Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Factors Affecting The Quality Of Life Of Residents In The United States: Lessons From Virginia, Daniel K. Pryce

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Evaluating community members' views about their quality of life is important for improving quality of well-being in society, as most societies are interested in the collective well-being of the people. Moreover, quality-of-life research helps public officials to understand how well they are meeting the needs of the electorate. Using the theoretical framework of Maslow's Developmental Perspective, which argues that the higher the need satisfaction of the majority in a given society the greater the quality of life of that society, I explore the effects of multiple variables on quality of life in the Hampton Roads region of Southeast Virginia (this …

U.S. Residents' Current Attitudes Towards Immigrants And Immigration: A Study From The Life In Hampton Roads Survey, Daniel K. Pryce

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Immigration is a fiery topic in U.S. society, as it generally brings to a boil native-born citizens’ disparate attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. While immigration has its fierce supporters and opponents alike, the topic provides fodder for politicians who use it to stoke the fear of an impending “immigrant invasion” among citizens. This is why scholars must regularly undertake empirical studies to assess community members’ views about immigrants and immigration in U.S. society. To add to the contemporary immigration debate, I analyze data from a random sample of 610 respondents who reside in the seven cities that make up the …

The Return Of War In International Politics, Chick Edmond, Nkenglefack Dessailly Forku

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This article examines the resurgence of war in international politics after the Cold War. It contends that interstate wars have declined after 1990 and there was high optimism for stability and a cooperative international order, but contemporary conflicts have evolved into complex intrastate and asymmetric confrontations involving non-state actors, ethnic and religious divisions, resource competition, and geopolitical rivalries. The paper uses a constructivist approach and secondary qualitative data to identify and explore key drivers of this trend such as the rise of terrorist and insurgent groups, the politicization of identity, disputes over scarce resources, erosion of international norms, and intensifying …

Norfolk Core Redevelopments And Population Disruption Dispersal, Sumner Darling

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

This project is an analysis of the racial impacts of the redevelopment of the downtown area of Norfolk, Virginia in the period of 1939-1959. The overall goal is to understand the ethnic and racial impacts of redevelopment and how populations were treated differently during the two styles of redevelopment that were employed in the city. The existing research on this topic tends to focus on the segregation of the education system in the city over the community population segregation. This makes it difficult to find sources that show the impacts of other factors like redevelopment of minority communities. Through research …

Hierarchies Of Violence, Victimhood, And Remedy In The Pursuit Of Women's Rights After War, Marie Berry, Milli Lake, Sinduja Raja, Soraya Zarook

English Faculty Publications

Recent postwar recovery efforts have paved the way for reforms that advance women's participation in politics, inclusion in the economy, and access to justice. In this article, we show how a singular emphasis on gender reforms after war that are inattentive to other societal cleavages can leave various forms of marginalization in the shadows. Subnational interviews on the reverberations of gender reforms in five postwar countries expose three hierarchies that structure access to rights for war-affected communities. We reveal which violence is privileged, whose violence is privileged, and which responses are privileged from the perspectives of differently situated war-affected women, …

Monitoring Plastic Pollution Using Bioindicators: A Global Review And Recommendations For Marine Environments, Matthew S. Savoca, Neil Angelo Abreo, Andres H. Arias, Laura Baes, Matteo Baini, Elisa Bergami, Susanne Brander, C. Anela Choy, Illaria Corsi, Bavo De Witte, Camila Domit, Sarah Dudas, Emily M. Duncan, Claudia E. Fernández, Maria Cristina Fossi, Ostin Garcés-Ordóñez, Brendan J. Godley, Daniel Gonzalez-Parades, Victoria González Carman, Bonnie M. Hamilton, Britta Denise Hardesty, Sang Hee Hong, Shirel Kahane-Rapport, Lauren M. Kashiwabara, Mariana Baptista Lacerda, Guillermo Luna-Jorquera, Clara Manno, Sarah E. Nelms, Cristina Panti, Diego J. Pérez-Venegas, Christopher K. Pham, Jennifer F. Provencher, Sara Purca, Harunur Rashid, Yasmina Rodríguez, Conrad Sparks, Chengjun Sun, Martin Thiel, Catherine Tsangaris, Robson G. Santos

