Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Opportunities And Challenges From Major Disasters Lessons Learned Of Long-Term Recovery Group Members, Eduardo E. Landaeta

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Natural hazards caused by the alteration of weather patterns expose populations at risk, with an outcome of economic loss, property damage, personal injury, and loss of life. The unpredictability of disasters is a topic of concern to most governments. Disaster policies need more attention in aligning mitigation opportunities with disaster housing recovery (DHR). The effect of flooding, which primarily impacts housing in coastal areas, is one of the most serious issues associated with natural hazard. Flooding has a variety of causes and implications, especially for vulnerable populations who are exposed to it. DHR is complex, involving the need for effective …

Covid-19, Digitization, And The "New Normal" For Municipal Government: A Study Of Three Ontario Cities, Justin Lee Grainger

Major Papers

The COVID-19 pandemic is viewed as both an unprecedented challenge and an impetus for digital transformation. During the pandemic, a “new normal” discourse emerged predicting a surge in digitization that would radically and permanently change organizations. This paper examines how the pandemic has affected municipal governments through case studies of the City of Windsor, City of Kitchener, and City of Burlington. It compares how each city adapted to the pandemic through digitization and investigates if such changes have transformed citizen participation and governance in the cities under study. The paper focuses on two ways citizens engage with local government: voting …

Who’S Laughing Now? Satire’S Effect On Negative Partisanship, Emma West

Honors Theses

“Negative partisanship,” most basically defined as the phenomenon whereby Americans largely align against one party instead of affiliating with the other, has grave implications for democracy: it has already affected productivity in Congress, the acceptance (rather, lack thereof) of election results (e.g. 2016), and watered down the importance of ideology in American politics. Parsing the independent variables that influence negative partisanship is vital in combating its detrimental effects, and this project proposes satire as a possibility. An analytical history of both topics is explored. Interestingly, psychological mechanisms for interpreting satire and the out-party share many similarities in mechanisms of subjective …

Recommendations For Sustainable Tourism In Patagonia: An Exploratory Analysis Of Sustainable Tourism In Costa Rica, The Nordic Region, And Thailand’S Communities, Julia K. Lowery

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores different levels of governance and its role towards actualizing sustainable tourism in Patagonia. With the growing threat of climate change, international destinations such as Patagonia are looking to continue building their tourism industries in a sustainable way. Through analyzing case studies of national governance in Costa Rica, multi-national governance in the Nordic region, and community-based tourism in Thailand, we can better understand how each form of governance has the potential to create a sustainable tourism industry. With this understanding of successful governance in my case studies, as well as understanding the historical and political forces that have …

Governance Practice Between Monarchies And Republics: A Case Study Of The Political Reform In The United Arab Emirates And The Republic Of Tunisia From 1990 To 2021, Zaid Alkdidi

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Political Reform is one of the indicators of the governance process, which can be correctly used to build the state and to support its role at all political, economic, and social levels to achieve good governance. From this, it can be said that political reform is positively linked to governance. Thanks to political reform, governance became an essential method that is applied in public policies within states that attempt to achieve by consolidating participation, democracy, and development.Practically, this study seeks to analyze and determine which of the two regimes, Monarchy or Republic is the most effective and successful to achieve …

Three Essays On Governance, Inequality, And Social Equity, Sarah Ausmus Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Comprised of three essays, my dissertation is linked by a common focus: the relationship between state or local governance arrangements and inequality or facets of social equity. I draw upon a range of literatures to motivate my research questions and inform my methodologies—welfare and social policy, public economics, intergovernmental relations, public finance and management.

In the first essay, I ask: does localizing welfare governance impact geospatial access to the social safety net? This is an important question because proximity is highly salient to program utilization. I geocode the location of human services nonprofits from tax filings in eight states using …

Young People’S Perception Of Opportunities To Participate In Democratic Governance, Jennifer Nga Yu Tang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989) accords all young people the right to be heard and make decisions on matters affecting them. Despite the fact the United States remains the only country in the world not to have ratified this document, a number of American cities have nevertheless begun to engage young people in community decision-making (e.g., in neighborhood associations or community boards). However, as of yet there are few actual opportunities for youth to participate fully in the governance of their cities. This study examined the perspectives of young people …

Wicked Ideas For Wicked Problems: Marine Debris And The Complexity Of Governance, Dawn Helene Driesbach

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Myriad challenges regarding earth's common spaces, those unregulated by sovereign state authorities, mount and intensify as resources diminish and competition for commercial, scientific and security advantages increases; the pollution and degradation of those spaces simultaneously expands. Threats to the global commons complicate efforts to achieve international consensus which impedes attempts to develop effective governance. As an example, marine debris is a growing problem and is an existential threat to the global commons.

