Public Policy Commons^™

Striving For Credibility In The Face Of Ambiguity: A Grounded Theory Study Of Extreme Hardship Immigration Psychological Evaluations, Susan M. Burke

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Psychological evaluations are frequently used in extreme hardship immigration cases in the United States. These evaluations are complex; they are inherently ambiguous, and they require extensive training and specialized knowledge. General guidance for mental health professionals is available from professional organizations, the federal government, and articles in the legal and mental health literature. However, there is a lack of detailed guidance, best practices, training, and supervision so many evaluators learn on their own. Unfortunately, this has resulted in assessment processes and evaluation reports that vary widely in terms of professionalism and quality which negatively impacts the vulnerable families seeking these …

Developing And Sustaining Political Citizenship For Poor And Marginalized People: The Evelyn T. Butts Story, Kenneth Cooper Alexander

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study tells the deep, rich story of Evelyn T. Butts, a grassroots civil rights champion in Norfolk, Virginia, whose bridge leadership style can teach and inspire new generations about political, community, and social change. Butts used neighbor-to-neighbor skills to keep her community connected with the national civil rights movement, which had heavily relied on grassroots leaders—especially women—for much of its success in overthrowing America’s Jim Crow system of segregation and suppression. She is best-known for her 1963 lawsuit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1966 decision to ban poll taxes for state and local elections, a democratizing event …

Repercussions Of The Mechanistic Dehumanization Of Muslim Americans, Resilience, And Sustainable Communities, Melvin Walters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of research on the relationship between dehumanization of minority religious groups and affiliation with terrorism, which suggests a need to consider the consequences of dehumanization perceptions beyond promoting aggression. This qualitative case study addresses whether dehumanization embedded in public policies influences Muslim Americans 18 to 25 years of age, native and nonnative, to engage in homegrown terrorism. Using Schneider and Ingram’s social constructions of target populations as the foundation, research questions focused on how perceptions of mechanistic dehumanization in policy design influence homegrown terrorism among Muslim- American adults. Data were acquired through archival data that included …

Career Ascension Of African-American Men In The Army Warrant Officer Corps, James Joseph Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The military and scholars assert that the military has created an organization that is based on merit. However, statistics show that African American military men are more likely to be subjected to the military's justice system, they are less likely to promote to the most senior enlisted and officer ranks, they are more likely to receive a negative discharge, and they are disproportionately represented on the military's death row. Despite these assertions, many African-American men succeed within the military structure. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted to examine the stories of senior field grade warrant officer African American men to …

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Thoughts And Prayers, Chloe Kardasopoulos

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Examining the symbolic Gun against its tangible counterpart illuminates abstract attachments of power and superiority this nation associates with the weapon. These elements loaded in the Gun transform the weapon into an object representative of American identity. Analyzing ideological commitments within the Gun guides a critical response to examine disproportionately increasing national gun violence against stagnant federal gun control. The ongoing gun debate must be analyzed in its entirety, beginning at its source - the Second Amendment. Scholars such as Gary Wills dissect the Second Amendment to extract its contextualized intent from modern writers’ manipulated interpretations. It is not the …

Enhancing Your Intelligence Agency Information Resource Iq: Pt. 4: National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (Ngia), National Intelligence University (Niu), And National Reconnaissance Office (Nro), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Webinar presentation on publicly accessible information resources produced by the U.S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA), National Intelligence University (NIU), and National Reconnaissance Office. Places significant emphasis on missions of these agencies, their historical accomplishments, coverage of their educational activity, and information on the technologies they have used and are currently using to fulfill their institutional objectives.

Women’S Political Leadership In Ma: Advances Expected, Gaps Remain, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The election on November 6, 2018, will likely result in an uptick in the number of women elected to the Massachusetts Legislature and history has been made with the Commonwealth’s first Black Congresswoman, Ayanna Pressley, who will serve in the 116th Congress. Yet gender parity, particularly for women of color, remains elusive at many levels of government in the Bay State. This Fact Sheet provides not only essential numbers on the gains expected on November 6th, but offers key historical context to understand the significance of the upcoming election for the Commonwealth.

