Digital Commons Network^™

The Cost Of Earmarks, Nicholis John Zappia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Finding revenue is a challenge that faces many municipalities in the United States. As the tax base continues to decline and demand for government services increases, local governments are forced to make hard choices. Low on the list of priorities for local governments is the maintenance, and construction of infrastructure. Traditionally there have been several ways for local governments to fund long-term infrastructure projects including, federal-aid through the process of earmarking. The practice of earmarking has been around since the first congress, but hit its peak between 2003 and 2007. The earmarking process is controversial for several reasons; earmarking bypasses …

Singapore's Vision Of A Smart Nation, See Liang Foo, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

With a population of 5.4 million and land area of 718 square kilometres, 94 percent of Singapore’s population live in high-rise apartments, of which, 82 percent dwell in public housing. As an ultra-dense city-state, effective and innovative urban development is a social and economic imperative intricately intertwined with Singapore’s competitiveness and quality of life. Harnessing information and communications technology (ICT) is not only essential to achieving this, but also serves as a template for answering some of the global challenges faced by urban centres around the world–particularly in regard to economic development, social cohesion, better city administration and infrastructure management.

Mexican Armed Forces And Security In Mexico, Tony Payan, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications

For nearly 40 years, Mexico's armed forces have been engaged in tasks more closely aligned with public safety than national security. This issue brief examines the challenges of assigning internal security duties to the military and argues for a new law that governs the country's safety and security.

Hilltop Planning Workshop Team, Lea Anderson

PSU Transportation Seminars

"Oregon Health & Science University Night Access Plan"

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a nationally renowned academic, research and health institution. At its current capacity, OHSU sees over 250,000 patients a year, teaches 5,000 students, employs about 16,000 people, and utilizes over 2,000 contract workers. Simply put, there are a lot of people who need to access the OHSU central campuses (Marquam Hill and South Waterfront) every day. Furthermore, because OHSU is a medical and research institution, there are large numbers of people needing to access the campuses at all hours of the day and night.

Over the …

K-12 And The Active Shooter: Principals’ Perceptions Of Armed Personnel In New Jersey District Factor Group Gh Public Schools, Brian P. Kelly

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to explore the predicament school principals face when formulating the best methodology to provide a safe environment for their students and faculty, while simultaneously creating an atmosphere that is conducive to education.

This multiple-case study is a replication of a dissertation published in 2014 which explored a unique phenomenon containing multiple variables within an urban public school district. Conversely, this research study examined suburban public school districts within communities that possessed a median household salary ranging between $86,000 and $105,000, where the socioeconomic status of these schools is identified and delineated by New Jersey …

Do First Responders Find Active911 Useful?, Tina Phouthavong

Theses and Dissertations from 2016

Mobile technology continues to advance, as does the field of emergency management. Today, emergency management personnel utilize the latest technology in all phases of emergency management, which include mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. This proposed study particularly identifies mobile technology in the response phase of emergency management pertaining to first responders. Specific technologies on the rise in the field of emergency management include mobile applications. Applications such as Active911 were developed in detail for first responders. It was found that not all first responders take advantage of existing technology and the reasons vary. This mixed methods study was created to …

An Appraisal Of The Actuaries’ Climate Risk Index, Stephen Lee Kolk

May 18, 2016: The Economic Impacts of Sea-Level Rise in Hampton Roads

PDF of powerpoint presentation given at the workshop "The Economic Impacts of Sea-Level Rise in Hampton Roads: An Appraisal of the Projects Underway" on May 18, 2016 at the Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center, 1030 University Blvd, Suffolk, VA 23435

An Examination Of How School Continuity Plans In Northeast Arkansas Address The Post-Emergency Resumption Of The Educational Process, Brittany E. Moseley

Theses and Dissertations from 2016

Planning for the resumption of the educational process in Arkansas public schools should be a part of every school’s emergency continuity plan. The purpose of this study was to examine how public schools in Northeast Arkansas are prepared for a situation where education must resume outside of normal circumstances due to an emergency. A literature review determined that all Arkansas schools are required to have some form of continuity plan for their students, but the requirements are not always enforced or punishable if neglected. This creates an opportunity for school continuity plans to be disregarded and planning may only include …

Learning From Trayvon: Lessons And Implications For Police Organizations And Leaders, Megan Lepere-Schloop, Joseph H. Lumpkin Chief Of Police

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Critical incidents like the Martin-Zimmerman encounter prompt us to examine not only the specifics of a particular episode, but also broader questions that hopefully illuminate a path leading to meaningful change. This reflective piece draws on the professional experiences of a highly effective and respected African-American Police Chief to examine some of these broader questions. Chief Joseph H. Lumpkin is a 43-year law enforcement veteran who was recently appointed Chief of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department in Georgia. Before moving to Savannah he served as Chief of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, an agency that solves violent crimes at a …

The Dangerous Intersection Between Race, Class And Stand Your Ground, Lakerri R. Mack, Kristie Roberts-Lewis

