Public Affairs Commons^™

The Factors That Influence The Development Of Performance Measures In Texas Counties, Julius Awuor Owino

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Over the past few decades, governments have developed performance measurement systems with the objective of improving the quality and effectiveness of services delivered to the public. However, there is scant information about the factors that influence the development of performance measures in county governments because few studies have been carried out to determine the significance of the participation of stakeholders, the strategic planning, the use of incentives, and the availability of resources on the development of performance measures. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the development of performance measures in Texas counties by addressing …

Good Publicity: The Legitimacy Of Public Communication Of Deliberation, Chad Raphael, Christopher F. Karpowitz

Communication

Although deliberative democratic theory values the principle of publicity, few empirical studies systematically assess the public communication of civic groups that deliberate over policy. The proliferation of such groups in contemporary politics, and of uncertainty about their legitimacy, suggests the need for such study. Drawing on contemporary deliberative theory, we derive a set of legitimate publicity indicators for assessing how well groups report their deliberative processes and policy conclusions. We demonstrate the reliability and utility of these measures in a comparative content analysis of the final reports of three common kinds of deliberative bodies: a governmentstakeholder task force, an activist …

Fertility Rate For All Races By State: 2007 Final Versus 2013 Final, National Center For Health Statistics (Nchs)

Past Publications

Sources: Table 11, Births: Final Data for 2007 released 8-9-2010; Table 12, Births: Final Data for 2013 released 1-15-2015, NCHS @ CDC

For The People: Popular Financial Reporting Practices Of Local Governments, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Meagan M. Jordan, Katharine A. Neill, Merl Hackbart

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Popular financial reports are reports distributed to citizens and other interested parties who lack a background in formal government financial reporting but who desire an overview of the government’s financial status and activities. This paper examines the current state of local government popular financial reporting in the U.S. The results of a survey of large cities and counties indicate that 75 percent of these local governments have issued popular financial reports and that the types of reports and methods of distribution vary. Many of the reasons for providing popular reports relate to providing information and improving transparency and accountability by …

A Mixed-Methods Approach To Examining The Memphis Crisis Intervention Team (Cit) Model: An Exploratory Study Of Program Effectiveness And Institutionalization Processes, Megan Magers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study utilized a mixed-methods strategy to examine the effectiveness, diffusion, and institutionalization of the Memphis Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model. To evaluate the effectiveness of the training component of the CIT model, a panel research design was employed in which a sample of 179 law enforcement officers and 100 correctional officers in nine Florida counties were surveyed on the first day of training (pretest), the last day of training (posttest), and one month following their completion of CIT training (follow-up). These surveys measured the extent to which CIT training achieved several officer-level objectives, including increased knowledge of mental …

Legislature’S Planning Committee 2013 Report, John Harms, Tanya Cook, Greg Adams, John Wightman, Heath Mello, Mike Gloor, Kathy Campbell, Paul Schumacher, Kate Sullivan

Past Publications

The Legislature’s Planning Committee was created in 2009, pursuant to LB 653, introduced by Senator John Harms, of Scottsbluff. The 2012-13 Committee is:

Senator John Harms, Chair
Senator Tanya Cook, Vice-Chair
Senator Greg Adams, Speaker of the Legislature
Senator John Wightman, Chair, Executive Board
Senator Heath Mello, Chair, Appropriations Committee
Senator Mike Gloor
Senator Kathy Campbell
Senator Paul Schumacher
Senator Kate Sullivan

When the Committee was formed in 2009, it was decided that, in order to achieve their goals, they would be assisted by the Legislative Research Office and the College of Public Affairs at the University of Nebraska at …

Nebraska Legislative District Quick Facts, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Past Publications

These Legislative District Quick Facts tables are summary profiles showing frequently requested data items from two Census Bureau programs: the 2000 Census and the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. These items also show how Nebraska’s Legislative Districts have changed since 2000 and demonstrate the wide variety of data available. These same data also are available for all of Nebraska’s counties and communities.

The tables in this report are based on the District Boundaries for the 102nd Legislature and do not reflect the boundary changes following the 2010 Census. The new Legislative District boundaries will be used when the 2008-2012 ACS data …

Needs Assessment For The United Neighborhood Alliances Of Omaha, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Past Publications

In February 2013 the Neighborhood Center closed. The Neighborhood Center provided a range of programs and services to neighborhood associations in the Omaha area.The United Neighborhood Alliances of Omaha (UNAO) identified a needs assessment as a necessary next step in planning what will take its place. The needs assessment was envisioned to assist the alliances in moving forward by helping to identify strategies that make the best use of Neighborhood Scan and other existing resources and offer the best response to neighborhood conditions.

The UNAO partnered with the Consortium for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE) at the University of Nebraska …

Hunting For Huntington’S Evidence: An Empirical Reassessment Of The Clash Of Civilizations Theory, John Daniel Shindelar

Political Science Theses and Capstones

I inquire into Samuel P. Huntington’s clash of civilizations theory as outlined in his landmark The Clash of Civilizations. I explore conflicts starting at the end of the Cold War to 2007 in order to examine whether Huntington’s theory has been materializing (there is a marked increase in conflicts between Civilizations, and they have become more intense) or if the face of conflicts has stayed relatively similar to Cold War era clashes. I use International Crisis Behavior data on conflicts since the fall of the U.S.S.R. which Huntington cites as the end of a bipolar world and the beginning of …

Transitions In Public Administration Theory Through Presidential Approaches To Healthcare Policy, Clifford Smith Blumberg

Public Affairs Theses - Archive

Through interdisciplinary research of twelve presidential administrations and their various approaches to national healthcare policy, a better understanding of the borderless transitions (which I term "melting points") within Public Administration Theory can be pursued. Can key components or characteristics of these transitions in Public Administration be revealed through a President's approach to healthcare policy?

