Public Policy Commons^™

Neither “Post-War” Nor Post-Pregnancy Paranoia: How America’S War On Drugs Continues To Perpetuate Disparate Incarceration Outcomes For Pregnant, Substance-Involved Offenders, Becca S. Zimmerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the unique interactions between pregnancy, substance involvement, and race as they relate to the War on Drugs and the hyper-incarceration of women. Using ordinary least square regression analyses and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, I examine if (and how) pregnancy status, drug use, race, and their interactions influence two length of incarceration outcomes: sentence length and amount of time spent in jail between arrest and imprisonment. The results collectively indicate that pregnancy decreases length of incarceration outcomes for those offenders who are not substance-involved but not evenhandedly -- benefitting white …

America’S Presidential Crisis Of Legitimacy: How The Electoral College Became Obsolete And How We Can Fix It, Julia Rose Foodman

Scripps Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to critique the current American Presidential electoral system, the Electoral College, and to show what an alternative could potentially mean for the American people. This paper seeks to answer the following questions: What are the main arguments for the Electoral College, why are they troubling, and how can we mend American Presidential elections for the greater purposes of political equality, democracy, and freedom? To do so, core arguments made by conservative pundits in favor of the Electoral College are outlined in order to bring attention to their logical, political, and moral inconsistencies. The inequalities …

The Public Administrator’S Role In Public Art Collaborations: A Case Study Of Public Art In Minnesota Communities, Kurtis Ulrich

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The public Administrator’s Role in Public Art Collaborations:

A Case Study of Public Art in Minnesota Communities

By Kurtis G. Ulrich

Hamline University 2021

This study focuses on the planning and implementation of public art in small cities, and the public administrator’s role in public art collaborations within that context. The research highlights the public administrator’s role in public art collaborations and analyzes how public art projects are implemented and sustained in small cities. The study methodology relies on the qualitative case study method to describe the subjective real-world experiences of city managers in public art collaborations within three …

The Role Of Organizational Socialization On The Ethical Orientation Of Male Police Officers, Megan Marie Bessey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A gap in literature exists surrounding years of service, training, and ethical attitudes within the law enforcement industry. The proposed hypothesis was that years of service in law enforcement and hours of in-service training were interactively related to an officer's ethical attitudes as related to ethical orientation. The purpose of this study was to examine organizational socialization within the law enforcement profession, specifically as demonstrated through the interaction effects of factors relating to ethical orientation and scores measured by the Ethics Position Questionnaire of male Northern Kentucky and Southern Oregon police officers. The major theoretical propositions for this study came …

Black Citizens Experiences And Interactions With Police In Coffee County, Brittany Nicole Palmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Media attention directed towards the relationship between law enforcement officers and communities of color has increased in recent years, specifically regarding the treatment of African Americans. In some cases, contact between police and African Americans had resulted in excessive and unjustified use of force. These types of occurrences have resulted in a divide between African Americans and police officers. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to understand African Americans’ experiences and interactions with police in communities with less-than-optimal working relations in Coffee County, Georgia. The theoretical framework for this study is the normative sponsorship theory. Data were collected …

Indigenous Women: Violence, Vulnerability And Cultural Protective Factors, Christina M. Agloinga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The disproportionate rates of violent crimes, historical oppression, and cultural assimilation disrupted the traditional practices and belief system within Alaskan Native communities, thus changing the influence of protective factors that support balance and equality for women. Identifying protective factors provided by cultural practices that support resiliency provides an increased understanding of how cultural strengths can combat distorted stereotypes within the criminal justice system. This study included characteristics of a phenomenological, narrative, and ethnographic study. The social constructionist framework and the social construction of target populations theory was used to explore how traditional cultural practices can influence the current gender identity, …

Perceptions And Experiences Of African American Americorps Program Participants, Dean Michael Hindenlang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AmeriCorps, a voluntary public service program founded in 1993, has largely consisted of a nonminority middle-class group, generally 20 to 29 years old, who had the financial assistance of family while serving. African American participants may be experiencing AmeriCorps-based programs differently, in areas such as financial solvency, job readiness skills, and the ability to begin or return to college. This qualitative study was designed to reveal the perceptions and experiences of African American participants who have completed AmeriCorps service in a Midwest metropolis. Using the lens of critical race theory, which explored African American Corps members through a historical position …

