Measuring Alexandria

Communities Continue To Deal With Unsightly Foreclosures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:34:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

By Jessica Spencer-Gallucci

According to Mortgage Bankers Association (2010), foreclosures rise when house prices fall because homeowners begin to see their stock of home equity erode. Research has shown that a negative equity position is a necessary condition for mortgage default, although a second trigger like a shock to the borrower’s monthly income or expenses is generally required for a foreclosure to occur (Economic Review, (2010). The foreclosure rise has created unsightly side effects for communities. For example, across the nation, communities feature entire neighborhoods decimated by abandoned and neglected foreclosure, homes that sit vacant because their previous owners have been evicted or have walked away leaving these repo homes in the care of banks and lenders who are not equipped to maintained them.

This article offers one solution toward resolving abandoned distressed property issues. According to the author (John Miller), many homeowners are distressed by the plight and have protested the lack of care of these abandoned foreclosures to city governments that have not been very effective in enforcing their upkeep through housing codes. In addition, cities are having problems with identifying the current owners of these home foreclosures. Foreclosures bring down home values of surrounding properties and affect the economy. Miller is proposing a solution that loosens regulations on processing foreclosures and selling them, as a way of encouraging investors to purchase dilapidated properties, renovating them, and reselling them to interested homebuyers. In regards to foreclosures in the City of Alexandria, this solution has the potential for agenda during the next City financial meeting.

Source: http://www.foreclosuredeals.com/wp/communities-continue-to-deal-with-unsightly-foreclosures/ by John Evan Miller, (22 November 2011)

Leading Causes of Infant Mortality Rate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:32:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Jaimy Alex

Infant mortality is the number of infants who die within the first year of their birth. This is measured by ‘Infant Mortality Rate’ (IMR) which is the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. This measure is used as an indicator in order to measure general health and well-being of a community.

Leading causes of Infant mortality are due to prematurity i.e. a baby is born three weeks earlier than the due date. These babies have medical complications and long term disabilities which gradually lead to death. Congenital abnormalities can be another reason for infant mortality as birth defects lead to associated complications. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Infant mortality is complex problem and it does not have a simple solution because it deals with the social, economical and ethical issues in combination with health care access and quality of health care. According to the documentary “Unnatural Causes”, produced by California Newsreel, “Infant mortality among white American women with a college degree or higher is about 4 deaths per thousand births. But among African American women with the same level of education, infant mortality is about 10 per thousand births – almost three times higher. In fact, African American mothers with a college degree have worse birth outcomes than white mothers without a high school education.” In today’s world, the amount of stress involved in the life of a woman also leads to hormonal changes that lead to premature labor and inflammation in the placenta.

Infant Mortality Rate is one of the most important indicators of the general level of health or well being of a given community. Though IM rates have decreased from the early days, this problem continues to pose a significant burden to the country. Addressing some of the most common risk factors known to contribute to infant mortality such as reducing teen births, increasing prenatal care during the first trimester, and addressing the problem of SIDS could significantly aid in reducing infant mortality.

Source: http://city.milwaukee.gov/InfantMortality.htm
http://jech.bmj.com/content/57/5/344.long

1 in 6 Living in Poverty in the US

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:27:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Dawn Dumas

“People are living in the woods”. Because I work with the homeless every day, this line in the Washington Post article wasn’t a huge shock to me. I currently manage a food program that feeds the Loudoun area homeless population and many of my homeless individuals are living in tents located in the woods. However, I was shocked by the percentages and projections for this current state of economic affairs. Currently, in Virginia, the poverty rate is at a staggering 11%. Since 2007 the poverty rate has climbed 2 percentage points. At an alarming rate many families are choosing to share rooms, share homes or seek alternative housing options because they cannot afford traditional housing.

