Public Administration Commons^™

Adaptive Leadership In Hbcus: Navigating Hybrid Work Dynamics In A Post-Pandemic Era, Brittney A. Brooks

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Leaders of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) institutions influence retention rates of HBCU employees. An organization's culture determines the behavior of its employees. When assumptions regarding organizational structure were made, communication about the company's expectations was often ignored, leading to employees becoming accustomed to the culture and resistant to change. This mindset hindered HBCU growth and the willingness to address the urgency for policy revisions. As institutions continue to transition post-COVID, adjusting human resource policies at HBCUs to cater to the individual needs of these employees is needed to maintain retention.

This exploratory mixed-methods research study investigated leadership in …

The Role Of Mentoring In Combating Racism And Sexism In Higher Education As A Blueprint For Other Historical Institutions In The United States, Michelle R. Gherardi

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Racism and sexism create a bottleneck to advancement for women in higher education.

This qualitative study and dissertation investigate the role of mentoring in combating racism and sexism in higher education in the United States as a blueprint for other historical institutions. Twenty-six women of color in four categories (presidents/provosts/chancellors, deans of law and medical schools, vice presidents of diversity, equity, and inclusion/student affairs, and graduate students) of higher education were interviewed to explore their experiences with racism, sexism, and mentor relationships. Findings demonstrate all but one participant (96%) disclosed racial victimization in higher education, all participants (100%) disclosed sexist …

What Relationship Does Social Media Have To Political Participation And Voting Behavior In Adults Aged 18-25 In The State Of Kansas?, Nicholas E. Ladish

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

During the past two decades, the rise of social media has a significantly impacted the lives many individuals in the United States. This is particularly true of young adults between the ages of 18-25 years old. The rapid growth of various social media platforms has given rise to the sharing and exchange of information and ideas in a way that has not previously existed.

This qualitative research study used survey questionnaires, as well as semi-structured interviews to explore both the positive and negative impact, as well as the role of social media when it comes to influencing political affiliation, behavior, …

Understanding The Challenges And Satisfaction Among The Medical Professional Preceptors, Cornelia Ko

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study evaluates the Penn Medicine Family Medicine Clerkship program through a mixed-methods approach, exploring the challenges and factors influencing the satisfaction of medical professional preceptors when precepting students. A quantitative survey with 54 preceptor participants reveals the top challenges preceptors face: workload, conflicts with patient care, and limited clinical space. Despite this, there is strong support for the program, with 89% of preceptors enjoying the role and 85% expressing willingness to continue to precept for the next three years. Finally, data analysis shows no statistical correlation between preceptor motivation with gender, ethnicity, age group, years of serving, or total …

Infant Health Equity In Oklahoma: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Of Personal, Organizational, Environmental, And Policy Factors Contributing To Black Infant Mortality, Ayesha M. Lampkins

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Black women experience higher rates of adverse birth outcomes, including infant mortality. There is a gap in the literature on multilevel strategies to achieve infant health equity and engage Black women. This study is unique in that no others have looked at the views of Oklahoma Black women to inform and address infant health equity strategies and utilize these views to provide context to existing infant mortality data. The study research questions are: 1) What views on infant health equity and infant mortality are held by Black women in Oklahoma? 2) What differences exist between Black and White mothers in …

Developing A Collaborative Governance Framework For Hazard Mitigation Project Management: A Grounded Theory Approach Using Social Network Analysis, Kara R. Buckmaster

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

As time passes and risk increases, the need for effective hazard mitigation is becoming more critical for communities to build resilience against future disasters. This study utilized a grounded theory approach to identify the actors involved in a network for hazard mitigation project development and implementation at the local level, what challenges these networks face, and what factors help them succeed. Local hazard mitigation program managers across the United States were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews to share their experiences. Qualitative analysis of participant responses and social network analysis were conducted to build visual models of the local networks …

Failure To Launch: A Dissection Of Biking In Dallas, Brandon S. Austin

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Dallas, Texas, has attempted to implement bicycle infrastructure for 50 years. Unfortunately, the measures have been rejected by the populace. This resulted in Dallas being ranked the worst city to bike in the United States three times in the last 17 years. This dissertation aims to understand why. Specifically, reviewing the factors that prevent residents from biking and what infrastructural changes would entice them to bike more. To achieve this, a 27-question online survey was created. This survey included both open-ended and closed-ended questions. The results aligned with much of the existing literature. The people of Dallas feel biking is …

