http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher en-us Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:00:03 -0500 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:00:03 -0500 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012021000 More than 12 years have passed since a groundbreaking report on preventable patient deaths in hospitals alerted the nation to a crisis in patient safety. Galvanized into action, the federal government poured money into research and training, patients and families formed advocacy groups, private and government insurers began refusing to reimburse medical institutions for the most serious preventable injuries and hospitals developed systems to track patient harm at the insistence of accreditation agencies. Yet patients continue to suffer high levels of death and injury from medical errors, and the health care industry, government regulators, insurers and patient advocates are struggling to figure out how to tackle the problem. Bloodstream infections caused by contaminated catheters are among the most dangerous threats, and hospitals are taking strong steps to prevent them. Meanwhile, medical experts are debating the value of patient involvement in safety procedures. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012021000 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012020300 The 2012 contest pitting President Obama against a yet-to-be-determined Republican challenger ranks as one of the most intriguing presidential campaigns in history. Two powerful populist factions — the conservative Tea Party movement and Occupy Wall Street protest against income inequality — are helping to shape campaign ideologies and stump speeches. An unusually large field of Republican candidates, including multimillionaire Mormon Mitt Romney and thrice-married Newt Gingrich, have fought each other as aggressively as they have Obama, leaving the GOP so fractured that some think a nominee won't emerge until the party convention in August. Meanwhile, following a controversial Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance, wealthy donors are pouring millions of dollars into TV attack ads through so-called SuperPACs. And overshadowing the entire spectacle is the shaky U.S. economy and the question of which candidate is best equipped to turn it around. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012020300 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012012700 After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Tulane University made volunteering for community projects in the ravaged city, such as restoring parks or tutoring grade-school students, a requirement for graduation. Since then, applications to Tulane have shot up. Schools and colleges nationwide have increased volunteer opportunities for students, and nearly 90 percent of colleges offer service-learning programs that tie class work with volunteer activities. Researchers see ample evidence that at least some service programs encourage students to participate in civic life as they grow older. Experts worry, however, that volunteer opportunities are far more prevalent for middle-class and affluent students than for those from low-income families. Meanwhile, many school districts continue to mull whether to require volunteer service for high school graduation. Courts have upheld the constitutionality of such requirements, but some students and parents resist them. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012012700 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012012000 The United States is slowly coming out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, but many Americans want tougher law enforcement against the companies and executives they say created the mess. Four years after the crisis began, no prominent financial executives have been prosecuted. Civil charges were brought against major banks for misleading investors by packaging subprime mortgages with insufficient disclosure, but a federal judge recently rejected a proposed settlement as too lenient. Meanwhile, major mortgage lenders are negotiating a potential multibillion-dollar settlement over allegations of improper home foreclosures. Some states, however, are balking at banks' request for protection from subsequent lawsuits. Many experts say the government has failed to devote adequate resources to prosecuting wrongdoers. But some also acknowledge that certain activities that triggered the crisis were not necessarily illegal. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012012000 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012011300 Demonstrators protesting income inequality and corporate greed have taken over parks and other public places across the country in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street protest launched in September near New York City's Financial District. Police have shut down many camps following mass arrests, occasional violence and heavy-handed police tactics, including in New York and Oakland, Calif. Still, while top Republicans have condemned the protesters as divisive and dangerous, some Democratic politicians have voiced sympathy for their message. The movement's main claim — that the U.S. political and economic system benefits the richest 1 percent to the detriment of the other 99 percent — has put the issue of economic fairness front and center in the presidential race. But the Occupy movement faces a long, cold winter and a pair of daunting challenges: defining its long-term goals and forming a leadership structure that can chart a sustainable course for the protest effort. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012011300 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012010600 The U.S. health care system faces spiraling costs from chronic, or noncommunicable, illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and preventable cancers. But public health experts are discovering that just pushing people to change bad habits isn't working. Instead, they are placing more focus on “making the healthy choice the easy choice” through such efforts as reformulating processed foods and making streets safe for walkers and bikers. Some in Congress and the Obama administration made a big push for community-based disease prevention approaches, but concerns over the budget deficit could result in major cuts to the Prevention and Public Health Fund enacted as part of the 2010 health reform act. However, some say the government is overreaching in its war on obesity, and studies show that some prevention efforts add to health care costs. The fight against preventable disease is not a U.S. problem alone. In poor countries, the biggest threats are the same ones afflicting Americans: lack of exercise, smoking and unhealthy diets. Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2012010600 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011121600 Environmental groups and the Obama administration have long promoted natural gas as a domestic energy source that is cleaner and cheaper than oil and offers a way for the United States to break its dependence on foreign energy suppliers. But a drilling method being used to unlock gas deposits deep inside the Earth has led to widespread protests. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” involves injecting massive amounts of water, chemicals, sand and other material under high pressure into shale formations to break the rock and release the gas trapped inside. Critics say fracking fouls drinking water, pollutes the atmosphere with toxic methane gas and turns rural communities into ugly industrial zones. Energy executives say, however, that the technique is safe and efficient and is creating thousands of jobs. In Congress, lawmakers have introduced bills to tighten environmental regulation of fracking, and some states have banned the procedure while they study its impact. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011121600 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011120900 Across the West, water is becoming an endangered resource as a warming climate adds new stress to an already strained supply. Drought is devastating Texas; flows of the Colorado River — vital to a seven-state region — have become more uncertain; and important underground aquifers are being depleted in several states. As concern about shortages grows, conflicts among housing developers, farmers and environmentalists are increasing. Agriculture is in the spotlight because it accounts for about 80 percent of Western water consumption. Farmers say they're far more careful about conservation than many suburban residents, with their swimming pools and thirsty lawns. Water conflicts go back a long way in the nation's most arid region. But a growing number of Western water-policy experts say cooperation, compromise and conservation offer the only practical approaches to cope with rising demands on the region's water supply. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011120900 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011120200 Digital technology is becoming increasingly commonplace in K-12 education, and many researchers argue that it will save money and transform schools into more effective institutions. But other experts contend that the evidence so far is slim on exactly what computers can accomplish in the classroom. The dominance of standardized testing means digital technologies must raise students' test scores to levels administrators and policymakers deem significant. But computer-based learning may not be well suited for that task, and further efforts to computerize education may require schools to shift away from standardized testing, experts say. Until now, most successful computer-learning initiatives have required specialized training for teachers. But experts say developing technology that will be easy for nonspecialists to use remains a challenge. Meanwhile, despite the debate over the effectiveness of computerized education, all-online K-12 schools are proliferating nationwide, and enrollment in online courses is soaring. Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011120200 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011111800 College football, the nation's third-most-popular spectator sport after pro football and baseball, has millions of devoted fans but also a growing number of critics who say the game has become a multibillion-dollar business increasingly in conflict with colleges' core educational mission. Major football schools spend lavishly to field top teams and reap millions in revenues, but most colleges actually lose money on athletics overall. Players earn millions for schools and private companies but must shortchange academics because of demanding schedules. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is proposing changes to help players and tighten academic standards, but it has little power to control schools' spending. Meanwhile, big-time football schools are jockeying for position in conference realignments. And the game drew more unwelcome attention with the firing of Penn State's legendary head coach, Joe Paterno, in a child sex-abuse scandal involving a former assistant. Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011111800 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011111100 The meteoric rise of Google in just 13 years has revolutionized the Internet. But competitors are growing wary as the Silicon Valley icon, known for its “Don't Be Evil” motto, strengthens its dominance over online searching and advertising and rapidly expands into new areas. Up to 70 percent of online searches in the United States are conducted on Google, whose vast portfolio includes airline ticketing, comparison shopping, social networking and mobile-phone software. In addition, Google has proposed a $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a major manufacturer of wireless phones and other electronic devices. Critics portray Google as a monopoly that leverages its power in order to bully rivals. Google strongly denies the accusations and counters that alternatives are one click away. Now, regulators in the United States and abroad are examining whether Google has run afoul of antitrust laws and should be reined in. Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011111100 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011110400 The millions of acres of publicly owned lands managed by the U.S. government produce valuable resources, such as timber, minerals, oil and gas. Mainly located in Western states, these scenic and historic lands also are prized recreation areas where each year millions of visitors hunt, camp, hike and explore. Some conservatives want to restrict the government's authority to protect public lands from private development. Environmentalists say these lands need more protection, not less, and that mining and grazing on public lands have been underpriced for decades, encouraging waste and abuse. President Obama signed a law in 2009 setting aside 2.1 million federal acres as wilderness, but he also advocates allowing renewable-energy production on public lands, which some conservationists oppose. Meanwhile, climate change threatens many of the benefits derived from public lands, such as clean drinking water, safe habitats for endangered wildlife and pristine wild places for recreation. Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011110400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011102800 One in five American children lives in a household with income below the poverty line — $22,050 for a family of four. Not only are the daily lives of poor children difficult, but experts worry that many will suffer lifelong effects from early deprivation. Concern about child poverty has grown especially strong amid a push in Congress for sweeping budget cuts, including reductions in spending on food stamps and other anti-poverty programs. As child poverty continues to rise amid the nation's persistent economic woes and high unemployment, a long-simmering debate over the problem's root causes is heating up. Liberals argue that fewer children would fall into poverty if the government safety net were stronger and more jobs were available for struggling parents. Conservatives, on the other hand, say child poverty largely stems from parental behavior — particularly a growing tendency to have children out of wedlock. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011102800 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011102100 As Congress tries to reduce the federal debt, it is forcing federal loan and grant programs for higher education to fight for scarce dollars. In negotiations this summer over the debt ceiling, lawmakers shifted money from loan programs for students who borrow for graduate and professional school and students who pay back loans on time to Pell Grants for low-income students. The government has implemented several new programs to make the loan system fairer, including making payments easier for lower-wage earners and providing federal loans directly to borrowers rather than through banks, to avoid subsidizing commercial institutions. However, some consumer advocates say unless education debt can be forgiven through bankruptcy proceedings, as most other debt can, the system will never be fair to student borrowers. Meanwhile, tuition continues to rise, and total higher-education debt has surpassed credit-card debt for the first time, rising to $830 billion in mid-2010 and continuing to climb. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011102100 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011101400 Eyewitness testimony is often essential to criminal prosecutions, but witnesses sometimes misidentify an innocent person. Misidentifications played a part in three-fourths of the 273 wrongful convictions confirmed over the past two decades by DNA exonerations. Eyewitness scientists have long known of the unreliability of witness identifications, as confirmed through experiments dating back to the early 20th century, but police have been slow in changing ID procedures. The Supreme Court established limited safeguards against unreliable identifications in the 1960s and '70s, but experts say the rulings have had little impact and may actually mislead jurors in determining the accuracy of an identification. Now, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered stricter standards on identification testimony in the state's courts, including special instructions on the risk of misidentification even by witnesses who are absolutely certain. And the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in November in a case that could allow the justices to revisit the issues. Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011101400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011100700 More than one in seven Americans lives below the poverty line, the highest proportion in nearly two decades, and many cannot afford a lawyer to resolve non-criminal legal problems involving such issues as spousal abuse, eviction, child custody and consumer fraud. Government-financed legal-aid programs have long helped fill the gap, but the weak economy and enormous pressure on state and federal budgets are putting those programs at risk. The Legal Services Corp., a nonprofit that distributes federal funding to civil legal-aid programs nationwide, faces potentially steep budget cuts in Congress, and some conservatives want to end the program altogether. As money for legal-aid programs shrinks, a growing number of poor people are representing themselves in court — often to their own detriment. Meanwhile, debate continues about whether the nation's 1 million private lawyers should be required to provide free legal help to the poor. Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011100700 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011093000 The number of elderly Americans is rising sharply. More than 1 million people will be at least 100 years old by 2050 — up from just 50,000 centenarians in 2000. With more and more Americans living longer, policymakers worry that Social Security and Medicare costs will drain money from health and education programs for the young. Meanwhile, researchers are trying to prolong life even more, making old age a time of health and activity, not sickness and frailty. Some envision a future when people routinely live in good health to 100 or longer, aided, perhaps, by drugs that turn on “longevity” genes, newly discovered secrets of long-lived people and even computer chips and tiny robotic devices implanted in humans to help them remain vigorous. But many gerontologists and ethicists argue that the human body is far too complex for such drastic changes and that scientists should focus on improving health care for all Americans, not increasing longevity. Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011093000 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011092300 Nearly a decade after the United States went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the suicide rate among soldiers and veterans — though lower than the civilian rate — is rising sharply, leading to criticism that military leaders aren't doing enough to help service members. President Barack Obama acknowledged the severity of the problem this year when he began sending condolence letters to families of service members who commit suicide while deployed in combat zones. Scrambling to address the problem — in uncoordinated fashion, researchers say — the military has determined possible causes for the rise in suicides, including multiple deployments that leave soldiers little time at home between combat tours. Yet suicides are also rising among service members who have never deployed. The Veterans Administration (VA) is under pressure from courts and lawmakers to step up mental-health treatment. VA officials say they are doing so, but politicians and veterans’ families remain unimpressed with the efforts. Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011092300 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011091600 Hackers made headlines this year when the international protest group Anonymous shut down government and corporate websites, and U.S. and European police moved in. But likely more significant than the antics of so-called “hacktivists” is rising interest by corporations, government security officials and Internet companies in hiring “good” hackers, who can counter attacks by “bad” hackers — cybercriminals. Thefts of money and information via hacked computers are on the rise worldwide, with hundreds of billions in losses annually. The challenge lies in overhauling legal and economic structures to encourage innovative, positive hacks and strengthen defenses against destructive ones, experts say. The Obama administration is proposing a sweeping cybersecurity plan that would require utilities, banks and other economic linchpins to strengthen their systems against computer sabotage. Opponents of the plan argue, however, that new cyberthreats arise too quickly for top-down government regulation to stop them. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011091600 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011090900 The United States has suffered record-breaking floods along the Mississippi River this year, plus giant snowstorms from the Midwest to the Northeast, massive wildfires in the West and South, deadly tornadoes in the South and Midwest and an extended drought in a quarter of the contiguous United States. A similar pattern of extreme weather occurred in 2010. And the U.S. is far from alone. Worldwide, weather- and climate-related disasters last year left nearly 70,000 people dead and inflicted nearly $100 billion in damages. The reasons behind the surge in extreme weather are open to debate, but a scientific consensus is emerging that global warming is the culprit. In some locales scientists are fighting back. In bone-dry Abu Dhabi, for example, they are trying to create summer rainstorms through a new version of cloud seeding. But experts say that as the planet warms, extreme weather — with its immense human and financial toll — is likely to continue. Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011090900