As the partnership focuses on the needs of the residents of Alexandria, it is important to be aware of the increase of the poverty rates. Children are being greatly affected by poverty. In fact, children living in poverty are at the highest rate since 1993. Poverty will greatly impact the goal of the partnership. A “healthy Alexandria” would suggest that children have access to food, shelter and basic care. A “healthy Alexandria” would require that adults have access to food, work and shelter. All of these healthy attributes are negatively impacted by poverty.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-poverty-rate-hits-52-year-high-at-151-percent/2011/09/13/gIQApnMePK_story.html

LEED Ratings and Walkability

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:25:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Stephanie Clark

A May 25, 2011 article on the Sustainability City Network highlighted a project by the City of Alexandria’s GIS Division to develop a mapping tool to assess walkability across the city[1]. The Division focused on three projects – emergency medical distribution centers, safe routes to school, and LEED sustainable sites. They divided the City into one-foot by one-foot squares that allowed them to more accurately visualize walkability and map the actual paths people might take depending on the goal (e.g., emergency medical distribution center or a safe route to school). Walking preferences were organized according to accessibility, distance/time, quality/overall experience, and safety.

The emergency medical centers project looked at creating centers so that no resident would have to walk further than a mile. Originally, it was thought that area schools would serve as the best centers, but households were not evenly distributed due to blocks to walkability (e.g., railroads, streams). Team members assumed, for this project, that people would not necessarily follow designated walking paths and sidewalks in an emergency but would also cut through open lots and unfenced yards.

The safe routes to school project assumed that safety would be of greater concern over distance. This project created a color-coded map to visualize the safest, shortest routes to school. Unsafe routes were also identified for future improvement.

The LEED sustainable sites project assisted developers in identifying sites that would garner the most LEED points for walkability.

Building on the previous blog post, it appears that the City of Alexandria has worked to assess the current walkability of the City and determine areas for improvement. It will be interesting to see how the City continues to use this new tool to improve walkability across the different sections of Alexandria.

[1]http://www.sustainablecitynetwork.com/topic_channels/transportation/article_02c7f95c-871c-11e0-944c-001a4bcf6878.html

Modified School Year Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:29:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

By Andina Nagler

I first heard of the modified school year calendar or “year round school calendar” when my five year old niece was enrolled to attend kindergarten at the Samuel Tucker Elementary school. At first I was perplexed by the idea because as a parent planning around the calendar school year seemed a bit complicated. However as I followed my niece’s achievement, who is now on the third grade, I am convinced that a year round school calendar has proven beneficial for her academics. One of the benefits of this system is that students are more in contact with school and it increases retention rate as supposed to a long summer vacation where the students tend to forget a lot of what they learned during the school year. Short breaks can allow time for students to receive enrichment education. From an economic standpoint, schools that don’t operate year round and are not being used in the summer are inefficient. From a logistics standpoint, it is much easier to schedule vacations because not everyone travels at the same time. It is my experience that long summer vacation allows for students to get off school momentum and it is harder for them to adjust when school reconvenes in the fall.

However despite all the benefits associated with the year round school calendar, there are some valid counter points that have made parents reluctant to buyin into the year round school system. One major disadvantage is when the entire school district doesn’t participate in the year round calendar, such as the city of Alexandria, parents could have students at different schools on different schedules. Another disadvantage for students is the summer employment. With a year round school calendar, summer employment for student is virtually impossible. Last but not least band and other extracurricular programs could be hurt because of problems scheduling out of school practices and competitions.

Design for the Ages

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:25:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Benjamin Aiken

Quality of life should be a benefit accrued to all members of a community. However, there exists an unfortunate potential for certain demographics to be left out of the discussion when measures for success are being constructed. Particular segments of a population, the disabled, the elderly and the young, for instance, may find themselves away from the table while important decisions are made regarding the direction the municipality wants to go in terms of policy on critical issues affecting infrastructure and development. Given the aging population in the US and the mass retirement of baby boomers currently occurring, cities will need to look forward in design and implementation of plans to accommodate this demographic, who have shown to be increasingly interested in movements such as “aging in place” (Scheib). The World Health Organization has identified this issue, creating a guide for “Age-Friendly Cities,” which outlines a host of opportunities for policy makers to implement change in order to better serve the needs of aging resident populations (World Health Organization).

The WHO guide acknowledges many challenges moving forward, but the ideas espoused for accommodating an aging population make plenty of sense from a planning perspective. For one, universal, accessible designs by their nature are inclusive of all users, so there is no danger of marginalizing other age cohorts. While more expensive up-front costs may be daunting, a full accounting of benefits over the lifetime of a project may prove worthwhile. For instance, in development of a residential condo project, considering potential cost to retrofit at a later date in order to provide accessibility to all residents may outweigh the cost savings accrued by developing at a lower standard. Of course, getting a property owner or developer to understand this may be an impossibility, giving the economics of land development and the priority on start-up cost savings rather than benefits accrued over the lifetime of a project. For this reason, municipalities should focus first on education, and second on developing codes and ordinances which require certain standards for accessibility beyond the basic requirements of the Americans with Disability Act.

