Hispanic college enrollment rate surpasses that of whites

A new U.S. Census Bureau report shows that after several years of gains, college enrollments in the U.S. fell between 2011 and 2012. But for one group—Hispanics—college enrollments were up, reflecting Hispanic population growth along with a growing share of young Latinos prepared for college. The new Census Bureau data also shows Hispanic students reached other milestones in 2012, continuing recent upward trends in educational attainment and college attendance.

For the first time, a greater share of Hispanic recent high school graduates are enrolled in college than whites. College enrollment rates among 18- to 24-year old Hispanics who had completed high school continued their upward march in 2012. According to the Census Bureau, 49% of young Hispanic high school graduates were enrolled in college. By comparison, 47% of white non-Hispanic high school graduates were enrolled in college. These findings reflect those of a May Pew Research Center report that showed the share of Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college immediately after high school surpassed whites in 2012.

While the share of recent Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college has surpassed that of whites, the same is not true among all young people ages 18 to 24. Because Hispanics have a higher high school dropout rate than whites, the share of all Hispanics ages 18 to 24 in college lags than of whites – 37.5% among Hispanics compared with 42.1% among whites.

N.S.A. Foils Much Internet Encryption

The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war on encryption, using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet age, according to newly disclosed documents.

The agency has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world, the documents show.

Many users assume — or have been assured by Internet companies — that their data is safe from prying eyes, including those of the government, and the N.S.A. wants to keep it that way. The agency treats its recent successes in deciphering protected information as among its most closely guarded secrets, restricted to those cleared for a highly classified program code-named Bullrun, according to the documents, provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor.

READ MORE from the New York Times

21 Percent of Married-Couple Households Have at Least One Foreign-Born Spouse

The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that 11.4 million married-couple households, or 21 percent of all married-couple households in America in 2011, had at least one spouse born in another country. About 13 percent (7.3 million) of households had two foreign-born spouses, and 7 percent (4.1 million) had one native-born and one foreign-born spouse.

These statistics come from Married-Couple Households by Nativity Status: 2011, a brief that analyzes data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

“The number of mixed-nativity married-couple households corresponds with the increase in immigration to the United States over the last several decades,” said Elizabeth Grieco, chief of the Census Bureau’s Foreign-Born Population Branch. “As the immigrant population has grown, so has the chance that a native-born person will meet and marry a foreign-born spouse.”

There were approximately 56 million married-couple households in the United States in 2011.

Of the households where husband and wife were both foreign-born residents, about 61 percent included at least one naturalized citizen spouse, including 41 percent where both were naturalized U.S. citizens and 20 percent where only one spouse was naturalized.

Other highlights from the brief:

--Among the mixed-nativity married-couple households — households with one native-born and one foreign-born spouse — the foreign-born spouse was more likely to be the wife (55 percent) than the husband (45 percent).

--Foreign-born spouses in mixed-nativity married-couple households were more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens (61 percent) than noncitizens (39 percent).

--Foreign-born spouses in mixed-nativity married-couple households were most likely to have been born in Latin America and the Caribbean (40 percent), followed by Europe (26 percent) and Asia (23 percent).

--Foreign-born husbands in mixed-nativity married-couple households were more likely than foreign-born wives to have been born in Latin America and the Caribbean. In contrast, foreign-born wives were more likely than foreign-born husbands to have been born in Asia.

--Among all states, Hawaii (16 percent) had the highest percentage of married-couple households that were of mixed nativity, while Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia (2 percent in each state) had the lowest percentages.

This nativity status brief, based on data collected from the American Community Survey, focuses on married-couple households, defined as households including a householder with a spouse present. Households consisting of a married householder with an absent spouse or an unmarried householder with an unmarried partner present were not included in this analysis. In addition, married couples in which neither spouse is a householder were not included.

The American Community Survey is an ongoing statistical survey sent to about 3 million households across the country each year. The survey provides a wide range of important statistics about people and housing for every community across the nation. The results are used by everyone from town and city planners to retailers and homebuilders. The survey is the only source of local statistics for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as education, occupation, language, ancestry and housing costs for even the smallest communities. Ever since Thomas Jefferson directed the first census in 1790, the census has collected detailed characteristics about our nation’s people. Questions about jobs and the economy were added 20 years later under James Madison, who said such information would allow Congress to “adapt the public measures to the particular circumstances of the community,” and over the decades allow America “an opportunity of marking the progress of the society.”

1 in 5 Households Experience Hardships in Meeting Basic Needs

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2011, 22 percent of households experienced one or more possible “hardships” in fulfilling their basic needs in the previous 12 months. These hardships included difficulty meeting essential expenses, not paying rent or mortgage, getting evicted, not paying utilities, having utilities or phone service cut off, not seeing a doctor or dentist when needed or not always having enough food. Among all households, 9 percent experienced exactly one of them, 7 percent experienced two of the hardships and 6 percent endured three or more.

These statistics come from Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States: 2011, a report based on the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The report measures well-being based on housing conditions, neighborhood conditions, community services, possession of specific types of appliances and electronic goods, the ability to meet basic needs and the expectation of help in meeting these needs ─ if necessary ─ from friends, family and the community. These measures are compared both across demographic groups and over time.

This Census Bureau report covers the period from 2005, before the recent recession, to 2011, or about two years after the recession ended. During this period, several measures of financial difficulty showed signs of worsening. The number of households with unmet essential expenses increased from 16.4 million to 20.0 million (from 14 percent to 16 percent of all households), and the number of households experiencing food shortages rose from 2.7 million to 3.4 million (2 percent to 3 percent). The number of households with unpaid rent or mortgage payments increased 2.7 million to 9.6 million (6 percent to 8 percent).

Most households (86 percent) expected to obtain help from friends, family or community agencies if they were to have trouble fulfilling any of their basic needs. However, when such needs did arise, few actually received such help. For instance, when a householder had trouble making rent or mortgage payments, only 5 percent received assistance from friends, 17 percent from family members and 10 percent from other sources.

One measure of well-being is the possession of electronic goods. For example, the report shows that in 2011, 28 percent of households had only a cellular phone (no landline), up from less than 1 percent in 1998, when these data were first collected. Among householders younger than 30, the rate was 65 percent. In contrast, one in 10 of all households had a landline phone only, down from six in 10 in 1998. Overall, cell phone ownership grew sharply, with only 36 percent of households owning one in 1998, but 89 percent doing so in 2011.

Other highlights:

The number of American households that could not meet basic expenses increased by 16 percent (from 16.4 million to 19.1 million) from 2005 to 2011. During that same period, the number unable to pay their rent or mortgage increased by 39 percent.

Among all householders in 2011, only 64 percent had all six of the following appliances and electronic goods: clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and a landline or cell phone.

While 71 percent of non-Hispanic white households had this full set of six appliances and electronic goods, only 44 percent of Hispanic householders did so.

Southern householders were more likely to have a full set of appliances and electronic goods (69 percent) as well as uniformly positive neighborhood conditions (77 percent) than those in the rest of the nation.

The percentage of households with a microwave climbed from 82 percent in 1992 to 97 percent in 2011. Similarly, the percentage with a computer jumped from 21 percent to 78 percent over the period. Landline phones followed the opposite trend; the share of households with landlines fell from 96 percent in 1998 to 71 percent in 2011.

After a Recent Upswing, College Enrollment Declines

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released today, college enrollment in fall 2012 plunged by half a million (467,000) from one year earlier. This decline, which includes both graduate and undergraduate enrollment, follows a period of substantial growth ─ 3.2 million ─ between 2006 and 2011.

These statistics come from School Enrollment: 2012. As the nation’s students begin a new school year, the Census Bureau releases its annual set of tables on the characteristics of children and adults enrolled in school at all levels ─ from nursery to graduate school. Among the characteristics examined are age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, nativity and foreign-born parentage.

This decline in college enrollment was driven by older students ─ that is, those 25 and older. Their enrollment fell by 419,000, while the enrollment of younger students declined by 48,000.

