Public Administration Commons^™

Staff Of The People? Assessing Progress In Descriptive Representation Under The Obama Administration, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

Over the past few decades, presidents have made some increasingly noticeable efforts to fill their administrations with a higher number of minorities. Though not yet fully representative of the general public, such advances in descriptive representation are a sign of progressive change occurring within the executive branch, with positive potential implications for the state of representative democracy and public policy. In this article, I survey the current state of descriptive representation under the Obama presidency and the extent to which the president’s policy agenda has substantively addressed the needs of historically underrepresented groups. Descriptively, I find that President Barack Obama …

Missouri National Recreational River, Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Kevin J. Stark, Lucas J. Danzinger, Michael R. Komp, Andy J. Nadeau, Shannon Amberg, Eric J. Iverson, David Kadlec, Barry Drazkowski

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

As a unit in the National Park Service (NPS), Missouri National Recreational River (MNRR) is responsible for the management and conservation of natural resources within its boundaries. This mandate is supported by the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916, which directs the NPS to:

conserve the scenery and natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

In 2003, NPS Water Resources Division received funding through the Natural Resource Challenge …

Army Transformation: What Does It Mean?, David Jerome

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The way in which senior U.S. Army leaders such as the chiefs of staff define transformative change is important, especially if the meaning of that term is to be interpreted as originally intended by Army field grade officers. An Army chief of staff is responsible for creating a vision and establishing goals for the future, and field grade officers are responsible for pursuing that vision and those goals by implementing objectives that endeavor to arrive at the desired ends. By using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research analyzes what each of the three chiefs of staff, who have served …

Scotts Bluff National Monument Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring, 2011 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Michael R. Bynum, Tim Shepherd, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) was established to develop and provide scientifically credible information on the current status and long-term trends of the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems in thirteen parks located in five northern Great Plains states. NGPN identified upland plant communities, exotic plant early detection, and riparian lowland communities as vital signs that can be used to better understand the condition of terrestrial park ecosystems (Gitzen et al. 2010). Upland and riparian ecosystems are important targets for vegetation monitoring because the status and trends in plant communities provide critical insights into …

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring, 2011 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Michael R. Bynum, Tim Shepherd, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) was established to develop and provide scientifically credible information on the current status and long-term trends of the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems in thirteen parks located in five northern Great Plains states. NGPN identified upland plant communities, exotic plant early detection, and riparian lowland communities as vital signs that can be used to better understand the condition of terrestrial park ecosystems (Gitzen et al. 2010). Upland and riparian ecosystems are important targets for vegetation monitoring because the status and trends in plant communities provide critical insights into …

Staff Of The People? Assessing Progress In Descriptive Representation Under The Obama Administration, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

Over the past few decades, presidents have made some increasingly noticeable efforts to fill their administrations with a higher number of minorities. Though not yet fully representative of the general public, such advances in descriptive representation are a sign of progressive change occurring within the executive branch, with positive potential implications for the state of representative democracy and public policy. In this article, I survey the current state of descriptive representation under the Obama presidency and the extent to which the president’s policy agenda has substantively addressed the needs of historically underrepresented groups. Descriptively, I find that President Barack Obama …

Stakeholder Participation In Large Scale Complex Systems Modeling: Lessons From An Urbansim Users Community, Sandra H. Goff

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

Complex systems models for urban and regional simulation are increasingly being used as tools within decision-making processes underscoring the need to involve stakeholders in the modeling process. Stakeholder participation can serve both learning and community-building purposes, improving model legitimacy, saliency and accuracy and resolving conflicts over competing interests. However, the complex and highly technical nature of modeling activities has the potential to serve as an important barrier to stakeholder engagement. Members of an online UrbanSim user community were contacted in order to examine stakeholder participation in the development and implementation of UrbanSim models. For analysis purposes, a participation hierarchy was …

A Comparative Study Of Indicator Bacteria Present In Ice And Soda From Las Vegas Food Establishments, Kimberly Jo Hertin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Microbial analysis has long been used as an indicator of water quality. Since the passing of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, microbial standards have been strictly set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the public health is protected from bacterial pathogens. The bacteriological quality of water generally deteriorates as it travels from water treatment facilities through the main distribution system and into private plumbing and distribution systems. For example, Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) values typically increase once the water has entered plumbing devices such as beverage vending machines. Upon reaching a private facility, the opportunity …

Portland State University Strategic Plan 2011-2014, Strategic Planning Development Team, Portland State University. Office Of The President

Resource Archive

A large, in-depth, background and analysis of the Strategic Plan, which was included in the Strategic Plan Development Team Toolkit.

Getting Started In Evaluation Consulting: Questions To Ask And Answer Along The Way, Judah J. Viola,

Faculty Publications

This PowerPoint presentation includes a four phase approach to considering the main questions you'll need to ask and answer before taking the leap needed to begin working as an independent evaluation consultant.

