Public Policy Commons^™

Policy Tools For Youth Development In African American Communities, Adedapo Oladipo Adeyanju

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many African American adolescents live in disadvantaged neighborhoods due to decades-long segregationist housing policies. Living in these settings have isolated them from mainstream society and put them at risk for developmental issues and engagement in risky behaviors and violent crime as young adults. The purpose of this study was to examine past experiences of public housing beneficiaries exposed to concentrated poverty and their perceptions of how their neighborhood characteristics affect adolescent development. Research questions examined how housing policies have inhibited development or isolated Black youths to specific housing programs, affecting their opportunities to be better citizens. The theoretical framework for …

Nevada’S Predictable Housing Train Wreck And What To Do About It, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Nevada is on the cusp of a housing catastrophe, especially in Southern Nevada.

Consider that the state has fewer households than it should. A household is defined as one or more people who have a home of their own. But for price, location, configuration, and other factors, about 60,000 households in Nevada do not exist because there is no home for them. And it’s going to get worse. Including these “missing households,” nearly 470,000 new occupied homes will need to be built between 2020 and 2040 to meet the housing needs of all Nevadans, or about 23,000 per year. The …

Nevada’S Housing Policy Landscape: Data, Analysis, And Policy Solutions, Brookings Mountain West, Lied Center For Real Estate

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

From rising rents to high interest rates to limited supply, housing policy is a central issue in the 2024 elections. Brookings Mountain West, in partnership with UNLV’s Lied Center for Real Estate, hosted a community forum examining the local, state, and federal impacts of Nevada’s housing challenges. New research presented at the forum offer insights into the demographic and economic dynamics of individuals and families navigating Nevada's turbulent housing market, assess trends in home ownership, and evaluate barriers preventing Nevadans from accessing the housing market.

Law Enforcement Executive Selection Process In North Texas, Herbert Robert Ashford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor community–police relationships impact both communities and police because the community may feel unfairly targeted for enforcement. This qualitative study investigated what attributes are essential to executive law enforcement success. The theoretical framework was the person-organization fit theory as it applies to public service motivation. Data were collected from chief law enforcement executives and their direct reports from eight municipal law enforcement agencies in the Dallas County area of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Area through an open-ended qualitative questionnaire; the sample population consisted of 19 police executives. The results were analyzed using NVivo software and hand coding. The results were …

Policy Change In The Deep South: An Analysis Of Three States, Rebecca Short, Noe Alexander Aguado, Tim Collins

Politics, Justice, Law, and Philosophy

This chapter uses Kingdon’s (2003) multiple streams framework (MSF) to explain policy changes that brought home rule to South Carolina, a modern constitution to Georgia, and the Judicial Article in Alabama. Policy change in the Deep South is rare, but it can happen. Short et al. provide a comparative study between three states in the Deep South to illustrate how policy changes can occur in traditionalistic political cultures. In every case, unusual events came together just at the right time. In Alabama and Georgia, ambitious politicians pushed their pet policies to attain policy change. In South Carolina, a confluence of …

Preface, Noe Alexander Aguado

Politics, Justice, Law, and Philosophy

In 2002, A Century of Controversy: Constitutional Reform in Alabama was published to reflect on the problematic history of Alabama’s Constitution. From its inception, the 1901 Constitution was a document that sought to codify white supremacy (Jackson, 2002). It created a system where election rules were actively tilted toward the affluent while disenfranchising Black voters and poor whites (Webb, 2002). The collection illustrated how Alabama’s tax code is overwhelmingly dependent on sales tax revenue and extremely regressive. The over-reliance on sales tax revenue, which are highly variable from year to year, puts Alabama’s institutions into crisis mode whenever the national …

Governing Structures For Successful Regional Transit Coordination And Their Formation, Charles Rivasplata, Richard Lee, Michelle Derobertis, Christopher Ferrell

Mineta Transportation Institute

The expansion of metropolitan areas in California has further prompted the need to improve transportation options for all, more effectively linking origins and destinations through key enhancements to the existing network of transit services. This study provides planners and policymakers examples of effective regional transit coordination agencies. To improve multimodal connections and enhance transit services at the local and regional levels, this study explores regional coordination, focusing on entities charged with coordinating multiple transit agencies in a single metropolitan area. The study identified 16 regional transit coordinators (RTCs), identifying the structure, scope, and management of each. The results revealed that …

