Public Policy Commons^™

Middle School Academic Performance: An Exploratory Analysis Of The Fulton County School District, Martina Madison

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that race and economic status have on middle school academic performance in the Fulton County School District. Descriptive statistics were used to critically analyze how these demographic variables affect middle school academic performance. The mean Criterion Reference Competency Test (CRCT) scores in mathematics and reading were recorded for each of the 22 middle schools in Fulton County from 2006 to 2009 and compared according to race and economic level. The results were grouped together by grade, year, and test subject in order to find trends that occurred over the past …

Evaluation Of Dutch Support To Danish Demining Group In Afghanistan, Somaliland, And Sudan, Vera Bohle, Mohamed Ayan Handulle, Charles Lor, Ted Paterson, Mohammad Hamid Wardak, Anna Wood

Global CWD Repository

On 31 August 2007 the Netherlands Government (NG) decided to fund the Danish Demining Group (DDG) mine action activities in Somaliland, Sudan, and Afghanistan. The funding agreement runs from January 2008 to December 2011 and NG and DDG had preliminary discussions on the continuation of the project. The NG Decision of 31 August 2007 foresees an external evaluation initiated by the grant recipient.

The purpose of this evaluation is two-fold: (1) to evaluate progress towards objectives, thus contributing to improving the programme through documenting lessons learned and providing recommendations; and (2) to evaluate and inform NG and DDG on project …

Price Ceilings And Rationing: The Base Ingredients Of The Black Market Food Industry In Nevada During World War Ii, Richard B. Keeton

Psi Sigma Siren

After the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Americans braced themselves for what would surely be a long, hard-fought war. In World War II, brave young United States soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice across the seas on both the European and Pacific fronts. However, the millions of citizens on domestic soil also made countless sacrifices in a national mobilization to support the war effort. People in Nevada and across the nation gave up everyday conveniences and seemingly ordinary items to show their support for the troops. Government agencies instituted tight rationing guidelines on a variety of consumer goods. Perhaps the …

Dispersion Or Re-Segregation: A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Public Policies And Their Impact On Urban African American Mobility, Brandi Lynette Blessett

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

This study seeks to test Hirsch's second ghetto thesis in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Hirsch suggested that the role of government, public policies, and administrative discretion were responsible for the re-segregation of African Americans into second ghetto communities in Chicago. Many scholars have used Hirsch's framework to explain ghetto formation. This investigation seeks to extend the literature in several ways. First, several national policies were investigated to determine their impact on African American mobility in Baltimore: the Housing Act of 1937 (public housing), the Housing Act of 1949 (urban renewal), and the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 (transportation). Second, …

Oregonians Report Broad Support For Policies That Could Reduce Prison Population, Jody Sundt

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Research Briefs

Correctional spending is one of the largest and fastest growing parts of the Oregon budget, making it a target for increased scrutiny. According to a 2011 Legislative Fiscal Office report, the Department of Correction’s (DOC) budget represented close to 9% of the combined General and Lottery Funds in the 2009- 2011 biennium. Since 1993-1995, correctional spending increased almost threefold from close to $400 million to $1.4 billion. Moreover, the DOC’s share of the state budget almost doubled since the mid-1980s. In the context of declining revenue forecasts and increased demand for public services, state agencies are under pressure to reduce …

No Me Conoces: Integración Social De Refugiados Colombianos En Quito, Anna Luberoff

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

¿Qué significa ser refugiado? Técnicamente, una persona es un refugiado cuando está en una situación de peligro en su país de origen, mientras que un migrante es una persona que se mudó de su país de origen principalmente por razones económicas. Según la definición técnica de ACNUR, un refugiado es una persona que:

“debido a fundados temores de ser perseguida por motivos de raza, religión, nacionalidad, pertenencia a determinado grupo social u opiniones políticas, se encuentre fuera del país de su nacionalidad y no pueda o, a causa de dichos temores, no quiera acogerse a la protección de tal país; …

