Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons^™

Virtual Tutoring Use And Student Achievement Growth, Tim Sass, Salma Mohammad Ali

Georgia Policy Labs Reports

Numerous prior studies have shown that high-dosage, in-person tutoring can yield substantial gains in student achievement growth. However, staffing in-person tutoring programs can be challenging. Consequently, virtual tutoring has become an attractive option for school districts seeking to accelerate student achievement growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In SY 2021–22, Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) contracted with a virtual tutoring platform, Tutor.com, to provide one-on-one, on-demand virtual tutoring sessions to students in the district.

In this report, Tim Sass and Salma Mohammad Ali use individual tutoring session data from CCPS to highlight patterns of usage among students. We …

Some Trends And Enlightenment Of Darpa-Like Agencies In The United States, Jun Qiu, Zheng Liang, Xinyi Gu, Jianxiang Yuan, Lan Xue

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In the context of major-power interactions, science and technology has increasingly become the main battleground and the inevitable place of competition among major powers. The new scientific and technological revolution will reshape the growth and decline of the economic competitiveness of countries and the global competition pattern. In order to compete for the increasingly competitive scientific and technological commanding heights, the United States clones the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which has been active and achieved many scientific and technological innovation achievements. Now, the United States plans to promote the establishment of agencies, such as the Advanced Research …

The Effect Of The Scholarship Academy's College Bound Initiative Fafsa Events On Fafsa Completion, Monica Mogollon Plazas, Za Eng Mawi, Thomas Goldring

Georgia Policy Labs Reports

The complexity, uncertainty, and timing of financial aid is a barrier not only to college access, but also to the effectiveness of financial aid. For over 15 years, The Scholarship Academy (TSA) has worked with families and high school students to address potential barriers in obtaining financial aid to matriculate at college. One of TSA’s initiatives, in partnership with the United Way of Greater Atlanta and Learn4Life, is the College Bound initiative. College Bound offers curated financial aid and college information to students, families, and school counselors. The program centers on FAFSA completion and college cost events for students. The …

Security Of Tenure In Egypt: Policies And Challenges, Arig Eweida

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores a set of urban laws and policies adopted in the past decade in Egypt regarding their possible effect on security of tenure as an element of the right to housing. The past decade has witnessed a legislative focus on formalizing tenure rights coupled with policies aiming at redevelopment of informal settlements, infrastructure projects and lately a goal of eliminating unplanned areas by 2030. This research attempts to untangle what these laws and policies could mean for a country with 40% of its housing being informal. It builds on a rich literature on titling programs in developing countries …

Assessing The Correlation Between The Socioeconomic Level And Cognitive Function Among Older Adults In Egypt, Macy Abougabal

Theses and Dissertations

The number of older adults is increasing worldwide at an unprecedented rate. Some countries began to understand the challenges of aging, while others are still at the stage of comprehending the true dimensions of the situation. There is a global focus on aging research to appropriately mitigate the negative impact of aging and cognitive decline. Not only that dementia add economic pressure on governments, it also increase the psychological and physical burden of the caregivers. Scholars have previously studied socioeconomic level in three variables, namely work, education, and income, and their relationship with cognitive function. It was concluded that the …

The Egyptian Private-Climate Nexus: Private Sector Perceptions On The Green Transition, Yehia Shaheen

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of climate change poses the most pressing threat for humanity. This is especially the case amongst developing countries who, while emitting the minority of global emissions, are forecast to bear the most damage. Such is the case with Egypt, who suffers from marked water scarcity and is vulnerable to climate change driven detriments across a number of levels. As climate finance and private sector investments are key towards the green transition; transitioning to a green economy to fight the adverse impacts of climate change, this thesis aims to analyze the perceptions of private sector actors on the issue …

Enhancing Older Adults’ Mobility In Active Living And Tiered Living Communities, Yongping Zhang, Carol Kachadoorian, Wen Cheng, Edward Clay

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The U.S. population is aging rapidly. As people get older, they increasingly face issues such as increased susceptibility to injuries and the need to be assisted with many day-to-day activities. Older adults have the opportunity to opt-in to live in an older adult community (OAC) based on their needs and capabilities. This study comprehensively reviews existing governing development regulations and design criteria related to the older adults’ communities, conducts surveys among people involved with some of these communities in California, and recommends improvements to community design for active living and tiered living communities. This study proposes a new scoring system …

