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Examining Individual Student Success Through The Lens Of New Institutional Economics In An Urban Public School District : The Great Graduation Gamble, Arvell Lynn Dehart

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

In a perfect world, neo-classical economics and rational theory make sense. But in this imperfect world this paper has turned to Oliver Williamson and his understanding of New Institutional Economics to help us make sense. NIE helps explain institutions and organizations and their role in creating and shaping contracts that fit a very diverse institutional, organizational and human landscape. NIE provides a new lens to examine institutions as diverse as politics and as rigid as economics. Yet, one critical institution has yet to be examined through that lens. That institution is Public Education. It is that examination which this paper …

An Examination Of The Applicability Of The Citistat Performance Management System To Municipal Fire Departments, James Horton

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Local governments continue to face difficulty transitioning from performance measurement systems to performance management systems. The purpose of this research is to determine if the Citistat performance management system influences organizational behavior, organizational efficiency or organizational effectiveness in the local government setting. Citistat is a recent performance management innovation claiming budgetary savings and improved performance, but has yet to be empirically tested across multiple jurisdictions. This research examines organizational behavior, efficiency and effectiveness in larger municipal fire departments which serve a population greater than 100,000. Organizational behavior is assessed by a survey sent to fire chiefs of the largest 254 …

Implementing Oral English Language Acquisition Policy In Career And Technical Education Classes: Changing To A Social Pedagogy Paradigm, Kelley Crockett

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AbstractImplementing Oral English Language Acquisition Policy in Career and Technical Classes: Changing to a Social Pedagogy ParadigmKelley E. Crockett, PhDThe University of Texas at Arlington, 2010Supervising Professor: Dr. Rod Hissong Federal and state policies have long sought to address the social inequities faced by limited English proficient (LEP) students through the improvement of English language acquisition. English language acquisition policy has focused on access to resources, qualified teachers, and instructional methodologies (e.g. pedagogy) that create a learning environment conducive to increased proficiency in English language attainment. A challenge to the successful implementation of these policies is an incremental approach to …

"Why Didn't They Ask Us?": Memories Of Muslim Young Adults In Public Schools In The U. S. September 11, 2001, Jean Surratt Humphreys

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Where were you on September 11, 2001? How did that day change your life? How would you remember September 11, 2001 if you were a young Muslim in the United States during this time, if you become the "enemy"? Young adult Muslims are different from their older generation and from other young religious adults, having become more religious in their twenties. This study focuses on perceived Islamophobia that Muslim students report encountering in public schools, as well as in the larger community, particularly while traveling, resulting from public policies in response to September 11, specifically the Patriot Act. The methodology …

Examining Individual Student Success Through The Lens Of New Institutional Economics In An Urban Public School District : The Great Graduation Gamble, Arvell Lynn Dehart

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

In a perfect world, neo-classical economics and rational theory make sense. But in this imperfect world this paper has turned to Oliver Williamson and his understanding of New Institutional Economics to help us make sense. NIE helps explain institutions and organizations and their role in creating and shaping contracts that fit a very diverse institutional, organizational and human landscape. NIE provides a new lens to examine institutions as diverse as politics and as rigid as economics. Yet, one critical institution has yet to be examined through that lens. That institution is Public Education. It is that examination which this paper …

Impact Of The Advancement Via Individual Determination (Avid) Program On Closing The Academic Achievement Gap, Charlotte S. Ford

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

There is disparity in the quality of school experiences encountered by students of different races, languages, social classes, and communities. There are also systemic issues that affect the quality of education received by students attending schools primarily comprised of students from the lower socioeconomic status and ethnic minorities. Students of color and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds consistently earn lower grades and lower test scores than their peers. Despite many education reform efforts in the 1980s and 1990s, the academic achievement gap continues to persist.AVID program was evaluated as an academic intervention program geared toward closing the academic achievement gap. …

More Than Money: Higher Education Decisions Of Low-Income And Minority Students, Tiffany Gurley-Alloway

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A gap persists in K-12 academic achievement, high school persistence, college attendance, and educational attainment by income level and race/ethnicity. Issues of race and ethnicity in education are often intertwined with those of economic status because African Americans and Latinos are more likely to live in poverty and have lower median household incomes than are Whites in US. Much of the literature regarding the achievement gap focuses on barriers faced by low-income and minority students; two barriers in particular are low student motivation and inadequate academic preparation. In addition to these individual level barriers, schools as institutions perpetuate and reward …

The Relationship Between Management Diversity And Supplier Diversity Program Development: A Supplier Diversity Professional Perspective, Marilyn L. King

