Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Clinton Street Max Urban Vision, Darryl Abe, Allison Duncan, Sheri Fisher, Jay Higgins, Shawn Petch, Susan Rosenthal, Joel Stein, Huifu Xu

Urban Design Workshop

This document is the product of the 2011 Urban Design Workshop at Portland State University which worked to develop an urban design vision for the future Clinton Street MAX Station, part of the Portland- Milwaukie Light Rail line. This project follows two previous years of PSU workshops that investigated the urban design potential of Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail stations within the Hosford-Abernethy and Brooklyn neighborhoods in southeast Portland.

While previous efforts were broad in scope, our project specifically addresses two oversized blocks immediately adjacent to the Clinton Street Station, refered to as the Powell Triangle. The blocks are bordered by 12th …

Evaluation Of Bike Boxes At Signalized Intersections, Jennifer Dill, Christopher M. Monsere, Nathan Mcneil

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report presents a before-after study of bike boxes at 10 signalized intersections in Portland, Oregon. The bike boxes, also known as advanced stop lines or advanced stop boxes, were installed to increase visibility of cyclists and reduce conflicts between motor vehicle and cyclists, particularly in potential ?right-hook? situations. Before and after video were analyzed for seven intersections with green bike boxes, three intersections with uncolored bike boxes, and two control intersections. User perceptions were measured through surveys of cyclists passing through five of the bike box intersections and of motorists working downtown, where the boxes were concentrated. Both the …

Structurally Unbalanced: Cyclical And Structural Deficits In Arizona, Matthew Murray, Kristin Borns, Susan Clark-Johnson, Mark Muro, Jennifer Vey, Brookings Mountain West, Morrison Institute For Public Policy

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Though the Great Recession may be officially over, all is not well in Arizona. Three years after the collapse of a massive real estate “bubble,” the deepest economic downturn in memory exposed and exacerbated one of the nation’s most profound state fiscal crises, with disturbing implications for Arizona citizens and the state’s long-term economic health. This brief takes a careful look at the Grand Canyon State’s fiscal situation, examining both Arizona’s serious cyclical budget shortfall—the one resulting from a temporary collapse of revenue due to the recession—as well as the chronic, longer-term, and massive structural imbalances that have developed largely …

Ua3/1/3 President's Office-Cherry - Scrapbooks, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, articles and publications of interest to WKU President Henry Cherry. These include education religion, state and national politics, prohibition and Western Kentucky University.

Citizens For Peace Activities And Accomplishments 2010, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

No abstract provided.

Strategies To Improve And Preserve Flexible Pavements At Intersections, Imad N. Abdallah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Many rural intersections originally constructed with thin untreated flexible base and hot mix or a two-course surface treatment experience severe pushing, shoving and rutting. These failures cause an extremely rough surface that can cause damage to small vehicles and potentially cause motorists to lose control of their vehicle. These distresses almost always result in complete failure of the existing pavement that must be repaired several times during the life of the roadway by maintenance forces. Pavement sections constructed with the same materials adjacent to the intersection perform adequately until the approach (approximately 150 ft in advance) of the intersection and …

Transit In A Border Zone: The Demand For Public Transportation In Three Texas Border Cities, Adam Gregory Walke

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Factors affecting the demand for public transportation include those, like fares or the level of service, that transit administrators can directly influence as well as those, like gasoline prices, that are beyond administrators' control. This study considers both but focuses on the latter and, more specifically, on how proximity to an international border affects transit ridership. Pedestrian border crossings have a significant effect on ridership levels in El Paso, Brownsville, and Laredo, Texas. Also, ridership correlates positively with the purchasing power of the peso in Laredo and with Mexico's industrial production index in El Paso. In the context of prior …

Political Socialization Through Education As A Form Of State Building, Aldo Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study is to observe the effect of political socialization through education as a tool for state building in three case studies. A background into the topics of political socialization and civic education is made. Civic education theory is applied to the state building experiences of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a qualitative review of the data available, findings are presented and discussed. Further commentary of the impact of such studies within the field of political socialization is also discussed.

Massachusetts State Public Worker Retirees: How Are They Doing?, Ellen A. Bruce, Lauren A. Martin

Gerontology Institute Publications

Although much has been made of the Massachusetts State Retirement System’s funding and abuses, little has been written about the benefits it provides. A retirement system should be judged first on whether it meets its goal of providing for workers in retirement.

