Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2012]

National Bureau of Economic Research

National Bureau of Economic Research

Sociology is a popular choice for the optional subject in the UPSC Civil Services Exams (Mains). Here are a few tips on how to prepare for this subject

‘Election Atlas of India’, through photo collages and thematic maps, is a seminal ready reckoner on Lok Sabha elections

Rotch Library - ML189.M87 2019

Ultimately, there are no easy solutions to reigniting a Covid-19 affected economy. It is evident, however, that addressing the public health crisis is non-negotiable, writes Haroon Bhorat.

As part of Penn State’s 2020 spring commencement activities, Leah DeLancey will represent sociology in the College of the Liberal Arts as the department’s student marshal. DeLancey will graduate with bachelor of arts degrees in sociology and political science.

Average wages can vary markedly between socio-economic groups (gender, native- and foreign-born; high-skilled and low-skilled parents; workers of different ethnicities; age). These differences between groups of workers contribute to high overall wage inequality.

Costa Rica enjoys relatively high life satisfaction levels, but should do more to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy, according to a new OECD report.

The striking cross-national variation in socio-economic disparities in skills gaps among 15-year-olds, and the evolution of these gaps between the ages of 15 and 27, raises the question of what policies and institutional arrangements may explain such variability.

As educators know well, there are many barriers to learning that originate outside of school, such as those that arise from socio-economic disadvantage. In many education systems, the concentration of disadvantaged students in certain schools poses an additional challenge.

The rash of suicides in city and village is a qualitatively new development in our history. Ramachandra Guha notes the contours of desperation in the two Indias - urban and rural.

Researchers have discovered a black hole that grew much more quickly than its host galaxy. The discovery calls into question previous assumptions on the development […]

The post A Precocious Black Hole appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.

A recent study has revealed how water use has changed across the world over the last 60 years. Growing populations and economic development, particularly in newly-emerging countries, have increased water demand, but technological developments have led to water efficiencies and savings, which moderate these demands.

Urban water use increases with a population’s average income, finds a study of a stressed river basin in Spain. Consumption also increases with population age, but falls as education levels rise. Such information could help municipal water providers predict future water trends and to develop appropriate measures by which to manage demand. There is huge interest in mining polymetallic nodules in deep-sea environments. These bumpy rocks on the seafloor contain highly valuable materials including manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper.

Environmental targets for sustainable agriculture can usually be met in a variety of ways, but their exact impacts are rarely known. A new study has compared the social, economic and environmental impacts of different policy approaches to hitting conservation targets in Australia, to help regional governments understand the costs, benefits and trade-offs of different policy options.

A recent study has revealed how water use has changed across the world over the last 60 years. Growing populations and economic development, particularly in newly-emerging countries, have increased water demand, but technological developments have led to water efficiencies and savings, which moderate these demands.

Flood management could be improved by including socio-demographic information in the assessment of flood risk, suggests new research. The research combined traditional flood risk assessment with information on the ‘social vulnerability’ of people living in flood risk areas. The results show that there are almost twice as many people of high social vulnerability (e.g. low-income or elderly) in flood risk areas of Rotterdam as low social vulnerability people.

Lower socioeconomic status is generally associated with poorer health, and both air and noise pollution contribute to a wide range of other factors influencing human health. But do these health inequalities arise because of increased exposure to pollution, increased sensitivity to exposure, increased vulnerabilities, or some combination? This In-depth Report presents evidence on whether people in deprived areas are more affected by air and noise pollution — and suffer greater consequences — than wealthier populations.

Should baby boomers be blamed for stealing our kids' futures? Author Bruce Gibney thinks so — and he has a point.

Over four decades, Dr. Wagner established himself as an expert in the study and research of athletics and the behaviors of societies

This report examines socioeconomic changes that took place between 1990 and 2003 on and around lands managed by the Klamath National Forest in California to assess the effects of the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) on rural economies and communities there. Three case communities were studied: Scott Valley, Butte Valley, and Mid-Klamath.

The socioeconomic monitoring report addresses two evaluation questions posed in the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) Record of Decision and assesses progress in meeting five Plan socioeconomic goals. Volume I of the report contains key findings. Volume II addresses the question, Are predictable levels of timber and nontimber resources available and being produced? It also evaluates progress in meeting the goal of producing a predictable level of timber sales, special forest products, livestock grazing, minerals, and recreation opportunities. The focus of volume III is the evaluation question, Are local communities and economies experiencing positive or negative changes that may be associated with federal forest management? Two Plan goals are also assessed in volume III: (1) to maintain the stability of local and regional economies on a predictable, long-term basis and, (2) to assist with long-term economic development and diversification to minimize adverse impacts associated with the loss of timber jobs. Progress in meeting another Plan goal-to promote agency-citizen collaboration in forest management-is evaluated in volume IV. Volume V reports on trends in public values regarding forest management in the Pacific Northwest over the past decade, community views of how well the forest values and environmental qualities associated with late-successional, old-growth, and aquatic ecosystems have been protected under the Plan (a fifth Plan goal), and issues and concerns relating to forest management under the Plan expressed by community members. Volume VI provides a history of the Northwest Forest Plan socioeconomic monitoring program and a discussion of potential directions for the program.

