Public Policy Commons^™

Powering The Machine, Draining The Planet: Whether U.S. Environmental Law Is Equipped To Regulate The Energy And Water Demands Of Ai Data Centers, Michael Marcu

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have become one of the United States' fastest-growing and least-regulated sources of environmental stress. In 2024 alone, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity more than the entire nation of Pakistan and consumed an estimated 17 billion gallons of water (IEA, 2025; Berkeley Lab, 2024). By 2030, electricity demand from these facilities is projected to reach 426 TWh, a 133% increase in six years (Pew Research Center, 2025). This paper examines whether the existing U.S. environmental regulatory framework put by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the …

Private Money, Public Risk: Why Florida’S Sb 178 Undermines Equity, Ethics, And Accountability In K–12 Athletics, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper critically evaluates Florida Senate Bill 178, which would require the Florida High School Athletic Association to adopt bylaws allowing coaches to use personal funds to support student athletes, once reported and presumed not to be an impermissible benefit. While the bill is framed to help students who lack essential items, it introduces serious structural risks that outweigh its intended benefits. By relying on private contributions within a public educational system, SB 178 threatens equity, transparency, and ethical governance.

The bill encourages uneven financial assistance that varies based on a coach’s personal means and the socioeconomic conditions of individual …

The Attention Safeguard Models: Governing Digital Harm Without Restricting Lawful Speech, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Digital platforms increasingly govern contemporary social, civic, and psychological life through systems optimized for attention capture, amplification, and monetization. While lawful expression remains protected under the First Amendment, the infrastructural mechanisms that determine how speech circulates have produced a range of attention‑based harms, including cyberbullying, engagement farming, compulsive doom scrolling, emotional dysregulation, and civic polarization. This research paper introduces the Attentional Safeguards Model (ASM), coined and formalized by Delante Clark, as a novel governance framework that mitigates such harms by regulating systems of amplification rather than restricting expression itself. Building on attention economy theory, technological mediation, constitutional free‑speech doctrine, …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center (Cmc) Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2025 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The CMC Grant Program remains a vital statewide investment in equitable access to justice and community well-being in Massachusetts. In FY2025, the Commonwealth allocated $3,100,202 to the Program, with $2,376,002 awarded directly to 12 community mediation Centers for operational support, technical assistance, and participation in statewide initiatives. These funds continued to serve as the financial foundation of the community mediation system, accounting for half of Centers’ collective revenue and enabling them to leverage an additional $2,435,797 from private, municipal, state, and federal partners—demonstrating strong public return on state appropriations. Despite a funding reduction in FY2025, the Program generated …

Florida Local Public Administrator Perspectives On Decentralized Wastewater Treatment, Jude Hagan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Decentralized wastewater treatment (DWT) systems, such as onsite greywater recycling and septic systems, have been demonstrated to be a potentially more sustainable, cost-effective, and disaster-resilient alternative to traditional centralized systems by treating wastewater at or near the source. However, many barriers exist that have prevented the widespread implementation of DWT, such as public opposition, lack of resources, government regulations, public health concerns, and capital costs. In this study, local emergency managers, urban planners, and utility/wastewater managers in Florida were surveyed to determine their perceptions and levels of knowledge on DWT. The results of this study were inconclusive due to a …

Artificial Elections: How Artificial Intelligence Can Affect Elections And Decide Our Future, Ryan D. Granger

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in democratic elections, highlighting both its transformative potential and its associated risks. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of existing literature, the study explores how AI is increasingly integrated into political campaigns, election administration, and voter engagement. Key benefits include enhanced data analysis, personalized political messaging, and improved efficiency in campaign operations. AI also supports real-time fact-checking and more accurate vote tabulation, which can strengthen transparency and trust in electoral processes. However, the thesis emphasizes that these advantages are accompanied by significant challenges. AI technologies enable the rapid creation and dissemination …

The Psychological Effect Of Maternal Separation From A Child During Incarceration: A Survey And Critique Of Risk Needs Assessments, Samantha Yearwood

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examines whether frequently used correctional assessment instruments adequately capture the psychological impacts of maternal-child separation among incarcerated women. This research was conducted in response to growing criticisms that traditional risk and needs assessments fail to account for gender-specific experiences, specifically those related to caregiving roles and pregnancy. Using a qualitative analysis content analysis to assess four widely used instruments, the Women’s Risk and Needs Assessment (WRNA), Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS), Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), and Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R), the thesis  examines the inclusion of pregnancy-related variables, caregiving responsibilities, and separation-related psychological factors. …

Immigration Securitization And Educational Access: The Impact Of U.S. Immigration Policy On International Students, Cossir Carter