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Monitoring the movement of plastic into marine food webs is central to understanding and mitigating the plastic pollution crisis. Bioindicators have been a component of the environmental monitoring toolkit for decades, but how, where, and which bioindicators are used in long-term monitoring programs has not yet been assessed. Moreover, these programs have yet to be synthesized and evaluated globally. Doing so is imperative if we are to learn from these pioneering programs and expand on their efforts. We reviewed global monitoring programs using bioindicators that focus on plastic pollution and found 11 worldwide that met our definition of long-term monitoring. …

The Association Between Food Benefit Online Ordering And Redemptions: Evidence From The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program For Women, Infants, And Children, Junzhou Zhang, Chuanyi Tang, Kayoung Park, Qi Zhang

Marketing Faculty Publications

Objective:

To examine how the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) online food benefit ordering could influence WIC benefit redemptions.

Design:

A cross-sectional study. We compare the average redemption rates between online ordering early adopters and non-adopters among WIC customers before and after implementing WIC online ordering. A propensity score-weighted difference-in-difference model was used to estimate the coefficients.

Setting:

The Oklahoma WIC programme and a grocery store chain in Oklahoma.

Participants:

12743 Oklahoma WIC households that had redeemed their food benefits at the grocery store chain in 2020.

Results:

WIC online ordering significantly positively affected redemption …

Twenty Years Of Global Stratospheric Fluorine Inventories From Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (Ace-Fts) Measurements, N. Raymond, P. Bernath, C. Boone, M. Chipperfield

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We present fluorine inventories calculated for twenty years (2004–2023) and five latitude bands (82°–60°N, 60°–30°N, 30°N–30°S, 30°–60°S, and 60°–82°S) at altitudes from the surface up to 55 km. The inventories were calculated using the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE‐FTS) version 5.2 retrievals of the volume mixing ratios (VMRs) of 15 fluorine‐containing species. Of these 15 species, 3 are product gases: HF, COF₂, COCIF, and 12 are source gases: SF₆, PFC-14 (CF₄), CFC-11 (CCl₃F), CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂), CFC-113 (CCIF₂CCl₂F), HCFC-22 (CHF₂CL), HCFC-141b(C₂H₃Cl₂F), HCFC-142b ( …

Rural Families' At-Home Stem Tinkering Stimulates Creativity, Self-Expression, And Social-Emotional Engagement, Kristie S. Gutierrez, Kylie J. Swanson, Margaret R. Blanchard

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Introduction: Informal STEM learning experiences include visits to museums, zoos, and aquariums as well as experiments and other activities performed at home. Family involvement in these experiences has been linked to increased student interest and participation in STEM fields; yet, scant research has been conducted on at-home STEM.

Methods: This descriptive case study investigated the tinkering experiences of nine rural middle school students and their families who participated in a series of interactive, at-home activities. The overarching research question was, in what ways do families engage in at-home STEM interventions? Data analyses of at-home audio recordings were guided by the …

Fire History, Ecological History, And Historical Human-Environment Interactions In The Northern Great Plains, James Victor Benes

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the spatiotemporal signatures of fire in North American grassland ecosystems. In three chapters, I explore different aspects of fire history in the northern Great Plains. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 focuses on the Euro-American Settlement Period (ca. 1850–1950 C.E.). Fire histories from six different lakes in the Nebraska Sandhills are compared with two periods of historic drought and the establishment of United States Post Offices. Five of the six records show increased levels of biomass burning during the initial phases of Euro-American Settlement. Chapter 3 is a long-term (ca. 15,000 years), high-resolution fire history and …

Comparative Analysis Of Community Solar Energy Programs For Developing Sustainable Solar Initiatives In Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, Benjamin Kokkonen, Nelson Stone, Widodo Tri Saputro

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The transition to renewable energy is a critical policy priority for Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, as the city aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, expanding solar energy presents a complex challenge: increasing renewable energy capacity while preserving the county’s prime agricultural land. This capstone examines how community solar programs in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey can inform the development of a sustainable and equitable solar initiative in Lexington.

