Public Policy Commons^™

Impact Of Mandatory Sentencing Policies On Alabama's Prison Populations, Stephanie Elaine Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

State prison systems, particularly in the Southern US, have been overpopulated for decades with unlikely support for building new prisons which has led to overcrowding. Policy makers, however, have adopted mandatory minimum policies that include harsher sanctions for habitual offenders which exacerbated the problem of overcrowding, yet little is understood about how sentencing reform is associated with overpopulation. Using Clear and Schrantz conceptualization of prison population change, the purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to understand how one prison system in a southern state was impacted over a 10-year period by the implementation of mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. Data …

Community Health Worker's Perceptions Of Integration Into The Behavioral Health Care System, Juliette Swanston Jenkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental illness in the United States is a major public health problem. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2017, 18.9% of adults in the United States had a mental illness. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the perceptions held by community health workers (CHWs) regarding their integration into the behavioral health care system in Maryland. Using a social constructivism paradigm and phenomenological approach, a purposive sample of 11 CHWs who supported patients with behavioral health conditions in 17 counties in the state were interviewed. Howlett, McConnell, and Perl'€™s five stream confluence …

Framing Islamophobia And Civil Liberties: American Political Discourse Post 9/11, Lama Hamdan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rhetorical frames are used to support political agendas, define problems, diagnose causes, make policy judgments, and suggest solutions. Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, politicians and media pundits used Islamophobia as a fear-mongering tactic to justify public policy formation. The purpose of this study was to analyze public discourse on Islamic terrorism in arguments advocating government surveillance, restrictive immigration policies, and other erosions of U.S. constitutional protections of its citizens. This study drew on the postmodern theories of Lakoff, Lyotard, and Said to critically examine U.S. political discourse on Islam and terrorism. Three conceptual rhetorical frames were examined: Clash …

Accomplished Education Leaders' Perspectives On Competition, Capacity, Trust, And Quality, Robert Lee Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 2017 to 2019, the primary strategy to improve public schools in the U.S. was increasing competition through the expansion of charter schools and the promotion of vouchers to send public school students to private schools. The problem this presented was that key education leaders had not provided adequate input and feedback into this strategy. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather the perspectives of accomplished education leaders on how Tiebout's theory of competition and the concept of the Ontario K-12 School Effectiveness Framework impacted quality, trust, and capacity. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with a purposeful …

Hiv Risk-Reduction In Nonmarital Sexual Behavior Among Young Maldivian Males, Mohamed Elmunir Ahmed Safieldin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low HIV prevalence in Maldives coupled with low HIV comprehensive knowledge presents a challenge to the consistency of the hypothesized HIV knowledge-prevention paradigm. Researchers had not explained why HIV prevalence in Maldives is low despite the low levels of HIV knowledge. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate factors beyond HIV knowledge that contribute to the low HIV prevalence among Maldivian male youth. The research questions focused on the risk-reduction factors in the nonmarital sexual behavior of young Maldivian males that contribute to protecting them from contracting HIV and the predictors of safe and unsafe nonmarital …

Service Delivery Agents' Perceptions Of The Impact Of Panhandling Policy In Virginia, Nancy Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Panhandling (also called begging and mendicancy) has been a problem for lawmakers. Although current crime control measures (based on the broken windows theory) have identified a perceived link between disorders (i.e., panhandling) and crime, previous attempts to ban panhandling were deemed unconstitutional. The purpose of this work was to investigate the impact of the latest attempt to curb panhandling in Hampton Roads, Virginia, known as the Public Education Campaign. This phenomenological inquiry examined the perceptions and work-related experiences of service delivery agents to explore the impact of the panhandling policy on panhandling and policy enforcement. Purposive sampling was used to …

Egyptian Diaspora Explains The Meaning Of Its Political Engagement In Washington, Dc, Sameh Hasan Elnaggar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Available literature showed that the Egyptian diaspora (e.g., emigrants who share a common situations and work for the same cause) has been developing and engaging politically in the United States during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The diasporas’ role was of interest to researchers and policymakers; however, the literature concerning diasporas has underexamined the Egyptian diaspora regarding its proliferation and active political engagement. Using the conflict and climate theories of Truman, and Cigler and Loomis in conjunction with the political engagement factors theory of Jang as the theoretical foundation of the study, the purpose was to explore how members of the …

