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Modeling Land Use Change Using Spatial Statistics And Spatial Panel Data Regression In Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area (1990 - 2020), Ali Behseresht

Public Affairs Dissertations

In this dissertation research, we explored land use change for Activity and Residential land uses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area (DFW) from 1990 to 2020 in association with spatial and socioeconomic factors. It aims to study three aspects of land use change: dynamics, drivers, and impacts. The research started with three hypotheses, all proven and accepted by the research findings. We reviewed the relevant literature from five aspects of land use change: theories, models, methods, drivers, and impacts. Based on the reviewed literature, the land use change model we discussed is an economics-based spatiotemporal modeling approach in which the …

Strong Little Minds: A Children's Introduction To Mental Illness, Teresa Irene Vick

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Creative Collaboration In Rural Texas Communities, Kathryn May Lattimore Norris

Public Affairs Dissertations

The body of research investigating collaboration has grown exponentially in recent years with the realization of its potential in generating innovative solutions to complex problems. Even though an abundance of literature on collaboration exists, scholars have fallen short of understanding how collaboration works towards creativity. Lack of consensus on understanding how this critical construct functions has not only made furthering theory on the matter challenging for researchers, but also made recognizing, utilizing, and realizing the full benefit of collaboration difficult for practitioners. Until the ways collaboration can result in creative outcomes are better understood, practitioners will not be able to …

Meaning-Mating And Hyphenated Actualizing In Individual-Organization Units: Lived Experiences Of Organization Development Practitioners Learning And Carrying Out The Philosophy Of Organization Development, Brian Lee Chapman

Public Affairs Dissertations

Individuals have been organizing for millennia. The purpose of this study was to investigate what it means for individuals and organizations to each experience how an exposure to the instrumentalized philosophies of one impacts the internalized philosophies of the other. This phenomenological investigation focused on the lived experiences of Organization Development (OD) practitioners with learning and carrying out the philosophy of OD. Individual conversations with six participants during fourteen separate interview sessions were phenomenologically carried out, analyzed, and interpreted. The experiences articulated during these conversations elucidate two concepts not found during the literature review – meaning-mating and hyphenated actualization. These …

Researching Appointment Robbery: Voices From The Street, Arthur Gregory Vasquez

Public Affairs Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three papers that will examine three topics related to the main research project of examining whether or not CPTED strategies have an effect on the decision to participate in appointment robbery. The first paper examines the difficulties in gaining access with the hard-to-reach population of active offenders. The second paper will provide examples of ethical dilemmas that the qualitative researcher faced while in the field. The third paper will explore whether or not criminals were deterred from deciding to engage in criminal activity due to an implementation of a CPTED strategy. These three papers together …

Building On Ruins: Impacts Of Mass Violence And State-Led Repression In Indonesia, Geraldine Santoso

International Affairs Senior Theses

How does mass violence affect perceptions of citizenship? What are the impacts of mass violence and state-led repression on post-colonial political economies? This thesis focuses on the impact of mass violence on the perceptions of citizenship and the political economy of Indonesia. After the Indonesian 1965-1966 mass murders and subsequent state-led repression under General Suharto, perceptions of political and civic identity and political participation were fundamentally changed– where Chinese Indonesians, despite their economic power, are politically disenfranchised and PKI/PKI affiliated pribumi (native) Indonesians are neither politically nor economically empowered.

Capitalist expansion also serves as a critical motive for mass atrocity …

Resilient Or Vulnerable? The Geography Of Crime And Its Impact On Mental Health In Urban Communities, Qian He

Public Affairs Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between neighborhood characteristics, crime, and mental health, with an emphasis on the role of social disadvantage. Using 5-year panel data from Dallas- Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, and a Spatial Econometric research approach, the findings of this study provide suggestions for building safe and healthy communities. Building upon the interdisciplinary literature on urban planning, environmental criminology, and public health, this study first identifies the impact of environmental factors on property crime, then detects the moderating effects of neighborhood environment upon crime’s impact on mental health status. This study finds that commercial and mixed land-use development, number …

Economic Analysis Of The Critical Habitat Designation Process For Endangered And Threatened Species Under The Endangered Species Act Of 1973, Katherine Fosburgh

