Public Policy Commons^™

Whose Turn Now? The Enactment & Expansion Of Private School Choice Programs Across The Us, Yujie Sude, Patrick Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

Private school choice policies have been enacted and expanded across the United States since the 1990s. By January 2021, 30 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico hosted 67 distinct private school choice policies. Why have some states adopted and expanded this education reform while others have demurred? Which states are more likely to adopt specific types of private school choice initiatives in the coming years? We present the results of an exploratory empirical analysis examining which state-level political, economic, and educational factors predict past policy decisions regarding the enactment and expansion of private school choice in 49 …

International Students In The Campus Carry Debate: A Descriptive Phenomenological Inquiry, Andre Richardo Grant

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study purposefully sampled 15 graduate international students at a Southern University (SU). Semi-structured interviews were used to determine their perceptions and attitudes regarding the implementation of campus carry policies at the institution. The study aimed to answer the following research questions: How has the implementation of the campus carry policy at SU impacted international students’ perceptions of their experiences at the institution? How has the implementation of campus carry policies at SU influenced international students’ perceptions of the social ecology of the institution? and How did SU formally include international students in the on-campus campus carry policy …

One Or The Other: Parent Religiosity Or Private School Choice May Reduce Crime And Paternity Disputes In Milwaukee, Marilyn Anderson Rhames, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

Religious faith is one of the strongest motivators known to man. For millennia, human beings have turned to a higher power to help them cope with the challenges of life and define their values and behaviors. Millions of people have died for their faith. Yet, when it comes to public education reform and research, the influence of religion is grossly underexplored. This study takes some initial steps to change that. We analyze parent survey responses from the 2008 Milwaukee Parent Choice Program (MPCP) Longitudinal Education Growth Study Baseline Report. Our analysis compares MPCP students who were matched to students from …

Charter School Funding: Dispelling Myths About Emos, Expenditure Patterns, & Nonpublic Dollars, Angela K. Dills, Patrick J. Wolf, Corey A. Deangelis, Jay F. May, Larry D. Maloney, Cassidy Syftestad

School Choice Demonstration Project

Three decades after the first charter school law passed in the United States, myths about these public schools not only persist but continue to fuel strong claims and divisive debates. Commentators point to education management organizations (EMOs), for-profit organizations which manage or operate a network of charter schools, as examples of private entities supposedly profiting off public education.

In this report, we dispel three common myths about charter schools and their funding, spending, and management (see box). We draw upon comprehensive school funding data collected from traditional public schools (TPS) and public charter schools in 18 cities during fiscal year …

Charter School Funding: Support For Students With Disabilities, Cassidy Syftestad, Patrick J. Wolf, Wendy Tucker, Lauren Morando Rhim

School Choice Demonstration Project

The subject of public charter schools and students with disabilities is both important and sensitive. These students have the potential to benefit greatly from the smaller size and specialized focus of many public charter schools, but questions persist regarding whether all or even most charters are as receptive to enrolling students with disabilities as they are to serving students who do not have disabilities. Furthermore, do differences in enrollment of students with disabilities explain differences in funding between the two sectors? To shine a brighter light on this vital question, we have conducted a careful study of the funding surrounding …

Unintended Consequences Of Public Policy And Government Regulation On Supply Chain Structure, Conduct, And Performance, Jonathan Phares

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supply chains, and the firms within them, change their behaviors in response to industry conditions so they can provide efficiency, effectiveness, strategic enablement, and customer utility. Social and economic policies enacted to promote social welfare by correcting market failures can alter these conditions. While these policies may serve their intended purposes, they may also create unintended consequences that may make managing logistics, operations, and supply chains more challenging. This dissertation contributes to the nascent body of knowledge concerning the intended and unintended consequences of policy on supply chain management by examining three unique contextual settings using different methodologies and levels …

Evaluating The Economics Of Gluten-Free Households, Keia Mornys Alicia Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past two decades, the diagnoses of gluten allergies and celiac disease has increased significantly. Although there has been no development of a cure for either ailment, these conditions can be managed by the elimination of glutenous foods from a person’s diet. In previous studies, the financial cost of replacing or excluding glutenous foods was higher than the financial cost of diets that do not exclude gluten. The objective of this study is to examine the differences in the economic feasibility of a conventional diet in comparison to a gluten-free diet. Using a sample of foods and prices from …

Medical Error Disclosure: A Content Analysis Of State Legislation, Teresa Kathleen Sparks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Medical error is a public health problem in the United States (U.S.), causing approximately 250,000 hospital deaths per year. Health care leaders and policy-makers have identified medical error disclosure as one of many viable evidence-based solutions to address the problem of medical error – leading to increased transparency in health care, improved patient outcomes, potential medical malpractice cost reduction, and decreased health care provider distress and turnover. Unfortunately, health care providers are often hesitant to practice disclosure and are not required to do so in most U.S. jurisdictions. A qualitative inquiry using content analysis was conducted to understand the language …

