Public Policy Commons^™

Job Demands That Influence Organizational Commitment Of Public Safety Telecommunicators, Andre Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High job demands mean high turnover for public safety telecommunicators (also known as “9-1-1 call operators” or “emergency dispatch”). Personnel turnover place 9-1-1 call centers in an understaffed situation, which reduces operational effectiveness and increases risk to communities. Though public safety telecommunicators experience work-related stress due to job demands, organizational commitment, and operational impacts, the impact of job demands and its influence on organizational commitment is under-researched. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand job demands and the resources that influence organizational commitment of public safety telecommunicators. The classical organizational theory of scientific management, or Taylorism, was theoretical …

The Isolated As The Revolutionary: How “Leftover” Men In China Challenge Heteronormativity, Ruwen Chang

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

In contemporary China, demographers estimate that 30 million men are single because there are simply not enough women in the Chinese population, and the 2020 Chinese census shows that there are 34.9 million more men than women. These men are called guanggun, which can be directly translated to “bare sticks/branches,” a slur that indicates a lack of marriage and sex. In this project, I demonstrate that guanggun’s singlehood marks them as the marginalized at the intersection of heteronormativity, patriarchy, globalizing capitalism, and pronatalist governmentality. In a highly heteronormative and patrilineal culture, guanggun are branded as abnormal/incomplete. However, because …

Public Policy Syllabus, Duran A. Fiack

Open Educational Resources

The syllabus is designed for an introductory course that focuses on the basics of public policy. The course is composed of three modules. In Module I, The Study of Public Policy, the basics of public policy and the key actors and institutions involved in the policymaking process are introduced and discussed. In Module II, Public Policy Analysis, students are introduced to theories concerning the process through which policy is developed, implemented, and changed, a framework for analyzing and assessing public policy decision-making, and the tools that are used to address policy problems. In Module III, Substantive Areas …

An Index Of Community Priorities To Inform Local Governance In New Haven, Max E. Teirstein

Library Map Prize

Environmental justice screening and mapping tools visually depict the distribution of environmental justice burden across a geographic area. How that burden is measured varies according to location—different communities face different challenges, and a mapping tool that represents the landscape of environmental justice in one community may not adequately capture the distribution of EJ burden in another area. Who decides what “burden” means for each community? In this study of environmental justice in New Haven, CT, I argue that it is residents and local community leaders whose perspectives are most critical to how environmental justice is defined. I create a census …

An Analysis Of Georgia Mothers Who Gave Birth In 2015 And 2016 Without Receiving Prenatal Care, Joncel Stephens, Shanta R. Dube, Merrilee Gober

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: The present study characterizes the population of women residing in the state of Georgia who did not receive prenatal care before giving birth to a live infant. The association between mother’s place of residence (rural/non-rural) and preterm delivery was also examined.

Methods: This study examined data obtained from the Georgia Department of Public Health which includes data for 7,062 mothers who did not receive prenatal care before giving birth to a live infant in Georgia in the years 2015 and 2016. Data on the resulting births was also studied. Descriptive analyses of the following variables were used …

Disparate Financial Assistance Support For Small Business Owners, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Daniel Auguste, Mathieu Despard, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Small business owners experienced a drastic economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Government pandemic assistance failed to reach many small business owners, especially those historically underserved by financial institutions. Drawing on a 2021 survey of 246 small business owners, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis descriptively examined the extent to which small business owners sought and received business assistance, and whether applications and approval of government assistance varied by race and ethnicity. We find that though Hispanic and Black business owners applied for government assistance at a higher rate than white business owners, Black business …

Understanding Police Decision-Making With Firearms: From Training To Real-Life Deployment, Alex S. Kondos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Modern efforts involving police reform have created a need for police administrators and policymakers to address various elements of policing. Administrative and punitive policy reforms have had little effect on decreasing police shootings. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of officers who have been involved in deadly force encounters in order to identify where their past training methods led to success or failures in real-life situations. The theoretical framework for this study was Janis and Mann’s conflict model of decision-making. This study involved answering the question: From the perspectives of police officers involved in shootings, …

