Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

U.S.-China Economic And Security Review Commission: Emerging Factor In Western Pacific Strategic Policy Analysis, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Those studying and analyzing Western Pacific strategic trends and develop- ments have access to multiple unclassified analyses of security trends in this region covering these waters and adjacent countries. These information resources are produced by military and government agencies from multiple countries, multinational public policy research institutions, popular and scholarly journals, and Internet resources featuring text, data, webcasts, and imagery. One of these resources is the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission established in the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act. This article argues that this organization’s analyses should be considered essential reading by civilian and military policymakers and individuals and …

Inside The Coal Industry’S Rhetorical Playbook, Steve Schwarze, Jennifer Peeples, Jen Schneider, Pete Bsumek

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

If citizens have heard anything about the upheaval in the U.S. coal industry, it is probably the insistence that President Obama and the EPA have waged a “war on coal.” This phrase is written into President-elect Donald Trump’s energy platform, which promises to “end the war on coal.”

Rapport Development And Native Language Use Between U.S. Advisors And Afghan Counterparts, Sean Ryan Ryan

2017 Program & Posters

This phenomenological symbolic interactionism study of rapport and native language use between 15 Afghan counterparts and their U.S. advisors involved semi-structured interviews informed by social exchange theory, servant leadership theory, role theory, and the Army conceptual rapport framework. Native language appeared to contribute to perceptions of respect, understanding, commitment, and trust supporting rapport.

"Tell Him I'M Gone" On The Margins In High-Tech City, Rachel Brahinsky

Politics

No abstract provided.

Engagement In A Public Forum: Knowledge, Action, And Cosmopolitanism, Jennifer F. Brewer, Natalie Springuel, James Wilson, Robin Alden, Dana Morse, Catherine Schmitt, Chris Bartlett, Teresa Joihnson, Carla Guenther, Damian Brady

Geography

Facing challenges to the civic purpose of higher education, some scholars and administrators turn to the rhetoric of engagement. Simultaneously, the political philosophy of cosmopolitanism has gained intellectual favor, advocating openness to the lived experiences of distant others. We articulate linkages between these two discourses in an extended case study, finding that a cosmopolitan ethos of engagement in a rural context can improve (1) understanding among people ordinarily separated by spatialized social-ecological differences, (2) prospects for longer term environmental sustainability, and (3) the visionary potential of collaborative inquiry. Despite globalization of food systems and neoliberal shifts in fishery management, an …

Institute For Public Policy National Poll - October 2017, Institute For Public Policy

Public Policy Poll Results

The Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy leveraged a quantitative research methodology to address the following areas of investigation:

• Thoughts on the quality of life in Connecticut
• Awareness of Connecticut's current budget crisis
• Visions of how the state might solve this budget crisis
• Ideas for how Connecticut can become more business friendly
• Concerns over Connecticut's energy prices
• Confidence in federal, state and town governments' ability to address various issues throughout Connecticut
• Awareness of NFL player protests and thoughts on athlete protests during football games
• Demographic profiles of respondents

An Analysis Of China’S Regional Emissions Trading System: Challenges And Lessons, Ronghui (Kevin) Zhou

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

China, the largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, has faced environmental pressures both internationally and domestically over the last ten years. In early 2011, the Chinese government approved a carbon emissions trading program in seven cities and provinces, and started planning a national emissions trading framework. This thesis reviews these pilot programs and examines the issues that underlie them. Drawing lessons from the U.S. Acid Rain Program, the European Union’s ETS, and California’s CAT, the three largest emissions trading frameworks in the world, I find that: (1) lack of trades in China’s pilot programs is a consequence of permit …

The Strategic Challenges Of Urban Warfare, Christian Aditya Niksch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With urbanization on the rise, policymakers cannot ignore urban conflicts. In the aftermath of the Cold War, several scholars were of the opinion that primitive modes of fighting, such as close combat, would cease to be used. However, as urban spaces have increasingly become battlefields in the 21st century, there has been a retrogression to a brutal and bloody mode of fighting. This return of primitivism affects the tactics that the military can use in urban warfare, which makes it a daunting strategic challenge. A combined focus on policy, strategy, and operations is necessary to improve thinking about how exactly …

Deborah Olsen Public Service Scholarship Essay, Maura Hand

Examples of Student Work

In this essay, Maura Hand reflects on the ten weeks she spent interning with the State Department's Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) in San Francisco, California.

