Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Roadmap To Recovery: A Strategic Plan For Westchester County Government To Increase Office Occupancy And Revitalize The I-287 Corridor, Britta Vander Linden

Master in Public Administration Theses

No abstract provided.

Correctional Education: Society Essential For Progressive Growth Or A Detrimental Use Of Taxpayers Money?, Danilo Guy

Master in Public Administration Theses

No abstract provided.

The Axe Without The Handle: An Exploratory Analysis Of Eco-Terrorism And Its Relationships To U.S. Public Policy Towards Terrorism:1990-2010, Phillip Andrew Smith

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

From 1990-2010 ecoterrorist attacks by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF) created an anomaly in the U.S. with millions of dollars in property destruction. Interestingly, in a post 9/11 era, the FBI warns that the number one threat to U.S. national security is not religious terrorism, but rather environmental-group terrorism. When examining this topic further, there is a void in analysis between examining ecoterrorist attacks and U.S. public policy. Is there a statistical significant relationship between terrorist attacks by ALF/ELF and U.S. public policy towards terrorism? Is per capita income an influence on the attacks occurring …

Conflict Between Saudi Arabia And Iran: An Examination Of Critical Factors Inhibiting Their Positive Roles In The Middle East, Ghadah Alghunaim

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Since 1979, Saudi-Iranian relations have been tense due to their position as superior powers in the Middle East. Both countries have different values and perspectives in regards to diplomatic relations with the West. As a consequence of the new developments in Iran's foreign policy and the newfound openness to the West adopted by President Rouhani, the topic has proven to be of research interest. The primary concern of this research was to explore the effect of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East, and whether or not there is a possibility to overcome this conflict using …

Complexity In National Policy Implementation: A Top-Down Look At The Failure Of Healthcare.Gov, Samuel Fandrich

Master in Public Administration Theses

No abstract provided.

Happiness In Public Policy, Laura Musikanski

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The happiness movement represents a new paradigm where social, economic, and environmental systems are structured to encourage human well-being in a sustainable environment. Bhutan has adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a way of determining its society’s success in contrast to purely economic goals and the singular use of the gross domestic product indicator. Bhutanese policy promulgation includes use of a GNH screening tool. In the United Kingdom, happiness indicators are being used to collect data and the government is starting to explore their application to policy. The Bhutanese GNH policy screening tool has been adapted for the grassroots activists, …

No Witness, No Case: An Assessment Of The Conduct And Quality Of Icc Investigations, Dermot Groome

Faculty Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Pursuing An Answer: Bureaucratic And Legal Accountability In Local Law Enforcement Pursuit Policies, Casey Lafrance

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

Using qualitative and quantitative data obtained from 30 interviews with local law enforcement managers (12 county sheriffs and 18 municipal police chiefs), this study explores the decision-making processes used by these managers in the context of a pursuit-related accident involving an innocent third party. My findings suggest that: (1) managers most often conduct internal investigations to ensure that their officers’ behavior demonstrated adherence to the agency’s standard operating procedures; (2) managers use multiple mechanisms, including consultations with legal actors and professional peers, to keep their pursuit policies updated with regard to case law; (3) policy restrictiveness shares a positive, but …

Introduction To Deliberation, Democracy, And Civic Forums: Improving Equality And Publicity, Chad Raphael, Christopher F. Karpowitz

Communication

Innovative forums that integrate citizen deliberation into policy making are revitalizing democracy in many places around the world. Yet controversy abounds over whether these forums ought to be seen as authentic sources of public opinion and how they should fit with existing political institutions. How can civic forums include less powerful citizens and ensure that their perspectives are heard on equal terms with more privileged citizens, officials, and policy experts? How can these fragile institutions communicate citizens' policy preferences effectively and legitimately to the rest of the political system? Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums proposes creative solutions for improving equality …

A Discussion Of The Impact Of Political And Economic Forces On Equitable Access To Potable Water In Ecuador And Recommendations For Improvement Through Better Watershed Management, Eliza States

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis will address the impact of political and economic forces on the equitable access to fresh water in Ecuador. Demographic factors such as the rural-to-urban migration and the political and economic forces have strongly influenced the debate over the privatization of the provision of potable water and sanitation services. Within the context of Ecuador, two different approaches by the largest cities, Quito and Guayaquil, are analyzed; in Guayaquil, the services were privatized, while in Quito, the public utility was corporatized, remaining under public control. It concludes arguing that in the face of political instability and a lack of regulatory …