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

The Stand Your Ground (SYG) law has and will likely continue to generate a wealth of controversy and political debate. It derives its historical significance from the Castle doctrine that allows citizens to protect themselves. The aftermath of SYG has led to an increase in justifiable homicides of minority victims. A preliminary analysis of data from FBI Uniform Crime Reports suggests that the race of the victim is the foremost determinant in the outcome of SYG cases where the perpetrator is non-minority. This research will further explore the Castle doctrine and examine SYG laws in Florida where racial tension is …

The Ugly Side Of America: Institutional Oppression And Race, Renita Seabrook, Heather Wyatt-Nichol

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

This manuscript examines structural racism through a socio-historical context of institutional oppression and its effects on modern society. The epistemological framework of intersectionality is used to focus on the overlap of oppression, structural racism, and implicit bias evident in the stereotypes and perceptions of the African American male population in the United States. Four eras of socio-historical significance are addressed: 1. Foundations of Racial Oppression; 2. Racism: Reconstruction and Jim Crow; 3. Renewal: Civil Rights and Civil Disobedience; 3. Reckoning: Embedded Racism and the Criminal Justice System.

Out Of The Recent Darkness And Into The New Light: Managerial Implications Emerging From The Martin-Zimmerman Encounter, Brian N. Williams, Billy R. Close, Seong C. Kang

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

This paper revisits the encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin from two perspectives: the co-production of public safety and public order and black crimmythology. Co-production is associated with the expanding and often unpredictable role that community residents, formal and informal communal organizations and nongovernmental institutions play in assisting public agencies in developing and implementing public services (Whitaker 1980; Parks et al. 1981). Black crimmythology is a term used to describe the historical and contemporary conflation of blackness, maleness, and criminality in the mind of the American public (Close 1997). The objectives of this analysis goes beyond ascertaining the guilt, …

Editor's Introduction: The Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman Encounter And Its Policy Implications, Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Decision Support System For Post Mining Land Use On Abandoned Surface Coal Mines In Appalachia, Matthew Zimmerman

Sustainability and Social Justice

Decision support systems are diverse and have been used to solve multiple problems ranging from the complex to the simple. With the complexity of environmental decisions today, these systems provide a logic based approach to evaluating and choosing environmental solutions. Abandoned mining lands (AML) are an issue for the environment in the Appalachian region. Given this a decision support system was designed using previously created frameworks and indices from other systems created. The system is comprised of two main sections, selecting the ideal post-mining land-use (PMLU), and maximizing the potential of land to be reclaimed under budgetary constraints. This system …

A Partnership's Capacity For Community Impact Understood Through Neoliberal Technologies Of Risk And Responsibilization: A Look At Worcester Massachusetts Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initative Partnership Worcester Massachusetts’ Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative Partnership, Katie Byrne

Sustainability and Social Justice

Since 2006, the Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative has sought to reduce youth and gang violence in multiple Massachusetts cities through partnerships of community organizations, research institutions and police departments. Worcester, Massachusetts was an original recipient of Shannon funding due to its historic and increasing problem of youth and gang violence. Using a framework of governmentality, one of the ways crime is problematized and controlled is through the use of neoliberal technologies of risk and responsibilization, underscoring neoliberalism’s emphasis on personal responsibility. When risk is used to govern and assigned to individuals and groups of people living in …

Exchange Patterns And Relations In Collaborative Governance., Charles Wharton Kaye-Essien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative governance has received considerable attention in recent years. From environmental resource management to public safety, collaborative governance continues to play a vital role in regional problem solving. In spite of this increasing popularity previous attempts to model the political, economic, and demographic determinants of collaboration have in most cases produced inconsistent results, thereby undermining the ability to generalize from such findings. Additionally, our understanding of the relational patterns that emanate from collaborative agreements remains fairly rudimentary. The main objective of this research is to address some of the gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of collaborative governance …

Challenges Of Implementing Defense Policies To Deter Hostile Actors In Space And Cyberspace, Stephan Dwayne Bjerring Powers

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Space and cyber operations have changed national security for both nations and non-state actors worldwide. The low barriers to entry have allowed less sophisticated nations and actors to have an impact on the U.S. and near-peer nations. The lack of attribution and the ability to obfuscate the source of the space or cyber weapon will make the case for wartime retaliation difficult. The highly proactive antisatellite weapons test conducted by China in 2007 and the alleged employment of Stuxnet against Iran's nuclear program by the United States and Israel illustrates the potentially destabilizing effects to high priority national programs. If …

Character Assessment: Three Essays, Collin E. Hitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I propose a new approach to measuring character skills. In the following three essays, my co-‎authors and I measure the effort that adolescent students appear to put forward on surveys ‎and tests. First, I examine the extent to which students simply skip questions or plead ‎ignorance on surveys. Second, I develop new methods for detecting careless answers, those ‎instances in which students appear to be "just filling in the bubbles." I show, using ‎longitudinal datasets, that both measures are predictive of educational degree attainment, ‎independent of measured cognitive ability and other demographic factors. Finally, I ‎demonstrate that international differences in …

