Public Policy Commons^™

Executive Summary, William T. Eliason

Joint Force Quarterly

JFQ is certainly the Chairman’s journal, but it exists solely to give voice to you and your ideas on the joint force, jointness in general, and how best to fight and win our Nation’s wars and secure the peace. For over 30 years, the best and brightest among us have sustained the dialogue within these pages, whether physical or virtual. Help us continue this great tradition by sending us your articles and adding to the growing body of knowledge that is Joint Force Quarterly.

Introduction To The Special Issue, John, Lord Alderdice

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, with Lord John Alderdice as the guest editor, examines how, with the advent of sophisticated technologies and AI, the conduct of wars and peacemaking in the opening decades of the twenty-first century has changed, with implications for the future of both and society at large.

The Psychological Risks Of War Between The United States And China, Eugen Koh

New England Journal of Public Policy

The relationship between the United States and China has deteriorated over the past two decades and fears of escalating risks of war are regularly reported in global media. This article explores the psychological factors that contribute to the two superpowers shifting from a collaborative relationship to a competitive relationship, seeing each other as enemies, feeling increasingly threatened by each other, failing to consider the heightened sensitivities that arise from their respective traumatic pasts, triggering the collapse of thinking and unleashing of uncontainable emotionality, escalating accidents to conflict, and escalating conflict to war. It highlights the dangers of ignoring heightened trauma-related …

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

New England Journal of Public Policy

Front matter and table of contents for Volume 36, Issue 1 of the New England Journal of Public Policy.

New Technologies In Wars, Old And New, John, Lord Alderdice

New England Journal of Public Policy

Wars are often marked by technological advances and while the front line in the confrontation in the Russia-Ukraine War is between the two countries concerned, many other countries are also involved in bringing a range of weapons to bear. Some, such as drones and satellite communications, are not entirely new, but are playing a greater role than before. They are also being combined with more definitively new technologies such as artificial intelligence. However, the older ways of warfare are still center stage. Not only has there been a return of war in Europe between major powers, but even the trench …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, with Lord John Alderdice as the guest editor, examines how, with the advent of sophisticated technologies and AI, the conduct of wars and peacemaking in the opening decades of the twenty-first century has changed, with implications for the future of both and society at large.

Youth Offending In Denver: The Increasing Trend And Essential Elements To Successful Intervention, Olivia Crimaldi

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Recent years have witnessed an alarming increase in youth offending across Denver, necessitating a thorough analysis of factors influencing the surge, as well as areas of improvement for current intervention methods. Juvenile delinquency is largely affected by complications associated with the transition to adulthood, such as the development of personal identity or a decrease in parental supervision. A full understanding of at-risk individuals must consider risk, promotive and protective factors, as well as the interaction between these three components. Past successful prevention and intervention methods have included relationship-building implementation, therapeutic strategies, and consistent measures of quality and accountability. Despite many …

Technology And Homelessness: How Website Design And Blockchain Technology Could Impact The Unhoused, Casey Pratt

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Although technology could be used to combat inequality, it is instead increasing it. This paper discusses how the unhoused population suffers at the hand of technological inequality despite being relatively offline. It presents theories on how this would change if we reapproached how technology is used to assist the unhoused. It suggests implementing blockchain as a resource as well as modifying the websites built to assist in accessing benefits. Employees at shelters are interviewed for this paper about their experiences with using digital resources to rehouse and restabilize the vulnerable. They are asked how the sites can be improved for …

The Power Behind Postsecondary Attainment Goals: A Critical Policy Discourse Analysis, Casey Mccoy-Simmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examined neoliberal discourses upheld by policy actors engaged in the college completion agenda that perpetuated power structures maintaining white supremacy by relying on the success of racially marginalized communities to meet postsecondary attainment goals. With philanthropic foundations playing an increased role in advancing an advocacy-focused agenda to increase postsecondary attainment across states, there was also a need to better understand the relationship between state policy actors and foundations. As a national champion of postsecondary attainment goals, I identified the Lumina Foundation as a key policy actor in leveraging its advocacy-focused agenda to influence state policy actors …