The Community Socioeconomic Information System (CSIS) is a tool that allows users to retrieve 1990 and 2000 U.S. census data to examine conditions and trends for communities in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California. The tool includes socioeconomic data for 1,314 communities in the entire region, including incorporated and unincorporated places. The tool delivers socioeconomic data using mapping and database features. In addition to providing data for one community, the tool produces community-level data at a variety of scales, including communities in areas surrounding Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, all communities in the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) region, and communities within planning provinces within the NWFP region. One feature allows users to customize community data by creating boundaries and socioeconomic data for group of selected communities. The CSIS tool was designated to increase the usefulness of socioeconomic information at the small scale. Typically community socioeconomic assessments use U.S. census designations called census places. However, census places only represent a portion of the rural population. The CSIS uses a smaller unit of analysis (block groups) that we have aggregated to represent contiguous communities across the landscape, thereby representing the entire population. Community data can be printed as reports with graphs and tables, queried within an Access database, mapped and queried as geographic information system (GIS) data within ArcExplorer (a free GIS software included), exported as a table for use in Excel, or exported as GIS data for use in ArcGIS. The tool has features that allow users to locate communities by county or state and become familiar with local geography. The CSIS includes GIS data, such as major land ownerships, political boundaries, and physical landscape features. Applications produce maps that can be printed for specific communities showing community boundaries, water features, roads, metropolitan areas, community population centers, public land ownership, census places, planning provinces, counties, and state boundaries. Or, using the spatial data provided on the CD and ArcExplorer, users can produce custom maps.

The Community Socioeconomic Information System (CSIS) is a tool that allows users to retrieve 1990 and 2000 U.S. census data to examine conditions and trends for communities in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California. The tool includes socioeconomic data for 1,314 communities in the entire region, including incorporated and unincorporated places.

This report examines socioeconomic changes that occurred between 1990 and 2000 associated with implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) in the Olympic National Forest in western Washington. We used a combination of quantitative data from the U.S. census and the USDA Forest Service, historical documents, and interviews from Forest Service employees and members of three case study communities-Quilcene, the Lake Quinault area, and the Quinault Indian Nation. We explore how the Plan affected the flow of socioeconomic benefits associated with the Olympic National Forest, such as the production of forest commodities and forest-based recreation, agency jobs, procurement contract work for ecosystem management activities, grants for community economic assistance, payments to county governments, and opportunities for collaborative forest management. The greatest change in socioeconomic benefits derived from the forest was the curtailment of timber harvest activities. This not only affected timber industry jobs in local communities, but also resulted in declining agency budgets and staff reductions. Mitigation efforts varied. Ecosystem management contracts declined and shifted from labor-intensive to equipment-intensive activities, with about half of all contractors from the Olympic Peninsula. Economic assistance grants benefited communities that had the staff and resources to develop projects and apply for monies, but provided little benefit to communities without those resources. Payments to counties served as an important source of revenue for rural schools and roads. We also examine socioeconomic changes that occurred in the case study communities, and the influence of forest management policy on these changes. Between 1990 and 2000 all three communities showed a decrease in population, an increase in median age, a decline in timber industry-related employment, and an increase in service-industry and government jobs. Quilcene's proximity to the larger urban centers has attracted professional and service industry workers that commute to larger economic hubs. Lake Quinault area residents are increasingly turning to tourism, and its growing Latino population works in the cedar shake and floral greens industries. For the Quinault Indian Nation, employment in tribal government and its casino has helped offset job losses in the fishing and timber industries. Many changes observed in the communities were a result of the prior restructuring of the forest products industry, national economic trends, and demographic shifts. However, for Quilcene and Lake Quinault, which were highly dependent on the national forest for timber and served as Forest Service district headquarters, the loss of timber industry and Forest Service jobs associated with the Plan led to substantial job losses and crises in the economic and social capital of these communities.

This case study examines the socioeconomic changes that took place between 1990 and 2000 in and around lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Coos Bay District in southwestern Oregon for purposes of assessing the effects of the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) on rural economies and communities in the Coos Bay region.

