Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

The September 12, 2012 Rose Garden Address: President Barack Obama’S “9/11” Moment, Michael Eisenstadt

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Albert Einstein once said memory is deceiving given it is colored by the events of today. The old adage “history repeats itself” fails to illustrate the powerful capacity for memory to sustain and revise historical events. Presidents often inject memories of the past into public address to define troubling situations in ways that broad, national audiences can make sense of them. Barack Obama’s Rose Garden Address rejuvenates and exploits the public memory of September 11 in three ways: by (1) situating the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi as an extension of its timeline; (2) reaffirming the identity of …

“We’Re Doin’ Ok” An Investigation Of Parental Account-Giving For Divorce-Related Financial Stress, Monique Makhlouf

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Divorce is a prevalent issue facing many Americans today with nearly one-third of first marriages ending in divorce within 10 years, and 50% of all first marriages ending in divorce at some point in the lifespan (Frisby, Booth-Butterfield, Dillow, Martin, & Weber, 2012). Considerable evidence suggests that divorce can increase the likelihood of adverse effects on the psychological well-being of family members, particularly in families with children (Brown, Portes, & Christensen, 1989). Among the many issues that confront families going through a divorce is a shift in socioeconomic status or a loss of financial stability during and after a divorce …

A Critical Analysis Of Intellectual Disabilities And End-Of-Life Decision Making, Saritha Farris

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Presently, research suggests the involvement of individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in making end-of-life (EOL) decisions appears to be minimal (Ellison & Rosielle, 2008).

The reasons for the lack of involvement include but are not limited to communication challenges, lack of education on caring for individuals with IDs by the medical community, incorrect assumptions that the individual lacks cognitive capacity to consent, and fear of legal consequences if formal caregivers are accused of not providing enough care. (Wagemans et al., 2010).

These factors then often culminate in the individual with IDs having decisions made for them by someone else, whom …

Urban/Rural Spatial Identity And Legislative Behavior In Nebraska, The Impact Differences On Economic Development And Environmental Legislation, Melissa L. Trueblood

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

The urban/rural divide is pervasive in policy-making in Nebraska. In this nonpartisan state, coalitions based on spatial identity or whether the legislator is urban or rural seem to have greater weight than party especially in the creation of economic development policy. Often, economic development policies include locational considerations which give areas such as rural areas and economically distressed areas greater weight when distributing program funds. In my study, I investigate whether constituency or party has a greater impact on the legislative behavior of Nebraska state legislators when voting on economic development and environmental legislation. I expect that constituency would have …

Blue And Orange Lunch Line, Donald Riger

College of Business and Economics Presentations

The fall 2013 section of Supply Chain Management 420-Creating Sustainable Goods and Services, taught by Dr. Tom Gattiker, completed a group project using the Green Breakthrough process which is based on Design Thinking. The assignment for this portion of the course was a written proposal for a product or service that:

– Is highly innovative, not incremental

– Meets a customer (e.g. student, faculty) need

– Has a significant environmental benefit

– Related to the BSU / our campus

– Customer facing

– Could be implemented at BSU (or nearby) within one year

I was a member of team 2 …

Learning From Our Mistakes: The Belfast Project Litigation And The Need For The Supreme Court To Recognize An Academic Privilege In The United States, Kathryn L. Steffen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Through the Belfast Project, researchers sponsored by Boston College began to compile an oral history of the period of violent political conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles” in a series of interviews. The interviewees’ participation in the project was conditioned on a strict promise of confidentiality. However, when authorities in the United Kingdom became suspicious that the interviews contained evidence of criminal activity, the United Kingdom, pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, requested the United States to subpoena the materials on its behalf. Satisfaction of the subpoena would mean not only turning over the interview recordings, but …

National Security And The Protection Of Constitutional Liberties: How The Foreign Terrorist Organization List Satisfies Procedural Due Process, Aaron Schwartz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Foreign terrorist organizations pose a real and constantly evolving threat to U.S. national security. The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List seeks to temper that threat by extending the U.S. government an effective legal tool to identify and sanction members of terrorist organizations and those who support them. At the same time, however, the government must also ensure that its efforts to protect U.S. citizens do not trample constitutionally protected rights. This comment begins by exploring the FTO List's authorizing legislation and the policy and goals of that legislation. The comment then reviews and analyzes a series of cases discussing the …

Third Time’S The Charm: Will Basel Iii Have A Measurable Impact On Limiting Future Financial Turmoil?, Erin Pentz

