Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Institute For Public Policy National Poll - March 2022, Institute For Public Policy

Public Policy Poll Results

The Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy leveraged a digital quantitative research approach to address the following areas of investigation:

• Thoughts on the quality of life in Connecticut
• Calculate insight on National Politics
• Determine movement in Connecticut Politics
• Quantify Sentiment for President Joe Biden
• Measure support of President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown
• Understand CT residents’ thoughts regarding taxes and mill rates in the state
• Gauge sentiments pertaining to the crisis in Ukraine
• Ascertain levels of trust placed in health & financial institutions, government and news sources
• Demographic profiles of respondents

Institute For Public Policy Statewide Poll - October 2021, Institute For Public Policy

Public Policy Poll Results

The Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy leveraged a digital methodology quantitative research approach to address the following areas of investigation:

• Thoughts on the quality of life in Connecticut
• Governor Ned Lamont’s job approval ratings
• Sentiments and habits around volunteerism and donating to charities
• Understanding of, and beliefs around, Critical Race Theory
• Voting plans for 2021 Connecticut Municipal elections
• Thoughts on COVID-19, mask mandates and distribution of the vaccine
• Changes in marijuana attitudes and usage after legalization
• Thoughts on school policies around transgender students
• Thoughts on incentives for energy-efficient natural gas heating
• Demographic profiles of respondents.

Identifying Windows Of Opportunity For Active Living And Healthy Eating Policies In Connecticut, 2016, Anna E. Greer, Ann-Uriel Knausenberger

Public Health Faculty Publications

We examined the relative importance of 23 community issues among elected officials and health directors in Connecticut in 2016. For this cross-sectional study, 74 elected officials (40.7% response rate) and 47 health directors (62.7% response rate), who were purposively sampled, completed a questionnaire to rate their perceived importance of 23 community issues. Eight of these issues were related to active living, healthy eating, or obesity. We used χ2 tests to evaluate differences in responses. Compared with elected officials, health directors significantly more often perceived obesity, access to healthy groceries, poor nutrition, lack of pedestrian walkways, and pedestrian safety as important. …

Sociology Course Working With Local Habitat For Humanity Chapter To Survey Homeowners, Gerald F. Reid

Gerald F. Reid

This fall, Sacred Heart University’s Department of Sociology is introducing students to another side of community service, conducting background research to help Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County provide affordable housing for Bridgeport-area families. A large component of the course “Housing and Homelessness in the United States” is working with Habitat to survey owners of the homes that the charity has helped build. Students are designing and administering the survey. Then at the end of the semester, they will present the findings to Habitat.

Professor Rose Publishes Book On 2012 Senate Race, Gary L. Rose

Gary L. Rose

Noted political mind and chairman of Sacred Heart University’s Department of Government and Politics, Professor Gary L. Rose, tackles the partisan and pricey 2012 election for one of Connecticut’s Senate seats in his latest book, No Holds Barred: The 2012 Connecticut Senate Race.

Students Examine Connecticut’S Economic Slowdown, Lucjan T. Orlowski Dr.

Lucjan T. Orlowski

Guided by Professor Lucjan Orlowski, a group of Sacred Heart University students recently prepared and released a comprehensive analysis and outlook for the Connecticut economy. Their findings show that Connecticut has been severely impacted by the recent financial crisis, perhaps more so than other states.

The Politics Of Reorganizing Connecticut State Government: Altering Administrative Structures In The Land Of Steady Habits, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Despite numerous attempts to reorganize state government aimed at streamlining, reducing, and creating greater efficiencies, the size and scope of Connecticut’s administrative apparatus has grown considerably over a fifty year period. This study will trace the political history of previous reorganization efforts with a particular emphasis on more recent attempts such as the Gengras (1970), Filer (1976), Thomas (1991), and Hull and Harper Commissions (1992). Observed trends follow national patterns: 1) reorganization commissions are cyclical in nature more likely to be undertaken in the wake of similar efforts at the federal level and 2) they are more likely to be …

Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics, And The Maverick Tradition, Gary L. Rose

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics, and the Maverick Tradition is a case study of one of the most unique congressional districts in the United States. Located in Fairfield County, the fourth district is a bedroom community close to New York City. The district's close proximity to Wall Street, the tendency of the district's constituents to elect free-thinking congresspersons, and the wealth and celebrity status of many district residents have resulted in a setting which can be described as an anomaly in the larger context of congressional politics. Contents: Introduction -- Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: geography and demographics -- A …

Can Allocation By Sortition Resolve The Connecticut Education-Financing Impasse?, A. E. Rodriguez, Lesley Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

It has been over 40 years since Connecticut amended its Constitution to ensure citizens a right to a free public education. Despite the constitutionally prescribed right, dramatic inequities in educational conditions continued to characterize the state's K-12 educational system, especially between suburban/rural white and urban minority school districts. In the 1970s plaintiffs challenged the prevailing mechanism for allocating education funds with a host of court cases that tackled the thorny question of how much financial responsibility the state should assume to equalize the spending disparities between school districts. Prodded by court decisions, many formulas and approaches have been proposed by …

From Equity To Adequacy: Evolving Legal Theories In School Finance Litigation: The Case Of Connecticut, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Since the landmark school finance decision Serrano v. Priest (1971) ruled that California’s reliance on the property tax to finance public schools violated equal protection provisions in state and federal constitutions, a wave of school finance litigation swept the United States. Connecticut followed with Horton v. Meskill (1977) and most recently with CCJEF v. Rell (2005). The Connecticut State Supreme Court has been a key actor in the policy making process concerning school finance reform in Connecticut. This study will trace the history of school finance litigation in Connecticut and the evolving legal theories used to undergird major court cases. …

