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State Of Illinois Model Programs Of Study Companion Guide, Education Systems Center

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This resource is intended to enhance the use of the State of Illinois Model Programs of Study Guides by focusing on the development and implementation of high-quality college and career pathways. Grounded in the state’s vision for equitable access to meaningful postsecondary opportunities, this resource supports educators, CTE directors, and administrators in designing programs of study that align secondary education with postsecondary credentials and careers. By bridging academic instruction, work-based learning, and student supports, this guide helps ensure that all learners are on a clear and unambiguous path to success after high school.

Housing Crisis Outlook In Mountain West Metros, 2023, Kian Parikh, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Ivan Sun, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet presents 2023 data on housing market conditions in seven large metros across the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Lending Tree report, “Portland, Ore., Has Worst Housing Crisis Outlook – Here’s Why,” includes data on the 100 largest metros in the U.S. This fact sheet focuses on housing crisis outlook data for Mountain West metros appearing among the largest 100 metros in the nation: Phoenix, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; Albuquerque, NM; and Salt Lake City, UT.

Implementation Of Public-Private Partnership Model Towards Ideal Operationalization Of Correctional Institution In Indonesia, Sani Siti Aisyah -

Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

The increasing popularity of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in prison or correctional institution development and management is currently often studied from an economic perspective that prioritizes state budget efficiency and is rarely studied from a social perspective that prioritizes benefits for the community in the context of social control. Realizing that PPP has positive potential in the ideal operationalization of correctional institution amidst limited human resources and budget, this study examines various correctional institution PPP models using the correction theory framework. This study was designed as an exploratory qualitative study using interview, document studies, field observations and FGD. This study successfully …

The State Of The Unions 2025: A Profile Of Organized Labor In New York City, New York State, And The United States, Ruth Milkman, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

Organized labor has taken center stage in the 2020s, with workers leading successful organizing drives at Amazon, Starbucks, Apple, and across a range of industries from health care to higher education. Public approval of unions has reached its highest level in decades, and a new generation of workers is stepping forward as leaders in the movement. The State of the Unions 2025 provides the most comprehensive profile of organized labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, highlighting where unions are growing, who is leading the charge, and how labor is shaping the future of work …

Better Serving Those Who Serve: Supporting Psychological Wellness Of Lgb Military Personnel In The Post “Don’T Ask Don’T Tell” Era, Anne Neuweiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have been able to explore lesbian, gay, and bisexual military personnel’s experiences in military mental healthcare settings. This study examined the experience of LGB servicemembers in military counseling environments, as well as how to support these servicemembers in military mental health and military communities. Six participants volunteered for the study and six semi-structured interviews were completed with LGB servicemembers who had contact with mental health. Three research questions guided the present study and a transcendental phenomenological frame was used to analyze the data and themes emerged. Research question one yielded three themes: 1) “I'm Definitely not Gay”: The …

For Richer Or For Poorer: The Security Environment Index To Measure Effects Of Security Assistance, Lam Huynh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops and validates the Security Environment Index (SEI), a multidimensional, empirically grounded framework to assess the political and military effects of U.S. security assistance—specifically Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and International Military Education and Training (IMET)—on partner nations. Drawing from the need for more robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks in the security assistance space, this study addresses a longstanding gap in how policymakers measure the outcomes of military aid. The SEI consolidates publicly available indicators into a cohesive structure capable of capturing both internal and external changes in the recipient nation’s security environment.

This research employed an explanatory …

Beyond The Benefit: A Multi-Modal Narrative Study Of Black Women's Experiences With Employer-Sponsored Tuition Assistance, Britany Patricia Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of Black women engaging with employer-sponsored tuition assistance programs, focusing on how social, structural, and identity-based factors shape their educational and professional trajectories. While these benefits are often framed as neutral tools for career advancement, this study examines them through the intersecting lenses of race, gender, and labor, revealing deeper dynamics of access, value, and belonging. Guided by a qualitative narrative inquiry approach, this study employed a multi-modal data collection design involving video diaries, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. Three participants, all Black women between the ages of 30 and 40, shared their …

Recruiting, Retaining, And Culturally Sustaining Latine Teachers In A School District With A High Population Of Latine Students, Lisa Garcia Simms

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Latine students make up 52% of the Denver Public Schools (DPS) population, yet only 23% of its teaching force is Latine. This imbalance has real implications for student experience and opportunity. In 2024, DPS commissioned the La Raza Report, which detailed challenges faced by Latine students and educators and called for systemic improvements. The findings highlighted a clear need to strengthen recruitment, retention, and culturally sustaining support for Latine educators.

