Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Environmental Factors On Policy Decisions As It Relates To Community Development Block Grant Allocations, Al G. Gourrier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For decades urban centers across the country have experienced significant transition in demographics, population, composition of workforce, and the industries that constitute their economic base. The Federal Government has sought to address the issues of urban cites through a series of urban polices. This study explores one of the more prominent and sustained urban policies, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and evaluates a series of political factors on local decision making in the allocations of Community Development Block Grant dollars.

Using path analysis, the research explores the statistical significance of social, economic and political factors combined with historical …

Thank You For Your Time! Would You Mind Donating To Our Cause? The Effect Of Gratitude On Prosocial Behavior, Matthew L. Hortt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A random assignment experiment examined the effects of three expressions of gratitude on two prosocial behaviors: volunteering and making monetary donations to charitable organizations. The results indicated that two of the expressions of gratitude had a significant opposite effect on the two prosocial behaviors. Both a verbal thank-you speech and a hand written thank-you note, resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of pledged volunteer hours, while resulting in a significant increase in the amount of pledged charitable dollars. The third expression of gratitude, a ten dollar thank-you gift card, produced no significant findings for either prosocial behavior. The …

Citizen Participation Within Mental Health Planning And Advisory Councils, Ronald W. Strickland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation studies citizen participation, mental health care and block grants. Each state has a Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council (MHPAC) that is required by the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program. Councils must consist of at least 50 percent citizens. This dissertation looked at MHPAC activity levels of the 50 states (and Washington, DC) and developed an activity level index to measure council activity from 2008-2011. Two main questions were posed. First, do planning council differ in their level of activity? If so, what explains this variation? Second, do differences in activity levels of MHPAC’s explain variations …

Program Evaluation Of Clark County Department Of Family Services, Parenting Project, Marissa E. Duke, Emily Elzeftawy, Michael D. Spies

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Clark County Department of Family Services, Parenting Project, hereinafter referred to as Parenting Project, partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Environmental and Public Affairs to participate in a program evaluation. The evaluation will serve as a tool to determine the effectiveness of the services delivered to the community by Parenting Project and to aid them in overall program improvement and implementation. This Program Evaluation focuses on two of the six core parenting classes that are currently offered free to the public, more specifically the Nurturing Parents and Families program and the ABC’s of Parenting. The …

An Evaluation Of Clean The World, Las Vegas Volunteer Program, Chanton Cox, Bassem Dahdouh, Madison Rousell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background

Student evaluation team, AVID Advising, conducted an evaluation of a not for profit organization, Clean the World, Las Vegas Volunteer Program from February 2015 through August 2015. The pre-­‐ valuation consisted of an analysis of the organization’s growth since opening its Las Vegas doors in 2012, staff responsibilities, and their volunteer program. As a result of the pre-­‐ valuation, AVID Advising and Clean the World Las Vegas Manager, Kevin Williams determined an evaluation on the existing volunteer program would be most beneficial to the organization.

Purpose

The primary purpose of this evaluation is to provide Clean the World, Las …

Rainbow Company Youth Theatre Program Evaluation, Ambrosia Crump, Dydia Garcia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A.D. Consulting was tasked to conduct a program analysis and evaluation of Rainbow Company Youth Theatre (RCYT), a nationally recognized award-winning youth theatre program who has been operating for almost 40 years, under the auspices of the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs. Based on the feedback received from RCYT staff, A.D. Consulting determined that the program evaluation question would be, does participation in Rainbow Company Youth Theatre meet the objective of the organization, which, although not formally stated, is to improve the lives of youth served, and ultimately make “better people”. The evaluation conducted had the following …

Community Advanced Data And Research Analysis: A Mixed Methods Capstone Project, Michael Bernarndo, Brandie Green, Amber Konold, Kathryn Weavil

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Community Advanced Data and Research Analysis project, or CADRA, is project that houses an interdisciplinary research team located at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The vision of CADRA, as defined by its stakeholders, is to create positive community outcomes by encouraging and engaging nonprofit organizations, as well as student and professional researchers, to develop and evolve their data management practices. CADRA offers three program options including Nonprofit Audits, Program Development and Grant Writing, and Community Data Mining. The purpose of this program evaluation will be to evaluate the Community Advanced Data and Research Analysis (CADRA) Project, with a …