This dissertation aims to characterize marine debris as a wicked problem and explores the complexity of governance in the global ocean commons by answering two fundamental questions. Under …

Approaches To Urban Land Use Governance: Conservation Or Housing Development?, Zlata Nourie

Public Administration ETDs

Around the globe cities are growing and expanding in size. The increase in urban areas changes the face of our planet. Since every city, county, and state have a set amount of land that they can conserve or develop, this thesis investigates factors that impact land conservation or land development for housing. It also establishes the relations between land use, economic, social, and environmental processes in the selected area. From the very beginning, this paper researches different approaches to land use that help municipalities maintain and use their land resources.

The focus of this research is an area of land …

The Progressive Transformation Of Medellín- Colombia: A Successful Case Of Women's Political Agency, María Auxiliadora González-Malabet

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Medellín, Colombia, once one of the most corrupt and violent cities in the world, is now one of the most progressive and democratic cities in South America. This transformation was due to the mobilization of women’s movements and the influx of women in the city’s executive branch. Female political agency and new urban development programs reshaped democratic practices for the citizenry. This research examines the robust association between women’s organizations, women from Compromiso Ciudanano (CC), and a solid and active civil society. The theoretical framework covers democratization, good governance, and Latin American/Indigenous Feminism. The sources include interviews, polls, news articles, …

Conceptualizing Governance Decision Making: A Theoretical Model Of Mental Processes Derived Through Abduction, Matt Loesch

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The field of Public Policy and Administration is heavily influenced by the decisions individuals make regarding matters of governance. These types of decisions can affect a broad scope of government-related activities ranging from esoteric debates about political ideology to policy development to specific ways in which people directly interact with public services. Unfortunately, in the view of this research, there is no sufficient model for conceptualizing governance decision making. This creates the focus of inquiry for this work, which is to examine how governance decisions are conceived of and formulated. The purpose of this research is then to analyze the …

Youth Voice And The Promise And Peril Of Affirmative Governmentality: An Analysis Of New York City’S Borough Student Advisory Councils, Hillary R. Donnell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study addresses civil society and the state’s shifting approach towards the incorporation of youth in governmental decision-making since the 1990s, and the recent ascendance of youth voice councils as a method of civic engagement. It uses the New York City Youth Leadership Council Initiative and the Borough Student Advisory Councils as case studies. Relying on the author’s ethnographic participant observation and youth-voice frameworks, the paper provides an analysis of the individual, organizational and systems level effects of the New York Department of Education’s BSAC program. Further, the paper discusses affirmative governmentality as a lens through which to critically examine …

From Inclusive Governance To Peace: Exploring African Governance Systems, Karolina Werner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation defines and explores the concept of inclusive governance, highlighting linkages between inclusion in governance, legitimacy, and peace. Focusing specifically on the inclusion of traditional, local systems of governance in state government, I explore the unique role traditional institutions have as a bridge between the communities they serve and the government. I examine the relationship between governance, quality of inclusion, legitimacy, and sustainable peace through case studies, challenging prevailing narratives and conceptualizing inclusive governance through a reflexive analysis of existing literature, theory, and empirical evidence.

I offer a case study analysis of Uganda highlighting the relationship between state government …

The Promise(S) Of Resilience: Governance And Resistance In Complex Times, Alix Olson

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation is a contribution to Contemporary Political Theory that considers the ways in which the rise of the concept of “resilience” across contemporary social and political life is fundamentally re-ordering how we understand ourselves, one another, the world, and possibilities for action. My research examines the production and deployment of knowledge about resilience in domains of the popular wellness industry, domestic and global policy-making institutions, philanthropic foundations, insurance companies, scientific and social scientific academic research, socio-ecological justice movements, feminist science fiction and critical theory. In this exercise, I do not denounce resilience (further narrowing possibility) but orient my reader …

Foreign Aid And Political Stability In Post-Colonial Africa: A Case Study Analysis, Justine Biettron

LSU Master's Theses

Is foreign aid helpful or harmful in African countries? Even though scholars have tried to answer this question for decades, it is still unclear if foreign aid has efficiently helped the African continent to overcome the challenges that arose with the end of Colonization. A priority for the African countries was to reorganize the institutions in order to reestablish autonomous and stable system of governance. An important amount of help for this reconstruction has come from external actors, that have been referred to in the literature as foreign aid. In this paper, I seek to test the relationship between the …

