Publications

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, people turned to search engines like Google for information. A recent study, “Language disparities in pandemic information: Autocomplete analysis of COVID-19 searches in New York” by Singh et al., highlights how these autocompletes can shape public perception and amplify health disparities. This is crucial for informing the IMPACT-NJ […]

Chiamaka Nwede is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs and Community Development at Rutgers-Camden.   In today’s technology-driven world, the role of cellphones in education has become a subject of heated debate. While mobile devices offer numerous benefits, their unrestricted classroom use has been linked to academic decline, social […]

This ongoing project involves the collecting and coding of all appellate decisions in which New Jersey’s higher courts conceded prosecutorial misconduct between 2010 and 2015. Over this five-year period, hundreds of appeals brought before either the Superior Court Appellate Division or the Supreme Court of New Jersey involved concessions of prosecutorial misconduct by the higher […]

Traffic safety is a critical concern in New Jersey where annual traffic crashes typically exceed 200,000, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), with many of them resulting in non-fatal injuries that have lifelong impacts on victims. Currently, this data is not easily accessible. Researchers, advocates, and the public have an interest in […]

A little over a year ago, we reviewed the latest data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey showing that in 2022 New Jersey had the highest median income in the country, coupled with housing costs also among the nation’s highest. Here we revisit these indicators and review the 2023 data released late last year. […]

Developing a policy for internet use in state prisons might appear to be a matter for prison administrators and state officials alone; however, internet access for imprisoned people entails a surprisingly wide body of constitutional law at the federal level as well, balancing the rights of prisoners and the public in complex ways. Much of […]

Chiamaka Nwede is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs and Community Development at Rutgers-Camden.   The consistent teacher shortage in many states, including New Jersey, has been exacerbated by many factors, including low salary payment, high stress levels, and challenging working conditions. As of today, New Jersey is still […]

For any community initiative or legislative effort to be successful, it is tantamount to solicit input from the those living within the area. Focus groups and community engagement are powerful tools that can help shape the development of potential initiatives. By bringing together a diverse group of individuals, professionals, and community stakeholders with varied perspectives […]

Affordable housing for older adults with low income is subsidized by various public entities at the federal, state, and local levels. These buildings are managed by municipal or local housing authorities. In New Jersey, there are 564 municipalities and 105 separate authorities and agencies that administer housing assistance. As a result, data are dispersed across […]

Chiamaka Nwede is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs and Community Development at Rutgers-Camden. I met a girl sitting inside her high school’s underfunded laboratory, staring at a robotic kit that had seen better days. She had always been fascinated by how machines worked, often tinkering with household gadgets […]

As one of the most significant federal grants to local governments in American history, the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF) were designed to provide robust support to local governments in addressing the public health and economic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. As highlighted in a previous New […]

Of utmost importance in endorsing, selecting, or designing assessments to evaluate teaching quality is that the assessments are valid for their intended purposes. In the context of teacher education, assessments have been used for the purpose of demonstrating that those aspiring to be teachers are able to engage in key aspects of teaching, including designing […]