Leadership In Collaborative Emergency Management For Compound Hurricane-Pandemic Threats: Insights From Practitioners' Experiences, Norah Alshayhan, Saige Hill, Marina Saitgalina, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Emergency management is a key government function for mitigating risks and reducing the impacts of disasters. Emergency management leaders play a critical role in preparing for and responding to disasters whose impacts are exacerbated by a pandemic. Using the example of the compound threat of hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, this qualitative research uses insights from emergency management professionals to describe collaborative approaches and leadership skills that help balance the needs for stability and flexibility. Data collected using focus groups and one-on-one interviews with emergency management professionals highlight that collaboration involved existing and new partners in a changing and uncertain …

Addressing Transportation Construction Workforce Needs Through Innovative Policies And Practices, Thomas O'Brien, Ben Olson, Devin Martinez-Flores

Mineta Transportation Institute

A 2019 survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, found that construction firms across the country are struggling to fill open positions. Eighty percent of survey respondents indicated they have difficulty filling jobs in occupations that are essential to highway construction. This includes heavy equipment operators, cement masons, and iron workers, among others. This workforce shortage in California will become more problematic as public agencies and their contractors seek to implement projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). In California there are …

Digital Environments Of Reception And Governance: A Landscape Analysis Of Immigration-Related Webpages On U.S. State Websites, Orunima Chakraborti

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

American state governments occupy unique political roles when it comes to critical public-facing policy areas like education, health, transportation, and commerce, and therefore they administer many public services and benefits that affect immigrants and their communities. This study expands the existing knowledge of the ways in which U.S. state governments digitally engage with their immigrant populations, doing so through a landscape analysis that maps the information and resources provided for and about immigrant communities on 413 immigration-related webpages across all 50 U.S. state governments’ official websites. Data was collected in four categories for each webpage: its bureaucratic orientation, the government …

The State Of The Unions 2024: A Profile Of Organized Labor In New York City, New York State, And The United States, Ruth Milkman, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

This report released by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, State of the Unions 2024: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, is a part of an annual publication series, documents recent trends in unionization patterns. The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies’ latest annual report on unionization patterns shows that private-sector union organizing efforts continued to increase across the country over the last year. The report documents that growth in union election petitions since 2020 has reversed a decade of decline, reaching a level not seen since …

Scla 521 Ai In Society, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides access to information resources on societal impacts of artificial intelligence from multiple libraries databases covering multiple disciplines including government information resources.

‘Brain Drain’: Net Gains And Losses Of College- Educated Residents In The Mountain West, 2023, Dre Boyd-Weatherly, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines the number of college-educated individuals who moved to Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) and to selected metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the Mountain West in 2023. The “2024 Study: ‘Brain Drain’? The States With the Largest Net Gains and Losses of College-Educated Americans” report contains data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau. The study includes data on where college-educated residents move and which areas experienced ‘brain drain,’ where college-educated residents move to other places.

Us-Mexico Relations: Addressing Challenges At The Border, The Brookings Institution

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will begin her six-year term in October as the U.S. presidential campaign enters its final stretch. How the next U.S. administration and Congress manage relations with new leadership in Mexico will affect border security, immigration policies, trade and energy relations, and counter-narcotics and anti-crime cooperation. What tools can policymakers in both countries use to advance positive outcomes? What are the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the United States and Mexico?

The Brookings Foreign Policy program in partnership with Brookings Mountain West at UNLV hosted a discussion on the state of U.S.-Mexico relations. Panelists analyzed …

Gender Gaps In Unlv And Unr Graduate College Enrollment And Graduation, 2013-2022, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet explores gender gaps in enrollment numbers and graduation rates of students pursuing graduate degrees at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The original data was provided to The Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West by the UNLV Graduate College and gathered from the UNR Reporting Portal.

