Twentieth Century Intercohort Trends in Verbal Ability in the United States

Vocabulary test score trends from the General Social Survey contradict the widespread conclusion that scores on standardized intelligence tests have systematically increased over the past century. We use a vocabulary test included in 20 nationally representative surveys administered since 1974 to test three hypotheses proposed to account for these trends, including changes in the formal measurement properties of the test, over-time changes in the meaning of education, and intercohort differences in exposure to words on the test. We find no support for the idea that test scores have declined because of changes in the structure of the test. Instead, our results show that education selectivity accounts for some cohort differences among prewar cohorts and that cohort-specific differences in exposure to words on the test account for nearly all variation in vocabulary scores of respondents born after 1945, suggesting different causal processes have influenced cohort verbal ability during distinct historical eras

Developmental Idealism in Internet Search Data

Scholarship on developmental idealism demonstrates that ordinary people around the world tend to perceive the level of development and the specific characteristics of different countries similarly. We build on this literature by examining public perceptions of nations and development in internet search data, which we argue offers insights into public perceptions that survey data do not address. Our analysis finds that developmental idealism is prevalent in international internet search queries about countries. A consistent mental image of national development emerges from the traits publics ascribe to countries in their queries. We find a positive relationship between the sentiment expressed in autocomplete Google search queries about a given country and its position in the global developmental hierarchy. People in diverse places consistently associate positive attributes with countries ranked high on global development indices and negative characteristics with countries ranked low. We also find a positive correlation between the number of search queries about a country and the country\u27s position in indices of global development. These findings illustrate that ordinary people have deeply internalized developmental idealism and that this informs their views about countries worldwide

Sowing the seeds of skepticism: Russian state news and anti-GMO sentiment

Biotech news coverage in English-language Russian media fits the profile of the Russian information warfare strategy described in recent military reports. This raises the question of whether Russia views the dissemination of anti-GMO information as just one of many divisive issues it can exploit as part of its information war, or if GMOs serve more expansive disruptive purposes. Distinctive patterns in Russian news provide evidence of a coordinated information campaign that could turn public opinion against genetic engineering. The recent branding of Russian agriculture as the ecologically clean alternative to genetically engineered foods is suggestive of an economic motive behind the information campaign against western biotechnologies

Developmental Idealism: The Cultural Foundations of World Development Programs

This paper extends theory and research concerning cultural models of development beyond family and demographic matters to a broad range of additional factors, including government, education, human rights, daily social conventions, and religion. Developmental idealism is a cultural model—a set of beliefs and values—that identifies the appropriate goals of development and the ends for achieving these goals. It includes beliefs about positive cause-and-effect relationships among such factors as economic growth, educational achievement, health, and political governance, as well as strong values regarding many attributes, including economic growth, education, small families, gender equality, and democratic governance. This cultural model has spread from its origins among the elites of northwest Europe to elites and ordinary people throughout the world. Developmental idealism has become so entrenched in local, national, and global social institutions that it has now achieved a taken-for-granted status among many national elites, academics, development practitioners, and ordinary people around the world. We argue that developmental idealism culture has been a fundamental force behind many cultural clashes within and between societies and continues to be an important cause of much global social change. We suggest that developmental idealism should be included as a causal factor in theories of human behavior and social change

Accounting for Institutional Variation in Expected Returns to Higher Education

This study leverages human capital theory to identify the correlates of expected returns on investment in higher education at the level of institutions. We leverage estimates of average ROI in post-secondary education among more than 400 baccalaureate degree conferring colleges and universities to understand the correlates of a relatively new metric of institutional ROI. Results indicate that a diverse undergraduate student body, high graduation rate, and public university status are strong, positive, and robustly associated with institutional ROI. The model accounts for more than 70% of inter-university variation in ROI, suggesting that the factors we have identified are among the most important correlates of institutional ROI. We discuss the policy implications of these findings for institutions of higher education in the context of institutional rankings and a rapidly evolving education landscape, giving special attention to student body characteristics colleges and universities

Middle Eastern Beliefs about the Causal Linkages of Development to Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights

