Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons^™

Are Santa Clara County Cities Prepared For A Zero-Emission Light Duty Vehicle Future? A Program Evaluation, Benjamin Edelberg

Master's Projects

This research built on the work of Chi-Pei Fang who explored this issue in “Ability of the Bay Area Cities to Accommodate Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Process Evaluation” (Fang, 2021). Fang recommended that follow-on projects focus on an individual city. This paper moved in that direction, but instead of focusing on a specific city in the California Bay Area, it focused on Santa Clara County (SCC) and the cities within. Additionally, this paper broadened the focus to include all zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), a category which not only includes electric vehicles (EVs) but also hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

An Evaluation Of The County Of Santa Clara’S Reentry Alcohol And Drug Studies Peer Mentor Program, Sarah Oliveira

Master's Projects

In the United States, incarceration rates have increased dramatically over the last three decades, soaring above any other country. Significant factors contributing to the increase include changes in sentencing laws and policies that target drug-related offenders and prioritize punishment over rehabilitation. Strict sentencing laws have led to mass incarceration, which has caused severe prison overcrowding and led to the infringement of fundamental human rights in prisons (Gottesdiener, 2011).

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 600,000 individuals are released from federal and state prisons each year (Carson, 2018). In California, an estimated one in three adults has an arrest …

Task Force Rattlesnake: A Cost Analysis Of Fire Crew Base Pay In California, Galen R. Yusufzai-Boggs

Master's Projects

Wildfire management in California is an expensive program totaling over $3 billion in 2020, where the state provides two-thirds of the budget from the general fund (Peters et al., 2020). California has consistently used the state military to assist in wildland fire mitigation efforts; however, for the first time it has created a year-round team to reduce fuels to clean up the state’s forests. Further analysis would determine if Task Force Rattlesnake is an effective use of the state’s budget for wildfire mitigation.

Covid-19 In The Bay Area: The Impact Of A Pandemic On Different Demographics In Selected Counties From 2020 - 2021, Maria Del Rosario Rodriguez Lomeli

Master's Projects

The world experienced a novel coronavirus disease outbreak in Wuhan, China in December of 2019 (Dhillon et al., 2020). Within months it spread worldwide, becoming a pandemic known as the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 or COVID-19 (Hunter, 2020). COVID- 19 continued to spread, with public health officials worldwide urging countries to enact stay-at-home orders that could decrease the fast spread of the virus. The Chinese government's official report states that the virus originated in the Huanan Seafood Market located in Wuhan in October of 2019 (Dhillon et al., 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted of the virus within a …

Housing Choice Vouchers: Moving To Work Program In California, Benjamin Tran

Master's Projects

This research project examined whether the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Moving To Work (MTW) program enabled California’s public housing authorities to provide more efficient service, while meeting MTW program goals, from 2015 to 2020.

Evaluating The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem In Stockton, California, Angelina Abella

Master's Projects

In any community, entrepreneurs and small business owners play an important role in the fabric of the community. The concept of “community wealth-building” is the idea that cooperatives, Community Development Financial Institutes (CDFIs), impact investors, and local governments, can “...strengthen locally-rooted and locally-held businesses and investing vehicles…” (Field, 2015, n.p.). It is believed that keeping businesses local results in “...more local tax revenue, more local business activity and more local employment” (Field, 2015, n.p.).

Therefore, supporting an entrepreneur may contribute to the overall quality of life of the community by supporting them, their families, and their employees. This can be …

City Of Milpitas Trash Capture Device Program: An Evaluation Of System Performance And Compliance With The Municipal Regional Permit, Joseph Aguilera

Master's Projects

Water pollution negatively impacts the environment and human population. The problem persists despite various mitigation efforts, strategies, and the implementation of regulatory requirements. It is estimated that Californians dispose of approximately 40 million tons of consumer items and waste materials annually (California Department of Resource Recycling and Recovery, 2019). As the population increases, it is expected that negative impacts of trash on the environment will be exacerbated. To address this, municipalities in California apply various methods to reduce trash before it enters ocean waters.

The primary vehicle for urban trash pollutants to reach ocean waters is through storm water conveyance …

A Comparative Study Of Immigration Integration Programs For Selected City Governments In California, Oregon, Washington, And Texas, Christelle Lorenzana

Master's Projects

Over the last eight decades, immigration into the United States has increased and has become a prominent political issue in the United States (Pew Research Center, 2015). Although the federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration laws, municipalities work with immigrants directly in a more supportive role. Currently, no national policy focuses on integration or welcoming immigrants to the urban community. In recent decades, the federal government has focused on immigration enforcement, border control, and what to do about the influx of undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. However, cities are working to develop their own programs, tools, and policies to …

Monitoring And Evaluation Of The Egyptian National Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation Efforts/ رصد وتقييم الجهود الوطنية للتخفيف والتكيف مع آثار تغير المناخ في مصر, Amira Mousa, Amira Mostafa Ahmed, Nada Elbakri, Sohaila Essam Gaheen

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Egypt has a medium overall score in climate mitigation efforts according to the Climate Change Performance Index (Germanwatch, 2021) and a relatively low performance in the adaptation measures when compared with other African countries such as Kenya (Pörtner et al., 2022). This policy paper aims to examine the current efforts by Egypt to monitor and evaluate its mitigation and adaptation efforts and review what similar countries have done in this regard. Hence, the paper will then provide policy alternatives to ensure a workable Monitoring and Evaluation Framework that considers the Egyptian context and the current policy environment. The Monitoring and …

