Digital Commons Network^™

Stakeholder Engagement In Urban Public Transportation Agencies In The United States, Tyler Joseph Wolfe

Dissertations and Theses

Major urban public transportation agencies in the United States are often under pressure to engage stakeholders in order to improve both the legitimacy and effectiveness of their transit systems. Based on qualitative methods of directed content analysis, this dissertation answers three related questions: (I) How do internal organizational qualities affect stakeholder engagement? (II) How do external socioeconomic factors affect stakeholder engagement? and (III) Does stakeholder engagement lead to better performance? Using a most similar comparative case study design, this research studies stakeholder engagement in five major urban public transportation agencies (Denver, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Portland, and Memphis). It demonstrates the …

Interest Convergence And Neoliberalism: Effects On Entry-Level Staff Of Color Who Perform Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Jesse N. Avila

Master's Theses

Higher education was not originally built to benefit people of color. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are many ways in which universities seek to change higher education. However, higher education has a staff retention problem and is at risk of losing more than half of its current workforce. Retention problems also impact entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in universities. Through a lens of interest convergence and neoliberalism, this qualitative study gathered the experiences of entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in student affairs, looked at how their experiences are shaped by the structures of the university, and …

Exploring The Relationship Between Nurse Supervisor’S Servant Leadership Behavior And Nursing Employee’S Self-Assessment Of Engagement And Burnout In Nigeria, Michael Otuwurunne

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Burnout is a problem among workers in Nigeria, especially among nurses (Ozumba, & Alabere, 2019). This study examined whether there was a significant relationship between the employee perception of the servant leadership behaviors of the nurse supervisor and the employee’s self-rating of burnout: exhaustion and disengagement, and servant leadership behaviors of the nurse supervisor, and engagement: vigor, dedication, and absorption. Exhaustion refers to an intensive physical, affective, and cognitive strain while disengagement refers to the distancing of oneself from one’s work, and experiencing negative attitudes toward the work object, work content, or one’s work in general (Demerouti et al., 2001). …

The Association Between High Medical Costs & Migration In The United States, Zuriel Sanders

Master's Theses

In the United States, the current medical system has been controversial due to its non-universal design. Typically those who’re employed and middle or upper class have the most access to health care due to this design. Even among those with access to health insurance the amount of out-of-pocket medical expenses that families are exposed to after insurance can cause a burden in itself for staying financially afloat that year, especially when paired with the increasing cost of living in the U.S. from 2009-Present. For the purpose of this paper, we’ll be examining the relationship between migration & high medical expenses …

Foreign State Images And Popular Foreign Policy Constraints, Cana Kim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

When making equivalent foreign policy decisions, why do national leaders sometimes face stronger constraints from the mass public? A growing number of studies recognize the effect of public opinion on foreign policy decision-making. While not having the authority to formulate foreign policy, the mass public can hold national leaders accountable in formal and informal ways. However, public opinion does not function as an automatic constraint on national leaders. Instead, public opinion provides more powerful constraints on foreign policy decision-making conditional on the context shaping popular beliefs and social behavior.

In this dissertation, I delve into the public perceptions of domestic …

Is College Liberating For All Students? The Impact Of Sensory Challenges On Participation Of Students On The Autism Spectrum And With Other Neurodivergent Diagnoses, Sophia Starvaggi, Mary Smith Otr/L, Phd

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Neurodiversity describes unique ways in which an individual's brain works, impacting skills such as executive function, social interaction, communication, and sensory processing. Sensory processing describes the system which receives, processes, organizes, and responds to sensory information received in several environments throughout the day. Sensory sensitivity involves both over- and under-responsiveness to sensory information received, both causing an impact on one’s participation. An occupational area that seems to lack support for sensory challenges is that of postsecondary, or college, settings.