This improvement science project investigated how DPS might improve the experiences of Latine teachers—engaging educators across career stages, with a particular focus on supporting early-career Latine teachers —through identity-affirming mentorship …

Exhibiting Rural Consciousness: A Study Of State And Local Level Governance In Rural Higher Education, Steven J. Skadron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evolving economies in Craig and Salida, CO, spurred community interest in joining Colorado Mountain College’s taxing district and bringing the college to their communities. When they sought to join, Craig had a local college embedded in its community that was governed by a state-level board; in contrast, Salida had no local college of its own. The two communities’ pursuit of a locally governed college raised a question about governing boards and whether one type of governing board might serve rural communities better. Using a framework of rural consciousness, this nonexperimental, cross-sectional, quantitative study employed data gathered from a survey instrument …

Factors Associated With Adolescents' Self-Efficacy To Meet With Their Health Care Provider Alone, Albert C Hergenroeder, Blanca Sanchez-Fournier, Cassandra Enzler, Mary Majumder, Beth H Garland, Constance M Wiemann

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Adolescents with special health care needs (ASHCNs) must develop self-management skills to effectively transition into adult-based care. This requires having the self-efficacy to meet with their health care provider independent of caregivers. This study aims to identify the factors associated with self-efficacy in meeting with a provider alone among ASHCN preparing for this transition.Eighty-three English-speaking 18-year olds with renal, gastrointestinal, neurologic, or rheumatologic diseases, and their English- or Spanish-speaking caregivers were recruited at a large children's hospital, and completed a one-time assessment as the historical control group for a larger intervention study. The main outcome measure was self-efficacy to meet …

A Framework For Advancing And Strengthening The Veteran Entrepreneur Ecosystem, Rosalinda V. Maury, Adam Pritchard

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is designed for funders, program leaders, and policymakers working to build stronger veteran entrepreneurship ecosystems. This paper brings together insights about veteran entrepreneurial ecosystems from Military Entrepreneurship Forum (MEF) roundtable conversations, the National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE), and other entrepreneurship research. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, this paper lays out a set of components that communities can use to strengthen their own ecosystems. Veteran entrepreneurship is a lens into broader questions of economic mobility, local resilience, and civic leadership. But systems matter. With veteran-serving organizations facing revenue declines and donor fatigue, coordinated entrepreneurial ecosystems are a …

Nevada Medical Residencies, 2025, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet highlights medical residency data for the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 graduating classes of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) School of Medicine. This fact sheet presents data on residency program matches at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and the UNR School of Medicine, shows where Nevada medical school graduates pursue their residencies, and updates findings from a 2024 fact sheet exploring 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 graduating class data.

Homelessness Among School-Aged Children In The Mountain West, 2022-2023, Mohit Pande, Sean Curry, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet presents data on homelessness among school-aged children in the Mountain West during the 2022-2023 school year. The data are sourced from the “Child and Youth Homelessness in the United States: Data Profiles” dashboard produced by SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. State-level data profiles include information about child and youth homelessness at the national, state, county, school district, and congressional district levels. This fact sheet focuses on homelessness among school-aged children within the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Public School Funding In The Mountain West, 2020-2021, Sean Curry, Mohit Pande, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet examines the state of public school funding across the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The data are sourced from the Education Law Center’s 2023 Making the Grade report, which provides data for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The original report provides grades for school funding, enrollment data, and funding data based on the 2020-2021 school year.

Towards All-Under-Heaven: China’S Geoeconomic Strategy In The Asia-Pacific Region, Alfariza Dika Azzani

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This research aims to understand China’s geoeconomic strategy in reshaping the alternative international order in the Asia-Pacific region. China’s economic rise increased its geopolitical influence and significance as a global great power. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government, under Xi Jinping, has adopted classical ideas in its foreign policymaking, including tianxia. Tianxia is a classical concept of a hierarchical Sinocentric international order. An empirical study was conducted on several cases of China’s economic policy and analysed with the congruence method to determine the correlation between the tianxia concept and China’s economic policy. Tianxia served as a paradigm and justification for …

The Impacts Of Urban And Rural Education Inequality On Individual Career Development : The Case Of Guangdong Province, Shuang Chen

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

The study focused on the disparity in educational opportunities between urban and rural areas. This has been one of the most debated topics in China, especially when related to Guangdong Province. This dissertation explored how disparities in urban-rural educational outcomes influence individual career attainment and income levels and discusses the broader socio-economic implications of such disparities. This study positioned its analysis within the structural-functionalist framework and underlined how inequities in educational resources affect career outcomes. This focuses on a household registration policy called the hukou system, which has played a crucial role in determining education's access to resources and career …

How Public Education Policies Drive Economic Growth In Asean : An Analysis Of Resource Allocation Theory, Human Capital Accumulation, And Structural Transformation Pathways, Jiacheng Li

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

This study examines how public education policies influence economic growth across ASEAN nations through the theoretical lens of resource allocation theory. While ASEAN has maintained an average GDP growth rate of 5.1% since 2000, significant disparities between high-growth and low-growth economies persist in educational investment and outcomes.