Honors Projects

Habitat destruction is the leading cause of biodiversity loss in the US. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), habitat deemed essential to endangered and threatened species recovery is proposed as critical habitat (CH). CH areas are subject to regulations that could alter land development plans or increase costs. The potential economic opportunity cost created by CH regulations may lead to the exclusion of land proposed for CH designation, thereby reducing the conservation benefits of the CH rule. In this paper, I use a unique dataset collected from Federal Register (FR) documents to estimate the reduction in CH acreage from proposed …

Accessibility And The Implementation Of The Americans With Disabilities Act In Small And Medium-Sized Municipalities In The Dallas/Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, John C. Powers

Public Affairs Dissertations

People with disabilities face daily physical challenges posed by inaccessible buildings and unsafe sidewalks or public parks. These barriers prevent millions of people from enjoying resources provided by municipalities across the countries, such as public parks, libraries, and community centers. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, later amended in 2008, was designed to guide municipalities in the removal of those barriers to offer a more inclusive living environment for people with disabilities. Title II of the ADA requires municipalities to ensure that their sidewalks, public parks, and public buildings are accessible. Additionally, public programs such as city council …

Assessment Of The Potential Of Self-Incorporation As A Solution To Roadway Maintenance In Texas Colonias, Moise Dzogolo

Public Affairs Theses

Colonias are communities that lack basic infrastructures such as water, sewer, and paved roads and that are located within 100 miles of the US-Mexico border. They are generally found in unincorporated areas, and the literature, as well as policy makers, have extensively called for their annexation as a solution to solve the infrastructure issues. This paper examines selfincorporation as an alternative to annexations as cities have consistently avoided colonias when they expand through annexation. The paper has two focuses. The first one consists of analyzing the economic and social aspects of a colonia to determine whether they resemble the ones …

The Volunteering Experiences Of African American Millennials: An Exploratory Study, Kapreta J. Johnson

Public Affairs Dissertations

Volunteering is an invaluable resource and practice that connects people to much-needed services. Current research is limited on the practices and perspectives of African American volunteers in the United States. Through the application of surveys, interviews, and focus groups, this qualitative study explores the volunteer experiences of African American millennials. Based on an in-depth review of the literature on volunteerism and social capital theory, this study addresses the following research questions: What are the experiences and expectations of African American millennials participating in employer-sponsored volunteer activities? What are the challenges and limitations of participating in employer-sponsored volunteer activities? What are …

Micropolitan Vs Metropolitan: An Examination Of City Size And Police Funding In Texas, William Casey Heath

Public Affairs Dissertations

The current investigation seeks to understand if similarities or differences in police funding exist between metropolitan and micropolitan cities in Texas. Little is known about the micropolitan cities and police funding for micro cities. Therefore, the general assumption is that metropolitan and micropolitan cities operate similarly. However, the sizes of the cities vary significantly, where metropolitan cities generally comprise cities with populations over 50,000, and micropolitan cities comprise populations between 10,000 and 49,999. In addition, most research focuses on the enormous cities or the rural towns regarding police funding. Therefore, the investigation attempts to address the wide gap of literature …

A Study Of Disproportionality In Discipline For Black Girls In Texas: Does District Type Matter?, Tonelli L. Hatley

Public Affairs Dissertations

The number of African American girls that experience exclusionary discipline in Texas schools is an area of concern that needs to be addressed. In the Southern States, African American female students are five times more likely to receive out-of-school suspension than White female students. The research surrounding the topic of school discipline outlines the disparities concerning students of color and the likelihood of students of color receiving discipline more often and more severe than their counterparts (Fenning & Rose, 2007, Fowler, 2007, Townsend, 2000). Directly related to this concern is the makeup representation of the discipline committee members that decide …

The Effects Of South Korean Beauty Standards On Body Image, Self-Esteem, And Life Satisfaction Amongst Asian Americans, Janessa Akemi Fong

Honors Projects

The United States has seen significant changes in beauty standards over the years, and the current study focused on the influence beauty standards have on body image, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in the Asian American population. Past literature found a positive relationship between beauty standards and body image, self-esteem, and life satisfaction (Choi & Choi, 2016; Hye et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2014), however, these studies have not addressed the Asian American population directly and there was minimal comparison between Western beauty standards and Asian beauty standards. To address these gaps in the literature, this study proposed that there …

