Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

A Look At The Interim Guidelines At Their Mid-Point: How Are We Doing?, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

4 pages.

Then And Now: Tracking A Federal Agency’S Threat Assessment Activity Through Two Decades With An Eye Toward The Future, Mario Scalora, William Zimmerman

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The following is an edited summary of a plenary session provided by the speakers during the 25th Annual Conference of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) Conference held August 2015.

We are going to talk a little bit about history. We are sorry to bore you with this again but this is going to be about the history of the Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section. In 1987, the command made a decision to develop a threat assessment unit. We were trying to find out who actually made that command decision but nobody claimed it. We credit our Chief of …

Apopo Annual Report 2015, Apopo

Global CWD Repository

I first met the amazing HeroRATs in 2008 when I was an APOPO deminer detecting landmines in Mozambique. I had been invited to APOPO’s HQ and Training & Research Center in Tanzania and was about to embark on my new career as a Mine Detection Rat Handler. Although I had worked with trained dogs before I was still amazed at the rat’s abilities; their speed and accuracy. The Tanzania team taught me about scent detection theory and technology, as well as animal welfare and veterinary skills. In return I told them about the suffering in my country. At that time, …

Democracy, Human Rights And Governance Empowerment And Inclusion Division: Leahy War Victims Fund, Usaid-Leahy

Global CWD Repository

Historically, the LWVF has devoted the major proportion of its resources to establishing and improving accessible and appropriate prosthetic, orthotic (P&O) and physical rehabilitation services. This is evidenced through its extensive investments in the establishment and maintenance of P&O workshops; promotion of professional training, standards, and accreditation for P&O technicians; and support for increased mobility and physical functioning in general.

An Impact Assessment Of The Armed Violence Reduction Project In North Western Kenya, Michelle Engels

Global CWD Repository

The current report will discuss an impact assessment of the AVR project. The impact assessment was made possible via the administration of the Pre & Post-Impact Assessments (PIA) survey. The PIA survey was designed for two purposes. Firstly, it was designed to establish a baseline on; i) the levels of community knowledge regarding small arms and SGBV, ii) the perceived prevalence of armed violence in the targeted regions, iii) the safety perceptions within the targeted communities, and iv) the knowledge within the targeted communities of appropriate reporting and security structures. The second function of the PIA was to act as …

Landmine Monitor 2015, Icbl-Cmc

Global CWD Repository

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor provides research and monitoring for the ICBL and the CMC and is formally a program of the ICBL-CMC. It is the de facto monitoring regime for the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It monitors and reports on States Parties’ implementation of, and compliance with, the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and more generally, it assesses the international community’s response to the humanitarian problems caused by landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). The Monitor represents the first time that NGOs have come together in …

Unmas 2014 Annual Report, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

For UNMAS, 2014 was the year of transparency, accountability and compliance. UNMAS proved itself to be an efficient, respected and trusted service provider for impacted communities, humanitarian responders, affected states and the United Nations system.

This year, a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Mechanism, established to measure progress of the Strategy of the United Nations on Mine Action 2013-2018 and to reinforce the United Nations impact in mine action, was launched across all UNMAS programmes.

This report details UNMAS achievements in 2014, the result of hard work, commitment and innovation.

Landmines, Explosive Remnants Of War And Ied Safety Handbook, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

This handbook is not an instruction manual for working with landmines and explosive hazards. It is not a guide for working with landmine, ERW and IED affected communities. Rather, its aim is to raise awareness and provide basic safety information concerning the threat of landmines, ERW and IEDs to organizations and individuals working in affected areas, and to help them:

• Establish appropriate safety procedures;

• Avoid contact with mines, ERW and IEDs and

• Take appropriate action in emergency situations.

