<p> Research literature has documented Nigeria&rsquo;s leadership crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1960. This crisis corresponds with political instability and infrastructure weaknesses, which have resulted in crime, corruption, poverty, lack of social cohesion and personal freedoms, environmental degradation, gender inequities, and deteriorating conditions of public works. No literature was located that addressed the impact of leadership on the governance and development of infrastructure in Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate this phenomenon in Nigeria between 1960 and 2010. The theoretical framework comprised Burns&rsquo; and Bass&rsquo; theories of transformational leadership, and Davis&rsquo; and Toikka&rsquo;s theories of transformation and transition in governance. Data were collected through personal interviews with a purposeful sample of 13 past presidents of Nigeria, public officials, and infrastructure development experts, and by reviewing secondary data on leadership and development in Nigeria during the period 1960&ndash;2010. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify patterns and themes. Findings showed that (a) political instability and the Nigerian civil war have been obstacles to infrastructure development and implementation; (b) military dictatorships implemented improvements, although they neglected rural areas; (c) a new national infrastructure plan must be funded, developed, and implemented; (d) corruption must be combatted in awarding project contracts; and (e) Nigeria&rsquo;s governance should be based on a pragmatic-visionary form of leadership. The implications for positive social change include informing policy makers about the importance of infrastructure development in Nigeria in order to improve economic growth and the lives of citizens.</p>

<p> This dissertation analyzes administrative discretion in public policy implementation in application of a new framework of integrative approach to administrative discretion developed from deficiencies of the citizen participation, representative bureaucracy, and private-interest groups democracy frameworks. The new framework holds that public agencies use discretion to integrate in decision making views of elected authorities, private-interest groups, public-interest groups, and other groups that seek to influence implementation. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy is used as the case study, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is the implementation setting. The dissertation answers the following question: How integrative of group views was DOE&rsquo;s discretionary decision making in the implementation of NCLB? This research applies a structured content analysis method that consists of content analysis and a content analysis schedule (see Jauch, Osborn, &amp; Martin, 1980). Using a Likert question, the dissertation developed six integration levels of DOE&rsquo;s discretionary decision making from not at all integrative to extremely integrative and found that most decisions were very integrative.</p>

<p> Rising worldwide rates of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Middle East, principally Saudi Arabia, have put an increasing load on the health system and employers. Middle Eastern organizations have been slow to develop targeted health programs, which include an emphasis on employee productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship, if any, between employee lifestyle and workplace productivity. Productivity is the amount of work produced based on the time and cost required to do so. The underlying theoretical foundations of this research were the socioecological health model and the human capital model. The quantitative, ex post facto design relied on secondary data from Saudi Aramco. Lifestyle data were collected from a health risk assessment including the Stanford Presenteeism Scale. Data analysis consisted of both a correlational and multiple regression analysis. Correlational results indicated that exercise, tobacco use, body mass index (BMI), and nutrition were significantly related to workplace productivity. Exercise and nutrition had a significant positive correlation with workplace productivity, while tobacco use and increasing BMI were negatively correlated with workplace productivity. Multiple regression analysis results explained 21% of the variance in the dependent variable, a sizable percentage with such a large sample. Overall, these results suggest a strong influence of health choices on productivity. Since this research was the first to explore the unique cultural context and draw attention to the increasing NCD burden, the results are notable. Implications of this research should resonate with organizational leaders in the Middle East, and provide a clear opportunity to improve organization and human performance. </p>

<p> On October 1, 2013, the most visible component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) (ACA) went live. Health insurance marketplaces provided residents with a place to shop and receive subsidies for insurance plans that contained the essential health benefits required by the ACA. The ACA required each state to establish an exchange, but it also provided flexibility so if a state elected not to (or could not) build its own, the federal government would implement the marketplace. <b></b>A handful of states chose a hybrid implementation, which used the federal HealthCare.gov website but left certain decisions to the states. In the end, twice as many states chose to use the federal HealthCare.gov website compared to states that created a state-based marketplace and website. This trifurcated approach to implementing the health insurance marketplaces where residents were either served by a federally-facilitated, state-based, or hybrid marketplace, provides a unique situation for comparison and analysis relating to federalism and public policy implementation. </p><p> This policy analysis examines the implementation of the ACA&rsquo;s health insurance marketplaces in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It discusses enrollment success during the first five open enrollment periods across all three marketplace types. </p><p> Among the federally-facilitated, state-based, or hybrid marketplaces, was one type more successful than the others at enrolling residents in health insurance? What factors may have played a role in success or failure? This study discusses the ACA marketplaces as a case study in federalism and public policy implementation.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Public Administration." Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-208).