Methodologically, the study conducts empirical studies and integrates panel data (1990–2023) across ten member states that underwent spatial econometrics analysis. It dissects three transmission pathways: (1) human capital accumulation enhancing labor productivity via skill development; (2) educational stratification driving industrial restructuring; and (3) spatial spillovers facilitating cross-border knowledge diffusion. These mechanisms are operationalized …

A Comparative Study Of Fgcs And Non-Fgcs In Mainland China : An Analysis Based On The G University, Meihan Tao

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

While Western scholarship on First-Generation College Students (FGCS) is well-established, research on FGCS in mainland China remains underdeveloped, despite the group’s substantial size and critical role in social mobility. This study examines the disparities between FGCS and Non-First-Generation College Students (Non-FGCS) in cultural capital accumulation, university major selection, academic adaptation, and career planning. Grounded in cultural capital theory and social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative in-depth interviews and quantitative surveys to explore how familial cultural capital influences educational and career trajectories. The research focuses on students from G University in southwest China. Quantitative …

Gendered Challenges In The Chinese Workplace : Examining Maternity Leave And Discrimination Against Working Mothers In Shenzhen, Tianyang Wen

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

Under the background that labor competition and the society progress become more in-tense, the dilemma of motherhood faced by working women has become increasingly prominent. This dissertation aims to explore gender challenges in the Chinese workplace, in particular the maternity leave system and its impact on discrimination against working mothers. Taking Shenzhen as an example, this study adopts qualitative research methods and systematically examines the challenges faced by working mothers in terms of maternity leave and employment discrimination through in-depth interviews with ten working mothers, seven human resource managers, three corporate employers and three in-depth interviewers. The study found that: …

Pathways To Educational Equality : Insights From China’S Higher Education Stratification And Social Stratification, Qingbin Xu

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

It is essential to examine the equity of the newly established higher education system and elucidate the reasons and consequences of stratification within the context of China’ higher education and social hierarchy, because in the wake of massification and expansion, China’s higher education system has been seeing alterations in stratification patterns. Through the Status Attainment Model and the Wisconsin Model, this study employs a mixed-method approach that integrates quantitative and qualitative techniques to assess higher education and social inequality in mainland China. The findings indicate that the conventional status attainment model, when subjected to structural equation modelling analysis, reveals that …

Formulation And Impact Of Wellness Tourism Policy On Household Income In Rural China, Zhuoer Zhong

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

Following the policy "Health China 2030" issued by the Chinese central government in 2016, wellness tourism has become one of the key strategic industries in China. Presently, research on wellness tourism policy in China generally focuses on market development. At the same time, there is a lack of relevant research on the extent to which policies on wellness tourism pay attention to rural revitalization and its effect on rural households. This study mainly aims to explore the Chinese government's attention to wellness tourism policy and the influence of wellness tourism policies on rural residents' income.

By using quantitative research methods, …

Why Are Food System Workers Excluded From Local Food Policy Councils?, Frank Sarfo, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, Jonnell A. Robinson

Center for Policy Research

One in seven workers in the United States is employed in food labor jobs, yet these jobs are among the lowest paid and least regulated in the country. Food Policy Councils (FPCs) have emerged to expand the benefits of food systems, however, few FPCs have prioritized food system labor concerns. This brief summarizes findings from a study that used data from the 2016-2023 Food Policy Network’s national survey as well as focus groups and interviews with over 25 FPC representatives and leaders to examine the challenges and barriers that have limited FPCs’ engagement with labor issues. The authors find that …

Smartphone Attachment In Emerging Adults : Impacts On Mental Health Through Basic Psychological Needs, Jialin Xiao

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

In the digital era, smartphones have become integral to daily life, fulfilling various emotional needs. Mirroring human attachment, past studies have found people can develop three types of attachment to smartphone: secure (comfortable, dependable connection), anxious (intense emotional reliance with separation anxiety) and avoidant (preference for independence from one’ s phone) attachment. However, little is known about how these types of smartphone attachment relate to mental health over time. Moreover, the mechanism underlying the relationship between smartphone attachment and mental health is unknown. To fill these gaps, based on the attachment theory, this study examined the longitudinal associations between smartphone …

