Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Ethics Glass Ceiling: A Historical Analysis Of Actions By The U.S. House Of Representatives Committee On Ethics, Michael James Gordon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The breaking of moral and ethical codes has been with humankind since history was first recorded. As such, the public wants to know that their elected officials are held accountable and cannot disregard enshrined legal rights without incurring broader personal and societal consequences. Within the hallowed halls of government, the "unrequested" House Committee on Ethics (HCE) provides the forum of accountability.

In this qualitative, historical case study, HCE documents are analyzed and both the internal and external motivating factors behind the actions of the HCE members are examined. Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software, namely ATLAS.ti, was used to look …

The Evolving Executive: Provisional Decrees And Their Impact On Brazil's Executive-Legislative Relationship, Lance L. Arberry

Honors College Theses

Comparatively, the lawmaking process in presidential systems is often comprised of negotiations between a legislative body, tasked with authoring and legislating laws, and an executive, who must authorize and administer the enactment of the law. While executives are often empowered with certain constitutional powers to help influence the lawmaking process, these powers are typically constrained and supervisory in nature. Presidents are rarely given broad-and-discretionary legislative powers, since lawmaking is ultimately the responsibility of the legislative body; however, this does not hold true for the case of Brazil. Following the adoption of Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, Presidents were empowered with the power …

The Primacy Of Context: An Exploration Into The Causes Of Food Insecurity In Kitere, Kenya., William O. Aludo

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore the specific reasons why households in Kitere village, Kenya experience persistent food insecurity every year while the region enjoys the advantage of two planting/harvest seasons in a year. Kitere village lies within the lakeside region of Nyanza Province in Kenya, generally considered to be one of the more agriculturally productive parts of the country. The Participatory Rural Appraisal method was employed to gather qualitative data on the causes of food insecurity in Kitere village. The data sources were focus groups and a self-administered, one-time survey of random and non-random samples of key …

Public Participation In Municipal Service Delivery Review, Noah Atlin

MPA Major Research Papers

One of the techniques used by municipal administrators to evaluate their spending is the Service Delivery Review (SDR), for which a “how-to” manual, known as the Guide to Service Delivery Review for Municipal Managers, was created. This paper examines the Guide to determine whether it proposes a useful SDR structure that has adequate provisions for public participation. It analyzes the literature pertaining to the SDR process and public participation and it also provides an examination of public participation using case studies of six municipal SDRs in Ontario: Brockville, Port Hope, Brantford, Halton Hills, Barrie, and Hamilton. The findings reveal that …

Do City Of San José Leadership Development Programs Prepare Its Existing Workforce For Future City Management Positions? An Outcome Evaluation Comparing The City Of San José’S Succession Planning Strategies Compare To Other Local Municipalities., Ernest Azevedo

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

The Staffing Levels At Vts Centre : A Case Study Of The Shenzhen Vts Centre, Yuanzhong Xie

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Maritime Safety Supervision And Control Of Lng Vessels In China During The Marine Transportation Process, Yali Sun

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Solar Energy Used On Board The Ship And Responding Administration Countermeasures, Xiaoping Zhu

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Friends In The Desert Foundation, Inc. Program Evaluation, Gina Brooksbank, Jessica Wilde, Holly Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This report presents an evaluation of the Friends in the Desert, Foundation Incorporated (FID), a sit-down feeding program in downtown Henderson, Nevada. The evaluation identified both strengths of the program and opportunities for growth. Major components of this report are presented in the following order: scope of work, research design, findings, recommendations, conclusions and limitations. The report recommendations provide the agency’s members and principal stakeholder groups with proposals designed to improve the program’s financial position and long-term viability. These recommendations focus on opportunities for restructure, growth, and uninterrupted success.

FID is a sit-down feeding program located at St. Timothy’s Episcopal …

Spatial Health Indicator Analysis Data Collection Unlv Study, Amelia Gulling, Jeff Greer, Tom Stewart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Southern Nevada Strong (SNS) is a collaborative regional planning project between local public agencies and NGOs throughout the Las Vegas Valley. This project is headed by City of Henderson on behalf of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Committee. SNS received a $3.5 million Sustainable Community (SC) grant from HUD which is set to expire in 2015. SNS member agencies receive preference for future HUD grants by participating in successful SC grant, which could be considered a motivating factor for participation for outside agencies.