Does Child Care Works Work? An Exploration Of Pennsylvania’S Child Care Subsidy Program, Samantha J. Martin

The Gettysburg Journal for Public Policy

This article explores the theory and implementation behind Child Care Works, Pennsylvania's child care subsidy program. The article then studies and evaluates the policy through three criterion: effectiveness in providing families with low cost but high quality child care, efficiency in how it uses resources dedicated to childcare in the state, and the equitable distribution of access to childcare. Child Care Works has the potential to increase access to childcare and employment in Pennsylvania, but the current budget does not allot enough money to the program for it to be as helpful as it could be.

Cuban Embargo: An Insufficient Measure To Encourage Us Foreign Policy Interests, Esme Jm Prowse

Major Papers

This major paper examines the Cuban embargo as an ineffective hard power policy and explores the potential of soft, hard, and smart power as alternative approaches to resolve the failures of the 60-year-old blockade. The paper analyzes the historical context and rationale behind the embargo and assesses its impact on Cuban-American relations, regional stability, and U.S. national interests. The study argues that the embargo has failed to achieve its intended goals and has instead perpetuated a cycle of hostility, isolation, and human rights abuses. By drawing on the theoretical frameworks of soft, hard, and smart power, the paper presents policy …

Hungry For Student Food Security: A Comparative Analysis Of University Food Pantry Policies, Anastasia Jones-Burdick

Honors Theses

This undergraduate research thesis aims to explore the relationship between public institutions of higher education and the operational policies of their university food pantries. The increasing rates of nontraditional students entering public universities correlate to an increasing population of students facing food insecurity, placing strain on institutional interventions, especially university food pantries (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015; Nazmi et al., 2019, p.2). This research conducted a qualitative comparative case analysis of university food pantry policies and semistructured interviews with pantry informants through a USDA-adapted evaluative framework to understand the evolution of public universities’ interventions (Barale et al., 2017). The …

An Analysis Of Us Energy Policy Within A Shifting Geopolitical Landscape, Rodney Ford

Helm's School of Government Conference

Through numerous policy initiatives and a catalogue of antagonistic rhetoric, the Biden administration has made it clear since January of 2021 that America will be last when it comes to energy policy. As the rest of the world pursues far-fetched goals to eliminate fossil fuels and usher in the era of green energy, the administration has actively sought to conform to these goals at the expense of the American taxpayer. The issue of climate change, undeniably an issue indeed, will prove itself to be a hallmark of the Biden White House as everything from the tightening of ESG policies to …

Drug Ideologies Of The United States, Macy Montgomery

Helm's School of Government Conference

The United States has been increasingly creating lenient drug policies. Seventeen states and Washington, the District of Columbia, legalized marijuana, and Oregon decriminalized certain drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. The medical community has proven that drugs, including marijuana, have myriad adverse health side effects. This leads to two questions: Why does the United States government continue to create lenient drug policies, and what reasons do citizens give for legalizing drugs when the medical community has proven them harmful? The paper hypothesizes that the disadvantages of drug legalization outweigh its benefits because of the numerous harms it causes, such as …

Political Rhetoric And Civility: A Challenge To “The Legacy Of ‘Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness’”, Timothy P. O'Brien, Melissa O. Stewart

Helm's School of Government Conference

“As you stand for your values do so with gentleness and respect—that’s how we move our country forward.”

Mike Pence, 48^th Vice President of the United States of America (2017-2021)

Since the founding of the United States of America, political discourse has often taken an unpleasant and nasty tone. Partisan disagreement concerning public policy is normal and policy should be the subject of vigorous debate. Disagreement, bickering, and even fights on the floor of Congress, are not new phenomena. However, today there is a growing sense in the country that civility and intolerance are on the rise. This study …

Examining The Effects Of Student Loan Forgiveness And The Christian Perspective, Sarah Rogers

