Public Policy Commons^™

The Economic Impact Of Early Life Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure: Early Intervention For Developmental Delay, Thaddeus R. Miller, Virginia A. Rauh, Sherry A. M. Glied, Dale Hattis, Andrew Rundle, Howard Andrews, Frederica Perera

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Early-life exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) can result in developmental delay as well as childhood asthma and increased risk of cancer. The high cost of childhood asthma related to ETS exposure has been widely recognized; however, the economic impact of ETS-related developmental delay has been less well understood.

METHODS AND RESULTS:The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) has reported adverse effects of prenatal ETS exposure on child development in a cohort of minority women and children in New York City (odds ratio of developmental delay = 2.36; 95% confidence interval 1.22-4.58). Using the environmentally …

Transportation Collaboration In The States, National Policy Consensus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

Initiated in the summer of 2005 under contract to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), this project focused on the use of collaborative practices to address a range of transportation planning and development issues.

The project had four primary objectives:

• develop increased awareness among state officials of opportunities for the use of collaborative processes and collaborative governance systems in the transportation arena;
• identify one or more transportation collaboration opportunity in at least two states;
• identify collaborative training opportunities;
• develop and test a detailed assessment tool for use in identifying and designing transportation collaborations.

This project was conducted by the National Policy …

Initial Institutionalization Of Sustainable Production In State Of Oregon Policy; An Exploration Of Regime Politics During The Kitzhaber Administration, 1995-2002, Alex Welsch

Dissertations and Theses

Worldwide, institutions are incorporating sustainable development discourse into policy. Case studies of regional institutionalizations of sustainable development can inform scholars, policy makers and policy entrepreneurs as they interact with sustainable development agendas. This dissertation examined initial institutionalization of sustainable production in State of Oregon policy and explored the role of regime politics during Governor Kitzhaber's administration, 1995-2002. Discourse analysis, implementation analysis, advocacy coalition analysis and categories and criteria from literatures on policy history and the operationalization of sustainable development were used to analyze the character and strength of Oregon's institutionalization. This research found that, as suggested by regime theory, political …

The Interactions Between Carbon Regulation And Renewable Energy Policies In The United Kingdom, Hal Thomas Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

The power sector is experiencing profound changes worldwide as policies are enacted to address the linkages between energy use and environmental degradation, as well as improve energy security and local economic development outcomes. This research examines the carbon dioxide (CO2) cap and the renewable energy quota in the United Kingdom's power sector using a constrained optimization model of the U.K. electricity grid. Scenarios simulate the dynamic nature of the supply curve for CO2 mitigation based on the availability of nuclear technologies, energy efficiency investments, fossil fuel prices, and access to emissions reductions from the EU CO2 Cap.

The analysis shows …

Behind The Rhetoric: Applying A Cultural Theory Lens To Community-Campus Partnership Development, Kevin Kecskes

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

The nature of engagement between American campuses and communities is contested. This article is an invitation to reconsider why community-campus partnerships often look so different and have diverse and sometimes negative outcomes. Using a cultural theory approach (Thompson, Ellis, & Wildavsky, 1990) to elucidate the four main cultural frames that inform human behavior--hierarchist, individualistic, fatalistic, and egalitarian--this treatment maps these frames onto the broad terrain of community-campus partnerships. This exploration enables service-learning and other partnership building practitioners to more clearly recognize and understand the preconceptions that influence partners' approaches. Because service-learning rhetoric is heavily biased toward egalitarian (reciprocal, mutual) relationship …

The Heart Of The Matter: Aligning Curriculum, Pedagogy And Engagement In Higher Education, Kevin Kecskes, Seanna Kerrigan, Judy Patton

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay explores the themes of curriculum and pedagogy, as outlined by the editors of this special edition, in the context of Portland State University's institutional transformation. We elucidate select mechanisms that support curricular-community interactions, known at PSU as "community-based learning." In doing so we discuss how CBL and other civic engagement strategies relate to the disciplines, departments, and interdisciplinary work as well as how these various collaborative approaches affect pedagogy and epistemology at PSU.