An Analysis Of Junior Enlisted Personnel Attrition In The U.S. Army, Posey Grier, Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Junior enlisted personnel are the workforce of the U.S. Army and a recruiting pool for Warrant and Officer Candidate School training programs. Before fulfilling their initial obligation of 8 years, 25 to 30 percent of enlistees receive separation orders from the Army. Consequently, attrition in this group has created a substantial problem in maintaining a trained and ready Army. The purpose of this correlational study was to understand what factors contribute to unfilled service of enlisted personnel. Specifically, this study focused on the number of years of service before departure, the cause of the early separations, and the subcategories as …

Role Of Spiritual Intelligence In Public Policy In The African American Pentecostal Church, James B. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although many U.S. faith-based organizations have become partners to the government, the African American Pentecostal Church (AAPC), which holds spirituality as a means of serving humanity as its theological framework, has remained a silent partner in public policy engagement. With the framework of spiritual intelligence, this qualitative case study addressed the perceptions of African American Pentecostal leaders regarding how the church’s theology may have an impact on the public policy engagement of its parishioners. Twelve African American Pentecostal Bishops were interviewed, and data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Results revealed that participants use their spirituality to connect with …

Policy Diffusion Assistance In The Amelioration Of Homelessness On The Island Of O`Ahu, Hawai`I, Anita Tanner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The issue of homelessness is one that many cities and states in the United States have to contend with; however, the issue of homelessness on an island can be even more difficult to find viable solutions. The homeless problem on the island of O`ahu is one that affects not only residents but also tourists. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to reveal the perceptions of policy makers on the island of O`ahu, Hawai`i if diffusing public policy from Salt Lake City, Utah, would help ameliorate homelessness on the island. The theoretical framework was the diffusion theory and diffusions …

Grievance Group Index, State Legitimacy Index, External Intervention Index, And Global Terrorism, Hassan Hmoud Elkatawneh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to obtain a more accurate diagnosis of the factors that incite terrorism through examining the extent to which independent variables (the Group Grievance Index (GGI), the Legitimate State Index (LSI), and the External Intervention Index (EII)) can predict the dependent variable (the level of global terrorism (GTI)) for the period between 2006-2017. The study included data from the 162 member states of the United Nations, covering 99.7% of the world's population. Game theory and the political process theory provided the theoretical frameworks for the study. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to …

Employer Perceptions When Applying Criminal History Information To The Hiring Process, Karen S. Levy Mccanna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, the state of Illinois has joined the "ban the box" movement which typically prohibits employers from inquiring about a prospective employee's criminal history until it has been determined whether the candidate meets the core qualifications for the position. Little, however, is known whether this legislative change has impacted how private employers use criminal history information and to what extent knowledge of criminal history impacts final hiring decisions. Using Kingdon's policy streams concept as a guide, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to understand whether implementation of "ban the box" principles impacts final hiring decisions. Data …

From College To The City: Implications Of Rail Transit On The Movement Of The Young, College Educated Into The City Center, Lenahan L. O'Connell, Juita-Elena Wie Yusuf, Timothy J. Brock, Benjamain Blandford

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This chapter focuses on how investment in the American rail infrastructure has shaped changes in the population and residential patterns. Specifically, the chapter examines the association between commuter rail systems, urban rail transit systems, and the movement of the college-educated young into the inner city. Two hypotheses are proposed about the characteristics of rail systems and the relationship to the growth in the percentage of young college graduates residing in close-in neighborhoods. Using a sample of central cities within the 51 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., the chapter compares the growth in young college graduates (ages 25 to 34 …

Mining The Evidence: Public Comments, Evidence-Based Policymaking, And A Controversial Mine, Sun V. Nguyen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In policymaking, evidence-based policymaking is an essential method for influencing policies and decisions by telling decision-makers “what works” (Head, 2008). Western sciences typically make up most of the evidence decision-makers use, but because people are boundedly rational in understanding and incorporating it—politics, values, and beliefs impact thought processes— scholars and policymakers also include other types of knowledge to make decisions. One way for decision-makers to incorporate other types of knowledge into policies is through public comments. Although public comments may provide different types of knowledge to improve policy decisions, decision-makers face challenges with valuing different types of knowledge as evidence. …

The Impact Of Transportation Network Companies On Public Transit: A Case Study At The San Francisco International Airport, Lianne Renee Sturgeon

