Digital Commons Network^™

The Diffusion Of Veterans Treatment Courts: An Examination Of Political, Social, And Economic Determinants At The County Level, Eric D. Button

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, leading U.S. counties adopted innovative treatment courts specializing in the unique needs of veterans with substance abuse and other legal issues. Since then, pro-veteran advocacy has aided in the continued diffusion of additional veterans treatment courts (VTCs), with more than 300 county and state-level VTCs currently operating in 46 states across the country. Though the lens through which veterans are viewed may be positive in the public eye, institutional support for these wayward veterans appears to vary across levels of government; therefore, while some posit the increased social utility of budget-friendly VTCs, others suggest that VTCs offer favorable …

The Balance Between Privacy And Safety In Police Uav Use: The Power Of Threat And Its Effect On People’S Receptivity, Mari Sakiyama

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are an innovative technology that has received significant interest from the law enforcement community. The size and ability, technological capability, and cost effectiveness of UAVs make them an attractive tool for law enforcement agencies to utilize in the course of operations, including domestic surveillance. Despite the potential benefits to the society, public perception of police UAV use is mixed, and “Not Over My Backyard (NOMBY)” attitudes relevant to Fourth Amendment privacy concerns are consistently demonstrated across studies related to public perceptions on this emerging technology.

The present study focuses on the relative …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2017 Report & Evaluation, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The state’s policy to promote broad access to community mediation throughout the Commonwealth was effectuated by the establishment of the Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program to provide operating grants to eligible community mediation centers. The Massachusetts Legislature appropriated $750,000 to fund Program operations during FY 2017 (the Program’s sixth year). The Legislature’s FY 2017 investment in the Grant Program proved to be money well spent. Not only was state-wide community mediation infrastructure strengthened, the quality of community mediation services was upheld. Accordingly, twelve funded centers delivered services throughout the state and affected thousands of people.

The Impact Of Casino Revenue-Sharing On Tourism Efforts In Niagara Falls Usa: 2006-2016, Anthony L. Astran

Public Administration Master’s Projects

This qualitative case study examines the intersection of a Native-owned casino, revenue-sharing with its host community, and the impact of tourism marketing efforts vis-à-vis funds provided to the community’s tourism agency. Specifically, this report studies downtown Niagara Falls USA from the time period between 2006 and 2016, and seeks to determine whether and how funds from Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino boosted tourism marketing efforts by Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC). Background research and a series of elite interviews with city officials and tourism agency leaders uncovered overall positivity in terms of growth in Niagara Falls USA’s tourism efforts …

The Challenge Of Long-Term Risk Management In Mine Action, Robert White

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

States affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) are faced with a number of difficult decisions when they establish their mine action program, such as “how deep should operators clear?” and “what tasks should they do first?” The deliberations and conclusions that ultimately are drawn together in national standards are part of an implicit or explicit risk management approach. Over time, risk assessments require review and modification to reflect different contexts.

Massachusetts Urban Bicycle Preparedness, Rick L. Sheiber

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Since 2007, Boston has made tremendous strides in shedding its designation by Bicycling Magazine as one of the “Worst Biking Cities” (Zezima, 2009, p. A12) by designating over 92 miles of bike lanes throughout the city and introducing bicycle initiatives like Boston Bikes, the Hubway bicycle sharing program. These efforts have resulted in a dramatic rise in the number of cyclists in Greater Boston and a decrease in accidents involving bicycles ((Pedroso, Angriman, Bellows & Taylor, 2016). While the quantitative research has been primarily positive, a 2017 survey initiated LivableStreets and the Longwood Area Cyclists of commuters in the Longwood …

A Study On The Effectiveness Of The Ism Code On The Seafarers' Awareness Of Safety Culture, Min Jung

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Engage, Empower, Act: A Cedar Valley Conference On Diversity & Inclusion [Program], 2017, University Of Northern Iowa. Center For Multicultural Education.

Economic Inclusion Conference Documents

The program for the Engage, Empower, Act Conference on Diversity and Inclusion held October 13, 2017.