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examines the securitization of international students within the broader transformation of United States immigration policy from the post-9/11 era to the present administration. Following the September 11 attacks, immigration governance was increasingly reorganized under a national security framework, significantly altering the regulatory environment surrounding student visas. Subsequent policy shifts have intensified monitoring mechanisms and administrative controls that directly shape international students’ access to education and mobility. Given the sensitivity of immigration-related participation in the current political climate, this research employs qualitative policy analysis rather than direct student surveys. Under the Trump administration, this securitization intensified through stricter visa …

The Impact Of Social Media Movements On Policy Changes Made In The United States, Michelle Levy Korine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study focuses on researching the relationship between social media movements and policy changes in the United States. Over the last decade, digital platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X have become important tools to encourage political involvement. These platforms have led to an increase in public participation, movements to become more popular and to organize protests. Many current studies focus on the social and cultural aspects of online activism, but fewer examine wither these movements lead to the legislative change asked for.

This thesis relies on the question, "To what extent does social media activism contribute to policy change …

A Historical Analysis Of The Squatter Settlements (Sukumbasi) In Nepal And The Role Of Smart Settlements, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

In Nepal, landless populations can broadly be categorized into two groups: urban squatters and rural landless families. Each group can further be distinguished by its level of political connection and access to power.

Among urban squatters, politically connected groups often occupy open public spaces in cities with some degree of protection or tolerance from political parties. In contrast, less powerful urban squatters usually settle on public land because they cannot afford formal housing. These settlements are commonly located in unsafe or marginal areas, such as riverbanks, flood-prone zones, and unused public spaces. Despite these risks, many remain in urban areas …

From Global Norms To Local Implementation: The Sendai Framework, Disaster Risk Reduction, And Human Rights In The United States, Madelyn Schutte

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the extent to which the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and a human rights-based approach (HRBA) are reflected in local level hazard mitigation plans in the United States. This study utilizes a directed qualitative content analysis of a local hazard mitigation plan, using McLean County, Illinois, as a single case study. The Sendai Framework and a HRBA are moderately reflected in McLean County’s hazard mitigation plan, with the most significant omission being a comprehensive discussion of the disproportionate risks faced by vulnerable populations. The results indicate that FEMA guidelines for hazard mitigation plans likely do not …

Envisioning The Role Of Community-Owned Stores & Aligning Federal Food Policies: A Participatory Approach To Food Security And Food Sovereignty In Sambaa K’E, Denendeh (Northwest Territories, Canada), Narayan Subramoniam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northern Indigenous communities have relied on traditional food systems for meaningful, nutritious diets since time immemorial. But many Indigenous communities in remote northern regions of Canada still face disproportionately elevated levels of food insecurity due to climate change radically altering the availability for traditional foods, colonial food policies imposing Western diets, and the high costs of transporting store-bought foods. Extreme weather events such as wildfires further isolate fly-in remote communities increasing both the costs of transporting store-bought foods and the difficulties of harvesting traditional foods. There are many examples of community-based initiatives for supporting traditional and locally grown foods, however, …

Resilience By Design: Evidence From The Richmond Resilience Initiative, Research Institute For Social Equity Rise, Morgan Woodle Phd, Albert Okwei, Yali Pang, Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn

Research Institute for Social Equity

This report presents a programmatic evaluation of the Richmond Resilience Initiative (RRI), a guaranteed income program designed to support economic stability among Richmond Residents experiencing financial hardship. The evaluation focuses on participants in Cohort Two and Cohort Three, examining program impacts over the two-year periods during which participants received cash transfers. Guaranteed income (GI), the provision of recurring, unconditional cash transfers, has grown in popularity as a significant policy innovation for addressing economic insecurity and inequality in the United States.

Nh Ece 2026 Policy Data Infographic, Harshita Sarup, Jess Carson, Tyrus Parker

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

The NH ECE 2026 Policy Data infographic provides easy access to data describing and explaining the early care and education landscape in New Hampshire. Learn about Granite Staters' need for child care, the high prices that families face, the low wages earned by child care workers and high operating costs of care, and the economic toll of an uneven supply for the state. The infographic also offers suggestions for building a better system.

Brief #2: Collaborative Aggregation & Marketing Of Local Farm Food: A Qualitative Analysis Of Customer Relations Strategies, Evan England, Rachel Filippone, Hannah Stokes-Ramos, Cindy (Luyue) Zheng, Olivia Burton, Analena B. Bruce

Food Practice Research

No abstract provided.

Linking Social Entrepreneurship To Crime Reduction Among Young African Americans In Chicago’S South And West Sides, Grady C. Wheaton Jr.

All Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examined community members’ perceptions of social entrepreneurship as an employment-centered strategy for addressing youth violence among African Americans on Chicago’s South and West Sides. The study was guided by the following research question: Can social entrepreneurship be leveraged to reduce youth violence among African Americans on Chicago’s South and West Sides, as perceived by community members? Using Fillmore Laundry, a healthcare linen-processing social enterprise located in North Lawndale, as a case example, this quantitative, cross-sectional study collected survey data from 99 eligible community members recruited through community-based partnerships. The survey assessed perceived youth- and community-level program benefits, evaluations …

The Effects Of Pornography On Romantic Relationships, Jade A. Green

McNair Scholars Research

This study examined the relationship among pornography use, attitudes toward pornography, and romantic relationship outcomes among adults in the United States. The hypotheses are as follows: 1. Pornography use is negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. 2. Positive attitudes toward pornography are negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. 3. Men will report more positive attitudes toward pornography than women, 4. Higher pornography use is associated with being single.  A convenience sample of 165 adults from central Arkansas completed measures assessing pornography use/acceptance and relationship satisfaction. Statistical analyses included a correlation matrix, an independent-samples t-test, and a chi-square analysis. Results showed that pornography …

Policy Snapshot : Health Insurance Trends Among Child Care Educators, Sara Amadon

Straus Institute for Thriving Children & Families

This brief compares the health insurance status of child care educators in 2019 and 2024—spanning the COVID-19 pandemic and preceding 2026H.R.1’s implementation—to highlight shifting coverage patterns and state-level solutions to safeguard this essential workforce.

The Efficacy Of International Conflict Feminism In Postconflict Peacebuilding: Learning From The Lived Experiences Of Liberian Women Through A Decolonial Lens, Kristen N. Mcnutt

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Focusing on Liberia, this study investigates the efficacy of governance feminism (GF) and international conflict feminism (ICF) in postconflict liberal peacebuilding, specifically analyzing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda to reveal critical gaps between policy narratives and the lived realities of Liberian women. Grounded in decolonial feminism and the coloniality of gender and peace frameworks, the research integrates ideographic narrative analysis of UN Women and Liberian government policy reports, a day-in-the-life study with 13 Liberian women, and surveys and interviews with multilevel actors across international organizations, government, and grassroots organizations, guided by …

Governing Harm: Three Essays On Anti-Lgbtq+ Legislation In The United States, Kathryn Hickey

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In the United States, over 140 state bills were passed between 2014 and 2024 that directly targeted the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals. Drawing on administrative evil and the minority stress model, this dissertation demonstrates how policy environments that normalize discrimination through the passage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation can lead to devastating consequences. Using a three-essay format, the first study conducts a qualitative content analysis of state level anti-LGBTQ+ laws passed between 2015 and 2024 to identify how administrative evil is woven into the language of the legislation. The results of this analysis show these laws systematically dehumanize LGBTQ+ individuals, restrict their …

Navigating Financial Futures: A Case Study Of A Targeted Financial Literacy Program For African American College Students, Michael L. James

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation presents a qualitative analysis of a targeted financial literacy program designed for African American college students. The dissertation examined how African American college students describe and make meaning of their participation in a targeted financial literacy program, particularly in relation to the program’s structure, content, and delivery. Despite growing interest in financial literacy education, interventions that acknowledge the persistent wealth gap and systemic financial inequities faced by African Americans remain underexplored. Employing a case study research method within a program understanding framework, this study investigated a program at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Findings reveal that the …

Diagnosing The Discourse: How The Academy Of Breastfeeding Medicine Constructs And Constrains Treatment Of Tethered Oral Tissues, Mary E. Miller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

While breastfeeding is recognized as fundamental to global public health, oral restrictions that can affect infant latch, milk transfer, and feeding efficiency warrant further examination within policy frameworks. This dissertation proposes an expanded conceptualization of tethered oral tissues (TOTs) that encompasses not only anatomical frenal restrictions but also fascial tensions, neuromuscular limitations, and other conditions restricting orofacial function that may be congenital or acquired. The purpose of this study was to critically examine how this clinical guidance document shapes understandings and responses to TOTs. Using Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach, a critical discourse analysis of the …

Digital Griots Playing Lottery Tickets: A Study Of Hip Hop And Social Transformation In Ghana's #Fixthecountry Movement, Jaime M. Kowlessar

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

On June 28, 2021, activist Ibrahim Mohammed (Macho Kaaka) was murdered in Ejura, Ghana, after using social media to criticize government failures. When protesters demanding justice were shot by security forces, politically engaged Ghanaian hip hop artists refused silence, contributing to Ghana’s #FixTheCountry movement—the nation’s largest youth mobilization in a generation. Yet scholarly debates about how hip hop contributes to social change remain unresolved, divided between those celebrating its activist potential and those critiquing its limitations. This dissertation introduces the lottery ticket theory as an alternative framework for understanding cultural activism’s relationship to political transformation. Rather than asking whether hip …

Stacked Risks, Unequal Returns: Stratified Risk Allocation In Housing And Higher Education, Regina M. Lewis

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States, public policy does more than distribute resources. It distributes risk. The same policy can create profoundly different consequences for different people because policies operate on landscapes shaped by generations of unequal investment and opportunity.

