Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Nourishing Births: A Program Evaluation Proposal For Community-Based Nutrition Education, Food Access, And Garden Engagement Among Black Birthing People, Naa Deedei-Vera Hammond

Master's Projects and Capstones

Black birthing people in the United States continue to experience unequal maternal health outcomes, shaped in part by racism and barriers to nutritious food, culturally relevant health education, and supportive community spaces. While prenatal nutrition education and food assistance programs can provide important resources, information alone cannot address the challenges many people face when trying to access healthy and affordable food during pregnancy. The Nourishing Births Initiative is a proposed community-based maternal health program designed to respond to these needs by bringing together prenatal nutrition education, help connecting to food resources, community gardening, and peer support for Black birthing people …

Mind The Hazard: Modeling And Interpreting Comfort With Personalized Sensing, Yufei Zhang, Matteo Favero, Patrick Chwalek, Sailin Zhong, Denis Lalanne, A. Joseph Paradiso, Clayton Miller, Andrew Sonta

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Recent advances in personalized sensing and comfort feedback have spurred the development of data-driven comfort models tailored to individual needs. However, because current models treat sequential comfort feedback independently, they are subject to unstable predictions and limited interpretability, hindering their deployment in building management. This study introduces a dynamic modeling framework that utilizes a Neural Ordinary Differential Equations-based Continuous-time Markov Chain to model the transitions in comfort states over time. Our modeling approach, developed through a field study utilizing smart glasses and mobile app feedback, tracks occupants' comfort transitions across daily activities and contexts. The results demonstrate that this model …

Failed Gay Rights Amendment To Mankato's Human Rights Ordinance In Mankato, Minnesota In 1987, Kellian Clink

Library Services Publications

In 1987, small but passionate people urged the city to pass an amendment to Mankato’s existing human rights ordinance to protect LGBTQ+ communities.   Advocates argued that gays were entitled to the same rights as straight people and were looking for protection in housing and employment, particularly. They demonstrated that people had lost jobs, housing, and access to dance venues. Some opponents equated gays with promiscuity, child molestation, solicitation, sin, and AIDS; some were convinced it was not needed; some pinned their arguments on the existence of laws already on the books.  This narrative is based on articles from the local …

Regulating Religious Coexistence : The Intricacies Of Interfaith Cooperation In Coastal Kenya, Erik Meinema

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Regulating Religious Coexistence offers a compelling ethnographic analysis of how Muslims, Christians, and practitioners of indigenous African religions negotiate coexistence in Kenya’s coastal region. The book conceptualizes religious diversity as a dynamic field shaped by multiple partly intersecting and partly conflicting models of interaction. These include the political secularism promoted by the Kenyan state and civil society organizations focused on interfaith harmony, forms of competition between religious groups, and pluralistic practices in which individuals draw on multiple traditions to meet spiritual needs.

Through a close examination of civil society initiatives funded by Western donors to foster peacebuilding and to counter …

Hands-On Ransomware: An Experiential Wannacry Case Study For Undergraduate Cybersecurity Education, Eli Creek Richmond, Thomas R. Devine

Military Cyber Affairs

Ransomware represents one of the most disruptive threats in the cyber landscape, yet hands-on malware analysis remains rare in undergraduate cybersecurity curricula. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an experiential learning module centered on the WannaCry ransomware case study, deployed in a senior-level course at West Virginia University. Students performed static and dynamic analysis using industry-standard tools. Pre- and post-module assessments demonstrated measurable gains in self-reported competency across seven technical dimensions. The module's competencies align directly with DoD Cyber Workforce Framework Work Role 212, Cyber Defense Forensics Analyst, supporting education-to-workforce pipeline development.

