Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Underrepresentation Of Black Participants In Drug Court: Reasons Reported For Non-Admission In Six Jurisdictions, Kathryn J. Genthon

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the beneficial impacts of drug court participation, access to these programs may not be equitable across racial groups. The reasons behind racial disparities in access to these programs are not well-documented in the current literature. This study investigates disparities in access to drug court and the possible reasons they occur. Chi-square tests are used to assess for disparities in admissions between Black and White individuals referred to drug court. Additional statistical analyses addressed the association of sex and age with admission to provide a broader picture of the impact of a variety of demographic characteristics on admission to drug …

Examining The Relationship Between Local Governmental Performance In Public Safety And The Growth In Population, Employment, And Per Capita Income For Valley Cities In Arizona, Xin Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the impact of city performance in public safety on a city’s growth in population, employment, and per capita income. The effectiveness of performance management affects the willingness of governmental agencies to continue using performance management as a tool for day-to-day operations and the improvement of governmental services. The research goal of the study is to discover the relationship between city performance in public safety and the growth of a locality in population, employment, and per capita income. The purpose of the study is to determine if there is a relationship between city performance in public safety …

Preventing Obesity: A Social Ecological Exploration Of Centers For Disease Control Prevention Strategies And Guidance Toward Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, And Communities, Ryan Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Obesity has reached nearly 40% of the adult public in the United States, costing the citizen taxpayer over $200 billion annually in healthcare costs. Those suffering from obesity deal with multiple physical and mental repercussions. Through a content analysis of four Centers for Disease Control (CDC) documents and guided by the conceptual framework of the social ecological model, this research explores the federal approach to preventing obesity. The analysis finds that CDC solutions to obesity involve connecting people to each other and healthier choices, an orientation toward local public administration, and an emphasis on environmental and infrastructure improvements. The …

Threat Assessment Team Activity And Outcomes In K-12 Public Schools: Integrating Methods To Better Understand School Safety, Jessica C. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The use of threat assessment teams in schools is recommended as a violence prevention measure in K-12 public schools. The present study focused on the threat assessment process in the K-12 environment in Virginia and is the first to examine the association between threat assessment and school safety in tandem over time and the first to incorporate the views of K-12 threat assessment practitioners. Findings from this study demonstrate that while the number of threat assessments has increased overtime, threat assessment practitioners identified numerous concerns regarding threat assessment training, expressed doubts about fidelity to the recommended process, and revealed an …

“Insurance Doesn’T Care About The Patient”: An Institutional Ethnography Of The Influence Of Professional Autonomy On The Provision Care For Medicaid Dental Patients With Disabilities, Stephanie Lau

Theses and Dissertations

In terms of unmet needs for people with disabilities (PWD), dental care is number three behind residential care and employment (Fisher, 2012). Regardless of disability, oral healthcare traverses all disability diagnoses and can be a significant factor in quality of life (Deckler, 2011; Griffin et al., 2007; Norwood & Slayton, 2013). When attempting to secure oral healthcare, people with disabilities face many challenges, including lack of access, lack of provider education on proper care of PWD, and difficulty finding a willing dental provider (Deckler, 2011; Fisher, 2012; Kennedy, 2009).

The purpose of this study was to investigate professional practices and …

Why We Use A New Currency: The Role Of Trust And Control In Explaining The Perception And Usage Of Bitcoin, Joseph B. Walton

Theses and Dissertations

Social media, e-commerce, global peer-to-peer technologies, and the near ubiquity of computers and smartphones allow people to interact, trust, and exchange value across traditional socio-economic control boundaries and over significant distances. Since the creation in 2008 of a new cryptographic currency system called Bitcoin, a financial technology market sector of about 250 billion USD has rapidly emerged, raising questions about the nature of currency in society and whether new types of non-national money are warranted and viable. This debate has pitted heterodox economic interests against orthodox economic interests while it has rekindled interest in theories that view money as a …

What Happens When Cross-Sector Partnerships Are Mandated? Analyzing Trust Through A Transaction Cost Approach, Vanessa Hubbard Rastberger Dr

Theses and Dissertations

Cross-sector partnerships that combine the perspectives and needs of public, private, and nonprofit sectors have been used to address public policy challenges. Research has shown that trust and reputation among partners play an important role in the performance of partnerships. Trust has been positively associated with the reduction of transaction costs of partnerships, and therefore, this study used a Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) approach as the theoretical framework.