Friends Of Rainbow Company Program Evaluation, Holly Balmer, Christian Downing, Eric Garner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Friends of the Rainbow Company (Friends) is a nonprofit organization that supports the mission of The Rainbow Company Youth Theatre (Rainbow Company) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Established in 1978, it supports the Rainbow Company through non-traditional financial streams and hands-on support. The Rainbow Company receives primary financial support from the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs. Being the City’s only youth theatre education program of its kind, it has received local governmental funding since 1976. The City support is mainly for salaried employees and facilities.

Friends and the Rainbow Company are very closely linked in several ways. First, …

Service Satisfaction, Competence And Caring: Examining The Influence Of Experience With The Public Bureaucracy On Citizen Attitudes Of Trust In Government, Lauren Kriston Harding

Doctoral Dissertations

Examining the relationship among government performance, service satisfaction and trust in government advocated by the New Public Management, this research contributes to a better understanding of the performance-trust hypothesis and its assumptions. This study evaluates the satisfaction link of the performance-trust hypothesis, investigating influences on service satisfaction and how these translate into trust. In particular, two implicit assumptions of the performance-trust hypothesis are explored. First, citizen experience with public services is examined as a measure of specific support for government. Second, the role of citizen interactions with the bureaucracy is assessed, specifically identifying the influence of citizen attitudes toward public …

Departmental Strategic Planning: Examining The Institutional And Organizational Linkages That Influence Departmental Strategic Planning Processes In Local Government, Adam Mobbs

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the organizational and institutional factors that contribute to strategic planning efforts within the specific context of municipal government departments. It uses a mixed-methods approach consisting of a quantitative and qualitative analysis. The qualitative data was collected through interviews with department heads from two municipalities – Markham and Vaughan – that demonstrated enhanced strategic management processes, while the quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire that measured the perceptions of department heads employed by mid-sized Ontario municipalities. The findings reveal that each measure contained in the Strategic Management Processes Index demonstrates a relatively healthy level of management processes …

Affordable Housing Policies: What China Could Learn From Canada, Jingyuan Sun

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper discusses the lessons China could learn from Canada with respect to affordable housing. It uses specific case studies that focus on the experiences of Shanghai and Toronto respectively, with the necessary information regarding the policies of both cities being sourced from existing research papers, government documents, and government websites. The findings reveal that the affordable housing system in China is lacking the enlargement of public participation, the reinforcement of community engagement, and the expansion of public-private partnerships, suggesting that these three areas can be improved with reference to the affordable housing experience in Toronto, where these factors are …

Inter-Municipal Transit Governance: An Investigation Of Challenges And Opportunities In The Alberta Capital Region, Paul Szabo

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the possibilities for inter-municipal coordination of public transit services and regional transit in the Alberta Capital Region. Specific regional governance options for public transit in Greater Edmonton are evaluated through case studies of regional public transit delivery in Canada and these options are assessed using information acquired from interviews with members of key regional transit committees. The findings reveal that regional problems necessitate regional solutions and public transit is an inherently metropolitan and regional service requiring cooperation among municipalities and the involvement of the provincial government.

The Revitalization Of Social Housing: An Analysis Of Mixed-Income Housing In The City Of Toronto, Zoie Browne

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines whether community-based organizations (CBOs) offer a viable strategy for addressing social and community development issues within mixed-income housing in Toronto. It analyzes how and under what conditions mixed income housing developments produce a vibrant base of CBOs that reflect the social diversity of residents and it explores the extent to which mixed income developments build a sense of community with reference to the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. Interview data is used to provide empirical evidence regarding both the physical and social principles relating to community development in the area. The findings reveal that the success of a model …

The Regional Variation Of Ontario Works: From The Perspective Of Provincial-Municipal Relationship, Ju Xue

