Public Policy Commons^™

A Narrative Review Of The Covid-19 Infodemic And Censorship In Healthcare, Mitchell Liester, Sohaib Ashraf, Patricia Callisperis, Hector Carvallo, Shankara Chetty, Robert Enzenauer, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Raul Pineda, Panagis Polykretis, Rachel Wilkenson, Peter Mccullough

Secrecy and Society

Ideological and financial motivations have undermined science for decades. In this narrative review, we explore how organizations and governments used misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and secrecy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Various rationales for employing censorship and secrecy during the COVID-19 pandemic are examined including how organizations and governments create confusion about the risks associated with their products and blame avoidance to shift responsibility and to avoid accountability for their actions. Methods of censorship employed during the COVID-19 pandemic are reviewed, examples are provided, and the consequences of these actions are reviewed. Information included in this review was obtained from scientific …

Nevada System Of Higher Education Residency And Pell Grant-Eligible Student Population, 2013-2022, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data available through the Data Hub at The Lincy Institute & Brookings Mountain West on enrollment headcounts between Fall 2013 and Fall 2022 for higher education institutions in the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE).

System Change, Not Climate Change: Collaborative Development Of A Few Nexus Experiential Learning Course For A Justice-Centered Comparative Study Abroad Program, Sonya Ahamed

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

The International Honors Program (IHP) on Climate Change: The Politics of Land, Water and Energy Justice has been offered by the School for International Training (SIT) since 2013. This thematic multidisciplinary program currently travels to Morocco, Nepal, and Ecuador for one month each, introducing students to local food, water, and energy challenges in the context of a changing climate. In updating the program following its relaunch in 2023, renewed attention was given to the food, energy, and water nexus from a comparative perspective across and within these countries. This presentation will focus on the development of experiential learning cycles for …

Special Delivery: Special District Use Of Collaboration To Solve Challenges, Kelly Irene Fahl Sherbo

Dissertations and Theses

As the special district sector continues to increase in number across the U.S., understanding their role in public governance increases in value both to practitioners and academia alike. The state of the academic literature on special districts does not yet reflect the large size and importance of the sector and has been severely limited by available data, mainly coming from the U.S. Census Bureau. Existing research has focused on broad descriptions of the field of special districts, some studies focus on policy and political effects; but scant research analyzes behavior within and among special districts, particularly with their public entity …

Climate Change Policies And Good Governance In Egypt, Mahmoud Elshourbagy

Theses and Dissertations

Egypt recognizes the impacts of climate change and is particularly vulnerable because of its high-density population, economic burden and geographical location. In response, Egypt established National Climate Change Council in 2016. In 2022, the council issued “National Climate Change Strategy 2050” to integrate and align the efforts of government bodies to adapt and mitigate climate change risks. One of the strategic goals of “National Climate Change Strategy 2050” is to enhance climate governance in Egypt as a critical tool. This study attempts to evaluate climate change policies in the context of good governance by using a tool developed by World …

Effects Of Foreign Aid On Developing Countries: Case Of Turkana County, Kenya, Baraka M. Akeyo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite substantial foreign aid investments in road construction projects in Turkana County, Kenya, anticipated benefits of improved access to social facilities, economic development, and rural and urban growth have not been fully realized. This study involved assessing the impact of foreign aid for road construction in Turkana County. Grounded in the social constructivism perspective, the research acknowledges subjective realities shaped by individual and societal experiences. The agency theory served as the theoretical foundation, framing the donor-recipient relationship as one where donors act as principals imposing conditions on recipient communities as agents. The study addressed the central research question: What is …

National Cancer Centers And Cancer Rates In Nevada, 2017-2021, Yashesvi Sharma, Ivan Sun, Taylor Volk, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr., Fatma Nasoz

Health

This fact sheet presents data from the National Institutes of Health including the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) “State Cancer Profiles” report and includes age-adjusted cancer incidence rates by race/ethnicity in Nevada, between 2017 and 2021. The fact sheet also shows data from the 2024 National Cancer Institute’s “NCI-Designated Cancer Centers” map, listing NCI-Designated Cancer Centers by state, and the distance to the nearest NCI-Designated Cancer Centers from the Las Vegas metro and Reno metro.