Norwegian People's Aid Partnership Policy, Npa

Global CWD Repository

Norwegian Peoples Aid has a longstanding tradition of closely linking our international solidarity work and cooperation with people’s own initiatives and agendas. This implies the strengthening of their organisations as a strategy for the. empowerment of people and communities, as well as for their ability to influence the conditions under which they live. Such focus and purpose are reflected in NPA’s support of liberation movements and people’s organisations in communities where open conflict exists as well as in societies in the process of democratisation. These intentions are also reflected in NPA’s statements regarding its governing principles as well as in …

Individual Reports / Dissenting Opinions On Government Restructuring, Dayton Together

Records of Dayton Together (MS-603)

Members of the Charter Development Committee were encouraged to prepare one or more "Position Papers" relating to: individual opinion/preference regarding the structure of the metro government; and/or any provisions of the Charter the member wished to comment upon or about which the member wanted to offer a dissenting opinion or alternative point of view.

Charter Development Committee Operating Guidelines - Draft, Dayton Together

Records of Dayton Together (MS-603)

The Charter Development Committee will be co-chaired by Paul Leonard and Dan Foley. It will work with the Dayton Together Initiative (“Dayton Together”) to develop a draft Charter for the single county charter government, the Dayton-Montgomery County Metro Government or “Metro Gov”. A separate Charter Advisory Committee (“Advisory Committee”) wills then review and offer constructive feedback to the Development Committee beginning in mid-July.

High Times: Is The Federal Legalization Of Marijuana Next? What The Food And Drug Administration Could Learn From Its Existing Regulations, Christopher B. Erly

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

This student comment examines the efficacy of marijuana being regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The author discusses and applies potential FDA regulatory models that could be used to regulate marijuana. The comment concludes marijuana could be easily regulated under the current Food and Drug Administration regulatory scheme and suggests that marijuana should be regulated in a manner akin to tobacco rather than as a drug.

Implementing (Environmental) Justice: Equity And Performance In California's S.B. 535, Meagan Tokunaga

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis evaluates the equity performance of a recent state environmental justice policy, California’s Senate Bill 535 (S.B. 535). “Environmental justice” refers to the disproportionate environmental harm imposed on low-income and minority communities. S.B. 535 uses competitive grants to provide funding to these communities. The research is centered around two questions: (1) to what extent has S.B. 535 experienced successful implementation in its first year of operation, and (2) how can policy actors improve implementation while balancing performance and equity goals? In regards to the first question, I utilize a case study of the policy’s implementation within 17 local governments …

We Left Lassie Behind: Defense Personnel Relocation, Animal Abandonment, And Shelter Impacts, Gabriele Griffiths

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When Department of Defense (DoD) personnel receive orders to relocate to a new duty installation, nearly one third abandon their companion animals, which negatively affects the local shelters' costs, personnel, and capabilities to provide quality care for shelter animals. There is a lack of research on relevant policies among local government policy makers, installation commanders, directors of animal shelters, and animal rights advocates about the abandonment of companion animals by DoD personnel. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to investigate the relationship between the influx of abandoned DoD companion animals and the management and logistical (including financial) …

Improving The Experiences Of Informal And Formal Alzheimer's Disease And Dementias Caregivers, Roxroy Anthony Reid

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Informal and formal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) encounter a more difficult and unique set of challenges than do caregivers of individuals with general disabilities. If adequate caregiver supports are not provided, caregivers may experience increased strain as the disease progresses, increasing the likelihood of unnecessary institutionalization of their care recipients and increasing the cost to the public. Using rational choice theory and political systems theory, the purpose of this study was to differentiate between the phenomenological experiences of formal and informal caregivers of ADRD patients. The overall research was a qualitative design that used …

Army Medics With College Degrees Who Transitioned To Civilian Life, Alex Giberson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Few colleges and universities have adopted the practice to provide credits for the majority of undergraduate coursework for military career training. Easing the transition from military to civilian life has become a priority for the Department of Defense, yet there is a significant gap in empirical knowledge regarding the potential benefits of a college degree on soldiers exiting the military. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of Army Medics who have transitioned back into civilian life after graduating from a college degree program that grants significant credit for military training. This phenomenological study used a …