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the regional variations of Ontario Works in the province using empirical studies of 12 municipalities: Durham, Halton, Hamilton, London, Muskoka, Niagara, Ottawa, Sudbury, Toronto, Waterloo, Windsor, and York. The findings reveal that the variation of Ontario Works in different municipalities is limited and the services provided to clients are similar across the entire province. Furthermore, in understanding why the provincial government still requires the involvement of municipalities in the program, despite it being consistent across Ontario, it concludes that the introduction of Ontario Works was accompanied by the province’s decentralization process and the fiscal retrenchment of provincial …

Homelessness In Winnipeg, Manitoba: An Analysis Of Local Government Inaction, Rhiannon Hayes

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the topic of homelessness with a specific focus on Winnipeg, Manitoba to determine why it has remained inactive in addressing this social issue. It uses a qualitative approach in the form of interviews with different employees for the City of Winnipeg and members of non-governmental organizations to understand why the city has had such a limited response. This paper also compares Winnipeg to Edmonton, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia to analyze the experiences of other Canadian cities that are attempting to tackle homelessness. The findings reveal that Winnipeg does not actively address homelessness due to the failure …

Landowner Behaviour In The Upper Thames And Grand River Watersheds: A Study Of Factors That May Explain The Conservation Behaviour Of Farmers, Jeffrey Brick

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the factors that may explain why some farmers choose to remove conservation lands, while others choose to restore them. It uses a survey that was administered to rural landowners in the Upper Thames River and Grand River watersheds in Southwestern Ontario to collect information on landowner characteristics and behaviours, as well as literature reviews to provide insights into the value of conservation lands and the changing economic conditions in the study area. Eight independent variables that may explain the conservation behaviour of farmers were assessed. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between property size and the …

Explaining Social Media Variation: An Analysis Of Internal Municipal Factors That Shape Canadian Municipal Websites, Julien Patel

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper explains the variations in social media features on Canadian municipal websites by measuring internal characteristics of key municipal administrators. The research process used a questionnaire to measure administrators’ attitudes towards engagement and municipal corporations’ capacity to improve websites moving forward. The results of the survey are contrasted with a dataset that scores each respondent’s municipality using predetermined criteria. Representatives from 43 Canadian municipalities agreed to participate in the study. The findings reveal that age, citizen pressure to provide online services, and engagement efforts with local stakeholders significantly explain a proportion of variation in municipal social media features.

E-Governance On Ontario Municipal Websites: Exploring The Development Of E-Governance Tools Used By Ontario Municipal Planning Departments, Spencer Sandor

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines whether there are patterns to the adoption of e-Governance tools on Ontario municipal websites, with a specific focus on whether the adoption follows a hierarchical pattern based on intended engagement outcomes. The planning department sections of 160 websites for municipalities with populations between 10,000 and 500,000 were searched for a list of 15 online tools that were selected following a literature review of the various uses of online tools. The findings illustrate a number of statistically significant relationships, suggesting that there is a hierarchical pattern to tool adoption. In addition, the results demonstrate a relationship between the …

No Choice But To Change: An Investigation Into The History And Effects Of The 2006 Municipal Ward Boundary Realignment In London, Ontario, Stephen Turner

MPA Major Research Papers

In 2005, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) responded to a citizen petition in London, Ontario by imposing significantly changed municipal wards for the 2006 municipal election, focusing on the concept of communities of interest in setting the new electoral boundaries. This paper examines the effects of ward realignment to determine personal attitudes on the effects of the change. Interviews with 14 civically involved Londoners were conducted, in addition to an analysis of voter turnout, campaign expense, municipal budget, and neighbourhood demographic data over 10 years to identify any patterns that may have arisen. The findings reveal that municipal government improved …

Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committees: A Review And Critical Analysis, Ashley Grigg

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the municipal election compliance audit committee (CAC) process and the practical application of legislative parameters. It undertakes a descriptive analysis of the CAC process using four cases – each having resulted in an appeal to the Ontario Court of Justice – and ultimately puts forward an argument for legislative review. The findings reveal that there are conflicting legislative interpretations concerning the function and powers of CACs, demonstrating the need for increased statutory clarity regarding the committee’s authority and purpose.