<p> Concepts such as &ldquo;brain drain&rdquo;, although now outdated, capture the essence of the uneven distribution of costs and benefits of the migration of skilled workers from south to north. There is solid evidence of the positive contributions of skilled immigrants to their host economies. Nevertheless, the sending countries, with few exceptions, have not fully capitalized on the skills and networks of their high-skilled diasporas. This research adopts the diaspora option concept, which capitalizes on these skills and networks as a viable strategy for economic development. Using the migration relationship between Lebanon and the United States, this study contributes to a growing area of research that investigates the <i>search</i> role of skilled immigrants and returnees and their impact on knowledge transfer to the countries of origin. The research presented herein attempted to answer the overarching exploratory question: What are the patterns and dynamics of high-skilled diasporas and returnees&rsquo; direct and indirect <i>(search)</i> contributions to the home country and what related policies or facilitative interventions are needed to leverage and enhance these contributions? To address this question, the field research employed interview and survey techniques.</p><p> The findings of this research revealed that Lebanese diaspora high achievers and networks, as well as high-skilled returnees, have engaged in different forms of direct and indirect contributions to the home country, but their impact remains less than transformational on Lebanon&rsquo;s innovation system. There is substantial evidence of the nascent emergence of institutionalized Lebanese transnational search networks attempting to bridge and translate capabilities and opportunities between the home country and the global knowledge markets. These networks hold a growing portfolio of gestating projects and initiatives that have not yet materialized in tangible investments or success stories. Institutional factors at home, such as economic and political instability, weak infrastructure, and outdated regulatory and legal frameworks, in addition to the absence of diaspora engagement public policy, appear to be the main impediments for optimal and transformational engagement. These impeding factors represent areas for possible improvement if diaspora linkages and contributions were to be leveraged. Thus, the case of Lebanon demonstrates a laissez-faire diaspora option that encapsulates the suboptimal incorporation of skilled diasporas into the development process of their home countries without notable diaspora engagement public policy. Consequently, this research advocates for a proactive and fully endorsed diaspora option to better capitalize on countries&rsquo; skilled diasporas and returnees for transformational impact.</p>

<p> Understanding federal managers&rsquo; use of evidence (performance measurement data and evaluation results) to inform decision-making is an important step to develop concrete strategies to remove barriers to use and increase use. The goals of this research are to: 1) explain the extent to which senior level managers and executives in federal agencies use performance measurement data and evaluation findings and results to inform decision-making; 2) understand the factors that influence use of evidence to inform decision-making; and 3) explore strategies to enhance the use of evidence. </p><p> The study employs a case study approach focusing on four federal agencies whose managers&rsquo; exhibit varying degrees of success in utilizing evidence (e.g., performance measurement data and program evaluation results). The four case study agencies that are the subject of the study are: United States Agency for International Development (AID), Department of Treasury (Treasury), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Department of Transportation (DOT). The study relied on publicly available secondary data sources that were supplemented by document reviews and interviews with a small number of key informants. </p><p> The findings indicate that performance measurement use occurs within the four case study agencies, however, it&rsquo;s use declined from 2007 to 2017 for SBA, DOT and Treasury. Although a decline in use for some categories was evident in AID, other types of use increased. The results indicate that nearly 40% or more of respondents for the case study agencies use performance measurement data to inform decisions related to program strategy, problem identification and improvements and personnel performance related issues. </p><p> The data also suggest an important distinction and nuance associated with different levels of management who use performance information, as well as specific types of use. For example, the agency&rsquo;s top leaders and first line supervisors are more likely to use performance measurement data. However, an organization&rsquo;s middle management tends to be less likely to use data to inform decisions regarding changes to the program. </p><p> The most common factors that influence performance information use across the four case study agencies include: manager perceptions about who pays attention to performance information, the lack of incentives and the perceived authority (or lack of) to make changes to improve the program. In addition, access to timely and readily available data, information technology and or systems capable of providing the needed data, access to training, and staff knowledge and expertise to develop performance measures and conduct evaluations were found to influence the use of performance measurement. </p><p> In general, there is an overall decline in the percentage of managers who report an evaluation of their program was conducted from 2013 to 2017 in all four case study agencies. Despite this decline, over 50% of AID managers were aware of an evaluation that was conducted within the past five years. The lower responses reported by DOT (28%), SBA (32%) and Treasury (34%) is consistent with the absence of robust program evaluation efforts. In 2017, managers at AID, SBA and Treasury report using program evaluation results to implement changes to improve program management or performance, while AID, DOT and Treasury managers report using program evaluation to assess program effectiveness, value or worth.</p><p>

