Public Policy Commons^™

Influence Of Combat Veterans’ Attitudes And Behaviors On Community Reintegration, Nicole Dawn Cmerek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A civil-military divide exists within the United States and is perpetuated by a distinct lack of communication between the civilian and military sectors within the population. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether attitudes and behaviors of combat veterans affect their positive reintegration into civilian communities. Binder’s social ecology theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from 255 combat veterans who responded to a survey. Results were analyzed using a hierarchical multiple linear regression model to determine the influence of military job satisfaction, post-deployment stressors, post-deployment support, and civic engagement on community reintegration efforts, …

Disaster Preparedness: Rescue Planning For People With Disabilities, Alimata Coulibaly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disaster preparedness policy implementation in the United States inadequately integrates people with disabilities (PWDs), most tangibly at the local level, where PWDs do not face an equal chance for survival during disasters compared to those without disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine current disaster preparedness policies and procedures to identify whether local agencies are following existing laws and policies related to integration of PWDs in Orange and Riverside Counties of California. The study furthered understanding of emergency managers’ and planners’ approaches in coordinating local disaster actors and the impact of their attitudes on local preparedness …

Measuring Incremental Sb743 Progress: Accounting For Project Contributions Towards Reducing Vmt Under California's Senate Bill 743, Christopher E. Ferrell

Mineta Transportation Institute

On September 27, 2013, California’s governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 743 into law, in part mandating the transition from a level-of-service-based (LOS) measure of transportation environmental impacts to a vehicle-miles-traveled-based (VMT) one in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Several California jurisdictions, including San Jose, Pasadena, and San Francisco, have moved quickly to comply with SB 743, so it is no surprise that several of these early-adopter cities have been working hard to develop powerful VMT estimation methods and tools using the most recent research available.

This perspective uses the experiences of an early-adopter city, San Jose, to …

Funding And Allocation In School Districts Educating Children With Impact Aid, Jamee M. Lynch-Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Budgeting and allocation decisions made by school districts have a direct impact on education in local communities. Little, however, is known about budgetary allocation and decision-making practices involving federal Impact Aid received by military-connected districts as no national guidelines exist to guide the allocation of this funding source. Using Sielke's garbage can decision model as the foundation, the purpose of this multiple case study of 5 school districts located throughout the United States was to explore how school districts use Impact Aid to achieve educational adequateness for military-connected children. Research questions focused on how school districts make budgetary decisions in …

Human Trafficking Crime Awareness Among Remote Communities In Central Vietnam, Ngoc Tb Nguyen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking crime is rising globally at an alarming rate, and Vietnam is one of the nations with the highest prevalence of trafficking female victims for forced sex services and forced marriages. This study explored human trafficking awareness in remote communities of central Vietnam and the factors for young girls dropping out of school for work at an early age. The study also investigated the link between gender inequality and the child labor problem in these communities. There is no extant empirical research pertaining to human trafficking awareness in the remote communities of central Vietnam. This research fills this gap …

Perceptions About The Asylum-Seeking Process In The United States After 9/11, Keith Nalumango

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Asylum seekers in the U.S. have faced a plethora of impediments leading to some of them abandoning their applications, which may deny them their rights under the United Nations convention on refugees. Despite the abundance of literature on the plight of these persons, no study has examined the lived experiences of asylum seekers in the U.S. from the time they apply for asylum to the time their applications are adjudicated. Using Benet's polarities of democracy as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this single participant narrative study was to explore these experiences in order to provide policy makers with a …

Bioterrorism Hardening: An Exploratory Study Of Emts Preparedness And Practices, Ndubuisi Chinemerem Ejike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2001 anthrax attacks heightened awareness of the possibility of weaponizing biological agents such as Ebola, anthrax, and smallpox and hence, the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 to prevent biological attacks and reduce bioterrorism threats and vulnerabilities. However, the 2014 Ebola epidemic raised concerns about unpreparedness for bioterrorism within the healthcare community and about secondary infections from healthcare workers. Using Kingdon's conceptualization of multiple streams as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to explore the nature of bioterrorism threats and the level of preparedness of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who were involved in the 2014 Ebola epidemic in …