This paper investigates the extent to which people in five Middle Eastern countries endorse key beliefs of developmental idealism that associate development with freedom, democracy, and human rights. Developmental idealismis a set of beliefs concerning the desirability of development, the methods for achieving it, and its consequences. The literature suggests that these beliefs have diffused worldwide among elites and lay citizens and posits that when such beliefs are disseminated they become forces for social and economic changes. Although developmental idealism research has primarily examined family and demographic issues, developmental idealism has tremendous potential to influence other aspects of society. This paper extends knowledge by considering societal aspects not addressed previously in the developmental idealism literature: personal freedom, democracy, and human rights. Using survey data from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, we investigate how publics of these countries associate development with these elements. We find that majorities believe development brings greater personal freedom, democracy, and human rights. Conversely, the data show that in four of the countries majorities believe more personal freedom contributes to development. These findings provide support for the idea that developmental idealism beliefs concerning freedom, democracy, and human rights have diffused to lay publics in these five Middle Eastern countries. We also find evidence of uniquely Islamic developmental models; a significant proportion of people in these countries believe that more religion will bring more development

Ethics in optometry: Optometrist and student perspectives on ethical dilemmas

Introduction: The optometric profession continually faces ethical dilemmas as optometrists seek to provide quality services and materials in a competitive health care environment. The ethical situations that O.D.\u27s participate in can have negative effects on doctor, patient, and third party provider if not handled properly. Methods: A previous study surveyed students at schools and colleges of optometry to get an understanding of their responses to various ethical situations. These situations will be presented to practicing optometrists and will be analyzed for differences between doctors and students, and among different groups of optometrists. Results: Among optometrists, differences in ethical responses occur most frequently between genders. A large difference in responses is seen between practicing optometrists and optometry students. Conclusion: The largest individual factor that determines an optometrist\u27s ethical decision is gender, whereas an even larger disparity occurs in responses between student and doctor. Ethics training in optometry schools and elsewhere may be beneficial in creating awareness of ethical situations but may not affect the ethical decisions that are made

ANALISIS KESEJAHTERAAN PEKERJA PENGOLAH MINYAK KELAPA SAWIT PT. WAWASAN KEBUN NUSANTARA SELAMA PANDEMI COVID

During the Covid-19 pandemic at PT Wawasan Kebun Nusantara, palm oil processing workers were still working at the factory as usual. While working, palm oil processing workers are still required to be professional in carrying out work activities. Moreover, the demand for palm oil production continues to increase. With the Covid-19 pandemic, workers are actually obliged to get protection. This is because working during the Covid-19 pandemic is more at risk of contracting the virus because it is in a busy environment and meets many people. This study aims to examine the welfare program of palm oil processorsat PT Wawasan Kebun Nusantara in Sentanggau Jaya Village during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worker welfare is the company's responsibility to workers to ensure cooperation between employers ofworkers, where employee welfare programs have three indicators, namely economic welfare programs, facility welfare programs, and service welfare programs. The role of the company is carried out from preventing, treating and providing health insurance for its workers during the covid-19 pandemic. This must be done by companies both preventively and reactively to protect all palm oil processing workersduring the COVID-19 pandemic

The social change role of community-based development corporations : a quiet transformation of private lives and local institutions

This dissertation examines the critique that contemporary CDCs have abandoned their 1960s commitment to empower poor communities. By asking CDC directors how their organizations accomplish social change, this research seeks a more nuanced description of the transformative intent of their work. These practitioner perspectives are then placed in the context of Post WWII new social movement theory in order to discover the conceptual basis for an alternative explanation for the social change role being played by today's CDCs. This study finds that a majority of today's CDC practitioners expect to achieve social change by implementing local projects and programs. CDC directors provide rich qualitative descriptions of how they transform the private lives of individuals and influence the social commitments of local institutions. These qualitative themes yield a normative theory of how CDCs practice social change that is substantially different from the public policy remedies their critics expect them to pursue. Rather than abandoning their commitment to empower the poor, this investigation finds that CDC practitioners share a common motivation to help oppressed populations achieve social outcomes not available in a market economy. When the social change explanations of CDC practitioners are compared to empirical evidence of the continuing activism of former 1960s student protestors and new social movement theories, this study finds that the 'localized' empowerment objectives of CDCs substantively correspond with contemporary concepts of social change activity like civic learning and a re-emerging associationalism. This research concludes that the conceptualization of social change underlying the perceptions of CDC directors has a different ideological footing than that embraced by its critics. Instead of top-down government solutions, CDC's employ bottom-up self governance strategies. This difference in ideology means that instead of marginalizing the local empowerment strategies and cooperative partnerships formed by today's CDCs, these practices should become a central focus of empirical research and theoretical analysis. This alternative explanation means that university curriculums should recognize the relevance of new social movement theory and that government and philanthropic funders should focus on current CDC practice in order to measure the success of their investments in poor communities. (Author abstract)Dorius, N. E. (2006). The social change role of community-based development corporations: a quiet transformation of private lives and local institutions. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)School of Community Economic Developmen