Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Transaction Costs Of Federal Environmental Policy Changes: The Effects Of The Temporary Covid-19 Cwa Rollback On Local Water Systems, Jesse Lee Barnes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An institutional dilemma exists between the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). US surface waters are protected from point-source pollution by the CWA. Community Water Systems (CWSs) that draw from these surface waters for potable purposes are required to treat that water to a level that meets SDWA health standards. Therefore, decreases in CWA regulations could lead to surface water quality declines and, thus, higher SDWA compliance costs for CWSs. This area of inquiry has become increasingly relevant due to Trump-era executive actions to try to decrease the federal government's role in multiple environmental policies, …

Diffusion Return: A Case Study Of New Orleans, Neiufi Iongi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study establishes and explores the concept of diffusion return. This study utilizes a qualitative case study of the city of New Orleans and their regulation of short-term rentals to establish and explore diffusion return. A network map is constructed of cities that diffused short-term rental regulation information with New Orleans. Information movements are sketched with the network map, and the resulting patterns illustrate how diffused information travels both inward and outward across jurisdictions. Additionally, thematic analysis is applied to qualitatively analyze data gathered from five interviews with New Orleans city staff, three short-term rental reports. and public meeting minutes …

A Cautionary Tale From Nevada's Desert-People Before Company: A Case Study On Economic Development Approaches In Nevada, Ryann P.S. Juden

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project utilized a mixed methods research design consisting of a case study of Nevada to explain the state’s reliance on company-based government incentives to attract new businesses to the state. Additionally, the project applied a comparative analysis of Brazil’s and Tennessee’s use of company-based government incentives, and a more detailed comparative analysis of Virginia’s people-based government incentive approach to economic development incentives to explore policy alternatives available to decision makers. This project used the historical institutionalism approach to show how policymakers have certain institutionally dominated predispositions impacting policy outcomes leading to a path dependency where rational choice theory’s credit …

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Revolution: A Case Study Of Public Policy In The Nevada Legislature, Caitlin J. Saladino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explain the dynamics of metropolitan policymaking in Las Vegas, Nevada. This study utilizes advocacy coalition framework to show how underlying beliefs among policy actors, and within the coalitions they form, impact decisions made at the level of the Nevada Legislature. As the newest metropolitan region to emerge among the top 30 metros in the United States, a case study exploring Las Vegas offers a unique contribution to existing literature in public policy and urban affairs. In the wake of economic downturn in the Great Recession and the adoption of a new …

Missed Opportunities: The Effect Of Cps Involvement On Trafficking Victims In The Delinquency System, Kelly Rae Stout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children and youth involved in the child welfare system are an incredibly vulnerable population that could potentially have an increased risk for being sexually exploited. In 2014, Federal Public Law 113-183 mandated that all child protective service (CPS) agencies in the United States improve services of commercially sexually exploited children and youth (CSEC). This federal directive requires that states and counties train their staff in identifying and helping children who have been or are at risk for being trafficked. To explore this complex issue, quantitative methods were used. The data were analyzed for CPS engagement among the CSEC victims identified …

Factors That Impact Direct Democracy And Voter Turnout: Evidence From A National Study On American Counties, Michael Joseph Biesiada

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines factors that impact citizen initiatives and voter turnout. The dissertation contains two parts that build upon each other with fitting theoretical frameworks. The first part investigates the decision for a county government to permit citizen initiatives. This part applies new institutionalism theory as a framework to examine county governance, autonomy, and decision-making. County governments play a vital role in American politics, yet little is known about why some counties permit citizen initiatives while others do not. I address a gap in the literature that focuses on policy outcomes that vary at the county-level due to election laws. …

The Effectiveness Of State Ethics Commissions On Curbing Corruption And The Effect Of Corruption On State Economic Performance, Anthony J. Prato

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies implemented across the United States that significantly reduce public sector corruption. In addition to the normative desire to combat corruption, it documents, the economic impact that corruption has on each state's per capita gross domestic product. To investigate public sector corruption articles between the years 2010 – 2015were reviewed for news stories that report on public sector corruption at the state level and below. The practical implications of this dissertation, if incorporated into a state level anti-corruption policy, could be used to reduce public sector corruption and increase that states' economic health. …

Hearts And Minds: An Analysis Of Checks And Safeguards, Monitoring, And Performance Review Of Executive Boards And Their Executive Directors Within Select Nonprofit Corporations., John Michael Wagner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Horror stories of ineffective nonprofit organization management arise in the media far too often. When these stories emerge, the public demands accountability from those responsible. Ultimately, accountability rests with the fiduciaries of the organization. For nonprofit

organizations in the United States, fiduciary responsibility and accountability reside with the board of directors.