An Exploration Of The Nongovernmental Organization-€State Relationship Through A Postinternational Framework, Dana-Marie Ramjit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the state contribute considerably to the unique state of Caribbean politics, yet their relationship is turbulent which prevents effective policymaking. Specifically, the problem this study addressed is the turbulent relationship between NGOs and the state in Trinidad and Tobago from a postinternational framework. The purpose of this research was to provide an explanation of the NGO-€state relationship through the postinternational concepts of turbulence and distant proximities. Data for this study were acquired through open-€ended surveys from 22 leaders of NGOs and publicly available documentation pertaining to the relationship between government and NGOs. These data theoretically coded …

Fire Training Fatalities And Firefighter Adherence To National Fire Protection Association Standards, Lucas Aaron Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sudden cardiac arrest continues to be a major cause of firefighter deaths during training due to a lack of individual firefighter adherence to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. These standards identify requirements for fire departments to create and maintain fitness programs. Existing research has not identified any relationships between training fatalities and individual firefighter adherence to NFPA 1583, Standard on Health-Related Fitness Programs for Fire Department Members. Using self-determination theory as the foundation, the purpose of this cross-sectional correlation study was to investigate whether individual firefighter adherence to NFPA 1583 has a measurable effect on training fatalities. Survey data …

Nudge Theory's Perceived Influence On Fmla Among Midwestern Metropolitan Nonprofit Arts Organizations, Eliza Gordner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has had significant influence on both for-profit and nonprofit employers since it was enacted in 1993. Because nonprofit organizations often have more limited resources than for-profit organizations, implementing family and medical leave policy mandates can be problematic. Arts-related nonprofit organizations often have even fewer resources available yet must still ensure legal compliance and market competitiveness while continuing to focus on meeting their missions. Even if a smaller nonprofit organization is not subject to the FMLA, it is subject to other federal, state, and local employment laws, and the organization must decide whether to …

Second Language Capability In The Army Linguist Community, Kenneth John Hutchinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developing the ability to understand one's adversary is a critical task for any professional in the military. In the army, this understanding is partially realized through a second language capability. This study involved quantifying results from different sites and methods of second language training for army linguists, using proficiency scores measured by the Defense Language Proficiency Test to determine if quantitative differences between methods of instruction existed. The hypothesis that trainees at Site 1 achieved significantly higher proficiency levels than trainees at Site 2 was used as the primary building block for this research. The objective of this study was …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Re-Offense Among Delinquent Foster Care Youth In Georgia, Brian Keith Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationwide more than 2 million youth are placed in custody annually, approximately 80,000 children return home, and more than 70% have a diagnosable mental disorder. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the outcomes of 311 youth released from secure residential facilities in Georgia between January 2012 thru May 2017. In the dataset, 136 youth returned to regular homes, 128 returned to group homes (GC), and 47 returned to traditional foster homes (TFC). The goal of the study was to examine the differences in probation outcomes based on the type of placement. For the purpose of the study, …

The Use Of Compassionate Release Policies For Elderly Offenders, Lindsey Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research examined the use of compassionate release policy in response to the fastest-increasing segment of the prison population- elderly offenders. Though this policy is an approach to this problem, there was little available research regarding which correctional organizations in the United States adopt compassionate release and how it is used. The purpose of this nonexperimental comparative quantitative study was to examine the use of the policy in neighboring and distant state correctional systems relative to those organizations that used the policy more frequently to determine if the leader-laggard theory of policy diffusion was an effective policy-implementation framework. The research …

African American Males' Perceptions Of The Police, Shawanda S. Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American males are more likely than any of race of males to report unreasonable and unnecessary negative experiences with law enforcement officers. They may describe these experiences as unjustified due to the level of force used. In some cases, excessive force used by police has resulted in the death of African American males. Due to unresolved issues between African American males and police officers dating back to the slavery era, there is a deep historical division between these groups. Among African American males, the percentage of individuals who express distrust toward police officers tends to be higher than in …