Community Garden Suitability Analysis For A South Dallas Community, Tiffany Mcleod

Public Affairs Theses - Archive

Community gardens have been proposed as a solution to combat the ongoing and escalating food desert problem in low-income communities. As planners, community leaders and residents look to implement this solution and convert vacant property into gardens they need to be aware of the potential conflicts that can arise when the area starts to develop. This paper offers an analysis tool and uses it to determine vacant sites that are appropriate for community gardens in a particular South Dallas neighborhood that do not conflict with the future development of the area. It also identifies the grocery store gap in the …

Firewatch: Community Engagement And The Communication Of Bushfire Information, Donell J. Holloway, Lelia R. Green

Research outputs 2013

Successive bushfire inquiries in Australia have called for authorities to more effectively harness and disseminate bushfire information. Recommendations from these inquiries suggest a new approach to bushfires involving greater co-ordination, in which home dwellers, emergency fire services and government work more closely together and acknowledge that education, safety, planning and emergency management can be effective responses to the threat of bushfire. Policymakers and community members are seeking to revise bushfire protocols and access new sources of authoritative information, which may help guide public responses. Nonetheless, the effective communication of information regarding bushfires still seems to be problematic (Department of Justice, …

Women's Gun Culture In America, Laura Browder

English Faculty Publications

A recent article in the New York Times focused on the possible increase in female gun ownership in the United States. This “new” phenomenon of women and guns is of course far from new: as early as the 1870s, trapshooting for women was publicized by gun manufacturers as yet another feminine activity, not far removed from shopping or club work. The ultra-feminine Annie Oakley, who in the 1880s became an international star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, personally taught fifteen thousand women to shoot. By the turn of the twentieth century, gun manufacturers were promoting hunting as a healthful activity …

Coups D'État And Democracy: Implications For Development Aid, Theresa Simcic

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Coups d’état are a type of political instability that involves a sitting ruler being overthrown by his or her own military or other elite within the state apparatus. Coups are commonly viewed as a threat to democracy. Policy makers in donor countries have taken action in line with this belief by implementing foreign aid suspension policies in regard to states that recently experienced a coup. More recent research, however, shows that coups may actually promote democracy; particularly in long-standing autocratic states. In these circumstances, the new democracies may benefit more from an increase in aid, as opposed to suspension of …

How Successful Was Kickstarter In Raising Funds For Library For All?, Yeerang Jang

Master in Public Administration Theses

No abstract provided.

Childhood Predictors In The Severity Of Combat Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Veterans With Combat Related Exposure, Michael Bermes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging research suggests that childhood adversities may increase both the risk and symptomology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in our veteran population. Over 40% of our reintegrating military veterans return with significant mental health issues led by combatrelated PTSD. PTSD impacts veterans in numerous areas including unemployment, increased criminal justice involvement, increased treatment costs, divorce, co-morbid mental illness, greater levels of domestic violence, homelessness, high college dropout rates, suicide, and long term health problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of childhood adversities (abuse, neglect, and poverty) upon the severity of combat-related PTSD in veteran populations. …

The Rising Digital Missile Gap: The Security Threat Of The United States’ Cyber Inactivity, Christian Pedersen

Pepperdine Policy Review

Over the past two decades, the ubiquitousness of the internet has created new reals in which artistic expression, dialogue, and commerce have flourished. Yet the same technologies which bring about the conveniences of the modern age also carry the greatest threats to international security over the next few decades. Defense strategies and security protocols have failed to evolve at the same rate at which internet technologies have grown. While the eminence and complexity of cyber-attacks continues to be debatable, the fact remains that networks are vulnerable to attack by both foreign governments and non-state actors. Unless definitive and aggressive steps …

Managing The Polarities Of Democracy: A Theoretical Framework For Positive Social Change, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

People around the globe have embraced democracy to bring about positive social change to address our environmental, economic, and militaristic challenges. Yet, there is no agreement on a definition of democracy that can guide social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model is a unifying theory of democracy to guide healthy, sustainable, and just social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model consists of ten elements, organized as five polarity pairs: freedom & authority, justice & due process, diversity & equality, human-rights & communal-obligations, and participation & representation. In this model each element has positive aspects and negative aspects and …

Corruption, Public Integrity, And Globalization In South-Eastern European States: A Comparative Analysis, Andrew I. E. Ewoh, Ani Matei, Lucica Matei

Faculty Articles

The last three decades have witnessed a proliferation of studies on the globalization of corruption or convergence of anticorruption strategies. These studies have been motivated by scholarly concerns from various administrative, economic, and political fields. In view of these interdisciplinary concerns, the purpose of this article is to provide a comparative analysis of corruption phenomena and the demand for public integrity because these developments pertain to the discourse on globalization issues in some South-Eastern European nations within the last decade. The article concludes that the differences observed in these countries are due to their level of maturation in the democratic …

2013 January, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for January of 2013.