Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Creating A Scorecard—The Case Of How Well Texas Four-Year, Public Universities Serve Texas Latinos?, Arturo Vega

Public Administration Scholarship and Projects

The goal of this inaugural “How-to Working Paper” is to provide a resource to measure performance, effectiveness or simply the underlying dimensions of a concept, perception or attitude. This paper focuses on how to create and use a scorecard or index. The principal audience of these “How-to Working Papers” are upper-level social science disciplines like political science or sociology and master-level graduate students in, again, political science or public administration. But really any university student or civically-minded individual conducting research will benefit from this paper.

A Policy Reversal As Structural Break: A Lesson From China’S Land Lease Financing For Infrastructure, Yilin Hou, Lin Li, Lei Shao

Center for Policy Research

Land-based revenues as a fiscal instrument to finance infrastructure tie public investment to real estate markets, where demand fluctuations cause fiscal consequences. This paper takes policy reversals as structural breaks and examines their impacts on infrastructure investment. We dissect China’s 2016 policy reversal that disallowed developers to finance land purchase with debt, causing sharp declines in local government land revenues, slashing their fiscal base for infrastructure investment. Using prefecture-level panel data and continuous difference-in-differences identification, we estimate the reversal reduced land-lease revenues by 55%. Two-stage least squares estimates suggest a 10% land-revenue decline translates into 6.6% investment reduction. Decomposing the …

Exploring The Impact Of Antidiscrimination Laws On Child-Welfare Workers Working With Lgbtq Foster Youth, Heather Kesterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth are overrepresented in the foster care system and have unique needs compared to their peers. In the state of Virginia, there is an antidiscrimination policy that protects LGBTQ foster youth; however, it is unclear how this impacts child welfare workers. Past literature has explored the needs of LGBTQ youth, the experiences of foster parents, and policy implications, but not the impact of antidiscrimination laws on child welfare workers. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the understanding of child welfare workers’ knowledge, integration, training, and implications of Virginia’s antidiscrimination …

A Caregiver’S Perspective Of Caring For Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Lajoy Johnson Law

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current estimates reported by the National Institute of Health suggest that between 1.4 and 2.2 million children in the United States have some form of intellectual disability. These children need caregivers, yet in the literature there is a lack of studies focusing on the experiences of caregivers raising children with intellectual disabilities. Further, there is a lack of public policies and programs for Washington, D.C. caregivers. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of these caregivers in Washington, D.C. and to identify what policies, programs, and services are needed to support them. Guided by …

Hybrid Warfare: A Collection Of Scenarios, Adrian Borbély

DRI Press

Hybrid Warfare is nothing new but it has increasingly made the news - even if most of it remains beyond our awareness. Hybrid Warfare gathers all methods through which countries wage war against each other beyond traditional military, diplomatic and economic battlefields (cyber attacks, disinformation, transnational organized crime, appropriation of natural resources, lawfare, corruption, etc.). Such below-the-surface foreign aggressions are not limited to localized regions where armed forces shoot at each other trying to take each other’s positions. In hybrid warfare, society as a whole is the battlefield. In other words, hybrid warfare is not the concern of a few, …

Forecasting Budget Requirement For Indonesian Arms Modernisation With International Cost Escalation (Ice), Curie Maharani, Reyhan Noor, Sandy J. Pratama, Ganesh A. Wicaksono

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

In 2021, the question "How much is enough" emerged in national debate following the plan of the then Indonesian Defence Minister, Prabowo Subianto, to allocate 1.7 quadrillion Rupiah for military modernisation from 2020 to 2045. This article follows up on this debate by recommending a budget forecasting model for the weapons acquisition requirements of the Indonesian National Defence Forces (TNI) during the period 2025 to 2044. The model is built by considering International Cost Escalation (ICE), which is the increase in the unit cost of successive generations of similar weapons, causing a steady increase in the price of weapons systems …

Perceptions Of Juvenile Justice Professionals Regarding The Effectiveness Of Juvenile Reentry Programs And Recidivism In The Southwest Region, Lei Anne Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile recidivism persists in the U.S. justice system, highlighting the need for effective reentry programs. However, limited research exists on juvenile justice professionals’ perceptions of program success. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore these professionals’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of juvenile reentry programs in reducing recidivism. Guided by Bandura’s social learning theory, the study examined how observation and modeling influence youth behavior during reentry. The research questions focused on professionals’ perceptions of program effectiveness and how these perceptions impact recidivism reduction efforts. A qualitative phenomenological design involved semi-structured interviews with 13 juvenile justice professionals in the southwest …

Stakeholder Perspectives On Humanistic Implementation Of Computer Perception In Health Care: Qualitative Study, Kristin M Kostick-Quenet, Meghan E Hurley, Syed Ayaz, John D Herrington, Casey J Zampella, Julia Parish-Morris, Birkan Tunç, Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Eric A Storch

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Computer perception (CP) technologies-including digital phenotyping, affective computing, and related passive sensing approaches-offer unprecedented opportunities to personalize health care, especially mental health care, yet they also provoke concerns about privacy, bias, and the erosion of empathic, relationship-centered practice. At present, it remains elusive what stakeholders who design, deploy, and experience these tools in real-world settings perceive as the risks and benefits of CP technologies.