A Comparative Study Of Urban Forest Management Programs For Three Major Cities In Santa Clara County: A Benchmarking Study, Suzanne Remien

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

How Code Enforcement Mitigates Hoarding In The Community, Jason Gibilisco

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

Does The California Public Employees’ Retirement System Have The Framework For A Sustainable Future?, Claudia K. Chang

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Mapping Technology On Fire-Based Ems Response Times In Santa Clara County, Angela Borland

Master's Projects

The goal of this research is to determine whether map technology and signal preemption technology contribute to lowering fire-based EMS response times in Santa Clara County. The research uses benchmarking among fire departments in Santa Clara County, the Bay Area, and large Western urban fire departments to determine which factors contribute to the success in meeting contracted response times. Findings from this evaluation were used to create recommendations for fire service leadership regarding resource use along the continuum of fire department-based EMS response to 9-1-1 calls for medical service.

The Tobacco Free College Campus: An Assessment Of Policy Implementation And Enforcement At The University Of Massachusetts Boston, Annie Mcdougall

Honors College Theses

To date, one of the greatest successes in the field of public health has been the nationwide awareness campaign about the negative health effects of smoking cigarettes and using tobacco. Smoking and tobacco use have been associated with a number of health problems including the increased risk of cancers and cardiovascular diseases (Office on Smoking and Health 446). The success of the anti-smoking initiative can be attributed to a number of public outreach methods including TV advertisement bans on cigarettes, an increase on taxes on cigarettes, the placement of the Surgeon General’s warning on cigarette packaging and smoking and tobacco …

Problem Analysis In Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma As A Driver Of Youth And Gang Violence, Laurie Ross Phd, Samantha Arsenault, Sergeant Miguel Lopez

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Problem analysis conducted by a university-based research partner can provide communities with data-driven options to address the local drivers of serious youth and gang violence. Situated in Worcester, Massachusetts, this article describes how after early childhood trauma was identified as a potential driver of adolescent and young adult violence, problem analysis using local data confirmed that being the victim or witness of a traumatic incident before the age of 12 was significantly correlated with involvement in violence in adolescence or young adulthood. While there is a robust literature on the relationship between early childhood trauma and later delinquency, local decision-makers …

Transition And National Capacity After Article 5 Compliance, Hans Risser, Christian Ruge

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In June 2014, State Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) met in Maputo, Mozambique, for the 3rd Review Conference of the APMBC, fifteen years after its entry into force. As the review conference approached, State Parties faced a growing call from civil society and some State Parties to commit to complete all obligations in the treaty as rapidly as possible. The majority of State Parties have already completed their APBMC obligations to destroy stockpiles of anti-personnel (AP) mines. However, surveying and clearing all known mined areas in a state’s territory in accordance with obligations under Article 5 of …

Examination Of Common Errors Committed During Eoc Operations: A Content Analysis Study, Michael Kenneth Ryan

Dissertations

One of the key aspects in the learning process, whether it is at an individual or organizational level, is the ability to recognize where errors occur. This is especially important in the field of public safety where small errors can present a serious threat to the safety of first responders and victims of disasters. Up to this point, there has been no systematic study to identify the most common errors that occur during emergency operations center (EOC) activations at the local level of government. Following the introduction, one chapter explores the history of emergency management and the difficulties local jurisdictions …

Planning For Aging In Place: Stimulating A Market And Government Response, Mildred Warner, George C. Homsy, Lydia J. Morken

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

Using a national survey of local governments, we explore the drivers of planning and service delivery for older adults. Our regression models find that planning for aging and elder engagement are the most influential factors explaining the level of community services for elders. Services are lower in less dense suburban and rural communities, and market-based services are lower in communities with more senior poverty. This creates two challenges for planners: to help generate a market response for aging services, and to articulate the link between the built environment and services so communities that lack supportive physical environments can become better …

The Future Of Aging In The Town Of Brewster: Brewster Council On Aging Needs Assessment Study, Jan E. Mutchler, Ceara Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Mai See Yang, Molly Evans

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes efforts undertaken by the Town of Brewster Council on Aging, in partnership with the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Brewster’s older population. The focus of this report is on two cohorts of Brewster’s residents — those aged 45 to 59, and the cohort of individuals who are currently aged 60 and over (“seniors”). The content of this report is intended to inform the Town of Brewster, the Brewster Council on Aging, and organizations that provide …

Age-Friendly Yarmouth Needs Assessment Report, Jan Mutchler, Ceara Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Molly Evans, Mai See Yang, Lindsey A. Baker, Hayley Gleason

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Communities throughout the nation are pursuing new strategies to promote health and quality of life among their residents. In 2014, the Town of Yarmouth joined the Age-Friendly Network through the World Health Organization and embarked on a five-year process to evaluate the community’s age-friendly features, plan for improvements, and implement change. The primary purpose of this report is to describe findings developed as part of the initial needs assessment phase of Yarmouth’s age-friendly initiative.

The Buried Pipeline Replacement Era: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Of Pipeline Replacement Strategies For The Santa Clara Valley Water District, Tony Ndah

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.