Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Job Of Human Capital: What Occupational Data Reveal About Skill Sets, Economic Growth And Regional Competitiveness, Lillian Frances Stewart

ETD Archive

A region's workforce has been described as its greatest asset. Guided by human capital theory and new growth theory, regions have pursued economic development policies to increase the number of college-educated workers and expand the pool of STEM -- science, technology, engineering, and math -- talent. Academic literature and policy interventions have focused on a region's human capital in terms of educational attainment instead of a more fine-grained definition of human capital based on skills and competencies. This dissertation integrates economic and business theory and combines three federal databases to explore regional human capital assets. Findings suggest that policymakers may …

Rhetorical Lessons In Advocacy And Shared Responsibility: Family Metaphors And Definitions Of Crisis And Care In Unpaid Family Caregiving Advocacy Rhetoric, Rachel Diana Davidson

Theses and Dissertations

In this rhetorical analysis, I analyze pro-caregiving advocates, individuals and organizations who are attempting to energize policy change for unpaid family caregiving. I piece together an expansive text that includes online advocacy discourse, public policy statements, and hard copies of organizational promotional materials. Pro-caregiving advocates are attempting to expand shared responsibility for an issue that is traditionally assumed to be private--unpaid family caregiving.

Throughout this dissertation, I argue that pro-caregiving advocates are standing in the way of their own goals by rhetorically constructing inherent barriers to policy change. Each analysis chapter analyzes a dominant frame that is commonplace in pro-caregiving …

Waste Management In California Jails And Prisons, Antoinette D. Bland

Dissertations

The focus of this mixed-methods study was to identify waste reduction strategies that reduced the impact of California jails and prisons on the environment through waste diversion and reduction. This study also sought to identify barriers that hindered jail and prison personnel from developing such strategies, and pursued recommendations on how those barriers could be overcome. This study provides examples of organizations currently reducing waste through strategic initiatives and highlighted areas where jails and prisons could begin or further improve waste diversion practices. The study utilized archival data, a web-based survey, and interviews for data collection and analysis. The findings …

A New Approach To Measuring Poverty In The United States: A Household's Ability To Consume, David Ashelman

Applied Economics Theses

The definition of poverty is a social construct. As such, quantitatively measuring poverty is problematic, and creates ineffective poverty-alleviation policy. This thesis examines the historical measure of poverty in the United States, compares U.S. poverty measurements to Great Britain and Canada, and then proposes a new way to measure poverty. Instead of measuring income as the defining factor of poverty, the new poverty measurement suggested eliminates income factors and focuses on a household’s ability to consume in a non-comparative manner. When quantifying a household’s ability to consume, implications arise in economic policy for anti-poverty programs, defining the middle class, minimum …

La Defensa De Lo Público A Partir De La Lucha De Las Trabajadoras Del Hospital San Juan De Dios, Michelle Ambrosio Galindo, Paola Andrea Ceballos Quiroga, Stephanie Hernández Ariza, Laura Daniela Pérez Guevara

Trabajo Social

La presente investigación tuvo como propósito describir las acciones que han realizado las trabajadoras del Hospital San Juan de Dios hacia la defensa de lo público durante el periodo 1999-2015, mediante el análisis de las implicaciones de la Ley 100 de 1993 en la mercantilización de la atención en salud, la generación de la crisis hospitalaria nacional y el posterior abandono del Hospital San Juan de Dios; el cual, se convierte en el contexto y escenario donde se desenvuelven las acciones lucha y resistencia de sus trabajadoras. Además de ello, identifica la intencionalidad de estas acciones y la forma en …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Sustainable Value And Water Conservation: A Case Study Of Social, Environmental, And Economic Concerns In The Rookery Bay Estuary, Bruce Victor Lilyea

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Stakeholders’ perceptions of social, environmental, and economic concerns in the Rookery Bay Estuary were examined through this research. The purpose of this study was to discover the shared value and common resolution responses for the people of the Rookery Bay area that can extend to other local environmental management scenarios. Using Stakeholder Theory, Rational Choice Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Systems Theory as theoretical foundation, the following research questions were considered: RQ1) What are the points of shared value of community stakeholders facing environmental management issues? RQ2) How do the perspectives of the community stakeholders toward the social, environmental, and economic …

Improving The Experiences Of Informal And Formal Alzheimer's Disease And Dementias Caregivers, Roxroy Anthony Reid

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Informal and formal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) encounter a more difficult and unique set of challenges than do caregivers of individuals with general disabilities. If adequate caregiver supports are not provided, caregivers may experience increased strain as the disease progresses, increasing the likelihood of unnecessary institutionalization of their care recipients and increasing the cost to the public. Using rational choice theory and political systems theory, the purpose of this study was to differentiate between the phenomenological experiences of formal and informal caregivers of ADRD patients. The overall research was a qualitative design that used …

California's Foreign Relations, Christopher Gaarder

CMC Senior Theses

Globalization has significantly increased the number of stakeholders in transnational issues in recent decades. The typical list of the new players in global affairs often includes non-state actors like non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations, and international organizations. Sub-national governments, however, have been given relatively little attention even though they, too, have a significant interest and ability to shape the increasing flow of capital, goods, services, people, and ideas that has so profoundly influenced the global political economy in recent decades. California, arguably the most significant among sub-national governments – its economy would be seventh or eighth in the world at $2.2 …

A Phenomenological Study Of Leaders' Perceptions And Experiences In Local Government, Janet Elerene Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An emerging crisis in the public sector of the United States is that local government organizations are unable to recruit and retain leaders. A large proportion of high-level and mid-management public administrators leave the profession within a 5-year period. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore, identify, and describe patterns in the experiences and perceptions of local government administrators to promote career longevity. The central research questions were designed to determine whether work adjustment theory accurately described the lived experiences and perceptions of the subjects' career success in local government. Data collection included in-depth interviews with 10 current …

Engaging The Nonprofits In Louisville Housing Market For Low-Income Households, Joshua Omoniyi Odetunde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations often work in partnership with government agencies to empower low income people in the housing market through government subsidized mortgage loans. In spite of this assistance, homelessness and substandard housing is pervasive among low income households because this population primarily relies on the rental housing market, leaving a gap in practice and knowledge related to how nonprofits provide assistance to the overwhelming majority of low income consumers in need of housing. The purpose of this case study was to use social justice theory to explore how the nonprofit sector, as an economic force, provides assistance to and empowers …

The Burqa Ban In France And Its Potential Implications On Islamic Terrorism, Ifeanyi Valentine Madu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Islamic terrorism has become a global problem which has resulted in human, social, political, and economic costs. Many Islamic terrorist organizations have focused their attacks on the West and its interests. They justify these acts by making reference to policies of the West, which they believe are inimical to Islam. France, a Western country, recently introduced a law which bans the Islamic face veil (the burqa) in public places in the country. This study examined the implications of this law. The research question focused on the perceived relationship between this law and increased acts of Islamic terrorism. The theoretical construct …