Mackinder And The Arctic's Emerging Geopolitics: Recommendations For The U.S. And Its Nato Allies, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation shows how Halford Mackinder (1861-1947) described Canada and the Arctic region in his geopolitical writings. It goes on to stress how the Arctic is becoming increasingly important in international geopolitical policymaking due to its significant oil and natural gas resources, how warming temperatures are increasing international access to its waters, and the how countries as diverse as Canada, China, Russia, and the U.S. see the Arctic region in their strategic policymaking. It concludes by stressing that the Arctic can no longer be viewed as a region immune from international conflict and presents recommendations for the U.S. and its …

Gendering Migration: Women, Migratory Routes And Trafficking, Nicolamaria Coppola

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines international migration from a gender perspective. It asserts that migration can be empowering for women, and at the same time it may exacerbate their vulnerabilities, including abuse and trafficking, particularly when migrants are low skilled or irregular.

Climate Change, Colonialism, And Second-Class Citizenry: A Case Study Of The Impacts Of Hurricane María In Puerto Rico, Aislyne Calianos

Senior Honors Projects

The hurricane season of 2017 was a historic one, with mammoth storms making landfall one after another, in what seemed like an unrelenting assault on our coastal cities and communities. Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, Irma plowed through Florida, and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but one of these storms was unlike the others. Why is it that the American citizens of our southern states were able to recover so much more quickly than our citizens in Puerto Rico? In the era of climate change, we will be forced to reckon with the modern legacy of colonialism, as vulnerable communities must face …

Coca, Capitalism And Decolonization: State Violence In Bolivia Through Coca Policy, Margaret A. Poulos

Political Science Honors Projects

I approach Bolivian coca policy under Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous President, as a site to examine the broader issue of decolonization. My paper argues that the new General Law of Coca, passed in March 2017, is part of a larger systemic pattern of violence towards historically disenfranchised communities in Bolivia, despite Morales’ indigenous Aymara identity and pro-coca activism. Drawing on interviews I conducted and a postcolonial theoretical framework, I analyze how although Morales has rhetorically advocated for indigenous communities and decolonizing Bolivia, colonial legacies supplanted in the subjectivity of Bolivians and institutions of its government have persisted. I suggest …

Inventing Pollution : Coal, Smoke, And Culture In Britain Since 1800, Peter Thorsheim

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Going as far back as the thirteenth century, Britons mined and burned coal. Britain’s supremacy in the nineteenth century depended in large part on its vast deposits of coal, which powered industry, warmed homes, and cooked food. As coal consumption skyrocketed, the air in Britain’s cities and towns filled with ever-greater and denser clouds of smoke. Yet, for much of the nineteenth century, few people in Britain even considered coal smoke to be pollution.

Inventing Pollution examines the radically new understanding of pollution that emerged in the late nineteenth century, one that centered not on organic decay but on coal …

Evaluating Theories On Income Polarization In The U.S., Jocelyn Anderson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

This paper examines the relationship between technological change and income polarization within the United States. I examine and discuss the reshaping of the U.S. labor market via skill- biased technological change, possible effects of globalization, as well as institutional policies. My research also explored how aspects of corporate structure norms, and tax avoidance could be causes for increased income polarization related to top tier incomes. Using current literature and data to consider the top causes of an increasingly widening wage gap, one can see that advancements in technology and the changes it has had on the labor market, as well …

Corruption Devolved: People’S Perceptions On Devolutions Impact On Transparency, Accountability And Service Delivery By The Government Of Kisumu County, Kenya, Julia Fonshell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2010, Kenya introduced a new constitution and with it the introduction of the concept of a decentralized government. The devolved system of government was implemented in 2013 and granted each of the 47 counties in Kenya, such as Kisumu County, greater autonomy, resources and ability to serve its people. This study aims to compile a thorough understanding of people’s perception on how devolution has impacted transparency, accountability and service delivery of the government of Kisumu County, Kenya within its five years.