Crime On The High Seas: What Conditions Are Necessary To Achieve Effective Maritime Governance Regime?, Michael A. Celic

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores why international maritime governance regimes have inconsistent rates of success. The global community relies on the world’s oceans for food, trade, and resources. Therefore, the regulation of these oceans is necessary to provide adequate passage through its waters and the management of all the resources they supply for the mutual benefit of all. Although there are international laws such as the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), many of these laws fail to address current global threats and have proven inadequate in forming proactive collective responses. It is particularly problematic addressing transnational criminal …

Collaborative Governance And Anticorruption In Postwar Monrovia, Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public sector corruption is a major problem in Monrovia. Successive national

governments have instituted anticorruption measures in the 1970s and 2000s, and anticorruption agencies were established to eradicate corruption. However, there appears to be a significant lack of resources and political willpower to prosecute corrupt government officials. A failure to curb political corruption indicates that current policies are not working. Government works when there is a perception that it delivers results and that the needs and safety of the citizenry are protected. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to gain a deeper understanding of public sector corruption at …

The Dream Defaulted: Foreclosure, Crisis, And Hope In Baltimore, Maryland, And Detroit, Michigan, Heidi M. Rafferty-Reijm

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, the late 2000s were a time of crisis that tested many urban decision-makers. The recession that started in 2007 was defined by a severe crash in the housing market and the proliferation of mortgage foreclosures across the country. Foreclosures occurred in urban, suburban, and rural communities, but had a particularly devastating impact on larger, older cities and their low and moderate-income neighborhoods. These cities had been dealing with economic and population decline for half a century. In many of their urban neighborhoods, foreclosures affected as many as one in four households and added yet another challenge …

The Impact Of Governance In Sports Institutions On Olympic Achievements From Decision-Makers' Perspective In The United Arab Emirates, راشد إبراهيم المطوع النعيمي

Theses

The success of sports institutions depends on the extent of achieving outstanding sports results not only at the local level but on all regional and international levels. Hence, efficiency of sports institutions is measured by the number of achievements, especially at the Olympics level as it is the highest rank in the hierarchy of sports achievements. The present study begins from a basic assumption that the weakness of the UAE’s Olympic achievements is due to the governance pattern and management and leadership styles in various sports institutions and especially in the sports federations and sports clubs. In this respect, this …

Innovative Governance And Natural Resource Management In Kenya: Procedural And Substantive Outcomes Of Civil Society Participation, Jane Omudho Okwako

Dissertations

Kenya’s environmental sector is embracing co-management to address major threats to wildlife. In the past two decades, the Municipal-Community-Private Sector Partnership (MCPP) model evolved to address the threats. This dissertation seeks to explain variations in partnership outcomes. It evaluates whether the model as introduced empowers communities to be conservation stewards.

This study hypothesized the impact of five variables. These are decentralization of power, elite support, capacity of community organizations, partnership formalization, and resources expended. The findings confirm that three variables are indispensable and two minimally influence empowerment. More decentralized management structures are enabling and supportive of empowerment. However, empowerment is …

'You Are Who We Say You Are': The Politics Of Ethnicity In Post-Genocidal Rwanda And Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stephanie A. Sugars

Senior Independent Study Theses

The establishment of peace in post-genocidal states is vital, as the experience of extreme division and violence can scar a population, contributing to violence and inequality moving forward. Existing literature on post-conflict transition and governance argues that two main systems are typically used: consociationalism and assimilationism. While consociationalism argues for heterogeneity in the state and assimilationism for homogeneity, both of these systems use the institutionalization of identity as a step in post-conflict recovery, through such means as proscribing or privileging particular identities. This study posits that this is inherently flawed, as attempts to institutionalize identity ignore its contextually fluid or …

Traditional Governance Influence On Democracy In Africa, Kofi Afful

Dissertations and Theses

The spread of democracy in the global community has been rampant since the end of World War II. On the continent of Africa, as a collective of countries are recent newcomers as sovereign states to this governmental practice. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the political development of African countries since the end of colonialism and the systems of government that countries are practicing since independence. Alongside the current system of government, there is a need to analysis the connections between pre-colonial institutions whether or not if they are complimentary or antithetical to democracy in African countries. Lastly, …