Some partnerships are volitional while others are the results of legal or other mandates. Does this volitional or non-volitional (mandated) status affect how collaboration is perceived? For instance, will collaboration and trust …

Environmental Governance For Whom? Examining The Political, Institutional, Fiscal, And Legal Determinants Of State Environmental Agency Budget Policy In The Us, Andrew R. Duggan

Theses and Dissertations

Budgets are a prospective tool of governance, and appropriations are a planning vehicle reflecting: bureaucracies’ values, complex interactions, collective preferences, political influences, and available resources. Research spanning 30 years finds that environmental pollution is a key determinant of environmental budgets in the US, though myriad factors, actors, and subsystems are important to consider. Due to federalism and devolution of responsibilities and authorities, environmental governance falls largely to the states. While the dynamics that shape state environmental budget policy have received scholarly interest, theoretically-driven examinations of environmental appropriations remain limited within the public budgeting and environmental policy literature.

Using panel data …

A Comparative Study Of The Influence Of Credential Attainment On Employment Outcomes In Rural And Urban Localities, Carrie S. Douglas

Theses and Dissertations

The significance of credentials has heightened considerably in recent decades with numerous federal and state policy initiatives aimed at increasing credential attainment. Various public workforce programs support these efforts, including the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which provided training to job-seekers from 1998 through 2015. Scholars point to human capital theory to explain how education investments yield economic gains. Screening, signaling, and credentialist theories provide a framework for examining the ways that credentials are used in labor markets. The literature on rural labor markets suggests that conditions are very different from their urban counterparts, with significant challenges existing in terms …

State Economic Development: Analyzing The Moderating Effects Of Business Climate On Economic Growth, Sean A. Brazier

Theses and Dissertations

States across the country focus intensely on creating jobs, catalyzing capital investment, and stimulating economic output. They pursue different strategies, mixing and matching a variety of tactics in the pursuit of their economic objectives. While scholars have studied the relationship between economic development tactics and economic growth or business climate and economic growth, none to my knowledge have studied the impact of economic development efforts on economic outcomes while accounting for a state’s business climate.

I found economic development spending to be negatively associated with employment growth (other measures, real gross state product and per capita income growth, were not …

Social Learning Theory And Digital Piracy: Explaining Uploading Behaviors Of Digital Pirates, Cydney J. Lowenstein

Theses and Dissertations

Digital piracy has received significant attention in criminological research but almost no studies have explored illegal uploading and how it may differ from illegal downloading. It is important to examine what theories can explain illegal uploading behaviors and their related factors to develop more effective policies to address digital piracy. This dissertation examined whether Akers’ (1998) social learning theory could explain engagement in digital piracy, both illegal downloading and uploading behavior. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between reciprocity and digital piracy. Questionnaires were administered to 398 university students and 315 visitors to several online communities using a combination of …

Predators And Principles: Think Tank Influence, Media Visibility, And Political Partisanship, Timothy Beryl Bland

Theses and Dissertations

By some measures, the major U.S. political parties have become more extreme in their political positions in recent decades, and scholars have raised concerns about whether the policy expertise provided by today’s think tanks has become similarly partisan and polarized. Furthermore, there is a perception that certain overtly partisan and highly visible think tanks wield considerable and growing influence over the policy platforms of the major U.S. parties, using their media presence to shape public and policymaker views of particular issues. Using publicly accessible tax, media, and congressional data, my proposed study assesses the extent to which media visibility and …

Understanding Effectiveness Of A Diverse Board In The Nonprofit Sector: The Role Of Board Inclusion & Critical Mass Of The Diverse Board Members, Suparna Dutta

