Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Do College Presidents Matter? An Analysis Of The Effects Of College Presidents On Retention And Graduation Rates, Wesley Whistle

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Higher education is going through a transformative time. Effective leadership of these institutions is increasingly important. Public institutions are losing more government support from both the state and federal level. Colleges and universities are also facing higher standards from the federal government. When presidential search committees are looking for candidates for their college or university, they are seeking a leader who addresses these issues, as well as many others.

Addressing falling financial support requires increased attention to fundraising. Some accept that presidents are hired primarily for fundraising for the colleges and do not expect them to play a role in …

The Effect Of Adopting Right To Work Laws: A Paired State Approach, Johnny Xu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The issue of unionization is an enduring one both politically and economically. A major subset within union studies deal with so-called “right-to-work laws.” States with right to work laws are concentrated heavily in the South and in the Plains states and have been that way since the 1940s or 1950s. The most recent additions of right-to-work states are Indiana and Michigan both in 2012. This paper will contribute to the debate by creating a new and novel dataset to analyze what the effects of adopting right to work laws are for a state over time as well as between a …

Using Big Data And Quantitative Methods To Estimate And Fight Modern Day Slavery, Monti Narayan Datta

Political Science Faculty Publications

Given the hidden, criminal nature of contemporary slavery, empirically estimating the proportion of the population enslaved at the national and global level is a challenge. At the same time, little is understood about what happens to the lives of the survivors of slavery once they are free. I discuss some data collection methods from two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) I have worked with that shed light on these issues. The first NGO, the Walk Free Foundation, estimates that there are about 30 million enslaved in the world today. The second NGO, Free the Slaves, employs a longitudinal analysis to chronicle the …

Unintended Pregnancy By The Numbers: A Look At Kenya, Carol Mukiira, Joyce Mumah, Caroline W. Kabiru, Chimaraoke O. Izugbara

Reproductive Health

This fact sheet summarizes data collated during the development of the STEP UP Country Profile Report on Unintended Pregnancies for Kenya, which presents a range of key evidence aimed at informing readers about the trends, magnitude, determinants, and consequences of unintended pregnancy in Kenya. The data shown in this fact sheet are drawn mainly from the 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008/09 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS) as well as other secondary sources.

Tls Newsletter, Volume 7, Edition 11. January, 2014, Unf Transportation And Logistics Society

Transportation & Logistics Society Newsletter

Inside the Newsletter: TLS Meeting on January 22. TLS President's Corner. Upcoming Events. 13th Annual TLS Hubbard House Holiday Drive. Get to know TLS Treasurer James Flannagan. T & L Spring Career Day--Are You Prepared? TLS on Tour--Bacardi Bottling Corporation. Life after Graduation with Rebecca Bratcher Cobb

Securitize Me: Stimulating Renewable Energy Financing By Embracing The Capital Markets, Andrew C. Fink

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

The current system of financing renewable energy projects is broken and inadequate, especially when compared to the framework for participating in oil and gas ventures. The solution lies in borrowing accepted energy business practices and adapting them to solar and wind energy projects. This Article focuses on the current issues facing renewable energy project financing in the United States, analyzes failed attempts to stimulate growth, and presents the securitization of renewable energy assets as a solution. Drawing on current legal structure and debates from the corporate sphere, this Article also discusses specific securitization techniques that can help to democratize and …

Libertarian Patriarchalism: Nudges, Procedural Roadblocks, And Reproductive Choice, Govind Persad

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler's proposal that social and legal institutions should steer individuals toward some options and away from others-a stance they dub "libertarian paternalism"-has provoked much high-level discussion in both academic and policy settings. Sunstein and Thaler believe that steering, or "nudging," individuals is easier to justify than the bans or mandates that traditional paternalism involves.