A Phenomenological Study Of Leaders' Perceptions And Experiences In Local Government, Janet Elerene Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An emerging crisis in the public sector of the United States is that local government organizations are unable to recruit and retain leaders. A large proportion of high-level and mid-management public administrators leave the profession within a 5-year period. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore, identify, and describe patterns in the experiences and perceptions of local government administrators to promote career longevity. The central research questions were designed to determine whether work adjustment theory accurately described the lived experiences and perceptions of the subjects' career success in local government. Data collection included in-depth interviews with 10 current …

College Mission Change And Neoliberalism In A Community And Technical College, Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators of 2-year colleges are working in an environment where they seek to balance the social development of the student and the community's demand for a trained workforce to achieve economic development. This balance has resulted in ambiguity about the mission and purpose of 2-year colleges. The purpose of this case study was to explore a community college's experiences with mission change by exploring the interaction between a neoliberal public policy environment and the traditional social democratic mission of academia. Harvey's conceptualization of neoliberalism was used as the theoretical framework. Data were collected through 15 semi-structured interviews with members of …

Providers' Knowledge Of The U.S. Health Care System And Their Medical Practice Choices: A Study Of Physicians, Residents, And Non-Physician Practitioners, Cora Case

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The expansion of health insurance through health care reform has reduced the number of uninsured. but access to providers has not been addressed. Understanding the relationship between practice choices and aptitude of health policy and delivery is essential to determine other factors or motivators that contribute to the development of health care access policies. This descriptive study explored the value-laden elements of health care reform, such as social constructions, to learn whether there are implicit ways to address the issue of access to health care in the United States. Schneider and Ingrams's conceptualization of policy making through social construction was …

The Mediating Role Of Payout In The Relationship Between Private Foundations And Grantee Organizations' Financial Health, Angie Kim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although private foundations are assumed to be beneficial, their impact on grantee organizations is not well understood. This quantitative research explored how private, nonoperating foundations influence grantees' financial capacity to pursue their missions. Principal-agent theory was applied to rationalize foundations' social good purpose, along with subsidy theory of public charities' need for capital accumulation, thus comprising a unique framework for identifying pathways of relationships amongst influencer variables of foundations' operating characteristics; the outcome of grantees' months of unrestricted, liquid net assets (MULNA); and the mediator of foundations' payout rate. Multiple regression and indirect effects analyses of data on 612 cases …

Critical Factors In Police Use-Of-Force Decisions, Orville Nickel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated law enforcement officers' perceptions of the legal, normative, and practical considerations that are implicit in their decisions when faced with using physical force. Law enforcement officers observe and protect fundamental human rights. A significant problem, however, is that physical force is sometimes misused, impacting public confidence in police services. The study was framed by Durkheim's conflict theory and Beirie's concepts of police corporate culture and social control. It used a grounded theory method and predeveloped case scenarios presented to 2 male focus groups of 7 and 6 participants respectively, and 2 female focus groups of 5 and …

Disaster Management And Efforts To Mitigate The Destruction Of The Human-Environment, Dorothy Henderson Bell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Natural disasters expose the fact that poverty, race, gender, and other indicators of social disadvantage are linked to the population of citizens who struggle the most to recover after a disaster, yet these factors are not accounted for in public policy that guides decision making related to federal assistance to residents affected by a disaster. This study used neural networks as a research strategy to determine whether the current policies under the Stafford Act related to assistance comply with Congressional intent and law that uses a formula for assistance distribution, and whether human factors such as culture, measured as residing …

Collectivizing Our Impact: Engaging Departments And Academic Change, Kevin Kecskes

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article invites readers to consider foundational assumptions about community-engaged work. The author envisions a path forward to help “un-stall” the community engagement movement and to deepen and broaden practice. Connecting cutting edge thinking emerging out of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors – all suggesting the need to collectivize our work – the author argues in favor of refocusing community engagement efforts on the backbone of higher education: academic disciplines and departments. The article concludes with a composite vision, compiled from data and experiences collected at multiple postsecondary institutions in the United State and beyond, for a partnership landscape …