Hispanics didn’t follow the trend, as the number enrolled in college grew by 447,000 from 2011 to 2012. Meanwhile, non-Hispanic white enrollment declined by 1.1 million and black enrollment by 108,000. From 2006 to 2012, the percentage of all college students who were Hispanic rose from 11 percent to 17 percent. The percentage who were black also rose (from 14 percent to 15 percent), but the percent of non-Hispanic white students declined from 67 percent to 58 percent.

“This increase in the number of Hispanics enrolled in college can be attributed to the combination of an increase in the adult Hispanic population and their climbing likelihood of being enrolled,” said Julie Siebens, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Education and Social Stratification Branch.

The tables released today cover specific topics such as enrollment by grade, the attendance status of nursery school students and characteristics of their mothers, the type of school college students attend (two-year, four-year, etc.) and whether they attend full or part time, students taking vocational courses and the enrollment status of recent high school graduates. The information was collected in the October 2012 Current Population Survey.

Also released today was School Enrollment in the United States: 2011, a report that examines the characteristics of people enrolled in school at all levels using statistics from the Current Population Survey, American Community Survey and federal sources outside the Census Bureau. It covers some topics not typically covered in Census Bureau reports, such as Head Start, charter schools, home schooling and receipt of financial aid.

Although most of the statistics are national-level, some state-level data from the American Community Survey are presented. Updated 2012 American Community Survey statistics on school enrollment covering states and all geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or more will be published in September.

Other national highlights from the 2012 Current Population Survey tables:

--In 2012, 78 million people, or 26.4 percent of the population 3 or older, were enrolled in school.

--In 2012, there were 19.9 million college students, including 5.8 million enrolled in two-year colleges, 10.3 million in four-year colleges and 3.8 million in graduate school.

--In 2012, there were 4.2 million students enrolled in private elementary and high schools (first through 12th grade), down from 4.8 million in 2005.

--Non-Hispanic white children in 2012 comprised 53 percent of elementary school students, down from 58 percent in 2005. Hispanic children made up 24 percent of elementary students in 2012, up from 20 percent in 2005. Black children comprised 15 percent of elementary students in 2012, down from 16 percent in 2005.

--Students who were born in another country or whose parents were foreign-born comprised 32 percent of all those enrolled in school at all levels in 2012.

--While most students are under 25, there were 804,000 students age 50 and older enrolled in schools at all levels in 2012.

Haters Are Gonna Hate, Study Confirms

From Slate:

Haters really are going to hate. A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology corroborates the hip-hop and Internet truism that you just can’t win with some people.

In their paper “Attitudes Without Objects,” psychologists Justin Hepler and Dolores Albarracin show that those who already hold a lot of negative views are more likely to react negatively to new stimuli.

Program on Applied Demographics' subcounty profiles for NYS

In addition to the County profiles previously announced, Cornell's Program on Applied Demographics has recently produced booklets with data on towns, cities and villages in NYS. They contain data from the Decennial census, the population estimates program and the ACS. The data is organized by county.

Profiles for the Indian reservations within New York are in a separate booklet together with data on the American Indian population in New York.

All profiles can be downloaded here.

Special issue on financial activities of purported terrorists

Here is the release of Volume VII, Issue 4 (August 2013) of Perspectives on Terrorism at www.terrorismanalysts.com. This is a special "single theme" issue, offering insights and analyses about the financial activities of terrorists, with a particular emphasis on one of the world's most powerful and well-financed groups-the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah. In the first piece, Michael Freeman and Moyara Reuhsen offer a brief tour through the complex world of terrorist strategies for raising and moving funds. Then Matthew Levitt offers a case study of Hezbollah's European criminal enterprises. Joel Hernandez follows him with a detailed case study of the intersections between Hezbollah and global trafficking networks, including the infamous Mexican cartel Los Zetas.

Contents

Terrorism Financing Methods: An Overview by Michael Freeman and Moyara Reuhsen

Hezbollah's Organized Criminal Enterprises in Europe by Matthew Levitt

Terrorism, Drug Trafficking and the Globalization of Supply by Joel Hernández

Draining the Ocean to Catch one Type of Fish: Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Counter-Terrorism Financing Regime by Aimen Dean, Edwina Thompson, & Tom Keatinge

The Art of Searching: How to Find Terrorism Literature in the Digital Age by Judith Tinnes

Literature and Online Resources on the Financing of Terrorism, Compiled and selected by Eric Price

The true true size of Africa

LAST month Kai Krause, a computer-graphics guru, caused a stir with a map entitled "The True Size of Africa", which showed the outlines of other countries crammed into the outline of the African continent. His aim was to make "a small contribution in the fight against rampant Immappancy"—in particular, the fact that most people do not realise how much the ubiquitous Mercator projection distorts the relative sizes of countries.

A sphere cannot be represented on a flat plane without distortion, which means all map projections distort in one way or another. Some projections show areas accurately but distort distances or scales, for example; others preserve the shapes of countries but misrepresent their areas.

More from The Economist.

Why Are Cities Growing Again?

Why are the nation's urban centers growing again? The reasons are complex and not easily explained, often resulting in circular arguments such as "Millennials apparently drive less because they prefer walkable places and they prefer walkable places because they drive less," says Robert Steuteville, editor and publisher of Better! Cities and Towns.

Steuteville unravels the mystery of why cities are growing in one of the most insightful pieces on the topic to date, Why Are Young Adults Returning to the City?. He thinks four factors are behind the growing preference for urban life.

1. Millennials "looked around their home towns and saw something missing," says Steuteville. Take a drive and you soon see what he means. In the decades since the baby-boom generation populated small town and suburban America, those areas have lost their soul.

More from Cheryl Russell's Demo Memo blog.

6.5 Percent of All Humans Ever Born are Still Alive Today

It is estimated that the number of humans who have been born in the last fifty thousand years (when modern humans appeared) is near 107 billion. But the percentage of humans ever born who are alive today is 6.5 percent. Not only is this astonishing, but there are 22 other astonishing facts revealed HERE.

Few Plan for College Expenses

Description from the New Strategist:

Only 43 percent of American families know how they will pay for college before their child enrolls in school, according to the latest Sallie Mae report, How America Pays for College 2013. The college cost "surprise" that greets many families as their child heads out the door is one factor behind the rise in student debt.

The typical family with an 18-to-24-year-old enrolled in an undergraduate program paid $21,178 for college in the 2012-13 school year. The funds came from a combination of parent income and savings ($5,727), loans ($5,760), grants and scholarships ($6,355), student income ($2,284), and gifts from relatives and friends ($1,053).

And in a similar vein, The One Comic That Explains Just How Screwed America Is.

Do Americans Believe Capitalism and Government Are Working?

Description by American Consumers: August 2013

A survey of religious beliefs combined with economic and social attitudes finds Americans falling into four philosophical camps:

38% religious moderates
28% religious conservatives
19% religious progressives
15% nonreligious

Not surprisingly, these four groups differ in size by political party, according to the timely report, Do Americans Believe Capitalism and Government Are Working? by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution.

Tax Department Launches Statewide STAR Registration

The New York State Tax Department unveiled an easy, fast and secure online STAR Registration platform for homeowners currently receiving the Basic STAR property tax exemption. The system will facilitate Governor Cuomo's 2013-14 Budget initiative to save New York taxpayers millions by eliminating inappropriate STAR property tax exemptions.

Homeowners will not have to register in order to receive their 2013 STAR exemptions.
Homeowners will not have to re-register every year. Based on the information provided in the registration process, the Tax Department will monitor homeowners' eligibility in future years.

You can register for the STAR exemption online. You'll need to:
provide a STAR code (we're mailing codes to all Basic STAR recipients; or you can use the STAR code lookup)
provide the names and social security numbers for all owners of the property and spouses
confirm that the property is the primary residence of one of its owners (married couples with multiple residences may only claim one STAR exemption)
confirm that the combined income of the owners and their spouses who reside at the property does not exceed $500,000
confirm that no resident owner received a residency-based tax benefit from another state

You can also register by calling (518) 457-2036

Registration started on August 19, 2013 and will continue through December 31, 2013.