Board governance has been widely studied in the for-profit sector. Due to the critical nature of the work nonprofits perform, there has been an increasing effort to study board governance in nonprofit organizations. Employing in depth interviews, with both executive

directors and board members, checks and safeguards such as …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Process Of Transitioning Out Of The Military And Into Civilian Life From The Acculturation Perspective, Wilisha C. Daniels

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of transitioning of veterans the perspective of acculturation. The study explored the lived experience of veterans, by attempting to gain a better understanding of the transition process of post 9/11 military members.

The study used the acculturation framework to view the experiences of transitioning from military to civilian culture. Limited research exists examining the connection between acculturation and transitioning for veterans. The phenomenological methodology was used to explain the veterans’ experiences.

The study revealed that TAP, the government-mandated transition program did very little to prepare veterans transition back to the …

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 …

A Program Evaluation Of The State Of Nevada's Certified Public Manager Program, Carolyn Faircloth, Pat La Putt, Diana Ritter, Shawntay Tyler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The State of Nevada Certified Public Manager (NVCPM) Program is a nationally accredited leadership development program that has been designed to prepare managers and supervisors in the public sector. A program evaluation of the NVCPM Program was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the services delivered to program participants in terms of development of leadership skills and career advancement. In addition, this evaluation examined the value that the NVCPM provides to the agencies that the participant worked for related to the implementation of the participant’s Capstone Project. This evaluation also sought to compare the NVCPM Program with other accredited programs …

[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) …

Program Evaluation For The Nevada School Of The Arts, Cherie Garrity, Lisa Levine, Angela Phillips, Izack Tenorio

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A program analysis and evaluation of the Nevada School of the Arts (NSA), a forty-year-old non-profit organization that provides musical education and advocates for the arts in Southern Nevada, was conducted. This paper serves as the completed report for the Nevada School of the Arts program evaluation and provides thorough analysis, findings from the graduate students’ research, observations, and recommendations for the organization to voluntarily accept.

Policy Analysys And Program Evaluation: Real Talk Youth Impact Program, Carlton Monroe, Liam Maccaul, Natalie Lorenzano, Vincentiu Anghel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Real Talk’s effectiveness on having a positive impact with at-risk youth here in Southern Nevada. Using data collected by Real Talk, the goal was to find new strategies for the program to further expand its outreach based on the impact they have made on the students that have successfully completed the program.

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 …

Volunteer Management In Faith-Based Organizations, Cheryl Regina Coleman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) rely heavily on volunteers to carry out their mission, making volunteer labor fundamental to an organization’s business operations and outcomes. A review of the literature revealed a significant gap in managing volunteers effectively in a nonprofit, faith- based setting. The standard business management practices typically employed when managing volunteers lack effectiveness in nonprofit FBO environments. Employing for-profit management practices to managing volunteer labor in nonprofit settings is especially challenging given the uniqueness of nonprofit organizations that rely on volunteer over paid labor. Challenges include the organization’s values, mission, identity, social goals, outcomes, and ideological characteristics. The purpose …

Corporatized Higher Education: A Quantitative Study Examining Faculty Motivation Using Self-Determination Theory, Aaron Dale Brown

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The intent of this research is to offer a quantitative analysis of self-determined faculty motivation within the current corporate model of higher education across public and private research universities. With such a heightened integration of accountability structures, external reward systems, and the ongoing drive for more money and institutional prestige, this study examines faculty attitudes towards their work and the institution using Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory (SDT).