Understanding Modern History Of International Food Law Is Key To Building A More Resilient And Improved Global Food System, Michael T. Roberts

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This article advocates the need for a history of the development of modern international food law and suggests an analytical approach to complement the chronicling of events. Comprehension of this history will help elucidate the evolution of a complicated modern global food system, including its resiliency and vulnerability as demonstrated by Covid-19, thereby providing valuable context for change in the system where needed. This essay makes the case for such a history in three parts. First, it briefly demonstrates the need for a historical perspective through a critical examination of a journal article that speaks to Covid-19 food security in …

Addressing Food Insecurity In The United States During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role Of The Federal Nutrition Safety Net, Sheila Fleischhacker, Sara N. Bleich

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Food insecurity has been a direct and almost immediate consequence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated ramifications on unemployment, poverty and food supply disruptions. As a social determinant of health, food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes including diet related chronic diseases, which are associated with worst COVID-19 outcomes (e.g., COVID-19 patients of all ages with obesity face higher risk of complications, death). In the United States (US), the federal nutrition safety net is predominantly made up of the suite of 15 federal nutrition assistance programs that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers and …

Impact Of Work From Home Policies On Workplace Productivity And Employee Sentiments During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jenna Wilson

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Workplace productivity can be defined as the level of efficiency in which tasks and goals are completed for a company (Kristina). It is well understood in all industries that workplace productivity is a vital factor for success in order to increase profitability and maintain employee satisfaction. Many companies attempt to positively influence productivity while maintaining high employee morale by making strategic changes to the office environment, such as providing comfortable break rooms, sophisticated technology, and employee well-being programs. But what happens when the workplace itself is redefined and an employee’s kitchen table becomes their office? Shortly after COVID-19 emerged in …

The Double Edge: Contradictory Functions Of Civil Society Organizations In The Tunisian Democratic Process, Dhia Ben Ali

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Democratic transition,” the act of becoming democratic, and “democratic consolidation,” the subsequent actions that solidify the achievement of becoming democratic, are two separate processes that go hand in hand. While several Arab Spring nations overthrew their dictators, fewer underwent a democratic transition, and only one – Tunisia – achieved democratic consolidation (Bouchlaghem and Thepaut, 2019; Sadiki, 2019; Gianni, 2019). Tunisia constitutes the sole Arab Spring country to have: 1) created and adopted a new constitution; 2) formed and institutionalized political parties that peacefully share power; and 3) achieved multiple rounds of free and fair elections (Al-Anani, 2014; Yerkes, 2019). Scholarly …

Education Freedom And Student Achievement: Is More School Choice Associated With Higher State-Level Performance On The Naep?, Patrick J. Wolf, Jay P. Greene, Matthew Ladner, James D. Paul

School Choice Demonstration Project

School choice is on the rise in many states. Since the start of the new millennium, many states have launched or expanded private school choice options, permitted and expanded independently operated public charter schools, eased restrictions on homeschooling, and enacted policies that allow and encourage various forms of public school choice. One thing that is not on the rise, unfortunately, is average student scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Student performance on the assessments, typically called “The Nation’s Report Card,” were flat from 2001 until 2015 and have dropped slightly in both 2017 and 2019.

Making It Count: The Productivity Of Public Charter Schools In Seven U.S. Cities, Corey A. Deangelis, Patrick J. Wolf, Cassidy Syftestad, Larry D. Maloney, Jay F. May

School Choice Demonstration Project

Historically, public education spending in the United States has risen at a steady rate. In 2017-2018 alone, policymakers spent over $780 billion on the public education system. The intent behind education spending is to create more and better opportunities for students to excel academically, thereby improving their life trajectories. However, looming future challenges such as underfunded teacher pension liabilities suggest that policymakers should “economize” their spending wherever possible. The number of public charter schools, concomitantly, has experienced near exponential growth. From 1991 to 2019, charter school legislation passed in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Student enrollments in public …

Moving On Up? A Virtual School, Student Mobility, And Achievement, James D. Paul, Patrick Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

Virtual charter schools provide full-time, tuition-free K-12 education through internet-based instruction. Although virtual schools offer a personalized learning experience, most research suggests these schools are negatively associated with achievement. Few studies account for differential rates of student mobility, which may produce biased estimates if mobility is jointly associated with virtual school enrollment and subsequent test scores. We evaluate the effects of a single, large, anonymous virtual charter school on student achievement using a hybrid of exact and nearest-neighbor propensity score matching. Relative to their matched peers, we estimate that virtual students produce marginally worse ELA scores and significantly worse math …