Senior citizens

Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not affected by the new registration requirement. Seniors must, however, continue to:

apply annually, or
participate in the Income Verification Program


More information HERE.

Addendum: as of 8/21/2013, residences in the following localities were not currently available via the lookup, and may have to wait for the letter, or come back.
Dutchess County
City of Geneva
Nassau County
Putnam County
Rockland County
Sullivan County
Suffolk County
Westchester County

On being ‘right’ in science

From PLOS:

The other day I was standing around with a few friends arguing about ergonomics (these are the things you do when you’re a graduate scientist). At one point, my friend referenced a presentation that was chock full of the worst kinds of sensationalist science writing (it said that the act of sitting was literally killing you).

As a scientist and writer myself, I jumped all over the presentation, calling it sham science, and pointing out the many ways in which it was confusing or obscuring the truth. Expecting to be met with nodding approval, I instead faced several annoyed looks and the strong feeling that I was being wished out of the room. I didn’t understand what was wrong – they had presented a piece of evidence, and I had summarily shot it down. Isn’t that what arguing is all about? Instead of feeling right, I felt like a jerk.

And then I realized something: it didn’t matter whether I was right; nobody was listening to me anymore.

Many scientists run into this situation on a daily basis, but understanding this problem digs into one of the biggest crises facing scientific research today: there’s a difference between being right and being persuasive. The first entails having the facts straight, and the second means convincing someone else to believe them.

...

Consider the fact that scientific theory and uninformed hand waving are often presented as equal and opposing sides to an argument in the media. Clearly, we are not getting the message across to the public that science is not opinion, it is an argument grounded in facts. It’s incredibly important to think about how we phrase our understanding of the world, as well as how we can make our ideas more relevant, interesting, and clear to the public. Don’t believe me? Just ask the climate scientists.

MAPS: What Your State Is Good At, And What It's Lame At

From Upworthy:

Just when you thought you knew everything about a red state or a blue state, these cool maps show that each state is No. 1 in some kind of environmental or public health initiative.

Population of New York State by County, 1790 to 1990

From Empire State Development.

Population counts from the federal Decennial Census of Population. The first Census was taken in 1790 and has been taken every 10 years since that time. Population figures include total resident population as of the given date.

NOTES ON BOUNDARY CHANGES:
Bronx County
- Organized from part of New York in 1914.
Chemung County
- Part taken to form part of Schuyler in 1854.
Essex County
- Part annexed to Hamilton and part of Hamilton annexed in 1915.
Hamilton County
- Part annexed to Essex and part of Essex annexed in 1915.
Kings County
- Part of Queens annexed in 1915.
Nassau County
- Organized from part of Queens in 1899.
New York County
- Parts of Westchester annexed in 1873 and 1895; part taken to form Bronx in 1914.
Queens County
- Part taken to form Nassau in 1899; part annexed to Kings in 1915.
Schuyler County
- Organized from parts of Chemung, Steuben, and Tompkins in 1854.
Steuben County
- Part taken to form part of Schuyler in 1854.
Tompkins County
- Part taken to form part of Schuyler in 1854.
Westchester County
- Parts annexed to New York in 1873 and 1895

Histomaps of 4,000 years of human civilization and 10,000 years of evolution

From BoingBoing:
John B. Sparks' 1931 Histomap charted 4,000 years of human civilization with beautiful, reductive clarity. Here's John Brownlee, at Fast Company: "From a modern perspective, Sparks’ Histomap will raise a few eyebrows. For one, it subscribes to an outdated (but, at the time, quite in vogue) idea about how different cultures throughout history could be grouped into various 'peoples.' The chart also underestimates or omits certain cultures that historians at the time didn’t truly appreciate the importance of... It seems hard to find in print form at a reasonable price. I've embedded an enormous 2MB image."

Also from BoingBoing:
Sparks also made a version charting the evolutionary tree. "Embedded below is a great big 5MB JPG of the evolutionary map, spotted by Slate's Rebecca Onion at Samphan Sittiwantana's Pinterest page."

NSA Surveillance Leaks: Background and Issues for Congress

From the Congressional Research Service via Federation of American Scientists

Recent attention concerning National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance pertains to unauthorized disclosures of two different intelligence collection programs. Since these programs were publicly disclosed over the course of two days in June, there has been confusion about what information is being collected and what authorities the NSA is acting under. This report clarifies the differences between the two programs and identifies potential issues that may help Members of Congress assess legislative proposals pertaining to NSA surveillance authorities.

One program collects in bulk the phone records—specifically the number that was dialed from, the number that was dialed to, and the date and duration of the call—of customers of Verizon Wireless and possibly other U.S. telephone service providers. It does not collect the content of the calls or the identity of callers. The data are collected pursuant to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT ACT, which amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978....

The other program collects the electronic communications, including content, of foreign targets overseas whose communications flow through American networks. The Director of National Intelligence has acknowledged that data are collected pursuant to Section 702 of FISA. As described, the program may not intentionally target any person known at the time of acquisition to be located in the United States, which is prohibited by Section 702. Beyond that, the scope of the intelligence collection, the type of information collected and companies involved, and the way in which it is collected remain unclear. Section 702 was added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Prior to the enactment of Section 702, FISA only permitted sustained domestic electronic surveillance or access to domestic electronically stored communications after the issuance of a FISC order that was specific to the target.

MORE.

53 Million Hispanics Constitute 17 percent of US Population

From Hispanic Business:

By 2060, the Census Bureau projects, the U.S. Hispanic population will be almost 129 million, or 31 percent of the nation's population at that time.

As of 2010, only Mexico's 112 million had a larger Hispanic population than the United States.

Sixty-five percent of the Hispanic-origin people in the United States who were of Mexican background in 2011, while 9.4 percent were of Puerto Rican background, 3.8 percent Salvadoran, 3.6 percent Cuban, 3.0 percent Dominican and 2.3 percent Guatemalan. The remainder was of some other Central American, South American or other Hispanic/Latino origin, the Census Bureau said.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas all have a population of 1 million or more Hispanic residents in 2012.

Construction: square foot cost estimate to build your particular project

Is there a book or other resource which gives construction costs per square foot for different types of building projects?

"An accurate estimate of the costs to build your particular project depends upon the location, project scope, specific components used and current market conditions and is available on RSMeansOnline.com. But cost estimates are available for certain building types here.

State Tax Revenues Up But Volatility Continues

Albany, N.Y.- States' tax collections have been growing for 13 straight quarters now. While inflation-adjusted state tax revenues are presently above the recessionary peaks, states continue to face fiscal challenges, particularly due to artificially propped-up personal income tax revenues, according to the latest State Revenue Report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

State tax revenues were up 8.6 percent for the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012, according to the report by Lucy Dadayan and Donald J. Boyd. States reported the largest growth in personal income tax collections at 18.4 percent, largely due to the acceleration of income into calendar year 2012.

State Education Department Releases Grades 3-8 Assessment Results

Message from Commissioner King

Dear Colleague:

This week, we are releasing the results of the April 2013 grades 3-8 math and English Language Arts (ELA) assessments. This year's state assessments are the first for New York students to measure the Common Core State Standards that were adopted by the State Board of Regents in 2010. As expected, the percentage of students deemed proficient will be significantly lower than in 2011-12. This change in scores -- which will effectively create a new baseline measurement of student learning -- is largely the result of the shift in the assessments to measure the Common Core State Standards, which more accurately reflect students' progress toward college and career readiness.

There are those who will use the change in students' proficiency rates to attack teachers and principals. That's just plain wrong. I've said over and over again: the change in proficiency rates does not mean teachers are teaching less or that students are learning less than last year. That's why we've made sure the scores will not negatively impact teacher, principal or school accountability. No new districts will be identified as Focus Districts and no new schools will be identified as Priority schools based on 2012-13 assessment results. The student growth scores used in teacher and principal evaluation will result in similar proportions of educators earning each rating category (Highly Effective, etc.) for student growth in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12, despite the change in students who score at proficiency. This is in large part because the State's student growth model takes into consideration changes in student performance compared to "similar" students (i.e. students with similar characteristics and academic histories). Therefore, all educators will have a chance to do well, regardless of the changing rigor of the test.

