Abstract Following the increase in foreclosures across the United States from 2007 to 2009, there was concern that foreclosed homes could lead to higher rates of crime in certain neighborhoods. Using social disorganization theory, the purpose of this difference-in-difference research design was to study the link between foreclosure levels, and crime rates in neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina. Propensity score matching was used to examine whether neighborhood foreclosure rates have an impact on neighborhood crime level while controlling for neighborhood conditions. Data were acquired from Charlotte Neighborhood Quality of Life Studies, conducted biannually in 173 neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina. Data for the years 2004 and 2010 were used for the analysis. The sample included 54 neighborhoods exposed to foreclosures (n = 27), and neighborhoods not exposed to foreclosure (n = 27). Data were also acquired from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and housing authorities for the same years. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, a significant relationship was found between neighborhood foreclosure level and neighborhood crime level, and school dropout levels and neighborhood crime level (p <.05). The positive social change stemming from this study includes recommendations to local policy makers and law enforcement agencies to consider policies and strategies that reduce crime and address larger neighborhood problems such as school dropouts and unemployment. Addressing these policies may result in crime reductions, and improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents.

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 about internet and telecommunications companies through document analysis, corporate records, and credible news sources. These data were compiled as raw data and developed into codes, which led to categories and eventually developed into themes. Findings indicate that private companies participated for three main reasons: first, an interest in preserving national security, second, they believed they had limited or no liability, and third, profit-making. At the same time, the participants expressed concerns that the government gained compliance via the use of coercion, influence, and persuasion. The positive social change implication of this study includes recommendations to public policy practitioners/evaluators that it is necessary to include private sector analysis in a comprehensive review of public policy because inter-dependencies of the private-public sector guarantees effective public policy implementation/ assessment.

African American males are more likely than any of race of males to report unreasonable and unnecessary negative experiences with law enforcement officers. They may describe these experiences as unjustified due to the level of force used. In some cases, excessive force used by police has resulted in the death of African American males. Due to unresolved issues between African American males and police officers dating back to the slavery era, there is a deep historical division between these groups. Among African American males, the percentage of individuals who express distrust toward police officers tends to be higher than in any other group. The purpose of this research study was to explore African American males' perceptions of police officers in order to understand this distrust. This study involved 16 males residing in a large southern city who were selected to share their experiences with and perceptions of police officers. Social relationship theory as defined by Weber was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Participants were selected via snowball sampling to answer questions during semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed and coded using modified van Kaam analysis. The findings were that African American males distrust the police due to their personal experiences during police encounters and police officers' biases toward them. The findings of this study may help leaders, policymakers, administrative assistants, and law enforcement agencies within the study city understand how to implement positive social change that could assist law enforcements officers and African American males with developing a positive relationship.

No description available.

Canadian Federalism has grown to incorporate the opposing ideologies of communitarianism and individualism, which compete in both social and political arenas. The cultural industry sector in Canada negotiates this ideological landscape in order to secure favourable public policy in the form of both political support and access to public resources. Within the cultural sector and as a result of the environment, the book publishing industry is active in expressing its value as both community builders and economic worthy enterprises. Drawing upon research in federalism, cultural and policy studies, an analytical framework is developed to assess the underlying intentions of cultural policy and distribution of resources with respect to cultural or economic outcomes. This comparative analysis of federal and provincial policies supporting the book publishing industry in Canada demonstrates divergent policy choices between jurisdictions. These choices gravitate towards either communitarian/collectivist or individualist/economic values, mirroring those values incorporated into the current Canadian federalist structure.