This Article considers the connection between libertarian paternalism and the regulation of reproductive choice. I first discuss the use of nudges to discourage women from exercising their right to choose an abortion, or from becoming or remaining pregnant. I then argue that …

Pandemic Disease, Biological Weapons, And War, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Over the past two decades, concern about the threat posed by biological weapons has grown. Biowarfare is not new. But prior to the recent trend, the threat largely centered on state use of such weapons. What changed with the end of the Cold War was the growing apprehension that materials and knowledge would proliferate beyond industrialized states’ control, and that “rogue states” or nonstate actors would acquire and use biological weapons. Accordingly, in 1993 senators Samuel Nunn, Richard Lugar, and Pete Dominici expanded the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to assist the former Soviet republics in securing biological agents and weapons …

Future Oversight Of Recombinant Dna Research: Recommendations Of An Institute Of Medicine Committee, Lawrence O. Gostin, Bruce M. Altevogt, Andrew M. Pope

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) in 1974 in response to public concerns about the safety of manipulating genetic material through recombinant DNA. The accumulation of 40 years of experience with gene transfer research has led to a better understanding of the risks. Yet, as gene transfer research has matured, the complexity of the overall regulatory environment has remained. Gene transfer research continues to be subjected to multiple layers of review: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), institutional review boards, institutional biosafety committees, and the RAC. It is within the context of overlapping …

Governing For Health As The World Grows Older: Healthy Lifespans In Aging Societies, Lawrence O. Gostin, Anna Garsia

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

So much of global health governance focuses intensely on a brief moment in the human lifespan—from a safe birth to infant and child survival. Yet, with all the attention to this early window of life (infancy to age five), the opposite end of the life spectrum is comparatively neglected. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) do not mention a healthy lifespan or a healthy old age. This inadequate attention to the older years of the life appears to be a glaring omission given the universal challenges posed by aging societies. Aging is a demographic fact in almost all countries, but it …

Busybody For Peace: The Life And Work Of Nimalka Fernando Of Sri Lanka, Sue Diaz

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

In the following pages, you will find narrative stories about a Woman PeaceMaker, along with additional information to provide a deep understanding of a contemporary conflict and one person’s journey within it. These complementary components include a brief biography of the peacemaker, a historical summary of the conflict, a timeline integrating political developments in the country with personal history of the peacemaker, and a question-and-answer transcript of select interviews during her time at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.

Nimalka Fernando of Sri Lanka is a prominent human rights defender, lawyer and activist with over 30 years …

What Color Are Their Tears? The Life And Work Of Robi Damelin Of Israel, Sigrid Tornquist

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

In the following pages, you will find narrative stories about a Woman PeaceMaker, along with additional information to provide a deep understanding of a contemporary conflict and one person’s journey within it. These complementary components include a brief biography of the peacemaker, a historical summary of the conflict, a timeline integrating political developments in the country with personal history of the peacemaker, and a question-and-answer transcript of select interviews during her time at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.

Robi Damelin is a spokesperson and director of the Women’s Group for the Parents Circle-Families Forum (PCFF), a …

Public Administration More Than Just Politics, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Travel And Recreation: The Economics Of "We Like It Here!", Norma P. Nickerson

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Outlook for 2014 and Review of 2013.

Evaluation Of The Jewish Community Housing For The Elderly Memory Support Initiative, Joan Hyde

Gerontology Institute Publications

Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE) is a large, multi-campus organization that houses and serves 1,500 residents (80 market rate and 1,420 low income). The average age is 80 years old, with one-third of residents 85 and older. Three quarters of the residents are not native English speakers. Through HUD and other funding, JCHE offers a range of supports to these residents, including translators, interpreters and staff with language and cultural competence, meals, transportation and, through their Service Coordinators, facilitation of resident access to government benefits, home care and other services.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2012 special report …

The Role Of The United States Navy In Sustaining And Protecting The Global Economy, Richard U. Beneke

Honors Theses

Because of the rapid changes occurring in the world, the United States government is being forced to evaluate if the navy has become obsolete. With current cuts coming to the navy it seemed an important aspect to investigate. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether or not the United States should cut funding for the Navy by looking specifically at the impact the United States Navy has on the Global Economy by securing shipping lanes and the free navigation of the sea. The study will be conducted as a literature review. In the thesis, the nature of …

Online Sales Tax Policy: A Study Of New York And Georgia State Laws And The Federal Marketplace Fairness Act, Madison Elizabeth Coburn