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Washington, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Washington’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

Cellulosic Biofuels: Expert Views On Prospects For Advancement, Erin D. Baker, Jeffrey M. Keisler

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

In this paper we structure, obtain and analyze results of an expert elicitation on the relationship between U. S. government Research & Development funding and the likelihood of achieving advances in cellulosic biofuel technologies. While there was disagreement among the experts on each of the technologies, the patterns of disagreement suggest several distinct strategies. Selective Thermal Processing appears to be the most promising path, with the main question being how much funding is required to achieve success. Thus, a staged investment in this path looks promising. With respect to gasification, there remains fundamental disagreement over whether success is possible even …

Africa's Economic Resurgence: Is It Possible?, Alka Jauhari

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Economic theory suggests that inequality between nations is caused by a failure to strike an optimal balance between capital, goods, and labor within a framework of appropriate rules and regulations. This leads to misallocation of a nation's resources - both capital and physical - resulting in distorted use and flow of capital and goods. Politics, regulation and policy-making lie at the heart of such "distortions" which come at a huge cost to societies. Due to these distorted flows, Africa was left behind in the race for economic development, as compared to the other regions of the world. Such distortions have …

The Politics Of Reorganizing Connecticut State Government: Altering Administrative Structures In The Land Of Steady Habits, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Despite numerous attempts to reorganize state government aimed at streamlining, reducing, and creating greater efficiencies, the size and scope of Connecticut’s administrative apparatus has grown considerably over a fifty year period. This study will trace the political history of previous reorganization efforts with a particular emphasis on more recent attempts such as the Gengras (1970), Filer (1976), Thomas (1991), and Hull and Harper Commissions (1992). Observed trends follow national patterns: 1) reorganization commissions are cyclical in nature more likely to be undertaken in the wake of similar efforts at the federal level and 2) they are more likely to be …

Olde Towne St Helens Historic Design Guidelines, Sadie Carney, Caitlin Francis, Drew Meisel, Victor Sanders

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Throughout the northwest, portside communities are capitalizing on their rich cultural heritage by concentrating investment in their historic districts and waterfronts. From Astoria to Port Townsend, historic communities are benefiting from renewed economic vitality based on heritage tourism and the increased numbers of new businesses drawn to the district. As a former center of industry and manufacturing, Olde Towne St Helens boasts a rich heritage in its collection of buildings along the Strand and First Street. These structures offer a glimpse into the working-class, industrial past of the town and the era of shipbuilding and raw goods manufacturing that shaped …

Evaluation Of Greater Mankato Area United Way's Annual Allocations Process From The Partner Agencies' Perspective, Erin A. Trytten

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project aims to provide information to GMAUW about the annual allocations process and level of engagement with partners from the partner agencies/programs themselves. GMAUW values their relationship with their partners and realizes the importance of evaluating their own practices to ensure that the relationship remain strong and mutually beneficial. GMAUW has never had the internal capacity to complete an evaluation of this nature and will use the findings to improve their processes.

Research Question: How do GMAUW’s partners view the annual allocations process?

O My Sons And Daughters, How Do I Immiserate Thee: Let Me Count The Ways, Kenneth M. Casebeer

Articles

No abstract provided.

On Tax Increase Limitations: Part I -- A Costly Incoherence, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this essay, the first of a series, we explore the theoretical implications of one particular type of fiscal limitation on state legislatures - namely, special rules limiting tax increases. In this first essay we will explore the analytic soundness of these tax increase limitations (TILs). In future essays in this series we will analyze some of the consequences of TILs and in particular how they can be 'evaded.' We will argue over the course of this series of essays that because there is no meaningful content to the term 'tax increase' as it is used in TILs, legislative majorities …

Educational Reform And Teachers' Decision Making : Relationship Between The Intended And The Implemented Reading Curriculum In Dominican Primary Schools, Ancell Scheker Mendoza

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Essays On Applications Of Behavioral Decision Making In Public Management And Policy, Navid Ghaffarzadegan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This is a three-essay dissertation on examination of behavioral decision making phenomena in the contexts of public management and policy analysis. I study how policymakers, government employees, and citizens behave, make decisions and learn from decision outcomes. I move toward prescriptive analysis and offer solutions that can improve government performance.

Business As Usual : The Nonprofit Sector In The U.S. National Elite Network, Scott Vincent Dolan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Research on the structure and distribution of power in the United States has focused mostly on the relative power of business, and has largely neglected the nonprofit sector. This is despite evidence that points to the emergence and growth of large-scale, bureaucratic, and elite-led nonprofit organizations. When the political role of the nonprofit sector has been examined, it has come predominantly from two sets of literature: the civic engagement/social capital tradition or the interest group tradition. I argue that both sets of literature, however, start with faulty assumptions about the nature of power and politics, and thereby fail to situate …

Stakeholder, Organizational And Environmental Influences On Nursing Home Regulatory Enforcement : A New Perspective, Tamika R. Black

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation proposes a conceptual framework that integrates stakeholder and compliance theory and employs a multi-method approach to examine the influence of stakeholders, bureaucratic discretion and external environment on nursing home inspections and enforcement. Negative binomial regression analysis was conducted on a population of 655 nursing homes in New York to identify determinants of variation in compliance and enforcement (as measured by deficiency citations). As hypothesized, organizational characteristics (i.e., nursing home bed capacity, sponsorship, occupancy rates and Medicaid revenue) were significant predictors of regulatory compliance and quality of care. Nursing home complaints, the presence of family councils, political party of …