Facultas Marginem: Assessing Disability Data And Public Aau Universities’ Affirmative Action Plans For Systemic Barriers Facing Faculty With Disabilities, Joseph Carlton Barry

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation contributes to education equity scholarship produced by academics seeking to develop understandings of disability, Persons with Disabilities (PWD), and how both are situated amongst faculty in institutions of higher education. As such, this dissertation centers on a study of public US universities belonging to the Association of American Universities (AAU). This study looks for institutional level associations between respective rates by which college and university faculty with disabilities (FWD) are employed, certain aspects of disability policy drawn from each institution’s 2020 Affirmative Action Plans (AAP), and various other instances of empirical disability data (EDD).

While this study contributes …

Exploring The Impact Of Student Conduct Models On Student Development At Hbcus, Deona Cureton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effectiveness of the student conduct approaches of the mixed method model, a mixture of restorative justice and traditional sanctioning, and traditional sanctioning, known as the “model code,” in student learning at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) has been largely unexamined in existing literature. This quantitative study examined whether the model code process or a mixed method model process is more effective and efficient in producing learning and accountability. The present study utilized the 28-item questionnaire from the Student Accountability and Restorative Research (STARR) Project, a multicampus study conducted in 2011 in the United States. In the current study, …

Rising Cost Of Medicare And Its Effect On Recipients 65 And Older, Williesa Toomer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rising cost of Medicare is a growing concern for recipients. Beneficiaries are often forced to implement a host of strategies to meet rising out-of-pocket expenses. This qualitative study was conducted to address a research gap in methods used by senior citizens to manage rising Medicare coverage costs. Garmezy’s resilience theory was used to contextualize the rising costs of Medicare premiums and copays and strategies used to manage healthcare needs. The purposive sample of 12 socioeconomically diverse respondents included eight women and four men ranging in age between 65 and 77, for an average age of 70.2 years. Participants completed …

Implementing The Sponge City Concept On North Carolina’S Federal Emergency Management Agency’S Acquired Properties, Artriel Askew Kirchner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In North Carolina, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a grant program to assist communities with purchasing flood–prone, private properties to decrease the effects of flooding within flood–prone communities. In flood management, incorporating the Sponge City concept within federally acquired properties is not widely considered by flood management professionals as an effective means to manage floods. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the feasibility of incorporating the Sponge City concept on federally–acquired properties to reduce significant flooding within designated flood–prone communities. The concept of disaster recovery, which focuses on the process of restoring, …

Disparities In The Sentencing Of African American Men In Wayne County, Michigan, Brian Banks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe ability of judges in the U.S. criminal justice system to administer penalties based on a defendant’s socioeconomic status has resulted in a disproportionate number of African Americans receiving harsher penalties than those of other racial groups and socioeconomic statuses. Currently, there is little evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of harsher sentencing of defendants with lower socioeconomic statuses in preventing crime or lowering recidivism, but more work is needed to clarify what sentencing factors judges use. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the factors that Wayne County, Michigan, judges used during the sentencing process of criminal defendants, along …

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 30-Day Readmission Rates In California, Illinois, And New York, Theresa Teverbaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have implemented financial penalties to reduce hospital readmissions for various conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As a result, hospital administrators explore ways to prevent financial penalties for excessive COPD 30-day hospital readmissions. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a correlation between hospital Medicare reimbursement, quality-of-care measures related to patient satisfaction, and 30-day readmissions rates for COPD patients in California, Illinois, and New York. The quality-of-care measures included communication with nurses, communication with doctors, the hospital staff's responsiveness, and medicine communication. The secondary data were …

