Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Factors That Impact Direct Democracy And Voter Turnout: Evidence From A National Study On American Counties, Michael Joseph Biesiada

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines factors that impact citizen initiatives and voter turnout. The dissertation contains two parts that build upon each other with fitting theoretical frameworks. The first part investigates the decision for a county government to permit citizen initiatives. This part applies new institutionalism theory as a framework to examine county governance, autonomy, and decision-making. County governments play a vital role in American politics, yet little is known about why some counties permit citizen initiatives while others do not. I address a gap in the literature that focuses on policy outcomes that vary at the county-level due to election laws. …

The Effectiveness Of State Ethics Commissions On Curbing Corruption And The Effect Of Corruption On State Economic Performance, Anthony J. Prato

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies implemented across the United States that significantly reduce public sector corruption. In addition to the normative desire to combat corruption, it documents, the economic impact that corruption has on each state's per capita gross domestic product. To investigate public sector corruption articles between the years 2010 – 2015were reviewed for news stories that report on public sector corruption at the state level and below. The practical implications of this dissertation, if incorporated into a state level anti-corruption policy, could be used to reduce public sector corruption and increase that states' economic health. …

Hearts And Minds: An Analysis Of Checks And Safeguards, Monitoring, And Performance Review Of Executive Boards And Their Executive Directors Within Select Nonprofit Corporations., John Michael Wagner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Horror stories of ineffective nonprofit organization management arise in the media far too often. When these stories emerge, the public demands accountability from those responsible. Ultimately, accountability rests with the fiduciaries of the organization. For nonprofit

organizations in the United States, fiduciary responsibility and accountability reside with the board of directors.

Board governance has been widely studied in the for-profit sector. Due to the critical nature of the work nonprofits perform, there has been an increasing effort to study board governance in nonprofit organizations. Employing in depth interviews, with both executive

directors and board members, checks and safeguards such as …