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Companies that supply the Federal government with goods and services are required by law to have a supplier diversity program/initiative. They are also required to appoint a supplier diversity professional to manage the program. Programs are audited by the Small Business Administration to determine due diligence efforts to achieve the mandated annual spend, education, and development requirements from the Veterans Administration for small businesses. Supplier diversity programs typically begin at the token level and can usually be developed to a world class level if the initiatives are strategically integrated in the corporation's supply chain and supported by senior management. For …

Impact Of The Advancement Via Individual Determination (Avid) Program On Closing The Academic Achievement Gap, Charlotte S. Ford

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

There is disparity in the quality of school experiences encountered by students of different races, languages, social classes, and communities. There are also systemic issues that affect the quality of education received by students attending schools primarily comprised of students from the lower socioeconomic status and ethnic minorities. Students of color and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds consistently earn lower grades and lower test scores than their peers. Despite many education reform efforts in the 1980s and 1990s, the academic achievement gap continues to persist.AVID program was evaluated as an academic intervention program geared toward closing the academic achievement gap. …

The Relationship Between Management Diversity And Supplier Diversity Program Development: A Supplier Diversity Professional Perspective, Marilyn L. King

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Companies that supply the Federal government with goods and services are required by law to have a supplier diversity program/initiative. They are also required to appoint a supplier diversity professional to manage the program. Programs are audited by the Small Business Administration to determine due diligence efforts to achieve the mandated annual spend, education, and development requirements from the Veterans Administration for small businesses. Supplier diversity programs typically begin at the token level and can usually be developed to a world class level if the initiatives are strategically integrated in the corporation's supply chain and supported by senior management. For …

More Than Money: Higher Education Decisions Of Low-Income And Minority Students, Tiffany Gurley-Alloway

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

A gap persists in K-12 academic achievement, high school persistence, college attendance, and educational attainment by income level and race/ethnicity. Issues of race and ethnicity in education are often intertwined with those of economic status because African Americans and Latinos are more likely to live in poverty and have lower median household incomes than are Whites in US. Much of the literature regarding the achievement gap focuses on barriers faced by low-income and minority students; two barriers in particular are low student motivation and inadequate academic preparation. In addition to these individual level barriers, schools as institutions perpetuate and reward …

Working Librarians' Perceptions Of The Role Of The Public Library In The 21st Century, Susan Smith

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Tax-supported public institutions with often-insufficient resources, public libraries in America can only provide a limited array of programs, services and materials. Recent surveys of the public show libraries are important, but there is a lack of understanding and awareness about what the library does and the source of library funding. Librarians have long known that they do a bad job of telling others about the library. An unclear mission would make communicating difficult, as it is hard to communicate what the library does if there is no clear role or purpose for the library. Examining current professional literatures shows little …

Working Librarians' Perceptions Of The Role Of The Public Library In The 21st Century, Susan Smith

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Tax-supported public institutions with often-insufficient resources, public libraries in America can only provide a limited array of programs, services and materials. Recent surveys of the public show libraries are important, but there is a lack of understanding and awareness about what the library does and the source of library funding. Librarians have long known that they do a bad job of telling others about the library. An unclear mission would make communicating difficult, as it is hard to communicate what the library does if there is no clear role or purpose for the library. Examining current professional literatures shows little …

Public Management Reform In Developing Countries: An Empirical Investigation Of Operational And Financial Efficiency Of Private Versus Public Airports In Latin America And The Caribbean, Alvin H. Brown

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Public enterprises in Latin American and Caribbean developing nations (LACDNs) are constantly struggling to make their public infrastructures in sectors such as banking, energy; telecommunications, trade, and aviation operate more efficiently and effectively. Public management reform is used to analyze the problems of government and provide solutions. The problems encountered are the growing cost of the public sector in conjunction with inefficient and unresponsive bureaucracies in LACDNs. Accordingly, the solutions involve governments focusing on ensuring that public enterprises are performing efficiently and effectively by adopting a holistic market approach for operating public enterprises. The purpose of this study is to …

The Irony Of Proving Discrimination, Rosalyn Wilson-Green

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Currently America courts require plaintiffs alleging discrimination to not only prove the existence of present day discrimination but to also prove the "discriminatory intent." This dissertation contains two applications of the theory of unconscious discrimination as it reveals the difficulty of prevailing in discrimination cases. The assumption applied is that policy-makers use theories that dismiss or render invisible the presence of subtle discrimination. This perpetuates the problem and hinders its adequate address. Since so many people suffer because of discrimination's invisible-yet present existence, measures must be taken to unveil the remedy this subtler form of discrimination. In this dissertation, I …

Public Management Reform In Developing Countries: An Empirical Investigation Of Operational And Financial Efficiency Of Private Versus Public Airports In Latin America And The Caribbean, Alvin H. Brown

