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. …

Road To Change: A Community’S Story On Strengthening Law Enforcement-Community Relations, Corina Mejia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Youth Violence Prevention Task Force, YVPT, is a branch of the United Way that strives to reduce and prevent violence among youth in the county. The task force functions using a public health approach that emphasizes prevention, intervention, and suppression. In response to the high violence rates among youth, the task force organized dialogue sessions in the community. During the dialogue process, there was a growing need to create a resource for community partners involved in the process. Consequently, a web page that includes; information, updates, and supplemental documents was created to educate partner organizations, the community, and others …

Project Renew Worcester, Danni Yue, Amy Zhang, Jing Han, Omid Ashrafi, Yiming Xu

School of Professional Studies

n The client for this capstone project is RENEW Worcester which is a fledgling solar power project whose main goals are to bring renewable energy in the form of solar power into local, primarily low-income communities and are committed to the mission of making the transition off of fossil fuels to clean, renewable power. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, they are a local chapter of Co-op Power which is a consumer-owned sustainable energy cooperative (co-op) made up of numerous different local chapters all over the New England area as well as the state of New York. The problem that we will …

Effects Of Racial Microaggressions On Black Women’S Work Performance As Government Workers, Samantha-Rae Dickenson

All Theses And Dissertations

This study explored the connection between society’s perception of Black women and their experiences of racial microaggressions in a work environment, and further understand the effect these experiences have on their work performance. Despite federal regulations to eliminate workplace discrimination, there are still racially neutral workplace policies and a lack of inclusion in work environments. Work environments that do not actively account for diversity in formal policies can promote the occurrence of racial microaggressions. Black women’s unique experiences with racial microaggressions may affect their job performance. This study used Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality Theory, and Black Feminist Theory as a …

Factors Explaining Government Officials' Perceptions Of Citizen Engagement In The Municipal Strategic Planning Process, Michael Wallner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Research has suggested that citizen engagement in local government decisions is important for sustaining democratic ideals. However, scholars are still working to understand how those responsible for organizing citizen engagement at the local level perceive such efforts. There has also been little work examining how citizen engagement is integrated in strategic planning processes at the municipal level of government. This study aims to address both gaps by investigating contemporary factors impacting government officials’ perceptions of citizen engagement in strategic planning processes. Collaborative Governance Theory (CGT) focuses on creating an environment where community members can develop, debate, and negotiate ideas or …

Wellness And Prevention Program Sustainability Design For Clark University Athletics Department, Emily Corbett

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The purpose of this work is to design a wellness based prevention program that is tailored to fit the campus community within Clark University, Worcester, MA, called the Peer Athletes Advocating for Wellness (PAAW) initiative. This paper first presents the current research on wellness related issues within a college campus, specifically surrounding sexual violence. It then outlines the current sexual violence prevention programming that takes place yearly for incoming first year students at Clark University, as well as a one-time initiative during which student athletes participated in the sexual violence prevention programming. There is a review of the current most …

Informal Rulemaking And Democratic Participation Fda – Food Labeling, Fcc – Net Neutrality, A Text Mining Study, Casey Shannon

Public Administration Master’s Projects

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is supposed to make the rulemaking process at the administrative level democratic. This study will look at two examples of federal regulatory agencies – Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The topics are food labeling, and net neutrality respectively. The APA highlights the process of notice and comment rulemaking. The APA is evaluated in the literature review for effectiveness and shortcomings. Interest groups play a key role in the policy making process; interest groups inform and mobilize citizens, and then coordinate commenting on agency rule propositions. This can sometimes lead …

Creativity And Budgeting: Improving The Budget Process With Creativity, Janet K. Stormes

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

In this master’s project I explore ways to improve a budget process by integrating the principles and tools of creativity and Creative Problem Solving. I do this by prototyping, testing, and revising a creativity-budget model. The creativity-budget prototype model was based on my professional experience in federal budgeting and a literature review on topics including governance, the budget process, stakeholders, collaboration, the impact of the budget process on the creativity of an organization, and the principles of creativity and creative problem solving. In July 2018, I tested the prototype model by conducting creativity-budget workshops in Myanmar. Based on my experience …

The Role Of The Academic Analyst In Shared Governance, Rebecca Ann Mathern

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the roles of academic professionals in higher education, specific to how they engage in decision-making processes. Academic professionals provide important functions in higher education work but there is little in the literature about these actors and their contributions to leadership and governance. A literature review triangulated role theory, organization theory, and the shared-governance field of study to bring together actors within higher education and compare their involvement based on the shared-governance model in operation at different institutions. The researcher introduced the hypothesis that when registrars are not involved in curriculum management, there may be negative effects on …

Prescription Opioids And Heroin Abuse In New Mexico: Swot Analyses Of Possible Policies/Interventions And The Way Forward, Ali Abbasi

