Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Do Singaporeans Spend Too Much On Housing?, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

According to a 2011 IMF study, Singapore's level of government intervention in housing finance is the highest in the developed world (Slide 3). This level of intervention in housing finance has correspondingly produced the highest level of homeownership amongst advanced countries. This housing outcome is the result of our very unique HDB-CPF housing framework – an institutional framework that was established in the 1960s during the formative period of our country?s history (Slides 4 and 5). Singapore was, at that particular point in time, faced with a situation of chronic housing shortage, low homeownership rates and an underdeveloped housing mortgage …

Fast Tracks: A Comparison Of High Speed Rail In China, Europe And The United States, Junfeng Jiao, Jenna Harbin, Yuan Li

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

High speed rail systems have blossomed in technological advances since their debut in the 1960’s with the Japanese Shinkansen line. As miles upon miles of tracks increase around the world, bringing added mobility to travelers while decreasing emissions, various technologies are leading the way to a faster tomorrow. This article explores the differences in what countries around the world are using to supply the next generation of travel modes. This paper details the differences in technological implementations from Asia, Europe, and North America. High speed rail systems are far more developed in other countries, especially China, and have required substantial …

Deconstructing Disaster, Justin Pidot

BYU Law Review

Over time, we have grown increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters. Each decade, economic losses from such disasters more than double as people continue to build homes, businesses, and other physical infrastructure in hazardous places. Yet public policy has thus far failed to address the unique problems posed by natural disasters. This Article takes a first step toward improving public policy by offering a paradigm for understanding its failures, suggesting that three categories of obstacles obstruct sensible government regulation. Drawing from philosophy, cognitive psychology, history, anthropology, and political science, this Article identifies and analyzes three categories of obstacles to disaster policy-symbolic …

2013 May, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2013.

Remarital Chances, Choices, And Economic Consequences: Issues Of Social And Personal Welfare, Kevin Shafer, Todd M. Jensen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many divorced women experience a significant decline in financial, social, physical, and psychological well-being following a divorce. Using data from the NLSY79 (n= 2,520) we compare welfare recipients, mothers, and impoverished women to less marginalized divorcees on remarriage chances. Furthermore, we look at the kinds of men these women marry by focusing on the employment and education of new spouses. Finally, we address how remarriage and spousal quality (as defined by education and employment) impact economic well-being after divorce. Our results show that remarriage has positive economic effects, but that is dependent upon spousal quality. However, such matches are rare …

Specialists, Generalists, And Policy Advocacy By Charitable Nonprofit Organizations, Heather Macindoe, Ryan Whalen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Previous research finds modest levels of engagement in policy advocacy by charitable nonprofits, despite legal regulations permitting nonprofit advocacy and the significance of public policy to nonprofit constituencies. This paper examines nonprofit involvement in policy advocacy using survey data from Boston, Massachusetts. Nonprofit participation in policy advocacy is associated with professionalization, resource dependence, features of the institutional environment, and organizational characteristics such as size and mission. Drawing from population ecology theory, we examine an additional aspect of organizational mission: whether a nonprofit serves a specialized or general population. We find that nonprofits serving specialized populations are more likely to participate …

The "L" Word: Nonprofits, Language, And Lobbying, Jocelyn D. Taliaferro, Nicole Ruggiano

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite the many benefits associated with policy advocacy, many nonprofit organizations do not lobby. Recently, scholars have called attention to the possibility that the vagueness and ambiguity of the term lobbying may hinder policy advocacy activities, though few studies have systematically explored the relationship between nonprofit professionals' perception of this term and political activity. This study explored the social construction of the term "lobbying" by examining nonprofit leaders' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding lobbying activities. Participants reported having a strong aversion to the term "lobbying" and preferred alternative language to describe their political activities. Implications for practice and research are …

Perceptions Of High School Students Of The Impact Of A School Uniform Policy, Stacy L. Gregory

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High schools are tirelessly pondering ideas of enhancing the learning environment by increasing academic engagement and safety. This phenomenology study was designed to report and analyze the perceptions of selected students about their academic engagement and safety while attending one high school. Data for this study were obtained through interviews that were conducted on two levels: focus group and individual interviews. The results indicate that uniforms by themselves have little to do with a student's academic engagement. Students believe that their teachers play a big part in the way that they participate in educational tasks. They also believe that engaging …