The Effects Of Cure Violence In The South Bronx And East New York, Brooklyn, Sheyla A. Delgado, Laila Alsabahi, Kevin T. Wolff, Nicole Marie Alexander, Patricia A. Cobar, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

New York City launched its first Cure Violence program—which uses community outreach to interrupt violence—in 2010 with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. By 2017, there were 18 programs around the city. This report examines Man Up! Inc. in East New York, Brooklyn, and Save Our Streets South Bronx. Each neighborhood was compared to another neighborhood similar in demographics and crime trends but without a Cure Violence program. There is promising evidence that Cure Violence may help to create safe and healthy communities.

Community Paramedicine Pilot Programs: Lessons From Maine, Karen B. Pearson Mlis, Ma, George Shaler Mph

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Community paramedicine programs are beginning to flourish across the nation, and the need to provide demonstration or pilot programs is essential to providing a consistent and high-level standard for this model of care. While the overarching goals are to align with the Triple Aim, piloting a community paramedicine program also allows each community to develop and implement a program tailored to the healthcare needs of their specific community. A successful program builds the evidence base that can then be used to create legislative change necessary to financially sustain this model of care across the healthcare delivery system. This article provides …

A Comparative Case Study Of American And Ugandan Refugee Policies, Anna Feins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research was conducted in order to expand upon current understandings of the policies affecting refugees in Uganda and the United States (U.S.). Appreciating both policies and implementation strategies for each country is critical in providing the ability to fully grasp the reality of the refugee crisis faced by countries all over the world.

This study employed field-based research, including observations, focus groups, and interviews with refugees and those who implement refugee policies. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and implementing partners of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Uganda were interviewed, along with officers and commandants in the Office …

Active And Public Transportation Connectivity Between North Temple Tod And Jordan Park River Trail, Ivis Garcia Zambrana, Christie Oostema

TREC Final Reports

The project seeks to capitalize on existing community assets—several TOD stations and a regional bike and pedestrian trail system—by studying how these can be linked. The overarching goal of this project is to increase scholarship on networking safe routes that can encourage public and active transportation choices and thus, encourage a healthier lifestyle and advance sustainability. By expanding pedestrian, bicycle and transit connections to green space and offering the most potential for TOD, this proposal clearly demonstrates the greatest priorities of NITC. Moreover, nationwide, communities like Salt Lake’s West Side are in greater need of sustainable transportation choices that foster …

Land Insecurity In Gulu, Uganda: A Clash Between Culture And Capitalism, Zachary Slotkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper presents the causes and consequences of land insecurity in Gulu, Uganda. In order to address this important and often sensitive issue, the paper analyzes the role of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and the government’s policy of forced encampment during the insurgency in contributing to land insecurity, causing widespread displacement among former internally displaced persons (IDPs). It further explores the importance of land ownership in providing economic productivity to rural landowners, as well as the nature of customary land tenure in Acholi culture and the government’s efforts to privatize communal land, to give a background on the …

How Does Participatory Budgeting Affect Council Member Priorities?, Dan Williams, Thad Calabrese, Anubhav Gupta, Samuli Harju

Publications and Research

There is a growing literature concerning participatory budgeting (PB), which transfers some element of budgetary decision making from the executive or legislature to the citizens. It is widely held that this practice originated in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989, although there is evidence of antecedents from the 1970s and 1980s and co-developments elsewhere in Brazil (Goldfrank, 2007; Souza, 2001). During the earlier years of development, this practice was found primarily in less developed countries. Early PB reoriented government expenditures to better focus on the needs of the populace. Substantial shares of the budget (9.8-21%) were allocated through participatory process (Souza, …

Challenges With Ban The Box, Scott Anders

Missouri Policy Journal

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports if current trends continue, one in 15 adults and one in three African-American males will be imprisoned during their lifetime. A woman is eight times more likely to be incarcerated now than she was in the 1980s. As of today, one in 99 adults are imprisoned and one in 32 adults are on probation or parole. If an employer has a policy to exclude applicants who have a felony conviction, they are significantly limiting the number of qualified applicants. The ban the box campaign was created to remove this barrier at the application phase …

Missouri Among States Pursuing Fair-Chance Hiring Reforms, Michelle Natividad Rodriguez, Jeanette Mott Oxford

Missouri Policy Journal

The United States has the appalling distinction of leading the world with its incarceration rate, which is five times that of other countries. One in thirty-five U.S. adults is under some form of correctional supervision. The result is that seventy million people—nearly one in three U.S. adults—must endure the stigma of having an arrest or conviction record. Any contact with the criminal justice system, no matter how minor, can be a modern-day scarlet letter.