Predicting Teachers' Awareness Of And Interventions In Classroom Episodes Of Gender-Based Bullying : Individual And Systems Factors, Evan David Slater

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Gender-based bullying (GBB) includes threatening behaviors based on gender/gender-role expectations, verbal/physical harassment, unwanted sexual attention and coercion, insults, intimidation, and assaults based on sexual orientation. In this study, 342 teachers completed an online survey to identify which variables predicted their rates of witnessing and intervening in GBB. Individual variables included teacher rates of homophobia and heterosexism. Systems variables included teachers' fear of angry backlash for reporting GBB, the comprehensiveness of districts' safe school policies (SSP), the timeliness of districts' responses to reports of GBB, and the consistency of administrative responses. Also included were the number of district trainings concerning their …

Metropolitan Fragmentation Vs. New Regionalism And The Evolving Nature Of Metropolitan Governance : An Analysis Of Growth Politics And Policy In The Capital Region Of Upstate New York, Paul Thomas Knudson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Development in the urban and metropolitan context continues to be a vibrant area of scholarship and debate in the social sciences. This study continues and augments this research by examining two overarching issues: first, how development at the local level is impacted by fragmented political structures and inter-municipal relations, and second, the extent to which local, non-profit organizations and state agencies whose policies involve land-use planning and environmental conservation, are addressing issues of uneven- and parochial-centered development as a by-product of political fragmentation.

P-16 Initiatives : A Policy Discourse Analysis Approach To State Level Education Reform, Francesca T. Durand

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study articulates and maps the changes found in the historical discourses of P-16 national policy advocacy and state-level policy formation. The relationship between the momentum to create education reform through policy and the actual creation of the policy through state level regulatory entities is also explored in this research study. The theoretical model developed for this study frames three rationales for policy development- sociological, economic, and organizational rationales. Policy discourse analysis, an examination of policy language, is used as the methodology to develop the narrative of changing discourses. Understanding discourse is a way to understand the meanings, practices, and …

Residence Restriction Legislation, Sex Crime Rates, And The Spatial Distribution Of Sex Offender Residences, Kelly M. Socia

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Residence restrictions are one of the most recent, and most controversial, public policies seeking to protect community members from registered sex offenders (RSOs) reentering society following incarceration. Residence restriction policies prohibit RSOs from living within a given distance of certain places where children might gather (e.g., schools, daycares, parks, and playgrounds). In doing so, the expectation is that RSOs will have a harder time finding and approaching young children whom they can sexually assault, thus driving sexual recidivism rates down. These policies, first passed in 1995 at the state level and in 2005 at the county and local level, have …

Influence Attempts In Policy-Making Groups : A Case Study Of The Federal Open Market Committee, Julia Monkova

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The main objective of the dissertation was to understand how members of elite ongoing policy-making groups in organizations influence each other in the process of making policy. The research was conducted using the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the US Federal Reserve System as the case study; the verbatim transcripts of FOMC meetings as the data; and the open coding as the method.

Antecedents Of Government Employees' Organizational Citizenship Behavior : Impacts Of Prosocial Orientation, Organizational Identification And Subjective Ocb Norms, Dong Chul Shim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of public employees' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Using Deci and Ryan's Self-determination theory as an overarching framework, this study tests the argument put forth by public management researchers that public employees' OCB will be influenced by their personal beliefs and organizational values as well as by their general satisfaction with their work environment. Based on this notion, public employees' prosocial orientation, organizational identification and subjective OCB norms are thus examined as major antecedents of OCB in this study.

Addressing Nonsystematic Factors Contributing To The Underrepresentation Of Minorities As Jurors, Elizabeth Neeley

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of criminal defendants to “a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.” An “impartial jury” requires the jury be selected from a representative cross-section of the community. But how is a fair cross-section determined? In Duren v. Missouri, the Supreme Court outlined a three-pronged test defendants must satisfy to establish a prima facie violation of the fair-cross-section requirement:

(1) that the group alleged to be excluded is a “distinctive” group in the community; (2) that the …

Faith-Based Organizations In A System Of Behavioral Health Care, Mark Dekraai, Denise Bulling, Nancy C. Shank, Alan J. Tomkins

Nancy Shank Publications

Through community service activities, and ministries to members within their congregations, faith communities will encounter individuals with behavioral health needs. This article suggests that faith communities have inherent resources that can enhance the reach and effectiveness of behavioral health systems. A framework is presented that will create a bridge of understanding about how behavioral health can leverage faith organization assets and how faith organizations can actively assist adults, children and families with behavioral health needs within the context of their faith and their community.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Vegetation Classification [Map], United States National Park Service

United States National Park Service: Publications

Colo vegetation map of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas, USA, from the Tallgrass Prairie NP Vegetation Mapping Project, created between April and June 2011. Includes a color-coded vegetation classification.