Community-Driven Policy Solutions To Police Accountability, Rashawn Ray

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

George Floyd’s death shifted public opinion as 76% of Americans agreed that incidents such as the killing of Floyd are signs of racism within law enforcement. While police reforms such as implicit bias training and body-worn cameras gained public support, they insufficiently address the structural, cultural, and organizational components of policing that can obstruct accountability and contribute to racial disparities in policing. In this lecture, Brooking Senior Fellow Rashawn Ray presents interview, survey, social media, and virtual reality data with police officers, activists, and civilians, and demonstrates state- and city-level databases on police reform legislation. Ray posits that evidence-based policy …

Exploring The Strategies In Creating And Sustaining Commons : Organization, Mobilization, And Tactics In The Hong Kong Context, Ho Yin Mickey Wan

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

After experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest, and the migration wave in the post-2019 era, Hong Kong has undergone a rapid change in its social context. Facing the multifaceted aspects and complexities in the new context, this thesis hopes to explore the possibility of commons and commoning - a pluralistic concept that encompasses a set of principles for social practices in making a more inclusive society - to be a potential alternative, or at least a kind of hope mechanism to enhance people’s well-being amid the current predicament.

Drawing on the seminal literature of Elinor Ostrom, J. K. Gibson-Graham, and …

Analysis Of Systematic Trade-Offs Between Military And Healthcare Expenditure Alongside Gdp Growth Of Select Asian And Western Exporting Economies In The 21st Century, Rahul Balamurugan, Carlos Gershenson, Preethi Nanjundan, Hiroki Sayama

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This study explores the complexity in the trade-offs between military expenditure, healthcare expenditure, and GDP growth across select Asian nations and major weapon-exporting countries, examining how nations allocate finite resources between national security and human well-being over the past two decades. Using a systems science approach, the research integrates Granger causality testing to analyze temporal and directional relationships among GDP growth, military expenditure, and healthcare expenditure, uncovering their dynamic interdependencies. The methodology includes trend and slope analysis, Granger causality testing, outlier detection, and clustering to identify heterogeneity in resource allocation strategies. Developed, weapon-exporting nations exhibit complementary trends, with strong causality …

Community Centered Funding Models For Maine, Timothy Atkinson, Jillian Foley, Jane Rooks

Justice Policy

This report is an exploration of literature and frameworks for local community-driven funding strategies to improve Maine’s public health outcomes. The authors present a number of community-led funding theories such as place-based funding models and participatory grant making, examine lessons learned from recent public health events, and discuss reflections from interviews with key stakeholders. The report looks at examples of community-led models and makes recommendations for next steps such as improving collaborative relationships, strengthening peer-to-peer networks, expanding availability of flexible funding that includes backbone support, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis of collaborative community health capacity investment options.

Tienen Alas, Pero No Las Pueden Usar: Stories Of Immigrants In Search Of Work Credentials, Jonathan Vega-Martinez, Maria M. Pache De Athayde, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Phillip Granberry

Gastón Institute Publications

This report presents the results of a qualitative research study, funded by the Latino Equity Fund of the Boston Foundation, aimed at understanding the challenges that highly skilled immigrants1 face when reentering their careers in Massachusetts.

Collection Of Self-Research Papers Analyzing The Enhancement Of Uae-China Cooperation Through Public Policy Lenses, Jiaming Lu

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

As a research combination, this thesis is concerned with how UAE public policy can align with China’s overseas interests to deepen the current strategic partnership, focusing on the bilateral business cooperation including diplomacy, free zone trading, and corporate governance in energy sectors. The main objective of this thesis is to analyze whether this relationship can be maintained or upgraded to an all-weather strategic partnership amidst global challenges. Multiple research models are used to investigate specific public policies and their implementation, including historical analysis, policy dynamic framework, socio-legal research, and network governance examination. The results of this thesis indicate that aligning …

Nafis Program In Its Third Year: A Public Policy Analysis, Sara Almessabi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Emiratization in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stands at the forefront of government priorities, with policymakers placing significant emphasis on it as a fundamental pillar for providing citizens with a dignified life and enhancing their participation across various economic sectors. Emiratis are considered integral contributors to driving their country's economic development. Recognizing this importance, the UAE government has focused its efforts since the country's establishment on enacting public policies that enable Emiratis to integrate into both the public and private labour markets. However, these policies have faced several challenges, most notably citizens' preference for public sector employment due to factors …

Public Memory Through Memorialization, Sophie A. O'Brien

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This research project aims to contextualize the story surrounding various Nashville monuments that memorialize civil rights leaders. This project will explore the history of monuments and road names in Nashville. The history will span from the Confederacy to the civil rights movement and examine how public memory has evolved and changed with the removal of some statues and the changing of road names. It aims to show who we choose to memorialize and why, and how the civil rights leaders we choose to remember reflects public sentiment of the civil rights era.