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Public enterprises in Latin American and Caribbean developing nations (LACDNs) are constantly struggling to make their public infrastructures in sectors such as banking, energy; telecommunications, trade, and aviation operate more efficiently and effectively. Public management reform is used to analyze the problems of government and provide solutions. The problems encountered are the growing cost of the public sector in conjunction with inefficient and unresponsive bureaucracies in LACDNs. Accordingly, the solutions involve governments focusing on ensuring that public enterprises are performing efficiently and effectively by adopting a holistic market approach for operating public enterprises. The purpose of this study is to …

The Irony Of Proving Discrimination, Rosalyn Wilson-Green

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Currently America courts require plaintiffs alleging discrimination to not only prove the existence of present day discrimination but to also prove the "discriminatory intent." This dissertation contains two applications of the theory of unconscious discrimination as it reveals the difficulty of prevailing in discrimination cases. The assumption applied is that policy-makers use theories that dismiss or render invisible the presence of subtle discrimination. This perpetuates the problem and hinders its adequate address. Since so many people suffer because of discrimination's invisible-yet present existence, measures must be taken to unveil the remedy this subtler form of discrimination. In this dissertation, I …

Shared Land Use Impacts Between Military Installations And Contiguous Communities (Post-Brac): Fact And Opinion Differences In Planning And Public Policy, Rumanda Kay Young

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

How a policy or planning tool (e.g. BRAC) contributes to real and perceived conclusions from policy implementation is the main focus of this research. This research examines differences between real and perceived encroachment issues and concerns through study of military installations and their contiguous communities using post-BRAC opinion data compared to conclusions drawn from pre-BRAC and post-BRAC empirical data. A study of six (6) supporting research topics from current literature leads to a hypothesis that there are no differences between the same variables using empirical data (reality) and opinions (perception) with respect to variable descriptors of encroachment in the post-BRAC …

Collaboration Among Federal Managers: Administrative Conjunction In Faith Based And Community Initiatives, Michael Simmons

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

The role of government is less clear than ever in an increasingly complex world. As a result, working in government has also become more challenging. In this information driven society, government workers are asked to solve a variety of complicated problems using collaboration and networking skills. These skills help navigate within their own agency, across jurisdictions, or through the public policy partnerships with non- profit and private organizations. In general, the field of public administration faces the challenges of what Frederickson (H. G. Frederickson, 1999) calls a disarticulated state in which boundaries become less important and collaboration becomes the main …

Collaboration Among Federal Managers: Administrative Conjunction In Faith Based And Community Initiatives, Michael Simmons

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

The role of government is less clear than ever in an increasingly complex world. As a result, working in government has also become more challenging. In this information driven society, government workers are asked to solve a variety of complicated problems using collaboration and networking skills. These skills help navigate within their own agency, across jurisdictions, or through the public policy partnerships with non- profit and private organizations. In general, the field of public administration faces the challenges of what Frederickson (H. G. Frederickson, 1999) calls a disarticulated state in which boundaries become less important and collaboration becomes the main …

Growth/Decline Of Employment Subcenter In Polycentric Regions: The Case Of The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, Maher Sayel Al-Shammari

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

This research is concerned with explaining the variation in growth rates among employment subcenters. The purpose of the study is to find answers to the question: What factors/variables contribute to the growth or decline of employment subcenters? More specifically, the study aims to 1) identify and describe employment subcenters in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and 2) explain the variation in their growth rate over a specified period of time through testing a set of variables extracted from related literature. A multiple regression analysis technique is employed to complete the empirical analysis. The DFW metropolitan area was chosen as a …

Factors Influencing The Relationship Between Nonprofit Child Care Providers And The Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services As A Predictor Of Policy Outcomes, Larry Watson

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Over the past 30 plus years, there has been a shift in public administration responsibilities from providing direct services to the complex functions of contract management. Public administrators must now perform functions across jurisdictional lines to accomplish the purposes of the state (Frederickson & Smith, 2003). Public administrators can no longer be concerned only with the functions of government but must accomplish their work through the private and nonprofit sectors as well. The movement from the provision of direct services to the management of contracts is evident in Texas, where state legislators are working to privatize the state's child welfare …

Factors Influencing The Relationship Between Nonprofit Child Care Providers And The Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services As A Predictor Of Policy Outcomes, Larry Dan Watson

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Over the past 30 plus years, there has been a shift in public administration responsibilities from providing direct services to the complex functions of contract management. Public administrators must now perform functions across jurisdictional lines to accomplish the purposes of the state (Frederickson & Smith, 2003). Public administrators can no longer be concerned only with the functions of government but must accomplish their work through the private and nonprofit sectors as well. The movement from the provision of direct services to the management of contracts is evident in Texas, where state legislators are working to privatize the state's child welfare …