Last week, I sent a memo to school district superintendents across the state, reminding them that this is the first year of the new assessments and recommending judicious and thoughtful use of each measure of the State's multiple measures evaluation system.

The new assessments are a much better, more accurate tool for educators, students, and parents as they work together to prepare students for 21st century colleges and careers. The results are consistent with other indicators of the college and career readiness of New York State students, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), NYS student performance on the SAT and PSAT, and college and career ready scores on New York State's high school Regents exams.

Chancellor Tisch has said these scores represent a new baseline and a new beginning. We have just finished the first year of a dramatic shift in teaching and learning. The Chancellor and the Board of Regents understand that teachers, principals, superintendents and school boards have worked extraordinarily hard to implement the Common Core. They also understand that with the right tools, the right training, and continuous feedback and support, our teachers - the best teaching force in the country - will make sure all our students are prepared for college and career success in the 21st century.

I understand these scores are sobering for teachers and principals. It's frustrating to see our children struggle. But we can't allow ourselves to be paralyzed by frustration; we must be energized by this opportunity. The results we've announced today are not a critique of past efforts; they're a new starting point on a roadmap to future success. Our students face very real challenges. But it's better to have our students challenged now - with caring teachers there to help -- than frustrated later when they start college or try to find a job and discover they are unprepared.

Over the last year, I've traveled all across the state, visiting hundreds of classrooms, meeting hundreds of teachers, watching first-hand as they implemented Common Core. I know how hard you work to help your students succeed.. We want to support that work. That's why we've been building strong supports and resources on www.EngageNY.org. You might find some of them particularly useful, including:

A Parent Toolkit to help you communicate with parents about the Common Core and why NYS has chosen to move in this direction;
The TriState rubric for evaluating curriculum materials against the Common Core;
A video series on the instructional Shifts demanded by the Common Core;
Videos of Common Core instruction from across New York State;
A Video of a speech I recently made on the standards and their importance;
Curriculum modules and resources to support your own professional development around their use;
Assessment design materials;
Resources to better understand the 3-8 assessments and results, including annotated test items to be posted later this week; and
A set of expectations and metrics for the work of teachers, principals, superintendents, Network Teams, and District Superintendents.

We've also included a number of resources for parents to help them understand the importance of the Common Core and to help them communicate that importance to their children. Please make sure you visit the EngageNY site often. New resources and videos are added almost daily.

We all share the same goal: to make sure all students in New York have the skills and knowledge to be successful in college and careers. With the Common Core, we're building a ladder toward that goal. The assessment scores are a measure of where our students are on that ladder and give us all a clearer, more accurate picture of the climb ahead.

Dr. John B. King, Jr.
Commissioner

Follow me on Twitter @JohnKingNYSED

What Languages are Spoken in Your Area?

Did you know that more than 300 different languages are spoken in the United States? A new report and mapping tool released by the U.S. Census Bureau takes a detailed look at many of the most popular languages spoken at home in America.

Of the 292 million people age 5 and older in the U.S. in 2011, 60.6 million individuals, or 21 percent, reported speaking a language other than English at home. This number grew by 158 percent from 1980 to 2010, while the nation’s overall population age 5 years and older grew by 38 percent. Check out this viz-of-the-week to see which languages grew the most.

The statistics show us not only that people spoke a language other than English at home, but also how well they spoke English.

If you are wondering what languages are spoken in your community, you can look it up with a new tool. The 2011 Language Mapper illustrates the geographic concentration of the population speaking 15 individual languages. The mapper, which uses data collected in the American Community Survey from 2007 to 2011, also shows, for each of these languages, the concentration of those who spoke English less than “very well.”


More from the Census Bureau.

Pew Report On Adult Social Networking Use

Today, 72% of online adults use social networking sites. Although younger adults continue to be the most likely social media users, one of the more striking stories about the social networking population has been the growth among older internet users in recent years. Those ages 65 and older have roughly tripled their presence on social networking sites in the last four years—from 13% in the spring of 2009 to 43% now.

The percentage of internet users who are on Twitter has more than doubled since November 2010, currently standing at 18%. Internet users ages 18-29 are the most likely to use Twitter—30% of them now do so.

More HERE.

Thompson Confirmed as Census Bureau Director

The United States Senate confirmed John H. Thompson on August 1 as the new director of the U.S. Census Bureau by unanimous consent. Thompson, who was nominated by President Obama on May 23, 2013 has been an executive at the National Opinion Research Center for the past 11 years, serving as president and CEO since 2008.

Before joining NORC at the University of Chicago, Thompson was a Census Bureau employee from 1975 to 2002 and oversaw the 2000 Census. He succeeds Robert Groves, who left office in August 2012 to become provost of Georgetown University. Following the departure of Groves, former Deputy Director Thomas L. Mesenbourg served as Acting Director. Mesenbourg had previously announced his long-planned retirement, which is effective August 2.

As Census Bureau Director, Thompson will oversee the nearly 180 surveys the Census Bureau conducts annually. He takes office at a critical juncture in the planning process for the 2020 Census, as the agency begins researching and testing new and more cost-effective methods that potentially will save billions of dollars.

“I congratulate John Thompson on his confirmation as director of the U.S. Census Bureau, and thank the U.S. Senate for confirming him quickly. Given his previous roles at the Census Bureau beginning in the 1970s, I have full confidence that Mr. Thompson will be a tremendous leader of one of the nation’s premier statistical agencies,” said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

“The Census Bureau produces a wealth of data that are critical to America’s public and private sector leaders as they make decisions about economic development that will create jobs. I am committed to ensuring that the Census Bureau has the resources it needs to continue supplying essential data to businesses and government leaders. I look forward to working with John Thompson and his team as they undertake the years of preparations required for a successful 2020 Census and continue to develop innovative ways to produce and distribute vital information,” added Secretary Pritzker.

“It’s a tremendous honor and privilege to return to public service as the Director of the Census Bureau, one of the most important organizations in the federal statistical system, as well as a place that holds warm memories for me,” said Thompson. “As America forges its data-driven future, the Census Bureau must lead the way by tracking emerging trends, developing more efficient processes and embracing new technologies for planning and executing the 2020 Census and its other surveys that are so important to the nation. As Director, I will use all of my skills, intellect and experience to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability that allows the Census Bureau to serve the public’s needs and meet the challenges of this dynamic new environment.”

Thompson participated on 2010 Census design and review panels sponsored by the Committee on National Statistics. He is also an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association, and has been elected to serve a three-year term as a member of the Committee on National Statistics at the National Academies of Science. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from Virginia Tech.

Broadband, Let's Get Real by Bob Scardamalia

The federal government says I should have no trouble getting broadband Internet service. My experience says otherwise.

I know many folks in rural America could tell similar stories. Here's mine:

I live only 30 miles from Albany, the capital of New York, and about two miles outside of a rural hamlet in the foothills of the Catskills. Even though our county (Albany) has more than 300,000 residents and is in a metropolitan statistical area, our more sparsely populated part of the county doesn’t have cable or DSL broadband access.

More at The Daily Yonder

Survey of Public Pensions: State Data

The Survey of Public Pensions: State-Administered Defined Benefit Data provides revenues, expenditures, financial assets, membership, and liabilities information for defined benefit public pension systems. Data are shown by state, for the state-administered systems. There are 227 state-administered defined benefit public pension systems, all of which are represented here.

Only the State data from the State & Local data product are comparable with the State data product.

2011 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

In June 2011, the FDIC sponsored the second National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households to collect data on the number of U.S. households that are unbanked and underbanked, their demographic characteristics, and their reasons for being unbanked and underbanked. This survey was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a special supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The first survey was conducted in January 2009 and results were released on December 2009. Teamed with the rich demographic and geographic data available through the CPS, this survey continues to present a wealth of previously unavailable data on unbanked and underbanked households are available at the national, state, and large metropolitan statistical area (MSA) levels. It is hoped that these survey results will help better inform policymakers and the industry about economic inclusion issues, and promote the goal of ensuring that all Americans have access to basic, safe, and affordable bank services.

