Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Vaccine Diplomacy Game: The Race For Soft Power, Isaac Antwiboasiako

Articles

This article examines the motivations and dynamics of the donors and suppliers of the covid-19 vaccines to the global south countries in the context of public diplomacy to wield soft power. Thus, it investigates how the West and East use the vaccines as a public diplomacy tool to influence public opinion in other nations or continents in order to either enhance their global image and reputation or exert some form of international influence or have new allies. The article argues that covid-19 vaccines are a soft power asset; therefore, the manufacturing nations may use them to shape their target foreign …

Which Transportation Technologies Do We Want?, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

A review of Todd Litman's book, New Mobilities- Smart Planning for Emerging Transportation Technologies

Umass Boston Bike Share Survey Instrument And Dataset, Philip Troped

Exercise and Health Sciences Faculty Publication Series

This site contains the survey instrument and survey data that were collected in the fall of 2014 from students, faculty, and staff at the University of Massachusetts Boston. These data were used for a manuscript to be published in PLOS ONE in 2022. The publication is entitled, “Correlates of bike share use and its association with weight status at an urban university” and the authors are Lawrence H. Stahley, Sarah M. Camhi, Julie A. Wright, and Philip J. Troped.

Workforce Development Strategies That Impact Reentry Of Released Females In New York City, Shonae L. Mills

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Formerly incarcerated women often find it difficult to reintegrate into their communities after release. For this population, adjustment to changes directly impacts their reentry success in all areas of life. Previous research has identified significant gaps in social services for formerly incarcerated females (FIFs). Service providers' perspectives about practices and policies to address the problem are inadequate, and as a result, service provisions suffer. Therefore, this qualitative study was used to examine the shared experiences of 15 workforce development professionals who assist FIFs during their reentry process to evaluate and assess the most effective methods or policies that assist this …

The Examination Of Small Chicago Nonprofit Organizations In The Voluntary Implementation Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation, Patricia A. Owens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractNonprofit organizations (NPOs) do not have a mandated requirement for implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002; however, small Chicago NPOs had voluntarily implemented SOX provisions. The passage of SOX impacted the manner in which NPOs govern, provide disclosures, and audit their records. It was not known what the experiences, including facilitators or barriers, had been in that effort. The accountability mechanism theory by Ostrower and Stone provided the framework for this study. The key research questions focused on what major SOX provisions were most useful to implement and the experiences faced in the voluntary implementation of the SOX provisions. …

Exploring Infant Massage As Standard Nonpharmacological Treatment For Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome, Christine Ann Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The opioid epidemic in the United States has increased opioid use in women of reproductive age, leading to in utero exposure causing withdrawal symptoms in newborns known as neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). State perinatal quality collaboratives (SPQCs) have been used in hospitals with quality initiatives (QIs) to improve standardization for NOWS; however, there remains a gap in knowledge in interventions to support the mother-infant dyad such as infant massage. This general qualitative research study explored the process and experiences of implementing infant massage as a standard practice for NOWS to inform national, state, and local policy. Participants in the …

Faculty Perceptions Of Safety And The Impact Of Online Classroom Modalities During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mary E. Ogidigben, Ernesto R. Rivera, Robert S. Keyser

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected a number of institutions – one of which is Kennesaw State University (KSU). In the fall 2020 semester, KSU implemented safety protocols following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the University System of Georgia (USG) guidelines. A cross-sectional survey was sent out for faculty to complete at their own will regarding their thoughts on how the new guidelines are affecting their work as well as their safety while on campus. The survey consisted of 18 Likert-scale questions and eight free response questions. The survey results showed that 60.42% of …

How Community-Based Solutions Affect Households Headed By Single Mothers In An Urban Food Desert, Christie Will Ross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited access to affordable and nutritious foods is a growing problem in the United States, leading to a rise in obesity, diabetes, and heart disease as well as poor academic performance. With this has come the rise of urban food deserts, specific geographic areas with limited access to affordable, healthy, and nutritious foods within a 1-mile radius, which impacts low-income and minority communities at a greater rate than the rest of US society. Single mothers represent the largest demographic impacted by urban food deserts yet are the least represented in research. The purpose of this narrative study, using the human …

