Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

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 …

Public Health Funding: Results Of A Quantitative Analysis Exploring The Influence Of Local Public Health Unit Characteristics On The Provision Of Provincial And Local Funding, Sandy Stevens

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper attempts to identify what local public health unit (PHU) characteristics, if any, may be contributing factors to the variations in provincial and local per capita funding levels between PHUs. Financial data was collected on the size of the grant provided to each health unit by the Province of Ontario and the total expenditures spent by each PHU. This data was analyzed in relation to four health unit characteristics: the governance model of the board of health; the population density of the area overseen by each health unit; the economic health of the local communities; and the workload experienced …

The Impact Of Disability: A Comparative Approach To Medical Resource Allocation In Public Health Emergencies, Katie Hanschke, Leslie E. Wolf, Wendy F. Hensel

Wendy F. Hensel

It is a matter of time before the next widespread pandemic or natural disaster hits the United States (U.S.). The international response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza stands as a cautionary tale about how prepared the world is for such an emergency. Although the pandemic fortunately proved to be less severe than initially anticipated, it nevertheless resulted in shortages of medical equipment, overburdened hospitals, and preventable patient deaths, particularly among young people.

A pandemic will inevitably lead to difficult decisions about the allocation of medical resources, such as who will have priority access to ventilators and critical care beds when …

The Impact Of Disability: A Comparative Approach To Medical Resource Allocation In Public Health Emergencies, Katie Hanschke, Leslie E. Wolf, Wendy F. Hensel

Leslie E. Wolf

It is a matter of time before the next widespread pandemic or natural disaster hits the United States (U.S.). The international response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza stands as a cautionary tale about how prepared the world is for such an emergency. Although the pandemic fortunately proved to be less severe than initially anticipated, it nevertheless resulted in shortages of medical equipment, overburdened hospitals, and preventable patient deaths, particularly among young people.

A pandemic will inevitably lead to difficult decisions about the allocation of medical resources, such as who will have priority access to ventilators and critical care beds when …

Summary Of 2015 Public Acts, Elisha Hodge

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

This report summarizes the year's public acts that have the most significant impact on municipal operations. Users of this report are cautioned that much judgment is involved in determining which Public Acts to summarize and how to summarize them. Before taking action or giving advice based upon any Public Act summarized here, one should consult the act itself and not rely on the summary.

Testimony On The Equal Pay Act [H. 1733/S. 983], Ann Bookman

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Testimony on the Equal Pay Act [H. 1733/S. 983] by Ann Bookman, PhD, delivered at the Massachusetts State House, 2015 July 21.

Cpaf Updates Vol. 16 Issue No. 7, Evelie P. Serrano, Stella Concepcion R. Britanico, Stoix Nebin S. Pascua

CPAf Updates

In this issue:

• SEARCA ISARD Training-Workshop held, 1
• Dean Dizon attends Executive Forum on Food Security, 2
• CPAf publishes JPAD Vol. 1, No. 2, 3
• Community-Based Resource Assessment for the Ifugao Rice Terraces, 3
• National Conference on Food and Nutrition Security slated on October 2015, 4

Institutional Collective Action In Ontario’S Fire Service: Conducive And Inhibiting Factors Of Local Collaboration Of Fire Safety Inspections And Enforcement, Brian Arnold

MPA Major Research Papers

The economic, political, and social environment in Ontario is placing increased pressure on the delivery of local fire prevention services and fire chiefs and elected officials are expected to do more with fewer resources. Subsequently, exploring mechanisms to work collaboratively with neighbouring fire departments in order to improve the efficacy of fire prevention programs should be a priority. This paper examines the conducive and inhibiting factors of voluntary collaboration for fire prevention activities within Ontario’s fire service. A cross-sectional study and analysis was undertaken to collect data of relevant variables at a specific point in time using a triangulation approach. …

A Matter Of Size: An Investigation Into How The Size Of Municipality Impacts What It Values In A Municipal Association, Neale Carbert

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines whether municipalities of different sizes behave in municipal associations in different ways and, more specifically, it investigates how municipalities in Ontario value and interact with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). The data and conclusions presented are based on a series of qualitative interviews with elected officials and city staff of a small municipality and a large municipality that both hold membership in the AMO. The findings reveal that the size of a municipality does in fact affect what it will value in a municipal association. The limited budget and capacity of small municipal governments leads …

Municipal E-News: Issue 73: July 2015, Mtas

Municipal E-News

The “Municipal E-News” was created by MTAS in 2009 as part of our continuing efforts to meet our mission of providing timely, valuable information and assistance to Tennessee cities.