Improving Egypt’S Access To Vaccines And Medicines: Communication During Covid-19 / تحسين إتاحة الوصول إلى اللقاحات والأدوية في مصر: سياسة توعية الجمهور خلال أزمة فيروس كورونا, Alaa Abdel-Rahman, Sarah Attef, Helen Gabrah, Reem El-Sayed, Sarah El-Lithy

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian government has been following protocol as best as possible when it comes to responding to the needs of the health and economic sectors amid difficult times. From lockdown measures to the WHO’s recommended practices in terms of isolation of cases and treatments, Egypt has been lauded as one of the fastest and most effective countries in terms of COVID-19 emergency response. Authorities have implemented several awareness campaigns directed at citizens to inform them about the pandemic, how to prevent infection, what to do if infected and how to act accordingly. Authorities …

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …

Toward Socially Equitable Conditions: Change In Complex Regulatory Systems, Katherine A. Hoffman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this qualitative participatory action research was to explore how complexity is engaged and experienced in complex regulatory systems, and to understand how cannabis might be regulated in ways that lead to socially equitable conditions. This was accomplished by studying the lived experiences of governmental leaders charged with the responsibility of establishing regulatory frameworks for legalized cannabis where none previously existed. Using the learning history methodology, the study deeply explores the ways that complex systems coexist by capturing the lived experiences of research participants and enhance theoretical understanding of complex regulatory systems. Data collection occurred through reflective interviews, …

Can Californian Households Save Money On Transportation Costs By Living In Transit-Oriented Developments (Tods)?, Hongwei Dong

Mineta Transportation Institute

Many residents in large Californian metropolitan areas are heavily burdened by housing costs. Advocates, researchers, and elected officials in California are debating whether transit-oriented development (TOD) could be an effective tool to mitigate the housing affordability problem by increasing housing supply and reducing transportation costs in transit-rich neighborhoods. This study contributes to this debate by estimating how much Californian families can save on transportation costs by living in transit-oriented developments (TODs). By utilizing the confidential version of the 2010–2012 California Household Travel Survey, this study evaluates the impact of TOD on household transportation expenditures by comparing TOD households with two …

Lessons Learned: Richard “Jake” Siewert, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Siewert served as counselor to US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner from 2009 to 2011 during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). He had previously served in the Clinton administration, including as a special assistant to the president for economic affairs, at the National Economic Council, and as deputy White House press secretary. He also handled the press secretary duties from September 30, 2000, to January 20, 2001. This “Lessons Learned” is based on an interview with Mr. Siewert.

Lessons Learned: Lewis "Lee" Sachs, Yasemin Esmen

Journal of Financial Crises

Lewis “Lee” Sachs was counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and head of the Obama administration’s Financial Crisis Response Team in the US Department of the Treasury. Mr. Sachs led the development and coordination of the Obama administration’s Financial Stability Plan to stabilize the financial system during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). He was tasked with continued coordination with the outgoing Bush administration, as well as putting together a team to develop further restructuring plans and oversee their execution. This “Lessons Learned” is based on an interview with Mr. Sachs.

Lessons Learned: William Nelson, Sandra Ward

Journal of Financial Crises

William Nelson was deputy director, Division of Monetary Affairs, at the Federal Reserve Board during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). As the nation’s central bank, chief financial regulator, and lender of last resort, the Federal Reserve Board took the lead in setting monetary policy and stabilizing the financial system during the crisis.

Nelson’s responsibilities at the Fed during the crisis included analysis of monetary policy and discount window policy as well as financial institution supervision, and he regularly briefed the board and the Federal Open Market Committee. He developed special expertise in designing liquidity facilities and was a …

Lessons Learned: Timothy Massad, Yasemin Esmen

Journal of Financial Crises

Timothy Massad was assistant secretary for financial stability at the US Department of the Treasury between 2009 and 2014. He oversaw the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), which was passed by Congress in October 2008 to enable the Treasury to buy assets of and invest in banks and companies to stem the financial crisis. Massad was involved in the implementation of TARP as well as its winding down; it ultimately invested $439 billion. This “Lessons Learned” is based on a phone interview with Mr. Massad.

Lessons Learned: Jason Furman, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Jason Furman was a top economic adviser to the successful presidential campaign of Barack Obama in 2008. He played a key role in most of President Obama’s major economic policies during and in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09. Furman, who had served at both the Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council during the Clinton administration, served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from August 2013 to January 2017, acting as President Obama’s chief economist and a member of the cabinet. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at the …

The Effect Of A Financial Crisis On Household Finances: A Case Study Of Iceland’S Financial Crisis, Axel Hall, Andri S. Scheving, Gylfi Zoega

Journal of Financial Crises

Iceland experienced a financial crisis in 2008–2009 when its banking system collapsed, the currency lost half its value, most businesses became technically insolvent, house prices fell, and household debt increased due to indexation to foreign currencies or the price level. This paper tells the story of the crisis and maps the losses to households using a dataset from tax returns that includes all taxpayers in the country and contains the value of housing, mortgage debt, disposable income, and net worth. For relative losses in net worth, the results show that families with children, especially those with parents aged between 24 …

China's Food Pagodas: Looking Forward By Looking Back?, Yifei Li, Dale Jamieson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In this Article we provide a close analysis of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines – the Food Pagoda. Our focus on the dietary guidelines is motivated by two main considerations. First, the guidelines represent the most comprehensive, nationwide, state sponsored effort to educate the people of China about food. Like citizens in most countries, Chinese people are presented with numerous, often competing, messages from scientists, food gurus and online influencers. The dietary guidelines are different in that they are backed by an entire suite of governmental resources for nationwide dissemination through hospitals, schools, public billboards, TV and radio ads, among others. …