New Mexico Tourism: Conflict And Cooperation In The Land Of Enchantment, Emily Alyce Bullington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact that tourism and tourist sites have upon the surrounding communities in New Mexico. It will look specifically at Bandelier National Monument, El Santuario de Chimayo, and the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell. These sites have all been the cause of tensions in their interactions with the local communities, over issues of culture, identity, or resource usage. But these tourist attractions have also brought economic stimulus to these areas, which has brought about a need for cooperation and compromise between the groups as they have negotiated how tourism …

The Effects Of Summer Reading Programs On The Academic Achievement Of Elementary Students, Renee Deshommes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with weakened academic skills face the possibility of having less access to higher education, or advanced career opportunities later in life. Such disadvantages, if not addressed, may result in a series of diminished opportunities that may affect a child's overall quality of life. Several educational experts suggest that the negative effects of the academic achievement gap are cumulative, and many educational experts also believe that the achievement gap between high and low socioeconomic students continues to be a persistent problem for which few solutions have materialized. The potential for summer reading programs to be implemented as a mechanism to …

Financing Public Solar Projects: California Public Jurisdictions' Experiences In Acquiring And Financing Solar Photovoltaic Installations, Dana M.C. Hoffman

Master's Theses

More efficient technologies, state laws as well as environmental, social, and political pressures have all contributed to placing solar acquisition on the agenda for California’s public entities over the last half decade. But a key question for these frequently cash-strapped jurisdictions is how to utilize public dollars and lands, and how to leverage incentives to obtain solar PVs. As an alternative to outright purchase, a promising financing option made available to jurisdictions in recent years is ownership by a third party, usually the solar company, including various forms of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s) and leasing. Due in part to state …

Economic Contribution Of Nonresident Travel Spending In Montana Travel Regions And Counties, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report displays the economic contributions of nonresident visitors to Montana during 2012. It is comprised of economic analyses for six Montana travel regions, as well as 15 of the 56 counties in the state.

Economic Contribution Of Nonresident Travel Spending In Montana Travel Regions And Counties , Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Nonresident spending is a significant contributor to Montana's economy. Money spent by those traveling to and through the state has an effect not only on the businesses where spending occurs, but it ripples throughout Montana's economy, both locally and regionally. Economic impact analysis allows us to observe the direct and indirect effects of the money spent by nonresident travelers in terms of the economic activity supported by this spending, and the number of jobs and labor income attributable to this spending, as well. This report is comprised of a collection of economic impact analyses for each of Montana's six travel …

Does Mission Matter? Examining The Role Of Organizational Mission And Religious Identity In Schools Participating In The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, Michael Mcshane

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For decades, theories of bureaucracy have emphasized the importance of organizational mission in thriving organizations. This dissertation will examine the role of organizational mission in schools, particularly, a sample of schools that participate in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the nation's oldest and largest school voucher program. Using teacher and school leader survey data, coupled with measures of student achievement, it will measure mission coherence and correlate it with a variety of outcome variables of interest. It will also take a particularly close look at the role of mission in religious schools.

The Impact Of State Characteristics On College Graduation Rates At Land-Grant Institutions, Melissa Bridges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As our nation's economy has become increasingly knowledge-based, an educated citizenry is paramount to maintaining a competitive edge in a global marketplace. Thus, college participation and completion have emerged as the gateway to survival and growth for individuals, states, and the nation, making college completion rates a top priority. Stakeholders have begun to equate graduation rates with institutional quality and performance and often use such data to make judgments, create policies, and allocate funding. However, graduation rates are not fully understood and numerous scholars urge caution when interpreting and utilizing single outcome measures. The purpose of this cross-sectional ecological study …