The Hidden Toll Of Crowd Control: Rethinking The Use Of Kinetic Impact Projectiles In American Policing, Hayley Knudsen

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis critically examines the use of Kinetic Impact Projectiles (KIPs) by law enforcement in the United States, highlighting the discrepancy between their intended function as “less-lethal” crowd control tools and the severe injuries and fatalities they frequently cause. Spurred by widespread police violence during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, this study explores the physical, legal, and policy impacts of KIP deployment. Drawing on public health data, legal case outcomes, and international human rights reports, the research identifies significant risks associated with KIPs, including high rates of head and ocular injuries, and a troubling lack of training and regulation. …

Gender Pay Gaps In Mountain West Cities & States, 2024, Dre Boyd-Weatherly, Maryam Raja, Sean Curry, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on the gender pay gap, or the difference in pay between male and female year-round full-time workers in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. “Cities with the Largest Gender Pay Gaps” published by the Chamber of Commerce uses 2020-2021 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Assessing The Effects Of Climate Change On Vulnerability To Poverty: The Case Of Heat Waves And Construction Workers In Egypt, Rachad Bani Samari

Theses and Dissertations

“Doomsday, humanity’s extinction, the end of days”. Apocalyptic adjectives abound to highlight the danger looming over the planet, as the earth is warming up due to global warming and climate change. The picture painted over the canvas has consistently projected a gloomy image of low-income countries and of the poor. As the earth is gently boiling with heat, low-income groups in the Global South are predicted to be most affected. However, most of such warnings and studies focused on sectors directly dependent on suitable weather conditions such as agriculture, and sea tourism. While the climatic phenomena of heat waves may …

Policy Frameworks And Citizens’ Use Of Fintech Solutions: The Pros And Cons In Egypt, Salma Al-Mohamady

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the significant influence of financial technology (FinTech) on the banking industry, consumer finance, and economic growth. It specifically concentrates on the swiftly changing FinTech environment in Egypt. The study investigates the impact of incorporating advanced technologies on worldwide financial practices, which has significantly transformed traditional banking models and facilitated the emergence of inventive financial services. The transition is clearly apparent in Egypt, where the expansion of FinTech has been driven by advances in regulations, adaptation to technology, and a population that is becoming more comfortable with digital solutions.

Using a combination of quantitative …

Towards An Inclusive Media Policy Framework Targeting Adolescents In Egypt, Saja Elgredly

Theses and Dissertations

For years, adolescents have been lost between adulthood and childhood. This is even reflected in the policies that directly affect their lives and well-being. In Egypt, there has hardly been a clear political line on how the media should deal with adolescents. As this age group belongs to childhood, most of the laws and regulations are hardly dedicated to address them despite their different characteristics. Within the Egyptian context, there are children's laws concerned with basic children's rights and other laws that relate to the media. However, we notice a gap in adolescent-friendly laws, policies and regulations, especially in the …

The Effect Of Fiscal And Monetary Policy On Public Debt In Egypt, Malak Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis aims to examine the effect of monetary policies and fiscal policies on public debt in Egypt during the period from 2006 until 2021. Egypt is witnessing aggravated levels of debt, with limited fiscal and monetary space. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to analyze the effect of discount rates, inflation rates, subsidies, taxes and economic growth on debt-to-GDP in Egypt using a VAR model with an extended test of Impulse Response Function. The results suggest that a positive shock in government expenditures initially decreases public debt but leads to a fluctuating increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio in …

“Salmon Don’T Have Time For Us To Fix The Climate”: The Politics Of Climate Change And Dam Breaching On The Lower Snake River, Zanna Stutz