Catalysts To Transformational Leadership Between Managers And Analysts In Public Service, Eugene Davis Stevenson Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transformational leadership (TL) is the ability of a leader to convince a subordinate or follower to adopt organizational goals as their goals. Transformational leaders utilize intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence to engage and mold their employees. Within the sphere of public management, current leadership research acknowledges the effect of TL but is still incomplete or inconsistent on how to catalyze TL consistently. The focus of this study was how TL is used between managers and analysts within California state public service. The theoretical framework for this study is complexity theory. Complexity theory states that the world …

Experiences Of Public-Private Partnership Concession Uncertainties In The Federal Capital Territory Administration Of Nigeria, Chigbo Rowland Chikelu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Structuring successful public-private partnership (P3) concession contracts is a problem for both the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) of Nigeria and private concessionaires that partner with the government to finance the delivery of public goods in the territory. Researchers have estimated the percentage of P3 concession failures in Nigeria to be between 50% and 60%. The purpose of this study is to explore concessionaires’ lived experiences involving P3 concession uncertainties, opportunities, and barriers while they partner with the FCTA of Nigeria to deliver public goods. The key research question examined the meaning of P3 concession uncertainty to concessionaires with the …

Gender Equality And Equity Narratives Amongst Women In Nongovernmental Organizations, Barbara Etta Austin-Lucas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gender equality and equity narratives of women members of registered nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been largely unexamined relative to their lived experiences in healthcare, education, socioeconomic status, and political participation. The purpose of this study was to explore the narratives of women members of registered NGOs located in the Northeastern United States. The gender equality and equity narratives of women in registered NGOs related to their experiences with healthcare, education, socioeconomic status, and political participation were explored. For this qualitative narrative research, the conceptual framework was the narrative policy framework theory, which explores how narratives influence public opinion, policy dialogue, …

A Narrative Policy Framework And Feminist Critical Policy Analysis Of The Welfare Reform Acts, And The Higher Education Of Single Welfare Mothers, Evelyn Jean Mangin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractScholars approached poverty through welfare reform by focusing on reductions in caseloads, timing out of benefits, and who was and not deserving of a four-year college degree. There is limited research regarding the power of narratives during the policy process and their influences on the language in welfare public laws. This qualitative study addressed the gap in the literature and policy analysis research by comparing and analyzing the welfare narratives and language used by policymakers and political actors from four presidential administrations: Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, between 1996-2018. This study employed the narrative policy framework (NPF), a theory …

Modern Black Codes: Presidential Crime Control Rhetoric And Black Criminalization, Earnest Ujaama

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of Black imprisonment in the United States is nearly 6 times that of Whites. Wholesale criminalization of Black Americans denote institutional racism within America’s criminal justice system. Limited research is available examining crime control rhetoric of U.S. presidents to determine if Blacks are constructed as criminals through carefully coded crime control discourse. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to investigate whether presidents used language that construct Black criminality. A social construction theoretical framework and critical discourse analysis was applied. The data used for this study included scripted speeches. The collection of data began with 54 speeches …

The Strategically Broken System: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Clinical Implications Of Immigration Law, Policy, And Practice, Kelle Agassiz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The majority of clinicians do not receive education pertaining to the legal aspects of immigration in their curriculum, training, or continuing education. In addition, the process of navigating the immigration system has been exacerbated in recent years due to rapid policy changes under the Trump administration, which has contributed to a hostile political climate, particularly for immigrants from Central America and Mexico. Using a classic grounded theory research approach, this study explored the relationship between the psychological implications of immigration and the legal challenges that immigrants face today, with a specific focus on immigration from Central America and Mexico. Through …

The Challenge Of Tribal Relations In Chad: Impacts On Socioeconomic Development, Adoum K. Ey Moussa

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The multitude of different tribes in Africa is what makes the continent rich and diverse. At the same time, this diversity, when combined with self-centered and exclusive behaviors, can yield detrimental impact on the economy and society. This dissertation examined tribalism, defined as favoritism based on kinship, and its impacts on socioeconomic development on the Republic of Chad. Specially, this research investigated tribalism and its direct and indirect influence on corruption, human capital potential, social justice, and socioeconomic development in Chad. This mixed-methods study comprised a two-phase design. The first phase was mainly a quantitative survey that was administered to …