Late Adolescent Mothers' Homelessness And Pregnancy Experiences While Living In Transitional Housing, Beverly Vendryes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The numbers of homeless adolescent mothers have been increasing over the past decade. Previous studies have focused on homeless individuals, but no studies examined late adolescent mothers' homelessness and pregnancy experiences while living in transitional housing. Using a phenomenological methodology, this study explored the lived experiences of 7 adolescent mothers, 18 to 24 years old, who were homeless, pregnant, and living in transitional housing. The social construction of reality theory provided the framework and interpretive lens for this study. Social networking and snowball sampling were used for participant recruitment. Through in-depth interviews, data coding and analyses were conducted to identify …

Awareness, Stress, And Income As Contributors In Medicare Part B Late Enrollment, Bishnu Hari Dhaurali

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medicare Part B is one of the federal health insurance programs available to senior citizens in the United States. Unlike Medicare Part A, Part B enrollment is not automatic, and those missing their initial enrollment period are assessed a 10% or more penalty in addition to their monthly premium rate for the rest of their lives. This problematic enrollment policy has impacted senior citizens who have missed Part B enrollment windows, creating for them an added financial burden when many are transitioning to fixed incomes. Guided by social construction theory and using a nonprobability, convenience sampling approach, the likelihood coefficient …

Marijuana Legalization And Traffic Fatalities Involving Cannabinoids, Mark Lewn Hake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Washington State and Colorado were the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the number of drivers who tested positive for marijuana in traffic fatalities increased 48% from 2013 to 2014, and marijuana legalization may have influenced this increase. Since marijuana legalization is new to the United States, the effects of this change in policy are untested in the literature. The purpose of this quantitative study using a regression point displacement design was to examine the relationship between traffic fatalities involving cannabinoids in Washington State before and after marijuana legalization. Rational choice theory and …

Education Policy Adoption In A Child Welfare Agency: Frontline Perspectives On Leadership, Jennifer Lea Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study focused on a policy that promotes educational stability for foster children in a southern state in the US. At the time of this study, this policy had not been fully adopted across the state which resulted in foster children not routinely receiving the interventions necessary for improving academic outcomes. Using the diffusion of innovation theory as a framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how local-level leaders impacted the successful adoption of education policy in one county office of a statewide child welfare agency. Data were collected from a sample of 5 case managers …

National Strategy Against Narcotics, Drug Control Policy, And Law Enforcement Experiences In Kosovo, Ferid Azemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research is focused on evaluation of National Strategy Against Narcotics (NSAN) enacted in 2012 in Kosovo. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of NSAN through visualizing data and gaining deeper insight from experiences of antidrug experts. Convergent parallel mixed methods were used to answer the main research questions. The central research questions examined the impact of strategy implementation in juvenile drug arrest reduction, and its effectiveness on Kosovo criminal justice system. Markwood's comprehensive theory of substance abuse prevention (CTSAP) was used to assess and explore the NSAN. Deidentified juvenile arrest rates taken from Kosovo official …

Exploring Leader Development Experiences To Inform Department Of Defense Leader Development Policy, Glenn J. Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although there are several robust leader development programs in the U.S. Army, no standardized access to leader development is provided to all service members at the start of their career. Forty-four percent of the Department of Defense (DoD) active duty personnel are 25 years of age or less. Despite this known experience gap, there is a shortfall in policy that ensures standardized access to leader development during this foundational period. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of service members who participated in the United States Army Pacific's Regional Leader Development Program-Pacific (RLDP-P) to inform DoD …

Decentralization Policy And Citizen Participation In Government: The Case Of Liberia, Roland Tuwea Clarke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Political decentralization has been advanced in the 21st century as a prescription for enabling citizens' participation in politics and increasing good governance. However, empirical investigations have offered limited knowledge about decentralization efforts in Liberia. This study explored if decentralization could serve as a catalyst for citizens' participation and good governance in Liberia. The polarity of participation and representation - one of the pairs in the polarities of democracy model developed by Benet - was used to establish the theoretical foundation for this study. The study employed a case study research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 participants …

Microlevel Fragility Of The African American Lgbt Community In North Carolina After House Bill 2, William Flozell Clements