Self-Help Support Groups: Choices In Participation Among Women Facing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Sle), Maria A. Pfeifer

Dissertations and Theses

This research study explored the experiences of 19 women who had been diagnosed with, or were still seeking the diagnosis of SLE (lupus) and their decisions regarding support group participation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variety of factors influencing their choices in types and sources of support, their coping strategies and the reasons behind their decisions to either choose or not choose lupus support groups as a viable support resource. Those women identified as support groups attendees recalled a more emotion-focused response to their diagnosis and showed stronger reliance on seeking emotional forms of support. Conversely, …

Opal Creek: The Framing Of A Policy Controversy, James Floyd

Dissertations and Theses

The denouement of conflict is essential in the process of crafting public policy. The settlement of clashes over who get what, who pays, and who benefits is a critical component of a process described as decision making in the public interest. However, in some cases, the process results in unresolved controversy rather than the formulation of public policy. This may result from too little time being allocated to problem setting because of a rush to find problem solutions.

Conflict arises in public disputes due to a mixture of interests and values by multiple parties and the expression of divergent views …

Washington County Housing Study For Washington County Department Of Housing Services, Portland State University. Population Research Center

Publications, Reports and Presentations

This report describes Washington County's demographic and socioeconomic characteristics based on 2000 census data and some administrative data collected from State and local government agencies. It also presents trends for the County for the 1990 to 2000 period. The aim of this report is to ensure that plans for Washington County can be based on the best possible information.

Portrayals Of Disability In The Professional Preparation Of Speech-Language Pathologists, Jane Eric Sleeper Gravel

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this dissertation research was to discover, describe, and analyze how disability is portrayed to students attending graduate programs with the objective of becoming certified to practice the profession of speech-language pathology (SLP). Curricular materials drawn from the 228 SLP graduate programs in the United States were analyzed, using qualitative research strategies, to shed light on the processes by which portrayals of disability affect the presuppositions and practices of professionals who work in disability services.

The analysis provided supporting evidence for the claims of disability scholars and activists that the concept “disability” is a malleable social construction that …

Transportation Solutions: Collaborative Problem Solving For States And Communities, National Policy Consensus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

In April 2003, the National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC) hosted a colloquium for people involved in transportation collaborations—federal and state agency representatives, consultants, dispute resolution professionals and representatives from professional associations and local planning organizations. The colloquium was co-sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Florida, Oregon, and California Departments of Transportation.

This report summarizes lessons learned about transportation collaborations and offers recommendations for governors and state transportation officials on ways to enhance the use and effectiveness of collaborative problem solving around transportation …

Presidential Domain: An Exploratory Study Of Prospect Theory And Us Climate Policy Since 1998, Hal T. Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

The Bush administration's decision to abandon the Kyoto Protocol can be explained by prospect theory. The change in federal climate policy between the Clinton and Bush administrations was due to the difference in domain that each president operated under. President Clinton operated under a domain of losses as he associated continued fossil fuel use with future socio-economic and environmental damages from climate change. This domain of losses increased President Clinton's risk tolerances and explains his pursuit of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Conversely, President Bush operated under a domain of gains where he did …

The Effects Of Parent Care And Child Care Role Quality On Work Outcomes Among Dual-Earner Couples In The Sandwiched Generation, Angela Rickard

Dissertations and Theses

Research has shown that more men and women are occupying multiple roles as employees and caregivers to a child or an elder. The proliferation of women in the U.S. workforce since the 1960's has resulted in a “typical” American family that no longer consists of an employed father and stay-at-home mother, but rather one in which the father and mother both work outside the home. Indeed, the “dual-earner” family is the dominant family form in the U.S. today and into the foreseeable future. The aging and increased longevity of the American population, coupled with changes in the level and timing …

The Role And Performance Of Governmental And Nongovernmental Organizations In Family Planning Implementation : Jordan As A Case Study, Khalaf Al Hadded

Dissertations and Theses

The role of governmental and nongovernmental nonprofit organizations in population issues has become a familiar reality in contemporary Third World countries. A distinct irony lies in the increasing growth of the role of NGOs in implementing public programs that are conventionally assigned to government bureaucracy. In certain circumstances, these organizations become an outlet to deliver and do certain things that government agencies are not able to do. Although there is an extensive body of research and publications on nongovernmental and charitable organizations in the Third World, there are only a few cases where small NGOs are working directly with the …

The Value Of Independence In Old Age, Paula C. Carder

Dissertations and Theses

Why is independence a central theme for proponents of assisted living facilities? How do assisted living providers respond to this theme? These questions are pursued in an ethnographic study centered on Oregon's assisted living program. Assisted living facilities (ALF), defined and monitored by Oregon's Senior and Disabled Services Division (SDSD), are a type of housing for disabled, primarily elderly, persons. Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR-411-56) define independence, requiring ALF providers to support resident independence.

