Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Implications Of Covid-19 On Progress In The Un Conventions On Biodiversity And Climate Change, Andrea Monica D. Ortiz, Alaya M. De Leon, Justine Nicole V. Torres, Cecilia Therese T. Guiao, Antonio Gabriel M. La Viña

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

2020 was to be a landmark year for setting targets to stop biodiversity loss and prevent dangerous climate change. However, COVID-19 has caused delays to the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the 26th COP of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Negotiations on the Global Biodiversity Framework and the second submission of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement were due to take place at these COPs. There is uncertainty as to how the COVID-19 disruption will affect the negotiations, whether parties will pursue more ambitious actions or take a …

Education Faculty As Knowledge Brokers: Competing For Access To New York State Print Media And Policy Influence, Gary Anderson, Nakia Gray-Nicolas, Madison Payton

Publications and Research

In an environment in which new policy entrepreneurs and networks are influencing policy and public opinion, many university faculty are increasingly seeking ways to mobilize knowledge beyond academic conferences and journals. Using New York state as a case, we searched Access World News to compare the level of media access of academics with other knowledge brokering organizations (KBOs; e.g. think tanks, teachers’ unions, advocacy organizations, etc.). Our data shows relatively low levels of access for academics and provides profiles of those academics with high levels of access and what we might learn from them. We provide a discussion of the …

Constructing Curriculum: Centering Identities In Sex Education, Jozette Belmont

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sex education (sex ed) is a state-by-state and school-by-school issue, and there are no federal laws which mandate medically accurate education. In New York, schools only offer one semester of health education which often happens in the last semester of twelfth grade. Further, LGBTQIA+ people’s sexual health and identities are rarely mentioned. Therefore, this project asks: What are the ways sex ed curricula and policies in New York address the needs of LGBTQIA+ youth? To answer this question, I use a critical policy analysis to compare curriculum from the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and Peer Health Exchange …

Concentrated Lunar Resources: Imminent Implications For Governance And Justice, Martin Elvis, Alanna Krolikowski, Tony Milligan

History and Political Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Numerous missions planned for the next decade are likely to target a handful of small sites of interest on the Moon's surface, creating risks of crowding and interference at these locations. The Moon presents finite and scarce areas with rare topography or concentrations of resources of special value. Locations of interest to science, notably for astronomy, include the Peaks of Eternal Light, the coldest of the cold traps and smooth areas on the far side. Regions richest in physical resources could also be uniquely suited to settlement and commerce. Such sites of interest are both few and small. Typically, there …

Urban Mayors Press - Winter 2021, John S. Watson Institute For Urban Policy & Research At Kean University

Urban Mayors Policy Center

The Urban Mayors Press is a digital newsletter created to highlight the impactful work of New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA) members and to provide resourceful information to municipalities throughout New Jersey from federal, state and local agencies.

Financial Institution And The Inclusion Of Youths Through Entrepreneurship In Kenya, Fred Ernest Nasubo

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Kenya is home to 10.1 million youths, which corresponds to almost 20.3 per cent of the country's population aged 15-24 years. According to the World Bank report released in 2017, Kenya tops in the East Africa region in youth unemployment at 17.3 per cent in comparison to Uganda and Tanzania, at 6 per cent. The majority of youths considered to have attained working age are either unemployed or engaged in low paid employment. Promoting youth entrepreneurship is one way of empowering young people to respond innovatively to the needs of society; this would consequently lead to the generation of more …

The Exploitation Or Protection Of Communities And Exploited Persons?, Spencer Boldt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study was intended to dissect the inner workings of the newly implemented Bill C-36 in Canada, The Protection of Communities and Exploited Peoples Act through a mixed methods approach. This was done through comparing statistical research (demographics, crime data, and overall economic state) within Regina to interviews conducted with those individually involved in prostitution and the community of the city. This study was meant to draw out the differences between what the statistics depict, a growth in the overall safety of Regina, versus the perspectives gained from multiple interviewees. With this mixed method approach I have deduced that Bill …

The Impact Of U.S. Refugee Policy Change & Political Rhetoric On Nonprofit Service Providers’ Emotional Well-Being, Maria V. Wathen, Patrick L.F. Decker, Charity N. Weishar

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study examines how U.S. refugee policy changes from 2014 to 2018 affected the emotional well-being of nonprofit service providers. Elements identified by participants as emotionally significant were funding cuts, the “bans”, the unpredictable nature of policy change, and most impactful, negative political rhetoric. Emotional wellbeing was negatively affected and included an increase in stress, anger, sadness, despair, depression, helplessness, frustration, and caution. Negative impacts were also felt with regard to professional identities and to relationships with family, friends, and strangers. Importantly, impact on emotional wellbeing differed by level of organization at which the participant worked and by organizational characteristics.

