Digital Commons Network^™

Post Covid-19 Recovery In Mountain West Metros, Zachary Walusek, Vanessa Booth, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession on Mountain West metros. The original report includes data on economic activity, labor market, and real estate trends.

A Brief Early History Of The Unlv Department Of Geoscience, Matthew S. Lachniet

Geoscience Faculty Research

This project represents four years of part-time research and investigation. It started as something simple, a need for a spreadsheet for me, as a new Department Chair in January of 2020, to assemble the tenure and promotion timelines of existing faculty based on their employment starting dates. It then expanded to document every Geoscience faculty member, which revealed so many interesting stories along the way. Once it began it was hard to stop, with the research taking on a mind of its own as it meandered down the historical archive of the Department. And why stop with people? Buildings? Fair …

Isn’T There A Better Way To Nominate Presidential Candidates?, Elaine Kamarck

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture examines why every four years the major political parties undertake a drawn-out, confusing series of primaries, caucuses, and conventions to determine their presidential nominees. Over the years, a number of rational and more orderly ways to select presidential nominees have been proposed but none of these ideas have been adopted. Brookings Institution scholar Elaine Kamarck, who has written extensively on the topic and served as a presidential and presidential campaign advisor, addresses these topics and more.

"They Are Usually Borderline Homeless": Exploring The Nexus Of Homelessness, Housing Instability, Successful Reentry, And Long-Term Reintegration, Emily Troshynski, Carolyn Willis

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

For previously incarcerated persons, affordable and safe housing options are scarce. Barriers to securing housing include federal mandates (i.e., eligibility requirements) as well as local rules and regulations (i.e., zoning and ordinances). When housing is available, disclosing criminal history on applications impacts individuals’ chances to rent (Philips & Spencer, 2013). A lack of a consistent rental history, no personal and/or employment references, and securing capital to cover security deposits are added challenges. Since parole rules direct ex-convicts not to associate with others that have a criminal record, living with partners, friends, and family members may not be an option. Research …

Clean Investment Monitor: Q4 2022 — Q3 2023, Madison Dwyer, Zachary Billot, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents investment trends in clean manufacturing, energy and industry, and retail in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet examines data from the Q3 2023 update of the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM), a joint project of Rhodium Group and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

Research Space At Public R1 Universities In The Mountain West, 2021, Zachary Billot, Jesse Fager-Larsen, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet reports data on research space square footage for public R1 universities in five Mountain West States: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet includes national rankings of public R1 universities in the Mountain West states based on total square footage and reports square footage for individual research disciplines for the two public R1 universities in Nevada: the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR).

Maintenance As A Core Value Recommendations For Increasing Gender Equity On Digital Scholarship Teams, Amanda Koziura, Stephanie Becker

Library Faculty Publications

As two female librarians who have worked in digital scholarship at research institutions, we have observed how patriarchal gender norms can influence the way teams operate and the toxic impact they have on librarians. In this chapter, we will identify points of impact and suggest a feminist approach, which relies on maintenance and care, to further equity in the subfield of digital scholarship within academic libraries.

Dwindling Trust In Experts: A Starting Point For Information Literacy, Mark N. Lenker Iii

Library Faculty Presentations

Librarians and teachers encourage students to include expert perspectives in their research, but recent public discourse includes high-profile examples of experts being inconsistent or wrong, and recent studies suggest that public trust in experts is declining. Waning trust makes it difficult to teach information literacy: I can push students to find high-quality research sources, but what if these sources turn out to be yet another example of experts getting it wrong? After a period of living with this worry, I found a way to move forward by centering class discussion on the public’s dwindling trust in experts. Part of this …

Library Of Congress Classification Monthly Approved Changes Lists: Implementing An Ongoing Reclassification Workflow At Unlv, Katherine Manifold

Library Faculty Presentations

Changes to the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) schedules include updates to address the use of biased and harmful language and cutters that were built on this language. While the literature on why these changes are important is substantial, how these changes are implemented in individual institutions remains relatively unexplored in scholarship, most likely due to the unique nature of each library and the depth to which individual institutional environments must be considered when developing workflows. In this presentation, the practical impacts of implementing classification changes on collections will be examined and the process of implementing these changes in an …

Nevada Workforce Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Study 2023, Becky Harris, Andrea Dassopoulos

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metrics enable organizations to set concrete goals and self-monitor their performance. In 2021, Nevada’s legislature passed Senate Bill No. 267 (SB267), authorizing the University Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to study DEI benchmarks in the State. The study is designed to produce actionable results capable of informing policy and employer best practices in Nevada. Workforce Study data was collected for the 2022 calendar year with study participation taking place between January 2-April 30, 2023.

