Digital Commons Network^™

Do Green Buildings Influence People's Lifestyle Decisions And Support For Environmental Policy?, Amanda L. Popken

Public Affairs Theses

This thesis explores the possibility that experience with green buildings influences peoples' behavior in ways that help bridge the gap between, on one hand, public concern for the natural environment and on the other hand, willingness to adopt sustainable lifestyles and support pro-environmental policies. The study utilizes research on factors that influence behavior to construct a theoretical model in which these factors might be influenced by a person's experience in a green building. The study explores two specific possibilities of behavioral change: people may change their consumption habits to reflect a more sustainable lifestyle; people may change their political behavior …

A Comparative Study Of Performance Measurement In Korean Local Governments Using Data Envelopment Analysis And Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Dong Jin Lim

Public Affairs Dissertations

This study examines efficiency as a key component of performance, applies new performance measurement techniques to the measurement of local government performance, and verifies theoretical debates on economic, financial, political, and environmental factors related to performance in local government. Improving performance and promoting efficiencies in local government are important issues in both academic and practical public administration. Despite the remarkable development of performance measurement in local government since the 1990s, empirical evidence is still limited on the extent of the utility and practicability of performance measurement in local government.

Results of this research are developed from a study of Korean …

Planning For Growth In Cities And Metropolitan Regions: An Empirical Study Of Impact Fees And Choice, Chi-Hyoung Park

Public Affairs Dissertations

This research examines what city factors relate to the likelihood of adopting impact fees by local governments within metropolitan regions using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. More and more cities are adopting different types of impact fees for financing public facilities and infrastructure to accommodate their cities' growth without full understanding of issues, public and private criticisms of impact fees, and the empirical information needed. This dissertation investigates a random sample of 278 cities out of 827 cities populations over 25,000 located within 97 MSAs to understand what variables within their settings relate to impact fee adoptions using five …

Factors Influencing The Relationship Between Nonprofit Child Care Providers And The Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services As A Predictor Of Policy Outcomes, Larry Watson

Public Affairs Dissertations

Over the past 30 plus years, there has been a shift in public administration responsibilities from providing direct services to the complex functions of contract management. Public administrators must now perform functions across jurisdictional lines to accomplish the purposes of the state (Frederickson & Smith, 2003). Public administrators can no longer be concerned only with the functions of government but must accomplish their work through the private and nonprofit sectors as well. The movement from the provision of direct services to the management of contracts is evident in Texas, where state legislators are working to privatize the state's child welfare …

Factors Influencing The Relationship Between Nonprofit Child Care Providers And The Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services As A Predictor Of Policy Outcomes, Larry Dan Watson

Public Affairs Dissertations

Over the past 30 plus years, there has been a shift in public administration responsibilities from providing direct services to the complex functions of contract management. Public administrators must now perform functions across jurisdictional lines to accomplish the purposes of the state (Frederickson & Smith, 2003). Public administrators can no longer be concerned only with the functions of government but must accomplish their work through the private and nonprofit sectors as well. The movement from the provision of direct services to the management of contracts is evident in Texas, where state legislators are working to privatize the state's child welfare …

Growth/Decline Of Employment Subcenter In Polycentric Regions: The Case Of The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, Maher Sayel Al-Shammari

Public Affairs Dissertations

This research is concerned with explaining the variation in growth rates among employment subcenters. The purpose of the study is to find answers to the question: What factors/variables contribute to the growth or decline of employment subcenters? More specifically, the study aims to 1) identify and describe employment subcenters in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and 2) explain the variation in their growth rate over a specified period of time through testing a set of variables extracted from related literature. A multiple regression analysis technique is employed to complete the empirical analysis. The DFW metropolitan area was chosen as a …

Technology-Based Learning On At-Risk High School Students: An Evaluation Of The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Technology Center After-School Program, Makenzie Hawley Carpenter

Public Affairs Theses

Objective. High school students across North Texas are failing to meet the academic standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In response, after-school programs have been implemented to support cognitive and communal development of these at-risk youth. Technology can play a role in after-school by expanding the boundaries of the traditional classroom. This study evaluates the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Technology Center (MLK CTC) After-School Program between August 2006 and July 2007. Methods. Evaluation outcomes are based on the MLK CTC program objectives. The evaluation looks also at educational gains within the program and employs a paired …

Technology-Based Learning On At-Risk High School Students: An Evaluation Of The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Technology Center After-School Program, Makenzie Hawley Carpenter

Public Affairs Theses

Objective. High school students across North Texas are failing to meet the academic standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In response, after-school programs have been implemented to support cognitive and communal development of these at-risk youth. Technology can play a role in after-school by expanding the boundaries of the traditional classroom. This study evaluates the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Technology Center (MLK CTC) After-School Program between August 2006 and July 2007. Methods. Evaluation outcomes are based on the MLK CTC program objectives. The evaluation looks also at educational gains within the program and employs a paired …

For The Greater Good Or Greed? Redistributing Private Space Through Eminent Domain Power: Relocating The Dallas Cowboys Stadium To Arlington, Texas, Kim Probasco

Public Affairs Theses

The use of eminent domain power to take private land for private use continues to grow in the United States. Many American people lost their homes or businesses to city and council driven economic development in low-income neighborhoods. This paper seeks to explore the social implications that eminent domain power has on residents and examines power that is used by cities and councils to create economic development through the taking of land in low-income communities. I explore these issues through a case study of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium relocation to Arlington, Texas utilizing discourse analysis. I use Henri Lefebvre's conceptual …

For The Greater Good Or Greed? Redistributing Private Space Through Eminent Domain Power: Relocating The Dallas Cowboys Stadium To Arlington, Texas, Kim Probasco

Public Affairs Theses

The use of eminent domain power to take private land for private use continues to grow in the United States. Many American people lost their homes or businesses to city and council driven economic development in low-income neighborhoods. This paper seeks to explore the social implications that eminent domain power has on residents and examines power that is used by cities and councils to create economic development through the taking of land in low-income communities. I explore these issues through a case study of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium relocation to Arlington, Texas utilizing discourse analysis. I use Henri Lefebvre's conceptual …