Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Environment, Equity And Economic Development Goals: Understanding Differences In Local Economic Development Strategies, Xue Zhang, George C. Homsy

George Homsy

What role do local governments play in promoting sustainable economic development? This article uses a 2014 national survey to analyze the relationship between local environment and social equity motivations and the kinds of economic development strategies local governments pursue (business incentives or community economic development policies). Municipalities that pay more attention to environmental sustainability and social equity use higher levels of community economic development tools and lower levels of business incentives. These places are also more likely to have written economic development plans, and involve more participants in the economic development process. By contrast, communities that employ higher levels of …

Measuring Success: Community Analytics For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani

Michael P. Johnson

Planning For Aging In Place: Stimulating A Market And Government Response, Mildred Warner, George C. Homsy, Lydia J. Morken

George Homsy

Using a national survey of local governments, we explore the drivers of planning and service delivery for older adults. Our regression models find that planning for aging and elder engagement are the most influential factors explaining the level of community services for elders. Services are lower in less dense suburban and rural communities, and market-based services are lower in communities with more senior poverty. This creates two challenges for planners: to help generate a market response for aging services, and to articulate the link between the built environment and services so communities that lack supportive physical environments can become better …

Powering Sustainability: Municipal Utilities And Local Government Policymaking, George C. Homsy

George Homsy

Sustainability policymaking presents numerous challenges to local governments. Municipal leaders, especially in smaller cities and towns, report that they lack the fiscal capacity and/or technical expertise to adopt many environmental protection policies. This paper investigates whether the more than 2,000 municipally-owned utilities have the potential to mitigate those problems. Data from two surveys of local governments in the United States (n=861), modeled in a pair of negative binomial regressions, finds a positive correlation between those cities with municipal power companies and those with an increased number of community-wide sustainable energy policies. Follow-up interviews with officials reveal the potential mechanisms driving …

Cities And Sustainability: Polycentric Action And Multilevel Governance, George C. Homsy, Mildred E. Warner

George Homsy

Polycentric theory, as applied to sustainability policy adoption, contends that municipalities will act independently to provide public services that protect the environment. Our multilevel regression analysis of survey responses from 1,497 municipalities across the United States challenges that notion. We find that internal drivers of municipal action are insufficient. Lower policy adoption is explained by capacity constraints. More policymaking occurs in states with a multilevel governance framework supportive of local sustainability action. Contrary to Fischel’s homevoter hypothesis, we find large cities and rural areas show higher levels of adoption than suburbs (possibly due to free riding within a metropolitan region).

Climate Change And The Co-Production Of Knowledge And Policy In Rural Us Communities, George C. Homsy, Mildred Warner

George Homsy

Climate change requires action at multiple levels of government. We focus on the potential for climate change policy creation among small rural governments in the US. We argue that co-production of scientific knowledge and policy is a communicative approach that encompasses local knowledge flowing up from rural governments as well as expertise and power (to coordinate and ensure compliance) flowing down from higher level authority. Using environmental examples related to land use policy, natural gas hydro-fracturing, and watershed protection, we demonstrate the importance of knowledge flows, power, and coordination in policy creation. Co-production of knowledge and policy requires respect for …

Citizen Trust In Civil Servants: A Cross-National Examination, David J. Houston, Nurgul R. Aitalieva Ph.D., Andrew L. Morelock, Chris A. Shults

Nurgul R. Aitalieva, Ph.D.

Shared Services In New York State: A Reform That Works, George C. Homsy, Bingxi Qian, Yang Wang, Mildred Warner

George Homsy

No abstract provided.

Multi-Generational Community Planning: Linking The Needs Of Children And Older Adults, Mildred Warner, George C. Homsy, Esther Greenhouse

George Homsy

No abstract provided.

Incentive Zoning: Understanding A Market-Based Planning Tool, George C. Homsy, Gina Abrams, Valerie Monastra

George Homsy

No abstract provided.