Scheib, Donna Mae Mascarinas. “Village Concept Promotes Aging in Place”. Aging Well Magazine. <http ://www .agingwellmag .com /news /ex _071310_03.shtml>

World Health Organization. “Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide”. World Health Organization. 2007. <http ://www .who .int /ageing /publications /Global _age _friendly _cities _Guide _English .pdf>

March 13 Webinar: Make it Your Own (MIYO): Creating Customized Health Materials for your Community

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:42:00 +0000

From the National Cancer Institute via Mary Parker:
"Make it Your Own (MIYO): Creating Customized Health Materials for your Community
Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET

Developing, tailoring, and promoting health materials for your community and audience is not often an easy process. Effective and sustainable promotion strategies are needed to assure that all Americans benefit from important cancer information across the continuum. Make It Your Own (MIYO), created in 2008 by the Health Communication Research Lab at Washington University in St. Louis, is a web-based system that gives community partners the tools to create customized, culturally appropriate health materials targeted to their audience without having to develop them from scratch.

Currently, MIYO is being used by the CDC-funded Colorectal Cancer Control Programs to enhance the effectiveness of its outreach, education, and recruitment activities by providing them access to evidence-based interventions to promote screening. However, the evidence-based tool has also been used for a variety of health topics, including clinical trials accrual, HPV vaccine, and others in the past.

The National Cancer Institute’s March Research to Reality cyber-seminar will explore how this tool can be used to help communities and organizations adapt and tailor small media and client reminders for their audience. Dr. Matthew Kreuter, one of the MIYO developers, will provide an overview of the tool, explaining how it can be used and the potential benefits for communities and organizations. Additionally, Gena Hodges and Angela McFall will join the seminar to share their experience using MIYO in their colorectal cancer control programs in Iowa and Michigan, respectively, discuss their lessons learned, and provide their thoughts on implications of this resource for other health departments and organizations.

Speakers:

Matthew Kreuter, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor and Director
Health Communication Research Laboratory
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
Washington University in St. Louis

Gena Hodges, B.A.
Project Manager
Iowa Get Screened: Colorectal Cancer Program
Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
Iowa Department of Public Health

Angela McFall, M.S. (subject to change)
Public Education Coordinator
Cancer Prevention and Control Section at the Michigan Department of Community Health

Register Now!
Please click on the following link for more information and to register for this event: https://researchtoreality.cancer.gov/cyber-seminars.

Following registration, you will receive a confirmation email with the toll-free number, web URL, and participant passcode. This cyber-seminar will be archived on the Research to Reality website at https://researchtoreality.cancer.gov approximately one week following the presentation.

Cyber-Seminar Archive
If you have missed any of the past cyber-seminars, you can view them all on the R2R Archive. Watch the presentations, and join in the discussions.

For more information on the cyber-seminar series, please email ResearchtoReality@mail.nih.gov."

Effects of Childhood Obesity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:31:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Jaimy Alex

Childhood obesity is a serious issue because the effects of childhood obesity have a health and social consequence associated to it that continues into adulthood. Since the effects of childhood obesity range from major psychological problems to serious health issues and chronic social problems, it is very essential to have prevention programs in order to control this epidemic. Two of the most prevalent diseases caused by obesity are hypertension and diabetes. Understanding the effects of childhood obesity in the health of a child is the most important step as this impacts the quality of life and these diseases are carried into adulthood. At a very young age obese children are left out by their friends and this has a psychological effect on the child. As a result, these obese children often grow into adults with very low self-esteem thereby leading to depression and in worst cases, even suicide.

It is thereby essential that children get adequate daily nutrition and mandatory regular exercise. Parents need to be cautious while feeding their children and need to ensure that they get nutritious food and should curb them when it comes to fast food, candies, aerated drinks and other junk food. Children also need to have regular physical exercise and movement in order to keep them healthy and active. Schools also play a significant role in the development of the children and now most schools provide vegetables and fruits as a compulsory portion of the child’s lunch meal and have also included Physical Training (PT) as part of their curriculum in order to reduce obesity.

