Author Archives: Peter Levine

involving kids in research

I’m busy trying to raise money for the Prince

George’s Information Commons, our project that helps local kids

use the Internet for civic purposes. There’s one specific grant opportunity

that I want to go after, and it has a Sept. 2 deadline.

Given the terms of the grant opportunity ("research in active

living"), I can imagine us doing these three things:

1. We could help kids to map the walkable streets, parks, and healthy

food sources of the r community, so that we can investigate whether

that kind of research makes adolescents more aware of health issues,

more prone to healthy behavior, and more civically engaged. Our method

would be to give them (and a control group) questionnaires both before

and after the course, and measure the change.

2. We could help kids to produce public documents—such as maps,

brochures, website materials—that advertise the health assets

in the community, and investigate whether these materials lead to positive

health outcomes in the school or community. Our method would be to give

students in a set of classes a questionnaire, then expose them to the

materials that our kids create, and then survey them again.

3. We could use the data that the kids collect to generate genuine

research findings of value to other communities.

I’m convinced that the funder actually wants #3, and it’s the hardest

item for me to conceive. We could say that we will collect baseline

data on walkability, nutritional quality, and crime, and use these data

for research purposes—but I doubt that that’s specific enough.

We could say that we will investigate whether proximity to healthy assets

correlates with good health, controlling for lots of stuff, but I’m

not sure that kind of correlational research is rigorous enough. We

could say that we will resurvey the neighborhood periodically to establish

how much change occurs in walkability and other health variables. But

I’m not sure how interesting the mere rate of change would be. Or we

could say that we will use specific changes in the community as "natural

experiments." But then I think we need to describe one likely change

that we will be able to investigate. I haven’t thought of one yet.

Arnold and stealth democracy

Saturday’s Washington

Post quotes a California citizen who supports Arnold Schwartzenegger’s

gubernatorial bid: "His eyes brightened behind his glasses as he

discussed how someone like Schwarzenegger would bring fresh ideas and

an eagerness to correct the state’s problems. "’I’m hopeful that

he will be independent enough in his thoughts that he thinks like a

citizen and not as an experienced politician,’ [the citizen] said, ‘so

that he can do the right thing." Echoing Schwarzenegger’s ‘Tonight

Show’ line that he could not be bought, [he added]: ‘Everyone who comes

to work with him knows that they’re going to get nothing in return except

the satisfaction. We know he’s not looking for money, and that’s a plus.’"

This quote perfectly exemplifies what Hibbing and Theiss-Morse call

"stealth democracy" (See my

review of their book.) According to them, Americans believe that

there is no need for debates about policy, because all reasonable people

share the same goals. The fact that heated debates actually take place

proves that professional politicians are trying to gain some kind of

advantage over each other in a competitive game. And the reason they

play this game is that they want to obtain personal wealth from holding

political office.

I have no doubt that some Americans believe all this (including some

highly sophisticated people whom I have met). We’ll

see from the California recall campaign whether it’s the dominant view

in that state.

productivity is not always good

Productivity rose in the second quarter at an annual rate of 5.7%,

yet unemployment remained stubbornly high. Businesses did not increase

spending on equipment, so their productivity gains didn’t come from

upgraded technology. Instead, I suspect, they squeezed more profits

out of the workforce the old-fashioned way. Middle-managers, afraid

of losing their own jobs, denied bathroom breaks to sales clerks. Benefits

packages were subtly watered down. More socks were reshelved by fewer

people at your neighborhood WalMart.

If the second quarter was a prelude to widespread economic growth that

will soon benefit everyone, fine. But if it represents the new version

of "growth," "productivity" and "recovery,"

who needs those things?

politicians are sometimes sincere

Since the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation is clearly

benefiting Republicans and harming Democrats, why did most Republicans

vote against it and most Democrats support it?

There are cynical explanations. For example, maybe neither party predicted

the effects correctly. Maybe they all assumed that campaign

finance reform would have to be good for Democrats, and they voted pro

and con accordingly. Or perhaps the reform was viewed as bad for incumbents

as a group (which it is). Republicans may care more about protecting

incumbents, since they have majorities in both houses.

However, I think that a non-cynical explanation is at least partly

true. Republicans stood to gain from McCain-Feingold, but most were

still against it, because philosophically they oppose state regulation

of a financial exchange that they consider completely legitimate. Democrats

stood to lose from McCain-Feingold, but most voted for it, because philosophically

they oppose private financing of campaigns and they want to regulate

donations. Sometimes, arguments and reasons count.

Washington versus DC

I was at a conference out of town recently, sitting with two people

who had previously lived in the nation’s capital, where I’ve resided

for a dozen years. They said that they like "DC," but they

don’t like "Washington." I agreed. For those who live elsewhere,

this is the distinction (as I see it):

"Washington"		"DC"

Members of Congress, lobbyists, lawyers, diplomats, reporters		teachers, police officers, artists, store owners, bus drivers, receptionists, janitors

mostly White, with some foreign officials		mostly Black, very diverse

K Street, Connecticut Avenue		U Street, 18th St, Georgia Avenue

The city west of the park plus Chevy Chase, Bethesda, much of Fairfax		All quadrants of the city plus Silver Spring, Hyattsville, Mitchelville, Alexandria

Georgetown, SAIS, all the law schools		Howard, Gallaudet, Trinity College, UDC

Mclean McMansions, Georgetown townhouses, the White House		row houses with cornice decorations made of bricks and wooden front porches

people "serve" here for a few years and go home		people live in the house where their grandmothers were born

The LaGuardia Shuttle, Lear jets, stretch limos, Air Force One		Metrobuses and trains, the Beltway, Greyhound

Reagan National Airport		National Airport

The World Bank		Riggs Bank

The CIA		The DMV

The Redskins		The Redskins