NEWS
October 16, 2009
Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration released the results of its survey of Baltimore residents Thursday and confirmed two things that should be fairly obvious to most people who live here. One, illegal drug use and violent crime are major concerns of city residents, as is the difficulty of finding good jobs. And two, Baltimore is a Balkanized place. Residents reported a curious disconnect between how they felt about their neighborhoods and how they felt about the city as a whole, particularly when it comes to crime.
NEWS
By MICHAEL DRESSER | September 7, 2009
It's hard to believe after witnessing the daily idiocy that pervades Maryland's roads, but there's a glimmer of hope that the state's drivers might be getting a little more serious about safety. The hopeful signs come in a recently released study by the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park, which surveyed 850 licensed drivers each year between 2003 and 2009 about their driving practices, attitudes and concerns. The findings are a mixed bag. It turns out we're increasingly concerned about cell phone use while driving.
NEWS
By Michael Dresser | July 14, 2009
Here's a classic good news-bad news study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: It appears that more than three decades of strong anti-drunken driving messages and stronger enforcement are having some impact. In a 2007 survey, NHTSA found that the percentage of drivers on weekend nights who have a blood-alcohol level higher than the prevailing national limit of .08 percent has fallen to 2.2 percent. It's still pretty scary that one in 50 drivers on the road is drunk at those times, but that's an improvement from the downright terrifying 7.5 percent that prevailed in 1973, when the first such survey was taken.
NEWS
By KEVIN COWHERD | May 10, 2009
Here's the cheery message that greets all fathers as we slog through this wonderful spring of recession and layoffs and swine flu: Dear Dad, take a hike. I say this because of a new and depressing national survey released just in time for Mother's Day. The survey shows adult children would overwhelmingly choose to have Mom move in with them instead of Dad if their elderly parents couldn't take care of themselves. My fellow dads: Is this beautiful or what? In fact, the survey by Towson-based Senior Helpers, a provider of in-home care for the aging, showed that fully 70 percent of adult children would pick Mom over Dad. Yes, when it comes to making the big decision about which parent to take in, the thinking apparently goes like this: Poor old Mom needs a little help.
NEWS
By HANAH CHO | October 10, 2008
We know employers and recruiters use social networking sites to vet job candidates and even see what current employees are up to. Now we have a better insight into how they're using that information, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. Since 2006, there has been a 17 percent increase in human resources executives who use sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn as recruiting, resume verification and candidate screening tools at least occasionally, according to the survey of nearly 600 HR professionals.
NEWS
By HANAH CHO | August 29, 2008
Most workers say they have little to celebrate this Labor Day. Several recent surveys depict a general malaise among workers and depression about the job market and the economy. A survey of 1,000 Americans released yesterday concluded worker confidence about the economy is lower than during the recession of 2001 - even though the unemployment rate now is below 2001 levels. The nation's unemployment rate is 5.7 percent, higher than Maryland's 4.4 percent. The researchers also point out concern over declining home values and rising gas prices.
NEWS
By HANAH CHO | June 25, 2008
Welcome to vacation season. About 69 percent of workers take time off between Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to a new survey of 2,033 employees by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc., a work force management firm. Of course, the challenge for employers is making sure there's enough staff to man the office, meet deadlines and get work done. The Kronos survey found that 21 percent of employees have been denied a particular vacation time because a co-worker had already requested it. But it's becoming more difficult to go on vacation these days because of skyrocketing gas prices.
NEWS
By Ted Shelsby | March 2, 2008
Local consumers prefer buying their produce from Maryland farmers, and nearly half of the grocery shoppers say they would be willing to pay more for locally grown fruits and vegetables. These are several of the findings related to agriculture in the latest annual public opinion survey by the University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center for Public Policy. Nearly 78 percent of the adults surveyed said they would be more likely to buy produce that is identified as having been grown by Maryland farmers.
NEWS
By NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE | September 16, 2007
The National Association of Realtors surveyed 2,530 homebuyers, both first-timers and repeat buyers, who purchased a new or resale home between late 2005 and early this year. The survey showed that the typical house purchased during that period was one story with three bedrooms, two baths and 1,840 square feet. The median price paid was $205,000. According to the survey, the top-ranked features included central air, a garage with two or more spaces, walk-in master closet, backyard/play area and high-speed Internet access.
NEWS
By Hanah Cho | August 8, 2007
Each week, my inbox fills up quickly with surveys that explore some aspect of the workplace, some serious, some light-hearted. Here's a sampling of recent surveys that can be used for watercooler fodder or a good laugh: A survey commissioned by Diet Pepsi Max, a highly caffeinated new soda, found that 50 percent of 1,102 respondents have caught someone asleep on the job, while 28 percent have fallen asleep at work themselves. Apparently, auto mechanics have the highest rate of on-the-job snoozing at 65 percent, followed by government workers at 51 percent.