Arab Authoritarianism And Us Foreign Policy, Ki Chun Luk

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This qualitative research aims to examine the nature and reasons for America support for Arab authoritarian regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and to provide further details by examining the inferiority of liberal cultures and superiority of realist approach and continuation/discontinuation of this existing approach after/during the Arab Spring by case studies. In order to have a systematic analysis, alternative theoretical models, including a revised national interest model, the neoclassical realist US grand strategy model (Dueck ,2008),the international conditions analysis by Petras (2011),and US domestic politics model will be examined. Currently, the issue under study suffers from little systematic …

Structural Limits Of Liberal Neutrality: Understanding Problems For Sustainabiity, Madison R. Williams

Scripps Senior Theses

Liberalism is a political philosophy that is “committed in the strongest possible way to individual rights, and, almost as a deduction from this, to a rigorously neutral state” (Walzer 99). It takes its “constitutive morality” to be a “theory of equality that requires official neutrality amongst theories of what is valuable in life” (Dworkin 203). For this reason, some theorists say Liberalism and the idea of environmental sustainability are not in conflict with one another. According to Mike Mills, because the commitment to neutrality means there is “no given set of policies associated” with Liberalism, any outcome is plausible (168). …

Making Parts Instead Of Children : Policy Feedback And No Child Left Behind, Jody Maria Schmid

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Most of our hopes and dreams for public education rely on how well teachers teach, and major federal education policies often need teachers to serve as their primary implementers. Yet we know very little about how teachers' responses to federal education policies affect their teaching, their identity and their motivations. Research on "policy feedback" recognizes that policy targets derive important lessons from public policies and political discourse, but there are gaps in terms of how, when and why relationships within organizations, institutions, or communities mediate these effects on policy implementers and citizens. This dissertation uses cultural policy analysis, and in-depth, …

Negotiated Bodies : Institution Building And Participatory Policymaking In Mexico's Public Health Sector, Katherine Truby

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the relationships between the state and civil society organizations within the context of HIV policy in Mexico. The Mexican context is important in this analysis: Mexico has relatively recently transitioned to a more democratic form of governance, including expanding institutional opportunities for civil society organizations to participate in processes of policy development and implementation. Further, Mexico has an HIV epidemic that is concentrated in the most at-risk communities. These communities typically face political and social exclusion. The extent to which civil society organizations advocating on behalf of these marginalized communities successfully negotiate the creation of new policy …

Unpacking The Impact Of Democracy On Terrorism, Issares Lertangtam

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

While policy makers assert that democracy can reduce terrorism, academics have produced differing theories explaining the relationship between the two. One theory suggests that democracy discourages terrorism because citizens in democracy can express grievances through electoral process resulting in their less incentive to resort to violence. Another theory argues that democracy encourages terrorism because its enabling environment reduces the cost of terrorist activities. Still another contends that democracy increases terrorism because political contestation in democracy induces some groups to use violence to outbid for their cause. Other strands exist including one suggesting no relationship between democracy and terrorism. These controversial …

Brief 9: Undp: Reviving A Practical Human Development Organization, Craig N. Murphy, Stephen Browne

Governance and Sustainability Issue Brief Series

Constant reform has characterized the UN Development Programme (UNDP) throughout its existence, say the authors of two recent books on UNDP. Change bespeaks an organization ready to adapt but also fundamentally uncertain about its proper role. It teeters between two sets of tensions—as coordinator of and competitor within the UN development system, and as exerting priorities from the center while seeking to be flexible in its program countries. These tensions should be resolved, and enable UNDP to be the UN’s sustainable human development organization.

The Psychic Health Of A Life Worth Leading And The Necessary Role Of Obedience For Nietzsche, Betty Craipo

2014 Symposium

This research project demonstrates Friedrich Nietzsche’s intention to direct the weak as well as the strong toward a life worth leading during each individual’s lifespan, by way of a long-term obedience in a focused direction, unique to each individual. Nietzsche identified barriers of the social order that hinder the flourishing of one’s psyche and ascertained the steps necessary for one to hurdle those barriers. This research entailed reading much of Nietzsche’s work and numerous critiques while collaborating with my mentor, Dr. Thomas Hawley, when Nietzsche’s philosophic caginess became overwhelming. Ultimately, Nietzsche concluded that the type of obedience chosen by a …

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …

Environmental Regulation, Michelle C. Pautz

Political Science Faculty Publications

The terms environment and regulation are commonplace in political and policy debates about the natural environment, the role of science, and the behavior of government. Indeed, these terms reference a very contentious area of public policy and are emblematic of the growing tensions between science and politics. This chapter overviews the definition, types, and history of environmental regulation before turning to the intersection of science and politics in environmental policy and considering current and future challenges for this aspect of governmental activity.

