This dissertation investigates the effect of linguistic and nonlinguistic variables on the use of spatial representations in bilingual speakers of Taiwanese Southern Min (TSM) and Mandarin Chinese (MC) as compared to monolinguals. Linguists and psychologists are particularly interested in the factors that influence the selection among such…

Substance use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality; it is in large part why, among 17 high-income nations, people in the U.S. have the highest probability of dying by age 50. Substance use is also an important contributor to many social ills including child and spousal abuse, violence more generally, theft, suicide, and more;…

The present volume presents new 2019 findings from the U.S. national Monitoring the Future (MTF) follow-up study concerning substance use among the nation's college students and adults from ages 19 through 60. This report includes 2019 prevalence estimates on numerous illicit and licit substances, examines how substance use differs across this age…

Environmental education (EE) researchers hail from diverse disciplines and sociocultural contexts, work in a range of settings, and envision various outcomes. Desiring to better understand their backgrounds, interests, and aspirations for the field, we surveyed EE researchers to explore their theoretical and educational influences and what they…

California's system of special education served about 718,000 students in 2014-15, or about 11.5 percent of the K-12 population. It is expensive, consuming some $12 billion in federal, state, and local dollars annually. Special education operates within a legal framework that sets it apart from the rest of the K-12 system. The state's enactment of…

Today's typical minority student attends school with fewer whites than his counterpart in 1970. This apparent resegregation of U.S. schools has sparked outrage and debate. Some blame a rollback of desegregation policies designed to distribute students more evenly among schools; others blame the changing racial composition of the student…

Due to a greater number of students enrolling in higher educational institutions, an increase in demand for housing on college campuses exists putting a strain on infrastructure. In order to accommodate the students, some universities are tripling students in residential settings by putting three students in a room originally designed for two.…

This report provides an overview of key policy developments in education, training, and employment in Jordan. The paper contains sections that review the country's key demographic and economic characteristics; education and training trends, challenges, policy, and institutional setting; and labour market and employment trends, challenges, policy,…

The pace of income growth since the 1970s has been slower for Pennsylvanians than in the 30 years following 1945. In addition to being slower, income growth since the 1970s has also been lopsided, with a small fraction of the highest-income households capturing most income growth in Pennsylvania. This report examines the extent to which these…

California is at a crossroads in terms of STEM and health workforce development. On the one hand, California has more available entry-level STEM jobs than any other state in the country and a steadily growing health workforce, giving large segments of its population access to stable careers. On the other hand, California's public colleges and…

International businesses face a difficult task when trying to decide where to place or expand a business that could be located anywhere in the world. Each country is a complex system of human capabilities, technical systems, [infrastructure bases, laws, cultures and economic systems. How can a company know which country is best for it today, and…

This report provides an overview of key policy developments in education, training, and employment in Ukraine. The paper contains sections that review the country's key demographic and economic characteristics; education and training trends, challenges, policy, and institutional setting; and labour market and employment trends, challenges, policy,…

Ensuring access and affordability to a postsecondary education for veterans and their dependents has long been a focus of federal and state education policy. Developing policy to support educational attainment among these individuals has required state policymakers to address residency requirements for veterans to determine eligibility for…

In 2002, about six children aged eight years per every 1000 people in the general population received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The corresponding figure in 2008 was about 11 children, a 78% increase in just six years. To better understand how the increasing population of people with autism may impact adult programs, the…

The one-child policy is the only fundamental policy in China that has been kept intact for over three decades, despite the vast socioeconomic changes emerging during this period. While the pressure of population growth still exists, the current control-focused policy has aroused problems and damages that tend to offset its gains. The legitimacy of…