From Framework To Toolchain: Implementing Zero Trust Architecture In Cloud-Native Environments For Dow Compliance, Shelby C. Snyder

Military Cyber Affairs

Federal agencies face a fiscal year 2027 target for enterprise-wide Zero Trust deployment, but NIST SP 800-207A defines logical components without identifying the Kubernetes technologies that implement them. This paper proposes a three-tier mapping of the Policy Engine, Policy Administrator, and Policy Enforcement Point to service mesh, microsegmentation, and perimeter tooling, stating the criteria by which each component is classified. It then applies a defined rubric to six Zero Trust vendors across component alignment, Kubernetes capability, federal authorization posture, and evidence quality, finding that no single vendor covers all three tiers. The mapping is a testable architectural proposition; a Stage …

The Future Of Transit, Adam Cohen

Mineta Transportation Institute

Public transit agencies are adapting to a post-pandemic operating environment characterized by hybrid work, more dispersed travel demand, workforce constraints, and persistent fiscal pressures. This perspective paper examines how transit agencies, such as the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), can strengthen ridership while improving the financial sustainability and long-term resilience of its transit system. The analysis synthesizes peer-reviewed research, government and industry reports, publicly available data, transit agency case studies, and expert interviews with thought leaders. The findings indicate that reliability, travel time, frequency, and customer experience remain fundamental drivers of transit use, but that traditional peak-oriented service planning …

Public Sector Experiences Of Disruptions In The Psychological Contract: The Influence Of Ideological Currency And Digital Transformation On Public Servants, Willemijn Van Haeften, Xander Lub, Pascal Ravesteijn, Pascale Peters

Communications of the IIMA

Digital transformation is reshaping public-sector work and may alter how public servants evaluate their psychological contract with their employer. This research-in-progress examines how critical incidents associated with digital transformation disrupt psychological contracts and how ideological currency, the perceived commitment to valued societal causes or principles, shapes subsequent trajectories toward renegotiation, repair, or exit. The study uses a qualitative phenomenological design based on semi-structured interviews with 20 employees from five Dutch municipalities experiencing transformation-related changes. The Critical Incident Technique is combined with the dynamic psychological contract phase model to reconstruct disruption trajectories, while thematic analysis identifies recurring patterns across cases. Preliminary …

The Effect Of Mental Health Check-Ins On Stigma And Symptoms Of Anxiety, Depression, And Post-Traumatic Stress, Benjamin Joseph Boeke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This applied quantitative study examined whether participation in structured mental health check-ins was associated with self-stigma toward seeking psychological help and reported symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and depression among law enforcement officers. Using a cross-sectional, nonexperimental comparative design, anonymous survey data were collected from 130 active sworn officers across 10 small and mid-sized Iowa law enforcement agencies. The agencies included those with and without mandatory check-in policies; primary comparisons were based on officers’ reported participation in at least one check-in. Measures included the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. …

Are We Prepared? A Qualitative Multiple Case Study On Multijurisdictional Readiness And Response Capabilities For Atypical Complex Coordinated Incidents Involving Mass-Casualty Cbrne Threats In The State Of Washington, Christopher J. Gard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Complex coordinated terrorist attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) elements, along with active shooter threats, pose significant challenges for first-responding law enforcement officers. Responding to active threats where civilian lives are at immediate risk of serious injury or death requires an immediate, decisive response from the initial officers on the scene. When responders learn that perpetrators have dispersed one or more CBRNE-related weapons during an ongoing violent spree, on-site law enforcement personnel must be appropriately trained and adequately equipped to quickly and decisively confront and neutralize the attacker(s). Because prolonged federal CBRNE response assets can be delayed …

Strength Of No-Cash Bail Policies And Jail Population Outcomes: A Quantitative Study, Charles Lincoln Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study assessed the impact of no-cash bail reforms on local jail populations in various U.S. states. The no-cash bail policies, also known as "cashless bail," are criminal justice reforms that reduce or eliminate the need for defendants to pay money to secure release from jail while awaiting trial. The goal is to base pretrial detention on safety risks, not financial status. These systems use non-monetary conditions to ensure court appearances instead of wealth-based detention. This study aimed to address a critical gap in scholarly understanding of statewide implementation policies carried out at the local level. The data were …