Black Single Men Facing Repeated Eviction Threats And Housing Instability In East New York, Brooklyn: Is There A Significant Correlation Between Repeated Eviction Threats, Housing Instability, And Black Single Men?, Gregory Colimon

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

An eviction threat phenomenon is currently unfolding in East New York, located in Brooklyn, NY, and is drawing attention to specific individuals who have been marginalized and overlooked within society: Black single men aged between 24 and 55. This particular demographic group is currently facing significant challenges associated with repeated eviction threats, and housing instability within East New York, which is renowned for being one of the regions with high population density and urbanization. While eviction is commonly understood as a consequence of the failure of tenants to meet their financial obligations or fulfill their responsibilities, this simplistic understanding overlooks …

Community Integration Experiences Of Formerly Homeless Persons With Serious Mental Illness (Smi) Housed In Washington Dc Using The Housing First Model, Gwendolyn Harter

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Two interventions which have been successful in housing and maintaining housing for individuals who have serious mental illness and are classified as chronically homeless are the Housing First Model and community integration. Currently existing models of community integration were created using dated information and definitions, created from a medical model and not a social framework. Therefore, this dissertation used a phenomenological approach to define community and whether, by that definition, the participants feel integrated into the community. This included the interviewees’ experiences with Pathways to Housing DC and transitioning from homeless to housings and the Housing First Model.

Outcomes from …

Diagnosing Market Inefficiency: The Impact Of Consolidation In The Private Health Insurance Market On Healthcare Costs In The United States, Zachary Ising

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study presents a critical analysis of the relationship between the market concentration of private health insurance companies and per capita healthcare costs in the United States. It explores the hypothesis that consolidation within the private health insurance sector, driven by frequent mergers and acquisitions, contributes to a dysfunctional healthcare system characterized by high consumer costs. The study investigates the degree of market concentration in the health insurance sector from 2017 to 2020, focusing on healthcare costs per capita as the dependent variable, and employing independent variables such as market data of health insurers, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), and the …

Community Cultural Wealth And Its Impact On Pandemic Relief Funding For Small Businesses, Brett Smith

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This dissertation investigates the impact of social, navigational, familial, aspirational, and resistant capital on the ability of small business owners in Pennsylvania to access relief funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily the period from March 2020 to December 2020. Utilizing Dr. Tara Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth framework, the study explores systemic barriers within relief initiatives and how they affect marginalized communities.

To meet business owners where they were, and to utilize technologies born as a result of the pandemic, this study utilized Asynchronous Video Interviews (AVI) and online surveys, to capture the lived experiences of these small business owners. Not …

A Little Bird Told Me: The Lived Experiences Of Officers Who Participated In Deep Undercover Programs, Oakley Fungaroli

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to gather and analyze semi-structured interviews of seven participants who took part in deep undercover programs between the 1970s and 1990s. In the early 1980s, under pressure from civil rights advocates, law enforcement implemented policies restricting the use of undercover police officers in non-violent intelligence investigations. The new guidelines resulted in robust selection and training requirements for deep undercover assignments which became focused on those who advocated criminal acts in furtherance of social or political objectives. The lived experiences revealed that while intelligence guidelines intended to protect civil rights applied to all personnel, training …

Navigators As A Means Of Overcoming Administrative Burdens: A Quantitative Study Of State-Administered Federal Assistance Programs, Jonathan Sternesky

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Administrative burdens are the psychological, compliance, and learning costs experienced by individuals interacting with public entities that may shape and reshape their relationship to citizenship and/or access to benefits and rights. It has long been hypothesized that third-party entities, designated as navigators, could be leveraged to mitigate the impact of administrative burden costs on citizens. For effective delivery of service, easing administrative burden costs in application processes may increase applicant likelihood of successfully navigating the bureaucratic process towards a desired end.