Honors Theses

The physical presence standard for remote sales tax collection, established in 1967, remains the standard for sales tax collection today. Advances in technology have led to increases in online shopping. Online retailers act under the physical presence standard. Throughout the United States, many individual states are facing economic challenges either as a result of or in conjunction with states' inability to collect sales tax from some online vendors without a physical presence in the state. The challenges include loss of revenue due to uncollected online sales tax and lack of fairness for brick-and-mortar retailers that do remit sales tax to …

Filling The Gap: Nonviolent Strategies For Civilian Self-Protection During Mass Atrocities, Danny Hirschel-Burns , '14

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This thesis seeks to highlight and understand the phenomenon of civilian self-protection during mass atrocities. I begin by demonstrating the structural barriers to international atrocity prevention and mitigation, and why civilian self-protection is therefore necessary. Next, to contexualize civilian self-protection, I look at why mass atrocities happen and how they work, arguing they are elite-led processes, but occur in a complex conflict system. The core of the thesis looks at empirical examples of civilian self-protection, theorizes their dynamics, and proposes avenues for their improvement. Finally, I use civilian self-protection to bridge divides between various theories and disciplines. This thesis is …

Book Review. Deficits, Debt, And The New Politics Of Tax Policy By Dennis S. Ippolito, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Report And Recommendations Of The Balance Of Crop Research Working Group Of The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education And Economics (Nareee) Advisory Board, Mark Mclellan, Leo Holt, Twilya L'Ecuyer, Robert Taylor, Julia Sabin, Milo Shult, Anne Marie Thro, Paul Heisey

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In December of 2012, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST) issued a report to the President on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise. The PCAST report recognizes the long-term history of public investment in agricultural research. The report also recognized significant private investment into agricultural research. Significantly, the report is adamant that the agricultural research enterprise is not prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The report cited two reasons:

1. too little competitive research and
2. an imbalance of research priorities between private and public funding sources.

This report addresses the latter issue.

Members …

How Does The Hong Kong Current Refugee Policy Affect The Life Of Protection Claimants?, Kwan Ki Man

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

About 6,000 refugees, asylum seekers and torture claimants (collectively “protection claimants”) are struggling to survive in Hong Kong. It is undoubted that they are an underprivileged and marginalized group in Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is not the signatory of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, protection claimants do not enjoy legal status or formal rights to welfare services in Hong Kong. Without the right to work, protection claimants must survive on $1,500 a month for accommodation and bags of food equivalent to $1,200, or they may risk to work illegally in Hong Kong. This thesis examines …

Managing Risk Perception In Adventure Tourism Activities, Ann O'Connor

Theses

The Adventure Tourism Industry is a customer service industry where product development and presentation is propelled by the clients' needs and desires. The majority of people who participate in adventure tourism activities are novices and have no prior experience or relevant skills. It is this market of 'no skills required' which is the focus of the commercial adventure tourism industry. As there are inherent risks involved in all adventure activities, risk, risk perception and risk management are key skills for the Adventure Activity Provider and Guide. Risk however is multidimensional, made up of physical risk components and subjective risk components. …

The Value Of Words: Narrative As Evidence In Policymaking, Dmitry Epstein, Josiah Heidt, Cynthia R. Farina

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Policymakers today rely primarily on statistical, financial, and other forms of technical data as their basis for decision-making. Yet, there is a potentially underestimated value in substantive reflections of the members of the public who will be affected by a particular piece of regulation. We discuss the value of narratives as input in the policy making process, based on our experience with Regulation Room–a product of an interdisciplinary initiative using innovative web technologies in real-time online experimentation. We describe professional policymakers and professional commenters as a community of practice that has limited shared repertoire with the lay members of the …

Threat Communication As It Relates To Perception Of Victimization: A Study Of Awareness Of Concealed Weapon Permit Issuance, Cody Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Concealed weapon permit issuance is one of the most contentious topics debated in modern politics today. The primary point of disagreement within this debate hinges on whether these permits serve to increase violence by those who possess them, or whether they decrease crime through the deterrent effect of their presence in society. Using responses of residents of a large southeast correctional facility this study analyzed the reported inclination of criminals to commit direct contact crimes under several specific scenarios, based on their exposure to various levels of information relating to issuance of concealed weapon permits. By comparing the responses across …

