Public Administration Commons^™

Exploring Tribal, County, And Municipal Cooperation In Minnesota, Mitchell Berg

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

The need for tribal, county, and municipal cooperation is ever more important now as political dysfunctionality, partisan gridlock, and federal and state devolution are pushing complex societal problems to be resolved at the local level. However, the desire for tribes and non-tribal local governments to cooperate can be limiting given the past historic indifferences and barriers to cooperation. This need to help tribes and municipalities form better relationships is what prompted Dr. James C. Collard (2006) to create a model for tribal and municipal cooperation. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine Dr. Collard’s model, along with the …

Pedestrian-Oriented Street Design: Measuring Whether It Affects Downtown Employment And Housing Growth, Jennifer Jordan

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Urban design is hard to measure. Unlike the bottom line in a financial pro forma, the quality of urban design cannot yet be calculated in a simple manner. The urban design quality of a development project, a public space, and a place contains multiple combinations of dozens of inter-connected design attributes. Furthermore, each unique geographic place and their specific characteristics add another layer of complexity to quantitative measurement. However, planning and economic development researchers continue to chip away at developing metrics of a place’s urban design environment because it is an important component in a project, a public space or …

Exploring Tribal, County, And Municipal Cooperation In Minnesota, Mitchell Berg

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The need for tribal, county, and municipal cooperation is ever more important now as political dysfunctionality, partisan gridlock, and federal and state devolution are pushing complex societal problems to be resolved at the local level. However, the desire for tribes and non-tribal local governments to cooperate can be limiting given the past historic indifferences and barriers to cooperation. This need to help tribes and municipalities form better relationships is what prompted Dr. James C. Collard (2006) to create a model for tribal and municipal cooperation. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine Dr. Collard’s model, along with …

Experiences Of Parents With Chronically Ill Children Regarding The Affordable Care Act, Kimberly Vaunterice Bracey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ways in which the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) affect parents with chronically ill children are not well understood. The purpose of this phenomenographic study was to gain greater insight into the perceived experiences of parents of chronically ill children regarding implementation of the ACA in a southern state. Argyris's intervention theory provided the framework for the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 12 female parents who are caregivers of chronically ill children. Data were analyzed and coded to identify categories and themes. Findings indicated that parents view physicians and policymakers …

Policy Implications Of Intentional Contamination Of The Retail Food Chain, James C. Mack

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retail food safety chain is vulnerable to deliberate contamination, yet food safety professionals and emergency managers typically respond to intentional contamination in different ways. Little is known about the practices of environmental health food safety professionals (EHFSP) as compared to emergency managers and whether those approaches can be combined to more successfully impede intentional food contamination. The purpose of this narrative policy analysis was to use routine activity theory to compare the narratives of EHFSPs and emergency managers to determine whether there are opportunities to better understand the relationship between vulnerability and resiliency of the retail food safety chain. …

Right Size Me : Policy Responses To The Obesity Eidemic And Behavioral Change, Wenhui Feng

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Obesity is a critical health and social concern. Almost 40% of American adults are obese, creating more than $300 billion dollars in annual medical costs. While obesity is a public concern that has been on the policy agenda for some time, obesity policies have proven difficult to formulate, adopt and implement in practice. In this dissertation, I explore three obesity-related policies – adoption of obesity prevention policies by local health department, calorie labeling on restaurant menus and food assistance benefits – and find the importance of ideological and political considerations for obesity policies at different stages in the policy process …

Endogenous Policy Design In Healthcare : A Case Study Of Emergency Department Crowding, Katrina Alexandra Hull

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The United States’ health care system has faced growing per capita use, and subsequent crowding, of the emergency department since the 1990’s, evidenced by longer wait times and the institution of ambulance diversions. Emergency departments are but one element of a complex system, with difficulties which persist despite policy efforts.

Transgender An At-Risk Population During And Following Emergencies And Disasters, Joshua Aaron Fontanez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The experiences and needs of transgendered individuals immediately following a natural or human-caused disaster are largely ignored in practice and absent from previous academic literature. Using Schneider and Ingram's conceptualization of the social construction of target populations as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and perspectives of transgendered people who sought shelter in the aftermath of a natural disaster in 2018. Data were collected through interviews with 12 displaced, transgendered individuals to explore their experiences while staying at shelters in 2018. Interview data were transcribed, inductively coded, and then a thematic analysis procedure …

A Systematic Public Capital Management And Budgeting Process, Arwiphawee Srithongrung, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Kenneth A. Kritz

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This chapter introduces the readers to a public capital management and budgeting process and its role in generating public infrastructure networks. The main purpose of the chapter is to describe the normative public capital management and budgeting practices that are recommended by the public finance literature. These normative practices are segregated into four main components: (1) long-term capital planning, (2) capital budgeting and financial management, (3) capital project execution and project management, and (4) infrastructure maintenance. Given that the literature recommends specific practices to maximize efficiency in public capital spending, the four main components, combined, are referred to as the …

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 …

Jail Administrators' Compliance With The Prison Rape Elimination Act, Leone M. Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Correctional institutions across the United States continue to experience prisoner sexual assault despite the enactment of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the association between jail administrators' difficulty complying with the PREA and their transformational leadership styles. The theories of punctuated equilibrium theory and general strain theory formed the theoretical framework of the study. The data were collected through an Internet-based survey from 22 local and regional jail administrators from the East Coast. Data analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient was performed on leadership scores to test the hypotheses. There …

