on employment has diminished. These results hold both across the white and African-American samples as well as within the African-American sample itself with regard to skin tone. Further investigation indicates that all of the gains c...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Gender and sexuality Labor Race Social and cultural issues
Report Finds Investments in Innovation are Paying Off
Report Finds Investments in Innovation are Paying Off
Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Science and Technology
Vice President Joe Biden unveiled a new report, “The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation,” which finds that the Recovery Act’s investments in science, technology and innovation are creating new jobs and strengthening advances in science that will create cost cuts for consumers.
+ Full Report (PDF)
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Government and politics Science Technology
New JEC Report Highlights Economic Progress Made by Women in Past 25 Years
New JEC Report Highlights Economic Progress Made by Women in Past 25 Years
Source: U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
As the nation celebrates the 90th anniversary of women’s right to vote, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released a new report today analyzing how women’s economic conditions have changed since Geraldine Ferraro shattered the political glass ceiling 25 years ago and ushered in a new era of political leadership for women.
The report finds that women, who now make up nearly half of the labor force, have made significant strides in the past quarter century and are poised to be the engi...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Gender and sexuality Labor Social and cultural issues
Joint Statement on Bed Bug Control in the United States from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Joint Statement on Bed Bug Control in the United States from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this document to highlight emerging public health issues associated with bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) in communities throughout the United States.
Bed bugs have been common in U.S. history. Although bed bug populations dropped dramatically during the mid-2...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Environment Government and politics Health and healthcare Safety
US: Immigration Detainees at Risk of Sexual Abuse
US: Immigration Detainees at Risk of Sexual Abuse
Source: Human Rights Watch
The US government needs to strengthen its protection of people in immigration detention to prevent sexual abuse and to ensure justice for victims, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 24-page report, “Detained and at Risk: Sexual Abuse and Harassment in United States Immigration Detention,” describes documented incidents and allegations of abuse. It also discusses recent proposals by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to address the issue. Human Rights Watch emphasized that the agency should make improvemen...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Crime Government and politics Human rights Immigration Legal and law enforcement
Glaciers Retreating in Asia
Glaciers Retreating in Asia
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Many of Asia’s glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change.
This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with 39 international scientists, published a report on the status of glaciers throughout all of Asia, including Russia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
“Of particular interest are the Himalaya,...
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Docuticker - August 31, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Asia Climate Change/Global Warming Environment
Underinsurance among Children in the United States
Underinsurance among Children in the United States
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
We estimated that in 2007, 11 million children were without health insurance for all or part of the year, and 22.7% of children with continuous insurance coverage — 14.1 million children — were underinsured. Older children, Hispanic children, children in fair or poor health, and children with special health care needs were more likely to be underinsured. As compared with children who were continuously and adequately insured, uninsured and underinsured children were more likely to have problems with health care access and quality.