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social marginalization and isolation of target populations are growing areas of concern for policy administrators. African American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (AA LGBT) individuals are not permitted full political, economic, or moral citizenship and thus are in society but not completely of it. Legislation such as North Carolina's House Bill 2 (HB2) has the potential to dissolve the social contract connecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness at the microlevel. The emerging U.S. trend of moving societally from universal access in microlevel institutions toward more market-based strategies poses a formidable challenge for this target population. The purpose of …

Incentive Size Alignment With Accountable Care Organization Performance, Kristie D. Racca

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Changes to the country's health care political landscape in 2012 resulted in the development of federal programs aimed at containing costs and improving the quality of care delivered. Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) emerged linking performance to rewards. Guided by Conrad's value-based performance incentive theory as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship between financial incentive size and ACO performance measures. The research questions examined the predictive relationship of incentive size and acute care readmission rates, emergency department (ED) visits, and per capita spending of the ACO Medicare Shared Savings Program population. The study …

Redefining Protection Intervention In Humanitarian Aid Through External Factors: A Case Study Of Niger, Valerie Svobodova

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The magnitude of internal displacement worldwide is growing every year and represents a tripling of the existing number of refugees worldwide. Internally displaced persons have specific vulnerabilities and the system of assistance to them needs to be adapted and revised. The purpose of this case study was to identify external factors that influence protection interventions for internally displaced persons in humanitarian response. Using Benet's Polarities of Democracy theory and the Theory of Change Conceptual Framework as a framework, the study sought to identify key external factors influencing protection intervention in humanitarian aid settings. Data for this study was gathered through …

Crisis Communication Systems Among K-12 School Principals, Tomicka Nicole Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Crisis communication systems (CCS) in educational settings have been challenged by mass casualty events including shootings, natural disasters, and health outbreaks in the United States. The U.S. federal government and the U.S. Department of Education have created safety and security instructions to manage these complex and diverse security issues, yet they do not address the role of school leaders within a CCS. Using complex adaptive systems as the theoretical construct, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine CCSs utilized by school leaders within a single public school district in the United States. The research questions are focused …

Racial Socialization And Fear Of Crime In Stand Your Ground Laws, Anna Nicole Douglas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2005, Florida enacted the Justifiable Use of Deadly Force legislation, known as Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws, in response to the Workman case. The aftermath of that case led to the expansion of the laws that removed the duty to retreat principle and allowed citizens to employ deadly force when imbued with fear. The SYG laws as written appeared to imply state-sanctioned violence, with an increase in homicides, coupled with racial disparities. This study employed a quantitative inquiry with a causal-comparative design to explore whether a relationship existed between racial socialization and fear of crime in SYG states compared …

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 …

The Impact Of Good Governance And Stability On Sustainable Development In Ghana, William Deiyan Towah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous studies have lauded Ghana's commitment to sustainable development, but corruption and violence may affect sustainable development policies and initiatives related to poverty reduction, agricultural practices, environmental protection, and human development. The purpose of this holistic, qualitative case study was to identify and describe good governance practices in Ghana and threats to sustainable development. A Marxist conceptual lens guided the thematic analysis of data collected from artifact documents, field notes, and interviews of 20 key informants from various professions and diverse perspectives who were directly involved in the governance of Ghana or implementation of policies. Three primary themes emerged: (a) …

Political Control And Accountability In Ethiopian Rulemaking, Esayas Kassa Araya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrative rules have played a central role in Ethiopian public administration since 1994 when the current constitution was adopted. However, if the formulation and implementation of the rules are not politically controlled, and proper accountability is not applied, these same rules could become threats instead of assurances of the rule of law and order. This case study explored what strategic controls and accountability measures are in place to regulate the rulemaking process. To inform the study, the political control of bureaucracy framework in general and the principal-agency model, in particular, were used. The central research question focused on strategies that …

Stress Preparedness For Law Enforcement Officers Via Academic Training, Matthew Ridgeway Burke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most law enforcement officers experience a traumatic event within the first 3 years of duty but may not receive proper mental health training in the police academy to prepare them for a career in law enforcement, and little is understood about police academy training regarding mental health. Using secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perspective of law officers on the usefulness of academy training to prevent or manage mental health issues that may arise from law enforcement duty. Data were collected from 35 law enforcement officers in a …