This report examines the growth and development of the tourism industry in Hoonah, Alaska, and its effects on community life and resource use. The report describes the gradual development of tourism in Hoonah and presents resident perceptions of tourism's effect on the natural and social environment. A multisited ethnographic approach was used featuring indepth, open-ended interviews with local residents, tourism providers, business owners, and government officials. Data were analyzed using Ethnograph, a software program used to assist in coding data based on prominent themes. Results indicate that tourism has brought changes to the lives of Hoonah residents, particularly those relying on natural resources for everyday survival. Expansion of nature-based tourism in the area surrounding Hoonah resulted in conflicts between resource users. The growth of the charter fishing fleet led to competition with commercial fishers. Nature tour operators using remote recreation sites experienced conflicts with local hunters and fishers as well as other commercial guides. The development of a cruise ship destination on private land outside of Hoonah led to shifts in use of this historic site by local residents as well as in use of other private lands used for subsistence. Findings may enable Forest Service planners to identify factors involved in the relation between tourism growth and community well-being. It also may assist small southeast Alaska communities in decisionmaking related to tourism development.

This report examines socioeconomic changes that occurred between 1990 and 2003 associated with implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) in and around lands managed by the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state. Our findings are based on quantitative data from the U.S. census, the USDA Forest Service and other federal databases, historical documents, and interviews with Forest Service employees and members of five case study communities: Naches Valley, Cashmere, Entiat, Twisp, and the Upper Okanogan Valley. We explore how the Plan affected the flow of socioeconomic benefits associated with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, such as the production of forest commodities and forest-based recreation, agency jobs, procurement contract work for ecosystem management activities, grants for community economic assistance, payments to county governments, and opportunities for collaborative forest management. The greatest socioeconomic change stemming from the national forest during the study period was the sharp decline in timber harvest activities, a change that had been underway prior to the Plan. This decline not only affected timber industry jobs in local communities, but also resulted in declining agency budgets and staff reductions. Communities' responses differed. Communities with greater economic diversity were able to absorb the changes in forest management, whereas communities more heavily dependent on timber experienced an additional destabilizing effect.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aimed to create jobs and jumpstart the economy while addressing the Nation's social and environmental needs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, received $1.15 billion in recovery funding to support projects in wildland fire management, capital improvement and maintenance, and biomass utilization. This volume contains eight individual case-study reports that describe how Forest Service economic recovery projects from around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural communities and investigates how forest restoration, conservation, and rural community development goals can be linked to promote healthy forests and healthy communities.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) aimed to create jobs and promote economic growth while addressing the Nation's social and environmental needs. The USDA Forest Service received $1.15 billion in economic recovery funding. This report contains key findings and lessons learned from a socioeconomic assessment of Forest Service Recovery Act projects. The assessment examines how Forest Service economic recovery projects at eight case-study locations around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural counties affected by the economic recession of 2007-2009. It also investigates how Forest Service mission-related work can be accomplished in a manner that creates local community development opportunities. This report is a companion to general technical report PNW-GTR-831, which contains the full case-study reports.

¿Es legal que la empresa de los hermanos del Secretario de Hacienda de Medellín se beneficie con nombramientos del municipio?

Fan engagement platform Socios.com plans to launch blockchain-powered COVID-19 immunity passes for global football fans to enable them to attend live games at stadiums in the aftermath of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Socios Pass, an ID and immunity verification tool, will allow fans holding "Proof of Immunity" to return to the stadium and watch live games more safely and securely.

A Perth father is jailed for life for murdering his teenage partner after their violent relationship culminated in a "frenzied" and "ferocious" attack.

As ferocious blazes tore through Rappville last week, many of the community's young people displayed extraordinary bravery, rescuing their neighbours and animals while fighting tooth and nail to save homes.

Trevor Whybrow will spend a minimum of 17 years behind bars for the "extremely violent" assault which resulted in the death of his friend, Barry Moffat, after he "touched him up" in bed.

A NSW firefighter who hatched a plan to start bushfires "so he could fight them" will serve more time in jail than the man who lit them his younger brother.

The winds are not giving firefighters any breaks as a fire in the Clarence Valley moves in on properties and blazes near Armidale and Tenterfield remain "absolutely enormous", according to the Rural Fire Service.

Friday, Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson called on Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to resign given how the saga regarding former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has unfolded, calling the California Democrat a "sociopath."

El actual entorno tecnológico impulsa a las empresas a transformar sus modelos de negocio en un escenario en donde, según la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), el 25% de la economía mundial será digital en los próximos cinco años. De esta forma, el uso de nuevas tecnologías se vuelve la pieza clave para asegurar tanto competitividad, como su alto desempeño.