Relative Democracy: Rwandan Perspectives On Representative Government, Gabriel C.J.M. Nahmias

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The primary objective of this research is to ascertain, at least in part, the importance Rwandan’s place on different aspects of democracy. This is done with the hope of giving Rwandans more voice in the discussion of the “democratization” of their own country. With Rwanda’s unique culture and history, the application of “democracy” within this nation should be done, in the mind of the researcher, in accordance to the context, and the only people who fully understand this context are Rwandans themselves. The secondary objective is to hypothesize why these aspects have particular importance in the Rwandan context. The tertiary …

Ddasaccident720, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The deminer was working in IOE containing M14 AP mines in Section 3 in Sabha 11, he used the MD to indicate the location of the mine then used the light rake then excavated using the heavy rake, during the excavation for the mine using the heavy rake, the deminer hit accidentally the AP mine on the top which detonated the mine.

The Perceptions Of Self And Others: Examining The Effect Identity Adoption Has On Immigrant Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Policies In The United States, Tiffiany O. Howard

Political Science Faculty Research

While there exist several studies devoted to evaluating the political attitudes of US citizens, very little has been done to distinguish between the political attitudes of immigrants and citizens of the same racial or ethnic group. Using data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, 1992-94, this study evaluates the role identity adoption plays in highlighting the distinctions which exist between the political attitudes of immigrants and those of US citizens from the same racial/ethnic group. The results reveal that despite pronounced cultural distinctions between immigrants and US citizens, in many cases race and ethnicity are important unifiers on opinions …

Ddasaccident742, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

According to external investigation report, the accident happened during the prodding operation on a detected signal. According to the witness statements the deminer may had been failed to pinpoint the signal or he may had started prodding directly from the top of it and not maintained the right angle of the prodder. The density of rocks there and hardness of the ground required more attention to be paid by deminer during the operation, but it seems that he was working in hurry without considering standard operating procedures to be applied during signal investigation. The record of QA shows that this …

Federal Earmarks In The State Of Georgia, Jeffrey Lazarus

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Earmarks have been controversial ever since becoming a prominent part of the congressional spending process. Critics charge that earmarks fund projects with little or no economic value (for instance Ted Stevens’ “Bridge to Nowhere,”) but instead allow Congress members to direct government spending to campaign contributors (the charge leading to a federal investigation of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group). On the other side of the controversy, congressional earmarks do fund a number of community improvements which are very valuable, at least locally. In Georgia, the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills included earmarks which allocated $450,000 to update College Park’s emergency …

Torch (March 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Comprehensive Longitudinal Evaluation Of The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: Summary Of Fourth Year Reports, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

The eyes of the nation were on the state of Wisconsin, as Republican policymakers locked horns with the teachers union over reforms. The Republicans needed just one Democrat to break ranks in order for them to pass far-reaching policy changes. They finally got their wish when Representative Annette “Polly” Williams (D, Milwaukee) came over to their side. Surprised? That’s because the year was 1990, not 2011, and the farreaching policy reform was the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP).

The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: Descriptive Report On Participating Schools 2009 – 2010, Brian Kisida, Laura I. Jensen, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

This report is the fourth in a series of annual reports produced by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) that will provide descriptive information about the schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP).

Milwaukee Longitudinal School Choice Evaluation: Annual School Testing Summary Report 2009-10, Michael Q. Mcshane, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

With the passage of the 2005 Wisconsin Act 125, private schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) have been required to administer annual standardized tests in reading, mathematics, and science to their MPCP students enrolled in the 4th, 8th, and 10th grades. The law further directs Choice schools to submit copies of the scores from those tests to the School Choice Demonstration Project for processing and reporting to the Legislative Audit Bureau. During the 2009-10 school year, MPCP schools administered either nationally normed tests, such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, or the state criterion-referenced Wisconsin Knowledge …

