Digital Commons Network^™

Modern Policing, Reform Efforts, And Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices For Eyewitness Identification Procedures, Joseph M. Zlatic, Jeanie Thies

Missouri Policy Journal

This article discusses various avenues to law enforcement reform that have been proposed, especially in regard to adoption of evidence-based practices. The authors advocate for specific reforms regarding eyewitness identification policies and protocols, and offer an overview of the supporting research. A brief history of the challenges to police reform is presented with an emphasis on how political factors stymie success. The authors assert that expanding use of model policies for eyewitness identification, either through legislation or appealing to agencies to voluntarily adopt such policies, is relatively apolitical and requires minimal to moderate cost and effort.

Well-Being In Metropolitan Nebraska: 2021 Nebraska Metro Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most metropolitan Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago, are better off compared to their parents when they were their age and will be better off ten years from now. However, certain groups are more likely to be optimistic about their current situation and their expected future. Persons with higher household incomes are more likely than persons with lower incomes to think they are better off compared to five years ago, are better off compared to their parents when they were their age and will be better off ten years from now. And, persons with …

Planning For Evacuation And Sheltering Of Vulnerable & Medically Fragile Populations During The Post-Vaccine Period Of A Compound Hurricane-Pandemic Threat: After-Action Report (Aar) Summarizing Results Of A Workshop Hosted On September 27, 2021, Wie Yusuf, Converge Covid-19 Working Group, Old Dominion University, University Of South Florida

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

From the Executive Summary:

The CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Group’s Workshop on Planning for Evacuation and Sheltering of Vulnerable and Medically Fragile Populations during the Post-vaccine Period of a Compound Hurricane-Pandemic Threat was held virtually on September 27, 2021. The 137 workshop participants represented federal, state, and local governments, the nonprofit sector and advocacy organizations, businesses, and academic institutions. Participants primarily represented functional areas of emergency management, planning, and public health. Geographically, the workshop participants came from 20 states, primarily along the Eastern seaboard plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.

The Effects Of A Tactile Display On First Responder Performance, Michael Schwartz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Firefighting is a dangerous and difficult task. Simulation affords researchers and practitioners the ability to examine performance and training in adverse conditions while preserving life, offering repeatable scenarios, and reducing costs. Multiple Resource Theory is used in this study as a model for assessing alternate sensory channels for information delivery when the optimal channel is not available. Specifically, this study tests the influence of a waist-worn vibrotactile display to assist navigation when visibility is reduced in a firefighter simulation. The present study measures participants' objective performance and self-reported workload while navigating a simulated fireground. Results from 70 research participants revealed …

“You Can’T Hide Behind Being A House”: Examining The Policy Process, Design, And Implementation Of Short-Term Rental Regulations, A Case Study Of Nashville, Tn, Jamie L. Cathey

All Dissertations

Following the economic crash of 2008, the rapid expansion of platform capitalism and the recruitment of others to work for themselves using a company’s platform, has led to a ‘paradigm shift’ in which a sharing economy business model has enabled small entrepreneurial endeavors to become industry giants (Srnricek, 2017). One such platform, Airbnb, has created a new, informal tourism accommodation sector that is bringing with it questions of regulation and community impact. Airbnb regulation thus is a growing national and international trend affecting cities of all sizes and forcing policy response and change at the local government level. Current trends …

Where To Start? A Tool For Thinking About The Sdgs And Community Foundation Work, Katie Leone, Tessa Lesage

The Foundation Review

The merits of advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are widely agreed upon by the global community, but designing and applying strategies to do so at the local level can be challenging. This article aims to support community foundations in moving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development forward in practical ways by exploring the use of a point-of-entry wheel to create a shared language that can help community foundations align their local efforts with the global goals.