Planning For Growth In Cities And Metropolitan Regions: An Empirical Study Of Impact Fees And Choice, Chi-Hyoung Park

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

This research examines what city factors relate to the likelihood of adopting impact fees by local governments within metropolitan regions using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. More and more cities are adopting different types of impact fees for financing public facilities and infrastructure to accommodate their cities' growth without full understanding of issues, public and private criticisms of impact fees, and the empirical information needed. This dissertation investigates a random sample of 278 cities out of 827 cities populations over 25,000 located within 97 MSAs to understand what variables within their settings relate to impact fee adoptions using five …

A Comparative Study Of Performance Measurement In Korean Local Governments Using Data Envelopment Analysis And Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Dong Jin Lim

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This study examines efficiency as a key component of performance, applies new performance measurement techniques to the measurement of local government performance, and verifies theoretical debates on economic, financial, political, and environmental factors related to performance in local government. Improving performance and promoting efficiencies in local government are important issues in both academic and practical public administration. Despite the remarkable development of performance measurement in local government since the 1990s, empirical evidence is still limited on the extent of the utility and practicability of performance measurement in local government.

Results of this research are developed from a study of Korean …

Risk, Resilience And Relocation: A Life Course Exploration Of Resettlement Experiences Of Public Housing Residents, Jan H. Johnston

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Spatial deconcentration of poverty has been the organizing framework of federally subsidized housing policy for well over a decade. During that time low-income families living in traditional public housing across the country have been involuntarily relocated. Household relocation into lower poverty middle class, while the underlying mobility goal, has proven difficult for many families. We continue to look for evidence for how and whether these families are able to adapt as they are scattered across urban settings. The research focus was to operationalize the resident's adaptive behavior pertaining to deconcentration of poverty by trait difference, familial/cultural cues and perceived institutional …

Perceptions Of Crime, Fear Of Crime, And Defensible Space In Fort Worth Neighborhoods, Bonnie R. Grohe

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This research used descriptive, written scenarios to test the perceptions of crime, fear of crime, and defensible space of residents in three Fort Worth, Texas, neighborhood associations. The survey instrument included two different measures of fear of crime: 1) fear of crime in hypothetical scenarios, and 2) fear of crime in resident's own neighborhoods to examine whether residents who were fearful in their own neighborhood also reported high levels of fear in hypothetical neighbor¬hoods. The instrument also tested whether residents perceived certain neighborhoods as defensible and if residents recognized what crime prevention scholars defined as "safe" environments. The multiple regression …

Risk, Resilience And Relocation: A Life Course Exploration Of Resettlement Experiences Of Public Housing Residents, Jan H. Johnston

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Spatial deconcentration of poverty has been the organizing framework of federally subsidized housing policy for well over a decade. During that time low-income families living in traditional public housing across the country have been involuntarily relocated. Household relocation into lower poverty middle class, while the underlying mobility goal, has proven difficult for many families. We continue to look for evidence for how and whether these families are able to adapt as they are scattered across urban settings. The research focus was to operationalize the resident's adaptive behavior pertaining to deconcentration of poverty by trait difference, familial/cultural cues and perceived institutional …

Spatial Patterns And Determinants Of Industrial Regional Growth In Mexico, 1993-2003: Implications For Regional Planning And Public Policy, Jesus Antonio Trevino

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This research investigates industrial regional growth and its determinants in Mexico from 1993 to 2003. Strategies of local economic development, usually based on industrial promotion, require knowing main determinants of industrial regional growth. The case study shows that there is no variable with a systematically strong effect for all industries which policymakers and planners might directly control. This finding warns us about generic policy designs uncritically based on outcomes from other experiences. Although these results show a complex problem in terms of regional policy, some recommendations for industrial spatial distribution may, however, be derived from this study. For instance, during …

Perceptions Of Crime, Fear Of Crime, And Defensible Space In Fort Worth Neighborhoods, Bonnie R. Grohe

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

This research used descriptive, written scenarios to test the perceptions of crime, fear of crime, and defensible space of residents in three Fort Worth, Texas, neighborhood associations. The survey instrument included two different measures of fear of crime: 1) fear of crime in hypothetical scenarios, and 2) fear of crime in resident's own neighborhoods to examine whether residents who were fearful in their own neighborhood also reported high levels of fear in hypothetical neighbor¬hoods. The instrument also tested whether residents perceived certain neighborhoods as defensible and if residents recognized what crime prevention scholars defined as "safe" environments. The multiple regression …