Public Policy Commons^™

Essays On Applications Of Behavioral Decision Making In Public Management And Policy, Navid Ghaffarzadegan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This is a three-essay dissertation on examination of behavioral decision making phenomena in the contexts of public management and policy analysis. I study how policymakers, government employees, and citizens behave, make decisions and learn from decision outcomes. I move toward prescriptive analysis and offer solutions that can improve government performance.

Corporate Speech In The Wake Of Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission, Eric Groonwald

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper provides an overview of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court case and subsequent ruling. Discussion includes the impact on corporate electoral speech, current disclosure and disclaimer laws and reform options.

Exploring Collaborative Governance: Case Studies Of Disruptions In Coastal Zone Management Collaborations And Resulting Effects Upon The Collaborations And Outcomes, Roselyn Zator

Dissertations

This study examined disruptions in collaborative governance in four state coastal zone management commissions or councils in California, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. The comparative case study used qualitative analysis of pre- and post- disruption conditions. The disruption was defined as a chain of events that started with a loss or diminished level of public trust in the decision-making of the commission or council. The loss of public trust led to changes in the external environment meta-variable (political action) that affected (disrupted) the institutional design and relationship dynamics meta-variables of the commissions or councils.

To better understand the …

Community Down: The Loss Of Sergeant Joe Bergeron, John Edward Helcl Ii

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

What local government officials, administrators, and staff can expect and how to can help in the aftermath of a peace officer’s line-of-duty death within their community.

Emergency Management Standards For Ncaa Division I-A Football Stadia, Joshua R. Hoogstra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the best of times, emergency managers of athletic event venues struggle with the responsibilities of venue security. The possibility of terrorist threats exacerbates the situation, especially when security threats can involve a critical mass of spectators at an event. Emergency managers at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic venues were the focus of this study. The overarching research question examined whether the minimum core competencies and qualifications for NCAA emergency managers were perceived by the same managers as being sufficient and in alignment with the work that is expected of the position. Research questions were designed to study …

Drills And Exercises As Interventions To Improve Public Health Emergency Response, Donna Beth Knutson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center and the subsequent anthrax attacks highlighted the inability of an antiquated public health system in the United States to respond effectively to emergencies. Little documentation exists to define how public health agencies can improve performance. The overarching research question was the extent to which drills and exercises improve performance in public health emergencies. Adult learning theory and deliberate practice theory were explored in this context. The research data were from 50 state public health departments, which were required to report performance information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The …

Public Safety Directors' Leadership Role For The Implementation Of The National Incident Management System, John C. Mccauley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the result of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5). NIMS requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a national policy template for state, local, regional, and federal agencies to work together during emergencies. One difficulty with NIMS is that state and local agencies interpret and implement NIMS requirements differently. Using Lusier & Achua's theory of integrative leadership and Burns, Bass, Kouzes, and Posner's concept of transformational leadership, this study examined the relationship between the leadership provided by city public safety directors (CPSDs) and effective NIMS implementation at the local level. Two research …

The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use And Identity Theft, Lewis O. Saunders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The growth of mobile phone use has paralleled increased reports of identity theft. Identity theft can result in financial loss and threats to a victim's personal safety. Although trends in identity theft are well-known, less is known about individual cell phone users' attitudes toward identity theft and the extent to which they connect it to cell phone use. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how cell phone use is affected by attitudes toward privacy and identity theft. The study was based on social impact theory, according to which people's attitudes and behavior are affected by the strength …

A Q Methodology Analysis Of Individual Perspectives Of Public Decision Making Influences Of Collaborative Processes, Perry D. Gross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suboptimal public policy formulation and implementation often result from traditional representative democratic practices. Increasing government fragmentation, eroding trust among policy actors, and an increasingly complex policy making environment contribute to this problem. Collaborative decision making is considered to be a pragmatic alternative by its advocates. The purpose of this research was to explore the claim that process dynamics lead participants to prefer collaborative approaches to decision making among local and regional transportation plans in a western state. The conceptual framework was the diversity, interdependence, and authentic dialogue (DIAD) theory-based model of collaboration in decision making. The research questions focused on …

Assessing City Preparedness For A Biological Attack, Joseph T. Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of preparedness by local communities in the event of a biological attack is a predicament that will result in chaos and an increase in casualties. Assessing city preparedness is essential in the event of a biological attack. The potential for an enormous number of casualties is real; it is imperative, therefore, for local communities to be prepared in the event of a biological attack. This descriptive single case study investigated whether one city in the southeastern United States is prepared for a biological attack. System theory provided the theoretical framework for this research, with the unit of analysis …

Public Sponsored Health Insurance To Improve Health Outcomes With Implications For Government Health Policy, Design, And Decision Making, Steven M. Wagner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research sought to ascertain the extent to which providing public sponsored health insurance (PSHI) to previously uninsured Mexican-American Hispanics improves health outcomes among those requiring ongoing treatment to control diabetes. Prior research utilizing insurance access theory; access, equity, and health outcome interrelationship theory; health affordability theory; and financial and resource burden theory suggests the uninsured receive less care than the insured, with delayed treatment, leading to chronic conditions. This research tested each of those major theoretical constructs into a blended conceptual framework based on the notion that providing health insurance helps alleviate the disabling effects of diabetes among this …