Using a comparative program analysis of three state-level community solar models, the research evaluates policies on site selection, financial incentives, equity measures, regulatory enforcement, and program implementation. Findings indicate …

From Campus To Career: Enhancing Career Support Services For Graduate International Students At The University Of Kentucky, Aku Fiagbeto, Ratwah Alhazmi

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

During the 2023–2024 academic year, the University of Kentucky enrolled a total of 1,285 international students, with 784 (61%) being graduate students. International students play a crucial role in enriching the university’s cultural and academic landscape. While UK has achieved record enrollment and improved student success rates, including a 66% graduation rate that places it among the top 100 public institutions in the U.S., it is important to consider whether these trends apply to international students as well. Retention and graduation rates for this demographic may differ from those of domestic students, highlighting potential challenges such as visa restrictions, financial …

Integrating Deconstruction And Historic Preservation: A Best Practices Policy Comparison, Kelsey M. Baldwin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Carl Elefante, the former president of the American Institute of Architects, famously said, “The greenest building is…one that is already built” (Elefante, 2012). Elefante articulated the environmental benefits of reuse and the significant energy costs associated with demolition and new construction. In 2022, the commercial and residential building sectors produced 31% of the United States’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (EPA, 2025). A large percentage of this is tied to the production of building materials.

Analysis Of State And Local Requirements For Special Taxing District Fiduciary Managers And How Kentucky Could Improve, Zach Waller

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper examines the oversight and training requirements for fiduciary managers within Special Purpose Government Entities (SPGEs), comparing practices in Kentucky with those in a select group of peer states. The analysis highlights notable deficiencies in fiduciary training, enforcement, and accountability standards in Kentucky, which lead to ongoing issues of financial mismanagement. A review of exemplary practices from other states highlights the importance of mandatory training, robust oversight frameworks, and effective enforcement measures in enhancing fiduciary outcomes. Recommended actions involve implementing mandatory fiduciary training programs, strengthening enforcement authority, and improving transparency mechanisms.

To evaluate Kentucky’s oversight of SPGEs compared to …

Managing Kentucky's Coal Severance Tax Decline: Lessons From Other States, Ryan Reed

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Governments levy severance taxes on the extraction of natural resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. This can be a substantial source of revenue for these entities, but overreliance on this has led to what is now known through extensive research as the so-called ‘resource curse’. This has been observed to create political instability, corruption, and repression within resource-rich areas. Additionally, it cripples the ability of the area to pursue future non-resource related economic development after the resource is depleted. A Sovereign Wealth Fund has been touted as one such solution to bridge this gap as an intergenerational wealth …

Beyond The Gas Tax: Evaluating Oregon’S Road Usage Charge (Orego) As A Model For Sustainable Infrastructure Funding, Gilles David Kwekam

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Fuel tax revenues are declining nationwide due to electric vehicle adoption, improved fuel efficiency, and long periods without rate adjustments. This erosion has created long-term instability in transportation funding, including in Oregon, where revenue no longer aligns with road use. Road usage charges (RUCs) offer a potential replacement by charging drivers per mile traveled rather than per gallon consumed. However, their success depends less on technology and more on how programs are designed and governed.

This capstone examines which design features make RUC programs effective, using Oregon’s OReGO program as the central case. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) comparing Oregon, …

Targeted Federal Advocacy For Financial Stability: Recommendations For United Way Of The Bluegrass, Jefferson Abney, Lou Hurst

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Advocacy refers to activities undertaken with the intent of influencing policy change. For nonprofit organizations, advocacy can be a critical aspect of furthering their mission. Successful advocacy requires a comprehensive, dynamic understanding of the needs and priorities of stakeholders, as well as an understanding of the political context in which the organization operates and the challenges and opportunities that context poses for its institutional goals. A policy agenda helps nonprofit organizations identify and communicate the most pertinent policy needs for consideration when making decisions around advocacy.