The study is comprised of a series of interviews on the premises of the Kisumu County Assembly with …

The Geopolitics Of Canadian Defense White Papers: Lofty Rhetoric And Limited Results, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

As the United States northern neighbor, Canada serves as a NATO ally and a strategic partner with Washington through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Canadian forces have fought honorably and bravely in concert with American forces in many wars. Canada's government, however, has been less consistent in promoting a credible vision of Canadian national security policy and geopolitical interests in its defense white papers. These documents have often contained idealistic rhetoric about adhering to a rules-based international order and defending freedom. In reality, Canadian governments of varying political parties have consistently failed to provide the sustained funding and …

The Arts And Culture Strategic Review Report: Harnessing The Arts For Community-Building, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Arts and Culture Strategic Review (ACSR) was initiated in 2010 to chart the next phase of cultural development in Singapore. The final report, which was released in 2012, appears to propose a paradigm shift in focus for arts and cultural policy making in Singapore: from the desire to manage the arts and cultural sectors into profitable creative industries to the utilisation of the arts and culture as expedient tools for social cohesion and community building in Singapore. This shift has resulted in government programmes placing (renewed) importance and emphasis on “community arts” as a cultural activity. This chapter critically …

Nurturing The Cultural Desert: The Role Of Museums In Singapore, Su Fern Hoe, Terence Chong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The absence of official platforms and institutions such as museums and visual arts spaces; while the artistic amateur scene was flourishing, there were no museums or national galleries where collections of the best local and regional artworks could be found, appreciated and studied by artists and citizens. This cultural desert was the result of the government’s attention to bread and butter issues. How, then, did Singapore transform from “cultural desert” of yesteryear to a city with 51 museums and 118 art galleries in 2013, as well as an arts scene that saw more than 3.2 million visitors to the national …

Global Ambitions: Positioning Singapore As A Contemporary Arts Hub, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter has two objectives. The first is to critically interrogate the state’s efforts in utilising the visual arts as a means to position Singapore as an international arts hub and marketplace. As Kwok Kian Woon and Low Kee-Hong have noted, “Singapore’s cultural policy has everything to do with staying on top as a focal node in the late-capitalist world system of the new millennium” (Kwok and Low, 2002, p. 154). This chapter offers an overview of the programmes and initiatives introduced by the state from the 1990s to the present in order to encourage the entry of international art …

Perceptions Among African American Women Welfare Recipients In Advocating For Welfare Reform, Linda Denise Scope

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) significantly affected many families by changing public assistance from an entitlement program to a work program for recipients and imposing a 60 month maximum period for receiving assistance. Unanticipated outcomes created deleterious results for many single parents. This multiple case study explored the experiences of four African American single mothers in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States receiving assistance regarding welfare reform, the welfare system and their perceptions of welfare advocacy. Black feminist and empowerment theories framed the study to examine how welfare policy changes affected African American women's families …

Strengthening Jamaica's Anticorruption Policy With An Independent Agency, Curt Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corruption is a kind of behavior that undermines good governance. Current research has suggested that Jamaica's present anticorruption policy is ineffective, and needs strengthening. A civic organization in Jamaica has advocated for an independent anticorruption agency, with both investigative and prosecutorial powers to strengthen Jamaica's anticorruption policy. Little is known about the perspectives from the Jamaican business community on this concept. The purpose of this study was to discover and understand perspectives from the Jamaican business community on this concept. A framework included in this study is the principal-agent theory, which provides an understanding of the essence and relevance of …

The Relevance Of Caste In Contemporary India: Reexamining The Affirmative Action Debate, Shambhavi Sahai, Shambhavi Sahai