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Children and families Health and healthcare Health insurance Social and cultural issues
Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups
Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
This report profiles current conditions and recent trends in the education of students by racial and ethnic group. It presents a selection of indicators that illustrate the educational achievement and attainment of White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students. This report presents 29 indicators that provide information and examine (1) demographics, (2) patterns of preprimary, elementary, and secondary school enrollment; (3) student achievem...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Education Ethnic Race Social and cultural issues
Small Business Procurement Scorecard Shows Progress Toward Meeting 23 Percent Goal for Small Business Contracting
Small Business Procurement Scorecard Shows Progress Toward Meeting 23 Percent Goal for Small Business Contracting (PDF)
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Small businesses won a record $96.8 billion in federal prime contracts in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 (Oct. 1, 2008-Sept. 30, 2009), an increase of more than $3 billion from FY 2008, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s fourth annual small business procurement scorecard released today. This dollar amount represents 21.89 percent of all federal spending – an improvement over FY2008. Additionally, performance in each of the government’...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Government and politics Small business and entrepreneurship
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
30 August 2010
1. Onshore Oil and Gas: BLM’s Management of Public Protests to Its Lease Sales Needs Improvement
2. Hurricane Recovery: Federal Government Provided a Range of Assistance to Nonprofits following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
3. New Drug Approval: FDA’s Consideration of Evidence from Certain Clinical Trials
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: GAO Government and politics
´Just Living Together´– Implications of cohabitation for fathers’ participation in child care in Western Europe
´Just Living Together´– Implications of cohabitation for fathers’ participation in child care in Western Europe
Source: Demographic Research
This article tests the assumption that cohabitation makes a difference in the allocation of child care responsibilities within couples. It has often been presumed that cohabiting individuals are less likely to adhere to traditional gender ideology than married persons, because they tend to have a lower tolerance for poorly functioning relationships, assign more value to individual freedom and base their relationship on egalitarian individualism rather than on the joint uti...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Children and families Europe Gender and sexuality Social and cultural issues
New Study: Coal Ash Water- Contamination Much Worse Than Previously Estimated, With 39 Additional Toxic Sites Identified in 21 States
New Study: Coal Ash Water- Contamination Much Worse Than Previously Estimated, With 39 Additional Toxic Sites Identified in 21 States
Source: Environmental Integrity Project/EarthJustice/Sierra Club
Days before the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) kicks off a series of regional hearings across the United States on whether and how to regulate toxic coal ash waste from coal-fired power plants, a major new study identifies 39 additional coal-ash dump sites in 21 states that are contaminating drinking water or surface water with arsenic and other heavy metals. The report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Energy Environment Health and healthcare
International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing, 2008
International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing, 2008
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The trade-weighted average of hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars for all employees in manufacturing among 32 foreign economies was 85 percent of the U.S. level in 2008, increasing from 82 percent in 2007, according to data issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (See chart 1.) Compensation costs relative to the United States rose or remained unchanged in 28 of the 32 foreign economies covered in 2008. (See table 1.) This news release contains data for all employees and production workers. (See d...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics International Labor
Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — Summer 2010
Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — Summer 2010
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
From April to July 2010, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old rose by 1.8 million to 18.6 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This year, the share of young people who were employed in July was 48.9 percent, the lowest July rate on record for the series, which began in 1948. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) Unemployment among youth increased by 571,000 between April and July , about half as much as in each of the two previous summers.
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Labor
Social Justice Grantmaking On the Rise
Social Justice Grantmaking On the Rise
Source: Foundation Center
According to the Foundation Center’s Key Facts on Social Justice Grantmaking (2010 Edition), social justice-related funding by U.S. foundations climbed to nearly 15 percent of overall grant dollars in 2008. During most of the past decade, social justice giving had represented a smaller 11 to 12 percent of grant dollars awarded by foundations included in the Foundation Center’s annual grants sample.
Among other key findings:
Economic development benefited from the largest share of social justice grant dollars in 2008
The Bill & Melinda Gate...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Nonprofits Social and cultural issues
Americans Say Value Added Tax Would Force Cutbacks in Spending, According to NRF Survey
Americans Say Value Added Tax Would Force Cutbacks in Spending, According to NRF Survey
Source: National Retail Federation
Budget-focused Americans still grappling with a sluggish economy say they don’t want a substantial new Value Added Tax that some policymakers are proposing as a way to reduce the federal deficit, according to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed – 64 percent – said a federal VAT of any amount would impact their spending on everything from cars to homes, groceries and medicines. If the government imposed a VAT of 15 percent an...
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Docuticker - August 30, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Consumer issues Taxation
Search and Rescue Five Years Later: Saving People Still Trapped in Katrina’s Ruins
Search and Rescue Five Years Later: Saving People Still Trapped in Katrina’s Ruins (PDF)
Source: Unity Abandoned Buildings Outreach Team
From press release:
The Abandoned Buildings Outreach Team of UNITY of Greater New Orleans has released a detailed report of the Team’s findings and recommendations from 18 months of combing the city’s abandoned buildings in search of elderly and disabled survivors of Hurricane Katrina, “Search and Rescue Five Years Later: Saving People Still Trapped in Katrina’s Ruins.”