Under the corporatized model of higher education, a gap is found in the literature that explores the role of SDT’s three innate needs (i.e., autonomy, competency, and relatedness) and their effect …

Clark County Department Of Family Services, Parenting Project, Julie Owens, Natalie Grajeda, Stephanie Thelen, David L. Olivieri, Fredric Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Clark County Parenting Project offers a series of free programs to help parents become more effective in raising their children. This program evaluation focuses on Teen Triple P, one of the six programs offered by Clark County, evaluating the effectiveness of the program to the community. The Parenting Project partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Public Policy and Leadership to be a participant in a program evaluation. The evaluation will serve as a tool to determine the overall effectiveness in meeting program goals and objectives as well as determining strengths and weaknesses in program implementation.

A​ Program Evaluation Of Outside Las Vegas’ Ymca Education Program, Robin Mendoza, Kevin Schmidt, Arcelia Barajas, Branson Chun

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Today, more than ever, society needs high-quality environmental education programs that succeed in moving values and changing behaviors in the direction of sustainability and conservation. The most common definition of outdoor education comes from "education in, about, and for the outdoors" (Donaldson and Donaldson, 1958, p. 63). They described outdoor learning as taking place “in” the outdoors and the subject matter being “about” nature or the outdoors. There are a variety of studies about “outdoor learning” with a large variation of topics, activities, settings and channels of delivery. The research discussed in this paper will vary slightly to demonstrate the …

Building An Evaluation Framework For The Smith Center’S Education & Outreach Department, Melissa Jacobowitz, Chris Helda, Stephanie Hernandez, Rico Casillas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Smith Center, Clark County’s premier performing arts center, offers professional development opportunities through their Education and Outreach Department to teach local educators how to incorporate arts integration strategies into their classrooms. Research has shown that arts education, particularly in the form of arts integration, can bolster student achievement, increase student engagement and motivation, develop critical and creative thinking patterns, and boost social competences, such as collaboration and self-confidence. Given the great possibility of improving student achievement via arts integration and the poor educational outcomes that the Clark County School District has been struggling with for years, The Smith Center’s …

Food Rescue Program Evaluation Three Square Food Bank, Anna Caputo, Rich Easter, Rosa Rosas, Mark Sakurada

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With 48 million Americans currently struggling with hunger, addressing food insecurity in U.S. communities remains a persistent issue in need of a remedy. Conversely, food waste is the single largest material deposited in American landfills, with an estimated 70 billion pounds wasted annually. The recovery of this food waste, or “food rescue” in food banking jargon, offers an ideal solution to fight hunger in our communities. With Three Square Food Bank (Three Square) consistently seeking to increase food rescue and distribution in its efforts to eliminate hunger, the need to ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency through programmatic change and improvement …

The Impact Of Environmental Factors On Policy Decisions As It Relates To Community Development Block Grant Allocations, Al G. Gourrier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For decades urban centers across the country have experienced significant transition in demographics, population, composition of workforce, and the industries that constitute their economic base. The Federal Government has sought to address the issues of urban cites through a series of urban polices. This study explores one of the more prominent and sustained urban policies, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and evaluates a series of political factors on local decision making in the allocations of Community Development Block Grant dollars.

Using path analysis, the research explores the statistical significance of social, economic and political factors combined with historical …

Thank You For Your Time! Would You Mind Donating To Our Cause? The Effect Of Gratitude On Prosocial Behavior, Matthew L. Hortt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A random assignment experiment examined the effects of three expressions of gratitude on two prosocial behaviors: volunteering and making monetary donations to charitable organizations. The results indicated that two of the expressions of gratitude had a significant opposite effect on the two prosocial behaviors. Both a verbal thank-you speech and a hand written thank-you note, resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of pledged volunteer hours, while resulting in a significant increase in the amount of pledged charitable dollars. The third expression of gratitude, a ten dollar thank-you gift card, produced no significant findings for either prosocial behavior. The …

Citizen Participation Within Mental Health Planning And Advisory Councils, Ronald W. Strickland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation studies citizen participation, mental health care and block grants. Each state has a Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council (MHPAC) that is required by the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program. Councils must consist of at least 50 percent citizens. This dissertation looked at MHPAC activity levels of the 50 states (and Washington, DC) and developed an activity level index to measure council activity from 2008-2011. Two main questions were posed. First, do planning council differ in their level of activity? If so, what explains this variation? Second, do differences in activity levels of MHPAC’s explain variations …