The questions in the study were crafted based on DEI public policy considerations as well as metrics for gauging the scope of …

Suicide Rates Among Adolescents And Young Adults In The Mountain West, Isabelle G. Graham, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet shows data on suicide death rates among adolescents aged 10 to 24 years in the Mountain West:Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. This fact sheet includes data from a report published by the Center for Disease Control in the National Vital Statistics Report which examines adolescent suicide in the U.S.

Nursing Homes In The Mountain West, 2023, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents nursing home data in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Data from a September 2023 ProPublica publication titled, “Nursing Home Inspect” are presented including the total number of nursing homes, homes with serious deficiencies, homes with infection related deficiencies, the amount nursing homes paid in penalties and the number of payment suspensions for nursing homes in the Mountain West.

Investment Fraud In The Mountain West, Riley Ruff, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet focuses on investment fraud data in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The original report includes data from “The 2023 State of Investment Fraud” study conducted by Carlson Law.

Graduate Medical Education In The Mountain West, Mohit Pande, Nicole Diaz Del Valle, Yashesvi Sharma, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet examines Graduate Medical Education (GME) metrics in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). The original report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) includes data from all 50 states and includes measures of graduate medical education and the facilities needed to conduct graduate medical education. This fact sheet builds upon data previously published in fact sheets on Nevada medical residencies for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 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 …

Headwinds And Tailwinds: The Present And Future Of Work For Women, Molly Kinder

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Headwinds and Tailwinds: The Present and Future of Work for Women” by Brookings fellow in the Brookings Metro, Molly Kinder. Women comprise nearly half of the US labor force, and today outnumber men on college campuses. Yet the gender pay gap persists and women are overrepresented in the lowest paying occupations. In what ways are jobs and economic opportunities changing for women in the labor force? Over the next decade, how will demographic changes like the aging of the baby boom generation and technological changes …

Student And Faculty Diversity At Public Research Universities In The Mountain West, Maryam Raja, Riley Ruff, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data on student and faculty diversity at public research universities in the Mountain West region. This fact sheet examines data from a New America report by Olivia Cheche which explores data on the 106 R1 (Research Very High) universities in the U.S. as designated by Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Water Efficiency & Sustainability In The Mountain West, 2022, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet analyzes the effectiveness of state-level policies related to water usage, conservation, and sustainability for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2022. The original data are published in the “2022 State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability” report written by the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

Mountain West State Health System Rankings, 2023, Julia Salangsang, Ivan Sun, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data from the “2023 Scorecard on State Health System Performance” published by The Commonwealth Fund. The original report includes data from all 50 states and measures health system performance based on health care access, quality, use of services, costs, health disparities, reproductive care and women’s health, and health outcomes.

Metro Migration In The Mountain West, 2018-2021, Saha Salahi, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet examines the annual population changes from international migration and net domestic immigration in Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with populations exceeding 1 million from 2018 to 2021. This fact sheet includes U.S. Census data as reported in the Brookings Institution report, “New census data shows a huge spike in movement out of the big metro areas during the pandemic” by William H. Frey.