Using social worlds theory as a sensitizing concept, assisted living is treated as a distinct social world. The activities of key groups, including SDSD staff, an ALF …

The Effects Of Mentoring On Work-Parenting Gains And Strains In A Sample Of Employed Predominately Female Afdc Recipients, Charlene Rhyne

Dissertations and Theses

Nationally, as well as locally, the emphasis in public assistance is to assist clients in becoming job ready. To this end, Oregon received waivers necessary to implement an innovative welfare reform effort, JOBS Plus Program (JPP), in 1994. The JPP provided subsidized employment for welfare recipients through the cashing out of public assistance benefits and Food Stamp monies. Employers were required to provide an on-site mentor for subsidized employees as a condition of agreement to participate in the Program.

Mentoring has been shown to positively impact employee overall job satisfaction, tenure, salary and promotion. While mentoring has been seen traditionally …

Is There Still A Need For The Special Assessment Program Within Oregon's Current Land-Use System?, David R. Brooks

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Based on the research completed to date regarding the various components of the Oregon farmland preservation program, one question begs to be asked: "Is there still a need for the Special Assessment Program within Oregon's current land use planning system?"

This paper is an attempt to assess the role of the Special Assessment Program in the context of the overall land use planning system in Oregon. It is my contention that the Special Assessment Program no longer plays a meaningful role in the movement to preserve land in the rural areas of the state. Also, it may actually have perverse …

The Impact Of Congestion Pricing And Parking Taxes On Spatial Competition, Anthony M. Rufolo, Martha J. Bianco

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Policymakers seeking to reduce reliance on single-occupant automobiles are giving serious consideration to methods to price roads during periods of congest ion and to increase the cost of parking. Such policies are intended to induce increases in carpooling and in the use of mass transit; however, they may have unintended consequences that counteract these goals in the long run. In particular, actual implementation of such policies may create differential price increases that affect the spatial competition for markets between firms located in the central city and those in the suburbs. Analyzing such policies using the spatial competition models of location …

The Politics Of Implementation: Oregon's Statewide Transportation Planning Rule - What's Been Accomplished, Martha J. Bianco, Sy Adler

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper is a case study of the evolution of Oregon’s groundbreaking Transportation Planning Rule, from its adoption in 1991, up through present amendments. Our analysis is an assessment of how private- and public-sector investors grapple with the coproduction of the built environment under the constraints of a value system that emanates from the state, shepherded by litigious public interest groups. In this case, this value system is articulated in the Oregon administrative rule known as the Transportation Planning Rule. This Rule emphasizes a reduction in the reliance on automobiles and, among other things, requires a decrease in vehicle miles …

Analysis Of Assessment Uniformity In Relation To Favorable Mortgage Terms, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper examines the capitalization effect of mortgages with favorable terms on the coefficient of intra-area dispersion (COD), the statistic commonly used to measure assessment uniformity. Regression analysis using data from the 1982 Census of Governments indicates that as much as one third of the value of the 1981 state-level CODs can be attributed to the capitalization effects of financing rather than assessment performance. Post-1982 improvements in uniformity can be expected in light of the sharp decline in non-standard sources of mortgage credit.

State Funding For Special Education In Oregon : Calculating Cost Differentials Of Special Education For Handicapped Students In Oregon School Districts, Kyung-Sup Kim

Dissertations and Theses

A general principle of school finance is that the cost of the educational program is influenced by varying characteristics of students and school districts. This raises the question of whether state allocation policies should reflect the additional costs associated with particular educational programs, such as special education for handicapped students, vocational, compensatory, bilingual education, and gifted and talented education programs as well as cost differences associated with size, salaries, and related issues. Thus, it is essential for state government to identify cost differentials for special education programs in terms of various school districts to determine the importance of such differences …

Neotraditional Design: Resisting The Decentralizing Forces Of New Spatial Technologies, Kenneth Dueker, Martha J. Bianco

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The New Urbanist, or Neotraditional, movement that has characterized urban planning since the beginning of the 1990s has a vision of how people should live, work, and travel in a manner that, planners believe, will be "best" for society and for the environment. At the core of this vision is the notion that a return to the high densities, architectural form, and lifestyle of the period prior to World War II will result in a better society. A question that is ignored by the neotraditional proposals is the extent to which changing technologies might make calls for higher densities obsolete. …

Implementing Community Policing: A Documentation And Assessment Of Organizational Change, Emmajean Williams

Dissertations and Theses

Four research questions guided this documentation and assessment of the Portland Police Bureau's conversion to community policing. These questions generated a description of the events and circumstances that created the perceived need for change in the Bureau's role and function; a search for justification for selecting community policing as an alternative policing approach; a comparative analysis of past attempts to implement innovative change of a similar dimension in police organizations; and an assessment of the process by which the Bureau implemented this new policing strategy.