The FDIC undertook this effort to address a gap in the availability of comprehensive data on the number of unbanked and underbanked households in the United States. The FDIC also conducted this survey to comply with Section 7 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Conforming Amendments Act of 2005 that requires it to conduct ongoing surveys of banks efforts to serve the unbanked and provide insights into the size of the unbanked and underbanked markets. Some of the key overall findings from the 2011 include:

8.2 percent of US households are unbanked. This represents 1 in 12 households in the nation, or nearly 10 million in total.
20.1 percent of US households are underbanked. This represents one in five households, or 24 million households. The 2011 underbanked rate in 2011 is higher than the 2009 rate of 18.2 percent, although the proportions are not directly comparable because of differences in the two surveys.
29.3 percent of households do not have a savings account, while about 10 percent do not have a checking account. About two-thirds of households have both checking and savings accounts.

More from FDIC.

HUD USPS ZIP Code Crosswalk Files

One of the many challenges that social science researchers and practitioners face is the difficulty of relating United States Postal Service (USPS) ZIP codes to Census Bureau geographies. There are valuable data available only at the ZIP code level that, when combined with demographic data tabulated at various Census geography levels, could open up new avenues of exploration.

While some acceptable methods of combining ZIP codes and Census geography exist, they have limitations. To provide additional avenues for merging these data, PD&R has released the HUD-USPS Crosswalk Files. These unique files are derived from data in the quarterly USPS Vacancy Data. They originate directly from the USPS; are updated quarterly, making them highly responsive to changes in ZIP code configurations; and reflect the locations of both business and residential addresses. The latter feature is of particular interest to housing researchers because many of the phenomena that they study are based on housing unit or address. By using an allocation method based on residential addresses rather than by area or by population, analysts can take into account not only the spatial distribution of population, but also the spatial distribution of residences. This enables a slightly more nuanced approach to allocating data between disparate geographies.

More HERE.

Segregation/Intergration Data: 2010 Dissimilarity Indices for Sixty-Two Places in NYS

From the Herkimer and Oneida census guru, Dale Miller:

Here are the most Dissimilarity Indices for 62 New York State places based on the 2010 Census. There are basically three sets of indices in this single table: Dissimilarity indices between non-Hispanic whites and blacks, non-Hispanic whites and Asians, and Non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. The Dissimilarity Index is the most commonly used measure of segregation between two groups, reflecting their relative distributions across neighborhoods within a city or metropolitan area. It can range in value from 0, indicating complete integration, to 100, indicating complete segregation. In most cities and metro areas, however, the values are somewhere between those extremes.

In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters

From the New York Times:

A new study other researchers are calling the most detailed portrait yet of income mobility in the United States.

The study — based on millions of anonymous earnings records and being released this week by a team of top academic economists — is the first with enough data to compare upward mobility across metropolitan areas. These comparisons provide some of the most powerful evidence so far about the factors that seem to drive people’s chances of rising beyond the station of their birth, including education, family structure and the economic layout of metropolitan areas.

Climbing the income ladder occurs less often in the Southeast and industrial Midwest, the data shows, with the odds notably low in Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus. By contrast, some of the highest rates occur in the Northeast, Great Plains and West, including in New York, Boston, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Seattle and large swaths of California and Minnesota.

“Where you grow up matters,” said Nathaniel Hendren, a Harvard economist and one of the study’s authors. “There is tremendous variation across the U.S. in the extent to which kids can rise out of poverty.”

That variation does not stem simply from the fact that some areas have higher average incomes: upward mobility rates, Mr. Hendren added, often differ sharply in areas where average income is similar, like Atlanta and Seattle.

Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26

This week marks the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities in public accommodations, commercial facilities, employment, transportation, state and local government services and telecommunications.

Population Distribution

56.7 million
Number of people with a disability living in the United States in 2010. They represented 19 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Disabilities include, for instance, having difficulty seeing, hearing, having speech understood, walking, bathing, dressing, eating, preparing meals, going outside the home, or doing housework, having Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism, cerebral palsy, or dyslexia, and being frequently depressed or anxious.
By age —
• 8 percent of children under 15 had disabilities.
• 21 percent of people 15 and older had disabilities.
• 17 percent of people 21 to 64 had disabilities.
• 50 percent of adults 65 and older had disabilities.
Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
20%
Percentage of females with a disability, compared with 17 percent of males.

Where They Live
19%
Percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in West Virginia with a disability ─ the highest rate of any state in the nation. Utah, at 9 percent, had the lowest rate. Source: 2011 American Community Survey, Table R1810

Specific Disabilities
7.6 million
Number of people 15 and older who had a hearing difficulty. Among people 65 and older, 4 million had difficulty hearing. Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
8.1 million
Number of people 15 and older with a vision difficulty. Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
30.6 million
Number of people 15 and older who had difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
3.6 million
Number of people 15 and older who used a wheelchair to assist with mobility. This compares with 11.6 million people who used a cane, crutches or walker. Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
2.4 million
Number of people 15 and older who had Alzheimer’s disease, senility or dementia. Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
12.0 million
Number of people 15 and older who required the assistance of others in order to perform one or more activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, doing housework, and preparing meals.Source: Americans with Disabilities: 2010

On the Job
33%
Percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population 18 to 64 with a disability who were employed. Source: 2011 American Community Survey, Table B18120
53%
Percentage of the civilian labor force with a disability who worked as either service workers (except protective services), with 18.2 percent, administrative support (15.1 percent), sales workers (10.4 percent) and management, business and finance (8.9 percent). Source: Disability Employment Tabulation, from 2008-2010 American Community Survey
315,000
The number of janitors and building cleaners with a disability ─ the most common occupation for people with disabilities. Among occupations with 100,000 or more people, dishwashers had the highest disability rate, with 14.3 percent. Source: Disability Employment Tabulation, from 2008-2010 American Community Survey

Earnings and Poverty

$19,735
Median earnings in the past 12 months for people with a disability. This compares with $30,285 for those without a disability. Source: 2011 American Community Survey, Table B18140
323,000
Number of employed people with disabilities earning $100,000 or more annually. This amounts to 4 percent of all people with disabilities who were employed, compared with 8 percent of people without a disability who were employed. Source: Disability Employment Tabulation, from 2008-2010 American Community Survey, Table Set 7A
23%
Percentage of people with a disability who were in poverty. By comparison, those without a disability had a poverty rate of 15 percent. Source: 2011 American Community Survey, Table B18130

Government Assistance

30%
Among people who received income-based government assistance, the percentage who had a disability; 18 percent of assistance recipients had difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Source: Disability Characteristics of Income-Based Government Assistance Recipients in the United States: 2011(from American Community Survey)
57%
Percentage of assistance recipients with a disability who received only in-kind assistance. By comparison, 2 percent received cash assistance only and 41 percent received both kinds. Source: Disability Characteristics of Income-Based Government Assistance Recipients in the United States: 2011 (from American Community Survey)
58%
Among people who received both cash and in-kind assistance, the percentage who had a disability. Source: Disability Characteristics of Income-Based Government Assistance Recipients in the United States: 2011 (from American Community Survey)
42%
The percentage of income-based assistance recipients in West Virginia who had a disability, which led all states. Arizona ranked the lowest, at 25 percent. Source: Disability Characteristics of Income-Based Government Assistance Recipients in the United States: 2011 (from American Community Survey)

Health Insurance

10%
Percentage of people with a disability who lacked health insurance. Those without a disability were more likely to be without coverage (16 percent). Source: 2011 American Community Survey, Table B18135

National Transportation Atlas Databases 2013

The National Transportation Atlas Databases 2013 (NTAD2013) is a set of nationwide geographic databases of transportation facilities, transportation networks, and associated infrastructure. These datasets include spatial information for transportation modal networks and intermodal terminals, as well as the related attribute informa- tion for these features. Metadata documentation, as prescribed by the International Organization of Standards, is also provided for each database. The data support research, analysis, and decision-making across all modes of transportation. They are most useful at the national level, but have major applications at regional, State, and local scales throughout the transportation community.