The State Of Representation And Segregation Among African American Women At The U.S. Department Of Commerce: An Examination Of The Intersection Of Strategic Planning With Race And Gender, Sesha Joi Moon

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The intent of this dissertation is to examine the state of representation and segregation among African American women across the workforce at the United States Department of Commerce. This study employs a triangulated research design to examine the relationship between elements of strategic planning and the employment patterns of African American women. This study's qualitative analysis includes a content analysis of 13 agency-specific strategic documents published between FY 1994 through FY 2010. This data is supplemented with a longitudinal trend analysis of personnel data for fulltime, permanent employees retrieved from the National Finance Center for the same time period. The …

Regional Organization And The Dynamics Of Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Zachary Spicer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines the institution of city-county separation in Ontario. City-county separation was the original form of municipal organization in the province, introduced as a method of distinguishing between urban and rural areas by politically separating one from the other. Over time, this practice lost ground to institutions such as regional government, which sought to connect urban and rural areas. Despite this institutional shift, 18 cities and towns in Ontario remain separated from their counties, establishing a situation where some of the province’s most populous communities lack institutional linkages to their surrounding rural municipalities.

Exploring four different thematic areas – …

Risk, Oil Spills, And Governance: Can Organizational Theory Help Us Understand The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?, Evelyn Cade

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico awakened communities to the increased risk of large-scale damage along their coastlines presented by new technology in deep water drilling. Normal accident theory and high reliability theory offer a framework through which to view the 2010 spill that features predictive criteria linked to a qualitative assessment of risk presented by technology and organizations. The 2010 spill took place in a sociotechnical system that can be described as complex and tightly coupled, and therefore prone to normal accidents. However, the entities in charge of managing this technology lacked the …

Driving Forces: Factors Affecting Police Officer Injuries In Motor Vehicle Incidents In The United States, Carol Servino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traffic-related incidents were the leading cause of fatal injuries to officers in 14 of 15 years between 1997 and 2012. Vehicle crashes occur at the individual officer level, but chiefs are responsible for agency performance, creating and implementing police policy, and developing organizational culture. This quantitative survey research study draws from organizational culture theory and asks chiefs in state, county, and city police organizations what they believe are salient factors in crashes causing injuries and death to police officers in the United States. Independent variables include safety belt laws, written driving policies (including communication technology commonly used in police vehicles), …

Achieving Justice Through Public Participation: Measuring The Effectiveness Of New York's Enhanced Public Participation Plan For Environmental Justice Communities, Alma L. Lowry

Social Science - Dissertations

Public participation is at the heart of democracy and of the environmental justice movement. Most state-level environmental justice policies and regulations focus on improving public participation within administrative processes to ensure that communities have a voice in the environmental decisions that affect them. New York has adopted an environmental justice policy that follows this model and requires enhanced notice, accessible comment opportunities, and improved access to technical information for new major environmental permits issued to facilities proposed in low-income or minority communities. However, New York's policy, like other state participation-focused environmental justice policies, has yet to be evaluated.

To address …

Recommendations To The City Of South Portland, Related To Phase 2 Of The Energy Action Plan, Karen Purinton

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

South Portland’s Energy Action Plan (EAP) has not been updated since the completion and approval of the most recent South Portland Comprehensive Plan in October 2012. The current EAP has three phases, of which the first has been partially implemented, calling for energy and other resource conservation practices to be put in place in all City departments. Phase 2 is concerned with how the municipality can engage and incentivize businesses within the City to address energy use and efficiency, and is discussed in three sections below. Phase 3, yet to be drafted, will address residential opportunities for decreased energy use …

Agency Decision-Making For Climate Change: Cost-Benefit Analysis, The Precautionary Principle, And The Bounds Of Rationality, Laura Carr

Pomona Senior Theses

Climate change tests the limits of human understanding of complexity and uncertainty. It challenges assumptions about our presumed power of control over this planet. This paper examines the theory of how governmental executive branch agencies make regulation decisions about climate change using the decision-making methodologies of cost-benefit analysis and the precautionary principle, and as influenced by perceptions of the bounds of human rationality and ability to deal with risk and uncertainty.