Using Smart Growth And Universal Design To Link The Needs Of Children And The Aging Population, R. A. Ghazaleh, Esther Greenhouse, George C. Homsy, Mildred Warner

George Homsy

The United States is undergoing a critical demographic transition: The population is aging. By 2040, the proportion of people over the age of 65 will top 20 percent, and people under the age of 18 will make up almost 23 percent of the population. As a result, the oldest and the youngest populations combined will make up almost half of all U.S. residents. This trend is also a global one, directly affecting planning practice worldwide (WHO 2007). As planners work to plan and design sustainable and livable communities they will need to simultaneously consider the needs of these similar, yet …

Advancing Global Cultural Competencies: International Service Learning Within Naspaa Member Programs, Susan Appe, Nadia Rubaii, Kerry Cook Stamp

Susan Appe

This article posits international service learning (ISL) as a pedagogy that supports internationalization in the field of public affairs and one known to advance global cultural competency in other professions. We present a baseline study of the extent to which ISL is being made available to master’s students in NASPAA member programs, and the extent to which existing programs are responding to key challenges of ethics and assessment. The exploratory analysis shows a lack of clear understanding of ISL in professional public affairs education and very few ISL programs being offered in the field. Among the programs that do exist, …

Preparing For And Responding To Student Incivilities: Starting The Dialogue In Public Affairs Education, Stanley H. Barrett, Nadia Rubaii, John Pelowski

Nadia Rubaii

Almost all faculty, even those in graduate public affairs programs, will at some time encounter incivility in the classroom. How we respond sends an important message about how we as individuals, programs, and a profession value civility. Master’s of Public Administration and Master’s of Public Policy programs have a particular responsibility to graduate individuals who not only have substantive expertise but also meet the highest standards of civility. In this essay, we present a series of recommendations for how individuals, programs, and institutions might respond to incivility. While not all of these recommendations will be appropriate for all programs, and …

Promoting Social Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion Through Accreditation: Comparing National And International Standards For Public Affairs Programs In Latin America, Nadia Rubaii

Nadia Rubaii

Purpose – Given widespread acceptance of the importance of addressing social inequalities in Latin America and the critical role that public policy and public administration can have on advancing these goals, this paper examines the extent to which accreditation of public affairs education programs can be a tool to advance those goals. Design/methodology/approach – International and national accreditation standards are compared using content analysis for their reference to social equity and diversity in their standards regarding faculty, students, curriculum content, and learning outcomes. The research applies content analysis of key documents and thematic coding. Findings – International accrediting agencies focused …

Are We Getting Them Out Of The Country? The State Of Study Abroad Opportunities Within Naspaa Member Programs, Nadia Rubaii, Susan Appe, Kerry Cook Stamp

Nadia Rubaii

The pressures of globalization in the 21st century demand public affairs professionals with new competencies, among them the ability to work collaboratively and communicate effectively across national boundaries and cultural differences. International immersion through study abroad has been demonstrated to be an effective means of enhancing global cultural competencies among undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of other professions, but has not previously been examined within the context of public administration or public policy specifically. This article examines the extent to which public affairs programs are providing students with study abroad opportunities. Drawing upon survey and interview data from …

Leading By Example: Modeling Global Public Service Excellence, Nadia Rubaii

Nadia Rubaii

No abstract provided.

Management And Governance: 21 St Century Implications For Diversity In Public Administration, Brandi Blessett, Mohamed G. Alkadry, Nadia Rubaii

Nadia Rubaii

This symposium is designed to examine the implications of diversity management and governance for a 21st century global society. Consequently, what does diversity mean for administrators as employees, managers, policy makers, and implementers? How do these issues impact the collaborative efforts between the citizenry and administrators?

Entitlement, Incivility And Excessive Informality: The Instructional And Administrative Challenges Of Student Misconduct, Stanley H. Barrett, Nadia Rubaii, John Pelowski

Nadia Rubaii

Increasing incidents of incivilities and in some cases outright violence are well documented in K-12 through undergraduate educational setting as well as in the workplace across all sectors, yet the academic and professional literature that reflects and informs public affairs education is striking in its omission of how incivilities necessarily impact our teaching and program administration. In this paper, the authors trace the growing problem of student incivilities, identify contributing factors linked to the entitlement society, and make the case for a more proactive and comprehensive response. They present suggestions for MPA faculty and administrators to use within and outside …

Bringing The 21st-Century Governance Paradigm To Public Affairs Education: Reimagining How We Teach What We Teach, Nadia Rubaii

Nadia Rubaii

Effective governance in the 21st-century demands a different set of competencies than prior generations, with greater emphasis on collaborative leadership, global intercultural competence, and the ability to respond nimbly to rapidly changing circumstances. Many public affairs programs have changed curriculum content to place greater emphasis on these topics. Given the extent to which such changes are altering how public issues are defined, how policies are adopted, and how programs and services are delivered as much as what those problems, policies, and programs are, then how we teach is arguably as important as what we teach. This article argues that current …

Public Administration Education In Latin America—Understanding Teaching In Context: An Introduction To The Symposium, Nadia Rubaii, Cristian Pliscoff

Nadia Rubaii

No abstract provided.