Program Evaluation Of Clark County Department Of Family Services, Parenting Project, Marissa E. Duke, Emily Elzeftawy, Michael D. Spies

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Clark County Department of Family Services, Parenting Project, hereinafter referred to as Parenting Project, partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Environmental and Public Affairs to participate in a program evaluation. The evaluation will serve as a tool to determine the effectiveness of the services delivered to the community by Parenting Project and to aid them in overall program improvement and implementation. This Program Evaluation focuses on two of the six core parenting classes that are currently offered free to the public, more specifically the Nurturing Parents and Families program and the ABC’s of Parenting. The …

An Evaluation Of Clean The World, Las Vegas Volunteer Program, Chanton Cox, Bassem Dahdouh, Madison Rousell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background

Student evaluation team, AVID Advising, conducted an evaluation of a not for profit organization, Clean the World, Las Vegas Volunteer Program from February 2015 through August 2015. The pre-­‐ valuation consisted of an analysis of the organization’s growth since opening its Las Vegas doors in 2012, staff responsibilities, and their volunteer program. As a result of the pre-­‐ valuation, AVID Advising and Clean the World Las Vegas Manager, Kevin Williams determined an evaluation on the existing volunteer program would be most beneficial to the organization.

Purpose

The primary purpose of this evaluation is to provide Clean the World, Las …

Rainbow Company Youth Theatre Program Evaluation, Ambrosia Crump, Dydia Garcia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A.D. Consulting was tasked to conduct a program analysis and evaluation of Rainbow Company Youth Theatre (RCYT), a nationally recognized award-winning youth theatre program who has been operating for almost 40 years, under the auspices of the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs. Based on the feedback received from RCYT staff, A.D. Consulting determined that the program evaluation question would be, does participation in Rainbow Company Youth Theatre meet the objective of the organization, which, although not formally stated, is to improve the lives of youth served, and ultimately make “better people”. The evaluation conducted had the following …

Community Advanced Data And Research Analysis: A Mixed Methods Capstone Project, Michael Bernarndo, Brandie Green, Amber Konold, Kathryn Weavil

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Community Advanced Data and Research Analysis project, or CADRA, is project that houses an interdisciplinary research team located at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The vision of CADRA, as defined by its stakeholders, is to create positive community outcomes by encouraging and engaging nonprofit organizations, as well as student and professional researchers, to develop and evolve their data management practices. CADRA offers three program options including Nonprofit Audits, Program Development and Grant Writing, and Community Data Mining. The purpose of this program evaluation will be to evaluate the Community Advanced Data and Research Analysis (CADRA) Project, with a …

International City/County Management Association 1999 Revenue Estimation Survey Revisited, Benjamin Bond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 1899 the National Municipal League declared that it was the duty of the Mayor to submit to the Council the annual budget of current expenses of the city, for almost as long, the budgeting process has been researched (Hou, 2006). Researching budgets is important and needed but comparatively little attention has been paid to revenue forecasts or to those responsible for the generation of revenue forecasts. Professional public administrators responsible for generating revenue forecasts have largely been overlooked in research. Judging by the lack of scholarly material available in academic journals, it appears the political process in which budget …

Foundation For An Independent Tomorrow: Treatment Effects Of The Stages Of Employment Job Readiness Program On Program Completion And Employment Outcomes For Ex-Offenders, Michael Hammer, Stephanie Pocchia, Stacy Howell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow (FIT) is a local not for profit organization that seeks to assist residents of Southern Nevada by providing workforce development services (e.g., interviewing skills, job searching techniques, resume assistance) to increase a program participant’s opportunities to obtain and maintain employment. FIT is currently being federally funded through the Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Act (WIA) grant, with a specific goal of serving the re-entry, or ex-offender, population. This population presents with a very unique set of barriers to obtaining employment, and in order to combat these barriers, FIT created the Stages of Employment job readiness …