Public Administration Commons^™

Municipal E-News: Issue 13: April 2010, Mtas

Municipal E-News

The “Municipal E-News” was created by MTAS in 2009 as part of our continuing efforts to meet our mission of providing timely, valuable information and assistance to Tennessee cities.

Dawnbreaker Vol 57 No 3 (Spring 2010), Dawnbreaker Staff

Maine Women's Publications - All

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Intergovernmental Relations Of Two Federal Districts: The Case Of The U.S. District Of Columbia And Brasília, Brazil, Crystal E. Romeo

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

The intergovernmental relationship between the federal district and the national government has been given little significance in the subject of intergovernmental relations. This purpose of this paper is to compare the intergovernmental relationship between two federal districts in the United States and Brazil. The paper begins with a definition of federalism and its key characteristics along with an explanation of the fundamental changes in the system. This is followed by a discussion of the concepts of intergovernmental relations as defined by Deil S. Wright. The models of intergovernmental relations are used to explain the relationship between the federal districts and …

The Edge Connection, Favziya Nazarova

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

I believe that the roles played by civil society or nongovernmental organizations are key components of the positive transformations that my country, Tajikistan in particular, and our Central Asian neighbors as a whole, can and are in one degree to another experiencing. Therefore it was a great opportunity to learn how the nonprofit organizations function in the United States and how they handle the challenges of economic recession and maintain financial sustainability.

This report is based on my internship at The Edge Connection, a nonprofit organization that delivers best practices in microenterprise and business development in Metro Atlanta Area. During …

Anti-Video Girl: Empowering Parents And Adolescent Females To Defy The Misogynistic Images Of African American Women In Hip-Hop, Angelica Moss

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

Traditional media depictions of African American women have at times been demeaning and derogatory. Slavery produced many of the negative images that continue to influence the contemporary portrayals of African American women. Today, a new plethora of racial stereotypes about African American women are bombarding this generation with equally disastrous implications. The relatively recent emergence of rap music and rap videos into the popular culture has transcended racial, geographic, and cultural barriers. The pervasive accessibility of hip-hop music and videos has enabled its misogynistic lyrics and images to be broadcast throughout the world. This hip-hop culture is dominated by African …

Employment Of People With Disabilities In Georgia Local Governments: Identifying Barriers To Employment, Natasha Singh, Laura Creamer

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

One in five Americans lives with a disability, yet this group has one of the highest unemployment rates. Over the years, many surveys have been conducted to understand the reasons for the high unemployment rate facing this group. Nearly all these studies have concentrated on the private sector, indentifying various barriers to employment including: lack of knowledge and awareness among employers, legal and safety concerns, financial issues, lack of recruitment strategies, limited social relationships among people with disabilities, potential attendance problems, and conflicting government programs. Among the myriad of obstacles facing people with disabilities, these are just some of the …

Immediate Aftercare Program For Survivors And Families Of Homicide Victims: The Case Of Cobb County Government, Susan B. Stern

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

Cobb County, Georgia is a rapidly growing, upscale, suburban county in the metro-Atlanta region. However, the County lacks the ability to provide a comprehensive array of services to family members of homicide victims and other non-natural death cases. While various counseling and service programs exist in the area, there is no singular focus on the delivery of services to homicide survivors, families, and friends. Other than the general information provided to surviving family members by the Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of death, there is little to no emphasis currently placed on services to or the needs of those …

Alternative Funding Mechanisms For Public Recreation: An Analysis Of The Montana State Parks Opt-Out Fee, Caleb Judy

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

Financing remains one of the greatest challenges facing public parks and recreation managers in the United States. Managers are confronted with the challenge of providing more services for a growing population with dwindling public financial support (Fretwell and Frost, 2006). Adequate funding has been described as the most important factor in the delivery of recreation at the local level (Gladwell, Anderson, and Sellers, 2003). While public recreation funding originally came primarily from general tax revenues at the federal, state and local levels, shrinking appropriations over the last few decades have caused agency managers to experiment with alternative funding sources.

Much …

Public-Nonprofit Partnership: A Case Study Of Cobb County Government, Ellen G. Jones

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

Existing research explains reasons why nonprofit organizations and local governments collaborate in both formal and informal partnerships to increase the volume or speed of service delivery, reduce overhead costs, and maximize the efficient use of taxpayer dollars. In this focus, the author examines two methods utilized by Cobb County government to supply funding to local nonprofit organizations. Based on interviews with department and program directors of partnering agencies, the study found that Cobb County delivers between $15 and $17 million annually to nonprofit agencies via two unique partnerships. Through a partnership with a nonprofit known as the Cobb Community Collaborative, …

