Word: lowdownness
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...Lowdown: The WHO's inaugural cradle-to-grave study on women's health is far from comprehensive, but the U.N. agency can hardly be blamed for it. "The data and evidence that are available are too patchy and incomplete for this to be possible," Margaret Chan, the WHO's director, said in a statement accompanying the report's release. As for the information that is available, far too much of it focuses solely on women's reproductive and sexual health - "women are more than mothers," the WHO notes, and they "should be engaged in research as active participants." After...
...Lowdown: Less than a month after the Pentagon celebrated meeting its annual recruiting goals for the first time since 1973, this report serves as a grim reality check. "During economic downturns, higher numbers of well-qualified candidates seek to enlist and the military can temporarily rely less on waivers for those with academic deficits or criminal records. But a weak economy is no formula for a strong military. Once the economy begins to grow again, the challenge of finding enough high-quality recruits will return...
...Lowdown: Considering that women make up half the world's population, "over time," the authors write, "a nation's competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilizes its female talent." That's just part of the reason why even incremental strides toward eradicating gender inequity should be hailed. But while more than two-thirds of the 115 countries covered in the report since its inception in 2006 have posted gains-particularly in educational attainment and quality of health-females worldwide still lag far behind in economic participation and political empowerment. The report underscores yet again that while...
...Lowdown: By highlighting how war and cultural change can imperil bedrock civil liberties, the report confirms how fleeting press freedom can be, even in countries known for championing a robust press. But it also emphasizes that policy changes can nurse fallen countries back to strength. The ranking also highlights the fierce challenges that journalists continue to face, especially in nations where strife or dictatorships take a toll on their ability to function freely...
...Lowdown: There's a certain cruelty to a rise in education costs amid an economic slump: it makes the single most effective tool to help the underemployed and jobless out of their rut become all the more unreachable. Though the government and private donors have stepped in to ease the financial crunch, the runaway costs of higher education threaten to make it unaffordable, especially to those who stand to gain the most from it. As the College Board report makes clear, the real-world benefit of college is not simply academic: the unemployment rate for those with bachelor's degrees...