Recruitment, Preparation, Retention: A case study of computing culture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Computer science is seeing a decline in enrollment at all levels of education, including undergraduate and graduate study. This paper reports on the results of a study conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which evaluated students attitudes regarding three areas which can contribute to improved enrollment in the Department of Computer Science: Recruitment, preparation and retention. The results of our study saw two themes. First, the department's tight research focus appears to draw significant attention from other activities -- such as teaching, service, and other community-building activities -- that are necessary for a department's excellence. Yet, as demonstrated by our second theme, one partial solution is to better promote such activities already employed by the department to its students and faculty. Based on our results, we make recommendations for improvements and enhancements based on the current state of practice at peer institutions.Comment: 37 pages, 13 figures. For better quality figures, please download the .pdf from http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/research/techreports.php?report=UIUCDCS-R-2007-281

Regional Data Archiving and Management for Northeast Illinois

This project studies the feasibility and implementation options for establishing a regional data archiving system to help monitor and manage traffic operations and planning for the northeastern Illinois region. It aims to provide a clear guidance to the regional transportation agencies, from both technical and business perspectives, about building such a comprehensive transportation information system. Several implementation alternatives are identified and analyzed. This research is carried out in three phases. In the first phase, existing documents related to ITS deployments in the broader Chicago area are summarized, and a thorough review is conducted of similar systems across the country. Various stakeholders are interviewed to collect information on all data elements that they store, including the format, system, and granularity. Their perception of a data archive system, such as potential benefits and costs, is also surveyed. In the second phase, a conceptual design of the database is developed. This conceptual design includes system architecture, functional modules, user interfaces, and examples of usage. In the last phase, the possible business models for the archive system to sustain itself are reviewed. We estimate initial capital and recurring operational/maintenance costs for the system based on realistic information on the hardware, software, labor, and resource requirements. We also identify possible revenue opportunities. A few implementation options for the archive system are summarized in this report; namely: 1. System hosted by a partnering agency 2. System contracted to a university 3. System contracted to a national laboratory 4. System outsourced to a service provider The costs, advantages and disadvantages for each of these recommended options are also provided.ICT-R27-22published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Leveling the Playing Field: Attracting, Engaging, and Advancing People with Disabilities

People with disabilities experience significant challenges in finding employment. The participation of people with disabilities in the workforce and their median income are both less than half that of the civilian workforce. They work part time 68 percent more frequently than people without disabilities. These disheartening results persist despite the enactment of significant federal legislation aimed at making the workplace more supportive and accessible to people with disabilities. The Conference Board Research Working Group (RWG) on Improving Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities was convened to address how to overcome these disparities. It was sponsored by the Employment and Disability Institute at Cornell University, under a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education. The RWG members focused on four questions: 1) The business case: Is it advantageous for organizations to employ people with disabilities? 2) Organizational readiness: What should organizations do to create a workplace that enables people with disabilities to thrive and advance? 3) Measurement: How can success for both people with disabilities and the organization itself be determined? 4) Self-disclosure: How can people with disabilities, especially those whose disabilities are not obvious, be encouraged to identify themselves so that resources can be directed toward them and outcomes can be measured

Employment Program Models for People Experiencing Homelessness: Different approaches to program structure

Most individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness want to work and a growing number of service providers and policymakers have taken notice. Although choosing the right employment program model can seem like a daunting task, research and wisdom from the field shows that multiple models have proven effective or promising in attaching the most disadvantaged jobseekers to work and helping them advance to employment options that meet their long-term needs and interests. Additionally, these models can be helpful in building upon existing skills or developing new skills necessary to enter and succeed in employment today. This best practice brief highlights what is known about these employment approaches to attachment and advancement, covering each model's purpose, elements, principles, funding, and research evidence, with examples from the field

Identifying Barriers to File Rendering in Bit-level Preservation Repositories: A Preliminary Approach

This paper seeks to advance digital preservation theory and practice by presenting an evidence-based model for identifying barriers to digital content rendering within a bit-level preservation repository. It details the results of an experiment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign library, where the authors procured a random sample of files from their institution’s digital preservation repository and tested their ability to open said files using software specified in local policies. This sampling regime furnished a preliminary portrait of local file rendering challenges, and thus preservation risk, grounded not in nominal preferences for one format’s characteristics over another, but in empirical evidence of what types of files present genuine barriers to staff and patron access. This research produced meaningful diagnostic data to inform file format policymaking for the repository. Data files created to support this research are available at http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89994.Ope

NACCS 33rd Annual Conference

Linking Local and Global Struggles for Social Justice: Transnational Chicana and Chicano StudiseJune 28-July 2006Hotel Fénix and Hotel Moraleshttps://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/naccs_programs/1023/thumbnail.jp

Development of Global and International studies in Social Sciences Courses with Community College Faculty at Parkland College

This report highlights the work accomplished in training a group of social science faculty in instructional design and participatory learning pedagogy to help them enhance and improve the global studies sections taught in their individual courses. The workshops and training imparted focused on helping these faculty incorporate current scholarship into their course materials from underrepresented world areas such as the European Union, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and Russia. This project concluded with the addition of sample teaching materials and redesigned syllabi on global studies to Parkland College’s open access repository—SPARK. This collection of teaching resources—represented by sample assignments, rubrics, and faculty reflections—is meant to be a resource to other community college faculty, students, and scholars interested in globalization education. Material from last year’s cohort has been downloaded and viewed widely and the contributions created by this year’s participants is expected to continue to provide a resource for effective teaching and contribute to student success and retention. This project was successfully executed during the Fall of 2018 and Spring of 2019. The following pages detail the faculty training and professionalization process through a faculty academy practicum in the fall semester, and the benefits derived from the courses that were redesigned and taught in the following spring

Micro-experimental analysis of the small-group reading lesson : social and cognitive consequences of silent reading

Includes bibliographical references (p. 18-20