CMC Senior Theses

With the changing significance of caste and caste identity, this thesis explores the role of affirmative action or "reservations" in Indian higher education. Specifically, it aims to reopen the debate on the dominance of a "creamy layer" among the OBCs in an increasingly nationalist India. Viewing caste through the lens of ethnic identity, this thesis draws comparisons between the identity of OBCs and Scheduled Castes and Tribes, OBCs of the "Hindi Belt" and OBCs of the South, followed by an analysis of the politicization of caste identity today. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of affirmative action today and possible …

Communities In Peril: The Dispersion Of Temporary Protected Status Populations Throughout Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos, Lorna Rivera

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts is estimated to have over 12,000 residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is a non-immigrant status granted when a country's nationals in the United States cannot return safely or, in certain circumstances, when the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. This legal status was instituted as part of the 1990 Immigration Act, which was sponsored by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. TPS beneficiaries are not removable from the United States, can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD), and may be granted travel authorization.

Recently …

Investigating The Nigerian Leadership Capability And Its Impact In Development And Society, James E. Conable Nweke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite Nigeria's abundance of human and natural resources, after 57 years of independence, most Nigerians live in absolute poverty. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the extent to which the Nigerian leadership exercised leadership capability. The primary research question investigated leadership actions that facilitated or undermined development and good governance objectives. This study adopted critical thinking leadership framework, as developed by the author. The primary data used in this study came from Afrobarometer surveys, round 4, 5, and combined data round 6, which is an updated version of independent surveys administered between 1999 and 2016. Also, data …

Media Framing Of Refugees In The United States And Canada, Janine Allwright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The ongoing war in Syria and the subsequent refugee crisis has brought the need for refugee resettlement to the forefront of policy debates. Canada and the United States display stark differences in the outcome of their refugee policies. Canada continues to welcome Syrian refugees, whereas the United States has become less willing to engage in resettlement. The purpose of this study was to use Entman's conceptualization of framing theory to compare media framing of refugees in Canada and the United States to deliver insight into the different policy outcomes. Data were acquired through a content analysis of 850 newspaper articles …

College Rotc Cadets' Perceptions Of Gender Fairness With Selective Service Registration, Barrett Peavie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Selective Service System currently excludes women from the talent pool based upon the DoD's 1981 ban on women in direct combat. The DoD has removed the exclusion and has implemented a gender-neutral policy standard for assignments. However, there appears to be a misalignment of national security policy as it relates to gender fairness that impacts Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) participants in particular. Using Durkheim's functionalism theory as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine institutional differences in policies regarding justice and gender among ROTC participants who are between 18 and 26 years …

Lgbtq+ Nondiscrimination Laws In Kentucky., Christopher M Wales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the political and demographic obstacles facing the Fairness movement in Kentucky in regards to local employment protection ordinances for LGBTQ+ persons (Fairness Ordinances). Using case studies on recent Fairness debates in Berea and Bowling Green, this thesis explores the concern some Kentuckians have about LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination ordinances in their communities. From these cases studies, it can be concluded that many of the concerns espoused by opponents of Fairness are simple scare tactics with no evidence supporting their claims. This thesis then utilizes a logistical regression to uncover what demographic characteristics increase the odds of a municipality possessing …

Making Peace: Next Steps In Colombia, Seth Cantey, Ricardo Correa

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

After a brief history of the longest-running insurgency in the Western Hemisphere, this article contextualizes recent developments in the transition of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to legal politics in Colombia. The authors also provide policy recommendations for the US Department of Defense.

Deterrence & Security Assistance: The South China Sea, Tommy Ross

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article identifies how the United States can apply security assistance to support regional security in the South China Sea in order to counter China’s assertive expansion strategy.

Lessons Unlearned: Army Transformation And Low-Intensity Conflict, Pat Proctor

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines the US Army’s experiences and lessons learned during military interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. It explores why these lessons did not affect the Army transformation, directed in the late-1990s by James M. Dubik, John W. Hendrix, John N. Abrams, and Eric K. Shinseki.