The Promises And Pitfalls Of The Competitive Bidding Process, Jason Carruthers

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

The specter of increased taxes casts a dark shadow upon the American landscape. At the same time public satisfaction with schools, public housing, crime, and infrastructure is on the down turn. The negative perception of public agencies as bureaucratic, inefficient, and wasteful is all the more pronounced when compared to the popular refrain lauding the virtues of the private sector. To stem the mounting inequities of public agencies law makers, think tanks, and members from every facet of society have suggested the expansion of private sector contracting into schools, public agency management, health and human services, police and fire, and …

Editors' Introduction - Public Service: Law Enforcement, Environmentalism And Health, Andrew I.E. Ewoh, Tony Carrizales

Faculty and Research Publications

The Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, beginning its sixteenth volume, aims to continue bringing together a collection of articles and research that review polices and cases underscoring the area of social policy and management throughout the United States and around the world. The issue’s contributors provide contemporary analyses of public management and social policies in areas ranging from perceptions of diversity and law enforcement to health care policy and issues. The issue brings together four general articles, and a book review to begin the first issue in this sixteenth volume of JPMSP.

Federal Pay-For-Performance Reform And Organizational Discrimination. Paper/Presentation, Andrew Ewoh, Stephen Goddard

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

No abstract provided.

Senior Center Network Redesign Under Demand Uncertainty, Osman Ozaltin, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Andrew Schaefer

Michael P. Johnson

Senior centers off#11;er a variety of services to facilitate independent living of older adults. In the U.S., increasing suburbanization and aging of suburban residents necessitate reconfiguring senior services. We propose a two-echelon network of senior centers across large study areas and formulate a stochastic facility location/allocation model with mixed-integer recourse. We apply our model to Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which has one of the oldest population in the U.S. Our model shows that a two-echelon network design is appropriate for increasing the occupancy of senior centers as community focal points while maintaining customized and accessible programming in small neighborhood areas.

Hot Topic: Stimulus Law Affecting Cobra Extended Until February 28, 2010, Bonnie Jones

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

Workers who were involuntarily terminated between September 2008 and February 28, 2010 are eligible for up to 15 months of COBRA premium assistance.

Technical Bulletins: President Signs Law Amending The Family And Medical Leave Act (2010), Bonnie Jones

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

The expansion of FMLA as provided by the NDAA more than doubles the amount of protected leave some veteran families are entitled to under the act.

Municipal E-News: Issue 12: March 2010, Mtas

Municipal E-News

The “Municipal E-News” was created by MTAS in 2009 as part of our continuing efforts to meet our mission of providing timely, valuable information and assistance to Tennessee cities.

Tangible Capital Assets Accounting Policy Implementation In Middlesex County, Glenda Ogilvie

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the implementation aspects of the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) standard for tangible capital assets (TCA) accounting in Middlesex County. A series of interviews with treasurers who work for municipalities in the region were conducted to evaluate the success of the new policy. The findings reveal that in order for local governments to effectively implement the new accounting procedure, having the necessary resources, especially in terms of money and people, is absolutely critical.

Northern Great Plains Network Vital Signs Monitoring Plan, Robert A. Gitzen, Marcia Wilson, United States National Park Service, Northern Great Plains Inventory And Monitoring Network, Mike Bynum, John Wrede, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Kara J. Paintner

U.S. National Park Service Publications and Papers

Executive Summary

The condition of natural resources in parks and other units of the National Park Service (NPS) is fundamental to this agency’s mission to manage park resources “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Park managers are increasingly confronted with complex and challenging resource management issues and need a broad-based understanding of the status and trends of park resources for the long-term protection of park ecosystems. The National Park Service has initiated a long-term ecological “Vital Signs” monitoring program to provide the minimum infrastructure needed to track the overall condition of natural resources in parks and to provide early …

The Changing Nature Of Accountability In Administrative Practice, Lawrence L. Martin, Kathryn Frahm

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article looks at the subject of accountability in the administration of the human services. The history of accountability over the last four decades is chronicled and discussed. The point is made that during this period, funders have largely determined the nature of accountability. Because funders have been primarily concerned with funding, accountability has tended to be financial in nature. The authors argue that the focus on financial accountability had two major detrimental effects. First, programmatic accountability was reduced to secondary importance. Second, a wedge was driven between macro administrative practice and micro direct practice as social work managers and …

The Evolution Of The Theoretical Foundations Of Punctuated Equilibrium Theory In Public Policy, Michael S. Givel

Michael S. Givel

Punctuated equilibrium theory in public policy replicated from biological punctuated equilibrium theory has concluded that public policies alternate between stasis and punctuation. However, recent research on Pacific Northwest forest policy, U.S. state tobacco policy, and U.S federal auto efficiency policy have found no punctuations despite an attempt to do so. What is the efficacy of using biological punctuated equilibrium theory to also explain punctuated equilibrium in public policy? Significant differences exist between biological and public policy punctuated equilibrium theory including time frames for change, what constitutes outside disturbances of equilibrium, venues of punctuated equilibrium, levels of analysis for change, and …