David McClendon
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Articles by David McClendon
[2306.09477] Finite odometer factors of rank one $\mathbb{Z}^d$-actions
arXiv:2306.09477 (math) Download a PDF of the paper titled Finite odometer factors of rank one $\mathbb{Z}^d$-actions, by Aimee S.A. Johnson and David M.
How H-GAC's representation bias helps the suburbs and hurts the city
Every third Tuesday of the month, thirty-seven local policymakers pack themselves into a conference room in Greenway Plaza to determine the shape of Houston’s future. Although this particular conference room is in the geographic center of the Houston region, the policymakers represent the interest of people in the suburbs. This isn’t by accident. It’s how the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) board is designed.
A scary new era for evictions in Harris County
As we approach the three-year anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re entering a scary new era for evictions in Harris County. Evictions aren’t just back to normal, they’re higher than ever before. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a sharp drop in eviction filings. Across the country, eviction filings fell by 50% or more in the first few months of the pandemic, according to Princeton’s Eviction Tracking System.
Essay: 5 minutes per eviction hearing? Why Harris County should redraw court maps.
Why does this imbalance matter? In Harris County’s criminal courts, high case volume can lead to backlogs. This can leave some innocent defendants stuck in jail awaiting trial, or allow the wrong people back out on the streets. Civil cases matter in a different way. In justice of the peace courts, high caseloads don’t necessarily lead to backlogs: instead, it typically means less time in front of the judge.
5 Tips to Design a Data Training Program for Nonprofits
When I think about all the ways that data training can transform your nonprofit, it sounds like a miracle cure. Data training can help your team think critically about processes, connect their work to the mission of your organization, and increase the overall quality of information and decision making, among many other benefits. I know this because I’ve run several data training programs for nonprofits, and I see the transformation every time.
The Story of Kuukibot and Air Quality in Houston
Poor air quality is a problem for Houston, and it’s been that way for decades. The region accounts for 42% of the country’s base petrochemical capacity. Refining oil is a dirty business. It involves processing chemicals and generating toxic byproducts. A lot of this work takes place around the Houston Ship Channel, which is the man-made pathway that connects the City of Houston with Galveston Bay.
Only 13% of defendants invoked the eviction moratorium in Harris County
The CDC eviction moratorium was supposed to prevent evictions. When the CDC first announced the moratorium in September 2020, a CNN headline shouted Evictions Are Halted, noting that it “covered most renters across the US.” The moratorium lasted almost eleven months. During that time, we found 3,289 cases where the policy delayed or prevented an eviction in Harris County. That represents 13% of defendants.
First Results of the CDC Eviction Moratorium in Houston
The CDC eviction moratorium is the main federal policy to reduce housing displacement during the pandemic. It took effect on September 4, 2020 and remains authorized through the end of March 2021. When applied, the moratorium can be a powerful force to pause an eviction. The criteria to qualify are pretty broad. Landlords must make their tenants aware of the policy. Some constables even include a sample affidavit when they deliver an eviction notice.
Map of Bills Filed by the 87th Texas Legislature (2021)
The Texas Legislature doesn’t meet very often. When it does, a lot can happen in a short period of time. We have to live with the results. It’s a policy pressure cooker. Today, members of the Texas House and Senate began filing bills. The lege website makes it easy to see the bills filed every day. Reading through the descriptions is an early glimpse of the upcoming legislative session. For better or worse, these are the topics that will define Texas for the next two years.
Where Men Appear More Religious Than Women: Turning a Gender Lens on Religion in Israel
Past research, typically focused on Christians in Christian nations, has found that women tend to be more religious than men. This study uses original nationally representative data (N = 5,601) with strategic oversamples of minority groups to examine variation in how religion and gender intersect across ethnoreligious identities in Israel. We demonstrate that Israel diverges from the typical pattern of women appearing more religious than men.
Crossing Boundaries: “Some College,” Schools, and Educational Assortative Mating
As more Americans delay marriage and meet partners online, schools may be less important for educational assortative mating. At the same time, social ties formed during college may continue to shape partner choice later in adulthood. This study focuses on young adults with “some college, no degree” to see what, if any, marriage‐market benefit is gained from exposure to highly educated social networks in college.
Women's Education in the Muslim World
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Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to growing shares of the world’s Christians, Muslims
If demography is destiny, then Christianity’s future lies in Africa. By 2060, a plurality of Christians – more than four-in-ten – will call sub-Saharan Africa home, up from 26% in 2015, according to a new analysis of demographic data by Pew Research Center. At the same time, the share of Christians living in many other regions – notably Europe – is projected to decline.
Why people with no religion are projected to decline as a share of the world’s population
For years, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has been rising, a trend similar to what has been happening in much of Europe (including the United Kingdom). Despite this, in coming decades, the global share of religiously unaffiliated people is actually expected to fall, according to Pew Research Center’s new study on the future of world religions.
World’s largest religion by population is still Christianity
Christians remained the largest religious group in the world in 2015, making up nearly a third (31%) of Earth’s 7.3 billion people, according to a new Pew Research Center demographic analysis. But the report also shows that the number of Christians in what many consider the religion’s heartland, the continent of Europe, is in decline. Christians had the most births and deaths of any religious group in recent years, according to our demographic models.
Which are the world's biggest religions?
Image: PEW Research Christians remained the largest religious group in the world in 2015, making up nearly a third (31%) of Earth’s 7.3 billion people, according to a new Pew Research Center demographic analysis. But the report also shows that the number of Christians in what many consider the religion’s heartland, the continent of Europe, is in decline. Christians had the most births and deaths of any religious group in recent years, according to our demographic models.
Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa more likely than Christians to have no formal education
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to large and growing populations of Christians and Muslims that often live side by side. But when it comes to education levels, there is a big gulf between the two groups: Muslim adults are more than twice as likely as Christians to have no formal schooling. Among adults ages 25 and older, three-in-ten Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have not completed even a year of primary schooling (30%).
Child marriage is rare in the U.S., though this varies by state
About 57,800 minors in the U.S. ages 15 to 17 were married as of 2014. That might sound like a lot of people (and it is), but it’s also just five of every 1,000 in that age group, a Pew Research Center analysis of 2014 data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey finds. By contrast, 18 of every 1,000 of those ages 18 to 19 were married, and among those ages 20 to 24, the number rose to 107 out of every 1,000. The rate of child marriage varies widely by state.
Gender gap in religious service attendance has narrowed in U.S.
There are many different kinds of gender gaps, including one in religion. In the U.S., for instance, women are more likely than men to say they attend worship services regularly – a trend consistent with many predominantly Christian countries around the world. But the U.S. gap in church attendance has been narrowing in recent decades as the share of women attending weekly has declined.
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