Influencing Capitalist Attitudes To Drive More Capital Towards Social Good, Leah Michelle Burton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to better understand how to influence capitalist attitudes and drive more capital towards social good. This is why we must explore the prospect of emancipating the capitalists from capitalism. This study identifies capitalism as a form of oppression that is contributing to a newly developed ethics of capital, a term introduced in this study. Emancipatory action research and general systems theory were employed as the primary approaches to engaging a group of venture capitalists and finance professionals in activities and dialogues. Value2 is the theory of action I use to influence the attitudes of …

Latinx Population Hit Hard In The Covid-19 Recession: Mounting Hardships And One Big Idea For An Inclusive Recovery, Trevor Mattos, Bansari Kamdar, Phillip Granberry, Fabián Torres-Ardila

Gastón Institute Publications

Back before the COVID-19 crisis hit and the economy was relatively strong in the aggregate, Massachusetts’ Latinx population—a diverse and growing community that makes valuable economic and cultural contributions—had the lowest incomes and lowest homeownership rate among racial/ethnic groups in Massachusetts. Latinx working-age adults tended to have lower levels of educational attainment and were more likely to have limited English language proficiency. These, in part, contributed to higher levels of unemployment and food insecurity before the pandemic. Then the COVID crisis hit in March of 2020, serving to compound many of these pre-existing challenges, as Latinx workers were more likely …

16 Cents Per Hour: Corcraft And New York State’S Prison Labor System, Gus Fisher, Diana Kennedy

Capstones

If you’re a student or faculty member at CUNY, the desk you write at, chair you sit in, and shelves you use are likely being made by New York State prisoners, who are paid a starting salary of 16 cents per hour by the state-owned corporation known as Corcraft.

Link to Full Article: https://gus-fisher.medium.com/16-cents-per-hour-corcraft-and-new-york-states-prison-labor-system-2b687792a03d

Mental Health Stigma: A Wicked Problem (Slides), Katelyn Yoh

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Mental health stigma began in the 5th century, continued through the 18th century, and began to improve in the 1840s. Mental health has been viewed as negative and those who suffer from a mental illness or disorder also suffer from stigma as well as negative consequences, such as other mental health concerns, physical issues, and psychological issues due to stigma. This paper goes into deep detail about what mental health stigma is, how stigma is used from peers and internalizes and creates self stigma, what the results of stigma are (all negative), and lastly ways to help put an end …

Racism In Education Remix, Kevin M. Donton

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Racism in Education has been a huge problem in the United States today, and it still is. The presence of racism in the education system is quite controversial and many people have strong opinions on it. Its roots date all the way back to slavery in the United States to the Brown vs. the Board of Education case to the Reagan Revolution to present day in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. This topic has been a problem for a long time now and should be brought up more. Along with this information and as a reinterpretation, or …

Lack Of Resources In Classrooms, Juliana Maffea

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The lack of resources in classrooms are evident around the world, but in this poster, the focus is on the state of Virginia. Teachers are struggling to teach with barely any resources or money, and the students are attempting to learn with little to no supplies. If schools continue to under supply teachers, the students and teachers are going to fall behind. Teachers will not be in the best moods, and the students will suffer. In this poster, it is evident there are some things that can be done to help, but it will take time and effort.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Afro-Latinos, Trevor Mattos, Phillip Granberry, Quito Swan

Gastón Institute Publications

Afro-Latinx communities are critical stakeholders in Black and Latinx demographic groups, and they also make up a critical fabric of Boston, Massachusetts and the United States politically, economically and culturally. The Afro-Latinx experience sheds light on the critical intersections of race, ethnicity, culture, economics, gender, and class in not only America, but in Afro-Latinx Diasporas across the Americas and the world. Afro-Latinx individuals and institutions often face racism within broader Latinx communities and White America and are often stigmatized by their non-Latino Black counterparts. At the same time, there is a strong tradition of Afro-Latinx political advocacy, cross cultural movements …