Space Cops And Cyber Cowboys: An Institutional Comparison Of The Governance Of Space Exploration And The Internet, James Luther Gilley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A growing concern for human society is the question of technology, how they are to be used and how can they best be governed. The very question of whether technology is governable remains for the most part unexplored. This work will seek to examine these important questions. By utilizing a historical institutional perspective, two case studies of the governance of technologies that have emerged in the last century will be explored. Space Exploration technologies and the advanced networking of computers known as the Internet will serve as the case to illuminate the question of governing technology. Deep qualitative functional analysis …

The Nature Of Authentic Governance: A Treatise On Democratic Rhetoric And Rhetorical Democracy, Daniel L. Foster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Democracy is a form of governance that allows for the flourishing of human potentiality. Unfortunately, democracy has become less of a means of governance and more of a rhetorical device to secure the consent of the people to be ruled by the elite few. Thus the current study seeks to disrupt this hegemonic means of control through an explication of authentic governance and democracy in order to demonstrate that the current manifestations of governance associated with democracy are inauthentic. To begin, authentic democracy -direct or as it is constituted here, rhetorical democracy- can foster a citizenry of active and empowered …

A Wolf In Military Clothing: A Case Study Examination Of Lone Wolf Terrorism And The Roles And Responsibilities Of Government Agencies, Peter Bandel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the fall of September, 2011, there has been a major increase in awareness and study of global terrorism. Academia, the media, politicians, and the average citizen all have varying definitions, ideas, and concerns about terrorism. The focus has mainly been on international terrorism. Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda have permeated the discussion. However, there is a growing concern of the "lone wolf terrorist." A lone wolf terrorist acts without a terrorist organization and is capable of having his/her own radical agenda with the audacity and simplicity to carry it out solely and enact great damage. The focus in the …

Climate Change Displacement And Global Governance: A Case Study Of Three Intergovernmental Organizations And The Conflict Between The Member States And Bureaucracy, Andrea C. S. Berringer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Climate change is a topic most often broached by environmental scientists and activists and its effects are discussed in terms of animal populations and atmospheric events. However, its direct effect on human life is yet to garner such attention. A changing climate will affect how people are able to use their environment, if at all. Sea level rise and desertification will force a shift in human habitation. How the world seeks to deal with this shift is yet to be seen. The global governance of climate change-induced displacement is currently at the stage of ad hoc development. Legal and conceptual …

Prospects For Political Reform In China, Jody Lee Tomlin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is intended to analyze levels of institutional confidence in China. The purpose is to measure the relationship between changing political and cultural values with modernization and levels of institutional criticism. To analyze institutional criticism modernization and political culture theories are used. Using these theories together offers explanatory power as to what political and cultural values may change and why changes in confidence in governance may occur. These theories include socioeconomic, traditional, and political values to measure institutional confidence in 1990 and 2007. The examination of traditional versus modernization values imply that individuals possessing these opposing values display different …

Toward Democratic "No-Rule": A Conceptual Response To Contemporary Challenges To Political Freedom, Alexander W. Brockwehl

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I argue that different conceptions of freedom yield different manifestations of governance. I demonstrate that in the United States, a private conception of freedom grounded in individual and state sovereignty has been repeated in political discourse with severe consequences for democracy. This conception of freedom derives largely from America’s founding, from a reliance on legal language, and from fundamental assumptions about the role of the people in governance. It institutionalizes social and political hierarchies through promoting and protecting individual autonomy. In contrast to this dominant form of freedom, I sketch an alternative that encourages public engagement, political …

Problematizing Executive Prerogative In Locke And Rousseau, Benjamin Joseph Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The organization of this paper is composed of three main sections. The first section intensively analyzes the discourses of John Locke. Thoroughly combing through Locke's reasoning the concept six fundamental principles of executive prerogative are derived. This provides a basis for comparison and understanding.The second section investigates Jean-Jacques Rousseau's works as an alternative proposal to the static principles of Locke. In order to effectively gain insight on executive prerogative, the basis and purpose of proper governments must be thoroughly addressed. Through Rousseau's various works three tenets for proper governance are built. The factors that position Rousseau to advocate for executive …

Climate Change Displacement And Global Governance: A Case Study Of Three Intergovernmental Organizations And The Conflict Between The Member States And Bureaucracy, Andrea C. S. Berringer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Climate change is a topic most often broached by environmental scientists and activists and its effects are discussed in terms of animal populations and atmospheric events. However, its direct effect on human life is yet to garner such attention. A changing climate will affect how people are able to use their environment, if at all. Sea level rise and desertification will force a shift in human habitation. How the world seeks to deal with this shift is yet to be seen. The global governance of climate change-induced displacement is currently at the stage of ad hoc development. Legal and conceptual …