Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Neighborhood Revitalization

Commissioned by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc., this study examines the role of immigrant entrepreneurs in the revitalization of three Boston neighborhoods. All of these neighborhoods had undergone economic decline but rising immigrant populations in each have postively impacted their revival. In particular, the study looks at the role of immigrant entrepreneurs and their connection to Boston's community and economic development. It identifies the specific ways in which immigrant entrepreneurs contribute to the revitalization of their neighborhoods, centering on the perspectives of the immigrant entrepreneurs themselves. Business start-up, business operations, neighborhood relationships and future plans were covered in 35 interviews, augmented by input from key informants and census data. All in all, the immigrant businesses have proven to be engines of change that contribute to a feeling of stability. One is let with wonder and appreciation for what they have achieved for themselves and their communities

The Latino Population in Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators

This report highlights economic indicators for the Latino and total population in Massa- chusetts, including income, poverty, education, and occupation in 2008. As allowed by the data, the report compares indicators for the cities of Lawrence, Lowell, and New Bedford, and the Metropolitan Statistical Areas of Boston, Springfield, and Worcester. The informa- tion was drawn primarily from the 2008 American Community Survey of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, although selected data for Lowell and New Bedford was drawn from the aggregate 2006-2008 American Community Survey in order to achieve an adequate sample size.The report compares economic conditions in the Latino population with the total population, as well as comparing conditions within the Latino population across cities, age, or gender. The 2008 data does not capture the full impact of the current recession, and the 2009 data was not yet available at the time of this report

Latinos in Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators

This brief presents an analysis of various economic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in metropolitan areas of high Latino concentration in Massachusetts. It includes information on and comparisons of the Primary Metropolitan Areas of Boston and the Metropolitan Statistical Area of Springfield and when available the Primary Metropolitan Area of Lawrence. The information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004

Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Neighborhood Revitalization: Studies of the Allston Village, East Boston and Fields Corner Neighborhoods in Boston

Although somewhat later than other major urban areas, Boston has been experiencing fundamental demographic changes. The 2000 Census reported that for the first time non-Hispanic whites constitute a minority of the city’s population. Subsequent Census estimates confirm an even stronger trend toward a rapidly diversifying population. Immigration has been a major factor in this growth and diversification. A recent report shows that over the last 15 years more than 22,000 new immigrants have annually settled in Massachusetts. The foreign-born as a percentage of the population has grown from 9.4 percent in 1980 to 14.3 percent in 2004

Global and Local Youth Unemployment: Dislocation and Pathways

The impact of economic recessions is not felt uniformly across demographic groups, and the detrimental effects of the one-time dislocations can significantly shift the long-term prospects of human development for many years to come. The current recession has been hard on young people in the United States between the ages of 16 and 24, especially minorities (Latino or African American). Labor force participation rates have dropped dramatically and unemployment has reached as high as 30% in some states. Long spells of unemployment and adverse conditions for labor market incorporation further increase the likelihood of other poor life outcomes, such as problems with the legal system, low-wage employment, and little socioeconomic mobility. Preventing such eroding effects requires legislative and programmatic interventions to help youths into positive labor market and education pathways, among them workforce development, enhanced vocational training, and reduction of education costs. The article outlines some of such interventions and programs in Massachusetts and in other countries

Analysis of Worcester\u27s Youth Employment Sector

Overall, the employment rate for Worcester youth has improved since 2000; yet mirroring the nation, Worcester continues to have a smaller share of youth 16-24 employed. This situation is intensified for youth of color and young people facing barriers such as homelessness, exiting foster care, juvenile justice involvement, and limited English proficiency. Mass, Inc. estimates that in Worcester there are 3400 disconnected youth—756 are between 16-19 and 2644 are between 20-24. From the youth employment program inventory, we learned that the city’s programs offer many opportunities for “first job” experiences; has some exemplary programs that integrate youth development and workforce development; and is rich in non-profit and government partners to support youth employment. Through the Job1 initiative, the city is attempting to leverage the WIOA framework to increase the region’s collaborative efforts for youth employment and readiness, especially as it relates to private sector engagement. We also learned that there are some significant gaps in the youth employment sector. For example, private sector involvement is limited; pathways to an appropriate postsecondary education track is not clear after youth complete their “first job” experience; there are limited training, credentialing, and apprenticeship opportunities for disconnected youth that lead to living wage career options; systems to monitor and evaluate local labor market trends, programmatic efforts and youth’s individual progress are largely missing; questions were raised about whether youth see summer employment as ‘real jobs’ and whether they are authentic work experiences; and while the city is rich in partners, there are some key actors who are not currently at the Worcester Youth Jobs Task Force table (e.g. several WIOA funded partners, Quinsigamond Community College, and private sector actors). Taken together, this analysis on the local youth workforce, labor market, and current programs offer a robust foundation on which to build new strategies to increase the employment prospects of our city’s 1 With support from Clark University’s Mosakowski Institute

No surviving evolved companions to the progenitor of supernova SN 1006

Type Ia supernovae are thought to occur as a white dwarf made of carbon and oxygen accretes sufficient mass to trigger a thermonuclear explosion$^{1}$. The accretion could occur slowly from an unevolved (main-sequence) or evolved (subgiant or giant) star$^{2,3}$, that being dubbed the single-degenerate channel, or rapidly as it breaks up a smaller orbiting white dwarf (the double- degenerate channel)$^{3,4}$. Obviously, a companion will survive the explosion only in the single-degenerate channel$^{5}$. Both channels might contribute to the production of type Ia supernovae$^{6,7}$ but their relative proportions still remain a fundamental puzzle in astronomy. Previous searches for remnant companions have revealed one possible case for SN 1572$^{8,9}$, though that has been criticized$^{10}$. More recently, observations have restricted surviving companions to be small, main-sequence stars$^{11,12,13}$, ruling out giant companions, though still allowing the single-degenerate channel. Here we report the result of a search for surviving companions to the progenitor of SN 1006$^{14}$. None of the stars within 4' of the apparent site of the explosion is associated with the supernova remnant, so we can firmly exclude all giant and subgiant companions to the progenitor. Combined with the previous results, less than 20 per cent of type Iae occur through the single degenerate channel.Comment: Published as a letter in Nature (2012 September 27

No surviving companion in Kepler's supernova

We have surveyed Kepler's supernova remnant in search of the companion star of the explosion. We have gone as deep as 2.6 solar luminosities in the stars within 20% of the radius of the remnant. We use FLAMES at the VLT-UT2 telescope to obtain high resolution spectra of the stellar candidates selected from HST images. The resulting set of stellar parameters suggests that these stars come from a rather ordinary mixture of field stars (mostly giants). A few of the stars seem to have low [Fe/H] (< -1) and they are consistent with being metal-poor giants. The radial velocities and rotational velocities vrot sin i are very well determined. There are no fast rotating stars as vrot sin i < 20 km/s. The radial velocities from the spectra and the proper motions determined from HST images are compatible with those expected from the Besan\c{c}on model of the Galaxy. The strong limits placed on luminosity suggest that this supernova could have arisen either from the core-degenerate scenario or from the double-degenerate scenario.Comment: ApJ accepted, 7 figures and 7 table