Assessing The Impact Of Cdbg And Home Block Grants On Housing Affordability In The Las Vegas–Henderson–Paradise Metropolitan Statistical Area, David Hasan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation aimed to analyze the impacts of aggregated federal funding from the CDBG and HOME block grants on temporal changes in the Housing Affordability Index (HAI Change). The temporal change in Housing Affordability between 2011–2015 and 2016–2020 was constructed as the dependent variable to measure the direct and indirect impacts of CDBG/HOME funding. Therefore, this dissertation seeks to identify the impacts of aggregated funding on changes in housing affordability and to explore spatial spillover effects through spatial dependencies that may influence housing affordability change as a dependent variable. The geographical area of this study is the Las Vegas–Henderson–Paradise MSA, …

Tractors On The Mall: Unraveling The New Deal, Political Shifts, And The 1980s Farm Crisis, Tracy M. Neblina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the 1980s, Midwestern farmers faced an economic crisis that rivaled the Great Depression. Agricultural policy in the 1970s and 1980s led to a boom and bust for many of the nation’s farmers, causing the decline in rural communities in the middle of the country. During this period, more efficient agricultural production, shifting federal policy, high inflation, and devalued farmland led farmers in the Midwest to face incredible economic hardships, loss of land, changes in their communities, and challenges to their sense of purpose and identity. The Farm Crisis of the 1980s furnishes an extraordinary opportunity to investigate a confluence …

Development Of An Access Charge Framework For High-Speed Rail Incorporating Rail Replacement Costs And Dynamic Train Characteristics, Nitesh Kumar Yadav

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis develops a framework to determine track access charges for shared high-speed rail corridors, with a focus on rail replacement cost driven by train-induced loads. The method explicitly accounts for both static loads, resulting from axle weights, and dynamic loads that arise from train speed and track geometry, particularly curvature. Train characteristics such as axle load, operating speed, frequency of service, and number of wheels are integrated with track parameters, including curve radius, to calculate the total vertical load. These loads are used to estimate the cumulative tonnage threshold for rail replacement and the resulting service life of the …

Immigration And Customs Enforcement (Ice) Arrests In The Mountain West, 2025, Sydney Mitchell, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet reveals data on the total Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and daily average of ICE arrests between January 20, 2025 and June 10, 2025 for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Originally reported by the New York Times (NYT) in “Immigration Arrests Are Up Sharply in Every State. Here Are the Numbers,” this fact sheet also details each Mountain West state’s national ranking for total ICE arrests between January 20, 2025 and June 10, 2025, as well as the percentage increase in daily average ICE arrests between 2024 and …

Does Teach Lead To More Teachers? Evaluating The Effects Of The Federal Teach Program, Daniel Sparks

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Teachers are critical to education production. Yet, recruiting and retaining teachers has remained challenging, particularly in high need fields, at schools serving a high proportion of students from low-income backgrounds, and from racially diverse backgrounds. To incentivize enrollment in teacher preparation programs and to support teacher candidates through degree completion, the federal government implemented the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant in 2008. The TEACH Grant offers undergraduate and graduate students up to $16,000 and $8,000 in grant aid, respectively, to pursue degrees in high need teaching fields. I use difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the effects …

Autism Awareness Training For Law Enforcement Officers: A Pilot Study, Kaylie Holke, Meghan Cosier, Elissa Green Kaustinen, Cathy Scherer, Andrew Wall

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to pilot a research-based autism training session for law enforcement officers (LEOs), test the Police Self-Efficacy for Autism (PSEA) scale as a measurement tool for the session and provide a preliminary examination of brief training. Design/methodology/approach

This study utilized a pre-post survey approach in which participants completed the PSEA scale pre- and post-training to measure the relationship between the training and self-efficacy scores. Findings

Results show a positive relationship between brief autism-specific training and officers’ self-efficacy scores across items and subscales. All four subscales and seven of thirteen items demonstrated statistical significance. Originality/value …

The Effects Of A Geopolitical Policy—Case Study Of “Korea Limitation Order” Upon The Cultural Entertainment Industry In China, Zhilin Li

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

This paper examines the impact on the South Korean Cultural Entertainment Indus- try(CEI) of China’s “Korea Limitation Order”. In November 2016, Beijing restricted South Korean artists from holding concerts and the broadcast of South Korean TV dramas and banned cooperation between the two countries in the entertainment in- dustries. This paper focuses on the effect this had on exports of cultural products and relating industries from Korea, and how Korea was able to adjust to this geopolitical shock. I examine exports from Korea to China, Japan, and the United States using data from Cultural Entertainment Industry Products Exports, such as …