Reflections On The Implementation Of Improved Outcomes For Children And Its Impact On The Capacity Of Child Welfare Workers To Deliver Services, Rita Sanchez-Torres

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The emergence of the New Public Management with its emphasis on performance measurements and managerial strategies such as accountability, efficiency, and cost effectiveness have encouraged nonprofit child welfare agencies in New York City to pursue the practice of the private sector. In the current environment, service delivery has become more entrepreneurial, strategic and outcome minded on the assumption that the market-oriented approach is more effective (Watson-Bishop, 2007). This study examines the relationship between policy and service delivery. Specifically, it investigates the impact of the initiative known as Improved Outcomes for Children on child welfare supervisors in a managerial environment.

The …

Analyzing The Effectiviness Of A Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Targeting At-Risk Opioid Abuse Patients, Treadway Childs

Public Administration ETDs

The effectiveness of a prescription drug monitoring program in coordination with a prescription opioid recidivism program was examined at a semi-rural community hospital. Patients were identified by a multi-disciplinary committee to be at-risk for opioid misuse or abuse, and were denied prescription opioids. Patients were considered eligible for the program if they had over 12 emergency department visits in the previous 12 months, or 6 visits in the previous 6 months, depending on how long the hospital had records on a patient. Patients who were placed in the prescription opioid recidivism program could not receive opioids at this hospital. The …

2017 Fall Convocation Program, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

Fall convocation program held on August 9, 2017.

Hidden Subsidies And The Public Ownership Of Sports Facilities: The Case Of Levi’S Stadium In Santa Clara, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson, Debra O'Connor

Economics Department Working Papers

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California is an example of a private financing / public ownership arrangement. While the stadium’s construction resulted in no direct tax increases, this ownership arrangement allows the San Francisco 49ers to avoid many types of taxes on the income generated from Levi’s Stadium. We estimate the total tax savings to the 49ers at between $106 and $213 million over the first 20 years of Levi’s Stadium compared with a privately financed and owned option. We argue that tax savings inherent in private financing / public ownership arrangements represent indirect and hidden subsidies.

Exploring The Barriers To Effective Federal Flood Mitigation In The Mississippi River Region., Linda Kay Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a comprehensive study of flood mitigation in the Mississippi River region as it is impacted by federal flood policies and programs. The study begins with a historical narrative of flooding events and flood mitigation that provided the impetus for federal flood mitigation in the late 1920s. The historical narrative sheds light on issues related to federalism, path dependency, dynamic growth, and socio-culture influence during the development of flood mitigation policy. Growth machine theory is used to describe how inequality and disparate access to political power has worked to exacerbate flood disaster outcomes and how this dynamic is …

Are Dhs Technology Grants For Local Police Departments An Effective Tool Against Terrorism?, Erika Mcginty

Student Theses

This paper examines the effectiveness of allocating funds to the nation’s police departments for the prevention of domestic terrorism, as is done annually through the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Grants Program. The program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Administration, has distributed billions of dollars since its 2003 inception in equipment, software, and technology services based on the recipient police agencies’ own risk assessments of local terrorism. Much of the technology desired by police consists of systems of mass surveillance; this thesis focuses on implementations of surveillance video cameras or CCTV, license plate readers, and unmanned aerial vehicles. …

[Community Oriented Policing (Cop) Evaluation], Kaci Kerfeld, Taylor Glaser, James Koloskie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An in-depth review of the use of force policies and practices used by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) was conducted after the alarming rate of officer involved shootings was publicized by the Las Vegas Review Journal (RJ) in 2011. The 75 recommendations handed down to LVMPD after the review not only helped guide the agency towards procedural and reporting changes, but also paved a way for the agency to begin rebuilding trust in police within the community. This program evaluation focuses on the community engagement efforts put forth by the Bolden Area Command (BAC) community oriented policing (COP) …