Election 2016: Voter Turnout And Results Across Oregon, Kevin Curry

Metroscape

Metroscape went inside the numbers from the 2016 general election. We examined Oregon’s new "motor voter" law to see if it affected turnout and to better understand the new voters added to the rolls in the ‘Beaver State.’ We looked at voter turnout and election results in Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark and Skamania counties in Washington to answer several questions about the 2016 General Election.

Sebastian Gorka: Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War Study Guide, 2017, Steven A. Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Study Guide

Civic Dignity And Meaningful Political Participation, Melissa Mahoney Smith

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation looks at how enhanced political participation opportunities can increase individual liberty and improve public-sector reform efforts. It blends political theory with contemporary concerns for individual well-being and government accountability. To do this, several research methodologies are used, including normative, qualitative process-tracing, and quantitative analysis.

First, the dissertation draws insights from ancient and modern political philosophy and the political thought and example of Jane Addams in 19th Century Chicago. It begins with Josiah Ober’s work on civic dignity, which he defines as “equal high standing” among citizens, marked by “non-infantilization and non-humiliation.” This definition is a useful starting point …

Happiness Index Methodology, Laura Musikanski, Scott Cloutier, Erica Bejarano, Davi Briggs, Julia Colbert, Gracie Strasser, Steven Russell

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The Happiness Index is a comprehensive survey instrument that assesses happiness, well-being, and aspects of sustainability and resilience. The Happiness Alliance developed the Happiness Index to provide a survey instrument to community organizers, researchers, and others seeking to use a subjective well-being index and data. It is the only instrument of its kind freely available worldwide and translated into over ten languages. This instrument can be used to measure satisfaction with life and the conditions of life. It can also be used to define income inequality, trust in government, sense of community and other aspects of well-being within specific demographics …

Happiness In Communities: How Neighborhoods, Cities And States Use Subjective Well-Being Metrics, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley, Scott Cloutier, Erica Berejnoi, Julia Colbert

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay, the fourth and last of a series published by the Journal of Social Change, is intended as a tool for community organizers, local policy makers, researchers, students and others to incorporate subjective well-being indicators into their measurements and management of happiness and well-being in their communities, for policy purposes, for research and for other purposes. It provides case studies of community-based efforts in five different regions (São Paulo, Brazil; Bristol, United Kingdom; Melbourne, Australia; Creston, British Columbia, Canada; and Vermont, United States) that either developed their own subjective well-being index or used the Happiness Alliance’s survey instrument …

What Impact Is Felony Disenfranchisement Having On Hispanics In Florida?, Angel E. Sanchez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research produces original empirical estimates of Hispanics in Florida’s Dept. of Corrections (FDOC) and uses those estimates to measure the impact felony disenfranchisement is having on Hispanics in Florida. Research institutions find that data on Hispanics in the criminal justice system, particularly in Florida, is either lacking or inaccurate. This research addresses this problem by applying an optimal surname list method using Census Bureau data and Bayes Theorem to produce an empirical estimate of Hispanics in FDOC’s data. Using the Hispanic rate derived from the empirical FDOC analysis, the rate of Hispanics in the disenfranchised population is estimated. The …

Failure Or Adjustment?: An Analysis Of The Slowing Growth Of The Chinese Economy, Kay G. Degraw

Honors Theses

With GDP growth for the 2016 fiscal year reported at 6.7%, it appears that the Chinese economy has departed from the three-decade period in which GDP growth averaged plus-10%. While both academic journals and media outlets have accredited this slowdown to a variety of factors, existing research has failed to conflate the economic and political factors into a comprehensive explanation. Consequently, this thesis examines the causative factors behind the slowing of the Chinese economy though the analysis of three contesting plausibility probes centered on the impact of corruption, statism, and structural economic change. The results of the plausibility probes indicates …