Milwaukee Independent Charter Schools Study: Report On Two- And Three-Year Achievement Gains, John F. Witte, Patrick J. Wolf, Alicia Dean, Deven Carlson

School Choice Demonstration Project

The general purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of Milwaukee’s independent charter schools in promoting student achievement growth. Independent charter schools are authorized by non-school district entities and are considered"independent" because they are not a part of the Milwaukee Public School District (MPS). Throughout the course of this report we will estimate three-year achievement growth for independent charter school students who were in grades 3 through 8 at baseline (2006-07). We will examine four years of scores in reading and math on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE). Specifically, the report presents the results of an …

Student Attainment And The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, Joshua M. Cowen, David J. Fleming, John F. Witte, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

In this report we examine high school completion and postsecondary enrollment (a.k.a. “educational attainment”) of the cohort of 9th grade students who were in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) at the beginning of our state-mandated evaluation of the MPCP in 2006. After tracking the MPCP 9th graders following the 2006-07 year and comparing them to a carefully matched sample of 9th graders who were in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) during the 2006-07 year, we use a combination of parent surveys and administrative (school) records to estimate attainment.

Mpcp Longitudinal Educational Growth Study Fourth Year Report, John F. Witte, Deven Carlson, Joshua M. Cowen, David J. Fleming, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

This is the fourth-year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). This report features analyses of student achievement growth three years after we carefully assembled longitudinal study panels of MPCP and Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) students in 2006-07. The MPCP, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2009-10 was $6,442, and 20,899 children used a voucher to attend either secular or religious private schools. The MPCP is the oldest and largest urban school voucher program in the United …

Public Engagement For Informing Science And Technology Policy: What Do We Know, What Do We Need To Know, And How Will We Get There?, Lisa M. Pytlik Zillig, Alan Tomkins

Alan Tomkins Publications

This article examines social science relevant to public engagements and identifies the challenges to the goal of meaningful public input into science and technology policy. Specifically, when considering “which forms, features, and conditions of public engagement are optimal for what purposes, and why?” we find social science has not clarified matters. We offer a model to guide systematic research that defines and empirically connects variations in features and types of public engagement activities to specifically defined variations in effective processes and outcomes. The specification of models, as we have done, will guide policy makers, practitioners, and the public in determining …

The Role Of The State In Idaho Land Use Planning, Stephanie L. Witt, Carole Nemnich

Research and Reports

Prior to the recession of 2009-10, Idaho was the sixth fastest growing state by population in the country. Even as the economic downturn reduces the pressures of growth, Idaho's diverse cities and counties continue strive for thoughtful planning that will reflect their community values and needs. This White Paper will examine the role of the state in local land use planning by (1) comparing Idaho's structure to those of states with a more pronounced role in land use planning and (2) discussing the attitudes of Idaho city officials, planners and members of the real estate and development communities about the …

Mine Action And Development: Why Should We Become Mad About It?, Humanity And Inclusion

Global CWD Repository

There is no right way or wrong way to use this position paper. It sets out the background and reasoning about the advantages of linking mine action and development that led to the four-year pilot project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and goes into detail on some of the sources of information that were used in the development of the concepts behind the pilot project.

The Effect Of U.S. State Taxes On State Economic Prosperity, Casey Dainsberg

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Policy makers today are faced with trying to create solutions for economic troubles that become increasingly more complex and foreboding. Tax cuts and tax hikes are proposed and considered as possible solutions to various economic problems. However, the question still remains regarding which policies are most effective. The purpose of this research is to asses these competing claims. It seeks to find evidence that will shed light on one of these views. I have done this by accumulating tax and economic data from the fifty U.S. States between the years 2001-2009. Previous research has concluded that taxes do affect the …

Providing Shelter For The Homeless: Faith-Based Organizations As Instruments Of The Public Good, Elizabeth D. Fredericksen, Stephanie L. Witt