Objective: This study aims to explore key stakeholder perspectives on the potential benefits, risks, and concerns associated with integrating CP technologies into patient care. A better understanding of these concerns is crucial for responding to …

Airbnb And The End Of The Local, Nadia Beyersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how second-home ownership and self-catered tourism reshape community life in Tenby, Wales. While gentrification research often focuses on permanent displacement, less attention has been given to the movement of temporary residents that erodes local culture, social ties, and transforms everyday relationships in coastal towns.

A Visualization-Supported, Hierarchical, Action-Learning Model For Driving Behavior In A V2x Environment, Xuantong Wang, Jing Li, Jecca Bowen

Geography and the Environment: Faculty Scholarship

Understanding human driving decisions is crucial for intelligent transportation research. Most existing studies focus on individual vehicles in limited contexts, which restricts broader applicability of results. Leveraging Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) infrastructure, this study introduces a machine learning framework to model driving actions and detect outliers across diverse environments. This approach features a semantically enabled clustering method that groups similar driving behaviors based on speed and actions. It also adds a time-series learning model to identify typical driving behaviors across various contexts, thereby enabling detection of abnormal driving actions. A suite of visual tools has been developed to help interpret driving patterns, …

Reported Safety Practices Of Publicly Advertised Psychedelic Retreats, Amy L Mcguire, Logan Neitzke-Spruill, Jill O Robinson, Caroline S Beit, Nikita Singh, David S Mathai, Lynnette A Averill

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Importance: The availability of psychedelic retreats has grown to meet the demand for access to these substances. Despite centuries of use among Indigenous communities, psychedelics can pose serious risks for some users.

Objective: To determine safety precautions that retreat organizations that offer psychedelic substances currently use.

Design, setting, and participants: This qualitative study included structured interviews conducted by phone or email with representatives from 49 organizations publicly advertising psychedelic retreat offerings from July to October 2023. Organizations were eligible if they marketed their services in English, offered at least 1 psychedelic substance, and made contact information available online. Organizations were …

Medicaid Expansion And Breast Cancer Care And Outcomes-What Lies Ahead?, Meghan H. Maceyko, Oluwadamilola M. Fayanju

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Ai In Society: A Regulatory Framework For Responsible Integration, Ziad Doughan, Sari Itani, Hadi Al Mubasher

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

This review paper studies the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) on society in various categories in detail. AI and ML have developed rapidly in the past two decades, thus changing our lifestyles. These developments have various positive and negative impacts on society. This paper explores the many societal impacts of AI and ML, in economics, social aspects, ethics, and policy, shedding light on the opportunities and challenges that arise. An interdisciplinary insight is capable of understanding the challenges society faces when it uses AI and ML, locking opportunities that lie ahead and identifying promising paths towards …

Charting The Distinct Rights Of Sea Workers In European Waters : A Focus On Decent Working Time, María Carrera-Arce, Raphael Baumler, Laura Carballo, Bikram Singh Bhatia

Reports

The document contains three distinct reports:

• The Report 1 ‘Social rights of sea workers in European waters – A Legal study’ discusses sea workers labour regulations in Europe, including cross-sectoral and sector-specific instruments. (pp. 13-68)

• The core of Report 2 ‘Ensuring decent working time for the future – Seafarers under EEA and non-EEA flags’ analyses flags State working-time requirements in the EEA and selected non-EEA jurisdictions. (pp. 69-131)

• The Report 3 ‘A working time comparative analysis – Examples of labour gaps between sea and land workers’ explores in depth working time between sea workers and other occupational …

Restoring The Organization For The Security And Cooperation In Europe’S Role In Human Rights And Security After Russian Invasion, Roman Nekoliak

Human Rights Brief

This Article diagnoses a systemic erosion of rights-based multilateralism driven by geopolitical realignment, reduced leadership by traditional human rights defenders, the rise of authoritarian coalitions, and the growth of transactional and securitized diplomacy. This Article argues that revitalizing the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) around a rights-centered, cross-dimensional concept of security is essential to restoring both regional stability and the credibility of international human rights commitments. It places the war in Ukraine within broader patterns of democratic backsliding, institutional paralysis, and the rise of authoritarian governance, demonstrating how domestic repression and interstate aggression mutually reinforce one …

Symbolic Reform Or Substantive Change? The Effect Of Body-Worn Camera Implementation On Lethal Use-Of-Force In Missouri, Sophia A. Tuncer

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates whether body-worn cameras reduce lethal use-of-force among police departments in Missouri. Aggregating data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Mapping Police Violence, I create a panel of 188 cities in Missouri, with and without body-worn camera adoption. The OLS and Poisson regression results show that body-worn cameras do not have a significant effect on lethal use-of-force in the short run, but that the technology does significantly lower lethal use-of-force in the medium run.