Thus far, the team has found 154 people, nearly all disabled Katrina victims, living in abandoned building...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Housing and real estate Natural Disasters Poverty
FHFA Releases First Conservator’s Report on the Enterprises’ Financial Condition
FHFA Releases First Conservator’s Report on the Enterprises’ Financial Condition (PDF)
Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its first Conservator’s Report on the Enterprises’ Financial Condition. The Conservator’s Report provides an overview of key aspects of the financial condition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) during conservatorship. The report will be released on a quarterly basis following the filing of the Enterprises’ financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“FHFA initiated the Conservator’s Repo...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Government and politics Housing and real estate
Documents Indicate Sharp Increase in the Number of Chinese Immigrants Smuggled Across the Border and Apprehended by Border Patrol
Documents Indicate Sharp Increase in the Number of Chinese Immigrants Smuggled Across the Border and Apprehended by Border Patrol
Source: Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detailing statistics related to human smuggling in Arizona’s “Tucson Sector.” The Tucson Sector is the Border Patrol’s busiest sector on the Southwest Border and covers 262 miles of linear border.
…
The documents also include data related to the number of “Other than ...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: China Crime Government and politics Human rights Immigration Legal and law enforcement
Detroit: Motor City to Medical Mecca?
Detroit: Motor City to Medical Mecca?
Source: Center for Studying Health System Change
Despite a weak economic outlook, Detroit area hospital systems plan to spend more than $1.3 billion in the coming years on capital improvements, leading some to hope that medical care can help revitalize the area’s economy, according to a new Community Report released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) and the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Institute for Health Care Reform (NIHCR).
Overlooked in the enthusiasm is the possibility that significant expansion of the community’s health care infrastructure may l...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Health and healthcare Social and cultural issues
Redefault Rates Improve for Recent Loan Modifications
Redefault Rates Improve for Recent Loan Modifications (PDF)
Source: State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group
For over two years, the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group,1 has collected delinquency and loss mitigation data from most of the largest servicers of subprime mortgages in the country. This memorandum looks at trends in loan modifications of nine non-bank mortgage companies servicing 4.6 million loans across the country as of March 2010.
Our data indicate that some recent loan modifications are performing better than loan modifications made earlier in the mortgage crisis. Loans modified in 2009 are 40 to...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Business and economics Consumer issues Government and politics Housing and real estate
New Report Counts, Categorizes & Ranks Great Lakes Islands
New Report Counts, Categorizes & Ranks Great Lakes Islands
Source: Nature Conservancy
With more than 32,000 islands in its waters, the Great Lakes contain the world’s largest collection of freshwater islands, but these islands are dynamic, undergoing many changes that threaten the islands’ flora and fauna, including climate change, habitat degradation, invasive species and some natural processes, according to a new report published by scientists from leading conservation organizations in the United States and Canada.
The report, titled “Islands of Life,” ranks and describes the biodiversity (biological diver...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Environment
Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009
Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
Data shown here are provisional and include only events occurring within the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia). Provisional birth, death, and infant death data in this report are based on a combination of counts of events provided by each reporting area and registered vital events processed into National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data files. Some of these may not have occurred in the specified month of this report. Monthly provisional birth, death, and infant death data may be up...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Social and cultural issues
Sexual Victimization In Prisons And Jails Reported By Inmates, 2008-09
Sexual Victimization In Prisons And Jails Reported By Inmates, 2008-09
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Presents data from the National Inmate Survey (NIS), 2008-09, conducted in 167 state and federal prisons, 286 local jails, and 10 special correctional facilities (operated by U.S. Armed Forces, Indian tribes, or the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)) between October 2008 and December 2009, with a sample of 81,566 inmates ages 18 or older. The report provides a listing of facilities ranked according to the prevalence of sexual victimization, as required under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (P...
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Docuticker - August 29, 2010 Author: shirl Kennedy Tags: Crime