Paycheck-To-Paycheck: How Public Service Loan Forgiveness Inhibits Generational Wealth Attainment For Black Women, Ashley Patrice-Rose Sherman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black women who attend college in the United States are more likely to borrow to cover the cost of attendance and carry the largest amount of student loan debt than any other racial and gender group. Federal student loan borrowers are encouraged to work in public service to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), an income-driven repayment program established by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) of 2007. PSLF offers total debt relief after ten years of uninterrupted full monthly payments based on an income-driven repayment plan. The significance of this qualitative study will …

Technology Policy For Meeting Net-Zero Carbon Goals By 2050: Accelerating Innovation In Complementary Technologies To Decarbonize The Electrical Grid, Myriam Gregoire0zawilski

Dissertations - ALL

In this dissertation, I examine the link between technology standards and innovation in green energy technologies. The first paper investigates the effects of compatibility standards on follow-on innovation at the firm-level in smart grid technology. Using data on the adoption of standards in 19 OECD countries and weights that capture the unique composition of each firm’s country markets, we find that higher exposure to changes in standardization causes a decline in firms’ patenting activity. This negative effect is concentrated in large incumbents and is partially offset by an increase in the quality of inventions. This suggests a tradeoff in the …

Examining The Impact Of Stand Your Ground Laws In Alabama, Bruce Litaker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

It is not known whether gun death rates vary with the implementation of Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws in Alabama. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine differences in the rate of gun deaths in Alabama since the implementation of SYG laws. Policy feedback theory (PFT) served as a foundational framework and a lens to interpret the research findings. The study was to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in the firearm homicide rates in all 67 counties in Alabama after SYG implementation, and if there is a statistically significant difference in the firearm homicide rates …

Principal Agency 50 Years After The Lau Decision: Building And Sustaining Bilingual Education Programs For Asian Languages, Kevin M. Wong, Zhongfeng Tian

Education Division Scholarship

This study examined how three champion principals of Asian language dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs—Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin—in California have navigated the oscillating language-in-education policies after the Lau decision. We explored principals' various roles through a lens of agency in a social justice leadership framework, specifically considering the opportunities and challenges for agentive leadership from three different phases: foregrounding and engaging, planning and implementing, and evaluating and sustaining. Findings demonstrate that the success of DLBE programs goes beyond the overarching language policies that supposedly enable bilingual education; rather it hinges on the bottom-up commitment, collaboration and resilience of principals, …

The Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Family Reentry Programs And The Public Policies Governing Those Programs For African American Female Ex-Offenders, Yulonda Rhodes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how African American female ex-offenders perceive the effectiveness of family reentry programs and the policies governing those programs. By providing additional information particular to African American female ex-offenders, this study has the potential to broaden the scope and depth of existing studies and enhance public policies governing family reentry programs. The theoretical framework concentrated on the four variables of Hirschi’s social control theory: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. The primary research question explored how African American female ex-offenders perceived the effectiveness of family reentry programs. Data were collected through in-depth …

Effect Of Education And Policy On Informal Caregivers’ Experience Of Grief With End-Of-Life Care, Brandan Margaret Rose

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While numerous studies have explored various aspects of end-of-life care, a significant gap persists in the literature regarding the emotional burden experienced by informal caregivers as they grapple with challenging decisions. Additionally, with current federal and state guidelines, administrators do not have clear policies to drive equity for patients and their informal caregivers. This qualitative study examined informal caregivers’ perceptions of how end-of-life care policies impacted the dying process and how education influenced their grief and guilt. Using a conceptual framework of Simon’s concept of bounded rationality and evidence-based policymaking, the study addressed constraints on caregivers’ decision-making due to limited …

Perspectives Of Female Directors On The Effectiveness Of Corporate Board Diversity Interventions, Jody Michelle Pugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While women account for most of the workforce, they remain underrepresented as executives on corporate boards of directors. A review of the literature revealed there is limited research about the experiences of women currently serving on corporate boards while states and regulators pursue the application of structural interventions through gender equity initiatives. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore how female board members perceived the effect of gender quota mandates on corporate board membership. The theoretical framework for this study was Zucker’s institutional theory of organizations which is used to examine the influence of external pressures applied …