For this project, in response to a request from United Way of The Bluegrass …

Mortgage Lending Discrimination: Racial Differences In A Post-Covid Society, Zachary Owen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Researchers have studied the disparities of the mortgage lending process extensively, but their research fails to examine the process following the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the aftermath of the pandemic, home sale prices increased, interest rates rose, and rental costs skyrocketed. As such, the housing landscape changed drastically, and research must be conducted to assess new trends and relationships. In this report, I will estimate the relationship between applicant characteristics, such as race, debt-to-income ratio, and income and the outcome of their mortgage loan application and their expected credit score. Prior to COVID-19, Black and White applicants for mortgage loans were …

Public University Gift Management Policies: Building A Best Practice Guide, Cristin Costello

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Currently, no consistent standards exist for how institutions of higher education should manage their non-endowed gift revenue. Good stewardship of gift funds is vital to ensuring the maintenance of donor relationships to create unions that bring further financial opportunities to universities for years to come. Public institutions, as recipients of government dollars, are especially vulnerable to the negative repercussions that could come with the scandal of misappropriated gift dollars. Overall cash donations to higher education have significantly increased in the past few decades as state appropriations fall short and the need to keep tuition rates stable increases. It is more …

Reforming Need: How Certificate Of Need Laws In North Carolina Can Be Reformed To Promote Rural To Regional Health Network Integration, Taylor Fulk

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Across North Carolina, many rural hospitals are facing closures, staffing shortages, and financial turmoil. Many hospitals, such as Morehead Hospital in Eden, NC (now UNC Rockingham), have utilized mergers with larger regional networks (e.g., UNC Health, Duke, Novant, Atrium) to stabilize operations and preserve local access to care. (deBruyn, 2017). However, even after successful integration efforts to bring some rural hospitals into larger regional networks, Certificate of Need laws in North Carolina are preventing these smaller, rural integrated hospitals from expanding their service offerings, thereby driving up healthcare expenditures for residents. As a result, patients experience longer-than-normal travel times and …

Boys & Girls Clubs Of Greater Cincinnati Strategic Plan, Emily Yellman

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

After-school organizations nationwide, such as Boys & Girls Clubs, provide youth with out-of-school opportunities for academic and social-emotional learning. Strategic plans can help after-school organizations maximize their impact. This paper outlines a strategic plan for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati, specifically to increase the number of members they serve on an average daily basis. The plan addresses both Club member recruitment and retention techniques, and includes specific action items, communication, and monitoring plans.

Housing On The Ballot: A Comparative Analysis Of Measure United To House La And Bring Chicago Home, Gwen Tucker

Scripps Senior Theses

In 2022 and 2024 respectively, activists in the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago put forward ballot measures to address their city’s housing crisis by implementing a progressive real estate transfer tax to fund affordable housing and homelessness services. While Measure United to House LA overwhelmingly passed, Bring Chicago Home later failed. To understand why two seemingly similar ballot measures in two large, progressive cities resulted in such different outcomes, I employ a three-pronged framework, rooted in the literature of social movement studies, which examines each city’s historical context around housing and homelessness, policy design and framing opportunities, and process …

How District Administrators Further The Book Banning Agenda, Kim Reichenbach Krutka

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Book banning and censorship in school libraries remain a significant barrier to intellectual freedom. Drawing on ten years of experience as a Texas school librarian, this opinion article highlights how district policies and grievance procedures empower individuals to exclude books representing marginalized identities, particularly queer and Black experiences. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT), specifically the tenets of whiteness as property and counter storytelling, the article explains how these policies uphold white privilege and dominant narratives while silencing counter-stories that validate diverse student identities. The grievance process allows a single hearing officer to overturn committee decisions without transparent reasoning, often restricting …

Examining The Adjustment, Acculturation, And Well-Being Of International Arab Students In The United States: Implications For Policy And Practice, Hassan A A Kh A A Arab