Scripps Senior Theses

The emergence and rapid growth of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, has challenged the transportation industry by offering a new mode of transportation to consumers. It is imperative that transit agencies and cities understand the effect of TNCs on public transit usage to make informed decisions. This study analyzes the impact of TNCs on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ridership at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to measure the effect of TNCs on public transit. Using a fixed effects model to analyze hourly BART and TNC ridership data from 2011 to 2018, these findings suggest …

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A Case Study Of Social Media As An Agenda Setting Tool In The U.S. House Of Representatives, Jenna Floricel Lewinstein

Scripps Senior Theses

The purpose of “Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: A Case Study of Social Media as an Agenda Setting Tool in the U.S. House of Representatives” is to explore the impact of a politician’s social media presence on agenda setting in Congress. It was born out of the research question, “how do freshman members of the House of Representatives seek power and influence in their first term?” I answer this using Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a case study, as she is a current freshman legislator with undeniable power and influence. I studied Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets from two time periods: the month leading up …

Treatment And Evolution Of Digital Rights: A Comparative Analysis Of China, Russia, The United States, And Germany, Karina Barbesino

Honors Program Theses

The internet and digital technologies allow for the recognition, advocation, and protection of human rights. People around the world have access to faster and exponentially more information than ever before. The possibilities for education, politics, healthcare, work, and equality have greatly expanded. The internet provides new opportunities for the progression of humanity, but not without a cost. The transformative power of the internet to both empower and infringe on human rights has not been lost on states. As a relatively new domain, the policies in cyberspace remain in their trial periods. Each state is implementing, redacting, and implementing again policies …

Nature Of Stressors On Female Law Enforcement Academy Recruits, Sandra Patricia Dillard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem in law enforcement academy training is that female recruits endure more stressors than male recruits endure. This can lead to fewer females opting for careers as law enforcement officers. The purpose of this study was to explore the unique stressors on female recruits when they are held to the same standards as males. The feminist theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study to depict how stress is perceived for the female. The first research question examined how outside stressors affected female trainees. The second research question examined how job-€related stressors affected female trainees. In-€depth, semistructured …

Role Of Stand-Alone Business Entities In Sustaining Newly Established Nonprofit Organizations, Sharif S. Shamroukh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Thousands of newly established nonprofit organizations (NPOs) with long-lasting and needed missions disappear annually, which negatively impacts the nonprofit sector in general and the potential recipients of the discontinued NPOs' services. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the possible influence that the presence of a strategic resource development plan and the establishment of a stand-alone business entity have on the persistence of newly established NPOs that have long-lasting and needed missions in the United States within the context of the theoretical framework resource dependence theory. Research questions focused on the role of commercial activities, particularly the stand-alone …

Stakeholder Input To The Development Of The Santa Clara County Lgbtq-Focused Shelter: A Process And Policy Analysis, Anthony Montalvo

Master's Projects

Due to elevated homelessness and growing hate crimes, an LGBTQ-focused shelter was developed and implemented by Office of Supportive Housing (OSH), along with the OLGBTQ (Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer). The following research investigated whether the process to design the LGBTQ-focused shelter program in Santa Clara county took the necessary steps to ensure that the program represents the community it intends to serve. Using process evaluation to identify the problem and proposed solutions, and policy analysis to examine the alternative solutions, the research answered the question: Did the approved design of the LGBTQ-focused shelter represent the stakeholder planning …

Unmas 2018 Annual Report, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) works in 18 countries and territories on four continents, helping affected communities, Member States, United Nations entities and partners to reduce the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war, improvised explosive devices and unplanned explosions or looting of conventional weapons and ammunition stockpiles. This annual report provides an overview of the achievements of UNMAS in 2018. Its impact continues to be critical, concrete and broad. In post-conflict situations, mine action is an essential foundation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Mine action makes it possible for displaced persons and refugees to return …

United Nations (Un) Mine Action Strategy 2019-2023, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

The United Nations Mine Action Strategy 2019-2023 is an accountability framework for the UN system. The Strategy reflects the collective engagement of the United Nations Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA). Members contribute to the objectives of the Strategy in accordance with their respective mandates and ensure the effective integration of mine action within global and country-level coordination mechanisms, including those relevant to humanitarian, peace and security, and development frameworks.

