Public Administration Commons^™

Pupil Transportation Alternatives: An Analysis Of Alternative Pupil Transportation Models, Jarrett Garife

Master's Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine whether alternative pupil-transportation models are more cost efficient and safer for students than traditional school bus transportation in California. The study also focused on the fiscal and safety challenges that school districts face when transporting students. For the purpose of this analysis, “safer” will be defined in relation to the estimated injury or fatality costs resulting from a vehicle/school bus accident during pupil transportation.

The study analyzed the transportation departments of five California school districts (San Francisco Unified School District, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, Salinas City Elementary School District, Chualar Union …

Weaponizing The Epa: Presidential Control And Wicked Problems, Craig A. Jones

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In its broadest sense, presidential control encompasses all the actions, in both word and deed, whereby presidents “go it alone” to adopt policies in the absence of congressional will to do so, and sometimes directly contrary to it. This dissertation studies how President Obama used rhetorical and administrative tools of presidential control to address the “wicked problem” of climate change. The “administrative presidency” and the “rhetorical presidency” are familiar political science terms, but in the case of climate change policy, they appear to be moving policymaking in a new and perhaps profound direction, which this study refers to as “post-deliberative …

Building A Collaborative Governance Framework: A Five Step Process, Jim Johnson, Wendy Willis, Cat Mcginnis

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

As collaborative governance groups form and evolve, they increasingly need a clearly articulated organizational structure to advance their strategy and achieve their goals. This guide provides groups with a process for developing a collaborative governance framework.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Revolution: A Case Study Of Public Policy In The Nevada Legislature, Caitlin J. Saladino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explain the dynamics of metropolitan policymaking in Las Vegas, Nevada. This study utilizes advocacy coalition framework to show how underlying beliefs among policy actors, and within the coalitions they form, impact decisions made at the level of the Nevada Legislature. As the newest metropolitan region to emerge among the top 30 metros in the United States, a case study exploring Las Vegas offers a unique contribution to existing literature in public policy and urban affairs. In the wake of economic downturn in the Great Recession and the adoption of a new …

Cost Effectiveness And Hospitalization Rates Of Those With Mental Health Issues Using On-Site Versus Off-Site Job Coaching, Jerry Dattilo

Master's Projects

The State of California’s Department of Rehabilitation has established a goal of reducing the rate of unemployment for people suffering from mental illness (Department of Rehabilitation, 2020). Sheltered workshops and short duration employment efforts have proven to be less effective than the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) or other supported employment models. Provided that they have the right support and strategies, those suffering from mental illness can maintain competitive employment and reduce their incidences of hospitalization, dependency, boredom, and lack of fulfillment. The alienation one suffers from lack of social connection and employment cannot be understated. Participants in supported employment …

California’S Proposition 47: The Safe Neighborhoods And Schools Act, Edith Garcia Fong

Master's Projects

Proposition 47 made drastic changes to California’s criminal justice system. Critics and proponents of the measure have made sweeping claims about its impact on crime trends and the criminal justice system, in general. However, many of these claims are based on assumptions and are not based on actual data and research. Given the fact that California’s prison population is still subject to court oversight, it is essential that the effectiveness of Proposition 47 as a solution to this issue be evaluated. If the state hopes to maintain compliance with the court-mandated prison population caps, it must ensure to exhaust all …

Purchasing For A Better Future: Sustainable Procurement In The County Of Santa Clara, Mariah Teal Lindberg

Master's Projects

In brief, this study aims to address sustainable procurement in SCC and its Procurement Department (PRC). A multi-varied analysis and discussion of market industries and the vendor community, present SCC policies and programs, and the overarching feasibility and environmental impact of sustainable procurement is provided to assist SCC in meeting its vision of sustainability. Procurement is a dynamic process, and for that reason, requires transformation and "strategic decision-making about how to best pursue and achieve long-term sustainability aims and goals" through SCC's purchasing vehicles (SCC OOS, 2018c, para. 4). Today, SCC, like many other governments, is grappling with the problems …

Writing As A Nonprofit Leadership Tool, Samantha Weinberg

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

When writers use their skills towards a nonprofit’s mission, they can help enhance communities and change lives. There are roles in the nonprofit sector that are very writing centric, such as grant writers and communication specialists, that writers commonly hold. However, writing is also a necessary skill for those in management or leadership positions in nonprofit organizations. This capstone project explores the kinds of writing skills and deliverables that are critical to the responsibilities of nonprofit managers and how writing impacts the effectiveness of nonprofit managers and organizations.