Environmental Degradation And Food Systems In Ghana: Gold Mining And Synthetic Pesticides, Da'mirah Vinson

Honors Theses

This research examines the relationship between environmental degradation and food systems in Ghana. Although sociological research has explored how extractive practices like gold mining dispossesses farmers of land (Gilbert and Albert 2016; Agariga 2021; Kwang and Blagogie 2025), the consequences for food sovereignty and security remain understudied. Research that considers food and land from a sociocultural perspective is even more limited. My research addresses these gaps by asking: How do environmental degradation practices—specifically gold mining and chemical use—affect food production, distribution, and security in Ghana? And how does the decline of arable land reshape cultural food identity? To explore these …

Leadership And Creative Placemaking In Central Appalachia: Morehead, Kentucky, Toni C. Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations--Arts Administration

In rural Appalachia, longstanding patterns of extractive economic development, coupled with limited public investment and uneven institutional support, have contributed to persistent economic stagnation and a diminished sense of pride among residents. These conditions reflect deeper structural challenges, including economies shaped by resource extraction and external control. Addressing these conditions is critical to fostering economic growth, promoting cultural heritage, and enhancing overall well-being in the region. By cultivating resilient communities, leaders can create environments in which both the economy and local pride can thrive, contributing to a more prosperous and unified Appalachian region.

This study investigates the organizational and leadership …

Driving Employee Engagement Across Sectors: Current Evidence And An Agenda For Future Research, Taha Hameduddin, Kerstin Alfes, Adrian Ritz

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications

Employee engagement has emerged as a critical employee attitude linked to employee motivation and organisational performance and has successfully embedded itself in governments around the world. Apart from a few exceptions, however, much of what we know about engagement does not attend to the institutional context of public institutions and whether private-sector theories and approaches to driving employee engagement work well in public sector organisations. To address this gap, we systematically review the evidence on antecedents of employee engagement, and determine whether and how sectoral differences may matter. We then discuss the findings and contextualise the debate surrounding the employee …

The Role Of Socioeconomic Development In Preventing Violent Extremism, Caelan Stewart

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Reparations Delayed, Not Denied: The Inter-American System Confronts Chile’S Dictatorship-Era Violations, Maggie Titus

Human Rights Brief

On September 24, 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) submitted Gustavo Guillermo Ramírez Calderón v. Chile to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), seeking reparations and justice for victims of forced disappearances during Chile’s military dictatorship. According to the application, Chile has failed to fully comply with the IACtHR’s recommendations from Merits Report No. 154/23.

Stability And Accountability In Nagorno-Karabakh And The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict, Callum Heath

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

On August 8, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia were hosted at the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump to announce the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations (the Agreement) in a Joint Declaration. The Agreement sets out to end the decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Armenian ethnic enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia. While the White House hails the Agreement as a “historic peace deal,” the reality is more …

The Impact Of Social Media On The Occurrence And Prevalence Of Stress And Anxiety On College Students, Pushpita Paul

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways that social media affects stress and anxiety levels within college students. A self-administered, anonymous survey was used to assess college students’ perceptions of social media’s impact on mental health. The 14- item survey included questions on social media use, stress, anxiety, social interaction, and demographics. Data were collected both online and in person at St. John’s University. Online surveys were shared through student groups using Google Forms. In-person surveys were conducted at campus locations such as the cafeteria, student lounge, library, and events. Each survey took about 5–10 minutes to …

Domestic Worker Abuse Among Diplomatic Force: The Need To Enhance Communication For Domestic Worker Safety, Martyne A. Volcy

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates patterns of domestic worker abuse in the working relationship between a foreign migrant domestic worker and their diplomat employer. This study focuses on the role of communication as a protection for domestic worker safety. The aim of this research is to explore the unique employer-employee relationship between a domestic worker and diplomat, and whether there are safeguards in place that allow for the domestic worker to perform their duties, without circumstances of domestic worker abuse. This study examines the relationships between communication, knowledge, and power within the system of Diplomacy through the lens of domestic employees alleging …

When Words Flow Like Water: How The Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement Failed To Prevent Hydrogeologic Harm In Minnesota, Carly Gutzmann