Resilient Ethical Governance By Design: Building Resilience For Future-Ready Smart Cities Against Emerging Technology Disruptions In Public Sector – A Case Study Of Dallas Smart City, Emmanuel Asamoah Asare

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines how Dallas’s smart city strategic policies foster resilience against disruptions associated with emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and Internet of Things systems. Using a convergent mixed-methods comparative case study, Dallas serves as the primary case, Austin serves as a U.S. municipal comparator, and Barcelona serves as a qualitative benchmark for ethical and trust-centered smart city governance. The study integrates document analysis, broadband and digital equity indicators, stakeholder engagement evidence, and exploratory quantitative comparisons to assess how governance adaptability, preparedness, functionality, equity, and stakeholder trust shape resilience outcomes.

The findings provide partial support for the study’s hypotheses. Dallas …

The Impact Of Direct Democracy On Policy Formation, Tricia Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As political polarization and distrust in elected representatives increases in American politics, voters are turning to direct democracy as a mechanism to drive policy making. Proponents of both legislative mechanisms and the use of direct democracy argue that their means of policy making is the most democratic. The Founding Fathers chose a representative system to limit the influence of faction and try and prevent Tocqueville’s tyranny of the majority. This study examines both direct democracy and legislative outcomes at the state level through the lens of adult use cannabis sales policy. Adult use cannabis sales were first legalized in the …

Refereed Research - Indispensable Yet Not Fully Legitimate: Street Markets As Invisible Subsistence Infrastructure, Raji Srinivasan, Maria C. Merino

Subsistence Marketplaces

Street markets are key provisioning systems across the Global South, supplying fresh food, employment, and retail access absent formal infrastructure. Yet despite street markets’ functional indispensability to millions of low-income consumers, their legitimacy is chronically contested, affirmed by vendors and communities yet challenged by planners, developers, and state authorities who apply formal-economy criteria in evaluating them. We theorize this as a legitimacy paradox and ask what structural mechanisms sustain it? Using composite vignettes grounded in fieldwork, we theorize three mechanisms. First, visibility without recognition: street markets are hyper-visible yet excluded from cognitive templates of legitimate, formal retail. Second, asymmetric essentiality: …

From Monopoly To Orchestration: The Hilltop And Farm Youth And The Changing Organization Of State Coercion - The Israeli Case, Idan Yaron

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

Drawing on more than a decade of ethnographic fieldwork – as a social anthropologist, studying the Far Right in Israel, on the ground, and through intimate and prolonged relationships with opinion leaders and rank-and-file activists – this essay examines the Hilltop and Farm Youth in the West Bank to reconsider Charles Tilly's influential account of state formation and the organization of coercion. It asks a simple but troubling question: why would a powerful modern state, fully capable of suppressing autonomous violent actors, sometimes allow them to persist? I argue that Tilly's theory should be confirmed, adapted, and amended. His fundamental …

Four Year Reflection: Scaling Transformative Advanced Manufacturing Pathways (Stamp), Benjamin Boer, Rouzbeh Rahai

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This data brief presents a four-year cumulative reflection on the Scaling Transformative Advanced Manufacturing Pathways (STAMP) initiative, tracking student participation, industry credential attainment, and projected long-term economic impacts across 19 participating Illinois school districts. Authored by Rouzbeh Rahai and Benjamin Boer of the Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University (EdSystems) in partnership with the Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA) Foundation, the report examines student-level data from 10,424 unique participants. Findings highlight that students with high economic needs out-attain their peers—representing 69% of credential earners—and that earned credentials account for $57.8 million in potential additional lifetime earnings.

Book Review: Multidomain Operations: The Pursuit Of Battlefield Dominance In The 21st Century, Chase Metcalf

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Edited by Amos Fox and Franz-Stefan Gady

Reviewed by: Colonel Chase Metcalf, director of campaign planning, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

This critical assessment challenges assumptions behind one of the US military’s most prominent operational concepts. Its arguments raise important questions about doctrine, strategy, and future warfare.