Several policies exist to protect the right to equal education for students with disabilities, however, these protections only last until students …

Public Acceptance Of Guidance And Regulations For Space Flight Participation, Cory Trunkhill, Robert Joslin, Joseph Keebler

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Space flight participants are not professional astronauts and not subject to the rules and guidance covering space flight crewmembers. Ordinal logistic regression of survey data was utilized to explore public acceptance of current medical screening recommendations and regulations for safety risk and implied liability for civil space flight participation. Independent variables constituted participant demographic representations while dependent variables represented current Federal Aviation Administration guidance and regulations. Odds ratios were derived based on the demographic categories to interpret likelihood of acceptance for the criteria. Significant likely acceptance of guidance and regulations was found for five of twelve demographic variables influencing public …

A Gridded Co2 Emissions Inventory For Portland, Or, James E. Powell

Dissertations and Theses

Here we develop a new high resolution inventory of CO₂ emissions for the three Oregon counties which comprise the bulk of the City of Portland, Oregon, USA. Locally curated and long-running data collection efforts for on-road traffic activity and emission rates are used to model on-road emissions, and a new survey of the area's natural gas network informs the building energy model. The inventory estimates total emissions of CO₂ for each hour of the year 2018 in the on-road, residential, and commercial building sectors at 1 km² resolution. The onroad inventory compares to within 3% with an …

Family First: Kinship Care As A Gold Standard, Ava Cloghessy

Washington Semester Program

This thesis seeks to address how kinship care can produce higher permanency outcomes for children. Building on selected sources, the author will introduce testimony and illustrations from three key stakeholder perspectives involved in kinship care: children, their caregivers and caseworkers in the Child Welfare system. Finally, the proposed rule from the Administration for Children and Families will be evaluated as a policy recommendation.

Women And Children’S Victims Of Violence Case Management During Covid-19 Pandemic, Eti Sumiati, Elvy M. Manurung Dr., Indraswari - Ph. D

The Qualitative Report

Many studies have been conducted to prove the threat of violence against children and women during COVID-19. Unlike other studies, this study focuses more on government services in receiving complaints from victims of violence experienced by women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using case studies as a qualitative method, documentary studies and in-depth interviews have been conducted on 13 informants from various parties in Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The results showed that the use of digital technology during the pandemic sometimes hampered the follow-up process for complaints of violence by victims due to a lack of equipment and …

The Juris Master: A Proposal For Reducing Excessive Public Defender Caseloads, Blake Comeaux

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

The US public defense system is underfunded, understaffed, and underdelivering on the Constitutional promises of the 6^th Amendment, the right to a fair and speedy trial. This state of our public defense system results in monstrous impacts for indigent defendants nationwide. Through indefinite delays in litigation, being abandoned in jail while sitting on waiting lists for public defenders, and being outright denied representation, indigent defendants are deprived of their rights. Beyond just defendant neglect, our current system puts immense strain on public defenders, prosecutors, and state budgets. In an attempt to combat this current state of affairs, this paper …

Hungry For Student Food Security: A Comparative Analysis Of University Food Pantry Policies, Anastasia Jones-Burdick

Honors Theses

This undergraduate research thesis aims to explore the relationship between public institutions of higher education and the operational policies of their university food pantries. The increasing rates of nontraditional students entering public universities correlate to an increasing population of students facing food insecurity, placing strain on institutional interventions, especially university food pantries (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015; Nazmi et al., 2019, p.2). This research conducted a qualitative comparative case analysis of university food pantry policies and semistructured interviews with pantry informants through a USDA-adapted evaluative framework to understand the evolution of public universities’ interventions (Barale et al., 2017). The …

My Path To Advanced Practice, Hannah Oiselle Knisley

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Student Perception Of Covid-19 Mitigation Strategies And Correlation To Demographics At The University Of Mississippi, Anna Couhig

Honors Theses

COVID-19 caused an unprecedented dilemma for universities, the best method of continuing education during a pandemic. Different mitigation strategies were developed as higher education institutions transitioned back to in-person learning, and the effectiveness of these strategies depended largely on adherence by college students. COVID-19 remains a vastly unexplored research topic, and college students’ approval of mitigation strategies is largely untouched. This research answers the question: “Are University of Mississippi student perceptions of COVID-19 mitigation strategies correlated to demographics?” Through a mixed-methods survey that was sent to a random sample of full-time undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Mississippi, …

Comparing The Evolution, Form, And Function Of Russian And Chinese Information Operations, Briana Berger Slowinski, Marissa J. Skulsky