Journal of Earth and Life Science

For the aquifers of Minnesota, the environmental impact statement (EIS) was a promise of protection that never left the page. An environmental impact statement is meant to be an aid in the decision making process in order to ensure that projects consider potential environmental harms that may occur. However, they are often used instead as another regulatory box to check, rather than as active considerations when planning. As such, a project plan can be flawed from the start—if project developers only consider environmental impacts after they have already put considerable time, effort, and funding into their project as-is, they may …

Citizen Engagement In Budget Simulation: Examining The Effectiveness Of Balancing Act Modules In Aligning Public Priorities And Allocation Choices, Frankline Muthomi

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates the extent to which individuals exhibit consistency in their preferences during sequential budget simulation exercises, as well as the factors that shape these preferences. Grounded in behavioral and citizen participation frameworks, the analysis demonstrates that the simultaneous use of priority-setting and budget-balancing modules encourages participants to allocate resources in ways that reflect their previously articulated priorities. While instances of inconsistency remain common, preference consistency is associated with participants’ sustained support for their favored programs, their commitment to ensuring adequate resource allocation, and, to some extent, their willingness to finance these programs. The findings suggest that the integrated …

Grant-O-Thon: A Designathon-Informed Grant Writing Program To Enhance Research Grant Writing Skills In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Yusha Tao, Gifty Marley, Lauren Fidelak, Bin Yu, Yusuf Babatunde, Anita N. Walker, Anthony A. Attama, Andrea L. Conroy, Esther K. Afolabi, Dimitrios N. Vatakis, Iheanyi Omezuruike Okonko, Shyngle K. Balogun, Hongyun Fu, Xin Peng, Ijeoma M. Ifeorah, Patience Kukundakwe, Alexandra Cossio, Ifeoma M. Obionu, Ángela Patricia Beltrán López, Matthew Idowu Olatubi, Ucheoma C. Nwaozuru, Yuanyi Chen, Huachun Zou, Eneyi E. Kpokiri, Daniil Wu, Oliver Ezechi, Juliet Iwelunmor, Meredith Labarda, Jason J. Ong, Weiming Tang, Joseph D. Tucker

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Problem

Early career researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face substantial barriers when writing research grants and have limited writing support. A designathon approach was applied to organize a grant writing workshop (grant-o-thon) tailored for early-career LMIC researchers. This study describes the planning, implementation, and participant-reported outcomes of the grant-o-thon as a participatory training approach.

Approach

Grant-o-thons were organized in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Consistent with the designathon model, the grant-o-thon was structured in three stages: preparation using co-creation with end-users, intensive collaborative teamwork supported by mentor feedback and weekly writing deliverables, and structured follow-up. Each grant-o-thon consisted of …

Comparing The Evolution Of The Advanced Practice Nurse Role: Insights From Switzerland And Kenya, Carole Mackavey, Sara Kohler, Eunice Ndirangu, Rachel Kimani, Constance Shumba, Bernard Mutwiri, Colette Henderson, Anna Jones

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

The article explores the evolution of Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) roles in Switzerland and Kenya, highlighting their development, challenges, and influence on healthcare delivery. Despite notable differences in income levels and healthcare infrastructure, both countries are committed to strengthening primary care through the deployment of APNs. Switzerland uses APNs to address provider shortages and improve chronic disease management, whereas Kenya uses them to increase access in underserved areas. A comparative analysis explores how regulatory frameworks, educational models, scope of practice, and health system priorities influence the adoption of advanced practice nursing (APN). Switzerland’s established healthcare system supports the integration of …

Digital Redlining In The Smart City: Artificial Intelligence, Housing Law, And Structural Urban Inequality, Spurthi Nrusimhadevara

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used in urban housing systems, where it shapes decisions about tenant screening, rent pricing, lending, zoning, and neighborhood investment. Although these tools are often promoted as efficient and impartial, they frequently rely on historical data that reflect racial, economic, and spatial inequality. As a result, AI systems can reproduce discriminatory outcomes even when protected characteristics are not directly used. This paper examines digital redlining in the smart city and argues that algorithmic housing tools mirror long standing structural inequities that raise significant concerns under fair housing and civil rights law. It evaluates how automated screening, predictive …

Lived Experiences Of Black Girls In The City Of Richmond, Va, Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn, Yali Pang, Charity Scott, Morgan Woodle, Craig Dearfield, Mariam Ai-Khafaji, T'Niyah Baylor, Faith Holmes, Jin Dorjderem, Rise

Research Institute for Social Equity

The VCU Research Institute for Social Equity (RISE) partnered with Girls For A Change (GFAC), a nonprofit youth development organization, to explore the lived experiences of Black girls in Richmond, Virginia. The report offers a comprehensive understanding of the lives of Black girls by working closely with them and their communities, including their guardians/parents and Black emerging adult women. The voices of Black girls and emerging adult Black women were heard directly through surveys and focus groups, and their parents and guardians provided further insights through interviews. This approach allows us to understand their lived experiences, individual strengths, and community …