Exploring Human Capital Development: Perspectives Of Young Adults (Aged 18-25) In Lagos, Nigeria, Omobola Omotimirin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Under-utilization of youth human capital and youth delusion, has the attendant effect of increased crime, insecurity, deplorable infrastructure, loss of foreign investment, revenue loss, etc. The large population of young adults (age 18-25) in Lagos State, Nigeria, is a source of human capital development. There is little to no literature on the young adults’ (age 18-25) perspectives on their human capital development in Lagos State. The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of young adults (age 18-25) on their human capital development needs. Research questions focused on understanding young adults’ perception on human capital development; how youth …

Archetypal Energies And Global Mental Health, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

As a keynote speaker at the Global Mental Health Conference 2024, held at Sophia University, Costa Mesa, CA, in-person and virtually, August 16-18, 2024, my topic was "Archetypal Energies As A Framework for Self-Empowerment and Well Being". The theme of this 2024 global conference was: Enlightened Minds, Compassionate Hearts, and Embodied Wisdom. To supplement my keynote address, I wrote this blog article titled "Archetypal Energies and Global Mental Health".

Unemployment, Weekly Earnings, And Cost Of Living In Mountain West Metros, 2022, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on unemployment, weekly earnings, and cost of living for five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP). Local Analysis report includes data on the 50 largest MSAs in the U.S., which include the following in the Mountain West: Phoenix-Mesa Scottsdale, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO; Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV; and Salt Lake City, UT.

Projected Job Growth By 2031 In The Mountain West, Madison Dwyer, Annie Vong, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines job growth projections from 2021 to 2031 for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet also presents projected job growth data by educational level, and across selected occupational sectors. Data are sourced from the report, “After Everything: Projections of Jobs, Education, and Training Requirements through 2031,” published by the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) at Georgetown University.

Exploring Leadership Characteristics And Their Effects On Sustaining Federally Qualified Health Centers, Eleace E. Sawyers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An argument can be made for the continued existence of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) because of the level of importance of the service they provide to society. The problem addressed in this research is that despite the millions of people in need of affordable health care, the leaders of many FQHCs are fighting to keep facilities open amidst financial struggles. The purpose of this research was to identify leadership characteristics that promote FQHCs’ success by assessing effective leadership styles. This study applied a quantitative, descriptive non-experimental approach. Probability sampling was used to select the sample size and the Multifactor …

Waste Management Process And Malaria-Induced Child Mortality In Côte D’Ivoire., Kouame N'Guessan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Malaria-induced child mortality is a Sub-Saharan African phenomenon, and Côte d'Ivoire, in West Africa, has one of the highest rates. This general qualitative study investigates waste management as a potential factor of malaria-induced child mortality to inform policy changes and fill a gap in the body of knowledge. The study is grounded in Skocpol's policy feedback theoretical framework. The research question explored aspects of waste management in Côte d'Ivoire which contribute to the high rate of malaria-induced child mortality. Eighteen participants, equally divided into three groups, were purposely recruited via email and WhatsApp messages for semi-structured interviews using a smartphone …

The Impact Of Viet Nam’S Socialization Policy On Education And Health Equity Among Disadvantaged Children, Trang Quynh Nguyen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Xa hoi hoa (socialization) policy was officially adopted by the government of Viet Nam in the late 1990s as a coping strategy for its acute funding shortage in public services with the intent of improving social equity. There was hardly any assessment on the policy to learn its impact on social equity as documented in its key document. Using secondary data from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys conducted in Viet Nam and Viet Nam Household Living Standards Surveys, this study examined the policy’s impact on education and health outcomes among disadvantaged children’s cohorts: the rural, the ethnic minorities and …

Paradox Of Trust: Examining The Intermediaries That Shape Trust In Va Among The Veteran Population, Jonathan Mills

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has faced significant challenges in maintaining the trust of the veterans it aims to serve—especially those veterans most at risk for adverse outcomes. While veterans currently enrolled in VA care report high trust in the quality of their care, nonenrolled veterans report much lower levels of trust, preventing them from seeking the care they need. This study explored the complex dynamics and drivers of low trust among veterans who are not enrolled in VA healthcare, versus higher reported trust among veterans who are. The research leveraged organizational reputation theory and the macro cognitive perspective …