Since 2012, Collaboratory has been exploring the potential for integrating sustainability — encompassing economic, social, and environmental pillars — as a strategic …

Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult Esl Enrollment, Allison M. Eckert

Master's Theses

This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into …

Recruitment Machines, Community Power And Political Return On Investment (Proi): Economic Development Policy In The Age Of Amazon, Eric G. Griego Montoya

Political Science ETDs

ABSTRACT

A fundamental policy choice in economic development among local policy makers is the appropriate mix of “outside” strategies that use incentives to attract companies, and “inside” strategies that invest in smaller and local businesses. Using a mixed-methods research design, including national and state surveys along with qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with policy elites, I examine the role of ideology, elites, community, competition, social capital (trust and influence), and electoral politics in these policy decisions. I use new descriptive theoretical frameworks called “recruitment machines” and “Political Return on Investment (PROI)” to describe how and why local elected officials support …

A Guide To The 87th Texas Legislative Session, José Menéndez, Pearl D. Cruz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Challenges and potential solutions during the 87th Texas Legislative session.

Risk Communication In The Tourism Industry, Lindsay E. Usher, Ashley Schroeder

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

This chapter focuses on risk communication in the tourism sector. Tourism organizations must communicate with a variety of stakeholders when conveying messages about impending severe weather or disasters, which are increasing due climate change and sea level rise. There is also an increased need to distribute information to tourism stakeholders about preparing for, continuing service during, and recovering from, disasters. Stakeholders involved with the tourism industry include business owners, government officials and tourists, all of whom have differing degrees of vulnerability in a destination when a threat occurs. Different messages regarding disaster preparation and recovery must be communicated to the …

Communicating And Co-Producing Information With Stakeholders: Examples Of Participatory Mapping Approaches Related To Sea Level Rise Risks And Impacts, Pragati Rawat, Khairul A. Anua, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Jon Derek Loftis, Ren-Neasha Blake

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This chapter discusses practical approaches for using participatory mapping as a tool to visualize and communicate sea level rise (SLR) and climate change risks, to share information about the vulnerability to, and threats of, climate change, and to co-produce knowledge with stakeholders. The examples presented in this chapter are from demonstrated applications in communities in Virginia (USA) that involve participatory mapping and that utilize a web-Geographic Information System (GIS). The web-GIS is innovatively combined with other technologies and participatory processes to create low-cost high-tech approaches so that even people with little to no knowledge of GIS can interact with maps …

Jordan's Public Policy Response To Covid-19 Pandemic: Insight And Policy Analysis, Wa’Ed Alshoubaki, Michael Harris

Public Administration Faculty Research

The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how the Jordanian government has responded and continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilizes the interpretive policy analysis approach through document analysis. The analysis showed that Jordan created social protection policies to assist people who lost their jobs or whose work was suspended due to the coronavirus. The economic policies build solidarity and facilitate the private sector’s recovery. The health care measures firmly applied included lockdown, wearing masks, and restrictions on gatherings and public events. Jordan uses hard power and imposes sanctions on any violation that threatens …

Understanding E-Scooter Incidents Patterns In Street Network Perspective: A Case Study Of Travis County, Texas, Junfeng Jiao, Shunhua Bai, Seung Jun Choi

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Dockless electric scooter (E-scooters) services have emerged in the United States as an alternative form of micro transit in the past few years. With the increasing popularity of E-scooters, it is important for cities to manage their usage to create and maintain safe urban environments. However, E-scooter safety in U.S. urban environments remains unexplored due to the lack of traffic and crash data related to E-scooters. Our study objective is to better understand E-scooter crashes from a street network perspective. New parcel level street network data are obtained from Zillow and curated in Geographic Information System (GIS). We conducted local …

Should We Wear A Mask? Household Assessment Of Mask Wearing For Covid-19 In Ya’An, China, Leonard Peterson

Dissertations

In late 2019 and 2020, the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus spread worldwide and resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic, the second deadliest pandemic in modern history since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Since the virus was novel, no therapeutics and vaccines existed. Effective implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions was essential to reducing the transmission of the disease until the discovery of effective therapeutics and vaccines. This study explores the influence of the facilitating protective action attribute on adopting mask-wearing as a protective action in Ya’an, Sichuan Province, China. The study found that perceptions of mask effectiveness to reduce the probability of contracting and spreading …

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Of Transportation And Driving Habits At Gettysburg College, Flavia Soctto D'Antuono, Megan G. Wojnar

