Public Policy Commons^™

Moving Beyond The Crossroads: Strengthening The Atrocity Prevention Board, James P. Finkel

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Getting Out Of The Ghetto: Harm Reduction, Drug User Health, And The Transformation Of Social Policy In New York, Rachel Faulkner-Gurstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a qualitative study of the emergence and evolution of harm reduction drug policies in New York City. It examines harm reduction as a case of the institutionalization of a public health policy movement. Harm reduction seeks to treat the medical and social consequences of drug use without requiring abstinence. The dissertation examines the process by which harm reduction has managed, in the words of one informant, to 'get out of the ghetto' and become increasingly integrated into New York's public health establishment. Harm reduction has undergone three stages of institutionalization. It began as an activist policy movement. …

'Hope For Every Addicted American' An Opioid Epidemic In The Age Of Ethopolitics: Implications For U.S. Drug Policy And Governing Problematic Subjects, Elizabeth Newcomer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented drug epidemic instigated by overprescribed pain relievers and cheap, accessible heroin. Beyond its immense scope, what makes this opioid epidemic distinctive is a widespread awareness of its effects among privileged populations and a political consensus that it cannot be effectively addressed with existing, punitive drug policies. Building upon analyses of the drug addict identity and policy change as well as critical addiction studies, I critically examine the discourses of the opioid epidemic, considering their impact on U.S. drug policy since 2000 and analyzing the implications of these changes for governing …

Profiles In Leadership: Women Of Color Elected To Office In Massachusetts, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Women's Pipeline For Change

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

There are two narratives that provide the story behind this guide. These stories may seem contradictory at first, but they are both true: it is only by telling both sides of the story that we can understand the full meaning and impact of the experiences of the women pictured in the pages that follow.

On the one hand, there is a story of exclusion, marginalization, and lack of representation of women of color in governing bodies all across Massachusetts – from local to federal office. The Massachusetts Legislature has existed since 1780, yet we have only had 14 women of …

Immigration & Naturalization Policy Innovation Through Bureaucratic Reorganization, Neil Hernandez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

During the early 20th century, Congress and the presidency created new bureaucracies to liberalize the restrictive immigration laws then in effect. This dissertation expounds a process that is referred to as 'policy innovation through bureaucratic reorganization.' The case study method is utilized to examine the formation and evolution of the Bureau of Immigration & Naturalization from 1906 to 1913 and the Immigration & Naturalization Service from 1933 to 1940. In these periods, elected officials increased the numbers of immigrants and naturalized citizens. Such administrative results were produced by decreasing agency resources like funding, staffing, and infrastructure, as well as appointing …

Finding A Balance In An Unbalanced System: Analysis Of The United State Immigration Laws, Joshua Wayne Higdon

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Joshua Wayne Higdon August 3, 2015.

States And Multicultural Education Policies: An Event History Analysis, Leander D. Kellogg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Multicultural education policies related to K-12 curriculum have been shown to benefit underperforming students. This research found that 10 states have adopted such policies between 1978 and 1994. A unified model of policy innovation and diffusion with a conceptual framework, which included three factors: motivation to innovate, obstacles to innovation, and resources to overcome such obstacles was used to explore demographic, political, and economic conditions along with neighboring states diffusion. Both internal and external determinants were found to significantly influence the adoption of multicultural education. Specifically, states with slightly less education funding were more likely to adopt a policy. Additionally, …

Language Policy In Turkey And Its Effect On The Kurdish Language, Sevda Arslan

Masters Theses

For many decades the Kurdish language was ignored and banned from public use and Turkish became the lingua franca for all citizens to speak. This way, the Turkish state sought to create a nation-state based on one language and attempted to eliminate the use of other languages, particularly Kurdish, through severe regulations and prohibitions.

Firstly, this thesis traces the language planning policies in the 20th century which resulted in the invisibilization and denial of Kurdish through an attempted linguicide. Through decade long oppressions which resulted in mass killings, arrests, re-location of Kurds, monopolization of education in Turkish and eventually the …

Testimony On The Equal Pay Act [H. 1733/S. 983], Ann Bookman

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Testimony on the Equal Pay Act [H. 1733/S. 983] by Ann Bookman, PhD, delivered at the Massachusetts State House, 2015 July 21.