This research used data from recently implemented assistance programs in two separate state-level jurisdictions to conduct logistical regression analyses …

Using Input From Administrative Staff To Make Cost-Effective Decisions For Telecommuting, Technology, And Productivity During The Covid-19 Era, Chika Egemba

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this research was to examine if collaborative technologies enhance productivity in the face of remote work during the COVID-19 era using the diffusion of innovation framework. Dothan Housing is a Moving to Work (MTW) Expansion Agency under the Landlord Incentive Cohort #3. This means the agency was granted certain flexibility to pursue innovation. This research study used a post-positivist philosophy and a quantitative research design to investigate the thoughts, opinions, and feelings of Dothan Housing administrative staff about their experience with telecommuting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were selected from among Dothan Housing staff who were …

Is Nuisance Abatement "Broken Windows" Policing? Searching For Code Enforcement's Impact On Crime, Shane Diller

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study examines possible correlations between city code enforcement strategies and crime rates. Specifically, it asks: Is the work performed daily by city code enforcement departments, a Broken Windows Theory policing strategy?

To understand these possible connections, this study selected 30 medium-sized California cities, identified common elements of their code enforcement operations believed to be representative of how robust or active their programs were. Data was collected using both open-source, internet-based documents (such as budget documents and strategic plans) and from a survey sent directly to code enforcement staff. The survey consisted of 7 questions about code enforcement operations from …

Succession And Workforce Planning In Small To Mid-Size Academic Libraries In The United States, Kaci Resau

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study sought to explore the use of succession and workforce planning in small to mid-size academic libraries in the United States. Utilizing Paula Singer’s 2010 definition of succession planning, sixty-three library leaders from across the United States shared their knowledge and expertise in one-tone interviews on the library’s efforts to create “continuity in key positions, develop intellectual and knowledge capital for the future, and encourage individual advancement.” The study uses the traditional model of public administration, new public management, and new public service to explain the findings. The participants’ perception of succession planning was positive. Though not all participants …

Unbounding Rationality: Observing And Mitigating K-12 Public Education Administrators’ Cognitive Bias, Julie K. Mesaros

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Humans tend to simplify complex decisions by employing cognitive bias(es). Cognitively biased decision-making by public administrators can be adversely consequential for public organizations, public employees, and the public interest. Given the historical scope of experimental research on cognitive bias in the social and physical sciences, public administration scholars should continue to advance such research across various public sectors. This dissertation study responded to the long-ago call of Herbert Simon for empirical research situated in specific public or political contexts. This qual-QUAN mixed-method study had two main aims: (1) explore decisions that K-12 public education administrators make in personnel management and …

Evaluating Assertiveness, Support, And Gameplay Patterns By California Rural County Departments In Acquiring Budgetary Resources, Janet Dutcher

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Local and state laws require municipal budgeting before elected officials in a public setting. But preceding this, many decisions unfold privately, where department heads and executives compete over proposals to legislators about who gets what of scarce resources. This dissertation explores this private aspect of public budgeting, hypothesizing that greater assertiveness receives deeper cuts but more significant budget growth. In contrast, proposal support minimizes budget cuts because legislators adopt what executives recommend. This dissertation demonstrates that county budgeting in California rural counties shows the same dynamics as previous federal and state budgeting studies. Those dynamics include using non-technical gameplay strategies …

Quality Check: How Good Is Your Emergency Management Program?, Kesley Richardson

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

As the evolution of Emergency Management continues, and the integration of public administration combines more of the shared services model to protect our communities and populations from disasters, we must first assess ourselves. Emergency Management agencies must do more than build capabilities but do so strategically with evidence-based practices and incorporate innovative structural adaptations such as models, strategies, skills, information, assessment, leadership approaches, and more into everyday operation and strategic planning. In coordination with the only Emergency Management accreditation program on the planet, a standardized quantitative assessment will increase a comprehensive understanding of capabilities while strategically supporting programmatic objectives.

This …

Term Limits: An Argument For The Senate, Deanna Ferry

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

In this research study an argument is made to impose term limits on Senators serving in the United States Congress. It looks to explore historical data to prove effectiveness of self-imposed limits, real time data of sitting Senators to offer a modern perspective, and examples from other imposed term limits for sitting elected officials to demonstrate their benefit to constituents. The data utilized in this study is applied through organizational theory and quantified based on results and responses from both primary and secondary sources. Historical sources are applied as well through the literature review focusing on three primary themes emerging …

Descriptive Analysis Of Open Government Practices Of Four Mid-Sized Cities In New York State, Brian Bray

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The conceptualization and implementation of open government practices have evolved over the years, encompassing numerous actions that increase transparency, participation, and collaboration. While states mandate some open government practices for municipal governments, they also often implement optional forms independently. This paper examines how four mid-sized cities implement two such optional forms: government boards and open government data.