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The Great Recession of 2008 caused banking failures around the globe. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision responded swiftly to create new minimum capital requirements for financial institutions in hopes of preventing additional failures and warding off future crises. Although the new capital standards that Basel III proposes are a step in the right direction, those standards alone will not be sufficient to prevent future bank failures in times of economic decline. Rather, true financial sector stability requires adequate capitalization of all institutions in terms of quality and quantity of capital, a strong regulatory framework, and a limitation on the …

International Institutions And The Resource Curse, Patrick Keenan

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Many countries that are richly endowed with natural resources have failed to turn that resource wealth into sustained development. In many places, a small coterie of elites has become rich while most citizens see little benefit from their country’s vast resource wealth. A principal cause of this problem, often called the resource curse, is weak domestic institutions that permit leaders to enrich themselves and ignore the development needs of the country. From this, most scholars and policymakers have concluded that the way to fix the resource curse is to reform domestic institutions.

This article challenges the conventional wisdom and argues …

The Arab Spring’S Four Seasons: International Protections And The Sovereignty Problem, Jillian Blake, Aqsa Mahmud

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

In December 2010, public demonstrations erupted throughout the Middle East against autocratic regimes, igniting a regional political transformation known as the Arab Spring. Depending on events, modern international criminal and humanitarian law provided certain protections to vulnerable populations. However, international law did not provide a uniform degree of protection to civilians and combatants who faced similar circumstances. This Article argues for a uniform standard of protections for all populations affected by armed conflict, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It evaluates each of five major Arab Spring uprisings (Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, and Libya) and describes the legal protections that …

The Impact Of The Icty On Atrocity-Related Prosecutions In The Courts Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Yaël Ronen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia was not mandated to proactively promote domestic prosecutions of war-related crimes. However, its operation may have had some impact on domestic proceedings concerning war-related crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The object of this article is to identify and explain this impact, with respect to qualitative (institutional legal capacities), quantitative (rates of prosecution and trends in sentencing), and normative (the adoption and application of criminal law norms) benchmarks.

The Limits Of Judicial Idealism: Should The International Criminal Court Engage With Consequentialist Aspirations?, Shahram Dana

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Idealism about what international criminal justice mechanisms can achieve has lead to ideologically driven judicial decision-making in international criminal law (ICL). ICL idealism manifests itself in the belief that international criminal prosecutions can achieve an awesome array of goals. These include retribution, deterrence, reconciliation, rehabilitation, incapacitation, restoration, building a historical record, preventing revisionism, expressive and didactic functions, crystallizing international norms, general affirmative prevention, establishing peace, preventing war, vindicating international law prohibitions, setting standards for fair trials, combating impunity, and more. Ironically, this idealistic overreach, although usually well intended, has actually contributed to the politicization of the international judicial process.

The …

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

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The conduct and quality of investigations pursued by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism from judges on the Court. Criticism is directed at the time and length of investigations; the quality of the evidence advanced in court; the inappropriate delegation of investigative functions, and the failure to interview witnesses in a way that is consistent with the Prosecution’s obligation to conduct investigations fairly under Article 54 of the Rome Statute. This essay explores these criticisms and concludes that the judges are justified in their concerns regarding the Prosecution’s investigative …

Foreword, Claudio Grossman

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Transportation And Road Weather, Rhonda Young

PSU Transportation Seminars

Weather has a tremendous impact on the transportation system and is one of the largest contributors to non-recurring delay and increased crashes. Road weather is the a multidisciplinary area involving transportation engineers and meteorologists who are working to mitigate the negative effects of weather on the operation and maintenance practices of transportation systems. The talk covers the broad types of issues being studied in this field and looks at ways in which technology is playing a large part in the proposed solutions. The issue of weather as a complicating factor in the use of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies is …

Research Brief: "Teaching Post 9/11 Student Veterans With Symptoms Of Ptsd: The Influence Of Faculty Perceptions And Self-Efficacy", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study aims to understand how perceptions of veterans and their military service influence instructor self-efficacy, and is important because enrollment of veterans into higher education is expected to continue increasing. In practice, universities should encourage a collaborative understanding between student veterans and faculty members to assist in producing positive educational outcomes, and policies should consider providing more resources for veterans at universities. Future research should strive to have a larger sample size, and use more neutral words that have fewer negative connotations.