The Perfect Storm: Emergency Management Regulations And Small Municipalities In Ontario, Jennifer Alexander

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines emergency management legislation in Ontario with a specific focus on identifying the barriers that small municipalities experience with implementing provincial emergency management regulations. Through a qualitative research approach, this study examines three small municipalities in southwestern Ontario – Bluewater, Goderich, and Middlesex Centre – which have a similar population size and geographic location. Interviews with key municipal stakeholders were conducted and their responses are analyzed within this report. The findings demonstrate that small municipalities are struggling to maintain emergency readiness due to a lack of financial capacity to invest in resources and proactive emergency measures.

The Study Of Knowledge And Attitudes Of Students In Chinese Universities Towards Canadian Political And Local Issues, Huiwen Chen

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper provides a specific perspective of Chinese-Canadian relations by studying the knowledge and attitudes of Chinese students towards Canadian political and local issues. The data and conclusions presented are based on 134 questionnaires that analyze the level of knowledge and attitudes the participants had and what factors contributed to this. The findings reveal that the participants had very little knowledge about Canada and fairly negative attitudes towards Canada, compared to other countries such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Moreover, certain factors, such as sex, place of birth, and proficiency with English, impacted the level of …

Exploring Conceptualization And Operationalization Of Interorganizational Interactions: An Empirical Study, Andrew Paul Williams

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Collaboration and other forms of interaction between complex arrangements of private, nonprofit, and public organizations to address challenging policy problems now occurs routinely. In many cases collaboration is mandated by law, and often disbursement of grants to nonprofits is contingent upon demonstrating collaboration with other organizations. To understand this contemporary landscape of public administration and develop cumulative knowledge, theory requires reliable and valid constructs of collaboration and other forms of interorganizational interaction. Theoretical rigor then underpins practice, including the growing discipline of evaluating the level of interaction between organizations or an organization’s “collaborative capacity,” and to understand more broadly how …

An Examination Of Factors That Influence Teacher Adoption Of Bring Your Own Device In The Classroom, Shawn Patrick Lloyd Hirano

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine if and how Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is implemented in secondary public schools by focusing on teacher adoption of BYOD in the classroom. Given the newness of BYOD, there is little research on how school districts have implemented this policy or why and how teachers have adopted the practice in their classroom. Using both Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this research investigated several key elements that could influence teacher adoption of BYOD: teacher characteristics, school culture, and professional development. The population for this mixed method study …

The Smart Cities Movement And Advancing The International Battle To Eliminate Homelessness - Barcelona As Test Case, John Travis Marshall, Jessica Venegas

John Travis Marshall

Barcelona is a leader in the smart cities movement, a movement that aims to help cities deliver services to citizens more efficiently and economically as a way of making the city a more inviting and inclusive place to live and work. As with any city committed to forward-looking economic, social, and urban development initiatives, it is important to consider whether ambitious goals to reinvent the city include an agenda to solve the persistent problems that have faced major cities for decades, including affordable housing and caring for roofless or homeless men and women. This article ties together the challenges Barcelona …

Affordable Housing For Sustainable Cities: A North American Perspective, Detroit Metropolitan Area And Montreal (Quebec), Courtney Lauren Anderson, Maryse Grandbois

Courtney L Anderson

Housing is an integral part to elevating and maintaining a quality of life to ensure a healthy and productive citizenship. The overwhelming number of citizens in Montreal and the United States who are unable to find housing that is less than 33% of their income stifles that economic progression of individuals and the society in which these individuals live. The ability for cities to dictate their own plans for creating and maintaining affordable housing without mandates from the federal vacillates among the various levels of government with each level having certain positive and negative elements. Although city autonomy can provide …

Strategic Planning Development Team Meeting Notes 6/11/2015, Strategic Planning Development Team

Resource Archive

An overview of the remaining topic teams: Innovative Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities, Campus Climate, and Faculty Roles and Structure.

Governing Disasters: The Challenge Of Global Disaster Law And Policy, Eric A. Feldman, Chelsea Fish

All Faculty Scholarship

This chapter uses the analytical framework of transnational legal ordering (TLO) developed by Halliday and Shaffer and applies it to the area of law and disasters. In contrast to the increasingly transnational legal nature of social ordering highlighted by Halliday and Shaffer, it argues that the emergence of transnational regulatory networks and cross-border principles or policies in the area of disaster management has been uneven and incomplete. Although there are many factors that help to explain why the law/disasters area has resisted the trend toward “transnationalization,” two stand out. One is the relative dearth of national laws and policies governing …

How To Conduct A City Council Meeting Based On Roberts' Rules Of Order, Mtas

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

This pamphlet discusses calling a council meeting to order; keeping council minutes; handling motions and amendments to change motions; and the recorder's job and mayor's duties.