And Lettuce Is Nonanimal: Toward A Positive Theory Of Voluntary Action, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Much recent conceptual and theoretical effort to identify and define the kinds of voluntary action that take place outside households, economic markets and governments has a consistent emphasis on negation: It seems to define these matters by what they are not: not for profit, or nonprofit, nongovernmental, unproductive, inefficient, examples of contract failure, market failure, government failure and more. This paper is a beginning effort to shift the emphasis to the positive and the describe and explain what voluntary action is and what it consists of. It proposes the beginnings of an economics of common goods production, and differentiates such …

What’S Shaking In Timpson: Why All The Earthquakes?, Leslie Leathers

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that is especially true of the vast oil fields located throughout the state. Today, Texas is the #1 oil producer in the U.S., producing more than a million barrels per day. Since the start of the most recent oil boom, the Lone Star State has seen a huge increase in seismic activity. Although earthquakes have been happening for years, scientific data has proven the recent events in the small town of Timpson can be attributed to oil field practices. However, state regulators and politicians still say this science is far from …

East Texas Council Of Governments: Gobus Fare Collection, Melissa Cure

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

The purpose of this research paper is to provide the decision makers at the East Texas Council of Governments GoBus rural transit system with information as a basis for the future of how fares are collected, and to look for ways to resolve problems in our current fare collection method. The main issue involves accepting cash and checks because of the large service region GoBus Transit covers. GoBus depends on the bus operators to collect fares and make deposits, which becomes a major problem with accounting. As listed on the official website of SWARCO, an Austrian technology company, an “Automated …

How Has The Implementation Of Body Worn Cameras Affected Law Enforcement In Texas?, John Brown

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Since 2011, when the first body worn camera program for police officers in the United States was introduced in Rialto, California, researchers have been interested in how such programs might influence U.S. law enforcement. Studies in the past several years have examined various aspects of the effects of body worn cameras, including their impact on public relations, police morale, and law enforcement budgets. Also of note is the importance of police compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the unique challenges presented by body worn camera records with regard to FOIA. This article seeks to determine the effect …

Closing The 911 Funding Gap: Increasing Revenues For 911 Emergency Dispatch Centers, Randy Ross

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Since their introduction, 911 services have grown both in geographic scope and in the level of service provided. The revenue used to fund 911 services consists almost entirely of fees and surcharges on wireline, wireless, and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol telephone lines. These fees and surcharges generate billions of dollars each year, but 911 service revenues still fall short of estimated annual costs. Expenditures for personnel and for technology maintenance and upgrades have also increased over time. American consumers’ use of telephone lines has shifted from primarily wireline telephone lines to primarily wireless and Internet-based telephone lines with smaller fees and surcharges, contributing …

Public Improvement Districts: A Worthwhile Investment?, John Whitsell

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Public Improvement Districts (PIDs) are a financing mechanism used to fund new developments and infrastructure improvements. PIDs are relatively easy to create and can be done by the local municipality. A majority of property owners within the district may petition a local government to create the district. Bonds can then be issued to fund a development or infrastructure improvements. Through an industry analysis and view of the current political environment, PIDs are certainly a beneficial mechanism to fund projects otherwise not feasible due to constraints on city budgets. Local elected officials will want PIDs monitored and only used in proper …

Nevada’S Secret Killer: Opioid Deaths, Vanessa Marie Booth

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Emerging Scholars Winner

Presented in this study is an analysis of the Nevada opioid crisis and how a viable solution can impact its severity. It does so in a public policy environment while synthesizing outside sources to support the presented claims. The scope of this study is to present a problem, cause, solution scenario on how to solve this policy problem. This study also takes into consideration Nevada’s current economic state amid the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, this analysis also addresses the history behind the opioid epidemic across the United States and how it is impacting Nevada in present times. …

Lindblom County: Philanthropic Insufficiency, Amateurism And Paternalism, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In this fictionalized case study, a group of friends from graduate school compose a community elite with responsibility for human services decision-making in rural Lindblom County. They must deal with issues of insufficient resources, amateurism among other community officials, and challenges posed by opposing and emergent groups of aspiring community leaders. Discussion questions and questions of strategy and calculation are posed for further examination of the issues raised.

Lessons Learned: Tony Fratto, Mercedes Cardona, Rosalind Z. Wiggins

Journal of Financial Crises

Fratto, who was Deputy Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary to the President during the financial crisis of 2007-2009, gives us his take on the government’s communications efforts and how best to prepare for future crises

Lessons Learned: Jack Gutt, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Gutt, who joined the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2009 as Vice President, Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs, shares with us his reflections on that period.

Restructuring And Forgiveness In Financial Crises A: The Mexican Peso Crisis Of 1994-95, Christian M. Mcnamara, June Rhee, Andrew Metrick

Journal of Financial Crises

Following a year in which repeated political turmoil sapped investor confidence in Mexico, putting pressure on the peso and draining the country’s foreign exchange reserves, on December 22, 1994, the Mexican government sparked a financial crisis by unexpectedly abandoning its policy of anchoring the peso to the US dollar and instead allowing it to float freely. The resulting collapse of the peso left Mexico with $40 billion to $50 billion in external debt (much of it dollar-indexed) coming due in the near term and almost no foreign exchange reserves. Faced with the prospect that Mexico would either default on its …

Propuesta De Indicadores Para Medir Y Evaluar La Gobernanza, Jorge Francisco Aguirre-Sala

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

El objetivo de este artículo es proponer indicadores y un índice para medir y evaluar la calidad de la gobernanza. Para ello responde a las preguntas de investigación: ¿qué es la gobernanza?, ¿en qué se distingue de la gobernabilidad y del gobierno abierto?, ¿qué debe medirse de la gobernanza y cómo ha de medirse? El diseño de la investigación plantea una revisión de la literatura para distinguir entre gobernabilidad, gobierno abierto y gobernanza y establecer qué y cómo se mide la gobernanza. La metodología establece las condiciones de los indicadores (declaraciones de su propósito, descripción, relevancia, fórmula(s), unidad de medida, …