State Child Welfare Policy: Causes And Consequences, Dana D. Connelly

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

On any given day almost 400,000 children in the United States are living in an out-of-home care placement due to government intervention. Federal law allows for substantial variance in state child welfare policy on a number of topics. These policy decisions, however, are understudied both in terms of the forces driving them and also the impacts the policies have on actual outcomes for children in care.

Utilizing a unique panel data set comprised of thirteen child welfare policies that vary both between states and over time we examine how well redistributive theory (constituent, institutional, paternalistic and resource pressures) explains state …

How Civil Society Represents Women: Feminists, Catholics, And Mobilization Strategies In Africa, Alice J. Kang

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

In recent years, civil society has risen to speak on behalf of underrepresented groups in Africa. In particular, civil society has advocated for the representation of women’s interests. Yet, relatively little is known about the full range of actors who seek the representation of women’s interests, mobilize around women’s issues, and articulate specific preferences. Some of these actors include not only feminists, but also religious activists who may clash over women’s issues. This gap in knowledge, moreover, extends to non-democratic countries. Who in civil society seeks to influence the representation of women’s interests and how, in both democratic and authoritarian …

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …

Using Big Data And Quantitative Methods To Estimate And Fight Modern Day Slavery, Monti Narayan Datta

Political Science Faculty Publications

Given the hidden, criminal nature of contemporary slavery, empirically estimating the proportion of the population enslaved at the national and global level is a challenge. At the same time, little is understood about what happens to the lives of the survivors of slavery once they are free. I discuss some data collection methods from two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) I have worked with that shed light on these issues. The first NGO, the Walk Free Foundation, estimates that there are about 30 million enslaved in the world today. The second NGO, Free the Slaves, employs a longitudinal analysis to chronicle the …

Sex, Slaves, And Saviors: Domestic And Global Agendas In U.S. Anti-Trafficking Policy, Chelsea L. Thompson

Scripps Senior Theses

In this thesis, I problematize the United States’ response to the global phenomenon characterized as human trafficking. The framing of trafficking as policy issue takes place in the context of politicized claims about the nature and prevalence of trafficking, its relation to the sex industry, and the kind of response that is required. U.S. anti-trafficking policy was built and shaped in the context of fears about immigration, global labor, and the sex industry. As a result, trafficking has been used to justify oppressive domestic reactions such as border crackdown, scrutiny of immigrant and sex worker communities, and victim “protection” that …

The Spillover Effects Of Conflict On Economic Growth Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Karen Elizabeth Trevino

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The violence and insecurity that Mexico has suffered since former President Calderon's war on drugs has come at a grave economic cost to the cities most affected. Businesses and citizens in counties that shared a border with the United States, however, have the ability to move their capital and businesses in search of regaining profits that had been lost due to the insecurity in their cities. These specific counties are considered to be interdependent borderlands, which signify that these borders are in a border region where one nation is symbiotically linked with the border region of an adjoining country. This …

Ben Judah: Fragile Empire Study Guide, 2014, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Eva Brann: The Music Of The Republic Study Guide, 2011-2014, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Terry L. Anderson And Peter J. Hill: Birth Of A Transfer Society Study Guide, 2014, Steven Alan Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Continuing Resolutions: The Influence Of Temporary Spending Restrictions On Monthly Expenditure Patterns Of Federal Agencies, Thomas Alexander Jacobs

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, and many federal agencies rely on annual appropriations to fund activities and programs. Nonetheless, the federal government often enters a new fiscal year without a fully approved budget, which actuates the requirement for a temporary means of funding government operations. Congress and the president provide provisional resources by way of continuing resolutions which enable the operation of government programs until regular appropriations are enacted. However, continuing resolutions are restrictive by design and may have unintended effects on government spending behavior beyond the timeframe to which the resolutions apply.

This …

Charter School Locations Across The U.S. And Their Influence On Public School District Revenues, Peter A. Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Since Minnesota passed the first charter school law in 1991, charter schools have become one of the most prominent school reforms in the U.S. While charter schools educate a small portion of public school enrollments, their existence has prompted various responses from traditional public school districts. For example, districts may change expenditure patterns or work to increase test scores in an effort to retain enrollments. In this sense, a charter school’s most significant impact on public school students may work indirectly through the traditional public school reactions they invoke.

This dissertation explores education finance implications for charter schools and their …