Cpaf Updates Vol. 16 Issue No. 6, Cristeta A. Foronda, Francisca O. Tan, Gerdino G. Badayos, Ruth O. Dela Cruz

CPAf Updates

In this issue:

• Sec. Acosta: Expressway dike soon to rise in Laguna, 1
• UPLB hosts EDCA Seminar, 2
• Policy directions for organic farming discussed, 3
• CPAf hosts SFR conference anew, 4

Municipal E-News: Issue 72: June 2015, Mtas

Municipal E-News

The “Municipal E-News” was created by MTAS in 2009 as part of our continuing efforts to meet our mission of providing timely, valuable information and assistance to Tennessee cities.

Renting Trouble: Current Government Policy Of Relying On The Private Rented Sector To Deliver Social Housing Is Unlikely To Succeed, Tom Dunne

Reports

A review of the history of housing in Ireland shows that owner occupancy and social housing were policy choices by successive governments. Owner occupancy was heavily supported through a system of grants and tax breaks and social housing was directly provided through local authorities at subsidised rents. In recent years policy has changed and tenure neutrality is now guiding the government’s attitude to housing. This is a significant change which has not been sufficiently discussed and has consequences which are not appreciated. Relying on the market to provide rental housing for people on low incomes and who may be in …

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

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

National Quality Awards In Healthcare And Actual Quality In U.S. Hospitals, Beth M. Beaudin-Seiler

Dissertations

This study examined performance outcome data from the Medicare Compare Hospital database for differences in performance between national award-winning hospitals and non-national award-winning hospitals. Specific variables examined were related to clinical care and were identified in literature as well as professional medical associations and societies as being quality indicators. National award-winning hospitals were defined as those having received the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in Healthcare or the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence. The characteristics of highly reliable organizations were also used to align the indicators of excellence for Malcolm Baldrige and Healthgrades recipients. Finally, a closer examination of data …

Czars In The White House: The Rise Of Policy Czars As Presidential Management Tools, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

When Barack Obama entered the White House, he faced urgent issues including the economy, health care, and climate change. Despite citizens’ demand for strong presidential leadership, the development and implementation of policy requires cooperation across a range of congressional committees, federal departments, and government agencies. Following a long-standing precedent, Obama appointed administrators—so-called policy czars—charged with directing the response to the nation’s most pressing crises.

Combining public administration and political science approaches to the study of the American presidency and institutional politics, Justin S. Vaughn and José D. Villalobos argue that the creation of policy czars is a strategy for combating …

Portland State 20/20 Newsletter, Strategic Planning Development Team, Portland State University. Office Of The President

Newsletters

This newsletter provides updates on the strategic planning process, highlights recent activity and encourages involvement of the campus community.

Strategic Planning Development Team Meeting Notes 5/28/2015, Strategic Planning Development Team

Resource Archive

Committee in the process of dividing the following initiatives into themes: Global Excellence, Organizational Excellence and Financial Stability, Equal Opportunity and Access, Community Partnerships and Engagement.

Dispatches From Chicago: Reporting On Immigrant Issues, Odette Yousef

Public Policy and Administration Lecture Series

Odette Yousef is the North Side Bureau reporter for WBEZ 91.5FM, Chicago’s NPR affiliate. She works in one of three urban community bureaus to extend Chicago Public Media’s coverage to people and places that may not always make it into mainstream news outlets. In particular, Odette focuses on issues relating to Chicago’s Asian-American populations, as well as many other minority populations that live in the city’s far North Side neighborhoods. Prior to coming to Chicago, Odette was a reporter with WABE FM in Atlanta, and worked at NPR in Washington, DC. She also co-hosts the television show My Chicago on …

Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project Fy2014, Christopher Shults, Frances Adams-O'Brien

Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project

This report marks the twelfth year of the Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project (TMBP). The report provides performance and cost data for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 (Fiscal Year 2014 or FY2014). In this FY2014 annual report, there are a total of ten service areas measured and analyzed:

1) Building Code Enforcement 2) Employment Benefits 3) Finance 4) Fire
5) Human Resources 6) Parks and Recreation 7) Planning and Zoning 8) Police 9) Property Maintenance Code Enforcement 10) Refuse Collection, Disposal, and Recycling.

Strategic Planning Development Team Meeting Notes 5/14/2015, Strategic Planning Development Team

Resource Archive

Each member of the group receives a copy of Chronicle of Higher Education’s Trends Report for 2015. Using this document, the SPDT develop main trends that impact PSU. Some of these trends include focusing on employability and alignment of academics with career prep, and student indebtedness. The committee continues their dialogue from previous meetings talking about national trends in college, from the previous meeting.