Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Organizational Assessment Of The Parks And Recreation Department: Jamestown, Ri, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The objective of this assessment was to identify opportunities for improvement in the operational, organizational and economic efficiency of the Department and practicable opportunities for enhancing the quality of its product and services.

Introduction: Education Finance In New York State, John Yinger

Center for Policy Research

It’s Elementary is a series of essays on topics in education and education policy. The main focus is on education finance in New York State, but general research findings in education and education policy issues in several other states are also discussed. John Yinger, Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University is the author of most of these essays, although a few are written by or co-authored with other scholars.

'Dred Scott V. Sandford' Analysis, Sarah E. Roessler

Student Publications

The Scott v. Sandford decision will forever be known as a dark moment in America's history. The Supreme Court chose to rule on a controversial issue, and they made the wrong decision. Scott v. Sandford is an example of what can happen when the Court chooses to side with personal opinion instead of what is right.

Needs Assessment For The United Neighborhood Alliances Of Omaha, Jerry Deichert

Past Publications

In February 2013 the Neighborhood Center closed. The Neighborhood Center provided a range of programs and services to neighborhood associations in the Omaha area. The United Neighborhood Alliances of Omaha (UNAO) identified a needs assessment as a necessary next step in planning what will take its place. The needs assessment was envisioned to assist the alliances in moving forward by helping to identify strategies that make the best use of Neighborhood Scan and other existing resources and offer the best response to neighborhood conditions.

Reexamining Cultural Orientation Provided To Newly Arrived Refugees, Sara E. Matchulat

Capstone Collection

The provision of cultural orientation is one of many services required by the contract between resettlement agencies and the federal agencies overseeing refugee resettlement, the Cooperative Agreement. This paper explores World Relief in Moline, Illinois as a case study for how small resettlement agencies can provide meaningful and memorable cultural orientations. In order to accomplish this goal, this research utilizes the Empowerment Theory to explore how recently resettled refugees’ perceptions can be taken into consideration as orientation materials are examined. Research sought to compare Cooperative Agreement requirements to current orientation materials, interviewed service providers and recently resettled refugees, and utilized …

The Allocation Of Time In Sleep: A Social Network Model With Sampled Data, Xiaodong Liu, Eleonora Patacchini, Edoardo Rainone

Center for Policy Research

We analyze peer effects in sleeping behavior using a representative sample of U.S. teenagers from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. The sampling design of the survey causes the conventional 2SLS estimator to be inconsistent. We extend the NLS estimator in Wang and Lee (2013a) to estimate network models with sampled observations on the dependent variable. When accounting for sampling, we find that the sleeping behavior of the friends is important to shape own sleeping behavior, besides the impact of individual, family and friend characteristics.

A Sequence Analysis Of International Peace Operations: Japan’S Contribution To Human Security Of East Timor, Daisuke Akimoto

Peace and Conflict Studies

Japan’s commitments to the UN-authorized peace operations in East Timor were the largest contribution the country has made in the history of its international peace operations. Notably, Japan’s participation in the peacebuilding operations in East Timor was based on “human security” as one of the pillars of its diplomatic policy. Moreover, Japan’s participation in the peace operations in East Timor was a touchstone issue for its human security policy. Yet, one simple but important question arises. How consistent were Japan’s commitments to the peace operations? In an attempt to answer to this question, this paper systematically examines Japan’s contributions to …

Achieving Democracy: Implementing The 1992 Salvadoran Peace Accords, Raymond W. Cox Iii, Hugo Renderos

Peace and Conflict Studies

The literature on negotiations and bargaining has been dominated by academics in business and public administration. Given the interests and orientation of the academic disciplines, it is not surprising that the academic studies predominantly have examined the processes and dynamics at the level of collective bargaining and to a lesser extent organization leadership and management. Dispute resolution has a distinctly intra–organizational character. In 1991 the warring factions in El Salvador came together to negotiate both an end to the fighting, but also to create a framework for the introduction of a democratic government for the country. Over a period of …

Symbolic And Concrete Demands In Resolving The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Rotem Nagar, Jacob Shamir

Peace and Conflict Studies

Researchers have recently leveled criticism at the realist approach to conflict resolution by pointing out the importance of symbolic aspects of this issue. Few studies, however, have hitherto focused on symbolic demands in conflicts. The present study examines the role of symbolic as well as concrete demands in conflict resolution, and is therefore innovative in this regard. A demand is categorized as “concrete” if it is based on an interest that is viable and applicable, in that it involves tangible resources that may change hands or be divided. A “symbolic” demand, on the other hand, pivots on either refraining from …

Cyber-Republicanism, Sarah Tran

William & Mary Law Review

In 1787 at the dawn of our nation, the Founding Fathers were embroiled in a raging debate over the role citizens and special interest groups should play in our political system. The Founding Fathers viewed influence from interest groups as a threat to government decision making, but they differed in their responses to this perceived problem. Proponents of republicanism, one of the dominant conceptions of politics at that time, adopted an optimistic approach. They anticipated that government leaders and citizens, guided by their education and civic virtue, would not allow factional tyranny to flourish. This republican optimism continues to markedly …