Agent-Based Simulation Of Mass Shootings: Determining How To Limit The Scale Of A Tragedy, Roy Hayes, Reginald Hayes

VMASC Publications

An agent-based simulation was created to examine key parameters in mass shootings. The goal of the simulation was to examine the potential effectiveness of Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) assault weapons and high-capacity magazines bill. Based on the analysis, the proposed law would have a negligible effect on the number of people shot during mass shootings. The assault weapons portion of the proposed bill will have no effect on the number of people killed or wounded in a mass shooting. The assault weapons ban does not seek to decrease the rate of fire of any firearm. Of the parameters tested a …

Perceptions Of The Counseling Profession: From Health Science Graduate Faculty And Students, Kaprea F. Johnson, Christianne Fowler, Karen Kott, Margaret Lemaster

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Counseling is considered a newer healthcare profession and possibly unknown to others. This study uses a post-positivist phenomenological approach exploring healthcare faculty and students' perceptions of counseling professionals after participating in a semester long interprofessional health promotions and maintenance course. Results indicated most professions are unaware of counselors, their scope of practice, and their benefit to interprofessional teams. Participants showed growth in their knowledge. Results indicate the importance of interprofessional education and need for advocacy awareness.

Direct Stratospheric Injection Of Biomass Burning Emissions: A Case Study Of The 2009 Australian Bushfires Using The Nasa Giss Modele2 Composition-Climate Model, Robert Field, Mike From, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Drew Shindell, Mike Flannigan, Peter Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Direct stratospheric injection (DSI) of forest fire smoke represents a direct biogeochemical link between the land surface and stratosphere. DSI events occur regularly in the northern and southern extratropics, and have been observed across a wide range of measurements, but their fate and effects are not well understood.

DSIs result from explosive, short-lived fires, and their plumes stand out from the background concentrations immediately. This makes it easier to associate detected DSIs to individual fires and their estimated emissions. Because the emissions pulses are brief, chemical decay can be more clearly assessed, and because the emissions pulses are so large, …

Generic Incident Model For Investigating Traffic Incident Impacts On Evacuation Times In Large-Scale Emergencies, Andrew J. Collins, Peter Foytik, Erika Frydenlund, R. Michael Robinson, Craig A. Jordan

VMASC Publications

Traffic incidents cause a ripple effect of reduced travel speeds, lane changes, and the pursuit of alternative routes that results in gridlock on the immediately affected and surrounding roadways. The disruptions caused by the secondary effects significantly degrade travel time reliability, which is of great concern to the emergency planners who manage evacuations. Outcomes forecast by a generic incident model embedded in a microscopic evacuation simulation, the Real-Time Evacuation Planning Model (RtePM), were examined to quantify the change in time required for an emergency evacuation that results from traffic incidents. The incident model considered vehicle miles traveled on each individual …

The Effect Of Kernel And Bandwidth Specification In Geographically Weighted Regression Models On The Accuracy And Uniformity Of Mass Real Estate Appraisal, Paul E. Bidanset, John R. Lombard

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

The article presents a study which examines the performance of kernel and bandwidth specification in geographically weighted regression (GWR) models in mass real estate appraisal. The kernels employed in the study are the bi-square kernel and the Gaussian kernel. Data from the sales of single-family homes in Norfolk, Virginia from 2010 to 2012 are highlighted.

International Trade With Increasing Returns In The Transportation Sector, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

In this general equilibrium framework, the transportation sector is modeled as a distinct sector with increasing returns. A more advanced technology has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost of production. Even with both manufacturing firms and transportation firms engaged in oligopolistic competition and optimally choosing their technologies, the model is tractable and results are derived analytically. Technology adoptions in the manufacturing sector and transportation sector are reinforcing, and multiple equilibria may exist. Firms choose more advanced technologies and the prices decrease when the size of the population is larger.