The primary purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the role and accomplishment of selected urban School Councils in pursuing the mandated goals and objectives of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993. The study investigated the effectiveness of current policies and practices of School Councils in accomplishing the projected goals and objectives of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act in their school districts. Further, the study evaluated the perceptions of School Council members regarding the extent to which they are successful in pursuing the projected goals and objectives of the educational reform as a result of involvement in the development of a School Improvement Plan. The sample for the study included Council members of randomly selected elementary schools from four urban school districts in Massachusetts. The data for the study were collected through the use of a questionnaire validated by a panel of experts in the field of education and by conducting a follow-up personal interview with six of the respondents who volunteered to be interviewed. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were conducted to analyze the data collected for the study. The quantitative analysis was achieved by providing answers to the research questions through the use of certain descriptive statistics, as well as testing the research hypotheses through the use of appropriate inferential statistics. The qualitative analysis was pursued by classification and interpretation of the responses provided by the participating Council members to the open-ended items of the questionnaire as well as the resulting interviews. With regard to the scope of the study and in accordance with the resulting analyses, several conclusions emerged from a number of significant findings. Finally, in compliance with the significant findings of the study, a number of recommendations were made to those who are interested in evaluation of the role and accomplishment of School Councils. Future investigators are encouraged to replicate the study with a special focus on sampling representation and other methodological approaches to secure the generalization of the results.

For the past several decades the role of the superintendent has been that of educational manager. With the advent of educational reform the superintendent's role has changed. Since the 1956 Gross study of the Massachusetts superintendency, it has been unclear how and in what directions the superintendent's role has evolved. This study was designed to clarify the process and substances of this evolution. The primary purposes of this study were to examine the emerging roles and issues of concern for the Massachusetts superintendent. Personal and professional profile data on the superintendency in Massachusetts were reported. This information was generated through the analysis of a survey questionnaire instrument administered to superintendents in Massachusetts and the conducting of in-depth interviews with eight superintendents from separate communities in Massachusetts, followed by interviews of two minority superintendents. These data about the Massachusetts superintendency were then compared and contrasted to state data obtained in the 1956 study. The author examined data obtained from the 1992 Glass national study of the superintendency. The study took place in Massachusetts during 1996. Those serving as “full” school superintendents in Massachusetts, a population of 275 full-time superintendents, participated in the descriptive study which consisted of a 45-item questionnaire. Additionally, eight superintendents in Massachusetts participated in the in-depth interview study, as well as two minority superintendents. General categories of questions from the survey were reflected in the in-depth interviews. The following primary conclusions were drawn. The role of the Massachusetts superintendent is changing to meet current societal impacts on public education. Massachusetts superintendent profiles vary in their personal, professional, educational, and experiential factors. Massachusetts superintendents display an identifiable profile in relation to role expectations and current issues of concern. Massachusetts superintendents reflect an identifiable profile concerning superintendents' perceptions on the impact of education reform. Comparisons can be made between Massachusetts superintendents and superintendents nationally on the issues of minorities, women, and preparations for the office of the superintendent.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.