From The Courthouse To The Backyard: The Gendered Impact Of Transitional Justice Mechanisms In Post-Genocide Rwanda, Nam Luu

Government and International Relations Honors Papers

In one hundred days between April 6 and July 15, 1994, the Rwandan genocide took away the lives of approximately 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus. The United Nations estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 individuals were raped or sexually assaulted during the genocide, and rape was used as a tool of war with a clear genocidal intent to destroy the enemy. Both men and women subjected to rape, gang rape, sexual torture, sexual slavery, sexual mutilation, and various other types of abuse and humiliation. As the genocide ended with the victory of the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Rwanda …

Drowning In Rising Seas: Navigating Multiple Knowledge Systems And Responding To Climate Change In The Maldives, Rachel Hannah Spiegel

Pitzer Senior Theses

The threat of global climate change increasingly influences the actions of human society. As world leaders have negotiated adaptation strategies over the past couple of decades, a certain discourse has emerged that privileges Western conceptions of environmental degradation. I argue that this framing of climate change inhibits the successful implementation of adaptation strategies. This thesis focuses on a case study of the Maldives, an island nation deemed one of the most vulnerable locations to the impacts of rising sea levels. I apply a postcolonial theoretical framework to examine how differing knowledge systems can both complement and contradict one another. By …

Laws, Norms, And The Institutional Analysis And Development Framework, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework has been described as ‘one of the most developed and sophisticated attempts to use institutional and stakeholder assessment in order to link theory and practice, analysis and policy’. But not all elements in the framework are sufficiently well developed. This paper focuses on one such element: the ‘rules-in-use’ (a.k.a. ‘rules’ or ‘working rules’). Specifically, it begins a long-overdue conversation about relations between formal legal rules and ‘working rules’ by offering a tentative and very simple typology of relations. Type 1: Some formal legal rules equal or approximate the working rules; Type 2: …

How China Is Preparing For An Ai-Powered Future, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D) may be challenged by China’s recent and centralized policy planning aimed at rapidly developing AI-related technologies. The Chinese government supports AI as a strategic area supported by high-level policies with ambitious and quantifiable targets, inter-ministry coordination, government funding for research and development, support for workforce development, and suggestions for international collaboration and expansion. Still, as a relative latecomer in the global AI race, China faces numerous challenges to implement its policy planning, including short-term skills gap and long-term institutional constraints.

The State House And The White House: Gubernatorial Rhetoric During The Obama Administration, Austin Peyton Trantham

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

What is the importance of political speechmaking? Do state governors discuss presidential priorities? This study addresses these questions by analyzing the contents of annual State of the State addresses given by governors from 2012 to 2014 during the presidency of Barack Obama. A descriptive paper provides evidence that governors primarily discuss employment and economic issues in their addresses, are discussing greater number of policy issues than in previous decades, and are delivering their address before the presidential State of the Union message. Examining health care and immigration policy in separate empirical papers, I theorize that contextual factors, including legislative partisanship, …

Considering Clausewitz Across Contexts, Laura Salter

Tenor of Our Times

Carl von Clausewitz’s On War has been heralded as one of the most influential theories of war. It has influenced statesmen as diverse as Dwight Eisenhower, Vladimir Lenin, and Adolf Hitler. After having been incorporated into various schools of thought, taught to soldiers and studied extensively, it begs the question: what explains the continuous relevance of Clausewitz’s theory, despite changing contexts and technology? This paper posits that Clausewitz presented war as an extension of politics composed of a trinity of forces, used methodology that would transcend eras, and wrote about war’s very nature. In doing so, On War gained its …

Evolutionary Paths And Confining Cages: The Genealogy Of American State Constitutions, Nancy Martorano Miller

Political Science Faculty Publications

With this poster, Dr. Miller explained her work to identify how provisions and concepts in state constitutions are related to one another and evolved over time and to understand how the provisions in these documents impact the work of state officials in the policymaking process.

