New Experiments in Minority Voter Mobilization: Second in a Series of Reports on the California Votes Initiative

During the first phase of the California Votes Initiative, spanning elections from June 2006 to March 2007, participating community-based organizations personally contacted over 82,000 low-propensity voters, through strategies such as door-to-door outreach and phone calls, plus reached an additional 100,000 voters through less direct methods, such as voter forums and messages to congregations. This outreach inspired many to participate in the electoral process for the first time. The initiative evaluation team worked with the community organizations to imbed field experiments into their outreach efforts, comparing turnout among those targeted for contact and those assigned to control groups. This resulted in strong empirical support for a series of best practices that were detailed in a September 2007 report.1 A second phase of the initiative has continued this path-breaking research with further field experiments in the February and June 2008 elections, with more planned for November 2008. This report briefly reviews the results from the first phase of the initiative, adds findings from February 2008 and June 2008 as available,2 and outlines the follow-up studies planned for November 2008. Many findings from the first phase were confirmed, and the two rounds of experiments conducted so far this year provide valuable refinements to the list of best practices established in that earlier report. 1 Michelson, Melissa R., Lisa Garcia Bedolla and Donald P. Green. 2007. "New Experiments in Minority Voter Mobilization: A Report on the California Votes Initiative" (San Francisco, CA: The James Irvine Foundation). Available at www.irvine.org. 2 In many counties, particularly large ones such as Los Angeles, voting information is not released until several months after an election

Personality, Well-Being, and Music Involvement

This study identified if music experience is related to goal orientation, personality traits, and well-being. The subjects were the students and staff of Linfield College, members of the surrounding community, and members of a professional choir. The sample contained the spectrum of professional musicians to those with no music experience, ages 18 to nearly retired. Data was gathered via an online survey, with items to collect information about: demographics, music involvement throughout life, athletic involvement throughout life, academic information, personality traits, goal orientation, motivation, and several types of well-being. Overall there were significant correlations found between a wide spectrum of music involvement and specific personality traits, such as Openness and Compassion. Other factors, such as behavioral inhibition and approach, also have overarching correlations with music involvement. These findings suggest that there are clear relations between music and goals, motivation, and personality. We also found numerous relationships between various types of well-being and music involvement, some of which were not anticipated. These results have the potential to impact public policy and public school programs

New Experiments in Minority Voter Mobilization: A Report on the California Votes Initiative

Evaluates the effectiveness of efforts in California to mobilize voters in communities with significant low-income and minority populations

New Experiments in Minority Voter Mobilization: Third and Final Report on the California Votes Initiative

This report offers new insights about voter mobilization strategies used in our California Votes Initiative. Launched in 2006, the initiative supported nine nonprofit organizations as they reached out to infrequent voters in low-income and ethnic communities in the San Joaquin Valley and parts of Southern California. This publication, the third and final report on the initiative, summarizes findings from the entirety of the project's experiments. It examines the long-term effects of voter mobilization and the effects of specific approaches, such as canvassing and phone calls, on voter attitudes toward politics and political engagement. Qualitative analyses explore the components of a successful get-out-the-vote campaign and identify five practices organizations of many types may use to increase turnout

Intensive Archeological Survey for Proposed Improvements to Farm-to-Market Road 2100 from South Diamondhead Boulevard to FM 1960 Harris County, Texas

An intensive archeological survey was completed in order to inventory and evaluate archeological resources within the footprint of proposed widening improvements to Farm-to-Market Road (FM) 2100 between South Diamondhead Boulevard (Blvd) and FM 1960 in eastern Harris County, Texas. The project is approximately 7.7 miles or 12.4 kilometers (km) in length and has a typical width of between 100 to 300 feet (ft) or 30 to 91 meters (m); the project will be up to 1,000 ft or 305 m wide at detention pond locations. The APE is 204 acres or 83 hectares with 107 acres or 43 hectares of the total being new right-of-way. Typical roadway construction would occur within 2 ft or 0.6 m, with possible deeper impacts for construction of drainage elements and a presumed depth of up to 10 ft or 3 m at detention ponds. Fieldwork was conducted on April 20, 2015, and on July 21-22, 2015, under Texas Antiquities Permit (TAP) 7228. Based on the review of the Houston Potential Archeological Liability Map (PALM), most of the project area (168.18 acres) was determined to fall within Map Unit 4, for which survey is not recommended. The review of the PALM indicated that the remainder of the project area (35.82 acres) should be subjected to varying stages of intensive survey, including the excavation of shovel tests and/or mechanical trenching. All of the acreage subject to a level of intensive survey was determined to have been subjected to ground-disturbing activities associated with agriculture, erosion, and construction and maintenance of the existing road. No new archeological sites were identified during the survey and no artifacts were identified or recovered. Project records will be curated at the Center for Archeological Studies (CAS) at Texas State University

Archeological Survey For The Proposed Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. Oak Point Substation And Transmission Line, Denton County, Texas