Theses and Dissertations

Using rated responses from nonprofit CEOs who participated in the 2016 BoardSource national survey, this study investigates whether nonprofit board inclusive behavior or board inclusive practices are positively correlated with nonprofit board effectiveness. It further examines whether a critical mass of racial and ethnic minority or women board members may moderate the relationship stated above. To answer these questions, the study tested six hypotheses using principal component analysis, followed by hierarchical regression analysis, and found no evidence of statistical significance in main or moderator effects. The study recommends that policymakers should frame policies that ensure mandatory quotas for women and …

Prosecution As The "Soul Crushing Job:" Complexities Of Campus Sexual Assault Cases, Tammi L. Slovinsky

Theses and Dissertations

On April 4, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter on campus sexual assault reaffirming the intent of Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits discrimination sex-based under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. In response to growing concern over due process rights for defendants, in September 2017 the guidance was rescinded. Public policy continues to evolve, leading to potentially lasting institutional changes on many college campuses. These developments include the formalization of campus investigations and adjudications, the development of campus coordinating committees and expanded support mechanisms for victims. In Virginia, laws passed …

“We’Re All In This Together:” Exploring The Effectiveness And Responsiveness Of Nonprofits In Promoting The Socioeconomic Integration Of Refugees, Brittany Keegan

Theses and Dissertations

When a person is forced to flee their home due to violence or the fear of persecution, they must seek refuge elsewhere – either within the borders of their home country or in a new country. Those who travel to another country in search of safety and protection are known as refugees, and as world conflicts continue, the number of refugees around the world is steadily increasing. As refugees integrate into their new communities, they often receive support from nonprofit organizations once government assistance has ceased. This mixed method study uses 60 open-ended, first-person interviews with refugees and nonprofit service …

Understanding Knowledge Sharing Motivation In The Public Sector: Application Of Self-Determination And Person-Environment Fit Theories, Jaeyong Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge has been recognized as an important resource that should be carefully managed in order to enhance organizational competitiveness. Therefore, it is important to manage knowledge resources that have been learned and stored in organizations. Several scholars in the public administration literature have examined whether public service motivation (PSM) can help employees share their knowledge in ways that contribute to the effective functioning of public organizations. However, the mechanisms by which PSM influences individuals’ propensity to share knowledge have not been clarified by past research.

Against this background, at first, this study contributes to understanding the relationship between PSM and …

Advocate Or Traditional Bureaucrat: Understanding The Role Of Esl Supervisors In Shaping Local Education Policy Toward Immigrant Communities, Grant E. Rissler

Theses and Dissertations

As recent immigrants seek a productive and dignified life in “new immigrant destinations” that have little historical experience with immigration, public education systems serve a key function in immigrant integration efforts. In a federal system increasingly focused on accountability, a crucial sub-set of education policy and local responsiveness to immigration is English language instruction and services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and parents.

In such contexts, the role that local bureaucrats play, and whether they actively represent the interests of the newfound diversity of community members, are crucial questions if strongly held American ideals of social equity and equal …

"They Believe That Because They Are Women, It Should Be Easier For Them." Subtle And Overt Sexism Toward Women In Stem From Social Media Commentary, Katherine Hall

Theses and Dissertations

This study implemented a social media based content analysis to examine the subjective experiences and the current public perceptions of sexism in STEM fields. Participants included men and women who a) identified as either in STEM or not identified as in STEM and b) commented through Facebook on HuffPost Women articles about women in STEM. The analysis indicated that sexism remains an issue for women in STEM careers. Women in STEM identified several gender-based challenges that they have experienced; some participants discussed how they handled those challenges. Men both in and not in STEM were less likely to acknowledge and …

Factors Affecting Institutional Performance At High And Very High Research Universities: Policy Implications, Jose G. Alcaine

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions in the Unites States (U.S.) are under stress. Universities and colleges in the U.S. face competing demands marked by steeply declining state and local appropriations and increased competition for research dollars and prestige. This stress is felt most acutely at high and very high research universities who must face these funding challenges while at the same time must serve a multiplicity of missions and stakeholders.