Helm's School of Government Conference

On August 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his plan for federal student loan forgiveness. The program allows individuals who make less than $125,000 a year and families under $250,000 relieve up to $10,000 of their loan debt. Those who fall under the Pell Grant program are able to relieve up to $20,000 of their debt. The reactions to this “revolutionary” program were mixed. Typically, those who the program would directly affect were very enthusiastic about this idea while those, most notably Republicans, were less than thrilled. While the idea is good in theory, the execution of debt forgiveness will …

Space And Defense Journal Spring 2023 Vol. 14 Issue 1

Space and Defense

Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor...................................................................................................................... 5

by Dr. Michelle Black

Articles

A Great Nuclear Rejuvenation: What China can do with an Expanded Nuclear Arsenal................................................................................................. 7

by Grant Van Robays, SrA Chloe Reynolds, Lieutenant Will Jackson, and Major Tom Hammerle

Technology: The Air and Space Force's Barrier to

Innovation................................................................................................................... 22

by William F. Cosgrove

Addressing the American Approach to Emerging Technologies: Utilizing the AI Arms Race to Highlight the Need to Develop Public-Private Partnerships in C4ISR and 5G............................................................................................... 44

by Hugh Harsono and Nick Ondovcisk

Special Correspondence

Dr. Kori Schake Keynote Address................................................................................................................... 54

2022 U.S Strategic Deterrence and Assurance …

Land Use Analysis On Vertiports Based On A Case Study Of The San Francisco Bay Area, Wenbin Wei, Kerry Rohrmeier, Tiffany Martinez, Michael Winans, Heungseok Park

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Vertiport research and development trails in the emerging commercial air taxi sector known as Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Published scholarship remains limited as federal, state, and local governments have yet to create or implement policies for the rapidly progressing larger AAM ecosystem, which is designed around autonomous electric vehicle takeoff and landing aircraft. With the potential for frequent low altitude flights, long-range planning must demonstrate awareness, knowledge, and utilization of geographic information science to select safe and just vertiport locations. This study summarizes the AAM literature and offers planners a set of stakeholder-informed parameters to use in a no-cost preliminary …

Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Everyone’s Harvest (EH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates farmers’ markets. In order to reduce hunger in Monterey County, Everyone's Harvest offers several food assistance programs for low-income people including the Market Match (MM) incentive program which matches CalFresh money, modern day food stamps, dollar for dollar. The problem is that in Monterey County 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 3 children are food insecure. The purpose of the Food Navigator (FN) at EH is to engage with the local community and connect low-income people with food assistance resources, primarily the MM program. This project was a role development …

Selling Graduation: Higher Education And The Loaning Of Liberation, Annie Pocklington, Elizabeth J. Flanagan, Christopher Bodenheimer Knaus

Essays in Education

While the costs to attend college continue to rise exponentially, a bachelor’s degree is held up as required for economic stability within the U.S. and across the globe. With drastic disparities in earning potentials after graduation reduced by racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, and related structural disparities, the value of a degree continues to be questioned, especially for historically marginalized communities. As the loan industrial complex continues to profit off of students, President Biden has offered $10,000 in student loan relief for some borrowers, though this action has been blocked by federal courts and is currently on hold. Whether Biden’s …

Estimating The Xi Effect: How Chinese Aid Affects Economic And Political Institutions, Mackenzie Owens

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Under Xi Jinping, China has expanded its aid allocation worldwide and has introduced global infrastructure projects to connect itself to countries everywhere. With such ambitious aid allocation, China has been the recipient of both admiration and scorn on the international stage. This paper assesses these concerns using data from 2000 to 2017 to determine how Chinese aid affects recipient states’ economic and political institutions. Specifically, this research looked to ascertain if there is a measurable Xi Effect in recipient states. The quantitative analysis shows the Xi Effect is small and positive on economic institutions and political institutions, signifying Xi Jinping’s …

Building Before: Community Resiliency As Emergency Management, Alexandria Rinne

Honors Theses, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

This project seeks to address gaps in emergency preparedness education related to tornado response. Through an examination of current research about best practices for tornado emergency management response and an examination of the needs of FEMA Regions 7 and 8, the author has identified key strategies and stakeholders to increase positive outcome through building community engagement and resiliency. Three presentations were created for delivery to key community stakeholders—local government officials; non-governmental organizations, social networks, and associations; and individual private citizens. The project offers an overview of background research and provides presentation slide decks, scripts, and discussion guides, all created with …