Political Representation In Tanzania: Its Development And Anatomy In Perspective, Edwin Babeiya,

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Since the era of colonialism to date, Tanzania has been practicing representation—a key democratization pillar. Throughout this period, the question of who is representing who and at what cost continues to feature in political discussions in the country. Nevertheless, of all periods that representation has passed through, the represented seem to have always been at a disadvantage. This is particularly so due to an absence of effective accountability mechanisms for ensuring that the representatives remain accountable to the electorate. The represented have been the victims of a control triangle that started during the colonial era when they had limited influence …

Editor's Note, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this edition of the journal several articles address a range of important, and in some cases too often overlooked policy issues, too broad in scope for their conclusions and recommendations to be encapsulated adequately in a brief paragraph. Their diversity, however, highlights a key characteristic of the New England Journal of Public Policy – that of being open to publishing articles that have insightful bearings on how public policy is addressed, not only in the New England states, but throughout the country and in the international community – a community of nations increasingly interdependent with constraints on national sovereignty …

The Archdiocese Of New York: Transition From Urban Powerhouse To Suburban Institution, 1950-2000 A Case Study, Henry A. Sheinkopf

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From 1850-1950, the New York Archdiocese welcomed newly arriving Irish and Italian Catholics and forged a political block that influenced local, state and national politics with political leverage sufficient to influence the city's commercial sectors. This mobilization transformed the once penniless and discriminated-against Irish, and later Italians, by enabling the Archdiocese of New York, through the power of the vote, to promote its religious interests as its adherents rose to positions of political and economic power. The Archdiocese of New York became the owner of vast real estate, a provider of social and educational services, and an arbiter of morality …

Protecting The Stranger: The Origins Of Us Immigration Regulation In Nineteenth-Century New York, Brendan P. O'Malley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From 1847 to 1890, a state authority--not a federal one--oversaw the entry of most immigrants arriving in the United States. The New York State Board of the Commissioners of Emigration supervised the landing of over eight million newcomers in nation's busiest entry point, the Port of New York, during the second half of the nineteenth century. Most were processed at the Board's Castle Garden Emigrant Depot in Battery Park, which opened in 1855. This study demonstrates why and how New York State developed a complex regulatory regime well before the federalization of immigration authority in 1882.

The establishment of this …

The Palermo Protocol: Why It Has Been Ineffective In Reducing Human Sex Trafficking, Christina A. Seideman

Global Tides

This paper analyzes why the UN’s efforts against human trafficking, specifically regarding the Palermo Protocol, have been ineffective in preventing the spread of, and reducing, the human sex trafficking network. It concludes that the broad wording of the Palermo Protocol and the UN’s lack of ability to enforce its legislation, along with statistical irregularities due to self-reporting problems, have made the Palermo Protocol ineffective, and that destination countries (countries that victims are trafficked to) have a large share of the burden to create effective legislation against trafficking. Proposed solutions include holding Palermo Protocol signatory countries accountable to change their legislation, …

Improving Rhode Island’S Health Care System: Lessons From The Cuban Model, Sarah R. Moffitt

Senior Honors Projects

Improving Rhode Island’s health care system: lessons from the Cuban model

Cuba is world renowned for its health care system. In regards to international health crises, Cuba is a leader in sending workers abroad and training doctors from all over the world. Within its own borders, the Cuban model provides free access to all citizens in which every individual has a primary care provider. Cuba boasts high vaccination rates, a long life expectancy, low infant mortality rate, and a population that is one of the healthiest in the western hemisphere.