Local Revenue Structure Under Economic Hardship: Reliance On Alternative Revenue Sources In California Counties, Sanghee Park

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article investigates how a worsening economy affects local revenue structure, and whether the impact is moderated by the fiscal relationship within higher levels of government. The revenue potential of nontax sources—fees/charges and fines/forfeitures—is considerable for local governments under economic hardship. With the panel data from California counties over a period of 11 years (2000-2010), this article shows that reliance on nontax revenue largely depends on the economic and fiscal factors that vary across counties, and the effect of economy is contingent on local dependence on intergovernmental transfers. Counties are likely to raise nontax revenue when the economy worsens and …

A Cross-Sectional Exploration Of Household Financial Reactions And Homebuyer Awareness Of Registered Sex Offenders In A Rural, Suburban, And Urban County., John Charles Navarro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As stigmatized persons, registered sex offenders betoken instability in communities. Depressed home sale values are associated with the presence of registered sex offenders even though the public is largely unaware of the presence of registered sex offenders. Using a spatial multilevel approach, the current study examines the role registered sex offenders influence sale values of homes sold in 2015 for three U.S. counties (rural, suburban, and urban) located in Illinois and Kentucky within the social disorganization framework. Homebuyers were surveyed to examine whether awareness of local registered sex offenders and the homebuyer’s community type operate as moderators between home selling …

The Use Of Social Media Interactivity Between Nevada E-Government Agencies And The Public: An Analysis Of The Role And Impact Of Twitter Accounts, Jung Eun Song

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Social media platforms have extended the information and communication technology (ICT) landscape in the public sector and have been used to increase e-government transparency, participation, and collaboration in the U.S. e-government. The use of social media platforms has improved a two-way communication for the interactivity with the public, which can provide insights to understand compliance with the Open Government initiative. However, many government agencies using social media have not thoroughly measured the impact of their digital interactions. Moreover, a lack of empirical studies of social media exist for improving the interactivity between governments and the public. Furthermore, scholars have not …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 42-Yy, No. 8, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Whose Needs Come First?

La Supremacía Blanca

Hot

Hotter

Not the Sheriff of Nottingham

The Fort Mcmurray Wildfire 2016: Risk Perceptions And Behaviours Among Evacuees, Christopher James Kearns

Dissertations

The devastating wildfires in the Fort McMurray, Alberta, region in May of 2016 forced the evacuation of almost 90,000 people from their homes. This study examines and compares risk perceptions and evacuation behaviours between young adults, 18 to 24 years of age and older adults, 25 years and older, and between genders. The study participants (n = 299) were students and staff at Keyano College in Fort McMurray. They indicated only slight differences in their perceptions of risk and their evacuation behaviours between both the age groups and by gender. Environmental cues were significant indicators of risk for all participants. …

Sacred Heart University Security Protocol Plan: Shu Ready Planning 2017, Department Of Public Safety & Emergency Management

News, Magazines and Reports

The information in this publication has been compiled and presented in compliance with the requirements of Connecticut General Statute 10a-156a Security Protocol Plan. The purpose of this report is to provide a valuable resource to the University Community with regards to campus crimes and security policies. Additionally, the report is in compliance with the “Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act” and Federal Public Law 101-542, 110-315. (See separate SHU Public Safety Clery Annual Crime Statistical Report for details.)

Narrative In Police Communication: The Art Of Influence And Communication For The Modern Police Organization, Chelsea Fray

Theses and Dissertations

Violence in the City of Rockford, Illinois and surrounding cities has made the Rockford Police Department’s communication vitally important for shaping the future of the community. The primary objective of this project was to gain a greater understanding of how the local police department utilizes one particular communication channel: social media. While some research examining law enforcement’s use of social media exists, this study is unique as it specifically applies Fisher’s (1984) narrative paradigm and key concepts related to public relations functions including relationship building. The analysis revealed that the department does utilize some narrative concepts, but could certainly reevaluate …