Scottish Marine Renewable Energy: U.S. Approaches For Development Of Wave And Tidal Technologies, Stella Kathryn Fairall

Honors Theses and Capstones

Marine renewable energy, energy harnessed from various ocean resources such as waves, tides, currents, thermal gradients, and marine streams, has incredible potential in the United States. Several European countries have realized the potential of the resource in the North Sea and Atlantic and have created incredibly successful industries already. The United Kingdom, particularly Scotland, is the world leader because of the comprehensive policy, labor force, and markets it has established in order to make MRE a competitive energy source. In the United States, the industry is immature, underfunded, and lacks policy support. In order to establish itself as a world …

Strategic Educational Leadership Within The Policy-Making Arena: The Promulgation, Passage, And Practice Of Tennessee's High Performing School Districts Flexibility Act Of 2013, Robert Lawrence Hullett Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

In 2010, Tennessee’s 106th General Assembly passed the First to the Top Act (2010), a companion legislation for the federal Race to the Top Act (2009) program launched by the Obama Administration. A provision of this state law required that half of teacher and principal evaluations be based upon student achievement, which included a component of required continuous academic growth. For school districts whose students scored at the highest academic performance levels, the continuous growth component would negatively impact their teachers’ and principals’ annual evaluations. In 2012, the Williamson County Schools (WCS) superintendent requested mitigation for relieve from the Tennessee …

Deterrence And Response Improvements For A Large-Scale Cyberterrorism Attack, Harrison Cunningham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A successful large-scale cyberterrorism attack has never been conducted against the United States, yet cyberterrorism is a real and evolving threat. The United States assumes a largely defensive posture toward the thousands of daily cyberattacks conducted against the country, allowing cyberterrorists to probe and execute cyberattacks with broad impunity. The United States would most likely respond to a successful large-scale cyberterrorism attack within a framework of regulations concerning physical acts of terrorism since no policy exists on how to respond to major cyberterrorism attacks. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of U.S. terrorism and cybersecurity …

Service Members’ Perspectives On Veteran Homelessness In Maryland And Virginia, Olasunkanmi G. Amosu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homelessness among military veterans (HAMV) is a protracted problem. In November 2009, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pledged to end the issue, but almost 12 years later, HAMV persists despite various solutions proposed. In January 2020, 37,252 veterans were reported as experiencing homelessness in the United States. The creation of previous solutions did not include the perspectives of service members. The purpose of this study was to bridge this gap in knowledge by discovering the views of service members on why veteran colleagues experience homelessness. The theoretical framework for this study was Allport’s trait theory. A qualitative case study …

Harm Reduction Strategies & Law Enforcement’S Approach To The Opioid Epidemic, Johnathon Michael Sharp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The opioid epidemic in the United States has increased in severity, lives lost, and associated costs for several decades. While legislation and criminal justice practices around the world regarding opioids have followed various avenues including alternative harm reduction approaches, U.S. responses have largely remained stagnant. However, one alternative harm reduction program, the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, has been implemented in a few U.S. cities. This study examined law enforcement administrators’ familiarity and challenges with harm reduction strategies like the LEAD program. Using Kingdon’s multiple streams theory, this qualitative case study interviewed 10 law enforcement administrators from the Midwestern …

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Work Policy And Its Influence On College Students’ Academic Success, Annetta Ann Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a public food supplement assistance program offered by the U.S. federal government. Undergraduate students who apply for the program must work at least 20 hours per week while concurrently enrolled in six academic units or more. However, students who work more find less time to commit to their college studies, resulting in a negative impact on their academic performance. This phenomenography study’s purpose is to understand from an academic advisor’s perspective how SNAP’s work policy affects academics among first-generation undergraduate students. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Goldratt’s theory of constraints were the conceptual …

Policy And Collaborative Governance: Case Studies Of Three Wildlife Crossings, Nicholas Maya

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Over the last several decades, the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions in North America has significantly increased, driving substantial loss of human life and wildlife and economic costs. The most effective wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation is wildlife crossing structures (undercrossings and overcrossings), with some studies suggesting they can reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by 97% when paired with wildlife exclusion fencing. However, cost, funding, jurisdiction, land ownership, and local support are limiting factors in constructing these crossing structures. This paper presents case studies of three crossing projects in Snoqualmie, Washington, Teton County, Wyoming, and Summit County, Colorado, to illustrate the similarities and differences in …