The findings indicate that the prominent factors driving this change are first, the limitations of …

Pretrial Release In Criminal Courts: A Study Of Three Oregon Counties, Melvin Earl Degraw

Dissertations and Theses

Pretrial release (PTR) is the permanent or temporary freedom from incarceration for criminal defendants awaiting adjudication of their cases in court. From Anglo Saxon times in England, people accused of non-capital crimes were generally permitted to remain free until judicial officials could hear the charges against them. In America, pretrial release has been advocated by the courts since the colonial era. The U. S. Constitution requires that bail not be excessive, but leaves governments free to decide how bail laws are administered. The study briefly traces the historical developments of PTR up to the present time. The study then centers …

Behavioral And Community Impacts Of The Portland Needle Exchange Program, Kathleen Joan Oliver

Dissertations and Theses

Research questions were: 1: Will Drug Injectors Use An Exchange In A StateWhere Syringes Are Legal? 2: Will Drug Injectors Using An Exchange Decrease Risky Behavior? 3: Will Frequent Clients Change Risk Behaviors More Than Infrequent Clients? 4: Will Drug Injectors Using An Exchange Change Risk Behaviors More Than A Comparison Group Not Using An Exchange? 5: Does An Exchange Have An Impact On The Number Of Discarded Syringes On The Streets? 6: Is There A Difference In The Rate Of Spread Of HIV Infection Among Users And Non-Users Of The Exchange. Drug injectors will use needle exchange programs, even …

The Impact Of Collective Bargaining On The Civil Service Merit System In Oregon, David K. Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the impact of collective bargaining on the civil service merit system in the State of Oregon. Four topics of current interest are explored. The first is a discussion of the status of collective bargaining and the civil service merit system legislation. The second topic is an analysis of the extent to which the day-to-day administration of public sector personnel functions is determined by the relative influence of collective bargaining agreements and civil service rules. The third is the impact of the collective bargaining model on the integrity of the merit principle. The final topic addressed by this …

The Impact Of Enterprise Zones On Employment, Terry William Van Allen

Dissertations and Theses

The objectives of this study are to investigate the impact of Enterprise Zones (EZs) on the employment of zone residents in 14 states and 60 communities. The author's investigation constitutes the "first" national study to evaluate the employment impacts on zone residents.

The results show that the impact of EZs on decreasing the unemployment rates of zone residents is significant. Also, the interventionist factors of length of time since designation, type of incentives, and number of incentives are all significant indicators of different performances between zones. The employer-based incentives of property tax abatements and income tax credits are the types …

Portland's Multifamily Recycling Program: A Study Of Coproduction Policy Implementation And Citizen Involvement, William Barry Messer

Dissertations and Theses

This study is on coproduction as a governing policy instrument. Coproduction can be understood as the joint production of services by local officials and individual citizens intended to raise the quality and or amount of service provision. The concept of coproduction as developed in this study suggests that urban services are not simply created by officials and delivered to a passive public. Rather that actions of citizens are an integral part of the service production process. The study purposes are two-fold: (1) to construct a model of coproduction which provides a basis by which citizen involvement in the provision of …

Total Quality Management: The Case For The Public Sector: A Comparative Study Of The Implementation Of Total Quality Management In Three Health Care Organizations, Zayed Mohammed Abu

Dissertations and Theses

Total quality management [TQM] is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility of the whole organization through the improvement of the organizational processes and those who perform them. There has been a rising interest among public sector professionals in examining the applicability and usefulness of TQM methods to public organizations. This research provides descriptive information about the experience of three health care organizations that vary in terms of ownership, whether being publicly or privately owned, with implementing TQM. Participants at these organizations were interviewed, and/or surveyed and observed. The study provides a narrative description of each organization's experience …

Determining The Property Value Impact Of Landfills, Okwuchukwu Gerald Uba

Dissertations and Theses

The decline in property value can be due to owner's act or exogenous act from the operation of landfills. Landfill neighbors, especially home owners, perceive landfill operation to pose environmental safety problem such as ground water contamination and methane gas leakage that could affect home value.

Owners of landfills, especially those landfills that accept only dry waste (limited purpose landfill), claim that since their facilities meet the requirements of environmental regulations and the type of waste they accept could not possibly produce methane gas and leachate there is no property value impact of their facilities.

Several studies have shown that …