The Evolving Challenges, Issues Of Cybercrime, Law Enforcement Personnel, Preparedness, And Training, Eileen Victoria Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cybercrime is an escalating phenomenon recognized by law enforcement personnel and others as a serious ever-increasing problem. The need is critical to equip police with cybercrime preparedness to combat and eradicate the problem. Cyber-attacks have negatively impacted the growing epidemic needing constructive solutions. The police personnel’s experiences provided essential cybercrime preparedness, acquired in diverse locations, and applied in the workplace with preventive cybercrime recommendations. Moustakas provided the overall design with theoretical underpinnings of the cybercrime phenomenon with a scientific design. The sample size was eight participants who met the inclusion criteria with the underlying principles of Kolb’s experiential learning theory …

Stakeholder Success Measures Of A Safe Parking Pilot Program For Individuals Sheltering In Vehicles, Obiageri Constance Aginam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Safe Parking Pilot Program was a crisis response to the recent increase in vehicular homelessness in a Northern Californian city. The city identified issues of unsheltered individuals due to the increase housing cost and unaffordable housing. The city partnered with faith-based organizations to provide safe locations for individuals sheltering in vehicles. The current research aimed to evaluate benchmarks and metrics to measure the safe parking pilot program. The purpose of the study was to help the city leaders and the key stakeholders identify measures of success and how they might improve the program in one Northern Californian city. Semistructured …

Workplace Characteristics That Affect The Career Development Of African American Women, Coretta Loraine Alexander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfrican American women are underrepresented in executive/senior-level positions in public and nonprofit organizations. The purpose of the study was to identify how workplace culture characteristics inform the career development of African American women. The conceptual framework incorporated Hegel’s standpoint theory and Collins’ Black feminist thought, emphasizing the importance of perspective differences stemming from social or professional experiences. The research questions addressed the workplace culture characteristics that assist or hinder African American women’s career development in northern California. I transcribed, coded, and analyzed data gathered from 15 audio-recorded, semistructured interviews. Results indicated that specific characteristics of workplace cultures were identified as …

Caregiver Perceptions Of The Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act, Odinakachi Chigewe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caregivers often experience increased stress when raising children who have a mental illness. Awareness of the various challenges caregivers face enables the offering of improved support. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 (HR2646) improves and raises the profile of mental health within the government chart. This qualitative phenomenological study was guided by questions aimed at identifying caregiver perceptions of The Act and understanding caregiver input and opinions on the impact of this policy. Howlett’s five stream framework of the policy process and Kingdon’s multiple streams model provide the theoretical framework for this study. Individual telephonic interviews …

Value Co-Creation Paradigm Framework For Integrating Evidence-Based Practices In Child Welfare, Georgina Horton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAlthough there has been increased utilization of evidence-based practice (EBP) in child welfare services, it has not been comprehensively incorporated or fully embraced by key decision makers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore a value co-creation (VCC) paradigm as a viable framework for collaboration between stakeholders in child welfare, and to explore what attitudes are necessary to enable child welfare stakeholders. The VCC paradigm framework comprising three elements (engagement platforms, experience domains, and capability ecosystems) was used to guide the study. Data were collected from semi structured, in-depth interviews with four key decision makers in the …

Risk Or Contra-Political Correctness With Distrust Towards Muslims In The U.S. Military, Benedict Uzoma Iheanacho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Muslims are viewed by many in the United States with great anxiety and distrust. This mistrust encompasses Muslims in the U.S. military, especially since 9/11. The trust deficit has implications to U.S. security and military readiness in a global threat environment. Whereas the notion of Islamophobia has generated significant literature in modern public policy, there is a dearth of research on public perception towards Muslims serving in the U.S. military. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of non-Muslim U.S. military personnel on the mistrust towards Muslim military personnel in the post-9/11 era. Theories of …

Perceptions Of Implicit Bias In New York City Healthcare System During Covid-19, Kiesha Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Implicit bias has been identified as a significant problem that hinders effective healthcare delivery. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory phenomenological study was to examine whether implicit bias influenced healthcare services for African Americans with comorbidities aged 30 and over living in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current studies show healthcare disparities, revealing barriers with healthcare delivery; however, they do not disclose a patient’s lived experience qualitatively, which constituted a gap in the literature. The frameworks of the behavioral model of health services use, and social construction and policy design guided this study. Research questions addressed (a) whether …