Credit Default Swaps Regulation And The Use Of Collateralized Mortgage Obligations In U.S. Financial Institutions, Jon Patraic Neill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The fast and easy global movement of capital throughout the financial system, from lenders to borrowers and through intermediaries and financial market participants, has been recognized as a source of instability associated with illiquidity and financial crises. The purpose of this research was to better understand how regulation either enables or constrains capital movement. The theoretical framework comprised 2 contrasting public policymaking models, Arrow's rational-comprehensive model and Kingdon's garbage can model, which were used to derive opposing hypotheses. The research question addressed the nature of the relationship between Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) regulations and the flow of capital into Collateralized …

Editors' Introduction - 21st Century Public Management: Environmentalism And E-Government, Andrew I.E. Ewoh, Tony Carrizales

Faculty Articles

The Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, in completing its sixteenth volume, looks to continue bringing together a collection of articles and research that review polices and cases underscoring the area of public management and social policy throughout the United States and around the world. This issue’s contributors provide contemporary analyses of public management and social policies in areas ranging from the fiscal benefits of developing "green" buildings to the organizational life cycle of environmental justice groups. Topics covered in this issue also include the areas of e-government and public contracting. Overall, the issue brings together four general articles …

Coping With Disaster: Lessons Learned From Executive Directors Of Nonprofit Organizations (Npos) On New Orleans Following Hurricane Katrina, Steven L. Smith

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the issues and challenges that nonprofit organizations (NPOs) contend with as a consequence of a large-scale disaster, in this case, the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. Through interviews with 10 executive directors of small and medium-size nonprofit, community-based NPOs in New Orleans, this study examines how their organizations coped with the consequences of the storm and the devastating aftermath. The critical issues and coping strategies the executives identified, and the lessons they learned offer insights into (a) nonprofit organizational responses to a catastrophic event, and (b) executive leadership that helped the nonprofit to survive.

This research project …

Through The Looking Glass: Finding And Freeing Modern-Day Slaves At The State Level, Michelle L. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article delves into the interaction between federal and state laws prohibiting human trafficking. The article advocates for comprehensive human trafficking laws at the state level, including police training, victim aftercare, forfeiture, and prosecution as essential elements. It looks comprehensively at the existing state laws prohibiting human trafficking. Additionally it examines the five existing models for state law and suggests benefits and potential improvements for each model. The article concludes y advocating a holistic law prohibiting human trafficking in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

How To Help Your Community Recover From Disaster: A Manual For Planning And Action, Judah J. Viola,, Society For Community Research & Action Task Force For Disaster, Community Readiness, And Recovery

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Welfare Benefits After The 1996 Reform Act: A New Look At The Idea Of States As Welfare Magnets, Erin Sollund

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The focus of this research is to find the differences of how each state’s welfare policies have changed since the welfare reform act of 1996, and also how recipients have responded to this change. In my analysis I combined data from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Preliminary results suggest that states with a higher percentage of recipients on welfare before the reform showed a greater change in number of recipients than states starting with a lower percentage as did states with stronger Democratic leanings, a more …

Taking Money: The Politics Of Asset Forfeiture In The State Of Minnesota, Chad Hedman

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Is there a reason why a particular county might use asset forfeiture more than others? Asset forfeiture, in short, is law enforcement confiscating any items used in the act of committing a crime. As many governments face more budget crunches and deficits all means of revenue will become more vital to everyday operations. Everything gets reported back to the Minnesota State Auditor, where I was able to get complete data on every county. For variables such as education, race and others I drew from numerous government websites. I wanted to see if certain variables correlated with higher incidence of forfeiture. …

Juvenile Delinquency Policy And Juvenile Crime In The American States, Jennifer Baker

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Every year each state comes out with a report on all the possible crimes that were committed and how many people were convicted for various crimes in a given state. The same goes for juveniles, as reported in the Juvenile Offenders and Victims 2006 National Report. I compiled data on the fifty states and their programs directed towards juveniles. I then compared the different crimes against the different programs to see if there was any significant difference in Crime rates between states having a specific juvenile justice program or not. I found that some of the programs did affect crime …

Editors' Introduction - Public Service: Law Enforcement, Environmentalism And Health, Andrew I.E. Ewoh, Tony Carrizales

Faculty Articles

The Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, beginning its sixteenth volume, aims to continue bringing together a collection of articles and research that review polices and cases underscoring the area of social policy and management throughout the United States and around the world. The issue’s contributors provide contemporary analyses of public management and social policies in areas ranging from perceptions of diversity and law enforcement to health care policy and issues. The issue brings together four general articles, and a book review to begin the first issue in this sixteenth volume of JPMSP.

New York State And Mid-Hudson Valley Nonprofits: The Impacts Of Late Contract Payments, Jodi Fernandes

Master in Public Administration Theses

No abstract provided.

Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

Selected Works Temporary Series

Rather than view the alleged proliferation of “czars” in recent presidential administrations as a threat to the constitutional order, we consider it part of an ongoing reorganization of the presidential branch designed to maximize leadership capacity as presidents continue to take more responsibility for policy development and implementation, a phenomenon driven as much by congressional abdication as presidential zeal for power. The real debate lies over whether the president can delegate his constitutional authority to those who work beneath him. We posit that presidents may choose to delegate within their own discretion, so long as it is within the limits …

White House Staff, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

The White House Staff provides the bureaucratic framework that makes presidential leadership possible. Even though modern presidents continue to face constraints by the constitutional structure and political reality in successfully straddling the expectations gap that continues to enlarge, the staff presents the president with his best opportunity to anticipate and exploit leadership opportunities in the best case and manage crisis and cope with challenges in the worst. In recent decades, scholarly efforts to analyze the influence and importance of the White House staff has continued apace the institution’s own evolution. In this chapter, we evaluate the state of these efforts …

Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

Departmental Papers (PS)

Rather than view the alleged proliferation of “czars” in recent presidential administrations as a threat to the constitutional order, we consider it part of an ongoing reorganization of the presidential branch designed to maximize leadership capacity as presidents continue to take more responsibility for policy development and implementation, a phenomenon driven as much by congressional abdication as presidential zeal for power. The real debate lies over whether the president can delegate his constitutional authority to those who work beneath him. We posit that presidents may choose to delegate within their own discretion, so long as it is within the limits …

White House Staff, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

The White House Staff provides the bureaucratic framework that makes presidential leadership possible. Even though modern presidents continue to face constraints by the constitutional structure and political reality in successfully straddling the expectations gap that continues to enlarge, the staff presents the president with his best opportunity to anticipate and exploit leadership opportunities in the best case and manage crisis and cope with challenges in the worst. In recent decades, scholarly efforts to analyze the influence and importance of the White House staff has continued apace the institution’s own evolution. In this chapter, we evaluate the state of these efforts …

Tunisia–The Imprisonment Of Fahem Boukadous (Part One Of A Series), Rob Prince

Human Rights & Human Welfare

To most Americans with the exception of those few who, for whatever reason, have an attachment to the North African country of Tunisia, the name Fahem Boukadous, foreign to American ears, means nothing. It means a good deal more to "Reporters Without Borders” and to the US State Department that actually issued a statement (half way down the page) on his behalf, to the US intelligence agencies and military that have carefully followed the Spring, 2008 uprising in the Tunisian region of Gafsa–deemed the most extensive and militant social protest in that country’s history in the past quarter century.

© …

Arbitrary Arrest And Detention Of Human Rights Defenders In Iran: Subduing The Voices Demanding Rights, Sachchi Karki

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Arbitrary arrest and detention, oftentimes used to curtail the freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the right to association and peaceful assembly, has continued to characterize Iranian regimes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Such arrest and detention of human rights defenders (HRD)–who individually or with others act to protect and promote human rights—has demonstrated the repressive nature of the Iranian regime. Human rights lawyers, civil society representatives, journalists, and women’s rights movements and trade union activists are among the most commonly targeted HRD.

Fiscal Decentralization In Taiwan : A Case Study Of The Centrally-Allotted Tax Revenue Program And Local Financial Accountability, Nai-Ling Kuo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Fiscal decentralization has generated enormous interest in the past two decades. Despite some remaining skepticism regarding fiscal decentralization, many countries have adopted various forms in an effort to improve public service quality. The primary objectives of this dissertation are to understand fiscal decentralization in unitary countries, to gain information about the role of the equalization program in local finances, and to investigate local financial accountability issues in a unitary country. Three independent but linked studies were conducted to achieve the above objectives. They employ case studies on Taiwan's equalization transfer program, the Centrally-Allotted Tax Revenue (CATR) program, and local financial …

The Materialization Of Human Trafficking In The Middle East And Impediments To Its Eradication, Mindy Mann

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As a continental hub that connects Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Middle East offers a strategic location for the trafficking of persons from poor to richer states. Extreme poverty, coupled with the corporate and royal wealth of the Gulf States, creates a regional dichotomy in which Middle Eastern states serve as ‘source,’ ‘transit,’ and ‘destination’ countries for human trafficking. Discrepancies in defining human trafficking within the region, as well as the controversial and illicit nature of the practice, cause research to be sparse and with very few first-hand sources. Nevertheless, this paper examines available literature on the subject and addresses …

Public Higher Education Governance: An Empirical Examination, Jacob Fowles

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Public higher education is a large enterprise in the United States. Total state expenditures for higher education totaled nearly $152 billion dollars in FY2008, accounting for over ten percent of total state expenditures and representing the single largest category of discretionary spending in most states (NASBO, 2009). The last three decades have witnessed the introduction of hundreds of pieces of legislation across states which make structural changes to state higher education governance systems (Marcus, 1997; McLendon, Deaton, and Hearn, 2007). Despite the ubiquity of state higher education governance change much remains unknown, both in terms of why states choose to …