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Work From Home, 2019-2021, Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents data from the American Community Survey (ACS) Report, “Home Based Workers and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” which examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected commuting patterns and workplace systems. The data examine how the pandemic shifted norms in work culture and conditions in Mountain West states and metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

The High Pressure Dependence Of X-Ray Induced Decomposition Of Cadmium Oxalate, Adrian F. Lua Sanchez, Petrika Cifligu, Marc Graff, Michael Pravica, Pradip K. Bhowmik, Changyong Park, Egor Evlyukhin

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

The high proclivity of x rays to destabilize and distort molecular structures has been previously utilized in the synthesis of novel compounds. Here, we show that x-ray induced decomposition of cadmium oxalate induces chemical and structural transformations only at 0.5 and 1 GPa. Using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, the synthesized product is identified as cadmium carbonate with cadmium oxalate remnants, which is stable under ambient conditions. At ambient and >1 GPa pressures, only degradation of the electronic density distribution is observed. The transformation kinetics are examined in terms of Avrami’s model, which demonstrates that despite the necessity of high …

2022 Midterm Election Voter Turnout In The Mountain West, Ayda Atici, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet presents voter turnout rates in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah) for the 2022 midterm election. The data are retrieved from the 2023 Brookings Institution report “New Voter Turnout Data from 2022 shows some surprises, including lower turnout for youth, women, and Black Americans in some states” by William H. Frey.

Priced Out Of Housing In The Mountain West, 2022, Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet presents data from the National Association of Home Builder (NAHB) 2022 report on "priced out estimates" and the consequences of increased prices and interest rates on homes. Data are included from NAHB on home affordability for median home prices in five Mountain West states and 25 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

Distribution Of Federal Expenditures And Receipts In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Isabelle G. Graham, Emily J. Daclan, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet presents data on state and federal fiscal relations from 2019 to 2021 in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report from The Rockefeller Institute of Government is published each fiscal year and includes information on state and federal government expenditures and the net difference between state and federal spending for all 50 states. The original report sources data from the “Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2023.”

Gross Domestic Product (Gdp) In Mountain West Metros, 2022, Ayda Atici, Eshaan Vakil, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Cities & Metros

This fact sheet examines the rankings of large Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, as well as population rank in 2020. The original report, published by Visual Capitalist, collated information from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Kenan Institute to provide these data.

The Top 1% Of Earners In The Mountain West, Ivan Sun, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data from the Smart Asset report, “America’s Top 1% Is Different in Each State: From a $370k to $950k Income,” which examines the thresholds of the top 1% of earners and the tax rates associated with those earners. The original report contains the income threshold, national rankings, and tax rates for the top 1% of earners in all 50 states. This fact sheet focuses on the data for the top 1% of earners in the Mountain West: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Federal Grants & Loans Received By Nevada Higher Education Institutions, Riley Ruff, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data on federal funding provided to public colleges and universities in Nevada. The original HEA Group report includes data on federal funding for public and for-profit higher education institutions in the U.S.

Broadband Equity, Access, And Deployment In Nevada, Brad Wimmer

Policy Briefs and Reports

The $45.45 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program’s primary objective is to extend broadband service to all unserved and underserved locations in the U.S. and its territories. Several industry studies predict that the BEAD program can meet its goal of providing universal access to broadband service if eligible entities execute their grant programs well. My review of the BEAD program indicates that policy makers can enhance the likelihood of program success by designing competitive grant programs that give applicants the incentive to undercut the subsidies proposed by their rivals and provide applicants the flexibility to design networks that …

Intentional Conversations: Co-Creating Global Family, School, And Community Engagement Research, Emily Markovich Morris

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Intentional Conversations: Co-Creating Global Family, School, and Community Engagement Research" by Brookings fellow in global economy and development, Emily Markovich Morris. The more that families, schools, and communities work in partnership, the more students and schools have the support needed to thrive. This lecture explores a school and community-based research study representing education institutions in 14 countries across 6 continents. The project identifies beliefs held by families, educators, and students on the purpose of school, and global barriers to family, school, and community engagement. Surveys …

Global, Regional, And National Incidence Of Six Majorimmune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: Findings From Theglobal Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Kavita Batra, Manoj Sharma, Asma Tahir Awan, Numerous Authors, See List Below

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: The causes for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are diverse and the incidence trends of IMIDs from specific causes are rarely studied. The study aims to investigate the pattern and trend of IMIDs from 1990 to 2019.

Methods: We collected detailed information on six major causes of IMIDs, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number of incidents and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) on IMIDs, by sex, age, region, and causes, were …