Capital Punishment, 2011 – Statistical Tables

At yearend 2011, 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons held 3,082 inmates under sentence of death, which was 57 fewer than at yearend 2010 (figure 1). This represents the eleventh consecutive year in which the number of inmates
under sentence of death decreased.

Four states (California, Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania) held more than half of all inmates on death row on December 31, 2011. The Federal Bureau of Prisons held 56 inmates under sentence of death at yearend.

Of prisoners under sentence of death at yearend, 55% were white and 42% were black. The 387 Hispanic inmates under sentence of death accounted for 14% of inmates with a known ethnicity. Ninety-eight percent of inmates under sentence of death were male, and 2% were female. The race and sex of inmates under sentence of death has remained relatively unchanged since 2000.

More from Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Vital Statistics on Congress

For more than three decades, Vital Statistics on Congress, a joint effort undertaken by Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Tom Mann of Brookings, in collaboration with Michael Malbin of the Campaign Finance Institute, has been a go-to reference guide for Congressional watchers for impartial data on Congress and its members.

Vital Statistics’ purpose has always been to collect useful data on our first branch of government – in the election and composition of its membership as well as its formal procedure, such as the use of the filibuster, informal norms, party structure and staff. This dataset also documents the increasing polarization of Congress and the demographics of those who serve in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives

Sequestration-Related Budget Cuts; Regional, State, and Local Impacts

C2ER has compiled a brief summary of sequestration-related budget cuts by government agency. These items were chosen specifically for their potential impact on regional/state, and local programs.

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS) - BEA eliminated the RIMS II product in FY 2013. RIMS II provides modeling estimates to the private sector, Federal, state, and local governments on changes in economic activity.

Local Area Personal Income Statistics (LAPI) - BEA also eliminated detailed statistics within its LAPI program. This is the only source for county and metropolitan area personal income statistics.

Foreign Direct Investment Analytical Products - BEA eliminated analytical activities related to FDI and the operations of multinational companies (MNCs), affecting some annual publications as well as occasional topical papers. BEA also stopped publishing analytical products that provide insight into offshoring, the impact of MNCs on the domestic economy, and the impact of global value chains for measuring economic activity.

Find more information here.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Measuring Green Jobs - The BLS eliminated the Measuring Green Jobs products. This includes the special employer surveys that provide data on the occupations and wages of jobs related to green technologies and practices, as well as career information related to green jobs.

Mass Layoff Statistics Program - Also eliminates is the mass layoff program that provides information identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks in the economy.

International Labor Comparisons Program - The International Labor Comparisons (ILC) program has also been eliminated. This program adjusts foreign data to a common framework of concepts, definitions, and classifications to facilitate data comparisons between the United States and other countries.

Find more information here.

Census Bureau

Economic Programs - A six-month delay in the delivery of over 1,600 Economic Census products due to staffing reductions at the National Processing Center and Census headquarters.

2020 Decennial Census Programs - Budget cuts mean that Census cannot carry out the planned research and testing needed for work on design options for the 2020 Census. Reduced funding levels also force the delay of preparatory work related to the FY 2014 field tests, delaying the acquisition of information needed to make design decisions in FY 2015 for the 2020 Census.

Geographic Support Program - Reductions will delay decisions about the viability of cost-saving designs associated with the 2020 Census address canvassing operation, scheduled for later in the decade.

American Community Survey - Cuts to the American Community Survey (ACS) eliminate much needed investments in the ACS processing infrastructure, program management, and research program.

Demographic Programs - Cuts to these programs prevent the implementation of new supplemental poverty measures. These cuts will also delay data releases for the 2014 panel for the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Find more information here.

Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Annual Energy Review - The EIA has suspended publication of the Annual Energy Review and its companion publication, Energy Perspectives.

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) - Delayed to FY 2014. It has also delayed upgrades to its critical weekly petroleum and natural gas statistical reports.

EIA's FY 2013 and FY 2014 Budget Requests to Congress can be viewed here.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) - The National Agricultural Statistics Service is suspending a number of statistical surveys and reports.

Find more information here.

USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)

Agricultural Productivity in the U.S. - Updates of the State-level statistics are suspended.

County-Level Data Sets (“County Look-Up Tables”) - Updates of socioeconomic indicators in this format will be phased out.

Find more information here.

Characteristics of Private and Public Schools; School Safety; Postsecondary Info

From the National Center for Education Statistics:

Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2011–12 Private School Universe Survey
Characteristics of Public School Districts in the United States: Results From the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey
The Nation's Report Card: Trends in Academic Progress
Postsecondary Institutions and Price of Attendance in 2012-13; Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2011-12; and 12-Month Enrollment: 2011-12: First Look (Provisional Data)


From the Bureau of Justice Statistics:

Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2012

World Statistics Pocketbook 2013 Edition

From the United Nations

The World Statistics Pocketbook is an annual compilation of key economic, social and environmental indicators, presented in one-page profiles. This edition includes country profiles for 216 countries or areas of the world. Prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, it responds to General Assembly resolution 2626 (XXV), in which the Secretary-General is requested to supply basic national data that will increase international public awareness of countries' development efforts.

The indicators shown are selected from the wealth of international statistical information compiled regularly by the Statistics Division and the Population Division of the United Nations, the statistical services of the United Nations specialized agencies and other international organizations and institutions.

Health stats: medical visits, heart disease, Rx, C-sections, more

From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Dental Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2010
Estimates of Health Care Expenditures for the 10 Largest States, 2010
Heart Disease Among Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010
Heart Disease Among Near Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010
MEPS HC-144B: 2011 Dental Visits
MEPS HC-144C: 2011 Other Medical Expenses
MEPS HC-144H: 2011 Home Health File
Origin of Adverse Drug Events in U.S. Hospitals, 2011
Overview of Children in the Emergency Department, 2010
Prescription Drug Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2010


National Center for Health Statistics

Births: Final Data for 2011
Changes in Cesarean Delivery Rates by Gestational Age: United States, 1996–2011
Disability Questions Tests 2012 File

Exports from 50 U.S. Metropolitan Areas Topped $1 Trillion in 2012

From the U.S. Department of Commerce:


For the first time ever, the Houston metropolitan area ranked No. 1, with total exports of $110 billion (an increase of 5.6 percent over 2011). The New York City metro area ranked second with $102 billion in exports. Thirty-one of the top 50 metropolitan area exporters recorded positive growth in exports between 2011 and 2012. Twenty-nine of these areas set record export highs last year.

Among the top 25 metropolitan areas, the Washington, D.C., metro area recorded the highest growth between 2011 and 2012, increasing exports by nearly 43 percent. Other metropolitan areas that exhibited high growth in exports included San Antonio (up more than 33 percent from 2011), and Seattle (up more than 22 percent from 2011).


Top 10 Metropolitan Area

1. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

2. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA

3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA

4. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI

5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL

7. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI

8. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

9. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

10. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

U.S. Auto Sales

From the Wall Street Journal.

The Rise of Single Fathers: A Ninefold Increase Since 1960

From Pew Research Center:

A record 8% of households with minor children in the United States are headed by a single father, up from just over 1% in 1960, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Decennial Census and American Community Survey data.
The number of single father households has increased about ninefold since 1960, from less than 300,000 to more than 2.6 million in 2011.1 In comparison, the number of single mother households increased more than fourfold during that time period, up to 8.6 million in 2011, from 1.9 million in 1960.

As a result, men make up a growing share of single parent householders.2 In 1960, about 14% of single parent households were headed by fathers, today almost one-quarter (24%) are.

Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.

This data product summarizes the adoption of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant crops since their introduction in 1996.

The tables for corn, cotton, and soybeans, provide data obtained by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in the June Agricultural Survey for 2000 through 2013.

Many people are interested in information about global genetically engineered (GE) acreage. USDA does not collect these data. Estimates are produced by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and can be found in the report, Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2012.