On June 14-15, 2017, an intensive archeological survey was completed in order to evaluate potential impacts associated with the proposed construction of a new electrical substation on an approximately 5-acre (2.0-hectare) parcel and approximately 8.10 miles (13.0 kilometers) of transmission line within a 70-foot-wide (21.3-meter) easement in east central Denton County, Texas. A total of 73.71 acres were examined. The Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. project would be situated east of Farmto-Market Road 720 and south of Martop Road in the vicinity of Oak Point in east central Denton County and proceeding north to a tap point along an existing Brazos Electric 138-kV transmission line generally located northeast of Bailey Lane, which is southeast of Krugerville. Melissa M. Green (Principal Investigator) of Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. carried out the survey for Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. and the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended. A Texas Antiquities Permit was not required. Based on background review of available data, the potential for intact archeological deposits was considered low along the project corridor. Ground surface visibility varied across area of potential effects (APE) between 0 and 100 percent depending on the area. Fourteen shovel test units were excavated in order to examine the subsurface in areas where the potential for archeological deposits might be expected. Only one shovel test yielded an artifact during the survey. The majority of the corridor has been utilized for agricultural practices and grazing in the past and in recent years, but urban development of the general area is rapidly encroaching on the rural feel of the area. Two historic cemeteries are located immediately adjacent to the corridor in the southern half of the transmission line path, but will not be impacted; the possibility of impacts to unmarked graves in the path of the line is low, since no transmission towers or other project components with ground disturbance potential will be placed in the vicinity of either of the cemeteries’ boundaries. Two historic-age structures were identified during the survey, but have lost integrity and are recommended not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. No further work is recommended within the APE prior to the construction of the proposed substation or transmission line corridor. No artifacts were collected during the investigation however, all notes, photographs, administrative documents, and other project data will be made permanently available to future researchers via an appropriate public facility. If any unanticipated cultural materials or deposits are found at any stage of clearing, preparation, or construction, the work should cease and Texas Historical Commission personnel should be notified immediately. The Texas Historical Commission concurred with the findings and recommendations of this report on October 25, 2017

Intensive Archeological Survey For The Proposed Widening Of Fairgrounds Road Between Loop 250 And Pecan Avenue, Midland County, Texas

In October 2014, an intensive archeological survey was completed in order to inventory and evaluate archeological resources within the footprint of proposed road widening along Fairgrounds Road between Loop 250 and Pecan Avenue in northeast Midland, Midland County, Texas. The archeological area of potential effects (APE) is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of existing and additional proposed right-of-way. At the time of this investigation, a preferred alignment was still under consideration. Therefore, the entire proposed and existing right-of-way for all alternative alignments was surveyed. The right-of-way reaches a maximum width of approximately 150 feet (ft) or 45.7 meters (m) for a total of 22 acres (ac) including 2 ac of new right-of-way. Depth of impacts in the APE would be limited to less than 3 ft. The work was carried out for the City of Midland under Texas Antiquities Permit 7059 by Chris Dayton and Melissa Green (Principal Investigator) of Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (CMEC), a subcontractor to Dunaway Associates. Ground surfaces within the APE ranged from low (20 to 40 percent) to highly visible (between 50 and 90 percent). Much of the APE, including the 2 acres of proposed right-of-way, is considered disturbed from the construction and maintenance of Fairgrounds Road, installation of utilities, grading for shoulders and drainage, bioturbation, and erosion. The project corridor is in a mixed open land, commercial/industrial, residential, and recreational area; the Hogan Park and Richland Hills Country Club golf courses abut Fairgrounds Road on the west side. A total of nine shovel test units were excavated where ground visibility was lowest, near the north end of the corridor. No archeological or other cultural resources were encountered during the survey. One previously recorded archeological site, 41MD34, was mapped near the APE to warrant a revisit. It was found that much of 41MD34 is highly disturbed and/or destroyed. No cultural materials, features, or deposits were noted in the right-of-way near the site nor in the portion of the site that access was granted, and the site appears to be highly disturbed from oil and gas activities. No materials were collected; therefore, this project generated no archeological materials to be curated. Notes, forms, and other project data will be made permanently available to future researchers at Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at the University of Texas at Austin as per TAC 26.16 and 26.17. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) concurred with the findings and recommendations in this report on December 5, 2014

Archeological Survey For The Proposed Singing Hills Recreation Center Dallas County, Texas

On December 29, 2014, an intensive archeological survey was completed in order to evaluate potential archeological impacts associated with the proposed construction of a new recreation center within an approximately 10-acre (4-hectare) parcel in south central Dallas County, Texas. Melissa M. Green (Principal Investigator) of Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (CMEC) carried out the survey for City of Dallas Park and Recreation, a subentity of the State of Texas, under the Antiquities Code of Texas (9 TNRC 191). CMEC conducted the survey under Texas Antiquities Permit 7121. Ground surface visibility across most of the 10-acre area of potential effects (APE) was variable and ranged between 0 and 50 percent. The APE was once farmland, but is currently open land with invasive vegetation. Extensive ground disturbances and dumping were noted. No cultural resources were identified during the survey. All materials (notes, photographs, administrative documents, and other project data) generated from this work will be housed at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at the University of Texas at Austin where they will be made permanently available to future researchers as per 13 TAC 26.16-17. If any unanticipated cultural materials or deposits are found at any stage of clearing, preparation, or construction, the work should cease and Texas Historical Commission (THC) personnel should be notified immediately. The THC concurred with the findings and recommendations of this report on January 6, 2015

Human Cesspools by Design?: The Inherent Contradiction in Public Housing

Many architects and planners neglect the complex relationship between spatial organization and the needs of a particular group. Following notions of Modernism as prescribed by architects such as Le Corbusier and Gropius, they believe instead in architectural determinism or the idea that architecture should dictate the social relationships of the residents through the design itself This paper will attempt to demonstrate that the effective environment or the totality of variables influencing behavior, such as crime and self perception, includes both the physical design and the social factors. The design and the social factors can not be separated from one another. Instead,we must realize that the two are intertwined. Design and social factors are related insofar as the physical environment can influence the development or the expression of certain attitudes or behaviors, as well influence social relationships; (Broady, 1966 and Gutman, 1975) yet, can not determine them. We can find evidence of this interaction of design and social factors in Housing Projects such as Pruitt Igoe. Using data from the 1990 General Social Survey (GSS) our analysis will probe attitudinal differences between the socio-economic classes that are in part shaped by their environment. It will be demonstrated that the poor and the middle class have different attitudes. The poor tend to be less trustful and more withdrawn as a result