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

This thesis examines the politics of climate change and dam breach on the Lower Snake River. Located in Southeastern Washington within the Columbia River Basin, the four Lower Snake River dams (LSRD) have long been a source of political and legal controversy. While dam proponents advocate for services that they provide, which includes hydropower, navigation, and irrigation, others contend that their environmental impacts, particularly on salmon and steelhead, make them legally, environmentally, and morally irresponsible. Within this space, I specifically investigate how climate change has influenced the environmental politics and conflicts that surrounds dam breaching, further exploring how competing values …

Deciphering Authority: The Balance Of Powers In Local Government, Rayna Martin

Honors Projects

The Balance of Powers Principle, while well-applied in the spheres of federal and state government, is not much discussed when it comes to local government structures. This paper seeks to compare the strengths of some of the more popular forms of municipal governance (i.e., the council-manager and mayor-council systems) to determine, to what extent, the Balance of Powers principle applies in an American local government context. The author then subsequently argues that this principle can be utilized to propose a preferred, counterbalanced model of city government, that uses and relies upon the strengths of all three major authority figures in …

Examining The Aggregate Economic Impacts Of Criminal Record Expungement In Marion County, Indiana, Zane Callison

Lux et Fides: A Journal for Undergraduate Christian Scholars

This article investigates the individual economic effects of criminal record expungement identified in a previous article as they appear in the aggregate, particularly rates of unemployment and wages. As interest around the effects of overincarceration increases, criminal record expungement offers a possible solution to the economic woes faced by justice-involved individuals. To that end, this article examines unemployment rates and per capita personal income in Marion County, Indiana, where implementation of the state of Indiana’s criminal record expungement statute has been exceptionally effective. After an analysis, we find that criminal record expungement bears only a light or unclear causal relationship …

Women Police Chiefs: A Self-Perception Of Women Officers In Law Enforcement, Tianshi Hao, Jesse Llamas, Kayleigh Axtell, Anshu Lal, Michael Llamas, Mira Fadel, Amor Roma

Education Division Scholarship

A large body of literature substantiates women’s difficulties integrating into all levels of law enforcement. To understand the experiences of women police officers in the force, and to understand how law enforcement leaders view the role of women in leadership positions, this study focused on the perception of six women police officers–specifically, women police chiefs towards women who already assumed leadership positions, overcame challenges entering law enforcement and advancing into leadership positions, and collected their input on organizational decisions, policy, and recruitment of women officers. This study employs a qualitative phenomenological methodology and interviews six women police chiefs in depth. …

Maine Regional Care Teams: Collaborating To Improve Youth Wellbeing In Maine, Emma Schwartz, Jillian Foley, Jill Ward, Ahmen Cabral, Timothy Atkinson

Justice Policy

This report provides a look back at the past three years of the Regional Care Team initiative, which helped connect 165 youth to community-based resources in those first three years through a collaborative multi-systems model. The report details the extent of cross-system collaboration that continues as a part of this initiative and summarizes feedback from partners, examines data on youth referrals, their histories of system involvement, and funding. The report recommends next steps to expand prevention, community intervention, and reintegration supports for youth.

Strengthening U.S. Jail Systems’ Response To Infectious Diseases: An Evaluation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erinn Bacchus

Dissertations and Theses

Jails across the United States were struck with increased infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown the structural make up of jails, lack of preparedness plans, and overcrowding contributed to health risks and poor health outcomes both inside jails and local communities. Yet little research has been dedicated to strengthening jail responses to infectious disease outbreaks spanning prevention measures, data collection, and reentry planning. Gaps include information on the (1) myriad infectious disease mitigation strategies used in jails and adherence to CDC prevention guidelines, (2) development of a standardized epidemiologic surveillance system, and (3) experiences working at …

State Of New Hampshire Child Care Market Rate Study And Narrow Cost Analysis, New Hampshire Department Of Health And Human Services, Brodsky Research And Consulting

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

The State of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services initiated the Child Care Market Rate Survey and Narrow Cost Analysis in compliance with federal regulations to ensure equal access to child care for Child Care Assistance Program eligible families. This report provides insights into child care market rates and the actual costs of delivering high-quality care in New Hampshire, supporting informed decisions on subsidy rates.