Stakeholders’ Perspectives On Social Intervention Policy To Curb Street Children Influx In Ghana, Ismaila Hansmittson Awudu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasing street children influx in Accra, Ghana, is a challenge to the government, policymakers, and citizens despite the Child and Family Welfare Policy (CFWP) of the Ghana Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection to address this social problem. In 2018, an estimated 90,000 children lived on the streets in the Greater Accra Region. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore stakeholders’ perspectives on social intervention policies and programs and the effectiveness of the CWFP in curbing street children influx. Policy feedback theory was the theoretical foundation for the research. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with nine …

Work Engagement In A Changing Nonprofit Environment, Shukura Crevelle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind and describes work team members who gain a sense of connection in what they do. This has an impact on the physical, mental, and emotional health of the employee and the health of the organization. There was a need to explore contributing factors to employee engagement in a changing remote organization because there was a current gap in the literature regarding employee engagement and organizational change. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore causes to low engagement among employees in a nonprofit organization located in the …

The Role Of Nonprofit Organizations Serving Vulnerable Populations During Disasters, Joy Dvornicich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disasters can strike any population, but research has shown that poor, disabled, medically underserved people and children are more adversely affected than the general population. This qualitative descriptive case study aimed to understand better nonprofit organizations' (NPO) impact on vulnerable populations during disasters. Data was collected through semistructured interviews with representatives of NPOs from a southeastern city in Pennsylvania whose clients are vulnerable populations. This qualitative case study was based on Weisbrod’s theory of government failure. The 4Cs of communicate, collaborate, coordinate, and cooperate were investigated through semistructured interviews and a review of secondary data. The research questions were designed …

An Examination Of Small And Midsize Defense Business Corporate Lobbying, Gene Moran

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Large companies lobby U.S. Congress in more significant numbers than small companies and gain a clear advantage in funding acquisitions. But little is known about what conditions influence or disincentivize small and midsize businesses, those with revenues of $5 million to $1 billion, from participating in congressional lobbying. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the gap in the research literature by focusing on small and midsize defense company executives who address the conditions surrounding congressional lobbying. The study’s theoretical framework was Benet’s polarities of democracy, emphasizing polarity relationships of participation and representation and diversity and equality. The …

Cosponsorship Networks In The U.S. Congress: Measuring The Success Of Female Legislators, Brian Jewett

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Previous scholarship has demonstrated that minority group members in the United States Congress generally are more supportive and collaborative within and beyond their respective groups compared to their majority group counterparts (Craig et al., 2015; Rouse, Swers and Parrott, 2013). In some cases, increased levels of collaboration positively influence legislative success and in others they do not, the results often depending on the characteristic of the group itself and the institutional setting within which the group operates. Additionally, prior studies within the domains of social network analysis and legislative behavior have shown that certain social network measures within a legislative …

Climate Trailblazer Or Corporate Giveaway: An Economic And Political Evaluation Of Cap-And-Trade In California, Benjamin Reicher

Pomona Senior Theses

In this thesis, I conduct an economic and political analysis of California’s cap-and-trade program, the leading national (and international) example of a market-based strategy to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. I evaluate the program on several economic and political measures of success, especially as contrasted with the performance of various regulatory policies that California also relies on to meet its emissions reduction targets. These regulations exemplify a command and control approach to emissions mitigation as opposed to a market-based approach, and indeed tend to be favored by grassroots activists who may be skeptical about market-friendly policies; my thesis seeks to …

Looking To The Future Of Wildlife Conservation: Durable Wildlife Policy For The 21st Century, Charlie R. Booher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildlife conservation in the United States was built by the dollars of consumptive users. Monies from the sale of hunting licenses, as well as excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery tackle through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (PR), currently fuel a complex system of wildlife conservation via multiple levels of government. However, the number of hunters in this country is rapidly declining, the sale of firearms and ammunition is increasingly unrelated to hunting, and contemporary consumers tend to express different values than traditional hunters. These changes pose significant challenges of relevancy and funding to state and …