The Reckoning That Never Happened, Katherine Seltzer

Student Research Submissions

Five years after the UMW men’s rugby team was suspended for a violent and misogynistic chant, I am writing about whether the school has fully reckoned with the rugby team’s culture of sexual hostility. The school has mandated sexual harassment training for all athletes, hired a Title IX expert, and settled a lawsuit with Feminists United Club, which sued the school in 2015 for failing to protect members from more than 700 harassing messages over the anonymous app Yik Yak. The club was met with violent rape and death threats following their criticism of the rugby team’s chant. But, as …

Effects Of Land Use And Transportation Infrastructure On Distance To Work In Individual Car Riders, Raha Pouladi

Public Affairs Dissertations

Studying travel behavior has become a means of addressing car dependency, greenhouse gas emission, and environmental protection. Many studies have examined the effects of socioeconomic and built environmental factors on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) but there is a limited literature examining the role of these factors on home-to-work distance. If one of the concepts of developing new freeways and toll roads is providing faster and more reliable commutes, then it is assumed that new high-speed road infrastructure will lead to a higher commuting distance. This study used the 2017 National Household Travel Survey, U.S. Census, GIS, and Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics …

Differences In Discipline: Analysis Of Texas School Discipline Actions For Black Females, Norcise Lavette Williams

Public Affairs Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine disproportionate disciplinary rates among Black girls and whether the disproportionality impacts reading achievement in comparison to White girls in Texas urban and suburban public schools, Grades 3–9, in the 2015-2018 academic years. To determine the extent to which inequities were present in the assignment of disciplinary actions for Black girls, the author used data from the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). The data included all female students enrolled in Texas public schools who received some form of disciplinary action in the 2015–2018 academic school years. Specifically, the …

Effects Of Assessment And Assignment Regimes On Characteristics Of Participants In Housing Programs For People Emerging From Homelessness, Flora Alexandra Brewer

Public Affairs Dissertations

Homelessness response systems evolved over the last 20 years into institutional regimes that assess and assign homeless people to a limited set of housing programs based on individual characteristics and experiences of homelessness through Coordinated Entry Systems (CES). CESs have become a central feature of US homelessness systems and are now required of all communities receiving HUD funding through the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, the nation’s largest source of funding for homelessness assistance. In theory, housing program assignments are based on criteria reflecting an assessment of participants’ degree of vulnerability for incurring greater harm if left homeless and an …

Political Legitimacy On College Campuses, Taylor Holtman

Honors Projects

The government system is looked to have an influential impact on a person’s life and the ability to trust the legal system is extremely important to have a working democracy. Changes need to be made in order to make the minorities feel like they belong. The history of segregation and descrimigation needs to end and the government needs to enact policies to make the minorities trust again in the system. College students have felt the pressure of social media in the wrongful treatment of minorities and seeing these things happen first hand. With the rise of technology these problems will …

Stress To Success: A Children's Book About Handling Stressful Situations, Marina Pennycuff

Honors Projects

For this project, I investigated the importance of bibliotherapy with school-aged children through the construction of my own children’s book that is focused around social-emotional aspects that are important for development. In particular, this children’s book was focused around different stressful events that can occur in a child’s life. This project allowed me to have a hands-on approach in researching this central topic. Another major goal for this project was that it granted me the ability to create a physical copy of a book that I will be able to use as a tool in my future career working with …

Systemic Inequalities In The Brazilian Education System: By Chance Or By Choice?, Erin Marmen

Honors Theses

Systemic inequalities in the Brazil date back to the Colonial Era (1500 to 1822). One of the primary institutions which reflects these inequalities in Brazil is the education system. It is the objective of this thesis to analyze factors that impact educational attainment throughout Brazil with a focus on class, ethnicity, gender, and geographic location. First I provide in depth descriptions of the education system in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Amazonas, and Bahia, and discuss the problems they face. These five states all have distinct populations, and as a result distinct education systems and sets …

Pandemic Privilege: Business Policies And Labor Value During Covid-19, Kyle Friedler

Honors Thesis

Forcing businesses to adapt to new health and safety concerns, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an insight into how companies value their employees. Early research on COVID-19 suggests that working in essential businesses with in-person relations increases risk of employees both contracting and dying from COVID-19 (Rodriguez-Diaz et al. 2020:51). With serious risks to employee health, the COVID-19 pandemic requires us to analyze how we value and treat our workers. In this study, I will compare how businesses in the restaurant and technology industries value their employees through a qualitative content analysis. Reviewing company COVID-19 statements, I underscore how privilege between …