Improving Racial Diversity In The Americorps Saint Louis Emergency Response Team (Ert), Michael Mclemore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is currently a significant lack of racial diversity in the fields of environmental conservation and emergency management. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify sustainable recommendations to address the lack of racial diversity amongst members of the AmeriCorps Saint Louis Emergency Response Team (ERT). Trend analysis of the racial makeup of past ERT memberships identified a far less diverse ERT in its earlier cohorts, while illustrating improved racial diversity over the past 10 years. As a result of interviews with ERT administrators, alumni, team leaders, and current members recommendations were identified that aim to sustainably increase African …

San Diego Residents’ Perceptions Of The Illegality Of Cyber-Bullying Among Middle-Schoolers, Nadine Stokely

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The teenage suicide rate in the United States has drastically increased as a result of continuous cyber-bullying behavior among adolescents. Little is known about San Diego County residents’ perceptions regarding the possible federal criminalization of cyber-bullying among middle-schoolers. The purpose of this study was to explore to what degree San Diego County residents believe that acts of cyber-bullying committed by middle-schoolers should be deemed a criminal offense. The theoretical foundation for this qualitative study was based on the theory of legislation. The research question focused on understanding San Diego County residents’ perceptions concerning the possible federal criminalization of cyber-bullying harassment …

Brazilian Alliance Perspectives: Towards A Brics Development–Security Alliance?, Zhen 'Arc' Han, Mihaela Papa

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Scholars studying BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have traditionally argued that it is a development-focused partnership and not a military/security-based alliance. Yet BRICS members have been deepening their security integration, and Russia and China have been creating an alliance in the background. Although BRICS middle powers have traditionally demonstrated an aversion towards alliances, Brazil actively deepened security cooperation among BRICS members during its BRICS presidency in 2019. How does Brazil view alliances in contemporary power competition? This study examines Brazil’s perceptions by introducing and analysing a new data set of Brazilian expert discourses on alliances since 1990 …

Three Essays On Governance, Inequality, And Social Equity, Sarah Ausmus Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Comprised of three essays, my dissertation is linked by a common focus: the relationship between state or local governance arrangements and inequality or facets of social equity. I draw upon a range of literatures to motivate my research questions and inform my methodologies—welfare and social policy, public economics, intergovernmental relations, public finance and management.

In the first essay, I ask: does localizing welfare governance impact geospatial access to the social safety net? This is an important question because proximity is highly salient to program utilization. I geocode the location of human services nonprofits from tax filings in eight states using …

Government, Citizen, And Social Media : Understanding Police-Citizen Interaction On Weibo In China, Yumeng Luo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation systematically examined the Beijing Police Department (BPD) daily use of social media and citizens’ comments it received. Previous studies in the field of e-government and political communication in the Chinese context focused only on the measurement of quantitative indicators of government use of social media or a single event. This dissertation incorporates theoretical frameworks of e-government, public relations, and the public sphere to provide a detailed picture of citizen and government interaction in the Chinese context. Using the BPD as my case study, I not only explored government’s daily activities and engagement strategies but also examined the nuances …

Evaluation Of Aquatic Plant Survey Methods For Efficacy In Invasive Species Detection, Izaac Cooper

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Aquatic invasive plants can often be ecologically devastating to ecosystems where they are introduced. This devastation has been widely apparent in the United States, including many locations in New York State over many decades, following anthropogenic transport of species from their native ranges. Due to the difficulty involved in eradicating these plants once they have become fully established, there is keen interest in strategies for early detection to assist with prevention and monitoring to mitigate future management costs. Invasive species detection research aims to find methods for detecting new invaders more effectively. I evaluated three detection methods for their effectiveness …

Dynamics In Public Finance And Disaster Management : Financial Impacts Of Natural Disasters, Intergovernmental Aid, And Community-Level Social Effects, Sungyoon Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explores how various types of disasters affect the financial behaviors of local governments, interacting with public managerial decisions, intergovernmental aid, and community-context effects. The first essay examines whether 1) disaster aid distribution is associated with social vulnerability indicators of affected counties given the same level of disaster damage, and 2) ethnic representativeness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workforce increases policy benefits in terms of disaster relief funds for counties with a higher level of vulnerability related to minority status. I use hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to test the U.S. counties that have received disaster aid funds …

From Dissenting-Voice To Democratic Bureaucracy : Three Essays On Bureaucratic Whistleblowing, Minsung Michael Kang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Public administration scholars have long believed that bureaucratic whistleblowers help make bureaucracies more democratic, effective, and accountable. With these firm convictions, the U.S. federal government has introduced a series of whistleblower protection systems to balance administrative power and external political accountability of public organizations. Building on this intellectual history of public administration scholarship on whistleblowing, this dissertation aims to: 1) understand bureaucratic whistleblowing at the theory-level, 2) examine the effects of whistleblower protection laws on bureaucrats at the individual-level, and 3) investigate how whistleblowing outcomes can reshape bureaucracies at the organizational-level.