Health Promotions 2.0: The Future Of Wellness Programs In America, Rajiv Kumar

Center for Policy Research

In no small part because of technology, the way we live and work is being transformed. I believe that those of us who are interested in health policy can play an important role in guiding that transformation. I submit to you that unhealthy living is a social issue; that conditions such as obesity and diabetes are social diseases and that their prevalence is a social problem. If we have a social problem, then we need a social solution. I believe part of that solution can be found in the worksite health promotion and wellness programs that have taken root across …

Spatial Lag Models With Nested Random Effects: An Instrumental Variable Procedure With An Application To English House Prices, Badi H. Baltagi, Bernard Fingleton, Alain Pirotte

Center for Policy Research

This paper sets up a nested random effects spatial autoregressive panel data model to explain annual house price variation for 2000-2007 across 353 local authority districts in England. The estimation problem posed is how to allow for the endogeneity of the spatial lag variable producing the simultaneous spatial spillover of prices across districts together with the nested random effects in a panel data setting. To achieve this, the paper proposes new estimators based on the instrumental variable approaches of Kelejian and Prucha (1998) and Lee (2003) for the cross-sectional spatial autoregressive model. Monte Carlo results show that our estimators perform …

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

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for November of 2013.

Gardiner, Mt - A Community Tourism Development Case Study: Resident Perceptions, Norma P. Nickerson, Meredith S. Berry

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

The purpose of this study was to assess quality of life and image perceptions of Gardiner by residents, as well as their support/attachment to their community. A door-to-door survey was administered in June, 2013. The survey was completed by 209 Gardiner residents for a 60% response rate. The positive image held by Gardiner residents is a community that is friendly, supportive, and has a unique and rich heritage. On the negative side, the community is one with roads that are not well maintained, has little parking available, and has a lack of retail shopping opportunities. Residents were asked to identify …

The Beartooth Highway: 2012-2013 Economic Impacts, Use, And Destination Image, Jake Jorgenson, Norma P. Nickerson, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

The purpose of this study was to assess the economic impacts and visitor use of the Beartooth Highway. Data was collected from visitors during the 2012 summer and 2012-2013 winter seasons. In total, over 4,000 summer visitors and 1,600 winter visitors were intercepted during the study. This report is a compilation of three separate studies conducted along the Beartooth Highway with a summary and researcher observations in the introductory pages.

Educational Campaign For Improving Pedestrian Safety: A University Campus Study, Yu Zhang, Makarand Gawade, Pei-Sung Lin, Trenda Mcpherson

CUTR Faculty Journal Publications

Florida is the state with the highest pedestrian fatality rate per unit population in the U.S. In addition to engineering countermeasures, educational efforts directed to pedestrians and other road users are equally important for improving pedestrian safety. To explore educational formats and identify effective educational methods, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) sponsored a pilot program called “Bulls Walk and Bike Week Campaign” on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida (USF). A before-and-after comparison study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of this campaign. In the study, observational surveys and a questionnaire survey were conducted to compare …

Podcar City Washington, Mti Report S-13-03, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

On October 23-25, 2013, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) co-presented a two-and-one-half day conference offering insights, strategies, and opportunities for cities to develop personal rapid transit (PRT) systems in their jurisdictions. These PRT systems are also known as automated guideway transit (AGT) or “podcars.” They are small driverless cars (4-6 passengers) that operate on an automated guideway system. Typically, they are used to transport passengers for first- and last- mile trips, such as between a transit station and an airport. However, they may be used for longer distances within or between neighborhoods or commerce centers. The International Institute of Sustainable …

The Art Of Disagreeing - It Can Yield Some Good, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In an invited commentary, Director of the Behavioural Sciences Institute at SMU, Professor David Chan explained how a confirmatory bias influences the way people treat information that contradicts their existing beliefs, positions or actions. He suggested ways to react constructively to contrary information and applied the issues to managing disagreements between the Government and citizens or advocacy groups.

The Uneven Representation Of Women In Asian Parliaments: Explaining Variation Across The Region, Devin K. Joshi, Kara Kingma

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although home to the majority of the world's women, Asia is the continent with the smallest proportion of women in Parliament. Rarely studied from a comparative perspective, this article examines the uneven representation of women in the lower houses of contemporary Asian parliaments. While socio-economic modernization and industrialization are generally expected to increase the proportion of women in positions of political influence, we find that differences in electoral and party systems across Asia play a greater role than levels of female literacy, urbanization, or per capita income. In particular, Asian parliaments with strict quotas and a higher number of (three …

Social Sensing For Urban Crisis Management: The Case Of Singapore Haze, Philips Kokoh Prasetyo, Ming Gao, Ee Peng Lim, Christie N. Scollon

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Sensing social media for trends and events has become possible as increasing number of users rely on social media to share information. In the event of a major disaster or social event, one can therefore study the event quickly by gathering and analyzing social media data. One can also design appropriate responses such as allocating resources to the affected areas, sharing event related information, and managing public anxiety. Past research on social event studies using social media often focused on one type of data analysis (e.g., hashtag clusters, diffusion of events, influential users, etc.) on a single social media data …