Obesity in children is becoming a difficult challenge and needs to be controlled. The children’s family and school need to fight this battle against childhood obesity and must strive to ensure that this disease is not part of the present or future.

Toddler to genius: are two year olds able to thrive in academic environments?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:28:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Dawn Dumas

At first the concept of kindergarten readiness was merely another indicator I was assigned. However, the more I read about child development and low test scores nationwide, the more thought and research I did on the subject. While researching “readiness for kindergarten”, I stumbled upon an interesting article out of Canada. This article addressed a study, The Early Years Study, and research with toddlers in an academic environment. Proponents of the study cited considerable research that showed that children who attend a sound early-childhood program performed better on standardized tests throughout their education. These same children were more likely to graduate from high school.

This article suggests that the more social skills and more emotional control a toddler has, the more likely they are to focus in a classroom setting. This focus will only enhance the classroom environment and take undo pressure off the teacher. The article also mentions that an earlier classroom experience will take pressure off the parents and allow parents to resume their careers.

These early education programs in Canada are federally funded, which brings up a lot of other issues, which I am not going to address. However, I think this idea of putting toddlers in an academic setting to help them adjust and be ready to learn has a lot of merit. This also may help children who are from culturally diverse background get a head start in the Alexandria City system. This article is not speaking of a traditional daycare system, but of an environment that allows for guided activities and teachable moments.

Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/22/children-should-start-school-at-two-years-old-study/

March 7 Webinar: How Can Communities Align Their Measurement Programs?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:26:00 +0000

From the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation:

How Can Communities Align Their Measurement Programs?
Webinar on Wednesday, March 7 from 130-3pm Eastern

"A new tool developed by the National Quality Forum (NQF) helps communities align, expand or start measurement and public reporting efforts in ways that fit with key national programs.

The NQF Community Tool to Align Measurement, developed with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and in collaboration with the 16 communities participating in the Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative, consists of NQF-endorsed® measures already in use by one or more communities, mapped to the National Quality Strategy priorities and national programs that involve reporting requirements or payment incentives. AF4Q communities will discuss their involvement with this work and how the Alignment Tool can inform measurement decisions on an upcoming webinar."

Read more and register

Walkable Communities as a Measure of Walkability

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:26:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Stephanie Clark

Walkable Communities Inc[1] provides another way to measure walkability of a community. While Walk Score[2] attempts to provide an algorithm that can be used to assess the walkability of a given location. Walkable Communities takes a more in depth approach that is tailored to individual communities. There is a 12-step checklist that is used to determine walkability[3]. The list includes intact town centers; residential densities, mixed use, mixed incomes; public space; universal design; speed controlled streets; linked streets and trails; properly scaled design; the town is designed for people; the town is thinking small; there are people walking; the town has a vision; and town leaders are visionary and forward thinking.

Walking audits[4] are conducted to determine walkability. Key community members spend from an hour to an entire day looking at specific areas within the community to determine walkability. Photographs and videos are taken to document areas that are or are not working well. Audit participants walk, bike, and use mass transit to accurately analyze the area being studied. A PDF is available online that explains walking audits in more detail[5].

While walking audits are more labor intensive than the Walk Score algorithm, the results are more accurate and improvements to problem areas will be better tailored to the community. A walking audit can determine that a particular area needs better lighting, improved sidewalks, or better crosswalks. The audit will also involve the people who can facilitate that work getting done. Overall, walking audits appear to be a more proactive way to make and keep a walkable community.

[1]http://www.walkable.org/

[2]http://www.walkscore.com/

[3]http://www.walkable.org/faqs.html#makes

[4]http://www.walkable.org/faqs.html#isaudit

[5]http://www.walkable.org/assets/downloads/walking_audits.pdf

Designing a Successful Retail Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:26:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Benjamin Aiken

One of the indicators I’ve been working on research for is the commercial retail space occupancy rate for the City. While there are some complexities in calculation, at a general level, the occupancy rate is found by knowing how much available retail space exists in the City and how many of those spaces are occupied by existing retail businesses. Knowing this, one can broadly assess the strength of the retail market, saying that if there are very few vacancies, that the market is strong, and/or potentially, that there is demand for more retail space in the City. High vacancy rates indicate poor economic conditions and/or an oversupplied commercial space market. While such information is helpful when assessing economic well-being, one may ask how a vibrant retail market contributes to overall quality of life, or, perhaps how can the market be strengthened in order to encourage low vacancy.