©2026 Chase Metcalf

Book Review: “Review Essay On Three Works About The Ukraine War”, John A. Nagl

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

• The Russian Invasion of Ukraine: February–December 2022: Destroying the Myth of Russian Invincibility, by John S. Harrel

• Black Sea Battleground: The Road to Ukraine, edited by Glen E. Howard

• Beyond Ukraine: Debating the Future of War, edited by Tim Sweijs and Jeffrey H. Michaels

Reviewed by: John A. Nagl, General John J. Pershing Professor of Warfighting Studies, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

A sweeping review of contemporary conflict, this review essay shows how the war in Ukraine is reshaping global security thinking and forcing strategists to confront hard …

Book Review: The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, And The Making Of The Modern World, Hal Brands

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Hal Brands

Reviewed by: John Erickson, senior engineer, Axiom Technologies, and Dr. John A. Nagl, General John J. Pershing Professor of Warfighting Studies, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

In The Eurasian Century, Hal Brands explores how the geopolitical center of gravity has shifted to Eurasia, where autocratic powers challenge the liberal international order. Drawing on history, strategy, and geography, Brands argues that America must remain engaged to prevent a global descent into instability. This timely and provocative book reveals why the twenty-first century’s defining struggles will be fought across the world’s most …

Book Review: Covert Action: National Approaches To Unacknowledged Intervention, Michael Elieson

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Magda Long, Rory Cormac, Genevieve Lester, Mark Stout, and Damien Van Puyvelde (editors)

Reviewed by: Michael Elieson, General Walter Bedell Smith Chair of National Intelligence Studies, Department of National Security and Strategy, US Army War College

How do states shape events abroad while denying involvement? Looking beyond the US experience, this analysis uncovers the diverse ways states pursue influence in the shadows and why those efforts matter for understanding international relations.

©2026 Michael Elieson

Book Review: Nostalgic Virility As A Cause Of War: How Leaders Of Great Powers Cope With Status Decline, Christine C. Cook

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Matthieu Grandpierron

Reviewed by: Dr. Christine C. Cook, (colonel, US Army Reserve, retired), adjunct professor, US Naval War College

What happens when powerful nations feel their global status slipping away? In Nostalgic Virility as a Cause of War, Matthieu Grandpierron explores how emotional responses—rooted in pride, identity, and historical memory—can drive leaders of great powers toward conflict. This provocative study blends psychology, international relations, and strategic leadership to reveal how nostalgia can become a dangerous force in global politics.

©2026 Christine C. Cook

Book Review: Security In The 21st Century Europe, Ionut Popescu

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Andrew Cottey

Reviewed by: Ionut Popescu, associate professor of political science, Texas State University

Europe’s security landscape has shifted dramatically, shaped by new threats like terrorism, energy dependence, and climate change. Security in the 21st Century Europe by Andrew Cottey offers a comprehensive analysis of how traditional interstate conflict has given way to complex policy dilemmas on the continent’s periphery. With a blend of theory and real-world case studies, this essential text explores how NATO, the EU, and national governments are adapting to a transformed strategic environment.

©2026 Ionut Popescu

Book Review: The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, And Warnings From History, Jadwiga Biskupska

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Odd Arne Westad

Reviewed by: Jadwiga Biskupska, Harold K. Johnson Chair of Military History, US Army War College

A historian’s warning on how great powers stumble into war, this study draws sharp lessons from the past for today’s fragile global order. As rival powers rise and tensions mount, it reveals how missteps and misperceptions can turn regional crises into global catastrophe—and how leaders might navigate a shifting balance of power without repeating the failures that once reshaped the world.

