Progress in the news - August 2011

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Recent progress in the news

According to a new international report, the United States is falling behind most of the developed world in the well-being of mothers and children


A new study by the United Nations health agency and its partners has found that fewer newborns are dying worldwide but progress is too slow and Africa in particular is being left further behind


Hurricane Irene may not have lived up to all the media hype, but it still did billions of dollars in damage


Growth indicators should take into account social progress and the use of natural resources, said a number of NGO and institutional leaders at a conference in Louvain-la-Neuve, at which the European Investment Bank revealed it was still unable to fully measure its ecological footprint.


The national KIDS COUNT Report is the leading U.S. report on the status and well-being of children in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


Indiana a step below northern neighbor


We live in a time of high anxiety. Despite the world’s unprecedented total wealth, there is vast insecurity, unrest, and dissatisfaction.


Kazakhstan tomorrow celebrates Constitution Day, one of the main public holidays in the country, which is of particular importance for our sovereign state and to every citizen.


Most people choose higher paying jobs over happiness


West Virginia has the highest obesity rate in the United States at 34.3 percent, while Colorado has the lowest at 20 percent, the Gallup poll indicates.


The survey findings show that the increasing use of social media and mobile technologies to get disaster information and to seek help should cause response agencies to adjust their procedures to use social media more to engage with people in times of disaster.


WA is one of the few jurisdictions in Australia that does not have a systematic, co-ordinated system to report on the wellbeing of children and young people.


Colombia has adopted a new index to measure poverty to give a more accurate picture of the problem in the Andean nation which aims to reduce poverty by 13 percent over the next four years.


Program to rely on net, rather than gross, economic growth; recognizes the importance of integrating sustainability into daily life.


The Chinese government spent 1.15 trillion yuan, or two thirds of the central budget, on improving people's livelihoods in the first half of the year, according to a government report submitted to China's top legislature on Thursday.


A Gallup poll has revealed a very disturbing fact about obesity rates in the United States: at least 20 percent of each state is obese.


Americans Remain Unsatisfied with Work Environment as Life Evaluation Continues to Decline


The percentage of Hawai‘i’s children who live in poverty and in single-parent homes has increased in the last decade, according to newly released data that focuses on the recession’s impact on youth.


The beach cities join a quest for the Holy Grail of public health: moving an entire population towards living longer, better


Foreigners looking to crack the China market have often thought more about what the country's cheap labour force and billion-strong customer base can do for them, rather than what their businesses can do for China.


Hold the front page – or rather, please don’t. Page 2 will do just fine.


When NetEase, one of China's most popular Internet portals, started offering Open University–style lectures in English last October, it expected eager Chinese netizens to flock to seminars like Web 2.0 Marketing Communications and Introduction to Robotics.


Washington County State Senator Anthony Pollina says Vermont needs a new way to measure the strength of our economy, one that better reflects what people are really experiencing.


When world leaders meet in Brazil next June for a U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, the question lingering in the minds of many is: what really is "sustainable development" in the context of a fast-changing world of growing poverty, hunger, pollution, political repression and social unrest?


The authors of this paper, Tashi Tobgay, Ugen Dophu, Christina Torres and Kesara Na-Bangchang, report on the current status of Bhutan's health and happiness.


In recent weeks, while global financial markets threatened to implode, looters rampaged through the streets of London, and the British Prime Minister David Cameron reflected darkly on the dangers of a “broken society”, Bhutan’s Prime Minister, Jigme Y. Thinley hosted a landmark international conference on Happiness and Economic Development.


Kids Count analysis ranks state high in birthweight, low in death rate


While global progress child malnutrition has lagged, good national policies have helped Peru accelerate its progress.


A new Gallup study shows that Hawaii is still the best U.S. state to live in, when it comes to your emotional and physical states.


California's ranks above the national average in well-being  below Hawaii, but above West Virginia, according to the recently-released 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index


The current results of its worldwide index of consumer confidence survey for the first half of this year made available to LEADERSHIP in Lagos, revealed that the Nigerian consumer confidence remained high.


A new UC Davis study has found that happy adolescents report less involvement in crime and drug use than other youth.


This is no surprise to anyone who lives here — Hawaii once again is the top state in the nation for well-being, according to a new poll from Gallup


Americans in Hawaii continued to set the national standard in wellbeing in the first half of 2011, followed closely by North Dakota.


Here’s a thought: if you’re over 30, you belong to the last generation to know a world without computers


According to a new report, the child poverty rate in America increased by 18 percent between 2000 and 2009, which is essentially a return to the same level as the 1990s.


University of SA's Personal Finance Research Unit will within the next two weeks embark on what it has referred to as the most comprehensive study of its kind to date to gain more knowledge about the financial well-being of South African households.


Korea is one of the worst places to live among rich nations, declared its own state-run think tank, which was also lukewarm about the country’s long-term economic prospects.


Mayor Curtatone and city staff to present findings at interactive community meeting


The U.S. economy has suffered an extraordinary reversal of fortune.