First, why should we want a healthy retail market as part of our community? Retail establishments may cause noise, litter, and other nuisance undesirable to residents. Well, with the potential bad, comes the good. Retail also creates added value to the tax pool, increasing government revenues which can be returned to the community at large, helping keep streets clean, enforce noise violations, and go beyond mitigating the use by providing general funding for critical city services like fire and rescue. Without a strong retail-commercial market, the burden would fall solely on residential property owners. In addition to tax benefits, there are other less easily quantified benefits to the community. For instance, a strong retail market makes a place for community members to shop in close proximity to their homes, eliminating unnecessary travel and decreasing the environmental impacts from seeking out far-flung retail nodes for grocery shopping or other goods purchases. In addition, a vibrant mix of neighborhood serving retail facilitates pedestrian traffic and circulation, bringing valuable activity to a community. Such activity may breed a stronger civic awareness, bringing neighbors together, intermingling with visitors and establishing a wider awareness of community appreciation and engagement.

So, if we agree that a strong retail market is a desirable community feature, how do we obtain it? Aside from perhaps obvious purely economic incentives, such as tax policy, a focus can be put on what I term retail place-making, or the implementation of specific urban design for active retail. It is important when siting retail to think broadly in terms of what produces an approachable mix of uses, an accessible landscape of friendly storefronts and a sense of place while walking and shopping. Wide sidewalks with minimal impediments, both visual and physical, is a primary component. It is also important that storefronts are varied enough - through architectural elements such as building articulation, facade differentiation, materials and color - to create visual interest and a desire by passersby to “see more,” but also having some similar characteristics as to not create segmentation. Elements for similarity can include elements such as relative window heights and dimensions (big - open fenestration pattern) and entrance locations (minimize stairs). Signage is also important. Business owners often believe that “more is better,” but signage should not create a visual barrier to view retail interiors, nor should it overwhelm the streetscape. Design Guidelines for new development, such as what have been created for existing community retail corridors like Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria (more at: http ://alexandriava .gov /uploadedFiles /planning /info /mountvernon /mtvernon _urban _design _guidelines .pdf), or for new communities entirely, such as North Potomac Yard - Potomac Village (more at: http ://dockets .alexandriava .gov /icons /pz /pc /CY 10/060110/12.pdf), are adopted by ordinance and help guide decision-making on design.

Retail location, design, and marketability are three critical components to a successful retail environment. By identifying and understanding all three in a comprehensive manner, policy makers will be better equipped to maintain and enhance this environment, creating an important overall benefit to quality of life.

Feb 23 CIC Webinar on Minnesota COMPASS Case Study

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:43:00 +0000

Minnesota COMPASS: The Not-So-Hidden Secrets to Our Success

with
Craig Helmstetter and Andi Egbert
Wilder Research

Hosted by the Community Indicators Consortium

Thursday, February 23, 2012
2:00PM

Minnesota Compass is a statewide indicators project covering a full range of topics, from Aging and Immigration to Public Safety, Housing, and Education. The project is supported by a consortium of 17 Foundations, as well as the 500+ influential Minnesotans who have participated in its development. Minnesota Compass includes a broad outreach and engagement strategy that includes everything from convening events to tweeting. This case-study will address everything from how we select "key measures" and manage data to our basic budget and project staffing.

Register: Members / Non-members

Free for members
$25 USD for nonmembers

Feb 16 CIC Webinar on Community Outcomes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:40:00 +0000

United Way of Greater Milwaukee's Community Outcomes Project
with
Dawn Helmrich
Director of Data and Outcomes,
United Way of Greater Milwaukee

Hosted by the Community Indicators Consortium

Thursday, February 16, 2012
2:00PM

The Community Outcomes Project is designed to collectively measure outcomes in specific issue areas, in an effort to better communicate to donors and the public the impact funded programs have on our community. In implementing this project, program partners were able to collaboratively determine outcomes as they related to their services. As a result, United Way of Greater Milwaukee is better able to collectively measure and communicate tangible, meaningful results that reflect our community and its critical issues as a whole.