Constraints Interfering With The Goals Of Child Maltreatment Programs In Northwestern Wyoming, Barbara Andersen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child abuse and neglect occurs in the United States and Wyoming. There are numerous variables that influence caregivers to abuse, and if unresolved, these variables can contribute to future events of child maltreatment. This study focused on the programs assigned to achieve reunification and the constraints observed by the program providers that interfere in resolving the variables that cause child maltreatment. The research questions were: What specific factors or constraints impede the successful achievement of program goals? In what ways do the identified constraints hinder the effectiveness of the programs? What strategies could be implemented to overcome constraints and improve …

Researching The U.S. Senate Presidential Nominee Confirmation Process, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The beginning of 2025 has seen renewed public attention and emphasis on the constitutionally mandated U.S. Senate confirmation process. This stems from the beginning of the second Trump Administration as its nominees navigate this process. The presentation provides historical background on this process, demonstrates what nominees, Senate oversight committees, and the full Senate in administering this process and enables readers to find out how to access information resources documenting this process. The confirmation process continues throughout presidential administrations and may involve little public attention and controversy or acute public attention and controversy. The contrasting 2025 confirmation experiences of Secretary of …

Sweet Lies: Influence Of Food Marketing On Childrens’ Health And The Need For Reform, Mollie M. Warrington

Honors Theses

Markedly, there is heavy marketing of unhealthy food to children. This has become a significant public health concern because of escalating rates of child obesity, which have long-term consequences for physical health and severe mental health repercussions, such as body image concerns and low self-esteem. This thesis explores how food marketing strategies, historically rooted in television ads and evolving through digital platforms, are linked to children's dietary choices and broader public health implications. It analyzes various manipulative tactics, such as digital advertising, influencer endorsement, and gamification, showing how companies take advantage of the cognitive vulnerabilities of children to propagate unhealthy …

Asean's Scs Divergence: An Analysis Of Historical, Economic, And Strategic Factors, Carl E. Dick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a significant gap in the scholarly literature on the Association of Southeast Asia Nations’s (ASEAN's) internal divisions and policy inconsistencies in responding to China's expansion in the South China Sea that considers national interests, economic dependencies, and security concerns. There is no cohesive regional strategy. This study examined the ASEAN’s responses to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, focusing on the Second Thomas Shoal. It addressed the research question: how have historical, economic, and strategic factors influenced ASEAN's collective and individual member state responses to China's actions. Territorial peace theory and constructivist perspectives were used to analyze …

Study To Understand The Effects Of Biofouling And Corrosion On Underwater Munitions: Implications For Risk Management And Resource Allocation, Center For International Stabilization And Recovery, Fenix Insight

Global CWD Repository

The project's primary objective is to understand the impacts of the underwater environment on munitions as a means to identify the residual risk these munitions pose, so people undertaking detection and clearance efforts can reliably assess operational risk and make informed decisions.

The Legal Framework Of Foster Care In Egypt: A Gender Analysis Of Alternative Families And Patrilineal Structures, Amira Fadel

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis explores women’s legal representation and agency over their non-biological children, and how the foster care system in Egypt either reinforces or deconstructs existing gender roles. Hence from a sociological perspective, it accounts for foster and alternative care laws in Egypt and the amendments thereof, to examine social relationships against the backdrop of more conventional, biological families, and kinship relations. In simple terms, studying foster and alternative care laws in Egypt is crucial to grasp how non-biological families are shaped in comparison to the more conventional bonds within biological families and traditional kinship relations, while accounting for the Christian …

A Narrative Policy Review Of Asthma Education Programs In North Carolina Schools, Rosemary Moody

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Asthma remains one of the most common chronic conditions affecting school-aged children, posing significant challenges to their academic performance and overall well-being. However, the literature indicates that there continues to be barriers to successful implementation of asthma education policies in the public schools, particularly in the elementary levels. Using Maxwell’s interactive design for qualitative research, this study investigated how educators and stakeholders perceived the impact of state legislation on asthma education criteria and outcomes for student in grades K-5, as well as their recommendations for policy. Guided by Jones and McBeth’s narrative policy framework, semi structured interview data were collected …

Promoting Equity: Embracing Food Justice In The Transformation Of The Food Systems For Bipoc Communities, Frank Yeboah Adusei

Journal of Extension

The food justice movement addresses systemic food inequities impacting BIPOC communities, rooted in civil rights and environmental justice movements. It advocates for fair access to culturally relevant food, combating food deserts, and promoting food sovereignty. Recognizing intersectionality, it emphasizes collaboration to dismantle systemic barriers. This study aims to understand BIPOC communities' challenges and effective strategies, stressing the importance of collaborative efforts for lasting systemic change. Extension professionals face challenges but can contribute through equity-focused strategies, community engagement, and partnerships, advancing food justice and fostering inclusive food systems.