Backlogged Or Logjammed? An Analysis Of The Patterns That Surround The Rape Kit Backlog Across Jurisdictions, Elizabeth Dowd

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Untested rape kits sit in crime labs, hospitals, evidence lockers, or storage facilities untouched. In the worst-case scenarios, rape kits have been thrown out of police storage before the statute of limitations had expired. A major public policy problem is developing as these kits stack up and create a backlog. The primary problem with the rape kit backlog is that all victims are not receiving justice. To solve the problem, the backlog of rape kits needs further exploration and analysis. If a pattern can be established about why the problem is occurring, then policies can be constructed and implemented to …

The Effects Of Implementing The National Guard Tuition Assistance Program On Accessing Higher Education Funds For Arkansas National Guardsmen At The University Of Arkansas, Erika Gamboa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkansas National Guard Tuition Assistance (NGTA) program was created to recruit and retain Arkansas National Guardsmen by providing college funding regardless of Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test scores. The funding provided up to 100% of tuition costs at any Arkansas public college or university and was effective between Fall 2017 to Fall 2019. The approval process included collaboration between the Arkansas National Guard Education Office, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, and the institution of higher education Guardsmen attended.

The study focused on the effects the NGTA had on Guardsmen who attended the University of Arkansas during …

A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Biofuels, Teresa Cristina Garcia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Brazil has the largest sugarcane acreage in the world (FAOSTAT, 2020) and is the world leader in the production of sugarcane-based ethanol (Sousa Junior et al., 2017). Due to the technical experience in the production of biofuels and the availability of sugarcane straw and bagasse, the country has a great potential to commercially produce second-generation ethanol (E2G) (Nyko et. al., 2010). In 2017, Brazil enacted a new National Biofuels Policy, called RenovaBio, to expand the production and use of biofuels in the country. This dissertation combines three essays that explore biofuels law and policy with a special focus on Brazil. …

Conceptualizing Social Capital As Access To Social Network And Mobilization Of Network Resources: A Study Of Workplace Literacy Programs And Low-Income Somali Refugee Workers, Angela Uchechukwu Nwude

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a substantial body of literature on the economic benefits of workplace literacy programs, and much less empirical studies on the social or non-economic outcomes of workplace literacy programs, particularly in the context of low-income refugee workers. Adopting a social network approach, this study examines the impact of workplace literacy programs on the social capital development of Somali refugee workers. Social capital can be defined as the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social group that facilitates their access to emotional, instrumental, or informational resources, essential for their daily survival, stability, or upward mobility. This study takes …

Charter School Funding: Inequity Surges In The Cities, Corey A. Deangelis, Patrick Wolf, Larry Maloney, Jay F. May

School Choice Demonstration Project

Public charter schools increasingly are part of both the national conversation about education policy and the local urban scene in America. Previous studies of public charter schools have examined their achievement effects focused on both the state and metropolitan levels, and funding disparities focused on the state levels. This report is the latest update to a series of studies of funding inequities concentrating on revenue disparities between charters and traditional public schools where charters are most common: metropolitan areas across the country. The 18 urban areas that primarily inform our study include Atlanta, Boston, Camden, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, …

Unbuckling The Seat Belt Defense In Arkansas, Spencer G. Dougherty

Arkansas Law Review

The “seat belt defense” has been hotly litigated over the decades in numerous jurisdictions across the United States. It is an affirmative defense that, when allowed, reduces a plaintiff’s recovery for personal injuries resulting from an automobile collision where the defendant can establish that those injuries would have been less severe or avoided entirely had the plaintiff been wearing an available seat belt. This is an unsettled legal issue in Arkansas, despite the growing number of cases in which the seat belt defense is raised as an issue. Most jurisdictions, including Arkansas, initially rejected the defense, but the basis for …

The Attracting Intelligent Minds Conference: An Assessment Of Graduate Diversity Recruitment, Alfred T. Dowe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduate student recruitment is one of the most important factors in growing university enrollment. Unlike undergraduate recruitment, graduate recruitment is a coordinated effort facilitated between graduate faculty and program coordinators and graduate recruiters who often work outside of the department. An essential element in graduate recruitment is the effectiveness with which underrepresented minorities are identified and recruited. Graduate schools are commonly using initiatives known as intervention strategies to help enhance their traditional recruitment strategies and campus visitation programs have become a popular recruitment tool within those strategies.

Since the 1990’s, the University of Arkansas (UA) has employed various intervention strategies …

Consumer Food Socialization In The School And Home, Ashley Deutsch Cermin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Consumer socialization literature has focused on individual socialization agents and their isolated effects. However, as John (1999) pointed out, children do not grow up in a social vacuum. Instead, the multitude of agents socializing children find their narratives interacting and their effects continually shaped and co-created. To understand how school-age children learn about food, I interrogate the complexity of socialization in three essays.