Register: Members / Non-members

Free for members
$25 USD for nonmembers

Officials Widen Release Offer to US Banks by Shahien Nasiripour in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:54:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Jessica Spencer-Gallucci

One aspect of the foreclosure problem is the engagement of faulty mortgage practices by lenders and the so-called “robosigners”--agents who processed foreclosure filings en masse without examining the underlying paperwork (The Financial Times LTD 2011). The alleged mortgage practices led to foreclosure improprieties which potentially created foreclosure on numerous properties that could have helped stabilize the housing market.

This article is focused on addressing measures being taken to get a quick settlement agreement with banks in exchange for aid to distressed borrowers. According to Nasiripour (2011), under the proposed deal, the banks would pay billions of dollars into a federal program that would reduce debt levels and mortgage payments for troubled borrowers. In addition, it would fund other schemes, such as distressed homes sales in which outstanding debts are largely forgiven, payment forbearance for unemployed borrowers, the tearing down of dilapidated and vacant homes and transition assistance for homeowners to move into rented accommodations.

According to CoreLogic, a data provider, the average underwater homeowner (about 11 million) owes $258,000 on his mortgage. The proposed deal for bankers could benefit about 150,000 borrowers by refinancing U.S. home loans owned by investors and government-controlled mortgage giants. The deal being discussed is very complex. It involves unscrupulous lenders, legal liability, securities fraud claims, etc. The deal proposed by the Obama administration is not a cure for the foreclosure problem. This article is a step toward acknowledging that foreclosures are impacting communities across the U.S. and without some form of intervention with the banks and investors to reach a settlement that will absorb and reduce the housing inventory it will be difficult to restore a constrained U.S. economy.

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1ae9e320-fa98-11e0-8fe7-00144feab49a.html

Role of Social Media in Childhood Obesity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:53:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Jaimy Alex

One of the greatest challenges we face today is the increasing rate of childhood obesity. There are many factors that lead to this problem but one of the major reasons that studies have indicated is the role of media in the lives of children. Most large national cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that children who spend more time with media are the ones who are most likely to be overweight when compared to children who don’t.

Children now-a-days prefer to watch television and play video games when compared to playing outdoors. This lack of physical activity is considered to have a negative effect on children because it is assumed that if children were not in front of the television, they would be spending time playing physical outdoor games, which thereby involves them to be active and healthy. An area where media negatively influences children is with their billion dollars worth advertisement and cross promotional marketing using children’s favorite media characters to promote fast food, candies and other unhealthy foods. Statistically, the number of advertisements children watch has doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 since the 1970s.

Though we consider media to be a leading influencing factor in childhood obesity, there is only limited evidence to believe that this can be factor and no studies completely prove the direct relationship between the two. There has been a lot of stress recently in media-related policies to help prevent and reduce childhood obesity by increasing the number of media messages to promote fitness and nutrition.

Source: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/The-Role-Of-Media-in-Childhood-Obesity.pdf

Feb 2 CIC Webinar on Indicator Selection

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Guidelines for Indicator Selection

with
M. Joseph Sirgy
Management Psychologist and Professor of Marketing, Virginia Tech

Hosted by the Community Indicators Consortium

Thursday, February 2, 2012
2:00PM

Indicator selection is a very important topic in the planning of community indicator projects. How do community indicator researchers go about selecting effective indicators? This webinar will provide guidelines to help community indicator researchers do a better job selecting indicators. We will discuss criteria for selecting indicators such as relevance, comprehension, reliability, sensitivity, political bias, timeliness, comparability, objective versus subjective, positive versus negative, construct validity, unit of analysis, and process.

Register: Members / Non-members

Free for members
$25 USD for nonmembers

From the Federal Times: Performance Management Pilot Hits Snag

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

"The government's experiment with a new performance-management system is getting underway at five federal agencies, but there were potential signs of trouble last week." Read more of the article

Challenges When Measuring Kindergarten Readiness

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:51:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Dawn Dumas

Over the past semester I have been working on the concept of kindergarten readiness within Alexandria City. Kindergartener’s ready to learn, as defined by the Department of Education in conjunction with PALS teaching methods, equals students that receive high marks on the PALS examination divided by the total population of individuals that have taken the PALS examination. Students with summed scores below expectations are provided additional instruction funded by Virginia’s Early Intervention Reading Initiative.