‘Watch out, there could be sewage in your tap water’ read a recent headline on an English-language newspaper in Delhi.


There's nothing about Oklahoma's 43rd-place finish in an annual assessment on child well-being that reducing this state's poverty conditions couldn't fix.


Despite a relatively strong economy, Wyoming continues to struggle with various key indicators of child well-being, according to an annual national report.


Peshawar—Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has said that development of people of Chitral and provision of basic life needs to them is prior responsibility of the government.


Oklahoma isn't ranked last among the states when it comes to the well-being of our children, and our standing has improved a bit from a year ago. But the bottom line is, we've got a long, long way to go.

A study based on a survey of thousands of people from 123 countries reveals the universal needs that make us happy


North Dakota was ranked 10th in a nationwide annual study of child well-being based on 10 indicators, but local officials cautioned state results did not necessarily reflect local trends.


Georgia ranks in the bottom ten states in terms of child well being in key economic indicators. That's according to a report out by a private charitable organization.


One in four Virginia children lives in a home where no parent has a full-time, year-round job.


Kansas showed the largest slippage in child well-being in a national study published Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.


Kentucky continues to rank low in children’s well-being, according to the 2011 Kids Count Data Book. The annual report measures various indicators like socioeconomic status and health.


A new report ranks Georgia in the top town worst states for child well-being.


More Massachusetts children are in school and fewer are giving birth than in 2000, helping to make Massachusetts one of the best states for children's overall wellbeing.


In 2009, 25 percent of Alabama children were living in poverty, a significant reason a report released today illustrating the quality of life for the state’s children moved the state’s ranking down a notch to 48th in the nation.


A national survey of children's well-being still lists New Hampshire at the top but shows that the poverty rate continues to rise in the state.


Tennessee escapes report's bottom 10 for child welfare


The number of Georgia kids living in poverty climbed to nearly 570,000 in recent years with the state ranking among the worst in the country for overall child well-being, a new study shows.

The percentage of Hawaii's children who live in poverty and in single-parent homes have increased in the last decade, according to newly released data that focuses on the recession's impact on youth.

Two-year-old Maliq Arbyummi gleefully pedals a tricycle around the playground while his older brother, Tariq, is in a classroom with three-year-olds.


The Ocean State is the 17th best in the nation for raising children, according to a new national ranking released today by KIDS COUNT.


Past emphasis on boosting output has shown policy makers must address inequality if we are to create a more progressive Scotland


In the Indian capital of New Delhi, a tiny cohort of Internet savvy consumers is demanding better services from their government and is using social media to make it happen, even though the vast majority of the town’s residents remain off the Internet.


Health care continues to be the number one issue concerning Ontarians, according to a new election poll.


A peaceful protest outside one London police station evolved into successive wild nights of looting, violence and lawlessness across the country.


Fifty years ago today, on August 13, under the cover of darkness, East Germany broke ground on the construction of the Berlin Wall, which became one of the most iconic symbols of violence and exclusion the world has ever known.


Peter Billings from the University of Queensland interrogates the legal basis for the Intervention and suggests some new approaches.


Cities have, for thousands of years, constituted for us humans major centers for the production of goods and services, for commerce and finance, and for the development of human thought through institutions of learning and through media.


In the second quarter of 2011, U.S. GDP grew by an estimated 1.3%, up from 0.4% in the first half of the year.


China's meteoric rise may have begun with Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms more than three decades ago.


Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today exhorted the world’s academic community to find solutions to global hunger and malnutrition, come up with ideas to promote sustainable and inclusive


It might seem inappropriate to focus on wellbeing when there is a famine in east Africa, but it could provide a longer-term perspective that helps us to address the roots of such crises


An initiative of the Club de Madrid - the Shared Societies project - has investigated the relationship between social cohesion and economic growth and well-being


Child well being in the UK has improved over the last 20 years according to most indicators.


Did social media and mobile telecommunications fuel this weekend's violence in London?


There may be a few atheists in foxholes, but a new study suggests that in societies under stress, those who are religious outnumber- and are happier than- their nonreligious counterparts.


According to the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index, Byerly fits the profile for the most stressed out person in America: the middle aged woman.


At the start of his book about seeking refuge from a world that’s become too noisy, author George Prochnik assures readers that he’s not just some old crank.


The UK government is the latest to consider incorporating measures of happiness in its policymaking


That liberty is necessary for greater happiness and a better life is a notion deeply rooted in the American sensibility.


Three million poor people in Africa and South Asia, the majority of them women, will gain access to low-cost mobile phone numbers as part of technology firm Movirtu’s partnership with the United Nations-backed initiative that enlists the private sector in efforts to fight poverty.


Reema Malhotra considers whether indicators of ’happiness’ should play a greater part in economic policy…


Three million poor people in Africa and South Asia, the majority of them women, will gain access to low-cost mobile phone numbers as part of technology firm Movirtu’s partnership with the United Nations-backed initiative that enlists the private sector in efforts to fight poverty.


Is the Garden State a luscious bed of roses or a skanky field of weeds?