The Political Astuteness Of The New Mexico Registered Nurse, Gloria Sue Doherty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States spends the most per capita of all the developed countries on healthcare but demonstrates the worst healthcare outcomes. National agencies have turned to Registered Nurses (RNs) to improve healthcare outcomes through participation in healthcare policy development. Although the recommendation for participation in policy development exists, RNs, including those in the U.S. state of New Mexico have not participated at high levels. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to measure the political astuteness of RNs in New Mexico and to determine to what extent nursing leaders have been successful in diffusing Institute of Medicine recommendations. Rogers’s …

Veterans Program For Politics And Civic Engagement, J. Michael Haynie, David M. Van Slyke

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

The Veterans Program for Politics and Civic Engagement (VPPCE) is an intensive, non-partisan training program for veterans and military spouses with an interest in pursuing careers in politics. Launched in 2019, the program is a collaboration between Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and the top-ranked Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The curriculum is tailored to help participants explore careers in politics, prepare them to run a campaign, and succeed thereafter. Most importantly, the program facilitates those who previously served in our nation’s defense to continue a second career in public service.

A Qualitative Analysis Of End-Of-Life Healthcare In Tennessee: Politics, Principles, And Perceptions, Erin Mauck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unprecedented growth of the aging population in Tennessee is a significant demographic trend that highlights the necessity for healthcare policy that tackles end-of-life issues. This study examined the perceived quality of end-of-life healthcare in Tennessee, areas that are in need of improvement, policies that have the potential to influence improvements, and the role of politics in end-of-life healthcare policy. It also assessed the support for end-of-life healthcare policy that would advance quality of care and expand end-of-life choices for Tennesseans, while evaluating the policy-making process that legislators employ.

For this study, data were collected using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with …

Strategic Consequences: How Executive And Organizational Decision-Making Impacts The Outcome Of Unconventional Warfare, Joseph Osborne

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Conventional academic discussion vis-à-vis America’s Special Operations Forces, is largely focused at the tactical and operational level of analysis. This means the emphasis on explaining outcomes is placed on personnel (recruiting, assessing, selecting, and training), cutting edge equipment, innovative tactics, or advanced command and control procedures. Addressing this long-standing trend, I argue that factors well beyond the widely accepted explanations for success or failure are in play. Additionally, these factors are understandable, are manageable, and may have as great or greater an impact on the outcome of a campaign as any tactical consideration. Using the narrowly defined and discrete special …

Public Perceptions Of Delays In The Release Of Police Body-Worn Camera Footage, Christopher L. Bush

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Delays in the release of police body-worn camera (BWC) video footage have amplified public concerns about police misconduct. People question law enforcement transparency when video from BWCs is not shared with the community in a timely manner. The qualitative case study explores the life experiences of the community and the victims’ family related to delays in the release of police BWC footage. Mettler and Sorelle’s policy feedback theory was used for the study’s theoretical framework. The research questions focus on understanding the lived experiences and perceptions of community relationships with law enforcement around transparency, communication, and information sharing. A qualitative …

Is The Transit Industry Prepared For The Cyber Revolution? Policy Recommendations To Enhance Surface Transit Cyber Preparedness, Scott Belcher, Terri Belcher, Eric Greenwald, Brandon Thomas

Mineta Transportation Institute

The intent of this study is to assess the readiness, resourcing, and structure of public transit agencies to identify, protect from, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity vulnerabilities and threats. Given the multitude of connected devices already in use by the transit industry and the vast amount of data generated (with more coming online soon), the transit industry is vulnerable to malicious cyber-attack and other cybersecurity-related threats. This study reviews the state of best cybersecurity practices in public surface transit; outlines U.S. public surface transit operators’ cybersecurity operations; assesses U.S. policy on cybersecurity in public surface transportation; and provides …

Desa Mawacara, Negara Mawatata: Bali’S Customary Village-Based State Policies In The Time Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, I Ngurah Suryawan

Jurnal Politik

Balinese customary villages are at the center of the state’s strategy for mitigation of Covid-19. Relations between customary villages and the state predate colonial times. The historical dynamics have shown that the traditions and cultures of customary villages (desa mawacara) will always exist within the shadow of the state (negara mawatata). The symbolic narrative of desa mawacara, negara mawatata illustrates the governmentality that the state exercises over the villages. Regional Regulation No. 4/2019 on Customary Villages in Bali and the formation of the customary village-based task force were rational choices made by the Governor of Bali to place the villages …