Wayne State University Dissertations

This paper explored Arab international students studying in the United States to see whether they face acculturation stress, adjustment, or well-being issues. I found that my sample (N=95) experienced moderately high well-being distress and acculturative stress. However, the sample showed resilience and positive adjustment in all aspects, psychological (M=34.7), social (M=38.5), and academic (M=37.4). Moreover, well-being score from a modified GHQ survey came with high SD, indicating some students were dealing with serious mental issues, while others were doing well (M=42.92, SD=5.52). The majority of my participants were males (74.7%), single (75.8%), and graduate students (50.5%). Chi-square analysis found a …

Developing Systemic Thinking Skills: Design-Based Research Of One-Page Tools For Public Managers, Tracey A. Regenold, Sheila E. Murphy, Philip A. Reed

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

A design-based research study on the development of one-page tools to support systemic thinking in public managers is presented. Study participants included public managers of social and human service agencies within government or nonprofit organizations, as learners for whom the tools were designed; and instructional design professionals, offering expert opinions regarding the design of tools for adult learners. The design process consisted of generating ideas, visualizing ideas and developing prototypes of the tools. Formative assessments of tool prototypes were conducted in several small online focus groups, sharing specific tools to be used within the context of specific management practices, such …

A Case Of Interpretive Assistance And School Choice Counseling, Jason E. Saltmarsh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Drawing on notions of social capital, insider knowledge embedded in "the grapevine", and the "labor of choice", this study examines interpretive assistance in the context of families' K-12 school decisions. It uses a qualitative case study of NGO navigator services, which provide school choice counselling primarily to low-income families of colour, to develop theoretical propositions related to the characteristics and potential benefits of interpretive assistance. As some researchers and conservative-leaning think tanks call for investing in navigator services, it is important to deepen our understanding of "high-touch" informational supports aimed at mitigating demand-side inequities in school choice.

A Pathway To Completion: Student Veterans Pursuing Engineering Degrees, Kim E. Bullington, Cynthia L. Tomovic, Anthony W. Dean, Vukica Jovanovic

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This 5‐year research project was based on an NSF S‐STEM research grant (1742118) focused on student veteran education and workforce preparation. We addressed STEM workforce and defence community needs by providing targeted scholarships and support for veteran students pursuing engineering degrees. Our aim was to enhance the workforce by improving access and success rates through financial and institutional support, while developing evidence‐based practices for recruitment, retention and graduation of student veterans. Through targeted interventions, we examined obstacles student veterans face in education and in engineering programs and increased their sense of camaraderie, career awareness, engineering identity, professional development, financial security …

From Equitable Access To Equitable Usage: Moving Towards Data-Driven, Evidence-Based Cycling Assets Management, Kewei Ren, Yunping Liang, Chun-Hsing Ho

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Cycling is increasingly recognized for its wide range economic, environmental, and health benefits as a mobility option. However, disparities in the provision and the quality of bicycle infrastructure persists. Ensuring fair access and usage of these benefits for all presents a significant challenge. As a result, establishing effective methodologies to evaluate cycling equity is critically important. This paper synthesizes research on infrastructure asset management with a focus on equity considerations in bicycle infrastructure. A systematic review of 19 North American studies critically examines how existing research categorizes vulnerable populations and assesses fairness. The results reveal that most existing analyses focus …

Equity In Public Budgeting: Community Engagement In Morgan Hill, Ariana Perez

Master's Projects

Through this research, I will examine what citizen participation strategies have been implemented and their role and effectiveness in addressing wealth inequities. My research will explore these topics and examine what programs and policies the City of Morgan Hill can implement to increase residents' sense of belonging and ultimately push for greater social equity. My primary research question is, what are the programs and policies that the City of Morgan Hill can implement to engage immigrant communities, specifically Spanish-speaking residents, and low-income residents in shaping decisions around public investments and funding? This project will serve as a needs assessment to …

The Stories We Told Ourselves: The American War On Terror Zine, Abbas Tabish, Iqra Shagufta Cheema

The Lender Center for Social Justice

An eight-panel zine about the American War on Terror