Impacts Of Website Visibility And Family Income On Use Of The Net Price Calculator, Hunt Chouteau Helm

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Higher education attainment benefits individuals and society. But access to higher education is not equitable. Students from low-income families, even those with equal qualifications, are underrepresented throughout the education pipeline, and the gap by family income increases at each educational milepost. The major impediments to increasing college-going rates for lower-income families are financial, experiential, motivational and informational. A key informational impediment is the difficulty families have in understanding information about college costs and financial aid. In 2011, the federal government attempted to improve information access for all by requiring colleges and universities to post a Net Price Calculator on their …

Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, Meagan Batdorf, Larry D. Maloney, Jay F. May, Sheree T. Speakman, Patrick J. Wolf, Albert Cheng

School Choice Demonstration Project

The revenue study is based on Fiscal Year 2010‒11 (FY11) data for each of 30 selected states plus the District of Columbia (D.C.). Traditional school districts and public charter schools were analyzed and aggregated “statewide.” For each state, one to three “focus areas” were selected based on larger concentrations of charter students – most focus areas are large cities, some are metropolitan counties. Traditional school districts and charter schools were analyzed separately in each focus area. The analytic team collected and analyzed all revenues, public and private, flowing to traditional district and public charter schools. FY11 funding includes Federal, State, …

Reducing Plastic Marine Debris Through Policy: A Comparison Of Melbourne And San Francisco, Kirsten Johansson

Collection of Engaged Learning

This paper provides a comparison of the levels of plastic pollution found in marine debris on beaches in Melbourne and San Francisco. Using the levels of this debris, the effectiveness of each city's public policy regarding oceans can be analyzed.

Possible Psychosocial Benefits Of Having A Sibling With A Disability, Jenna M. Talbott

Senior Honors Theses

Possible psychosocial benefits resulting from exposure to siblings with disabilities are investigated in the current study. Previous literature has generally overlooked the possibility of psychosocial benefits by exclusively focusing on the negative effects of having a sibling with disabilities. Contact theory suggests that the increased exposure to individuals with disabilities should increase positive attitude toward those who are struggling with disadvantages. This investigation hypothesized that this tendency would be manifested as elevated empathy and compassion in individuals who have siblings with disabilities, and that these traits would be influenced by certain demographic variables. A survey was distributed, and the responses …

The Value Of Networking: Allocating Resources To Participate, Emma A. Powell

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

The descriptive study analyzes the relationship between the funds spent by local nonprofits to attend and network at cost-based events organized by other community entities and the benefits gained for participating in that event.

Answering:

• Is allocating resources to networking events worth it?

• What expectations do nonprofit leaders have of networking?

• Do nonprofit leaders believe there is value to participate in these events to raise awareness, funds and additional resources?

The research provides a basis for budgeting decisions as it relates to allocating funds toward cost-based, non-mission specific, networking events.

Transit Planning Practice In The Age Of Transit-Oriented Development, Ian Carlton

PSU Transportation Seminars

Transit serves as backbone infrastructure for many regional and local visions for sustainable urban development. Also, many modern policies predicate transit funding on the potential for transit-oriented development (TOD) near proposed infrastructure investments. However, little research has examined how TOD considerations have informed transit planning. This presentation discusses the results of recent dissertation research that fills this gap. Through multiple transit project case studies and interviews with nearly 100 transit planning professionals, this research categorized how transit projects across 19 U.S. regions were designed to foster TOD and how transit planning professionals identified TOD opportunities as projects were planned. During …

Research Brief: "When Veterans Return: The Role Of Community In Reintegration", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study examines the experiences active duty service members and military veterans face upon their return to civilian life, and reflects that many veterans desire a formal transitional period from military to civilian life in order to help them readjust. Service members should join peer mentor or support groups with other veterans who had similar experiences and feelings about their reintegration into civilian life; policy makers might work with VA administrators to create a comprehensive transitional program for service members who are leaving the military in order to facilitate a smooth re-entry into civilian life. Further exploration of the links …

Factors That Influence Student Selection Of Educational Leadership Master’S Programs At Regional Universities, Pam Winn, Lesley F. Leach, Susan Erwin, Liza Benedict

Administrative Issues Journal

Graduate enrollment numbers in Educational Leadership programs have dwindled at many public higher education institutions. At the same time, for-profit institutions and institutions with private marketing partnerships have experienced increasingly greater enrollments. Many public institutions are reevaluating their marketing and recruiting strategies as they struggle to compete for students. Central to any marketing strategy is knowledge of the needs and wants of consumers; in the case of higher education, the consumers are students. This study sought to determine the needs and wants of Master’s-level Educational Leadership students by investigating the factors that influenced students’ selections of programs as well as …

Meet The Candidates: 2014 Arkansas Gubernatorial Race, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Earlier this spring, we at the OEP were fortunate to sit down with three of the candidates vying to become the next Governor of Arkansas. The candidates were generous enough to give us their time and allow us to post the full interviews on YouTube. If you prefer an abridged version, this policy brief summarizes the candidates’ views on a range of important education policy issues. We hope that these interviews will be informative for your vote on May 20th in the party primaries.