The Origins Of University Centers On Developmental Disabilities: Early Expectations And Legislation, Bryce Fifield, Marvin G. Fifield

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This article describes the evolution and early expectations of university-based programs to serve people with disabilities. I describe the how the committee that President John F. Kennedy created to make recommendations about how to better serve people with mental retardation suggested university-based programs that would improve the science and provide training to professionals who work with this community. I describe the early legislation and program decisions that were made by stakeholders that created the first generation of University Affiliated Facilities and Programs to serve people with disabilities.

Brave New World: Privacy, Data Sharing And Evidence Based Policy Making, Rhonda S. Binda

Open Educational Resources

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities in particular are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, governments are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more …

An Analysis Of Irrigation Policy In The Mississippi Delta, Brooklyn Mooney

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to provide a sustainable irrigation alternative that could be easily adopted by farmers in the Mississippi Delta in order to improve water resource management. The Mississippi Alluvial Valley Aquifer, the groundwater system that lies under the Mississippi Delta, is being depleted at rapid rates due to industrial farming and unsustainable, outdated irrigation methods. The intent of this research is to evaluate the water scarcity problem in the Mississippi Delta by assessing water extraction rates and the progression of agriculture in the region. Then, various irrigation methods will be evaluated before a final suggestion is made. Through extensive …

Trust Issues: A Case Study Of The Relationship Between Trust And Reform Implementation, Courtney R. Wilson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Reform creation and implementation tends to focus on the mechanics needed to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. School relationships are affected by the tension caused by reform implementation. Research suggests trust among teachers and between teachers and their administrator affects the way teachers make sense of, implement, and use new reform efforts. Given the demands reforms place on schools, trust has the potential to impact and encourage the implementation of reform and the maintenance of relationships. A qualitative case study method was used to decipher the impact trust plays in the implementation of reform. The concept of trust is used …

Asian American And Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (Aanapisis): Serving And Advocating For The Educational Needs Of Southeast Asian American Students, Mike Hoa Nguyen

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

The purpose of this article is to highlight how AANAPISI programs can intentionally design their programming to support Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students, and their responsibility in effectively advocating for them at the policy level. In this effort, this article will first provide a background and an overview of the AANAPISI landscape over the past decade. Then it will focus on one exemplary AANAPISI, providing examples of programmatic mechanisms and efforts used to serve SEAA students. This article concludes by providing recommendations and discussing the implications regarding the role of AANAPISIs in effectively serving and advocating for their SEAA students …

Role Of Municipal Governance In Stabilizing Mature Inner Suburbs: A Study Of Five St. Louis Municipalities 1970-2015, Napoleon Williams Iii

Dissertations

This study explores the role of municipal governance in municipal-level stabilization of inner suburbs in St. Louis County, Missouri. The data, from 1970 to 2015, include a robust collection of official government archives collected from five municipalities in St. Louis County, historical documents, city-state-national statistical data, and related materials. Interviews of 25 stakeholders were conducted and data were analyzed based on the community power structure framework.

I outline five mature St. Louis inner suburbs’ evolution in municipal-level conditions from 1970 to 2015, and I detail the role each suburbs’ municipal governance played in the evolution of municipal-level conditions. I conclude, …

Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis

Honors Theses

Women are underrepresented in mayor’s offices and on city councils across Latin America. In this paper, I examine gender-based differences in individual opinions toward running for office in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as conduct a twenty-six country analysis on factors related to female representation in municipal government. Based on these analyses, I make three main conclusions about female local representation in Latin America. The first conclusion is that women in Latin America are significantly less likely to want to run or feel qualified to run for office. The second conclusion is that cross-national variation in the percentage of female …

“[Don’T] Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor...” A Study On The Trump Administration’S Unprecedented Reforms To The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program And Their Implications, Savannah Day

Honors Theses

From 2017 to 2020, the Trump administration cut United States refugee admissions tenfold. These reforms come unprecedented to the 40-year-old resettlement program (USRAP). By critically reviewing literature on this topic as well as conducting eight original interviews with five national nonprofits contracted by the Department of State to do refugee resettlement casework, this study sought to identify the implications of the Trump administration’s reforms to the program. Once implications were identified, I used the applied frameworks of program model as well as Michael Worth’s sociological and political science theories of American nonprofit-government relations to better inform and guide the study. …