The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the …

The Snowden Effect: The Conflict In A Free Society, Who Values Privacy Versus Who Values Security?, Matthew C. Blake

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The Obama Administration has come under scrutiny by both the public and Congress, since former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden made known the scope of government surveillance programs being utilized by the U.S. government to gather intelligence on domestic citizens. Snowden’s disclosures about the government’s surveillance practices to the mainstream media began in June 2013. I focus on how public opinion towards the government’s surveillance practices and an individual’s reasonable right to privacy has shifted after revelations made by Edward Snowden on the practices of the NSA. Individuals may show support for more government surveillance in the name …

Administrative Relationships, Agency Theory, And The Summer Work Travel Program: 2012-2013, Mark Reardon

All Dissertations

This study discusses the ability of the Summer Work Travel Program (SWTP) to meet the objectives outlined in its authorizing legislation, the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961. These goals include educational exchange between participants and the U.S. community, cultural exchange between participants and the U.S. community, and the promotion of peace exemplified by SWTP operators and the U.S. community. The study adopts agency and transaction cost theory to guide its discussion of the administrative relationship between the U.S. State Department and those designated as Summer Work Travel Sponsors. This study's findings include instances of informational and preference …

Courtroom To Classroom: Judicial Policymaking And Affirmative Action, Dylan Britton Saul

Political Science Honors Projects

The judicial branch, by exercising judicial review, can replace public policies with ones of their own creation. To test the hypothesis that judicial policymaking is desirable only when courts possess high capacity and necessity, I propose an original model incorporating six variables: generalism, bi-polarity, minimalism, legitimization, structural impediments, and public support. Applying the model to a comparative case study of court-sanctioned affirmative action policies in higher education and K-12 public schools, I find that a lack of structural impediments and bi-polarity limits the desirability of judicial race-based remedies in education. Courts must restrain themselves when engaging in such policymaking.

Gay Marriage Laws In Europe Compared To The United States, Megan Stamm

Honors Theses

The issue of same-sex marriage has been the hot social issue of the decade, even of the generation. This social issue has been debated to and fro in countries around the world. Each country has differing policies towards same-sex marriage. Certain countries in the Middle East hold same-sex relationships as crimes punishable by death. Some countries in Europe hold same-sex marriage as completely equal to heterosexual marriage. Each country is different. Each country is made up of different cultures and this plays a huge role in the debate. This thesis will compare and contrast European countries with the United States …

Defeating Isis: The Need For A Cooperative Effort, Sabrina Chikhi

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of a collective approach in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria also known as ISIS. The approach of the international community had been doomed to failure because it excluded key players in the region. In order to annihilate this terrorist group and the threat it poses to international security, this article proposes a revision of the approach to the resolution of this problem through the inclusion of all the parties susceptible to secure an efficient contribution to that endeavor before the situation becomes irremediable. In order …

Guide To The 1948-1990 Archive Of The Inter-University Case Program, Edwin A. Bock

Public Administration - All Scholarship

Between 1948 and 1990, the Inter-University Case Program (ICP)—named during its early years “The Committee on Public Administration Cases” (CPAC)—published five case books and 170 individual studies of government policy-making and administration. The Program was created by educators who had spent over three years working in Washington wartime agencies. They wanted to show their post-war university students an aspect of public administration that was largely ignored by prewar textbooks: namely, the civil servant’s role in the making and carrying out of public policies. And they wanted to demonstrate to professors of public administration who had not had personal experience at …

Target Zero: Why States Choose To Eradicate Infectious Diseases And How They Succeed, Gifty Abraham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Realism has remained the dominant paradigm within international relations for most of the modern era, emphasizing the competitive nature of the international arena and the unlikeliness of states to within it to cooperate. The attempts and further still, successes, by states to eradicate infectious diseases--which remain among the most cooperative enterprises--present a number of challenges to realism's assumptions, particularly with respect to the unlikely world historical-times during which the eradication campaigns took place. As such, a two-part puzzle arises. First, why would states, which are natural competitors, cooperate to eradicate infectious diseases given structural and situational incentives not to do …

Implementing (Environmental) Justice: Equity And Performance In California's S.B. 535, Meagan Tokunaga

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis evaluates the equity performance of a recent state environmental justice policy, California’s Senate Bill 535 (S.B. 535). “Environmental justice” refers to the disproportionate environmental harm imposed on low-income and minority communities. S.B. 535 uses competitive grants to provide funding to these communities. The research is centered around two questions: (1) to what extent has S.B. 535 experienced successful implementation in its first year of operation, and (2) how can policy actors improve implementation while balancing performance and equity goals? In regards to the first question, I utilize a case study of the policy’s implementation within 17 local governments …