Connecticut Government And Politics: An Introduction, Gary L. Rose

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Connecticut Government and Politics: An Introduction is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the author’s book, Connecticut Government at the Millennium (Sacred Heart University Press, 2001). Like the first edition, it is intended to introduce students and general readers to the historical development and current operation of Connecticut’s political system. Individual chapters explore constitutional history in “The Constitution State,” the transformation of Connecticut politics, the various mechanisms through which citizens can participate in political affairs, the structure and powers of the three branches of government, and the pivotal role of the mass media, newspapers in particular, in protecting the …

Financial Performance In Connecticut’S Municipalities: A Comparison Of Manager, Mayor-Council And Selectman Forms Of Government, Lesley A. Denardis, A. E. Rodriguez

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the relative performance of the council-manager versus the two predominant political models of government in Connecticut: Mayor-Council and Selectman forms of government. All three will be assessed in terms of their capability to provide for greater efficiency in Connecticut’s municipalities.

Published in New England Journal of Political Science, Volume 2, Number 2, Spring 2007.

Service Learning And Faculty Involvement, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

This paper begins with an overview of service learning programs at colleges of business and specifically details faculty/student involvement in the service learning process at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT. and its positioning with regard to other similar programs. The paper also highlights three specific areas of program differentiation; its Problem Based Service Learning program, a Community Based Service Learning program nationally recognized by Campus Compact, and a globally focused service learning program established between its students in the College of Business and students in an elementary school in Nepal.

The Challenge Of An Aging Population, Nicole Cauvin, Elaine B. Davis

Sociology Faculty Publications

In chapter seven of Public Policy in Connecticut, Nicole X. Cauvin and Elaine B. Davis discuss the policy challenges associated with an aging or "graying" state population. Demographic data clearly demonstrate that Connecticut's population, similar to the population of other states, is becoming older. The authors propose innovative public policies designed to accommodate the long-term health care and social service needs of the state's elderly.

The Challenge Of Prison Overcrowding And Recidivism, Pearl Jacobs

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The state of Connecticut is currently dealing with a growing prison population. Ex-offenders face enormous obstacle trying to reconnect with society and get a job. They have no skills and lack a family support system.Their lack of preparation for successful reintegration into society places them at risk to become repeat offenders. Overcrowding in prisons produces individuals unable to cope or survive in free society.

Many of the recommendations of The Ex-Offender Employability Task Force of the State of Illinois relate to ex-offender employment and are worthy of consideration in employment programs in Connecticut.

We will have a safer and more …

The Challenge Of Inner-City Education, Lois Libby

Education Faculty Publications

There are two Connecticuts described in public education circles: One Connecticut includes a set of school systems that are suburban, educating primarily white and/or Asian students. The other set of Connecticut schools systems is urban, comprised primarily of students of color, and of low socio-economic status. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on the latter set of schools, provide some history of their development, look at the indicators of poor progress in more detail, review options of ameliorating the urban school systems, including assessments of state efforts so far, and offer some perspectives and conclusions.

The Challenge Of Economic Growth, Thomas D. Corrigan

WCBT Faculty Publications

In order to sustain Connecticut's competitive edge, state government must act as a catalyst in bringing forth the human and capital resources need to make sure that Connecticut's future labor force can successively acquire the skills demanded by the business sector. Looking beyond 2005, and in concert with a competitive tax and regulatory environment, the nurturing of the identified business clusters holds great promise for a renewal of economic vitality.

The Challenge Of Ethical Political Leadership, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Without a solid ethical foundation to state governance, the process of developing and implementing sound public policy is weakened. In addition to the crisis of public confidence, which may turn voters away from politics in disgust, political scandals undermine the quality of the policymaking process.

Connecticut needs watertight laws, vigorous oversight, independent voices, and an electoral process that does not pervert the information voters receive. The responsibility of citizens includes not only voting their consciences but pressing their representatives to put the electoral process and policymaking on a cleaner, more transparent foundation.

Writing The Lives Of Others: The Veterans Project, Sandra Young

English Faculty Publications

This essay describes an advanced composition course in which the students studied the ethics, politics, history, and rhetorical strategies involved in writing the lives of others. The heart of the course was a service-learning project that introduced college juniors and seniors to veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The students interviewed, wrote brief biographies, and transcribed the wartime stories of a group of veterans from a local American Legion post and its women’s auxiliary. The stories were collected in a volume made available to local American Legion posts, veterans hospitals, and libraries in Connecticut.

Integrating Environmentally Focused Experiential Learning Into The Curriculum: An Interdisciplinary Case Study, Bridget M. Lyons, Marion Calabrese, Teresa Ralabate

WCBT Faculty Publications

This paper details the use of a local environmental issue as a case study for an interdisciplinary project in an Economics and an English course.

Academic Library Cooperation In Fairfield County, Richard Matzek

Librarian Publications

This study, commissioned by HECUS, discusses the history and structure of interlibrary cooperation throughout the country with particular attention paid to academic and intertype library consortia. The barriers to cooperation are examined. The history and present level of development of library cooperation in Connecticut are traced including a detailing of SCLS planning and activity.

The study includes an analysis of the library strengths of the Fairfield County institutions: public, academic, and special libraries. The next section is the heart of the study. Interlibrary Cooperation - Guidelines for the Future. This section analyzes the responses of the directors of the eight …