Evaluating Use Of Evidence In U.S. State Governments: A Conjoint Analysis, Chengxin Xu, Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Shuping Wang, Weston Merrick, Patrick Carter

Center for Policy Design and Governance

This brief provides a summary of "Evaluating Use of Evidence in U.S. State Governments: A Conjoint Analysis," co-authored by Chengxin Xu, Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Shuping Wang, Weston Merrick, and Patrick Carter in Social Science Research Network.

Abriendo Puertas: Exploring The Challenges To Homeownership And Housing Stability For Latinos In Massachusetts, Lorna Rivera, Phillip Granberry, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

This report speaks to the current state of housing for Latinos in the Commonwealth; and it’s not great. Areas where Latinos still face inequities are compounded in a way that directly impacts access to housing and thus, ability to build generational wealth, or at the very least housing stability. We have solutions to these issues, like rent control, transfer fees, zoning changes, and even tax credits. What we lack is enough political power to have our voices make a larger impact, as Latinos own their homes at 32.7% , this issue is directly correlated to our low homeownership rates, often …

Editorial, Hanh Cao Yu

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Four Network Principles For Collaboration Success – With 2024 Prologue, Jane Wei-Skillern, Nora Silver

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2013, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

This article identifies a set of four counterintuitive principles that are critical to collaboration success and offers insights for how nonprofit leaders can ensure that their collaborations can have an impact that is dramatically greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Based on a decade of research developing detailed case studies on a range of successful networks, the authors have identified a common pattern of factors that are essential to effective networking.The principles are to focus on …

Raising The Bar — Integrating Cultural Competence And Equity: Equitable Evaluation – With 2024 Prologue, Jara Dean-Coffey, Jill Casey, Leon D. Caldwell

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2014, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

Whether implicit or explicit, social justice and human rights are part of the mission of many philanthropies. Evaluation produced, sponsored, or consumed by these philanthropies that doesn’t pay attention to the imperatives of cultural competency may be inconsistent with their missions.

The American Evaluation Association’s Statement on Cultural Competence provides those who produce, sponsor, and use evaluation an opportunity to examine and align their practices and policies within a context of racial and cultural equity and inclusion. The …

Internal Culture, External Impact: How A Changemaking Culture Positions Foundations To Achieve Transformational Change – With 2024 Prologue, Amy Celep, Sara Brenner, Rachel Mosher-Williams

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2016, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

This article argues that a foundation’s internal culture is critical to achieving large-scale social change, but that efforts to build a changemaking culture too often are left out of strategy conversations.

While there is no one culture that suits every foundation, a particular set of characteristics must be present in those that seek largescale social change: a focus on outcomes, transparency, authenticity, collaboration, racial equity and inclusion, continuous learning, and openness to risk.

This article offers insights into …

Donor-Advised Funds And Impact Investing: A Practitioner’S View – With 2024 Prologue, Sam Marks

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2022, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

Any discussion of foundations embracing impact investing must include some discussion of one of the largest — and growing — sources of philanthropic capital: donor-advised funds. These philanthropic accounts allow donors of all sizes to access many of the functions of a private foundation, including the potential to invest for impact. Sponsors of these funds, however, face unique challenges in catalyzing impact investments.

Like the larger institutional foundations that have led the way as mission investors, sponsors must …

Emergent Learning: A Framework For Whole-System Strategy, Learning, And Adaptation – With 2024 Prologue, Marilyn J. Darling, Jillaine S. Smith, James E. M. Stiles, Heidi Sparkes Guber

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2016, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

The field of philanthropy is exploring what it takes to achieve impact in complex environments. The terms “adaptive” and “emergent” are beginning to be used, often interchangeably, to describe strategies by which funders can tackle complexity. This article proposes distinguishing between the two and explores more deeply how the research into complexity can inform philanthropic practice.

While approaches like systems mapping, scenario planning, and appreciative inquiry have been put forward as useful approaches to expanding perspectives and seeing …