In the first essay, I take an ethnographic approach to investigate the interactive effect peers and adults, namely service workers, have on children’s food socialization in a public-school lunchroom. By combining a Loseke’s (2007) layered narrative model …

Decision-Making And Hydraulic Fracturing: The Case Of Local Policy Elites And The General Public In Arkansas And Oregon, Clayton Creed Tumlison

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the ways in which cultural value predispositions impact decision-making associated with hydraulic fracturing (fracking) among both local policy elites and the general public in Arkansas and Oregon. First, I examine the mediating role of (dis)trust in information provided by three groups associated with the fracking debate – the energy industry, environmental groups, and the government – in shaping benefit-risk perceptions associated with fracking, and compare this process between a sample of local policy elites and the general public in Arkansas and Oregon. Findings indicate that perceptions of trustworthiness are shaped by cultural value predispositions which, in turn, …

Dairy Tales: Global Portraits Of Milk And Law, Jessica Eisen, Xiaoqian Hu, Erum Sattar

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Cow’s milk has enjoyed a widespread cultural signification in many parts of the world as “nature’s perfect food.”1 A growing body of scholarship, however, has challenged the image of cow’s milk in human diets and polities as a product of “nature,” and has instead sought to illuminate the political, scientific, colonial and postcolonial, economic, and social forces that have in fact defined the production, consumption, and cultural signification of cow’s milk in human societies. This emerging attention to the social, legal, and political significance of milk sits at the intersection of several fields of academic inquiry: anthropology, history, animal studies, …

Addressing Urban Income Inequality Through Education: A Case Study In Atlanta, Garrett Bronn

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

For decades, the income inequality gap between the rich and poor has continued to expand dramatically, with criticism of existing education systems often at the heart of the issue. Large urban cities are commonly at the forefront of the issue, given the plethora of teacher strikes in recent years. Events such as the 11-day Chicago teacher’s strike in October of 2019 that idled academics and college prep for 350,000 students, have highlighted many current education issues (Hauck, 2019). With underfunded and poorly equipped middle and high schools, students in poor and minority neighborhoods in cities are less prepared academically, ill …

The Postsecondary Enrollment Of Black American Men: The Perceived Influence Of Environmental Factors, David V. Tolliver, Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, there has been a consistent under-enrollment of Black American men who have enrolled and graduated from four-year colleges and universities. The result of this lack of educational attainment is problematic, as it can be seen in lower employment rates, higher under-employment rates, higher rates of incarceration, poorer health, and even a lower quality life. Institutional leaders and policymakers have struggled to find solutions for increasing the participation of Black American men with largely mixed results. Most of these programmatic attempts, however, have been limited in their approach and have not taken into account family and informal …

The Political Preference Of Arkansas Farmers And Ranchers, Rachel J. Barry, Donna L. Graham

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Access to information is critical to improving production efficiency, but little is known about how farmers are informed on the policy or issues influencing programs related to farming. This research sought to determine the sources of communication used by farmers and ranchers to form opinions about agricultural policy and candidates, identify the issues important in voting, and their level of participation in the political process. Face-to-face interaction was the preferred form of communication in farm organization meetings, with friends, or farm agencies. Magazines were the preferred source of print communication, and university/extension websites were preferred for internet sources. Broadcast media …

The Effect Of Organizational Tenure, Bargaining Unit Status, And Union Membership On Local Government Employee Public Service Motivation, Ty Ryburn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two of the largest challenges public organizations face in motivating their workforces are the aging workforce and the strong union influence (Lavigna, 2014). On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Janus vs. AFSCME to abolish agency fees, and gave public service employees in bargaining units the right to choose whether they want to pay union dues or pay no fees at all.

In examining the unique motivational factors of employees in the public sector, Perry and Wise (1990) developed a theory called Public Service Motivation (PSM). Later, Perry (1996) developed a survey instrument which despite criticism, …

Interpreting Potential Groundwater Policies Through Modeling Of Market And Non-Market Benefits And Costs, Grant H. West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current policies leveraging financial incentives and improved irrigation efficiency to mitigate groundwater scarcity have not proven to curtail trends of resource depletion. Groundwater benefits cannot be appropriately valued solely on market forces, and so deeper policy consideration is warranted under a framework that considers the importance of groundwater across all its values to society. Understanding time preferences for groundwater management and preferences for alternative policies is vital to inform efficient policies. Furthermore, climate change remains politically controversial yet has important consequences for critical groundwater resources and their sustainable long-term management. Proliferating policy narratives concerning climate change could influence the way …