Median Price of Homes Purchased Rose 2.3 Percent to $110,000,

Homeowners in the U.S. paid a median price of $110,000 for their homes, according to a 2011 American Housing Survey profile released today. This is an increase of 2.3 percent from the $107,500 reported in the 2009 survey. The median purchase price of homes constructed in the past four years was higher at $235,000, down 2.1 percent from the $240,000 reported for new construction in 2009.

The profile released today provides information on the nation’s housing costs, mortgages and a variety of other physical and financial characteristics about housing in the U.S. The statistics come from the American Housing Survey, which is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, and is the most comprehensive housing survey in the United States. National data are collected every odd-numbered year and metropolitan area data are collected on a rotating basis. The Census Bureau also released profiles for 29 selected metro areas.

“The last five years remind us how central housing is to each of us personally, to the fiscal health of our cities and counties, and the national economy. For 40 years, the American Housing Survey has provided a unique set of data that connects the detailed characteristics of who is living in homes to the detailed characteristics of the homes themselves,” said Kurt Usowski, HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs. “From the American Housing Survey, we can see why people chose to move, how often homes need repairs, and the extent to which housing costs are outpacing income growth. All this information can help inform policymaking around continued recovery in the U.S. and in metropolitan areas around the country.”

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with HUD on these profiles,” said the Census Bureau's Arthur Cresce, Jr., Assistant Division Chief for Housing Characteristics. “Analysts in government and business study the nation's housing very closely and the AHS yields a wealth of information that can be used by professionals in nearly every field for planning, decision-making, and market research.”

Some highlights for the U.S. include:

Physical Characteristics
--The median year occupied homes were built in the U.S. was 1974.
--Nationally, piped gas was the most prevalent home heating source, used by 50.4 percent of occupied homes. Electricity was used by 35.3 percent.
--Among owner-occupied homes in the U.S., 46.3 percent had working carbon monoxide detectors.
--Among all U.S. homes, 72.5 percent of owner-occupied units had central air.

Financial Characteristics
--Median monthly expenditures for homeowners in the U.S. totaled $151 for real estate taxes, $121 for electricity and $58 for property insurance.
--Among U.S. owner-occupied homes, 65.4 percent had a regular and/or home equity mortgage and 23.4 percent had a refinanced primary mortgage.
--The median monthly mortgage payment for homeowners was $1,015 in 2011.

Firearms Reported Lost and Stolen

From the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

The report gives an overview, for calendar year 2012, of the lost and stolen gun file entries in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and of the lost and stolen firearm reports submitted by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to ATF. This report will be updated and published annually.
Lost and stolen firearms pose a substantial threat to public safety and to law enforcement. Those that steal firearms commit violent crimes with stolen guns, transfer stolen firearms to others who commit crimes, and create an unregulated secondary market for firearms, including a market for those who are prohibited by law from possessing a gun. Moreover, thieves and illicit traffickers often obliterate the serial numbers of stolen firearms so that if a stolen firearm is later recovered by law enforcement, it cannot identified as stolen or traced to the original purchaser. Lost firearms pose a similar threat. Like stolen firearms, they are most often bought and sold in an unregulated secondary market where law enforcement is unable to trace transactions. As a result, when a lost or stolen gun is later recovered from a crime scene, tracing (which only identifies the original manufacturer, the licensed dealer who sold the firearm, and the original purchaser) will not provide a direct link to the perpetrator of the crime

Map of local word for "beer" in each European country

The Essential Map of Europe and Environs, if you drink beer.

Global and Regional Estimates of Violence against Women

Source: World Health Organization

From the Press Release:

The report [PDF] details the impact of violence on the physical and mental health of women and girls. This can range from broken bones to pregnancy-related complications, mental problems and impaired social functioning....

The report’s key findings on the health impacts of violence by an intimate partner were:

Death and injury – The study found that globally, 38% of all women who were murdered were murdered by their intimate partners, and 42% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner had experienced injuries as a result.

Depression – Partner violence is a major contributor to women’s mental health problems, with women who have experienced partner violence being almost twice as likely to experience depression compared to women who have not experienced any violence.
Alcohol use problems – Women experiencing intimate partner violence are almost twice as likely as other women to have alcohol-use problems.

Sexually transmitted infections – Women who experience physical and/or sexual partner violence are 1.5 times more likely to acquire syphilis infection, chlamydia, or gonorrhoea. In some regions (including sub-Saharan Africa), they are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV.

Unwanted pregnancy and abortion – Both partner violence and non-partner sexual violence are associated with unwanted pregnancy; the report found that women experiencing physical and/or sexual partner violence are twice as likely to have an abortion than women who do not experience this violence.

Low birth-weight babies – Women who experience partner violence have a 16% greater chance of having a low birth-weight baby.

INFOGRAPHIC/

The ZIP Code Turns 50; Here Are 9 That Stand Out

From NPR:

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Zone Improvement Plan the network of ZIP codes we use for everything from mail delivery to credit card security.

The U.S. Postal Service began using the five-digit codes on July 1, 1963, hoping they would improve the efficiency and speed of mail sorting. Since then, the codes have assumed a role in the identities of many Americans, helping to define where they live or work.

In recognition of the anniversary (and because we are geeky), we've examined the list of more than 40,000 ZIP codes. Here are nine worth noting, based on data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau and Esri, a leading geographic software company:

Celebrating American Inventions

This week, the USA.gov blog is highlighting some prominent inventions that have impacted all of our lives since the founding of the country. It will highlight one invention from the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

The Connectivity Continuum: Rising Internet Use Shows Impact of Smartphones on Digital Divide

From the New Strategist:

Twenty-seven percent of Americans are highly connected to the Internet, accessing the Internet at multiple locations with multiple devices. Another 16 percent of Americans are not connected at all to the Internet, lacking any kind of computer or Internet use. These are the two extremes of what the Census Bureau calls the "connectivity continuum," with everyone else at various stages of connectivity in between (home-only connectivity, single-device connectivity, etc.). At this link you can access the Census Bureau report, Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2011. The report is admittedly dated, but it captures an historic moment--the transition from pre- to post-Internet age when connectivity sharply divided the population. The highly connected and the unconnected were the two largest segments of the population in 2011.

Quarterly Summary of State & Local Tax Revenue

This summary shows quarterly tax revenue statistics on property, sales, license, income and other taxes. Statistics are shown for individual state governments as well as national estimates of total state and local taxes, including 12-month calculations. This quarterly survey has been conducted continuously since 1962.

Canadian information

For Canadian information, you may want to check out Industry Canada which has a business and consumer section. Under the business section, you'll find all types of information.

Older Americans Don't Like Living with Children

From the New Strategist:

That's a shocking statement, but it is supported by research findings: people aged 65 or older who live with children under age 18 are unhappier, angrier, more worried and stressed out than those who do not live with children--even after controlling for factors that might cause negative emotions.

In the delightfully titled study, Grandpa and the Snapper: The Wellbeing of the Elderly Who Live with Children, NBER researchers Angus Deaton and Arthur A. Stone examine data from the Gallup Healthways Wellbeing Index. They measure the happiness, enjoyment, worry, and stress of people who live with and without children under age 18. Younger adults gain both pleasure and pain from living with children, but for the elderly it's all pain and no pleasure.

"Our evidence suggests that living with children under 18 is associated with worse outcomes on all measures," say the researchers. "None of this is to argue that some elderly do not take pleasure in their grandchildren or in the children of those with whom they live. But, on average, we can find no evidence of it."

Food Loss Data Help Inform the Food Waste Discussion

Description from the American Consumers Newsletter:

Americans waste a lot of food, so much so that measuring food waste is one of the projects of the USDA's Economic Research Service. In 2010, Americans did not eat 21 percent of the food they bought measured in pounds. The biggest waste, on a percentage basis, is fish and seafood (30 percent of pounds purchased are wasted) and fresh fruit and vegetables (24 to 25 percent). Measured in dollars, American consumers did not eat 9 percent of the food they bought. Of the $4,000 spent annually per person on food, $371 went into the garbage.