Student Publications

By tracking the overall emissions put out by a college campus, mitigation strategies can be researched to lower total emissions. This study utilized a survey for both the student body and faculty and staff members at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This survey allowed this study to answer three research questions; what is the total number of Scope 3 emissions at Gettysburg College, how do these findings compare to findings from 2009 and the 2016 STARS report for Gettysburg College, and if any potential mitigation strategies are welcomed by the campus community. This study examined five major driving related emission …

Agents Of Place: Negotiations Between Artist And Government In Philippine Public Art, Pristine L. De Leon

Fine Arts Department Faculty Publications

The paper inquires into public art produced by artists and government authorities. It interprets collaboration as a site of negotiating various interests; holding possibilities for both disruption and complicity; antagonism and amelioration. The research considers two art projects in the Philippine context: first; the Paoay sand dunes sculpture park made between 2012 and 2015 in the Northern Ilocos region; and second; the ongoing Pasig River Art for Urban Change; beginning with Bakawan in 2015 in the Philippine capital Metro Manila. As both involve the artist Leeroy New (b. 1986) working with different government agencies; the paper tracks inconspicuous shifts not …

Infrastructure Risk Reduction: The Case Of Drinking Water Emergencies, Mark Paine

Dissertations

Public water systems are an integral part of community infrastructure. Drinking water contamination or service disruptions have the potential to cause economic losses, limit fire suppression capability, and result in human illnesses. Until 2016, the United States federal government had not issued a disaster declaration due to contaminated water. The first federal drinking water disaster declaration due to contaminated water serves as a sentinel event demonstrating the need to increase focus on public water systems during all phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. Previous studies evaluating risks to vulnerable populations associated with drinking water primarily utilized qualitative …

Examining Media Dependency And Parasocial Relationship On Protective Action Behaviors During Covid-19, Amy Hyman

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the significant role that mass media plays in disseminating messages to the public during disasters and public health crises. Information disseminated during a disaster influences individuals’ decision-making process regarding protective actions, or mitigation behaviors. This study examined the relationship between media dependency theory, parasocial relationship, and media effects (cognitive, affective and behavioral) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach was used with a convenience sample. The sample focused on residents in the state of Arkansas and specific generational cohorts. The results found that the generational cohorts had different media preferences during the height of …

The Influence Of Social Capital On Risk Attitude Toward Covid-19 Amongst Traditional Undergraduates, Jordan Titera

Dissertations

This dissertation assesses the influence of the three types of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) on the risk attitude of traditional undergraduate students (under 25 years old who enroll directly from high school, attend full-time, and do not have major life and work responsibilities). The research is motivated by three research questions: (1) What is the risk attitude of traditional undergraduate students surveyed about COVID-19 (addicted, seeking, tolerant, averse, paranoid); (2) What are the social capital characteristics for traditional undergraduate respondents surveyed; and (3) What influence does social capital have on the risk attitude of traditional undergraduate students regarding …

Urban Mayors Press-Fall 2021, John S. Watson Institute For Urban Policy & Research At Kean University

Urban Mayors Policy Center

The Urban Mayors Press is a digital newsletter created to highlight the impactful work of New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA) members and to provide resourceful information to municipalities throughout New Jersey from federal, state and local agencies.

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol. 46-C, No. 10, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Ab 5 And Ab 2257 Impacts On Small California Public Agencies, Sarah Robustelli

Master's Projects

With the recent changes, government agencies are struggling to define worker status under the new laws (DeBlanc and Safarloo, 2020). The interest in eliminating independent contractors is tied to concerns about workers in the private sector, specifically the gig economy, being denied appropriate pay and benefits, yet even government agencies are affected by AB 5 changes (Andoyan, 2017, Bergman, 2020). Traditionally, small public agencies use contractors frequently for professional services, specialists, backfill positions, recreation, geographic information systems (GIS), and much more. This research analyzes the following question: What is the impact of Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) and Assembly Bill …

Cultural Districts Advocacy Guide, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Cultural districts strengthen our cities and communities and support the development of thriving places and people. Support for cultural districts is a high-return investment as their value is immense, multi-layered and far-reaching. However, while those benefits are embraced by many, not all believe it. Increasingly, cultural leaders are being challenged to demonstrate how supporting the arts and culture advances other agendas; from attracting investment to fostering liveable communities and enabling public safety.This advocacy guide makes a case for support of cultural districts as a necessity for building thriving places and people. Importantly, it provides a core set of ideas and …