©2026 Jadwiga Biskupska

Book Review: The Weight Of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage In The Sahara, Michael Margolius

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Edith Blais

Reviewed by Commander Michael Margolius, US Navy, professor, US Army War College, and former J3 of the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency

In his review of The Weight of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara, Michael Margolius views the ordeal faced by author Edith Blais through the lens of a personnel recovery agent. Blais and her boyfriend were kidnapped and held for 15 months by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin gunmen. Margolius points out the many small and practical things that helped Blais survive and how her story can help agencies learn from her experience to …

Book Review: Arming East Asia: Deterring China In The Early Cold War, Richard H. Immerman

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Eric Setzekorn

Reviewed by Richard H. Immerman, emeritus professor of history, Temple University

Covering American policy toward Asia in the Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower administrations, Arming East Asia: Deterring China in the Early Cold War looks to “enhance the historical sensibilities of contemporary policymakers, thereby enabling them to make informed—and by implication, better—decisions as the United States again confronts an aggressive China in the twenty-first century,” according to the reviewer. It focuses on the years 1952–60, though offers no “surprises for informed readers.”

Copyright: ©2026 Richard H. Immerman

Book Review: Warfare In Peacetime: Proxies And State Powers, Scott Heal

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Christopher C. Harmon

Reviewed by Scott Heal (US Army)

Warfare in Peacetime: Proxies and State Powers defines proxy, lists the advantages and disadvantages of using proxies, and offers seven case studies, including the USSR and East Germany, the United States and the Nicaraguan Contras, and Iran and Hezbollah. The reviewer notes, “those studying limited warfare or the challenges in understanding and addressing gray-zone activities will find Harmon’s framework and analysis practical and informative.”

Book Review: Nexus: A Brief History Of Information Networks From The Stone Age To Ai, David R. Leard

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Yuval Noah Harari

Reviewed by Colonel Daniel R. Leard, US Army War College Fellow at Princeton University

Built on the ideas that stories are important and bind civilizations, which results in human societies working as information networks, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, by Yuval Noah Harari, is the third book exploring the evolution of humanity. Harari unpacks the idea that the networks people create have flaws and people tend to exploit these flaws to misuse power. Though the topic is heavy, the reviewer notes, Harari “presents deeply complex issues in …

Book Review: Death, Dominance, And State-Building: The Us In Iraq And The Future Of American Military Intervention, Connor Halliday

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Roger D. Petersen

Reviewed by Major Connor Halliday (US Army), instructor of international affairs at the United States Military Academy

Death, Dominance, and State-Building: The US in Iraq and the Future of American Military Intervention, by Roger D. Petersen, analyzes America’s strategy in Iraq over the last 20 years and offers lessons learned for future US military interactions and state-building ventures. Reviewer Connor Halliday notes, “Military practitioners, strategists, and scholars of civil wars and state-building will all find Petersen’s work insightful and thought-provoking. The book’s value lies not just in its analysis of Iraq, but in its broader lessons …

Metro Monitor 2026: Las Vegas And Reno, Nevada, Kevin Yang, Lara Karaalp, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents economic growth performance indicators in the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV and Reno, NV metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), using data provided by the Brookings Institution’s Metro Monitor 2023  and 2026. The Metro Monitor explores five indicators of economic performance over ten year periods: the 2023 report provides data measuring the period from 2011 to 2021, while the 2026 report provides data measuring the period from 2014 to 2024. The Metro Monitor reports data on growth, prosperity, economic inclusion, racial inclusion, and geographic inclusion across 196 MSAs in the U.S.

Identification Of At-Risk Rail Network Segments And Development Of Fragility-Based Resilience Metrics, Haizhong Wang, Brian M. Staes, Benyamin Ghoreishi

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report presents a multi-hazard risk and resilience assessment of the U.S. rail network. The research identifies at-risk rail segments exposed to flash flooding, riverine flooding, extreme heat, and landslides using historical hazard records, federal accident and incident data, and meteorological datasets spanning 2000–2024. Flood exposure is mapped nationally by linking storm records to rail alignments and estimating the frequency and intensity of events at the segment level. For extreme heat, a fragility analysis of 153 documented thermal buckling derailments reveals that a significant share of failures occurred under relatively mild environmental conditions, pointing to infrastructure and maintenance factors rather …