Google Australia managing director Nick Leeder discusses a new Deloitte Access Economics study claiming the internet contributed $50 billion to the GDP last year, as much as iron ore exports.


New players, new partners and new relationships were the talk of the Society for International Development World Congress in Washington this weekend.


A tool developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for measuring energy use and carbon dioxide emissions in homes and offices is under consideration for standardization, a move that could lead to the creation of a uniform system for defining the climate impact of buildings.


Reema Malhotra considers whether indicators of ’happiness’ should play a greater part in economic policy.


Whether it’s the prospect of a happy household or a happy society, what you have to worry about is building the foundations of innovation, growth, and progress.


The results are in from a new survey on the quality of life in the counties of New Jersey.


Global Peace Index which ranks over 150 nations on a matrix that suggests their peacefulness.


Illegal water connections are common in Kenya; burst pipes and leaks sometimes takes weeks or even months to fix.


"The emergence of new paths to development has along with the rise of middle- and low-income countries," Rebeca Grynspan, associate administrator of the U.N. Development Programme, said at the opening plenary here on Friday.


CGD has just adopted a policy that I believe will improve the quality and usefulness of our work.


The relentless pursuit of productivity is socially divisive, environmentally destructive and doesn't make us any happier


Jill Matheson, charged by the Government to consult on factors that can define “happiness” and wellbeing concluded that rather than focusing on GDP calculations Government policy should deliver on “the things that matter most – our health, relationships, work and the environment”.


EU and China to Begin Limiting Flight Emissions While U.S. Airlines Fight Regulations


No one hates the quality of life in their hometown more than Cumberland County residents.


The UK government is the latest to consider incorporating measures of happiness in its policymaking.


David Cameron's 'happiness index' is a pointless exercise because the emotion itself is so elusive


Carol Graham argues for the acceptance of well-being as an economic indicator hard enough to stand with GDP


In 2007, the great ship of the American economy began encountering darkening skies.


Future trends in global population growth could be significantly affected by improvements in both the quality and quantity of education, particularly female education. 


The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board released an annual report Thursday indicating progress toward improving the state’s reputation for higher education.


As initial findings from the Office of National Statistics survey into the nation's happiness are released, some critics have labelled the project a 'waste of money and effort'.


Government policymaking could soon be guided by a new set of well-being indicators that look at more than just the gross domestic product, according to the Office for National Statistics.


David Cameron probably isn’t happy about the primary reason he’s in the news these days.


Top United Nations officials today stressed the need to realize the human right to water and sanitation, stating that it is critical not only to a life of dignity but also to achieving progress in the areas such as poverty reduction, boosting child health and combating diseases.


In the wake of a recent report by Lloyds TSB International Wealth, it came to light that a significant number of wealthy Britons are planning to migrate for a better quality of life sooner or later.


The European Commission has proposed a new package of measures aimed at facilitating integration through language learning, easier access to employment, education and training, plus efforts to fight discrimination.


A year has passed since the first news reports alerted the world to unnaturally heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan’s north-western province of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa


Addressing non-communicable diseases could let China set an example for the world


Are people really happy in Britain today? Or are they moving abroad to seek personal and financial prosperity?


Health, friends and family have come top in a debate asking the nation how they measure happiness.


Happiness is a doll in a pushchair, a Big Mac and large fries and a loving circle of friends and family.


People to be asked how content they feel in attempt to measure impact of policies on nation's wellbeing


Children must be taught that “there is more to life” than buying the latest iPod or mobile phone in order to create a happy society, Britain’s most senior civil servant has said.


People in the UK believe their well-being should be measured in terms of health, friends and family and job satisfaction, according to a report.


A welfare state that led to permanent austerity would betray the principles that have made American culture exceptional.


Last Wednesday evening, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and his DOF team, dropped by The Philippine Star to exchange views with us.


W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant allows for the establishment of a national initiative to measure the impact and identify the best practices of civic engagement by the Alliance for Children and Families and United Neighborhood Centers of America


In April this year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began research to ask people to rate their own well-being as part of a groundbreaking scheme to measure the nation’s “happiness”.


Created by the government of Bhutan, the indicator is seen as an element to add to economics-based indicators of development and productivity.


Whitehall departments have been ordered to draw up plans to make Britain happier as part of David Cameron’s drive to improve the nation’s wellbeing, The Daily Telegraph has learned.


Bhutan has put the politics of happiness on the UN's agenda.


When it comes to quality of life, nobody in Alabama has it better than residents of Shelby County.


The General Assembly today called on United Nations Member States to undertake steps that give more importance to happiness and well-being in determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development.


Calling the "pursuit of happiness" a "fundamental human goal," the resolution recognized that it was a universal goal, which is in the spirit of the UN's Millennium Development Goals


Community notice board

The community notice board is a place for the community to interact. Feel free to post questions and comments here.

A new OpenSource project is trying a strategy to prevent researcher bias arising from the weighting of indicators for composite indices (alias 'mashup indices'). It is called Yourtopia and would be very grateful for your critiques, suggestions and participation.

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