Towards A Metatheory Of Budgeting, Dan Williams, Thad D. Calabrese

Publications and Research

In this paper. we suggest that many budget theories actually are about appropriating and not about budgeting. We trace this development back to the classic budgeting question posed by V.O. Keys in 1940. To clarify the issue, we examine early normative theories of budgeting, and apply many contemporary theories about budgeting to the budgeting process advocated for in this early work. By analyzing current theories, we show that budget theories are, in many cases, simply focused on parts of the budget process or on the role of techniques in decision making. Our analyses suggest that rather than theories competing with …

Report Relative To The Organization And Operations Of The Town Of Sherborn, Massachusetts, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Town of Sherborn has many important assets. The Town has skilled department heads and staff, a committed core of citizens and elected officials, one of the best school systems in the state, a stunning pastoral landscape, and a reputation as an extremely desirable place to live.

Despite these assets, no one will be shocked by our observation that the Town is also facing some very serious challenges. While the immediate prompt for this study and report was the vacancy in the Town Administrator’s position, it quickly became clear that the vacancy in the position is not the only challenge …

Book Review: Nurturing Children And Families: Building On The Legacy Of T. Berry Brazelton, Kathleen Fite

Administrative Issues Journal

Lester, B. M., & Sparrow, J. D. (Eds.). (2001). Nurturing children and families: Building on the legacy of T. Berry Brazelton. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. 376 pp. ISBN 978-1-4051-9600-0

Leveraging The Mbti To Affect Change, Maryrose Hart

Administrative Issues Journal

This presentation will discuss how the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) instrument can best be used to facilitate positive change in an organization. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an instrument based on research conducted by Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers. Briggs originally developed the concept to better understand the behaviors of normal individuals. The strength of the MBTI instrument lies in helping managers understand preferences, nuances, behaviors, and mental processes of individual employees. By using the MBTI, a person can predict what types of information disparate individuals prefer, the format and delivery, and orientations toward change. This insight can …

Service-Learning As A Professional Development Tool, Lillian Wichinsky, Carolyn Turturro

Administrative Issues Journal

The authors examined students’ attitudes towards grant writing and program evaluation when service learning was integrated into the assignment. Over a two-year period, 71 graduate students participated in an online survey responding to both qualitative and quantitative items. Students overwhelmingly reported that they learned more through the servicelearning experience than they would have doing the assignment as an academic exercise. It is recommended that all disciplines seek out service-learning opportunities to promote professional development.

High School Students Embedded In Adult Community College Classes, Karen P. Saenz, George W. Moore

Administrative Issues Journal

Early college high schools were established as an initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with the goal for students of earning college credit and an associate degree while in high school. Many of these high school students attend college classes with adults, ages 18 and older, in the same class. Instructors are challenged to address these students’ diverse needs and diverse ways of learning. Young teenagers typically are told exactly what to learn and how it is to be learned; the adult learner, however, is much more independent and he or she learns and thinks differently based on …

To The Point: How Management Faculty Use Powerpoint Slides And Quizzes, Stan Williamson, Kenneth E. Clow, Robert E. Stevens

Administrative Issues Journal

This exploratory study examines U.S. management faculty usage of two types of supplements: PowerPoint (PPT) slides and quizzes. Results suggest the majority (67%) of experienced management faculty frequently employ PowerPoint in their classes. However, they do not see PPT basic slides provided by the publisher as very central to getting their message across. In using PPT they tend to personalize publisher slides to cover issues discussed in class and to embellish slides with visuals and videos for interest. Primarily they encourage their students to use PowerPoint slides provided on the instructor’s website to review lectures and chapter material to prepare …

Administrative Issues Journal Conference Proceedings: Table Of Contents

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor-In-Chief, Tami Moser

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

Advisory And Editorial Board Members

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

Graduate Student Perceptions Of An Effective Online Class, Steve M. Bounds

Administrative Issues Journal

Online learning is a growing trend within the higher education community. As more universities offer more graduate programs totally online for the convenience of the older student who often has a family and full-time job it is imperative that instructors give attention to what students believe constitutes an effective online class. This paper surveyed 36 graduate students to determine what they considered important in an online course. Students want a professor who uses multimedia effectively, who establishes social interaction among students, who has a well-designed online format, who has an online presence, and who is available to students.

