There Has Never Been A \u27Timber War\u27

There has never been a \u27timber war\u27 in northwestern California, but rather premeditated and ongoing attacks against the forests, and against the people who would protect them. This paper provides a historic examination of redwood logging and protection efforts since 1850

The Social Construction of Successful Market Reforms

The transition from socialism to capitalism has spawned a large literature on comparative policy reforms. While many sociologists using qualitative data have concluded that neo-liberal reforms led to negative outcomes, a large body of cross-national literature, mostly from economics and political science, claims that more neo-liberal reforms produced better economic and political outcomes. These latter studies almost all use measures of policy reform constructed by economists at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). We show, using the EBRD’s own data, that their indices of progress in market reforms are biased in the direction of positive growth. That is, the EBRD’s bureaucracy over-codes the more successful countries. When one accounts for this bias, the relationship between the EBRD’s transition indicators and growth significantly weakens or disappears. These findings have implications for social scientific research using statistics constructed by �international organizations, like the World Bank and the IMF.sociology of knowledge, transition, bias

Workforce Data Quality Initiative

Texas’ Workforce Data Quality Initiative aimed to develop a comprehensive system for analysis of workforce and education participation and outcomes. In partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is working to build, test, improve, and expand data linkages across linked individual-level, longitudinal education, and workforce records. Through this project, researchers would be able to identify and assess postsecondary pathways and transitions between education, employment, and other outcomes for students exiting the public school system as well as analyze the performance of the human capital development system in Texas, spanning secondary education through postsecondary education, and workforce training and employment.This report seeks to examine and analyze the postsecondary labor market outcomes of Texas high school graduates from the classes of 2008 and 2009. One advantage of looking at these two particular cohorts stems from differences in when they encountered the Great Recession: the class of 2008 graduated prior to the start of the recession in Texas and the class of 2009 graduated immediately after the start of the recession. It is likely that class of 2009 graduates factored in the regional changes in availability of employment as they weighed whether or not to apply for and enroll in college.Texas Workforce CommissionRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Though the Heavens Fall

Adventist universities today are facing an exceptionally difficult challenge. No longer surrounded by a predominantly Christian culture, students enter Adventist universities having been exposed to the ever stronger tide of secularism and moral relativism. These ideologies teach them that there is no need to take a stand for truth since truth is subjective to an individual’s preferences: what one person considers truth, another considers wrong, and nobody has the right to say otherwise. Many students wrestle with the questions that arise as they struggle to reconcile their Christianity with these philosophies. As Adventist educators, we are called to provide a spiritual and moral education to our students. We are to demonstrate to our students what it means to live out our Christian beliefs, to speak the truth in love and not hatred. We are to have the personal touch that Christ had with those who came to Him for help and with those who rejected Him. In short, we are called to pass on the torch of our Seventh-day Adventist heritage to the next generation

Strength and conditioning practices of franchise-level cricket trainers

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the strength and conditioning practices implemented by cricket trainers and coaches at an elite level. Methods: An online survey, adapted from previous strength and conditioning questionnaires, was sent to trainers currently working with the franchise cricket teams in South Africa. The survey consisted of four main sections including a general strength and conditioning, cricket- specific and injury prevention category. Results: The results indicated that trainers (n = 5) implement planned sessions throughout the different phases of the season and that certain injury prevention practices are applied. Furthermore, player workload is monitored for all disciplines (batsmen, bowlers and fielders). Conclusion: These results can be used as a tool to educate coaches and trainers to ensure the correct strength and conditioning practices are implemented. Additionally the study showed that strength and conditioning practices at the elite level can be implemented without specialised equipment and facilities, which is important for teams that are constantly travelling. Lastly it showed the importance of looking at all aspects of health and skill related fitness