Enumerators started knocking on doors on Saturday, May 1, 2010, in the No Response Follow-Up (NRFU) phase of Census 2010. Their job is to help households get their information to the Census Bureau so that their information can be added to the statistics needed to meet the requirements established by the U.S. Constitution.
Personal data collected during the census is stripped from the data added to the statistics and held confidential for 72 years. Information released to the Census Bureau is not shared with any other governmental agencies.
Households who have completed one of the questionnaires mailed to them by the Census Bureau and who have not mailed them yet can hand them to the enumerator when he or she calls. That will speed the process and reduce the time the enumerator needs to take with the family.
The Census Bureau does not have names of people living at residences. Questionnaires were mailed to "residents." People who do not want to share their names can share other information and their names will not be collected. If you are a neighbor and know that a house near you was vacant on April 1, 2010 (Census Day), please tell the enumerator in your neighborhood so that time will not be lost waiting for someone to respond from an empty house.
In some neighborhoods, 80% of the residents have responded by mail. This probably means that the balance of households are either vacant or did not understand English. (The questions are available in 18 languages.)
After an in-person visit to each home that needs a questionnaire follow-up, telephone interviews work to gather the information required. While visits to homes to collect the information are budgeted to cost $57 dollars, that is much more than the enumerators make. Enumerators are required to visit homes in person at least three times. The quicker the enumerator can gather the information or determine that the house is vacant, the lower the cost of the in-person enumeration.
If a home needs a language other than English, they can tell the enumerator who will make a note on the questionnaire and someone will follow-up with the appropriate language. If someone in the household (especially 15 or above) is available to translate, that works, too.
Remember, each completed questionnaire generates about $19,400 in federal funds for highways, schools, etc. within a state as well ad contributing to the number of representatives for each state in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, November 13, 2009
Movies, Culture, Language, Time, and New Perspectives, Tradition, Holidays
Movies provide amazing insights into time periods and cultures. Movies in different languages offer perspectives that are otherwise invisible. Turner Classic Movies provides a wealth of films that reflect some of the best America has had to offer. As a teacher, I used the movie It's a Wonderful Life to introduce ideas about American culture--the great depression, World War II, small-town life, the evolution of industry. The film is rich in all of these things. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington offers English language learners a glimpse into the history of politics in the United States.
While fiction, many movies have become traditions and capture much of the culture of their times. In my family, Thanksgiving (near the end of November) is the time for Miracle on 34th Street which begins with the Thanksgiving Day parade of Macy's department store in New York City. We also watch White Christmas and Holiday Inn (two versions of the same movie), and are sure to see It's a Wonderful Life before Christmas. Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol is also part of our holiday fare. I saw a delightful new version in "Real 3D" of Disney's A Christmas Carol with Jim Carey earlier this week.
When I was learning Italian, I lived in Italy as a graduate student for six months and went to lots of Italian re-runs. As the audience laughed themselves silly, I was struggling to keep up with the folow of the words. Before long my Italian improved and I laughed along with the rest of the audience. Many of the Italian films and much of the Italian humor differed greatly from what I was used to in American films. It was delightful to get to know the movies in Italian. One title I remember was very different in Italian and in English. I believe it was an Italian western. The Italian title was Giu la testa (keep your head down). The same movie's title in English was Duck, Stupid! later changed to Duck, You Sucker!
Recently, to bring back my French fluency, I began watching French films from Netflix. One movie is entitled Une hirondelle . . . a fait du printemps (The Girl from the Spring). The English title for the same movie is The Girl from Paris. The French title is much more in keeping with the theme of the movie though the girl does come from Paris. Another French movie I have recently watched and enjoyed was Priceless. Again, the culture and humor of the film is very different from typical American movies.
Watching familiar DVD's in other languages is also a great way to bring fluency back. Many DVD's have sound tracks and closed captions in multiple languages and it is a great way to review and refresh fluency by working with a combination of oral and written languages with viewing the DVD's. Some of my favorites to watch in multiple languages are Dave, French Kiss, One Fine Day, and Groundhog Day.
While fiction, many movies have become traditions and capture much of the culture of their times. In my family, Thanksgiving (near the end of November) is the time for Miracle on 34th Street which begins with the Thanksgiving Day parade of Macy's department store in New York City. We also watch White Christmas and Holiday Inn (two versions of the same movie), and are sure to see It's a Wonderful Life before Christmas. Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol is also part of our holiday fare. I saw a delightful new version in "Real 3D" of Disney's A Christmas Carol with Jim Carey earlier this week.
When I was learning Italian, I lived in Italy as a graduate student for six months and went to lots of Italian re-runs. As the audience laughed themselves silly, I was struggling to keep up with the folow of the words. Before long my Italian improved and I laughed along with the rest of the audience. Many of the Italian films and much of the Italian humor differed greatly from what I was used to in American films. It was delightful to get to know the movies in Italian. One title I remember was very different in Italian and in English. I believe it was an Italian western. The Italian title was Giu la testa (keep your head down). The same movie's title in English was Duck, Stupid! later changed to Duck, You Sucker!
Recently, to bring back my French fluency, I began watching French films from Netflix. One movie is entitled Une hirondelle . . . a fait du printemps (The Girl from the Spring). The English title for the same movie is The Girl from Paris. The French title is much more in keeping with the theme of the movie though the girl does come from Paris. Another French movie I have recently watched and enjoyed was Priceless. Again, the culture and humor of the film is very different from typical American movies.
Watching familiar DVD's in other languages is also a great way to bring fluency back. Many DVD's have sound tracks and closed captions in multiple languages and it is a great way to review and refresh fluency by working with a combination of oral and written languages with viewing the DVD's. Some of my favorites to watch in multiple languages are Dave, French Kiss, One Fine Day, and Groundhog Day.
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