The PALS examination looks at the high marks and the low marks of students entering kindergarten. The exam is purely phonics and reading based. The PALS exam does not take into account the students who score average on the exam. In fact, in all of my research, there is not one mention of all scores presented from the entire population. This seems to overlook an entire sector of the students being tested.

Upon further research, I came across an interesting paper on kindergarten readiness and assessment efforts. This paper, Moving Forward with Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Efforts, discusses the challenges facing assessment efforts. One concept that I found particularly interesting was the idea that kindergarteners need to be assessed using various tools, not just reading assessments but math assessments, physical assessments and developmental assessments. It seems that the definition of “readiness” needs to be broadened and encompass more than reading, it needs to have math, development and physical components. It would be very interesting to find out if Alexandria City has ever considered assessing incoming kindergarteners on more than their reading abilities.

Source: http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/CCSSO_K-Assessment_Final_7-12-11.pdf

Jan 25 Webinar: Who’s Leading the Leading Health Indicators?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:43:00 +0000

From the MAPP Weekly Update:

"The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at US Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new monthly series that will spotlight a leading health indicator topic area from Healthy People 2020. Each month will provide an overview of the health topic, note the most recent data and trends, and showcase states, communities, or organizations that are addressing the LHIs in innovative ways.

The first session will take place January 25, 2012 at 10:00am-10:30am EST. The event will highlight the successes of an organization working to address access to health services for residents of Chicago’s South Side.

Register here: https://hhs-faca.webex.com/mw0306l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=hhs-faca&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhhs-faca.webex.com%2Fec0605l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D416066475%26siteurl%3Dhhs-faca%26%26%26."

The Power of Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:49:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Andina Nagler

Since the rise of the Internet in the early 1990s, the world’s networked population has grown from the low millions to the low billions. Over the same timeframe, social media has become a way of life for civil society worldwide, involving a variety of actors – regular citizens, activists, nongovernmental organizations, telecommunications firms, software providers, and governments. Social networking, facilitated through various social media platforms, involves linking individuals together as part of a voluntary group. Individuals join groups because they share common attributes, interests, activities, or causes. Within the group they can exchange information, goods, services, and opinions. As the group grows it forms a network.[1] The application of online social networks has impacted every field of human endeavor from education to healthcare. The proliferation of social media has ramifications for U.S. political arena and the policy field.

Governments that embrace and harness the potential power of social media can better interact with their citizens and anticipate emerging issues. In the government the social media is being used across a variety of platforms to support a range of activities, including but not limited to: reaching targeted demographic groups, facilitating communication both internally as well as with new and diverse external audiences, and increasing effectiveness of research and intelligence. Last July, OPM put their strategic plan on their public website as well as their facebook page to get feedback from the citizens on the initiatives that they were undertaken. This is a perfect example on how citizens can influence policy through social network.

[1] Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus

New Study: States Should Make Better Use of Academic Data

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:16:00 +0000

From the January 17 Washington Post:

"All 50 states and the District of Columbia have built digital warehouses and filled them with academic data for every public school child, but many states are not adequately sharing the information with teachers and parents or using it in sophisticated ways to improve classroom learning, according to a new study." Read more

Latest from OECD on Measuring the Progress of Societies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

From OECD's recent Measuring the Progress of Societies newsletter:

"This 10th issue of the Newsletter on Measuring the Progress of Societies features two interesting initiatives happening in New Zealand and Canada, looks at the latest on measuring progress in terms of gender equality and explores how spending on family policies can affect child well-being. Finally, it focuses on a recent report on social cohesion and a new publication that looks at some of the elements that determine people’s sense of well-being that go beyond the purely economic aspects. You can access the individual articles by clicking on the following links:

New Zealand Government Treasury Framework for Improving Living Standards

Why Measuring Social Institutions is Important for Assessing Progress on Gender Equality

How are Canadians Really Doing? The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) Offers a Comprehensive Answer

How’s Life? Measuring Well-Being

OECD Launches Report on Social Cohesion – What Next?

Spending on Family Policies, and What Works for Child Well-being

If you would like a printable copy of the Newsletter, please click here. If you find this feature interesting and would like to create your own printable copy of Wikiprogress articles, click here."