Alternative Education Completers: A Phenomenological Study, Becky Lynne Murray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Billy is a bright, wide-eyed, little boy with bounding enthusiasm and wonder as he enters the doors of school on his first day of kindergarten. When the school doors open in Billy's sixth grade year the wide eyes and bounding enthusiasm have diminished only to leave behind dread and dismay at the thought of confronting yet another abysmal nine months of failure. How can we, as educators, better serve the needs of at-risk students like Billy? Shouldn't we ask them? What elements of the alternative education experience were significant to successful completion of the alternative education program? The phenomenological paradigm …

An Analysis Of Intradistrict Funding Equity In Rural And Urban School Districts, James Lynn Woodworth

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After a long process of judicial action, states have revised the education funding distribution systems to meet the legal requirement of providing both horizontal and vertical funding equity between districts (interdistrict) in the state. A major part of the judicially required reforms was a shift to weighted student funding or funding which provides differential amounts of education funding dependent on the estimated needs of students based on their individual characteristics. However, little research has been done to examine the equity of the funding distribution systems between schools within districts (intradistrict).

Intradistrict funding inequities are likely to persist in districts today …

For Want Of Sloops, Water Casks, And Rum: The Difficulties Of Logistics In The Canadian Theater Of The Seven Years War, Daniel Bazan

Masters Theses

The thesis examines the various difficulties with logistics the British needed to overcome in Canada during the Seven Years War and those who helped . Without the necessary supplies and provisions for frontier campaigning, Britain would have lost the war. The thesis provides primary accounts of the geography during the war, various logistical factors, and the men that helped provide the necessary materials for the successful outcome of the British offensive in Canada.

Analyzing The Effects Of Transit Network Change On Agency Performance And Riders In A Decentralized, Small-To-Mid-Sized Us Metropolitan Area: A Case Study Of Tallahassee, Florida, Mti Report 12-04, Jeffrey Brown, Tuna Batuhan, Torsha Bhattacharaya, Michal Jaroszynski

Mineta Transportation Institute

On July 11, 2011, StarMetro, the local public transit agency in Tallahassee, Florida, restructured its entire bus network from a downtown-focused radial system to a decentralized, grid-like system that local officials and agency leaders believed would better serve the dispersed local pattern of population and employment. The new, decentralized network is based on radial routes serving the major arterial roads and new crosstown routes linking the outer parts of the city, where population and employment is growing. Local officials and agency staff hoped the change would increase transit’s attractiveness and usefulness to the community. One year after the service restructuring, …

Consumer Satisfaction With Aging & Disability Resource Connection (Adrc) Services: Round 2, Diana L. White, Sheryl Elliott

Institute on Aging Publications

Aging and Disabilities Resource Centers (ADRC) are a program of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), and the Veterans Health Administration. They serve as a single entry point into the long-term services and supports systems for older adults and those with disabilities. The goal is to provide a coordinated system of information and access to those seeking long-term services and support, thereby minimizing confusion, enhancing individual choice, and supporting informed decision-making.

Identification Of The Common Salient Characteristics Of Successful Intergovernmental Cooperation And Consolidation Of Governmental Services In Kent County, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.

Driving Forces: Factors Affecting Police Officer Injuries In Motor Vehicle Incidents In The United States, Carol Servino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traffic-related incidents were the leading cause of fatal injuries to officers in 14 of 15 years between 1997 and 2012. Vehicle crashes occur at the individual officer level, but chiefs are responsible for agency performance, creating and implementing police policy, and developing organizational culture. This quantitative survey research study draws from organizational culture theory and asks chiefs in state, county, and city police organizations what they believe are salient factors in crashes causing injuries and death to police officers in the United States. Independent variables include safety belt laws, written driving policies (including communication technology commonly used in police vehicles), …

Perceptions Of Police Responses To Domestic Violence, Kelly Rae Stout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Domestic violence, also known as, intimate partner violence (IPV), has become an epidemic in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC), about 24 women and men are victimized by an intimate partner each minute, equaling about 12 million victims every year (2012b). In recent years, the public has become more aware of IPV situations. An increase in public service announcements has helped to inform the public and has brought these dangerous situations out from behind closed doors. In the age of technology, information is more easily distributed and exchanged which has also increased public …

Congressional Preferences And The Advancement Of American Nuclear Waste Policy, Rhoel Gonzales Ternate