Honors Theses

Russia and China are critical actors who deploy far-reaching and impactful information operations in pursuit of their national interests. Their use of information operations is multifaceted and should be subject to study due to how influential these operations are and how significant the effects can be. In pursuit of this knowledge, the aim of this study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of these two countries' information operations and how their operations differ. The first area analyzed was the evolution of these countries' modern day information operations, primarily looking for the factors and historical context which influenced the development of …

Sex Trafficking In Southern Nevada, Julianna Jovillar

Student Research

Southern Nevada is facing a sex trafficking epidemic that continues to impact people in the state. Thus, in this brief, I investigate Southern Nevada’s sex trafficking crisis. Based on recent sex trafficking studies and the current legislature, it is apparent that although Southern Nevada is aware of the problem, more can still be done to stop it. As a result, this policy work explores sex trafficking in Southern Nevada, addresses stigmatization as a causal factor, provides political context, and offers policy recommendations related to child victim aid and protection to be considered for legislation.

Navigating The Road To Distributional Social Equity Using Smart Cities Technologies, Annus Azhar

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to understand the mechanisms behind the adoption of smart cities technologies (SCT) and how they can promote social equity in local communities in the United States. There is a distinct lack of empirical research addressing the methods designed for the promotion of social equity despite their numerous benefits. The present study will address this omission in the scholarship by providing evidence-based insights on how public administrators can leverage SCT to promote distributional social equity through the Digital Era Governance (DEG) and Adoption Theory frameworks. This study also demonstrates the efficacy of applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) …

America Without A Minimum Wage: Why The Federal Minimum Wage Should Be Abolished, Zachary Cary

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Minimum wage policy may be the greatest economic policy issue where the common man has a strong opinion. Nearly every person has a view of how minimum wage policy should be enacted, whether it be in raising the federal minimum wage, changing the scope of authority in the federal government, or another policy. However, in discussing any kind of policy, the key details of the policy must be discussed in the framework of both how it would be affected and how it would impact its stakeholders. In this policy analysis, the Iron Triangle of Public Policy – the key executive …

The Economic Ferocity Of Policy, Giana Depaul

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Each day, as the Dow Jones rises and falls, Congress similarly passes and fails legislation. These two seemingly continuous cycles intersect to the point that the two structures appear affixed. For centuries, this has posed an age-old question: is it policy that influences the economic system or is it the economic system itself that molds policy decision-making? Renowned economist Adam Smith is famous for his works detailing the autonomous nature of the economic system. Smith views policy as only a small roadblock in the master strategy of the economic flow of life. The Great Depression and the 2008 Recession, however, …

The Impact Of The Deinstitutionalization Policies On Homelessness, Henrique Krigner

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Homelessness is a growing issue in America. In 2019 there were 567,715 homeless individuals in the United States, distributed in emergency shelters (63%) or residing unsheltered on streets (27%). In 2021, even though specialists argue that the Covid-19 restrictions greatly harmed an accurate counting, the total number of unsheltered homeless in America increased in 20%. Such increase became a central discussion not only to regular citizens and neighborhood associations, but it also became a great concern within the federal government which has been appropriating billions of dollars each year to “end homeless”.

Specialists point out that the growth of the …

An Analysis Of Us Energy Policy Within A Shifting Geopolitical Landscape, Rodney Ford

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Through numerous policy initiatives and a catalogue of antagonistic rhetoric, the Biden administration has made it clear since January of 2021 that America will be last when it comes to energy policy. As the rest of the world pursues far-fetched goals to eliminate fossil fuels and usher in the era of green energy, the administration has actively sought to conform to these goals at the expense of the American taxpayer. The issue of climate change, undeniably an issue indeed, will prove itself to be a hallmark of the Biden White House as everything from the tightening of ESG policies to …

Drug Ideologies Of The United States, Macy Montgomery

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The United States has been increasingly creating lenient drug policies. Seventeen states and Washington, the District of Columbia, legalized marijuana, and Oregon decriminalized certain drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. The medical community has proven that drugs, including marijuana, have myriad adverse health side effects. This leads to two questions: Why does the United States government continue to create lenient drug policies, and what reasons do citizens give for legalizing drugs when the medical community has proven them harmful? The paper hypothesizes that the disadvantages of drug legalization outweigh its benefits because of the numerous harms it causes, such as …

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Eligibility And Access In Nevada, 2018-2020, Lana Kojoian, Annie Vong, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet examines data from the American Community Survey and Nevada administrative records exploring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility and access rates for Nevada counties. The original report includes data on SNAP eligibility and access for 23 states from 2018 to 2020.