Public Administration ETDs

Throughout the last decade or so, Opioid related fatalities are at all-time high in the United States. New Mexico’s problem with Opioids abuse in not a new phenomenon and a large number of New Mexicans are losing their lives almost on a daily basis. The paper highlights the alarming situation of overdose deaths caused specifically by the abuse of Prescription Opioids and Heroin which, in 2016 alone have taken 347 lives in New Mexico. Policy makers along with other stakeholders play a vital part in shaping the politics along with other interventions which can help tackle the epidemic. The paper …

Held To Account? An Analysis Of Political Accountability In Ontario’S Municipal Sector, David W. Arbuckle

MPA Major Research Papers

This exploratory research paper looks at the current political accountability framework at the municipal level in Ontario, which consists of a mandatory requirement for council code of conduct and access to an integrity commissioner. The literature review defines political accountability, both generally and within the Ontario municipal context, and outlines the historical beginnings, role and challenges with council codes of conduct and integrity commissioners. To answer the research question, “Does hiring an integrity commissioner improve political accountability at the municipal level in Ontario?” a detailed analysis of municipal council decision related to integrity commissioner investigations and recommendations, as well as …

Law, Autonomy, And Local Government: A Legal History Of Municipal Corporations In Canada West/Ontario, 1850-1880, Mary Margaret Pelton Stokes

PhD Dissertations

The historiography of local government in mid-nineteenth century Canada West/Ontario is divided on the question of municipal autonomy. The more dominant thesis asserts that the Municipal Corporations (Baldwin) Act of 1849 ushered in a period of freedom for municipalities. The second depicts the Act as oppressive of autonomy in the interests of economic development. Both interpretations are based largely on extrapolation from earlier and later periods; there have been no direct examinations of local governance in Canada West/Ontario for what may be considered its formative period, from 1850 to 1880. In addition, much that has been written has been conceptually …

Factors Influencing Collective Co-Production Of Services At The Municipal Level: A Case Study Of The City Of Hamilton’S Neighbourhood Action Strategy, Brian Kreps

MPA Major Research Papers

The nature of public governance has changed over the past few decades which has led to increased interest in the study of governments working with residents to co-produceservices. The literature identifies different types of co-production including individual, group and collective and it also identifies factors associated with co-production. This paper explores the factors associated with co-production of services at the municipal level. This study uses a case study methodology focusing on the City of Hamilton’s Neighbourhood Action Strategy. The case study was conducted through review of publicly available planning documents, media reports and key informant interviews. The study finds that …

A Study Of Public Seaport Governance In The United States, Christopher Michael Williams

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Seaports are important economic engines serving many metropolitan areas in the United States. Most seaports in the U.S. are public-owned and managed by a set of elected or politically appointed board members. Indeed, this is public governance in action but the field of port governance seems to be focused on the study of operating efficiencies and less concerned with the public governance aspects of seaports.

The term “governance” in a public organization conveys a level of democratic accountability to the citizenry for management of public-owned resources but, until now, studies of seaport governance in the U.S. have not focused on …

Study On Regional Coordination Issues Of Port State Control, Yuanming Fang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Method On Performance Evaluation For Fsc, Lei Jiao

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Global Governance In Addressing Marine Plastic Pollution, Lei Zhang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Administration On Meeting Low Sulphur Fuel Oil Requirements For Ships, Longyu Zuo

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Developing An Implementation Plan For Program Success: Sjsu Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-Cert), Waynette Fernandez Santos

Master's Projects

San Jose State University would benefit from the implementation of the Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT), a program that many higher education institutions use to train community members in disaster preparedness. With a C-CERT program, trained people are empowered to know how to conduct themselves during an emergency, and learn how to keep themselves, their friends and colleagues safe. This research surveyed and interviewed emergency management professionals in other higher education institutions to determine best practices for C-CERT implementation. The goal of this research was to analyze other higher education institutions’ C-CERT success, identify what characteristics make their C-CERT …

The ‘Just City’ Or Just A City? : Evaluating Social Justice And Equity In Planning Education., Wes Grooms

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary evaluations of accredited planning education performance have eschewed the principles and methodologies of formal program evaluation and performance management. This dissertation tests hypotheses that this contributes to the lack of social equity and justice commitment, content, and inquiry on the part of accredited graduate planning degree programs, their clients, and administrators. The organizations, resources, and processes involved in the purveyance of accredited graduate planning education were conceptualized as a singular, evaluable program and illustrated in a series of program logic models. These models revealed sources of the inattentiveness to normative issues that past evaluations have evidenced, and informed assertions …

Ontario Municipal Voters’ List Reform Project, Paul Wilton

MPA Major Research Papers

Voter turnout has been declining in Canadian elections at all three levels of government, raising questions about the quality of Canadian democracy. This trend is believed to be pronounced at the municipal level, but some academics, local governments, and professional organizations believe its true extent is unknown because municipal voters’ lists in Ontario may not be as accurate as provincial and federal lists This research paper assesses this claim and provides recommendations for reform. The literature review examines the potential implications of inaccurate voters’ lists. First, inaccurate voters’ lists may pose threats to municipal clerks’ ability to conduct free and …

The Leadership Role Of The Chief Administrative Officer (Cao) In Smaller Municipalities: Two Profiles, Robert H.A. Tremblay