Her goals: 1. Provide a “genealogical” mapping of state constitutional evolution that will allow the testing of path dependency and other theories of institutional development. 2. Create a series of scores that can be used to assess the extent to which a state government’s capacity to act in a specific policy area (e.g., Health, Education, …

Information And Communication Technologies (Icts) And Citizenship, Kathrin Michaela Auzinger-Hotzel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Democracy depends on the civic and political engagement of individuals. Despite a growing body of research analyzing political engagement in the United States, little attention has been paid to the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and perceptions of citizens concerning civic participation. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between ICTs, perceptions of citizenship, and participatory preferences for 18- to 35-year-olds in the United States. Applying Olson's theory of collective action, the goal of the study was to understand how ICT use influenced changes in perceptions of citizenship between 2004 and 2014. A repeated …

Corruption May Worsen In Democratizing Economies: But Don't Let It Erode Our Faith In Democracy, Shaomin Li, Ilan Alon, Jun Wu

Management Faculty Publications

This commentary is based on a recent study we conducted on the relationship between regime type, corruption, and economic development. We build a theory that links corruption and regime type to economic growth and test it on 158 countries, using multiple databases including Polity IV, transparency international, the World Bank, and others. We first distinguish three regime types, autocracy (dictatorship), anocracy (countries in early stage of democratization), and mature democracy. We found that when autocratic countries begin democratize, corruption usually gets worse. As the infant democracies mature, corruption decreases.

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Factors On Voter Turnout In The Republic Of Korea: Empirical Research For The Results Of 18Th And 19Th Presidential Elections, Hee Yup Yoon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study examines the relationship between socioeconomic factors and voter turnout in South Korea. In particular, the determinants of the turnout in the 2012 and 2017 presidential elections in the Republic of Korea are analyzed by using the aggregated data in terms of municipal-level divisions. The findings partially support previous studies. The education level and the percentage of primary industry workers in the district have a significantly positive impact on turnout. Holding the other variables constant, as the proportion of the population over higher education in the district increases, voter turnout grows. Likewise, as the ratio of primary industry workers …

Voices Of Cully: A Case Study Of The Living Cully Weatherization And Home Repair Project 2.0, Lucy J.T. Cultrera

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Cully neighborhood is situated in the Northeast quadrant of Portland, Oregon. It is 2.75 square mile plot of land and home to roughly 13,000 people. In addition to being one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Portland, it is the most densely populated, with the smallest amount of parkland per capita. Over the last two decades, home value has increased 203% in Cully, compared to a 90% citywide increase. Amidst these development trends are stories of incredible resilience, resistance and activism from the affected community. My project is a case study of one anti-displacement initiative, which was developed and …

Islamic State Online Recruitment: Narratives And Counter-Narratives, Makella Brems

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis looks beyond the sensationalized coverage of Islamic State and instead utilizes Islamic State materials as a window into the remote radicalization and recruitment process of susceptible English-speaking individuals in the West. This thesis considers Islamic State’s mode of operation in conjunction with the appeals made in its online materials to devise a framework for understanding how Islamic State materials interact with susceptible individuals. The framework lends insight into how the body tasked with creating counter-narratives within the U.S. State Department can more effectively disrupt the remote recruitment and radicalization process.

Assessing Electoral Process Challenges Through Poll Workers' Performance In Sub-Saharan Africa-Togo, Kokouvi Momo Amegnran

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Contenders disputing electoral results in Sub-Saharan African countries often attribute defects in presidential electoral processes to the implementation of rules and procedures. Yet despite the considerable decision-making authority poll workers are entrusted with and the significance of the tasks performed by therm, scholars have not closely investigated poll workers'contributions to elections' management in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using principal-agent theory as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to examine the challenges encountered in the organization of the presidential election in Togo, held on April 25, 2015, with a particular emphasis on poll workers' job performance. Research questions focused on …

Sustained Education Access For Homeless Youth: Case Study Of U.S. Transitional Living Programs, Heather Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Without interventions to address homelessness among youth, the risk of homelessness for future generations is great. As a result, the federal government has invested in funding Transitional Living Programs (TLPs), though it is not clear whether these programs have achieved the intended outcomes of helping youth transition from homelessness to being able to sustain employment and avoid poverty through access to educational and workforce programs. Using the broad conceptualization of democratic governance as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to assess whether access to educational programs through TLPs benefitted homeless youth in terms of program success. Data …