Morbid Curiosity: Exploring The Ethics Of Dark Tourism, Kristina Garlick

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The role of government in dark tourism is currently unclear. Public sector employees find themselves in a challenging position where they must establish how to deal with locations that have a dark history. Should these places be condemned, have minimal government interference, or have active involvement from government officials? By examining visitor motivation, the aim is to uncover the connection between government and dark tourism from a postmodern perspective with ethical undertones.

A mixed-method approach was utilized with both open and closed-ended questions during the survey process. The quantitative data was run through SPSS, and the way the queries are …

Evaluability Of Community Dispute Resolution Programs: Effecting Change Or Maintaining The Status Quo?, Rebecca Gourde

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Between the 1960s and the 1990s, dozens of programs and organizations arose throughout the United States designed to bring peaceful resolutions to emerging community disputes, following in the conceptual footsteps of the federal Community Relations Service. Many of these community dispute resolution programs have encountered calls for reduced funding in recent years, as economic hardships force public administrators to parcel out limited public monies to those services that can demonstrate the most benefit. This study is a content analysis that examines the public-facing web content of 20 representative community dispute resolution programs in the United States. The researcher found that …

Homelessness In Late Life: An Exploration Of The Lived Experience, Danielle Palmisano

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Homelessness is a challenging, chronic public problem throughout the United States that has broad impacts on the public sector. Older adults are the largest growing segment of the population and have not been spared by this housing crisis. The experience of homelessness while aging can have negative impacts that contribute to increased healthcare costs and reduced quality of life. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of late life homelessness from the perspective of formerly homeless older adults to inform the development of a grounded theory on how the lived experience of …

Let’S Talk About Trust: Exploring The Importance Of Communication In Building And Maintaining Public Trust In Local Government, Amanda M. Cantlin

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

In the decades leading up to the 1960s, the majority of citizens trusted the government to do what was right. But as the country advanced toward 1970, this idyllic state transformed suddenly and unexpectedly. The decline of trust that has characterized decades ever since is of concern because there are some troubling consequences of public distrust. These impacts include disobedience, obstinance, disrespect, and selfishness. Some fear that incessant distrust threatens to erode the democratic principles on which this nation is founded. This study considers whether the way in which citizens and local public officials communicate impacts the level of public …

Impact Of Departmental Procedural Fairness On Officer Psychological Well-Being And Engagement In Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Jennifer Mehnert

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of departmental procedural fairness on officers' psychological well-being and engagement in citizenship behaviors. An additional variable considered was the mediating impact of psychological safety on officers' psychological well-being and citizenship behaviors. The findings of this study identify internal operations of police departments as fertile ground for systemic improvements within policing.

The Impact Of Leadership Style On Employee Job Performance In The Embassy Of The Central African Republic In Washington D.C, Xaverie Sandrine Biloa

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Organizations are led by leaders who are expected to lead their employees toward a great performance capable of meeting or exceeding organizational goals. In order to achieve organizational goals, leaders can utilize different leadership styles depending on the situations that they face. Thus, this study aims to show how the three leadership styles: democratic, autocratic, and laissez-faire, can impact or influence the job performance of employees. The study was conducted at the Embassy of the Central African Republic in Washington, D.C. A sample of 10 participants was drawn, and semi-structured interviews were used as a method to collect data. The …

Factors Contributing To The Success Of Rising Latino Leadership In Central California, A Qualitative Inquiry, Yammilette Rodriguez

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This research study is a qualitative inquiry into Latino public servants in Central California. Drawing from the knowledge of 60 Central Valley Latinos, the study provides details of their inside accounts of their public service paths and political journeys. The public servants shared personal stories of successes and barriers from their experiences and lessons learned through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings translated into recommendations for potential Latino leaders to seek public life as volunteers or to run for political office. The themes of political ambition and social networks and capital arose with subthemes of policies, gender politics, leadership …