Challenges And Opportunities In Taxi Fleet Anomaly Detection, Rijurekha Sen, Rajesh Krishna Balan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

To enhance fleet operation and management, logistics companies instrument their vehicles with GPS receivers and network connectivity to servers. Mobility traces from such large fleets provide significant information on commuter travel patterns, traffic congestion and road anomalies, and hence several researchers have mined such datasets to gain useful urban insights. These logistics companies, however, incur significant cost in deploying and maintaining their vast network of instrumented vehicles. Thus research problems, that are not only of interest to urban planners, but to the logistics companies themselves are important to attract and engage these companies for collaborative data analysis. In this paper, …

Introduction: Religion And Place: Landscape, Politics, And Piety, Elizabeth Olson, Peter Hopkins, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In 2010, a 14-year-old boy was brutally murdered in a suburb outside of Rio de Janeiro when a group of skinheads observed him at a party and suspected that he might be gay (McLoughlin 2011). This scale of horrific homophobia is not uncommon in Brazil, where rates of violence against gays, lesbians, and transgendered people are reported to be amongst the highest in the world. A study conducted with the support of Grupo Gay da Bahia offers the conservative estimate of 260 gays killed in the country in 2010, indicating that rates doubled in only 5 years. The statistic sits …

Research Brief: "Combat-Related Parental Deployment: Identifying The Impact On Families With Preschool-Age Children", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief summarizes a qualitative study on how combat-related parental deployments affect preschool-aged children.

Native American Methamphetamine And Suicide Prevention Program Evaluation (Year-4): Omaha, Nebraska, Final Report, R. K. Piper

Past Publications

This final report documents the major findings of the evaluation of the Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI Year 4), also referred to locally as the Soaring Over Methamphetamine and Suicide Program (SOMS), funded by the Indian Health Service (IHS), Division of Behavioral Health. The University of Nebraska at Omaha, Consortium for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE) contracted with the Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition (NUIHC) to provide technical assistance in completing this evaluation and the report.

The evaluation study consists of information collected and analyzed from three sources: 1) a review and summary of program-implementation, process and outcome data …

The Population Health Revolution, Drew Harris Dpm, Mph

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Can America Govern Itself?: Deficits, Debt, And Delay, Ron Haskins

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

America has now been in the throes of a deficit and debt crisis for nearly a decade. Over the last three years, the federal government has tied itself in knots trying to reach a long-term solution. Any effective solution will involve tax increases and entitlement cuts. But both parties have been unwilling to openly bargain about either the tax increases or spending cuts they are willing to consider as part of a grand bargain. Why are both parties being so intransigent? What are the prospects for a grand bargain and what might it look like? What are the consequences if …

Open Access/Open Research/Open Government: The Full Cycle Of Access To Government Information, Stephanie A. Braunstein, Maggie Kauffman

SJSU Open Access Conference

Stephanie Braunstein, Head Government Documents Librarian at Louisiana State University, and Maggie Kauffman, Senior Librarian and Housing Resource Coordinator at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, will describe the who, what, why, and how of current initiatives that promote the sharing of government-funded research--at both the federal and state levels. Emphasis will be placed on recent legislative efforts (such as the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act [FASTR]) and on the recommendations of various professional library organizations that support academic research (such as the Association of Research Libraries [ARL]). While much of the current discussion surrounding …

Research Brief: "Investing In Vets: Strategies To Help Returning Gulf War Vets Enter The Civilian Work Force Successfully", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study found that corporate leadership, veteran-specific training, and a long-term commitment to veterans’ employment were all significant factors in diminishing barriers to veteran employment and reintegration. In practice, social workers who understand business and organizational change can be leaders in supporting veterans in the workplace, and also in advocating for positive social change for veterans and their families. For employers, increased cultural competence concerning military populations would be helpful. In policy, organizations should work on creating coalitions of corporate leaders who have the power to change policies, programs, and practices, and who will monitor the success of these policy …

Public School Choice And Desegregation In Arkansas, Kaitlin P. Anderson, Jennifer W. Ash, Sarah M. Burks, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

Public school choice is an umbrella term for policies that allow students to enroll in a public school other than their residentially-assigned school. Public school choice, also called openenrollment, is typically divided into two categories: intra-district choice, transfers to schools in the same district, and inter-district choice, transfers to schools in other districts.

Jobs And Urbanization, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

A recent World Bank study surprisingly shows Pakistan as among the world’s largest job creators in the noughties .The quality of jobs, however, was poor: low-skilled and low productivity. Of the 15 million jobs created between 2000 and 2009, more than a third were in agriculture, the remainder in services and manufacturing. The share of agriculture in total employment was 45 percent, services 35 percent and manufacturing, 20 percent. Only 21 percent of women compared with 82 percent of men participated in the labour force.

The above results are not reassuring for the future on several counts. Demographic changes have …