Arrangement Of Joint Commitment In Protection Of Human Rights In The Region Of Asean, Surya Nita

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Protection of human rights must be carried out wherever humans are. The state’s obligation to fulfill, to respect, to protection is an obligation for every country, including all ASEAN countries. Human rights crimes that occurred in ASEAN countries require joint commitment arrangements between ASEAN countries to ensure the protection of human righrs in each country. So There is a need for a study to analyze the joint commitment arrangements in protecting human rights in the ASEAN region. Based on the explanation above, the study problem boundaries are formulated as follows: 1. How is the joint commitment arrangement for protection of …

Is Arizona’S Senate Bill 1070 A Degenerative Policy? Latinos Say Yes, And No. Implications For Latinos And Democracy In A Trump World, Karina Moreno

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Schneider and Ingram’s theory of policy design (1997) states that policy making includes a process through which knowledge is socially constructed and is a domain in which power elites are able to manipulate symbols, rhetoric, images, and distort logical lines of inquiry to justify policies that privilege certain social groups while stigmatizing and disenfranchising others. Policies act as lessons, and individuals, in turn, then internalize messages on their value to society based on the policies that are assigned to them. Using qualitative data in the form of in-depth interviews conducted with Latinos in Arizona, this paper asks, Is Arizona’s Senate …

In The Midst Of An Epidemic: How Print Media Shapes Policy Feedback To The Opioid Crisis, Peter S. Federman

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

As opioid addiction has spread across the country, media discourse around opioid abuse has consistently increased. A content analysis of local newspaper articles from the state of Massachusetts reveals that political and administrative officials conceive of Narcan in distinct ways. Administrators, including police and fire officials, see Narcan as a means to accomplish their organizational mission. Conversely, elected officials are primarily concerned with cost, legal ramifications and the broad impact of the opioid crisis, remaining disconnected from street-level concerns. In delineating these divergent perspectives, this article provides two unique contributions: first, it applies policy feedback theory as a framework to …

Reimagining Public Safety In The Aftermath Of George Floyd, William J. Benet, Joseph Mcmillan

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Following the murder of George Floyd, the U.S. Congress called upon the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) to play a role in the reimagining of policing in America and a transformation of policing from a warrior to a guardian mentality. In turn, NOBLE partnered with the Institute for Polarities of Democracy (also referred to as the Institute) to conduct an analysis of the 21st century policing report. In this article we summarize the results of a year-long Phase 1 analysis carried out by the Institute and NOBLE. The Phase 1 analysis was conducted with support from the …

Radioactive Waste Management In St. Louis, Amanda Lopez

Undergraduate Research Symposium

In St. Louis, MO, we face a nuclear waste dilemma due to the poorly disposed uranium ore materials in the West Lake and Bridgeton landfill areas. The ethical dilemma can be seen as nuclear waste's intergenerational implications and the search for sustainable development options. This research evaluates the most environmentally responsible radioactive waste management strategies and attempts to find an equitable solution to the St. Louis radioactive waste dilemma.

Use Of Public Benefits Over The First Year Of Pandemic: Exploring Access, Delays And Outcomes, Sam Bufe, Stephen Roll, Katie Kristensen, Dan Zhao, Mathieu Despard, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

In response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. federal government enacted initiatives designed to help households weather the pandemic’s effects. These initiatives included expansions of existing programs, such as unemployment insurance, as well as new programs like the economic impact payments. In this brief, we investigate the extent to which households relied on an array of public benefit programs over the course of the pandemic, how they used their economic impact payments, and the extent to which the unemployment insurance expansion was effective in insulating recipients from hardship during the pandemic.

We find that, in …

Advancing Gender Equity Through Legislation: Overview Of Select Laws Passed From 2014–2020, Maria J. D’Agostino, Nicole M. Elias

Publications and Research

Advancing Gender Equity through Legislation: A Compilation of Laws Passed from 2014 - 2020 aims to provide New York City residents with information about legislation passed under the de Blasio administration that aims to promote gender equity in the city.