Mental Health Stigma: A Wicked Problem, Katelyn Yoh

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Mental health stigma began in the 5th century, continued through the 18th century, and began to improve in the 1840s. Mental health has been viewed as negative and those who suffer from a mental illness or disorder also suffer from stigma as well as negative consequences, such as other mental health concerns, physical issues, and psychological issues due to stigma. This paper goes into deep detail about what mental health stigma is, how stigma is used from peers and internalizes and creates self stigma, what the results of stigma are (all negative), and lastly ways to help put an end …

Hunger In The United States, Trey A. Henry

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The issue of hunger in the United States is descriptively explained through the standpoints of child hunger, mental health, food security, and elderly people. It is detailed with explanations on how to overcome and adapt to the wicked problem that have plagued our country since it became one. The information produced by authors cited in this essay talk about the main points and the substantial issues that have progressed over time. It sheds light on how prevalent hunger can be with low-income families and the elderly people that do not have the aid to receive enough meals a day. In …

Time To Acknowledge Homeless Youth, Madison Frey

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Today, there are many wicked problems that we face. Climate change, phone usage, substance use, and many others. This may lead to us then neglecting some of the other wicked problems that do not directly relate to us. Homelessness is a wicked problem that has been faced for generations, and many have overcome it and went on to talk about their hardships. What is not spoken about so often is homelessness in youth. It is an ugly truth that needs to be recognized and talked about. They face several issues with not only various parts of their health, but aspects …

Lack Of Resources In Classrooms, Juliana Maffea

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

In different areas of the world, classrooms lack resources. Teachers are trying their hardest to teach their students with what is given to them, but it is not enough. The result of having a lack of resources is students not graduating, teachers burning out, parents scared for their students, and students not getting the proper education. An insufficient amount of resources in classrooms comes from the lack of funding or the improper use of spending in schools. There are solutions to this wicked problem, such as raising more money, making cuts, or changing the way schools spend their money. This …

Global Warming, Benjamin H. Gray Mr.

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Global warming is being affected in many ways on a daily basis and continuing using the same nonrenewable resources is hurting the human civilization as a whole today, and is going to hurt us even more in the future. The world is being affected economically today and is going to have to contribute a large sum of money to clean up the greenhouses gasses. There is also a problem with precipitation a drought due to the temperature and jet streams. Humans are choosing to migrate differently due to the change in temperatures and precipitation which goes hand in hand with …

A Letter To The United States Government On Wealth And Income Inequality, Matthieu Maier

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The United States of America is the world’s hotspot when it comes to income and wealth inequality. The wealthiest Americans are accumulating more and more wealth everyday while most Americans, who fall somewhere around middle-class, remain struggling and stagnant. The United States’ unchecked and deregulated system of capitalism is the root cause of our country’s inequities along with our government’s refusal to set aside self-interests and biases in order to combat these issues. From the inequality caused by rouged American systems larger issues are created that lead to complications in health, wages, standard of living, and race relations within our …

Wicked Problems: Depression, Sebastian Wendolowski

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Depression is a disorder that can affect anybody and is the leading cause of disability and disorders in the United States. This year, due to COVID-19, it has hit an all time high, affecting many more people. Suicide rates have been steadily growing across all ages, and this year is at a record high too, showing correlation with depression. There are two types of depression, major depressive disorder and chronic depressive disorder. Diagnosis of depression is typically done physically or through a questionnaire, which is compared into a DSM-5. There are many risk factors for depression and other common mental …

Covid-19 Is More Important Than College Football, Gavin J. Riley

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

College Football has been around since 1869, and while it has faced many hardships, this may be the toughest test. With the arrival of the fatal coronavirus, the NCAA, along with the many colleges must find a way to have a safe college football season. Although, it can be argued that having a college football season is not worth risking the lives of many. The NCAA’s plan to go through with a season has strict protocols and guidelines that all teams must abide by, but many players and team members do not feel safe with these guidelines. With the use …

Tackling Poverty, Mark A. Smith-Micthell

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

For many decades America has been stuck in a loop of having millions of impoverished citizens despite being one of the richest countries in the world. Lack of education, mass incarceration, and failed government policy are just some of the many causes of a very perplexing problem. Poverty is a downward spiral that emphasizes the inconsistencies between government policy and the weakness of the country's economy, which can only begin to be overcome if opportunities to help the less fortunate are developed.