This study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the author used the Democracy Cube framework, a theoretical model developed by Fung (2006), that categorizes various approaches to public participation in government decision-making along three dimensions. This model served as the …

Centering Consumer Dignity Within Volunteer Operations, Meghan Loftus

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Volunteerism has become so commonplace in the United States that it is often considered the third sector of our economy. To maximize output and stretch every dollar, many nonprofit agencies rely on volunteers to assist with the provision of their direct services. This unfettered access to their service population, without the same trainings and safeguards as implemented with paid staff, potentially create the opportunity for these volunteers to violate the dignity of the nonprofit consumer, either intentionally or unintentionally. The purpose of this study is to explore this phenomenon and determine if it is in fact a shared experience. Through …

A Case Study Of Cross-Sector Collaboration In Community Schools In Central Pennsylvania, Jesscia Knapp

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

As societal problems become increasingly complex, organizations are more frequently embracing collaborative problem-solving methods to address issues that a single organization could not successfully solve alone. One such wicked problem is the state of education in the United States, particularly in low-income communities and school districts. The community school model is a method of education reform that requires cross-sector partnerships in order to be successful. This study examined the factors that led to successful cross-sector partnerships between Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania (CISPA) and two partner school districts in the implementation of the community school model in Pennsylvania. The results …

Understanding Factors Impacting Volunteer Firefighters' Work, Family, And Volunteer Balance To Serve, Christopher Schultz

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The volunteer fire service in the United States is experiencing a decline, presenting the opportunity to study factors impacting current and former volunteer firefighters' ability to serve. A qualitative case study of volunteer fire service organizations in southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania was undertaken through semi-structured interviews with 13 volunteer fire service members to understand this phenomenon. The findings of this study reveal that volunteer firefighters balance their time commitments through prioritization and self-regulation. The findings also indicate that volunteer firefighters are uncertain whether their communities understand the fire service delivery model serving their communities, the potential challenges the …

Sparking Debate: Private Or Public? The Effect Of Ownership On Electric Utility Performance, Joseph Pazzalia

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The privatization of municipal electric utilities has prompted the public vs private debate among local government leaders. Private utilities want to increase their profits by expanding their territory and municipalities hope to see an influx of cash from the sale of their utility. Public administrators are left with questions about how this will serve their community. This research addresses the topic of performance differences between public and private ownership among electric utilities in Florida. Specifically, the research question is, Does ownership type (public or private) affect the performance of electric utilities in the State of Florida? All of Florida’s 19 …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Pennsylvania Wine Industry With Actionable Recommendations For Industry Improvement And Growth, Seth Porter

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Local wine industries are vital engines of agricultural economic growth, rural development, and sustainable long-term tax base creation. While the Pennsylvania wine industry has made admirable progress, the industry still has a poor collective reputation, high variance in product quality differential, and a perceived regulatory environment that creates negative externalities for local wine, agricultural production, and auxiliary enterprises. This comprehensive analysis attempts to diagnose and remedy all primary public policy, regulatory, state, non-profit, and non-state private actions that have impeded the Pennsylvania wine industry. A methodology of grounded theory qualitative processes, furthered by texting mining and document analysis techniques, were …

Assessment Limitations And The Disparate Impact Of Tax Policy On Minoritized Communities, Michael Fouassier

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Public policies that limit assessment increases have created a system where more valuable homes are taxed at lower rates than less valuable homes. This tax regressivity is found not only between neighborhoods but also within neighborhoods such that lower-value homes in wealthier areas are also taxed at higher rates. The research presented in this dissertation, just one line of inquiry that adds to the ongoing discussion of tax equity, provides evidence that minoritized communities will not experience the greatest benefits of assessment caps. The legislative intent of New York State Senate Bill S7000A was to protect homeowners. What has occurred, …

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 …

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.