To explore this process, I introduce the Stratified Risk Allocation (SRA) Framework to demonstrate how facially neutral policies reproduce inequality by allocating risk across populations with unequal capacity to absorb it. Drawing on risk society theory, historical institutionalism, critical race theory, intersectionality, and stratification economics, the SRA framework distinguishes between Exposure, the likelihood of encountering policy-generated risk, and Capacity, the resources available …

The Impact Of Substance Abuse Problems And Serious Mental Illness/Serious Emotional Distress On Post-Discharge Residential Status Among Clients With Behavioral And Cognitive Disorders: Evidence From Samhsa Mh-Cld Data, Eden Moges, Norma Rochez, William Peycha, Aditya Chakraborty

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Behavioral and cognitive disorders can undermine housing stability, a key determinant of mental health recovery, with persistent disparities across demographic and socioeconomic groups. This study examined the associations of substance abuse problems (SAP) and serious mental illness/serious emotional distress (SMISED) with residential status at discharge from mental health facilities.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study used the utilized data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics, whereas univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were employed to assess associations between the covariates and the residential outcome, adjusting for a variety of …

The Effect Of The Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion On The Risk Of Hospital Closure And Adolescent Hpv Immunization In Rural Counties, Juliette Des Rosiers

Scripps Senior Theses

From 2005 to 2025, over 200 rural hospitals shut their doors, often citing increased operational costs, staffing shortages, low patient volume, regulatory barriers, financial challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and uncompensated care as common contributors to the closures. Rural patients are often referred by their primary care physician to a hospital for regular immunizations, since smaller clinics have less capacity to provide immunizations due to a shortage of pediatricians and limited vaccine stock. A crucial vaccine that is not required by schools and underutilized in rural areas is that against human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that infects cutaneous and …

The Intersection Of Abuse, Child Welfare, And The Law For Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: Gender Violence As An Antagonistic Social Force, Julio Montanez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Intimate partner violence (IPV)—as gender violence—pits children’s civil rights and women’s civil liberties against each other. To explore this phenomenon, the current work features five (5) studies that aim to understand the systemic consequences of IPV and child maltreatment for victims and survivors of both types of abuse.

• Study 1 is a qualitative-deductive study featuring a directed content analysis of news media pertaining to a trial court case on lethal child maltreatment and IPV.
• Study 2 is a qualitative-inductive study featuring a feminist critical discourse analysis of trial court data on lethal child maltreatment and IPV.
• Study 3 is a …

Examining Challenges For Sociology Master’S Degree Students At California State University, David Ortuno

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the lived experiences of CSU sociology graduate students pursuing a master’s degree. Seven sociology graduate students from six of the eight (75%) total sociology MA programs throughout the entire CSU system were interviewed. Their responses were designed to analyze the support systems and challenges they face while pursuing a master's degree, as well as to investigate whether their experiences correlate with or fail to correlate with the promises in the CSU mission statement, and to answer the study’s research questions and achieve the purpose of this qualitative study.

Four themes emerged from …

'But George Floyd Wasn't A Saint': A Critical Discourse Analysis Pre And Post George Floyd, Raya Berkley-Jacobs

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

May 25, 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin after he placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. His death sparked outrage, protests, and calls for accountability, justice, and reform. This study addresses the impact of George Floyd’s death as a focusing event that created a policy window under which federal legislation was introduced as a response to his death. Drawing on Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and Social Construction Theory, the study utilizes a critical discourse analysis to test how the death of George Floyd impacted the amount and …

Security Governance In Post-Colonial Africa And Implications On Democratic Institutions, Chick Edmond

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This paper will evaluate how security governance contributes to both the development of democracy and the establishment of stable institutions within newly independent post-colonial states in Africa. Security governance is examined here as it relates to the long-term influence of colonial legacy, military presence, and the politicization of the security services. The authors have based their analysis of this issue on qualitative data gathered from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. The findings of the research suggest that unless security sectors are subject to civilian oversight and adhere to democratic principles, they tend to serve the …