Age Is Just A Number: Using Economic And Social Models In The Millennial Generation To Predict Policy Support And Political Beliefs, Lindsey E. Juszczak

Masters Theses

Generational succession is an interesting phenomenon that occurs in all social sciences. The human generations overlap one another, but researchers have defined several generations to which a certain age belongs: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and the Millennials. Being born in a particular time frame could affect the attitudes, beliefs, and values a person holds in general. This paper looks at the generational variable to predict six policy areas, asking the question: is there a millennial age difference that predicts policy support for Social Security spending, military spending, abortion, same-sex marriage, environmental spending, and climate change? Using data from …

Legislating For American Empire : The U.S. Congress And Territorial Policy, Timothy Lindberg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The United States has always administered territorial governments and the primary entity entrusted with this authority is the United States Congress. This dissertation, using an American Political Development framework, seeks to uncover the variety of ways in which Congressional decision-making over territorial policy has shifted. The goal is to understand how the United States Congress worked toward establishing and maintaining an American Empire via the use of territorial policy. A variety of causal mechanisms causing are investigated, including the demographic targets of policy, partisan conflicts, changing norms and rules of Congress, pressures from other branches or the states, national security …

Deconstructing The Third Rail: An Analysis Of The Issue Of Poverty In The United States Through The Lens Of Social Security, Nikita Mehandru

CMC Senior Theses

The ongoing debate over welfare in the United States is rooted in the long-standing tension between the nation’s commitment to providing for its most vulnerable and a deep-seated belief that such support can corrupt its recipients. Social Security has struck this balance and appeals to the masses with its pay-as-you-go system and universally distributed benefits. Yet, the solvency of Social Security is threatening the program that has attempted to guard against old age and disability for the last eighty years. This paper examines how the perception of poverty in the United States is a hindrance when tackling social welfare policies. …

California's Foreign Relations, Christopher Gaarder

CMC Senior Theses

Globalization has significantly increased the number of stakeholders in transnational issues in recent decades. The typical list of the new players in global affairs often includes non-state actors like non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations, and international organizations. Sub-national governments, however, have been given relatively little attention even though they, too, have a significant interest and ability to shape the increasing flow of capital, goods, services, people, and ideas that has so profoundly influenced the global political economy in recent decades. California, arguably the most significant among sub-national governments – its economy would be seventh or eighth in the world at $2.2 …

Would You Like It Hot Or Cold? An Analysis Of U.S.-China Climate Policy, Alice Chang

CMC Senior Theses

As the world’s largest emitters and economies, the United States and China play a critical role in global climate mitigation. Using Putnam’s two-level game showcases how the domestic political context of each country impacts their international policies. However, Putnam’s framework does not differentiate between bilateral and multilateral circumstances. The clarity and concentration of perceived costs and benefits for the United States and China from climate policies lead to differing outcomes on the multilateral and bilateral stage. Fear of the free-rider effect makes players assume payoffs that resemble the Prisoner’s Dilemma during multilateral climate negotiations, whereas bilateral negotiations usually result in …

Twelve Years Later: Afghan Humanitarian Aid Workers On War On Terror, Emmanuel C. Ogwude

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Using narrative research study founded in social constructionism, I explored the lived experiences of thirty Afghan humanitarian aid workers in Kabul, Afghanistan, to discover how they experienced the war on terror. Ten participants were individually interviewed and their stories, personal experiences, perceptions, and voices have been presented in this study. I also facilitated a focus group of twenty Afghan NGO directors, and their views are echoed in the study. The participants represented a diversity of different humanitarian service specialties that cater to Afghan individuals, communities, and government agencies in areas such as education, human rights and good governance, food and …

Three Essays On Public Organizations, Changgeun Yun

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Organizations play key roles in modern societies. The importance of organizations for a society requires an understanding of organizations. In order to fully understand public organizations, it is necessary to recognize how organizational settings affect subjects of organizations and organizing. Although public and private organizations interrelate with each other, the two types are not identical. In this dissertation, I attempt to describe public organizations in their own setting by discussing three important topics in public organization theory: (1) innovation adoption in the public sector; (2) representative bureaucracy; and (3) decline and death of public organizations.

In Chapter II, I scrutinize …