Creating Opportunities: Gerontological Service Learning In A Community Practice Project, Cindy Brown, Rosalie Otters, Carolyn Turturro

Administrative Issues Journal

Ten graduate gerontology students volunteered for a service learning project, My Life: Connect with Me, which was developed, supervised and evaluated by a graduate social work intern in a community practice internship. The social work intern trained volunteers in interviewing skills at a continuing care retirement community. Student volunteers’ self-reported confidence in interviewing older adults was measured by a questionnaire created by the social work intern, using Likert scaling and short qualitative responses, as well as journaling. All student volunteers reported increases from pre to posttest, and the social work intern successfully completed all community internship competencies (Council on Social …

Anomalies In The System: Is A New Educational Paradigm Upon Us?, Ed Cunliff, John Barthell

Administrative Issues Journal

In this article, we describe the palpable changes of a paradigm shift in higher education. Although this shift has been described and/or predicted elsewhere, we affirm the transition from over 30 years of collective teaching and administrative experience at a predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI) with historical roots as a state normal school. In many respects, the anomalies that Thomas Kuhn predicted in such a transition are all the more evident given our institution’s history. These anomalies include (but are not limited to) 1) the state of knowledge “ownership” (as mediated by the internet), 2) student-centered (vs. faculty-centered) educational practices, 3) …

A Comparative Analysis Of Cultural Competence In Beginning And Graduating Nursing Students, Deborah Davenport, Helen Reyes, Lance Hadley

Administrative Issues Journal

The ethnic proportions of the population in the United States are rapidly changing, with the nation’s minority population at approximately 101 million. This is also true for the West Texas region, where locally in a city with 183,000 residents, 43 different languages are spoken suggesting that cultural education needs to be included in nursing program curricula. Therefore, a study was conducted during a period of curriculum revision to determine if the current nursing curriculum at West Texas A&M University offers enough education and experience for graduating nurses to care for such a diverse population by comparing their perceptions of cultural …

A 3-Prong Approach To A Competency-Based Curriculum, Tina Fields

Administrative Issues Journal

As job opportunities for health administration students become more competitive, it is crucial for departments to develop “cutting edge” opportunities for their students. Taking the lead from other health profession curricula, health administration departments are developing overarching competencies that demonstrate outcome qualities of their students. The competency-based curriculum results in students who can demonstrate specific competencies at the time of their graduation. For the past three years, the School of Health Administration at Texas State University-San Marcos has used a threeprong competency-based curriculum to ensure “career readiness” of students.

Two Professional Learning Community Camps: Differing Opportunities, Glen Hartsoch

Administrative Issues Journal

One of the newest ideas du jour is the idea of the Professional Learning Community (PLC). Since the late 1990s, schools across the Southwest and the Heartland have been embracing the concept of the PLC at a fever pitch. Marketing materials and more recently empirical reports are beginning to surface describing what this concept is and how effective it is. It is certainly a concept related to many others that have come before. However, the literature on the idea of the PLC shows it to be something new and never really truly holistically explained in the past. Two camps have …

Designing And Implementing Two-Way, Dual Language Programs: Issues To Consider, April Haulman, Regina Lopez

Administrative Issues Journal

With growing pressure on school administrators to close the achievement gap for English language learners, two-way immersion programs are being considered in increasing numbers across the nation. In this program design, language minority children are placed in classrooms with native English speakers and both groups of children learn and achieve in both languages. In well-designed programs the outcomes show that the program produces academic achievement across the curriculum that is equal or better than students educated in monolingual classrooms on standardized tests in English. Plus they also enjoy the benefits of becoming balanced bilinguals. This report reviews the literature on …

The Leadership Triad: Identity, Integrity, Authenticity, David Henderson

Administrative Issues Journal

The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to analyze how the inner lives of fifteen educational leaders impacted their leadership practice. The common experience of the Courage To Lead (CTL) program defined the case. This case study was bound by place as the cohort of educational leaders involved in this study were all from the Seattle area in Washington State and experienced the CTL program in 2002-2004 at the same venue. The study is bounded by time in that the analysis of the participants was from the beginning of their CTL experience in November, 2002 until January, 2007. …

Factors Contributing To Successful Transitions Into The Role Of A New Superintendency In Texas: A Mixed Methods Triangulation Convergence Inquiry, Nancy Jones

Administrative Issues Journal

The study used a mixed methods research design, employing the triangulation convergence model, to investigate the possible factors contributing to successful transitions into the role of a new superintendency. Participating superintendents indicated that the training and education they received had adequately prepared them for the role of a new superintendent. Also, participants indicated that school board relations were important during the entry period and that their interaction with the board played an important part in the entry plan. Analysis of qualitative data resulted in three themes, namely, community, learning, and goals and expectations. In accordance with the convergence model, the …

Testing The Efficacy Of Self-Affirmation In Improving Student Performance In A Business Law Course, Lynn M. Murray, Christine E. Fogliasso

Administrative Issues Journal

The authors explore the effects of a self-affirmation exercise on upper level college students in a business law class. Students from three business law sections were randomly assigned into one of two groups: one group was to write about a personally important value before exams and the other group was to write about a value not important to them but important to others. A third group emerged as some students chose to ignore the assignment. Contrary to expectations, students writing about others’ values performed better on most exams than did those who did not complete the exercise. It may be …