MPA Major Research Papers

This research project describes the leadership roles of the municipal Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in smaller municipalities through two profiles of experienced professionals working in southwestern Ontario. The CAO is the organizational superior to all municipal employees. The position is the main conduit between council and administration, and is ultimately responsible for policy development and implementation. The profiles were developed through semi-structured interviews. On a much smaller scale, this replicates the method employed by Siegel in his 2015 book, Leaders in the Shadows: The Leadership Qualities of Municipal Chief Administrative Officers (University of Toronto Press). The profiles reveal that there …

The City Of London And The Syrian Resettlement Initiative: Lessons Learned, Victoria Parada

MPA Major Research Papers

The purpose of this document is to evaluate the City of London's experience with the Syrians resettlement initiation in order to identify lessons that can be used to enhance London's capacity to confront similar experiences. What are the main lessons learned by the City of London from Syrian Resettlement Initiative? This document will identify the positive and negative aspects of the work done by the City of London and the organizations in charge of settlement. The number of Syrian refugees that were accepted in London, added to the short time that the city had to prepare the settlement and integration …

Stakeholder Participation In Land-Use Planning Processes: An Assessment Of London’S Official Plan Review Process- ‘Rethink London’ Using The Collaborative Planning Framework, Elmond Bandauko

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper assesses the extent to which Rethink London exemplifies the tenets of collaborative planning. Rethink London was an innovative, community driven approach to planning whose main objective was to collaboratively engage the London community in creating a shared vision for urban development. The assessment was done using the process criteria focusing on issues such as equal opportunities and resources, inclusive representation, self design, independent facilitation, effective process management, voluntary participation and commitment, accountability, high quality information, purpose and incentives and clear ground rules. These factors were operationalised into concrete interview questions that were used to collect data through semi-structured …

Career Paths And Leadership Skills Of Public Library Ceos, Simona Dinu

MPA Major Research Papers

Abstract: This research paper is an exploratory study of the career paths and leadership skills of public library CEOs in the province of Ontario. The purpose is to inform current library leaders as they develop succession plans, library boards when they recruit for a new CEO and those interested in advancing their careers and moving into senior leadership roles in public libraries. The findings are based on six interviews with successful public library CEOs from CULC (Canadian Urban Libraries Council) member libraries in Ontario. The career paths identified several trends the six participants have in common such as being an …

Levelling The Urban Playing Field: How Municipalities Can Increase Leverage From Sports Franchises During Sports Venue Public-Private-Partnerships Negotiations, Bipin Dhillon

MPA Major Research Papers

The modern era of sports venue funding (post-1984) has shown a shift toward downtown revitalization arena projects as a remedy to the costly nature of sporting venue public-private-partnerships between municipalities and major league franchises. Sports franchises use their advantage to request attractive funding packages from desperate municipalities because of factors such as the supply and demand of franchises, municipal competition, and growth in consumption-based economic development. In response, the purpose of this report is to determine how municipalities can maximize leverage when trying to secure downtown sporting venues funded by public-private-partnerships. More specifically, which set of “leverage variables” under municipal …

Job Recruitment & Retention In Rural Ontario: A Model Of Physician Recruitment, Applied To The Recruitment Of Local Government Professionals In Bruce County, Mollie Kuchma

MPA Major Research Papers

There are many differences between medical practices in urban and rural settings. As it relates to the recruitment of physicians, there is substantially more emphasis placed on the significance of physicians within rural municipalities and a number of resources are employed to recruit physicians to those areas. Similarly, rural local government organizations experience many of the same fundamental differences compared to urban local government organizations, but lack many of the resources necessary to recruit professionals to rural areas. As a result, rural municipalities struggle to fill vacancies and often lack the required knowledge and skills that are necessary to fulfill …

An Assessment Of Service And Program Support For Government Assisted Refugees (Gars) In A Multi-Level Policy Delivery System: A Case Of Selected Ontario Municipalities, Henry Gyeketey Awere

MPA Major Research Papers

Since the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) came into effect in 2002, Canada has stopped placing so much emphasis in the selection process on refugee skills and ability to integrate. Rather, emphasis is placed on resettling refugees who need protection. As a result, post-IRPA Government Assisted Refugees (GARs) arriving in Canada are younger and have higher needs than previous groups of GARs. In Canada the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) is responsible for providing GAR’s with their immediate needs. RAP came into effect in 1998. A key component of RAP saw a change in the service delivery method, with a …

Technology, Institutions And Their Interactions: How Do These Explain E-Participation Degree And Levels? A Cross-Country Analysis, Pragati Rawat

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims at explaining the difference in the degree of e-participation across countries using institution and technology variables. It further looks at how the factors differ in their influence across the three levels of e-information, e-consultation, and e-decision making. Institutional and technology variables are identified using the literature review of offline and online public participation (or e-participation). Using the policy feedback theory and Giddens’ structuration theory a conceptual model depicting the complex relationship between institutional and technology variables is developed. The dimensions of digital divide, namely ICT affordability and skills, are found to be the most important explanatory variables. …