<p>This dissertation examines the political representation of non<&ndash>citizen Latinos in the U.S. states. Specifically, it investigates why lawmakers, seen as primarily driven by the goal of reelection, would be compelled to vote for or sponsor legislation to favor this non<&ndash>citizen, non<&ndash>voting population.</p><p>Using newly collected data on bill sponsorship and roll call voting, combined with data collected from an original survey of current state lawmakers, I test a more nuanced version of David Mayhew<&rsquo>s reelection theory. I examine the short<&ndash>term and long<&ndash>term reelection goals of lawmakers finding that both current and potential future voting populations in a district (including non<&ndash>citizens) have significant effects on voting and sponsorship decisions. In addition, I find evidence to suggest that personal characteristics of a lawmaker, most notably ethnic identity, also affect legislative behavior. In line with an alternative <&ldquo>good public policy theory,<&rdquo> my results demonstrate that even when electoral pressures are low, Latino lawmakers remain significantly more likely to support non<&ndash>citizen interests when compared to all other lawmakers. The broader implication of this finding is that descriptive representation matters and the identity link between Latino legislators and non<&ndash>citizen Latinos in society encourages behavior that is not fully explained by standard reelection theories.</p> / Dissertation

Natural waterways form an integral part of the urban and rural environment. In New Zealand, their uses are generally related to agriculture, drainage, power generation and recreation, but their value also extends to providing ecological services that are vital to the maintenance of a fully functioning environment. In the areas of the world that are considered to be developed, several functions and services that waterway systems initially would have provided, have been degraded, or lost completely, due to water abstractions, altered flow regimes and input of pollutants. In New Zealand, and around the world, groups of volunteers give up their time in order to help monitor the quality and state of waterways. However, there remains a distrust of data generated by such groups throughout the scientific community. This concern is also voiced by members of these groups, querying what the point of their monitoring is, if the data has no real use. As a result of this uncertainty about the data quality and its subsequent uses, data is often just entered onto a database with little, or no, analysis conducted. The purpose of this research was to ascertain the quality of the data generated by volunteers groups in New Zealand by comparing it with data collected by professionals from city and regional councils. Volunteer monitoring methods and tools were also compared with those available to professionals in order to determine if any differences observed were a product of equipment, or other factors. However, data generation is not the only purpose of these volunteer groups. By being involved, volunteers are gaining education, practical skills and knowledge they may not have access to otherwise, and they are meeting people and strengthening community ties. Volunteers from each group therefore also completed a survey to determine their knowledge of the programme they participate in, of the environment and freshwater, and to collect some basic background information. The Styx Living Laboratory Trust (SLLT) in Christchurch, the Wakapuaka Rivercare Group in Nelson and Wai Care in Auckland were the three New Zealand community water monitoring groups chosen to be the subject of this study. Generally, the volunteer conductivity and pH data was significantly different from that of their professional counterparts, with large differences obvious in the data sets from all three groups. Water temperature was the only variable that was consistently similar for volunteer and professional data. Comparison of the SLLT’s methods with professional-level methods, however, revealed that differences in the data sets may be due to a combination of factors including equipment (e.g., use of pH colour strips instead of meters), and variation in the monitoring protocols, rather than a lack of quality in the volunteer data. However, new dissolved oxygen and nitrogen monitoring methods utilised by Wai Care did produce some promising results, with some of the comparisons unable to be statistically differentiated from the professional data set. Visual assessment of the SLLT data over time suggests seasonal patterns in pH and conductivity, and possible increases in water clarity over time. Statistical analysis of the individual variables of pH, water temperature, clarity and conductivity, in the SLLT data revealed several significant predictors and interactions, including time, date and pH among other things. However, the very small effect size and the large data set suggest this may just be a product of the large data set with very few of these variable interactions having any real meaning with regards to management. Volunteers were predominantly over the age of 40, and were generally either very new recruits to their monitoring programmes (<6 months) or had been involved for a reasonably long time (>5 years). There were differing patterns of involvement between the groups with the WRG having volunteers mainly involved for >10 years while the SLLT had a large number of new recruits. There were also varying reasons volunteers chose to become involved however, the predominant reason was concern for the environment. Approximately half of the volunteers surveyed proved to be very knowledgeable about their programme and understood the purposes of the monitoring programme, although most were associated with a science-related industry and therefore likely already had this knowledge. More education and training would be needed to bring all of the other volunteers up to this level. All volunteers had good knowledge of issues in New Zealand’s environment and freshwater currently face, with public apathy considered the most pressing issue. In summary, despite the lack of clear statistical similarities between volunteer and professional data sets for some variables, the data do not appear to be randomly inaccurate and could be corrected to be combined with professional data. The benefits the volunteers gain appear to outweigh any issues that may be present in the data, as long as the volunteers perceive the data to be ultimately useful. Volunteer-based water quality monitoring has proved to be a valuable way to gather environmental data, educate the community and improve their commitment to local waterways.