Internet And Telecommunications Companies' Provision Of Customer Information To The Government, Gbenga Ayodeji Osinowo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The strategy of the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program is to incorporate the private sector into the bulk data collection of customers information, yet there is little legislative and judicial oversight. As a result, internet and telecommunications companies participated, placing at risk protected privacy interests of their customers. Using policy feedback theory and narrative policy framework as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this qualitative, case study was to explore how the federal government gains compliance of the internet and telecommunications industry to engage in information sharing with NSA during post 9/11, 2001 terrorists' attack. Secondary data were collected …

Institutional Isomorphism And Human Trafficking Investigations, Regina Warren

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking exists domestically and internationally, and each year thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked into lives of involuntary servitude. Law enforcement efforts to investigate human trafficking across the United States are similar in nature; yet, prior research had not investigated the possible causes of these similarities. Utilizing institutional theory, this research investigated whether institutional isomorphic pressures have any impact on the formalization of human trafficking investigations. Data were collected from 26 municipal police organizations in a mid-Atlantic state on departmental human trafficking policies and practices via Farrell's understanding law enforcement responses to human trafficking survey instrument. Logistic …

Collaborative Partnerships To Assist In Managing Adult-Onset Diabetes In Cameroon, Jingwa Christopher Forju

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasing rates of adult-onset diabetes in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) present a growing healthcare concern that requires a regulatory approach and local community engagement. Cross-sector collaboration (CSC) is an effective strategy for improving community health. CSC is not effectively used to manage adult-onset diabetes in LMICs, nor is there public policy advocating CSC in the management of diabetes. This qualitative exploratory case study explored how leadership and resources affect the use of CSC to assist in managing the adult-onset of diabetes in a CSC in Cameroon. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to identify participants for semistructured interviews of …

The Impact Of Felony Criminal History On The Perceptions Of Hiring Managers, Larrica Mosley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals with a criminal background face several barriers to securing employment, one of which is the reluctance of hiring managers to extend employment offers to them. African American ex-offenders are disproportionately affected by these barriers. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of hiring managers in a metropolitan area in the Southern United States and to identify the factors that influence the hiring decisions of ex-offenders. A descriptive study design was used to explore whether type of criminal offense, length of crime, or race of offender affect a hiring manager'€™s decision to hire an ex-felon. The disparate …

Teachers' And Principals' Perceptions Of Antibullying Programs In A U.S. Middle School, Nneka Uzoma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School bullying has become a serious issue in U.S. schools, with children being harassed, hurt, and even killed or driven to suicide or homicide as a result of being bullied. Bullying in schools has persisted despite the various intervention measures taken to curtail the phenomenon. The purpose of this phenomenological exploration was to explore how teachers and principals at a U.S. middle school perceive the school's existing bullying programs and elicit recommendations about how to improve the programs. The theoretical basis of this investigation was Bandura's social learning theory. Data were collected through interviews with 4 principles and 6 teachers. …

Summary, Initial Observations, And Getting To A Tentative Theory Of Public Investment Behavior, Arwiphawee Srithongrung, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This chapter evaluates the 12 countries' capital management practices according to the systematic public capital management and budgeting process described in Chapter 1. The chapter characterizes and classifies the management practices of the twelve countries based on the authors' evaluation using the case study descriptions. The authors offer some initial observations based on comparisons across the case study countries and analysis of relationships between capital management and budgeting practices and political, economic, and public sector variables. The chapter proposes a tentative theory of public investment behavior and offers five propositions regarding the factors driving different practices across the case study …

The Arlington Way: Public Engagement As A Community Expectation, Ron Carlee

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

(First Paragraph) Civic engagement had long been deeply embedded in the DNA of Arlington County, Virginia, by the time I began working there in 1980. This commitment to engagement came to be known as the “Arlington Way.”

Admission Members' Perceptions Of Predictive Validity Of The Graduate Record Examinations, Janet Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disparate student academic outcomes and program access is a problem at Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs in the Northeast United States The current admission committee members at the case university did not know institution leaders' rationale for eliminating the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) criterion. The decision to exclude the GRE as an MPA admission requirement was enacted prior to their respective tenures. The program leadership expressed interest in exploring research-based admission criteria to enhance student access and predictive outcomes. Supported by critical pedagogy and humanist theories, the purpose of this case study was to investigate admission committee members' viewpoints …

Survey Of U.S. Undergraduate Self-Reported Opioid Diversion And Heroin Use, Motives, Sources, And Collective Efficacy As Mediating Factors, Mark Francis Plaushin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Epic morbidity and mortality, and intractability make prescription opioid diversion a wicked problem. Meanwhile, college undergraduates are vulnerable to opioid misuse and its consequences. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess U.S. undergraduate students' opioid misuse and the relationship between mediating factors. The study's theoretical framework rested on Wakeland's et al. opioid system model and Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory. This study bridged the gap, measuring collective efficacy and testing its relationship to undergraduate decisions to regulate misuse. Thus, research questions focused on gauging the problem's scope and assessing relationships between factors that drive or potentially regulate …