In response to requests for assistance from a Tibetan refugee community in Mainpat, India, Northern Arizona University developed a unique service-learning experience, the Mainpat Project, to provide health and other services. The project continued for 4 years despite the limited infrastructure and resources of a small public university and the…

Since 2008, classroom learning activities on the working poor and the living wage have been included in an introductory core course that focuses on community services and professions in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2008 that 8.9 million people were classified as…

Cochise College, Cochise County, and the Cochise Community Foundation partnered to create the Cochise County Quality of Life Index--the first to be developed in Arizona. The project brought together stakeholders to address shared problems in new ways, based on non-traditional partnerships. The college's Center for Economic Research provided…

Almost every day, the author learns about new green buildings from press releases. One example is that of Arizona State University's new Biodesign Institute, a soaring, "uber"-chic, high-performance, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified center. However, the author maintains that such buildings are undoubtedly a step up…

Good jobs and good schools are viewed by most as essential components of a healthy society: good jobs create revenue to support quality schools, which in turn produce a superior workforce to fill those jobs. Based on survey panelist responses, most Arizonans seem to feel that they are doing well on the employment front, but not quite so well…

In four Morrison Institute reports between 1997 and 2004, Phoenix area residents said their quality of life (QOL) was generally good. Some of the same questions were asked of the statewide Arizona Indicators Panel and are reported in this newsletter. In general, results mirror the positive levels of quality of life reported in the "Greater…

Purpose: This brief report takes a look at the preliminary estimates of the number and proportion of migrants over the age of 60 who moved to and from states between 1995 and 2000 and compares these estimates with those who made the same kind of move one decade earlier. Design and Methods: The 2000 census 1-in-100 public-use microdata sample,…

Describes the world's only solar electric village power system, a photovoltaic conversion installation in a remote Papago Indian Reservation village. Notes comparative costs, electric output, and potential applications of the system, a prototype for remote rural communities and developing nations. Notes outstanding questions and key issues in…

Prepared at the request of Arizona Governor Bruce Babbit, this report documents the state of poverty among women in Arizona and recommends an action plan that will alleviate their poor economic status. Discussion focuses on three factors identified as influencing conditions of poverty experienced by women: changing family structure, the labor…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' (ABOR) Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document discusses a survey on faculty recruitment and retention in Arizona's public universities. The importance of faculty, the projected nationwide shortage of faculty, and recruitment projections…