How to make research relevant and accessible to the wider profession and general public? This question would appear more critical today than ever before. With this challenge in mind, AASWSW fellow Mark Rank of Washington University and Tom Hirschl of Cornell University have developed a new tool and website focusing on American poverty and inequality.
The centerpiece of the website is a poverty risk calculator. Based upon hundreds of thousands of case records from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the risk calculator estimates for the first time an individual’s future risk of poverty based upon several background factors. In addition, a discussion guide is developed which explores various aspects of poverty and inequality. Taken together, it is anticipated that these will prove to be powerful tools for changing the awareness and perceptions of poverty in America.
The website can be found at http://www.confrontingpoverty.org