Lived Experiences Of Police Use Of Force In Western Utah, Kenny Augustin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of force by police officers toward African Americans has been a tense subject in the United States Although statutory law grants the police officers the right to use force, the level and the type of force used by police officers can be seen as problematic. In this study, the lived experiences of African Americans and police officers’ use of force were explored. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore whether the lived experiences of African Americans differ from police officers concerning the use of force in Utah and how fear, trust, and confidence influenced behaviors. A …

Accessing Local Health Programs For Afro-Caribbean Families In The Greater Tampa Bay Area, Michelle Jacqueline Swift

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to quality healthcare is essential for the well-being of immigrant families, especially Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the Greater Tampa Bay area. Disparities in use and satisfaction with health services are known. Guided by Andersen’s healthcare utilization model, a quantitative cross-sectional design employing multiple linear regression analyzed the relationships between self-reported income, education, years since immigration, and health-seeking behaviors (IVs) and satisfaction with care, measured by the PSQ-18 (DV). This study involved 92 English-speaking Afro-Caribbean migrant families with minors residing in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties. The IVs did not emerge as significant variables in the model output F(14, 68) = …

Skill Development Approach For Poverty Alleviation In India, Sameer Chandra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

India’s Poverty Profile revealed that over 65% of the poor reside in rural areas. This study examined the effectiveness of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) skill development program in alleviating poverty in Uttar Pradesh, India. Guided by Sen’s capability approach, a quantitative cross-sectional design employing logistic regression analyzed the relationships of candidate qualifications and trade categories, predicting the likelihood of successful job placement. The study analyzed 4,789 randomly selected cases from 14 high-poverty districts in DDU-GKY’s database. The job placement rate within cases was 28.2%, with 71.8% not placed. Candidate qualification significantly predicted the likelihood of job …

Public Policy And Trust In Artificial Intelligence Decision Making, Avril A. Bunbury-Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology is largely unregulated at present, which raises a safety issue for the automated decision-making process of multiagent systems (MAS) using AI applications. This study was conducted to explore whether a policy-making rule for decisions can protect the public from the social implications of biases, challenges, risks, and uncertainty while exposing a trust gap. Computers can dominate life, and this research was conducted to explore how to trust the decision-making process of MAS, mainly when there are no guardrails or regulations to manage the system. As a result, the generic qualitative inquiry was used to explore how concerned computer users …

Restoring School Librarians: Challenges And Strategies, Debrah E. Kachel

Learning Hub

The article examines efforts to restore school librarian positions across eleven urban U.S. school districts, despite significant financial and administrative obstacles. It documents strategies used by district library leaders to advocate for staffing, funding, and policy changes, emphasizing equity in access to certified school librarians. Through structured interviews and analysis, the report highlights key barriers, advocacy methods, and funding mechanisms that have influenced school library staffing. The study's findings contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational equity and policy reform in K-12 library services.

Barriers And Success Factors Of Reentry Programs For Women After Incarceration, Jenice Kaye Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore the experiences of women ex-offenders participating in reentry programs that led to successful transitioning into society. The overall research problem being addressed are the barriers and success factors in identifying mental health care, housing, parental concerns, and any other stress-related factors associated with the reentry process for women during this exploration. The theoretical framework of labeling was interwoven throughout this study, highlighting its importance in understanding the barriers and successes women encounter. Previous research mainly focused on exploring barriers and successes for men. There is limited research regarding formerly incarcerated …

Amidst The Frenzy Over Deepseek Ai, Us Federal Science And Tech Policy Is A Mess Of Internal Contradictions, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

The release of the R1 model by the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company, DeepSeek, shocked the US tech industry. Yujia He writes that while DeepSeek’s model may not be quite as superior compared to its competitors as originally thought, the Trump administration has responded to its innovations by further pushing for US leadership in AI. Taking a close look at US research and development policy under the second Trump administration, however, shows the significant disconnect between rhetoric and policy. Federal funding freezes and reduced funding for the National Science Foundation could have dire long-term consequences for research and international cooperation …