State and County Housing Unit Estimates

Updated estimates of the nations housing stock at the national, state and county levels show growth or decline in units since the 2010 Census.

The Measure of America: states, by well-being

The 2013-14 report Measure of America, under the auspices of the Social Science Research Council, slices and dices America’s performance not just on income, but on various metrics of health and education as well.

The rankings are based on the American Human Development Index, "an alternative to GDP" that aims to summarize not just how rich Americans are, but how we’re doing on the things that we presumably want riches for: a long and healthy life in which everyone can make the most of their talents and interests. The American index is derived from the U.N.’s Human Development Index (on which, by the way, the U.S. currently ranks third in the world, after Norway and Australia).

More HERE.

What is WIPO? an international intellectual property system.

Check out this hsearch database for international trademark (Madrid System)


From WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was established in 1970... The Organization became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1974... Based in Geneva, with an international staff of some 1,300 employees, WIPO counts 184 Member States – more than 90 percent of the world’s countries. WIPO is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.

What is intellectual property?

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind. It is divided into two categories:
•Industrial property includes patents for inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, integrated circuits and geographical indications.
•Copyright and related rights cover literary and artistic expressions (e.g. novels, poems, plays, films, music, artistic works and architecture), and the rights of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and broadcasters in their radio and television broadcasts.

What are intellectual property rights?

Intellectual property rights allow the creators – or owners of patents, trademarks or copyrighted works – to benefit from their own work or investment in a creation. These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of any scientific, literary or artistic work.

Why does intellectual property need to be promoted and protected?

There are several compelling reasons. First, the progress and well-being of humanity rest on its capacity to create and invent new works in the areas of technology and culture. Second, the legal protection of these new creations encourages the expenditure of additional resources, leading to further innovation. Third, the promotion and protection of intellectual property spurs economic growth, creates new jobs and industries, and enhances the quality and enjoyment of life.

The Hidden STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Economy

From Brookings:

Workers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields play a direct role in driving economic growth. Yet, because of how the STEM economy has been defined, policymakers have mainly focused on supporting workers with at least a bachelor’s (BA) degree, overlooking a strong potential workforce of those with less than a BA. An analysis of the occupational requirements for STEM knowledge finds that:

As of 2011, 26 million U.S. jobs—20 percent of all jobs—require a high level of knowledge in any one STEM field. STEM jobs have doubled as a share of all jobs since the Industrial Revolution, from less than 10 percent in 1850 to 20 percent in 2010.

Half of all STEM jobs are available to workers without a four-year college degree, and these jobs pay $53,000 on average—a wage 10 percent higher than jobs with similar educational requirements. Half of all STEM jobs are in manufacturing, health care, or construction industries. Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations constitute 12 percent of all STEM jobs, one of the largest occupational categories. Other blue-collar or technical jobs in fields such as construction and production also frequently demand STEM knowledge.

STEM jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree are highly clustered in certain metropolitan areas, while sub-bachelor’s STEM jobs are prevalent in every large metropolitan area. Of large metro areas, San Jose, CA, and Washington, D.C., have the most STEM-based economies, but Baton Rouge, LA, Birmingham, AL, and Wichita, KS, have among the largest share of STEM jobs in fields that do not require four-year college degrees. These sub-bachelor’s STEM jobs pay relatively high wages in every large metropolitan area.

More STEM-oriented metropolitan economies perform strongly on a wide variety of economic indicators, from innovation to employment. Job growth, employment rates, patenting, wages, and exports are all higher in more STEM-based economies. The presence of sub-bachelor’s degree STEM workers helps boost innovation measures one-fourth to one-half as much as bachelor’s degree STEM workers, holding other factors constant. Concentrations of these jobs are also associated with less income inequality.

NYS Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Fiscal Stress Scores for Local Communities

Two dozen communities in New York have been designated as fiscally stressed under State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s new Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. The list includes eight counties, three cities and 13 towns.

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System and resulting fiscal stress designations rely on data (as of 5/31/2013) from annual financial reports submitted by local governments to the Office of the State Comptroller. This list (sorted in order of fiscal stress score) includes only municipalities with fiscal years ending on 12/31/2012. All towns and counties, 44 cities and 10 villages have a 12/31 fiscal year end.

The literal meanings of places in the U.S., mapped

From Slate:

It’s easy to think of words such as California or Texas or New York as just the places on the map, but those words actually meant something, once, and those meanings offer a little glimpse into history. The map, designed by cartographers Stephan Hormes and Silke Peust, labels states, cities, and landmarks with the literal meanings of their official names.

Most of the meanings are bland descriptions of the terrain or climate of the places they describe. Michigan, for example, is the "Land of the Big Lakes" (duh), and Mississippi is the "Land of the Great River." Others carry baffling specificity, like Alabama’s "Land of the Thicket Clearers" or Missouri’s "Land of the People with Dugout Canoes." Some are poetic, like Mexico’s "Navel of the Moon" and Houston’s "Heart’s Farm." Others are more worldly: Cuba is the "Place to Find Gold," and Chicago apparently means "Stink Onions."

Why Men Die Younger Than Women: The 'Guys Are Fragile' Thesis

From NPR:

The 19th century just lost its last living man.

Jiroemon Kimura, of Kyotango, Japan, was born in April 1897, lived right through the 20th century and died last Wednesday. He was 116. According to Guinness World Records (which searches for these things), he was the last surviving male born in the 1800s. All the other boys from that century, as best we know, are dead.

The ladies, however, are still ticking. Misao Okawa of Osaka is now officially the oldest person on the planet. She was born in 1898. There are four others — two in Britain, one in the USA, and another in Japan — all 19th century-born, all female, all still alive.

Once again, the ladies have outlasted the gentlemen. Not that that's a big surprise.

NOAA's new interactive map shows all the vegetation on the planet

From TreeHugger:

Thanks to the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite, NOAA has put together an incredible interactive map of the world's greenery. We can now see to an amazing degree of detail which parts of the planet is covered in green and which are bare. The map is thanks to the ability of the satellite to collect 2 TB of data every week -- and that's only the portion of data collected for the vegetation index!

U.S. Women’s Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services; Recent Trends in Births and Fertility Rates

From Guttmacher Institute:

Seven in 10 U.S. women of reproductive age, some 43–45 million women, make at least one medical visit to obtain se
xual and reproductive health (SRH) services each year. Uninsured women are significantly less likely than either privately or Medicaid-insured women to receive SRH services. Approximately 25 million women receive contraceptive services annually.

The number of women having either a Pap test or pelvic exam each year fell from 41 million in 2002 to 39 million in 20
06–2010, consistent with recent changes in cervical cancer screening recommendations.

The number of women receiving STD testing, treatment or counseling each year doubled from 4.6 million in 1995 to 9.8 million in 2006–2010, reflecting both an increase in routine chlamydia screening now recommended for all sexually active women younger than age 25, as well as an increase in the reported incidence of chlamydia.

The number of women receiving any SRH service who went to a publicly funded clinic for that care rose from 7.3 million (17% of those receiving care) in 1995 to 10.2 million (23%) in 2006–2010, mirroring concurrent increases in the number of women in poverty and in need of publicly funded contraceptive services. Compared with women receiving services from private doctors, women going to publicly funded clinics received a wider range of SRH services and were more likely to have conversations about contraception during annual gynecologic visits.

From National Center for Health Statistics:

The provisional count of births in the United States for the 12-month period ending December 2012 was 3,958,000, essentially unchanged from the 3,953,593 births (preliminary total) for 2011. The trend in the number of births was down, having declined steadily from the historic high of 4,316,233 in 2007 through 2011 but slowing from 2010 to 2011, and is essentially flat from 2011 to 2012. The provisional fertility rate in the United States for 2012 was 63.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, unchanged from the rate in 2011. Like the number of births, the trend in the fertility rate
was down, having declined steadily from the recent high of 69.3 in 2007 through 2010 but slowing from 2010 to 2011, and is unchanged from 2011 to 2012.