The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "social institutions" ...
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Takings Initiatives Accountability Project: The Center for Public Integrity investigates ballot initiatives that would radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states
The [non-partisan]Center for Public Integrity investigated 2006 "ballot initiatives that were designed to radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states. They discovered that a trio of "secret donors" accounted for 99% of the propostions' bankrolls, and some of the initiatives did not comply with campaign-finance and other regulations. Then the Center revealed that 85 percent of the funding was coming from a single wealthy real estate investor and Libertarian activist, Howard RIch All but the Arizona inititative failed at the ballot. The Center for Public Integrity set up a stand-alone website-- www.takings initiatives.org-- and filed more than 50 articles on it. "Our general practice-- and a novel one as far as we can tell-- was to mount verbatim transcripts of the interviews on our website, including audio recordings where available. We sought to allow proponents, opponents funders and experts to have a chance to present their side of the story in their own words." The Center also checked with state and federal regulators for compliance of relevant laws and regulations.
Tags: Takings Initiatives; takings clause; ballot initiatives; land-use regulation; environmental regulation; tax-exempt organizations; Howard Rich; Andrea Millen Rich; Council for Responsible Government; William A. Wilson; state campaign-finance filings; public records requests; state freedom of information requests; America At Its Best; Americans for Limited Government; John Tillman; Howard Ahmanson; Fieldstead & Company; property rights; prefessional signature-gatherers; Colorado At Its Best; term limits; nonprofit advocacy organizations; Sam Adams Alliance; Sam Adams Foundation; Legislative Education Action Drive; Parents in Charge Foundation; Social Security Choice.org; Illinois Charitable Trust Bureau; educational vouchers; tuition tax credits; National Taxpayers Union; First Class Education; Susquehanna International Group; Jeffrey YAss; Cato Institute; Alliance for School Choice; Decision Education Foundation; Eric Brooks; Susan Mitchell; Pete Sepp; Kern Family Foundation; Generac Power Systems, Inc.; Milton Friedman; Taxpayer Bill of Rights; TABOR; Laird Maxwell; This House is MY Home; John Whitehead; Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; Exoxemis, Inc.; Family Farm Preservation Pact; Citizens for Community Protection; Kelo v. City of New London; eminent domain; New York Millionaires Assistance Act; Wallace Global Fund; Nicholas C. Dranias; PRNewswire; Eric O'Keefe; getliberty.com; George Soros
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Crime and Injustice
"Here are some partial reprints from the 1973 series 'Crime and Injustice' one of the very first major computer - assisted reporting projects done in the United States....Despite the fact that it was done 17 years ago, on computer equipment that long ago became obsolete, the series remains a model of how modern computer and social - science techniques can make it possible to gauge the performance of a public institution -- in this case, the local criminal - justice system."
Tags: None
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Hurdles high for offender commitment
The Star Tribune analyzed data and found that the majority of sex offenders with a high chance of committing another crime were released instead of being admitted to a psychiatric institution. One of the offenders, Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., was charged with the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, a college student in North Dakota. However, some offenders with a smaller chance of committing a crime again were placed in the psychiatric facility. The article also describes the high cost of the sex-offender treatment program compared to the cost of prison, and exlains that politics might have something to do with the inconsistency in committing repeat offenders.
Tags: Dru Sjodin; Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.; Department of Corrections; sex offenders; Ryan Swenson; social institutions
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Someone to watch over me: How a flawed system fails the retarded and disabled
The Star-Ledger investigates the seven New Jersey state institutions for mentally retarded and autistic. The investigation uncovers a flawed system, struggling to meet the federal standards, and depicts dozens of helpless residents hurt by abuse and neglect. As New Jersey is one of the few states that still depend on large institutions, possible federal sanctions could cost the state millions in aid.
Tags: GAO report; group homes; developmental centers; deaths; understaffed; retarded; social workers; mentally retarded; developmentally disabled; state institutions; New Lisbon Developmental Center; Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services; inspection reports; database mapping project
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The District's Lost Children. A Decade of Deadly Mistakes
The Washington Post investigates "critical errors by city's network," which have led to the death of 40 children who were supposedly under the protection of social workers, police officers, judges and other city employees. The story is based on data from confidential files that "show wide patter of official neglect." The report reveals that one in five protected children who perished from 1993 through 2000 "lost their lives after government workers failed to take key preventive action or placed children in unsafe homes or institutions." Washington Post finds that confidentiality laws drafted to protect children have been used to shield government officials from scrutiny.
Tags: Child and Family Services Agency; social workers; nursing homes; doctors; judges; neglect; abuse; courts; government; mental health; child protection; Washington; D.C.; deaths; mistreatment
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Against the Workers; Privatization Tidal Wave; Dubious Development; The Power of Protest
The Multinational Monitor examines how poor nations are forced to bear "the burden of the IMF and World Bank." The story package looks at different aspects of the interactions between the international financial institutions and the developing countries governments. The articles give voice to critics who find that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank policies undermine labor power and rights; that the two institutions' common requirement for increasing electricity and water tariffs in loan-receiving countries makes the poor pay the price; that the International Financial Corporation (IFC) "prioritizes the pursuit of profit over economic justice, social or environmental concerns."
Tags: economics; IMF; World Bank; IFC; globalization; economic crisis; privatization; government-owned enterprises; layoffs; unemployment; wages; pensions; utilities; democracy
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Don't Talk to the Humans: The Crackdown on Social Science Research
Lingua Franca investigates a problem spreading across universities across the country: "the unwarranted and intrusive policing of social science research by human-subject committees." Christopher Shea outlines the problems social scientists have getting their research proposals passed by university review boards. Historians, anthropologists, even journalists are required to present their proposals to these review boards. These review boards were originally set up to prevent researchers from performing disturbing experiments like Stanley Milgram's famous "fatal shock" experiment in the mid-1970s. However, Shea points out, the concerns of the review boards often do not make sense in the context of historical or media research.
Tags: research; social sciences; institutional review boards; IRBs; human-subject
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Confidential Trash
People freely provide confidential information to financial institutions with the belief that information will be protected. WLKY wanted to find out it that was the case. Not only did the investigation discover confidential records of bank customers in the trash, it also found security codes of opening a bank in Southern Indian. Reporters found account numbers, loan applications, social security numbers, credit reports, and complete tax returns.
Tags: TAPE
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No title (id: 13958)
This piece exposed the growing white-collar crime called "True Name Fraud." Without a person's knowledge, their name and social security may be stolen and their identity duplicated to steal thousands of dollars from stores, car dealers, and financial institutions. Experts believe millions of American s are victims of this fraud at a cost of three billion dollars a year. Identity can be obtained through stealing a wallet, rummaging through garbage, breaking into a locker or opening up a mailbox. Once the thieves have the social security number of an individual, a photo ID is made which enables them to obtain instant credit at stores, and open bank accounts with all correspondence sent to new addresses. It may take several months before an individual realizes they have been victimized and even years to clean up their credit record. (September 11, 1996)
Tags: Wallace McGrady Lange Lichstein et al The credit con Contest entry 9 pgs. TAPE
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No title (id: 13356)
For years, tampering with the Social Security was considered politically untouchable. Now, the American Prospect reports, two things have changed. A projected long-term deficit in Social Security accounts is opening the door to more radical remedy. A new coalition in support of privatization is taking shape, backed by financial interests that see an unprecedented oppurtunity in the diversion of Social Security trust funds.