Benefits And Barriers Of Hud Neighborhood Stabilization Program As Perceived By Stakeholders, L. Diane Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Devalued homes and weakened economic conditions of 2008 led to lost property tax revenues, more vacant and abandoned properties, and destabilized neighborhoods. The first Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP1) was a federal intervention designed to mitigate the damage of the recession, but there is scant evidence of program effectiveness. A phenomenological study, using a method outlined by Moustakas,

answered questions on the benefits and barriers of NSP1 as perceived by stakeholders in a Mid-Atlantic city. Stakeholders included nonprofit housing advocates, residents, business partners, and government officials. Theories of collaborative governance and community stakeholders were used to guide the investigation of NSP1 …

Risks Of Driving While Talking On Mobile Devices: Soccer Parents' Perceptions, Tonisha Dawn Joyner-Bagby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of motor vehicle accidents that occur as a result of driving while talking on

mobile devices increases each year. Distracted driving is dangerous; however, policy

researchers have not focused on adults who talk on mobile devices as they drive children

to and from daily events. This study focused on the experiences of soccer parents, an

important focus because of soccer's year-long duration that requires a large amount of

driving in addition to the other daily tasks of parenting. The purpose of this

phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions of parents of child soccer

players regarding the motivations …

The Impact Of Federal Emergency Management Legislation On At-Risk And Vulnerable Populations For Disaster Preparedness And Response, Joseph Catalino

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

It is well documented that in the aftermath of a natural or human caused disaster, certain at-risk and vulnerable populations suffer significantly more than do other population groups. As a result, Congress enacted the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) in part to address deficiencies in providing aid to vulnerable populations, though little is known if the PKEMRA has resulted as it was intended. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to assess the impact of the PKEMRA on addressing emergency preparedness deficits related to at-risk and vulnerable populations. The theoretical framework followed Howard's conceptualization of game and drama theory. …

Food Policy: Urban Farming As A Supplemental Food Source, Bessie Didomenica

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The distance between farms and cities and the limited access that some residents have to fresh foods can be detrimental to a city's capacity to feed people over time. This study addressed the under-studied topic of urban farming as a secondary food source, specifically by exploring the opportunities and limitations of urban farming in a large Northeastern city. Brundtland's food policy was the pivotal theory supporting food production to end global starvation, and was the link between environmental conservation and human survival. The research question for this study examined the potential food policy opportunities and limitations that assist urban farms …

Qualitative Case Study On F-35 Fighter Production Delays Affecting National Security Guidance, Monique Marie Maldonado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approaching $400 billion for its establishment and production, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the Department of Defense's (DoD) largest acquisition program in U.S. history. Unfortunately, significant delays have immobilized the program's production rate, and little research has examined whether and how such delays directly affect national security. The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how production delays in the JSF program directly affect national security. The theoretical foundations for this qualitative case study were Condorcet's modernization theory and Giddens's globalization framework. Data were collected from interviews with 15 senior DoD civilian, military, and JSF officials …

Minorities' Perception Of The Comprehensive Emergency Management Model Of Distributing Of Information, Lawrence Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to receive critical and timely information from emergency management professionals (EMPs) may lead to the loss of life during disasters and emergencies. Recent research and government reports have indicated that there may be communication failures between EMPs and minority community members, though little is known about how minority communities perceive EMP communication efforts. The central research questions and purpose of this study were designed to explore the experiences of minority community members in receiving and interpreting disaster-related communications from EMPs. Data for this phenomenological study were acquired through-in-depth interviews with 13 African Americans (7 males and 6 females) located …

Health Care Reform And The Transition From Volume To Quality Payment Models: A Primary Care Focus, Kevin Lee Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) resulted in providers and health care organizations conforming to new payment models that connect reimbursement to patient outcomes. Primary care providers (PCPs) are tasked to provide new quality provisions as chronic disease management is a key focus to improve outcomes. The purpose of this study was to understand the transition to new payment models and determine whether care is improved. The conceptual framework is grounded in health care access models geared towards the improvement of quality outcomes including the chronic care model (CCM). The research questions were designed to understand providers' …