Preparing Public Service Professionals For A Diverse And Changing Workforce And Citizenry: Evaluating The Progress Of Naspaa Programs In Competency Assessment, Nadia Rubaii, Crystal Calarusse

Nadia Rubaii

This paper examines the self-reported progress of public service degree programs in NASPAA for defining, measuring, and assessing student learning outcomes as they relate to the “ability to communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce.” The analysis is placed in the context of the need for cultural competencies among public administration professionals and the evolution of this accreditation standard. Using data drawn from accreditation records, we first present an exploratory qualitative analysis of how programs are defining this competency over time and how progress on this competency relates to progress on competency assessment generally and to other …

Advancing Global Cultural Competencies: International Service Learning Within Naspaa Member Programs, Susan Appe, Nadia Rubaii, Kerry Cook Stamp

Nadia Rubaii

This article posits international service learning (ISL) as a pedagogy that supports internationalization in the field of public affairs and one known to advance global cultural competency in other professions. We present a baseline study of the extent to which ISL is being made available to master’s students in NASPAA member programs, and the extent to which existing programs are responding to key challenges of ethics and assessment. The exploratory analysis shows a lack of clear understanding of ISL in professional public affairs education and very few ISL programs being offered in the field. Among the programs that do exist, …

The Subterranean Counterrevolution: The Supreme Court, The Media, And Litigation Retrenchment, Stephen B. Burbank, Sean Farhang

Sean Farhang

This article is part of a larger project to study the counterrevolution against private enforcement of federal law from an institutional perspective. In a series of articles emerging from the project, we show how the Executive, Congress and the Supreme Court (wielding both judicial power under Article III of the Constitution and delegated legislative power under the Rules Enabling Act) fared in efforts to reverse or dull the effects of statutory and other incentives for private enforcement. An institutional perspective helps to explain the outcome we document: the long-term erosion of the infrastructure of private enforcement as a result of …

Litigation Reform: An Institutional Approach, Stephen B. Burbank, Sean Farhang

Sean Farhang

The program of regulation through private litigation that Democratic Congresses purposefully created starting in the late 1960s soon met opposition emanating primarily from the Republican party. In the long campaign for retrenchment that began in the Reagan administration, consequential reform proved difficult and ultimately failed in Congress. Litigation reformers turned to the courts and, in marked contrast to their legislative failure, were well-rewarded, achieving growing rates of voting support from an increasingly conservative Supreme Court on issues curtailing private enforcement under individual statutes. We also demonstrate that the judiciary’s control of procedure has been central to the campaign to retrench …

Class Actions And The Counterrevolution Against Federal Litigation, Stephen B. Burbank, Sean Farhang

Sean Farhang

In this article we situate consideration of class actions in a framework, and fortify it with data, that we have developed as part of a larger project, the goal of which is to assess the counterrevolution against private enforcement of federal law from an institutional perspective. In a series of articles emerging from the project, we have documented how the Executive, Congress and the Supreme Court (wielding both judicial power under Article III of the Constitution and delegated legislative power under the Rules Enabling Act) fared in efforts to reverse or dull the effects of statutory and other incentives for …

The Promises And Realities Of Evidence-Based Practices: Perceptions From Assessment Personnel, Jessica A. Rueter, Cynthia G. Simpson

Jessica Rueter

Assessment personnel are those individuals who work in the capacity of evaluation of students with disabilities, including, but not limited to, educational diagnosticians, educational examiners, psychometrists, and instructional specialists. These professionals are responsible for identifying strengths and weaknesses and for providing teachers with evidence-based recommendations that can be implemented in the classroom to improve performance of students with learning deficits. This qualitative study examines 19 educational diagnosticians’ perceptions related to the barriers and supports that impacted their ability to provide evidence-based recommendations for students who are learning disabled. Three categories of barriers to issuing successful evidence-based recommendations emerged as a …

Citizen Perceptions Of Public Policy Success: A Cross-National Analysis, Nurgul R. Aitalieva, Andrew L. Morelock

Nurgul R. Aitalieva, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Public Confidence In Government: Public Service Motivation And Political Ideology, Diana Bernal, Stephanie Bixler, Nurgul R. Aitalieva Ph.D.

Nurgul R. Aitalieva, Ph.D.

Extending The Fundamental Right Of Marriage To Same-Sex Couples: The United States Supreme Court Decision In Obergefell V. Hodges, Donald H. J. Hermann

Donald Hermann

No abstract provided.