Principals’ Perceived Supervisory Behaviors Regarding Marginal Teachers In Two States, Bret Range, Paul Hewitt, Suzie Young

Administrative Issues Journal

This descriptive study used an online survey to determine how principals in two states viewed the supervision of marginal teachers. Principals ranked their own evaluation of the teacher as the most important factor when identifying marginal teachers and relied on informal methods to diagnose marginal teaching. Female principals rated a majority of supervisory methods and data sources as being more useful and the importance of formative assessments and teachers’ self-reflection as significantly more important than did male principals. Female principals adopted a procedural style, while males identified with the situational style when working with marginal teachers.

Relationships Between Environmental Governance And Water Quality In A Growing Metropolitan Area Of The Pacific Northwest, Usa, Heejun Chang, Paul R. Thiers, Noelwah R. Netusil, J. Alan Yeakley, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Steve Bollens, Sonia Singh

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate relationships between environmental governance and water quality in two adjacent growing metropolitan areas in the western US. While the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington metro areas share many common biophysical characteristics, they have different land development histories and water governance structures, providing a unique opportunity for examining how differences in governance might affect environmental quality. We conceptualize possible linkages in which water quality influences governance directly, using monitoring efforts as a metric, and indirectly by using the change in the sale price of single-family residential properties. Governance may then influence water quality directly through riparian restoration resulting from …

Lhds' Implementation And Evaluation Of Strategies To Target Psychological, Mental Health, And Other Behavioral Healthcare Needs Of The Underserved Population, Gulzar H. Shah, Huabin Luo, Carolyn J. Leep, Nancy L. Winterbauer

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Presentations (2008-2022)

Background: Underserved subgroups face barriers when accessing behavioral healthcare. Local health departments (LHDs) are charged with “linking people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of healthcare when otherwise unavailable”.

Research Objectives: 1) To assess the extent to which LHDs implement and evaluate strategies to target the behavioral healthcare needs for the underserved populations; 2) To identify factors that are associated with these undertakings.

Datasets and Sources: Data were drawn from the 2013 National Profile of Local Health Departments Study conducted by National Association of County and City Health Officials The Module 2 questionnaire of the Profile contained …

Environmental Correlates Of Physical Activity Among African-American Adults, Tim Bungum, Jennifer Pharr, Paulo S. Pinheiro, Maria Azzarelli

Nevada Journal of Public Health

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify perceived environmental correlates of meeting physical activity guidelines among African-American adults living in Southern Nevada. Trained interviewers phoned potential participants who lived in the 12 zip codes of Clark County, Nevada with the highest proportions of African-American residents. Respondents (n=237) answered 52 health-related and demographic questions. Slightly less than 50% of participants met physical activity guidelines. A factor analysis procedure produced two environmental variables, neighborhood safety and environmental supports for physical activity. Age, gender and educational attainment (p<.05) predicted the meeting of those guidelines (R2=.214), while neighborhood support for physical activity, neighborhood safety, and BMI failed to do so. This finding suggests that environmental factors are not strong predictors of physical activity among African- American adults, although environmental supports for physical activity approached significance. Future studies should consider assessing additional aspects of the built environment as an influence on physical activity.

Organizational Training And Relationship Building For Increasing Public Participation In A Public School District, John Poynton, Carole Makela, Don Haddad

Administrative Issues Journal

From the early twentieth century to the present, citizen participation in U.S. public institutions—particularly schools—has continually decreased. The trend has been linked to the bureaucratization of public schools and their increasing reliance on expert knowledge for solutions to school- and education-related problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a parent training program designed to increase a school district’s capacity for public participation by parents and other citizens. The program—known as Leadership St. Vrain—provided citizens knowledge about school district operations and management (know-how) and relationship-building opportunities with key decision makers (know-who). This article focuses on the …