Ecological Repentance, Emmanuel Salem

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In an age ripe with discovery and analysis regarding anthropogenic pollution and the resultant climate change, a causal ideological explanation is naturally sought. This paper seeks to delve deep into the Christian religion and its relationship to the current climate crisis, as well as discuss whether or not predictions and speculative assertions professed in the famous essay by Lynn White, Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, hold up when surveyed with a more critical and thorough evaluative lens. This conversation is undertaken under three core considerations: biblical cosmology, what has happened in the world of Christian bioethics since White’s time, …

Mayoral Candidates Scott Stringer, Eric Adams Travel Different Roads On Police Reform, Ryan Songalia

Capstones

Police reform is likely to be among the most consequential issues in the 2021 New York City Mayoral Democratic Primary and general election. Two of the leading candidates, Eric Adams and Scott Stringer, have long records to dissect on the issue.

Karla Arroyo - Deeper Than Hair Social Journalism Practicum, Karla Y. Arroyo

Capstones

This project package is my final project as a Social Journalism student at the Newmark J-School. For 16 months, I engaged with and reported on Black and brown people who are subject to or have lived experiences of hair discrimination in workplaces, schools and society. In my final report, I offer a lengthy summary of my process of engaging with people in my community and how I created an effective medium to serve them: via a newsletter. The Deeper Than Hair Newsletter is a monthly news service in collaboration with the CROWN Campaign where we offer community members resources like …

Meta Analysis Of Rct Interventions, Ayo Ellis

Master's Theses

External validity of an RCT intervention enables understanding of where interventions are successful.

Meta-analysis allows for more generalized statements to be made on the effectiveness of RCTs across countries of different geographic and national income profiles. By comparing the findings from similar studies carried out in different settings I seek to describe whether RCTs in certain sectors are more sensitive to high GDP growth or higher levels of GDP. I consider 402 health, education, and industry development RCT studies done between 1980 and 2015 in 201 countries compiled by development non-profit Aidgrade. I find no significant effect of income level …

The Fear Of Reptiles And How To Change It, Maxwell Lyman

Honors Projects

Reptile fear is prominent across many cultures. Anti-reptilian attitudes can lead to anti-conservation attitudes towards reptiles. Person-animal interaction has been shown to decrease fear desensitization and increase positive attitudes towards "unpopular" animals. My project demonstrates the effectiveness of live animal presentation in dispelling negative attitudes of reptiles. However, due to the sample size of the project, further research is highly suggested.

Evolution Of Sustainability And Resilience In Military Master Planning: Examining Planners' Perceptions, Rhonda E. Fields

Public Affairs Dissertations

An increasingly globalized world and mounting threats to our economy, environment, and social structures have brought the concepts of sustainability and resilience into sharp focus. These threats include climate change, rapid urbanization, and loss of biodiversity in an increasing volatile, uncertain, ambiguous, and complex world. Sustainability and resilience have emerged as key concepts in understanding and addressing urban dynamics toward a livable urban future. These concepts are important because resilience typically deals with the short-term issues surrounding predicting and responding to immediate threats, while sustainability looks at the long-term, steady state of the built and natural environment. Focusing on resilience …

Application Of The Critical Race And Latino Critical Theories To Explore Social Innovation In Nonprofit Services Addressing Hiv/Aids Issues In Texas, Jack Brandon Philips

Public Affairs Dissertations

The nonprofit sector is an essential and valuable resource in the United States for aiding marginalized populations. This study focuses on how nonprofit health organizations provide and innovate HIV services, and how they can overcome barriers in delivering quality services for HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and treatment to Latinos in Texas. Nonprofit organizations are on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS fight, through their outreach in the areas of education, prevention, and testing. Nonprofit organizations are examined for barriers and innovations in service delivery as it applies to the Latino community. This study also examines how the integration of Critical Race …

An Exploratory Case Study: Analyzing Planning Approaches In Economic Development Through The Institutional Analysis And Development Framework, Priscylla Bento

Public Affairs Dissertations

This exploratory case study examines planning and economic development through the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework in the New Institutional Economic Theory. Two selected case studies highlight economic development orchestrated under two planning approaches, Transactive Planning and Market Oriented Planning. A case study of the Bishop Arts District urban revitalization in Dallas, Texas and the Bexar Street Retail Development Project in Dallas, Texas provides an exploratory analysis of the specified planning methods. This study moves away from previous forms of analysis of economic development planning, highlighting the New Institutional Economic theory through the Institutional Analysis and Development framework as …