Research and Reports

Networked public service delivery requires attention to accountability and implementation in the public interest. Using the case of transitional housing in a western US community, we review the challenges of goal incongruence between network members and the resulting management problems. In addition, this case illustrates the role that local governments may play in promoting the primacy of one network member over others through collaborations, contract arrangements and nonmonetary resources and the resulting political and judicial difficulties. The complexity of networked service delivery is compounded when the individual missions of network members supersede public policy goals. In many communities, FBOs, as …

Research To Practice: The Influential Role Of The Job Developer: Increasing Self-Determination And Family Involvement During The Job Search, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Ashley Wolfe

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Job developers can influence decision-making during the job search and placement process. For a study exploring the employment decisions of people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), researchers interviewed 16 individuals with IDD, their family members, and professionals involved in their job search. Participants were asked what factors, circumstances, or people affected their decisions about work. The job developer was consistently named the most influential person in the job-search process.

Policy And Practice: An Analysis Of The Implementation Of Supported Employment In Nebraska, Heng-Hsian N. Liu

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Supported employment (SE) is an evidence-based practice (EBP) for persons with severe mental illness (SMI) aimed at competitive employment.  SE has a large evidence base, demonstrating outcomes across settings and populations. SE has been promoted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) and widely disseminated through the internet via a “community tool-kit” sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The SE literature expresses the opinion that state governments can successfully implement SE.  Researchers have developed implementation guidelines and identified stages of statewide implementation; however, most SE implementation …

Geneva International Centre For Humanitarian Demining 2010 Annual Report, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

2010 was an important year for everyone striving for a world free of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. It was particularly important for the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) and for its implementation. The evaluation of the APMBC Implementation Support Unit (ISU) confirmed the appreciation of the States Parties and other stakeholders for the effective work of the ISU and for the role played by the GICHD in hosting it.

Moreover, the entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) on 1 August 2010 represented a positive legal and political step in supporting the …

Down To Earth: A Practical Guide For Mine Action And Development Interventions, M Carrier

Global CWD Repository

The purpose of this guide is to provide practical guidance for both mine action and development practitioners that wish to empower mine-affected populations to overcome poverty and participate more equally on socio-economic and political grounds in society.

This guide is intended for use by both mine action and development stakeholders that are interested in applying a development approach to complement existing mine action interventions.

Landmine And Land Rights In Conflict Affected Contexts, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

This policy brief describes the important linkages between land rights and landmines in conflict-affected contexts. Its purpose is to deepen awareness within the broader mine action and development communities about these linkages, and provide guidance on how to effectively mainstream land rights issues into mine action operations.

U.S. Immigration Policy And Immigrant Children's Well-Being: The Impact Of Policy Shifts, David K. Androff, Cecilia Ayon, David Becerra, Maria Gurrola, Lorraine Salas, Judy Krysik, Karen Gerdes, Elizabeth Segal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

America is built upon a history of immigration; yet current immigration policy and anti-immigrant sentiment negatively affect the vulnerable population of immigrant families and children. Immigrant children face many problems, including economic insecurity, barriers to education, poor health outcomes, the arrest and deportation of family members, discrimination, and trauma and harm to their communities. These areas of immigrant children's economic and material well-being are examined in light of restrictive and punitive immigration policies at the federal and local level. Implications for social policy reform, such as decriminalization, are discussed.

Analyzing The Poverty Reduction Effectiveness Of The Canadian Provinces: Do Political Parties Matter?, Robert D. Weaver, Nazim Habivov, Lida Fan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The implementation of the Canada Health and Social Transfer in 1996 marked a new era for the Canadian welfare state, as greater discretion in the area of social welfare policy and programming was granted to the provinces. In this study, the authors analyzed nationally representative data to determine if the governing provincial parties, characterized by distinct ideological and party platform positions, differed in regards to their poverty reduction effectiveness during 1996-2005. The authors' analysis yielded no differences between the governing provincial parties in terms of their poverty reduction effectiveness. The study's implications for future research, including research on subnational variation …