"Proventing" Intimate Partner Violence-Related Attitudes Through Arts-Based Peace Education: A Sequential Explanatory Study Of Dancing Classrooms Alumni, Cody Wehlan

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Research links intimate partner violence (IPV) to socialized, and often gendered, power-over attitudes that view abuse, control, and physical violence against, or by, an intimate partner as acceptable and appropriate in various contexts. While many IPV prevention programs emphasize education for reducing intimate partner violence-related attitudes (IPVA), most programs respond after violence has occurred and are often ineffective. Presenting an innovative form of proactive prevention, or “provention”, this dissertation combines arts-based peace education, youth IPV prevention, and intergroup contact theory (ICT) to outline how youth-focused social dance may effectively provent IPVA risk factors by teaching young people collaborative, power-with social …

Political Rhetoric And Civility: A Challenge To “The Legacy Of ‘Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness’”, Timothy P. O'Brien, Melissa O. Stewart

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

“As you stand for your values do so with gentleness and respect—that’s how we move our country forward.”

Mike Pence, 48^th Vice President of the United States of America (2017-2021)

Since the founding of the United States of America, political discourse has often taken an unpleasant and nasty tone. Partisan disagreement concerning public policy is normal and policy should be the subject of vigorous debate. Disagreement, bickering, and even fights on the floor of Congress, are not new phenomena. However, today there is a growing sense in the country that civility and intolerance are on the rise. This study …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

A Mindfulness Intervention For Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Ashley N. Ries, Steven M. Gerardi Phd, Otd, Mss, Otr, Mary Horne Lcsw

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Every day, many United States veterans are suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Responses to trauma may vary from person to person; however, a diagnosis of PTSD includes the individual experiencing clinically significant distress in their social and occupational areas of functioning. The impact of PTSD on a veteran’s life could impact their ability to carry out activities of daily living, decrease the amount of social participation they have, and limit their ability to perform instrumental daily activities, such as grocery shopping. Mindfulness is the practice of paying full attention to the present moment, without judgment, and …

The Greek Advantage: Implications Of Greek Affiliation On Student Government At The University Of Mississippi, Lila Osman

Honors Theses

Greek life is a prominent group at the University of Mississippi, especially when it comes to membership in the Associated Student Body (ASB). ASB is the student governing body at the University so it is important to analyze its membership to understand how reflective it is of the entire university campus it represents. This research answers the question: “How and to what extent does Greek affiliation affect candidates for student government at the University of Mississippi?” Through two mixed methods surveys, one sent to members elected to ASB in the spring 2022 election cycle and the other to the general …

A Case Study Of California's Maternal Health Landscape And Recommendations For Mississippi, Kinley Miller

Honors Theses

This paper is a case study of California’s maternal health landscape, reflecting its exceptional approach to the maternal health crisis. I review several policies: the creation of the Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, the Maternal Data Center, and the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, maternal health toolkits, Medicaid expansion, extended postpartum Medicaid coverage, paid family leave, C-Section Honor Roll, and maternal mental health measures. The case study suggests that all of these policies in conjunction with one another correlates with a decrease maternal mortality. California’s proactive approach and ability to mobilize public and private entities are key attributors to its success in …

Fourthspace: The Role Of Active Social Inclusion In The Workforce Entry Of Syrian Refugees In Scandinavia, Anisa Abeytia

Master's Theses

The 2015 displacement of Syrian refugees into Scandinavian countries provoked a refugee integration policy adjustment that focused on workforce and higher education entry. It is a policy approach that requires attention on barriers to workforce entry to ensure effective policy implementation. This article provides insight into the larger, often overlooked barriers of Eurocentrism and historical biases on refugee labor integration and provides policy solutions to reduce their impact. Active social inclusion (ASI) and Fourthspace are introduced as a framework to reduce biases to workforce entry and integration time barriers faced by Syrian refugees. ASI can provide mechanisms to increase access …