Walkscores as a Community Indicator

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:48:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Stephanie Clark

It’s not clear when reading about how a Walk Score is calculated[1] that actual walking routes are not used. “As the crow flies” routes are used rather than walking routes. It’s not clear, then, how or why average block length and intersection density are factored into the walk score. Neither of those factors would make a difference in a walk score when talking about “as the crow flies” routes.

Walk Score is now working on Street Smart Walk Score[2], which uses actual walking routes. Street Smart is still in beta but does allow users to update amenities, which can increase the score for a given location. Right now, Street Smart does not appear to gather as much data about local amenities as Walk Score currently does. In looking at the Eisenhower East neighborhood in the City of Alexandria, the score was increased by almost 5 just by adding a handful of amenities not currently included (several local restaurants, the George Washington University Graduate Education Center, and a couple of local stores were added). According to the web page, Street Smart also looks at “the underlying road network to compute the number of intersections per square mile and average block length.” Again, these are factors that are also used in the Walk Score algorithm that uses “as the crow flies” routes. It makes more sense to use these factors when discussing actual walking routes, but it makes it even less clear why these two factors are still being used in the “as the crow flies” Walk Score methodology. It would seem that the algorithm should be updated to reflect the type of route being used.

Street Smart Walk Score would appear to be the more accurate way to calculate a walk score for a given location, but Walk Score has not said yet if Street Smart will become the primary way to do so in the future. Street Smart was announced in a blog post dated January 27, 2011. On July 18, Walk Score announced further grant funding to continue to develop Street Smart[3] but no information about whether Street Smart will take over as the better way to measure walkability is available. It’s unclear if the new products Walk Score is developing are using Walk Score or Street Smart Walk Score as the basis.

[1]http://www2.walkscore.com/pdf/WalkScoreMethodology.pdf

[2]http://blog.walkscore.com/2011/01/preview-street-smart-walk-score/

[3]http://blog.walkscore.com/2011/07/walk-score-receives-robert-wood-johnson-foundation-grant-2/

Civic Engagement as an Economic Indicator

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:46:00 +0000

This is one in a series of guest posts by students in Professor Matt Dull's Fall 2011 Public Administration and Policy Inquiry class.

by Benjamin Aiken

The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) is a nonprofit focused on Civic health and engagement in the US. NCoC recently published work which poses the question, “Can Civic Engagement Strengthen the Economy?” This research topic struck me as particularly interesting, given its implication to Alexandria Quality of Life Indicators and that project’s relationship in measuring success on Strategic Plan Goal #1, which identifies a strong economy as a primary goal for the City. Such research illustrated that areas with higher levels of civic engagement in 2006 showed slower growth in unemployment (“Civic Health and Unemployment”). Keeping in mind that correlation does not equal causation, we can still posit important explanations and potential implications from such a finding.

Engagement indicators identified by NCoC include working with neighbors, public meeting attendance, volunteering, voter registration, and voting. When holding for all other indicators and other known economic indicators impacting the unemployment rate, each indicator was shown to correlate to a decrease in the measurement for unemployment. A number of possible explanations are given, including the idea that if people are more civic minded and engaged, they are more likely to develop skills and confidence that help with finding and securing a job. NCoC also mentions that job seekers are more likely to get a job through their social network, and that civic engagement leads to an attachment to communities, and in turn, more investment and hiring will be carried out as a result.

Although the research was limited and scope, and more obviously needs to be done in fleshing out the statistical details of these correlations, the discussion of explanations does raise some good points. Even outside of the realm of economic health, the civic health of a community is a crucial component for quality of life. If the research does have merit, and in my opinion at first glance - it does, then we need to not only consider the strength of engagement in the community solely on its merit alone, but as an integral indicator for assessing overall economic health. This is just one example of a variety of indicators that must be examined as part of an overall system of community health. I believe strongly that the Alexandria Quality of Life Indicators exercise is important, but we must not have tunnel vision; a holistic approach to assessment must be undertaken and not just individual analyses in a vacuum showing how well we did in a particular instance.

“Civic Health and Unemployment: Can Engagement Strengthen the Economy?”. National Conference on Citizenship. 16 September 2011. http://www.ncoc.net/Civic-Health-and-Unemployment