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The problem of nuclear waste disposal has existed since the time of the Manhattan Project in World War II. Although there exist a number of technological hurdles, the main cause that has consistently plagued a solution to nuclear waste has been the politics behind it. This thesis attempts to add to the political literature behind nuclear waste disposal by examining the nuclear waste disposal preferences of members of the United States House and Senate. It then compares and contrasts those preferences with a report by President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. The hope was to determine if …

The Impact Of Airport Service Quality Dimension On Overall Airport Experience And Impression, Redha Widarsyah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research examines the relationship between seven airport service dimensions (Access, Services and Facilities, Dining, Shopping, Service Personnel and Security, Environment, and Immigration and Customs) and overall passenger perceptions of service quality. The study used convenience sampling collecting data from a total of 304 travelers who were passengers at four major international airports in the West Coast region of United States - Las Vegas McCarran International, Los Angeles International, San Francisco International, and Seattle-Tacoma International. The data was collected online through Qualtrics with a self-administered questionnaire and it was analyzed using multiple linear regression.

Airport access, environment, dining, and immigration …

Equity Through Education: Adapting The Us Education System To A 21st Century Student Body, Meghan Nyman

Public Administration & Policy

As policies surrounding immigration are in the forefront of our political discourse, this paper seeks to address the experience of Latino students in the US education system and the resulting impacts. After a thorough review of scholarly literature on the matter as well as data from the US Census Bureau and research institutions, this paper finds that Latino students are being left out of the US education system. Latino students across the country are dropping out of high school at rates greater than their white counterparts. This disparity in high school graduation rates has created a barrier in the education …

Traffic Modeling In Lagrangian Coordinates Using Smartphone Apps, Sergio Contreras

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traditionally, one of the ways traffic flow has been studied is by using the kinematic wave model. This model is derived in the Eulerian framework by using conservation of the number of vehicles. Recently, the kinematic wave model has been transformed into Lagrangian coordinates. In this framework, the independent variables are unique

vehicles and time. The detailed change in framework, and the properties of the model in the changed framework are reviewed. Numerical results from different traffic cases are explained. Since vehicle trajectory data can be easily collected from smartphones,

a smartphone application is developed for this purpose. This data …

An Examination Of Walkability In The Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, Courtney Coughenour

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: The benefits to regular physical activity are well established. Walkability is one element of the built environment that has been correlated with increased levels of physical activity. The auto-centric design of Las Vegas Metropolitan area (LVMA) is unique in ways that may influence walkability. The purpose of this study was to determine which urban design characteristics are associated with walking and physical activity in moderate income neighborhoods in LVMA. Methods: The standard walkability measure developed by Frank et al. (2010) was used to calculate the walkability index of seven neighborhoods. Residents of the two most walkable and two least …

Investigation Of Crashes And Identifying The Best Practices For Setting Up Speed Zones In Towns Along Rural Highways In Nevada, Krishna Prasad Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2010, 51,664 crashes occurred in Nevada. Only about 9% of those crashes occurred in rural areas of the state. However, if only fatal crashes are considered, 41% of those fatal crashes occurred in rural areas. Generally, speed zones are provided in towns along rural highways to reduce speed-related crashes. However, a guideline is necessary for a consistent procedure to setup speed zones throughout the state. The main objectives of this study are to determine factors associated with crashes and to identify the best practices for setting up speed zones in towns along rural highways.

Eleven towns along rural highways …

Improving Health Outcomes For Children (Ihoc): Summary Of Pediatric Quality Measures For Children Enrolled In Mainecare Ffy 2009 - Ffy 2012, Nathaniel J. Anderson Ms, Mph, Tracey Meagher

Population Health & Health Policy

his report, authored by USM Muskie School research staff, presents the results of the 16 CHIPRA Core Measures that were collected using MaineCare claims or Vital Statistics data and reported in the State of Maine’s FFY 2012 CHIP Annual Report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Also included in this report are an additional three measures from the Improving Health Outcomes for Children (IHOC) project’s Master List of Pediatric Measures. In addition to presenting results in graphs and narrative, this report also provides measure definitions and background information about each measure topic.

The goal of this document …