Clearing The Mines 2019: A Report By Mine Action Review For The Fourth Annual Review Conference Of The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, Mine Action Review

Global CWD Repository

We welcome the publication of Mine Action Review’s Clearing thhe Mines 2019 in this important year of the Oslo Review Conference, where the mine action community is taking stock of progress made and setting the agenda for the next five years. In positive developments, since last year’s report Jordan has completed clearance of the remaining mined areas that required verification and Palau has determined that it does not have any mined areas under its jurisdiction or control. It is always preferable to report good news, but the reason we came together as Advisory Board members to support this project was …

Itf Enhancing Human Security Annual Report 2019, Itf-Enhancy Human Security

Global CWD Repository

ITF Enhancing Human Security (ITF) is a humanitarian, non-profit organization specializing in land mine clearance, eradication of explosive remnants of war and other impacts from conflict. Established by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in March 1998, ITF’s initial purpose was to help Bosnia and Herzegovina in the implementation of the peace agreement and to provide assistance and support in post-conflict rehabilitation. Since its inception, ITF has been continuously developing and enhancing its mission by expanding the scope of its activities and geographic area. ITF’s mission is to address the problems of an ever-changing human security environment, the needs …

United Nations Gender Guidelines For Mine Action Programmes 3rd Edition, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

The UN General Assembly requires all parts of the UN system to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women within their mandates and ensure that commitments on paper lead to progress on the ground. In response to this call and to facilitate gender mainstreaming, strengthen the quality of mine action interventions, and promote gender equality, these guidelines were first produced in 2005 and subsequently updated in 2010, prior to this revision published in 2019. In that time the mine action sector has made progress towards mainstreaming gender in several areas, particularly in risk education, victim assistance, and community liaison. …

Landmine Monitor 2019, Icbl-Cmc

Global CWD Repository

This is the 21st annual Landmine Monitor report. It is the sister publication to the Cluster Munition Monitor report, first published in November 2010. Landmine Monitor 2019 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles at www.the-monitor.org/cp.

As well as a twenty-year review, this report focuses on mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling, and also includes information on contamination, clearance, casualties, victim assistance, and support for mine action for calendar year 2018, with information included up to November 2019 when possible.

Tribal Governance In American Indian Country, Terry E. Mcdonald

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Public Administrators seek to synthesize, comprehend, and clarify challenging problems of social progress as it relates to the administration of public services. We must, therefore, think about all forms of governance to have a comprehensive understanding of the discipline. If civilization ignored the prehistory of the past 600 million years, from the Late Precambrian Era through the Mesozoic, there would be a consequential loss of knowledge. A comprehensive understanding would be absent regarding one of the fundamentals in our evolution – life's ability to avoid demise by symbiosis and adaptation. In the same way, we may have overlooked an essential …

African American Men's Deaths In The U.S. And Perceptions Of Procedural Justice, Annette Woods Fields

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men between the ages of 18-35 years are increasingly likely to die during arrests by police under the purview of procedural practices. Using procedural justice and critical race theory as the foundation, the purpose of this correlational study was to evaluate the statistical relationship between procedural justice, consent to police authority, and certain demographic characteristics including socioeconomic status and age in a large Metropolitan area in the southern United States. Survey data utilizing the Procedural Justice Inventory and Willingness to Submit to Police Authority Survey were collected from African American adult males (n = 69) and analyzed using …

Evaluating The Military Police Corps' Active Shooter Preparedness Plan, Robert Lee Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Military Police Corps' active shooter preparedness plan is inadequate because several updated tactics, techniques, and procedures that have been developed over the past 20 years and implemented by civilian law enforcement agencies have not been incorporated, leaving the Corps less prepared during active shooter events. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how Military Police Corps leaders trained their law enforcement and support personnel to respond to an active shooter event. The institutional analysis and development framework was used to analyze the day-to-day operational decisions within the Military Police Corps. Data for the qualitative case study were …

Policy Alternatives For The Cameroon Conflicts With Views On Abolishing The Federation, Christmas Atem Ebini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The violent conflicts in the Northwest and Southwest provinces of Cameroon (Southern Cameroons) have obtained national and international attention. The government of Cameroon and armed separatists (Southern Cameroonians) have been called upon to address the root cause of the conflicts and reach a lasting peaceful settlement. This qualitative study is aimed at providing policy alternatives for the current conflict. The primary research question seeks to establish how the 1972 abolition of the federal system may have provided the impetus for the current conflicts. A second question addresses the options for resolving the conflict and the prospects of resolution. Data was …