by Abby Shannon
WHAT’S HAPPENING
After a multi-year investigation behind the claims of U.K. doctor Andrew Wakefield, reputable medical journal The Lancet retracted his 1998 paper that linked the childhood measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism (CNN.com 2.2.10).
Wakefield was found to have acted unethically — conducting invasive and unnecessary medical [...]
by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Childhood obesity is a big problem with Latino kids: 22.1% of Mexican American boys, for example, are obese, compared to 18.5% of black boys and 17.3% of white boys (CDC.gov 10.20.09). Enter popular PBS KIDS GO animated characters Maya & Miguel, encouraging children to eat [...]
by Hans Eisenbeis
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Before the Great Recession hit, we’d already documented a shift among aspirational consumers from buying goods to collecting experiences. Now that trend has mainstreamed in a big way, as financially strapped Americans are cutting their spending and replacing it with low-cost, high-value experiences.
The U.S. Department of Labor tracked consumer time-usage from 2005-2008, [...]
by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
Before the holidays, my wife and I traveled to New Orleans to visit family. We’d never been before, and the city didn’t disappoint. For the most part, 2005’s Hurricane Katrina seemed long ago and far away. Yet we were stirred by the sight of hundreds of still-vacant and gutted homes [...]
by Cree McCree
WHAT’S HAPPENING
How do today’s Millennials compare with the Woodstock generation? Using a 1969 CBS News special as a model, Channel One conducted in-depth interviews with 1,300 young people nationwide for Then and Now: 1969-2009.
Among the key findings: The generation gap has closed. 64% of the current crop enjoy spending time with their [...]
by Charlotte Beal
OK, so the Aughts haven’t ended on a particularly high note. It’s been a decade of extreme volatility, but through better and worse, since 2002 Iconoculture has been getting at the why’s behind consumer desires and actions.
This week, we’re looking back at the most interesting, powerful and insightful pieces of content that we [...]
by Hans Eisenbeis
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Anecdotally, we’ve known times are tough for Millennials. If they’ve been to college, they carry mountains of debt, and they’ve been hit harder than any other generation in the area of unemployment. Now the Pew Center and the U.S. Census confirm that many are dealing with the economy by heading back home [...]
-A self-proclaimed overly simplified—but admittedly welcome—cheat sheet for the climate conference.
-Yesterday’s news from the U.N.’s official site.
-Interactive tools: Google Earth shows climate change scenarios and “tours” the world; CNN and YouTube launched the COP15 channel taking questions from around the globe for a panel in Copenhagen to answer live today.
-President Obama has announced a nonbinding [...]
by Nick Chiarelli
Not since the early days of WWII, when Europe was waiting for America to get off the fence, have relations between the two continents been so strained.
In a nutshell, many Americans characterize Europeans en masse as pacifists, socialists and shirkers. And Europe blames the U.S. for the global financial meltdown, and stereotypes Americans [...]
by Cree McCree
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Older Americans are heading back to school — not to earn degrees, but for the sheer joy of learning. Auditing college courses keeps aging minds nimble without the stress of exams and grades.
As Boomers hit their retirement years, taking classes for fun instead of credits is on the rise. About 60% of [...]
by Rocio Zamora Arzola
WHAT’S HAPPENING
As Latinos fight to keep their head above water in the lagging economy, more are joining the U.S. Army. Although enlistment bonuses and military pay are welcome, the lure of a higher education has proven to be a strong incentive.
A study by the RAND Corporation found that Latino young adults are [...]
by Lisa Parks
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Crown Heights, a Jewish neighborhood in New York City, is experiencing growth from Latino families moving in from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina. Like many Jewish families, they’re big on traditions, only theirs include studying the Torah, keeping the Sabbath, eating salsa and keeping up with soccer scores (CNN.com 9.24.09).
Married couple Moshe [...]
-Compared to other groups, Mature consumers are most likely to shop online (77%), according to one recent report on lifestages and lifestyles.
-Great bennies, bonuses and bosses are some of the reasons Comcast was named the best place to work in Massachusettes from Boston Globe survey results. Other 2009 list-toppers include Harvard-Pilgrim Health Care, Edward Jones [...]
by Rocio Zamora Arzola
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Latino and white infants share a fairly equal level of cognitive skills — vocabulary, listening and problem-solving skills. But by the time they’re toddlers, Latino children are lagging in all three areas, according to a study led by researchers at UC Berkeley (LATimes.com 10.20.09) .
The reasons? Larger Latino families and Hispanic-dominant [...]
by Nissa Hanna
WHAT’S HAPPENING
While self-gifting is all fine and good, it usually lacks one key element of gift giving: surprise. A new service, Surprise Gift For Me, is offering to be a personal wish list shopper so self-gifters can be pleasantly taken aback by their own presents.
Here’s how it works: The giver/receiver lists three to [...]