This study examines factors that influence institutional performance at high and very high research universities in the U.S. These high and very high research universities, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for …

Implementation Of Self-Directed Supports For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: A Political Economy Analysis, Matthew P. Decarlo

Theses and Dissertations

Self-directed supports, as a method of service delivery, have grown from small pilot programs in a handful of states to at least one program in every state. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), self-direction presents unique opportunities to engage in self-determined behavior and shape the services upon which they rely. Although the evidence base for self-direction is relatively robust, there is a significant lack of information on how implementation of self-direction is faring on the national level. The purpose of this study is to understand how the political and economic factors within and across states have impacted the …

Faculty Research Productivity In Saudi Arabian Public Universities: A Human Capital Investment Perspective, Abad Alzuman

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to transition from its oil-based economy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taking further steps towards building a knowledge-based economy. Saudi universities play a pivotal role toward the country’s attempts to achieve the desired sustainable economic growth. And because knowledge production is dependent on the human capital embedded in faculty members working at theses universities, the recommendations of the Saudi National Science and Technology Policy stressed the importance of enhancing research skills of faculty members and researchers at public universities using different means and initiatives. However, a little is known about the impact of the implemented initiatives …

Variations In Specialized Policing Response Models As A Function Of Community Characteristics- A Survey Of Crisis Intervention Team Coordinators, Anna M. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Although a specific program called the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) has been generally recognized as the best-practice model that addresses the needs of the police officers in responding to mental health calls, many jurisdictions across the country have not only adopted the full CIT model but also have taken the liberty of adding new components and/or removing components of the original model in order to create a unique program that fits the needs of their individual community. The issue of differentiated adaptations of the original CIT model has created a controversy around best practice in the area of police response …

Efficiency Of Unified Vs. Non-Unified State Judiciaries: An Examination Of Court Organizational Performance, William Raftery

Theses and Dissertations

State court systems function in much the same manner as any other government agency in terms of organization and management to utilize public resources in order to provide a public service. The question posed in the late 19th century was whether the courts should be organized and managed as they had been for centuries as local entities locally controlled and operated or transferred to the state level. The desired end was a more efficient use of public resources to achieve faster disposition of cases. This reorganization, called unification, was made up of three individual components: 1) consolidation required the reduction …

Sex Offender Management Policies And Their Unintended Cosequences: A National Survey Of The Perceptions Of Professionals, Corey Call

Theses and Dissertations

The mid-1990s brought sex offenders to the forefront of policy issues due to several highly publicized cases of abduction, sexual assault, and murder involving children. Following these cases, a number of sex offender management policies were passed to quell public concern over the safety of children due to sex offenders. Most notably, these new sex offender management policies mandated the creation of publicly available registries of sex offenders and enacted residence restrictions that forbid sex offenders from residing within certain distances from areas where children commonly congregate.

Although current sex offender management policies have been revealed to be largely ineffective …

Determinants Of Turnover Intent In Higher Education: The Case Of International And U.S. Faculty, Jaehee Park

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the increase in the number of the international academic workforce and their potential benefits, international status has been relatively under-studied in Public Management and Higher Education literature in comparison with studies of age, gender, and race. Given these realities, the present study identifies characteristics of internal and external variables that influence international and U.S. faculty turnover intentions in a large public South Eastern research university.

To understand the variations in short-term and long-term turnover levels while controlling for various demographic, structural, and external variables, eight Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis were performed using turnover intentions as …

Gender And Representative Bureaucracy: The Career Progression Of Women Managers In Male-Dominated Occupations In State Government, Velma J. Ballard

Theses and Dissertations

The tenets of representative bureaucracy suggest that the composition of the bureaucracy should mirror the people it serves including women in order to influence the name, scope, and implementation of public policies. Women are still underrepresented in mid-to-upper management in male-dominated occupations. When women are under-represented in mid-to-upper levels of management in government, there are implications regarding representative bureaucracy.

This study examined the career progression experiences of women who were successful in reaching mid-to-upper levels of management in male-dominated occupations in state government. Specifically, the study explored how women perceive various occupational factors including their rates of participation, experiences, gender, …