Kenneth W. Umbach Consulting
Reports and Articles

    These are some of the formal and informal items I have done over the years.  Subjects and styles vary.
 

Policy Issues

Education

Writing and Editing

Health and Fitness

Unclassifiable

Policy Issues

Published (not all links go to the published versions)

• Indoor Mold: A General Guide to Health Effects, Prevention, and Remediation, coauthored with Pamela J. Davis, R.N., P.H.N. (January 2006).  Brief overview with recommended reading, additional bibliography, and notes.
• San Joaquin Valley: Land, People, and Economy (November 2005). requested by Assembly Member Juan Arambula, this report summarizes statistics for the eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley. Topics include the use of the land, population and its characteristics, employment, and industry. Statistics are drawn from public sources, primarily federal and state, and displayed in charts for the region as a whole and for each of the counties in the region. Updated statistics, revised scope, and redesigned presentation. (Three megabyte pdf.)
• San Joaquin Valley: Selected Statistics on Population, Economy, and Environment (May 2002).  This paper, prepared at the request of the Senate Select Committee on Central Valley Economic Development, encompases many topics, mostly through charts and tables, with some narrative. It is similar in scope and content to earlier report on the Great Central Valley, but this one looks only at the eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley.
• Africanized Honeybees in California (April 1999).  "Killer bees" are now established throughout southern California, and moving north up the Central Valley and the coast. This brief paper reviews background and the limited options for dealing with them. PDF version available via the California Research Bureau's site (search on the title).
• A Statistical Tour of California's Great Central Valley -- 1998 (August 1998).  Overview of the 18 counties of the Central Valley, with many graphs and charts. Revised and expanded from the 1997 edition. PDF version available via the California Research Bureau's site (search on the title).
• Learning-Related Outcomes of Computer Technology in K-12 Education (July 1998).  "This paper summarizes ways in which computer technology and communications have been found to enhance learning in K-12 classrooms. The paper was prepared at the request of Assembly Member Kerry Mazzoni, Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, to support the work of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in developing computer technology training standards for teachers. Those standards will respond to requirements of Assembly Bill 1023 (Chapter 404, statutes of 1997)."
• Computer Technology in California K-12 Schools: Uses, Best Practices, and Policy Implications (March 1998).  This brief report summarizes interesting educational examples of computer and Internet use, widely accepted "best practices," and points for consideration by policymakers and implementors at all levels.  (Search on title at the CRB site.)
• "What is 'Push Technology'?"  (October 1997).  A look at the technology of PointCast and similar "Internet broadcast" systems and their potential for government. In Word 6.0 format.  This is far out of date, but perhaps still of interest to some.
• "Ferrets: A Selective Overview of Issues and Options" (June 1997).  Ferrets remain a perennial issue in California.  This brief piece is as impartial and fair-minded as I could make it.
• The Internet: A California Policy Perspective.  March 1997.  The paper is of course very much out of date, but it may still be useful for background and history purposes. Many of the topics it addressed subsequently became the subject of legislative attention. The document (in PDF format) is available via the California Research Bureau's list of papers (search on the title).
• "Mountain Lions in California State Parks" (January 1994).

Unpublished

• Pat Brown's Building Boom -- originally prepared in a somewhat different form for the California Research Bureau, but not published. This is a statistics-heavy look at public works projects and spending during the Edmund G. Brown administration, including background and detailed source documentation. This monograph is also available for purchase, at printing cost, as a paperback book, in two formats (b/w perfect bound and color spiral bound, both 6 x 9") via http://stores.lulu.com/kenumbach.
• Investment of California's Short-Term Funds: The Pooled Money Investment Account -- written with economist Rosa Moller.  This is my own revision/condensation of the paper as it stood at the end of 2001.  The published version, which finally appeared in January or February 2004 with a cover date of November 2003, differs substantially from the original.  It lacks my byline, by my request, although I did agree to a mention in the acknowledgements.
• Federal Grazing Reforms: Potential Impact in California (January 1996).  This may still be of interest for its look at a way to compare the economic impact of and interest in grazing as an issue from state to state, as well as for background on the issue of grazing on federal lands.

Education (also see Policy Issues)  

• Computer Fluency: Teachers and the New Technology.  Written in 1997 and still pertinent today.
• Teachers and a New Technology: A Fable of Sorts (without talking animals).  This is a humorous piece with a serious point.  It was well received when I wrote it in 1997.

Writing and Editing  

• The Pursuit of Publishing: An Unvarnished Guide for the Perplexed. This is the "preview edition" of a concise overview of options for getting a book published. I wrote it for aspiring book authors with a manuscript but no idea of where or how to start in the pursuit of publishing.
• California Research Bureau Style Guide.  I prepared this for use in the California Research Bureau, but it is not a CRB publication. Occasionally updated.
• Low-Tech Research in a High-Tech World.  An antique guide to research that has some useful principles and techniques; it is long overdue for an update to focus on PC-based methods but still worthwhile for its overall approach.
• September 2005.  Publishing's Alternate Universe.
• December 2004.  How can a professional writer help your business?
• July 2004: How to avoid "sexist" writing.  Copyright -- easier than you may think. Three of the best reference books for writers.

Health and Fitness  

• Fitness in One Lesson.  Sensible guide with specific suggestions that work.
• Easy vegetarian chili recipe.  This will be a favorite, my own recipe for delicious and nearly fat-free vegetarian chili, posted here because I keep recommending it to friends.

Unclassifiable  

• Story of hard times in California's Velcro Fields.  For some reason, a popular piece worldwide.  Teachers like it.
• For my various graphics and satire, see www.capitolweasel.com, the Home of the Capitol Weasel.

Copyright © 2004-2007, Kenneth W. Umbach.