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July 2018 Summary of Select Trends
Click on the source in (parenthesis) to visit the full article Workplace Expect union membership to decline in your community after the Supreme Court banned labor unions from imposing mandatory union fees on non-members late last month. This reverses decades-old practice. Less money could mean a shift in how unions operate, including political campaign contributions. Experts seem to think this follows the national trend toward right-to-work legislation. (SHRM) Demographics Violent crime rates are exploding in rural communities across the U.S. From 2006 to 2016, Iowa’s rate increased by only three percent, but jumped by 50% in the last year. West Virginia rates have doubled in recent decades, and New Hampshire’s tripled. Loss of jobs in factories, the opioid epidemic, and law enforcement shortages start to answer the question about how these startling statistics are possible. (Governing) Demographics What do fake news, cyber attacks, and modern advertising have in common? A new Pew study investigated how well Americans can correctly identify factual and opinion statements in news stories. In the light of foreign countries influencing elections via social media in multiple countries including the US, it's not surprising Republicans and Democrats were more likely to believe opinion news statements were factual if the statement aligned with their political leanings. (Journalism.org) Environment A former NFL player developed the first almost completely solar-powered town in the US: Babcock Ranch in southwest Florida. Along with providing power to its residents, excess power can be used by residents in neighboring areas. Currently, the town has a school, gym, community swimming pool, a gastropub serving local, organic foods, a co-working space, and each home boasts the fasted internet available. Testing on a driverless bus system started recently. (Governing) Environment Yes, there is still a partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to whether or not the Earth is warming. However, in a recent Pew study, majorities of Americans believe the federal government isn't doing enough to protect the environment in key areas like water and air quality. Political affiliation and age illustrate interesting trends in these environmental concerns, but how the effects of climate change impact their local communities add a layer of complexity. Over 4 in 10 surveyed say their local community hasn't been impacted by climate change too much or at all. (Phys.org) Technology Remember GDPR? In May, the EU imposed the toughest data security laws on behalf of its citizens, causing many US companies reeling to deal with the implications on their data belonging to customers in the EU. In late June, California passed similar legislation after both houses voted unanimously for the measure. As data breaches continue to happen and consumers expect to be legally protected, who's next? On a related note, CNet reports California-based companies Google and Facebook face up to $9.3B in fines on the first day of GDPR alone. (The Verge) Technology Nearly three-fourths (74%) of Americans believe the impact of major technology companies has been more good than bad. At the same time, nearly three-fourths (72%) of Americans do not trust major technology companies to do what is right. A new Pew study breaks down the supposed ‘necessary evil’ in modern society by important demographics like age, gender, and political affiliation. (Pew) Community Eighty-eight Ohio counties will proportionally split funding to replace outdated voting machines by their number of voters. $114M will go to replace outdated touchscreen machines implemented between 2005 to 2006 in some counties and the continued use of paper ballots in others. Counties with updated machines will not be left out, as $10M will be set aside for each. (GovTech) |
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Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations affordably engage communities through high-quality surveys, dynamic population segmentation, focus groups and work groups that use instant audience feedback technology. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].
Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations affordably engage communities through high-quality surveys, dynamic population segmentation, focus groups and work groups that use instant audience feedback technology. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].