This dissertation consists of three essays examining issues related to fiscal competition. The first essay investigates the Stackelberg equilibrium for public input competition and compares it with the non-cooperative Nash equilibrium. Given two asymmetric regions, I show that under the Nash equilibrium, the more productive region tends to spend more on public input, which results in this region attracting more capital than the less productive region. The comparison of the two equilibria reveals that the leader region obtains a first mover advantage under the Stackelberg setting. This suggests that if regions interact with each other sequentially as in the Stackelberg equilibrium, then the regional disparity that is due to the heterogeneity of productivity is likely to be mitigated or enlarged, depending on which region performs the leadership role in the competition process. This second essay examines how a fiscal equalization system affects the disciplining effect of competition for capital among heterogeneous regions in a decentralized economy. I build a model in which regions that are heterogeneous in initial endowments try to attract capital by competing public input that enhances the productivity of capital; meanwhile, a fiscal equalization system is imposed by the central government to reduce regional disparities in fiscal capacity. The key prediction, borne out in data from the German equalization system, is that while competition for capital strengthens discipline in the well-endowed regions, it weakens discipline in the poorly endowed regions. However, a conventional equalization transfer scheme, common to many countries, can be effective in correcting the distortion driven by the heterogeneity of initial endowments across competing regions. This third essay aims to provide empirical evidence on the extent and possible channels of tax competition among provincial governments in China. Using a panel of provincial level data for 1993-2007, I find strong evidence of strategic tax interaction among provincial governments. Tax policy is approximated by average effective tax rates on foreign investment, taking into account the tax incentives available to foreign investors. In line with the predictions of the theoretical tax competition literature, I also highlight the impact of each province's characteristics (including its size and level of industrialization) on the strategic interaction with its neighbors. Finally, I explicitly identify the establishment of development zones as an important conduit for tax competition among provinces.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Planning and Public Policy." Includes bibliographical references (p. 170-184).

A common theme in immigration studies in the United States is that the discourse around immigration has changed over time. Once a bipartisan issue where unlikely coalitions and partners were common, recent research has shown that partisanship is becoming more important in deciding immigration votes. In this paper, I set out to see if we can see evidence of this change in both congressional discourses around immigration and the legislation itself. To study the discourses around immigration, I analyze the floor debates for two immigration bills. For the legislation, I look at four immigration bills, two that passed and became law, and two that each only passed one chamber of Congress. This study is meant to explore how the framing and problem definition of immigration has changed since 1986 in the United States, and to provide the background for further study into changing discourses about immigration in the U.S. government. / text

<p> Realignment, instituted in October 2011, was California&rsquo;s latest effort at prison reform by realigning responsibility for prisoners labeled nonviolent, non-serious, and non sex-related from the state to counties. Many of these offenders were in state prison upon conviction of property crime offenses. Realignment had a net decarcerative effect on offenders. Simultaneously, California cities&rsquo; officer staffing levels shrunk during the great recession. To determine what impact realignment may have had on property crime in small California cities, and to identify effective response strategies, property crime and officer staffing data was analyzed and a survey administered to the chiefs of those cities.</p><p> Fifty-six California cities with a population of between 25,000 and 50,000 and their own police departments were studied. This study analyzed data for the full year before and after realignment&rsquo;s implementation, 2010 compared to 2012. Analysis of these data indicated an overall trend of increase in property crimes reported to the police, and a significant decrease in officer staffing pre-and post-implementation. Many of the 36 chiefs who responded to the survey identified realignment as the primary factor in the increase of property crime, closely followed by overcrowding in their local or county jail. Of the response strategies offered in the survey, most chiefs said they had made progress on increasing partnerships with allied law enforcement agencies. Finally, a majority of the chiefs identified increasing partnerships with allied agencies the most effective strategy followed by the creation or reorienting specialized units to respond to the issue of realigned offenders.</p>

<p> Public safety organizations in rural communities often face unique challenges during an emergency response that differ from their metropolitan counterparts. Despite implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in 2004 to better facilitate collaboration among local, state, and federal emergency response partners, many rural communities have had difficulty complying with the policy. Using a case study design, the current study considers the successful collaborative response to the 2012 Chardon, Ohio, high school shooting within the context of three foundational theories: meta-leadership, structural functionalism, and social constructivism. The perspective of the successful response comes from 10 public safety response personnel who worked for organizations in Northeast Ohio and who responded to or were familiar with the collaborative response to the 2012 shooting incident. The findings from the study consider the unique challenges faced by the Chardon emergency response community and identify the benefits of pre-disaster preparedness training as recommended by NIMS, the need to build relationships through informal channels, and, most importantly, that alternative approaches to NIMS may be necessary in small communities that lack resources or have other inherent challenges. </p>