An increasingly popular method of collecting scientific data is to use citizen scientists in community-based monitoring programs. Numerous formal and community-based monitoring programs use butterflies as indicator species to detect and understand changes in ecosystems. A butterfly monitoring program was established with the City of Kitchener in 2012, in order to measure the effectiveness of citizen science observations in identifying butterfly assemblages. Two monitoring sites were used: Lakeside Park contained relatively simple butterfly habitats, and Huron Natural Area which included complex butterfly habitats. The program consisted of training volunteers to collect data on the butterfly assemblages. Volunteers were given the choice to monitor an established trail at either natural area once every two weeks from the beginning of May to the end of August using the modified Pollard method. It was important to train volunteers how to monitor butterflies, so they were required to attend an instruction workshop to learn the methods to be employed, identification of butterflies, use of the recording form, and proper net and butterfly handling techniques. Quality control measures were another important component of the program, and included comparing volunteer observations at each natural area to those collected by an expert. Each species observation was reviewed to determine the likelihood of the species observation. The species and its habitat were compared to the information and status recorded in The Butterflies of Waterloo Region. The data collected by the participants was analyzed separately by study site and included the calculation of species richness, Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H), evenness value, Simpson Index (D), and Simpson Reciprocal (1/D) values. A two-tailed t-test was conducted to compare the data (as represented by Shannon indexes) collected by volunteers and the expert. The species richness for Lakeside Park was 29, which was slightly higher than the 26 species identified at Huron Natural Area. However, the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H), evenness value (E), Simpson Diversity Index (D), and Simpson Reciprocal Index (1/D) all demonstrated that there was a more even and diverse butterfly population at Huron Natural Area than at Lakeside Park. A high level of validity of volunteer observations was found during this study, as 93% of submitted observations at Lakeside Park and 94% of submitted observations at Huron Natural Area passed the review process. Based on the high level of validity of observations it was determined that the volunteers were successful in characterizing butterfly assemblages, and establishing baseline conditions at each site. The City of Kitchener will be collecting long-term butterfly data, which they can compare over time to provide insight into the diversity at these natural areas. This research program has contributed to the field of science and to the literature by establishing a review process for citizen science, particularly for butterfly programs. It has also provided further validation of citizen science data.

The purpose of this research was to develop a model for the implementation and evaluation of citizen-user involvement in mental health policymaking. The study explored the pathways through which the experiential knowledge of citizen-users enters policy processes, how the outcomes of citizen-user involvement are conceptualized by policy actors, and the contextual factors that influence the implementation and outcomes of involvement. Qualitative instrumental case study methodology was used to focus on the policy field of mental health and social housing. Data were collected through key informant interviews with a purposive sample of 21 people recruited from four policy actor groups: citizen-users, representatives of advocacy organizations, government officials (elected representatives and bureaucrats), and service providers. A review of policy documents as well as forum, committee and task force reports provided additional data for the study. The research built on a previous study that developed a model of the important processes that are used to engage citizen-users in decisions about services and policies. Findings from the current study built on this model by exploring the outcomes, pathways and contexts of involvement from the perspectives of policy actors. Four categories of outcomes were identified: substantive, instrumental, normative and personal. Benefits and risks of involvement were identified within each category. Participants described direct and indirect pathways through which the voices of citizen-users have gained access to policymaking. Direct pathways were those through which individual and collective voices of citizen-users have communicated directly with decision makers. Indirect pathways represented the ways in which the voices of citizen-users were mediated by other policy actors. The findings also highlighted five contextual factors that have influenced citizen-user involvement: the socio-political environments, institutional characteristics, participant characteristics, opportunities to be involved and other influences on policymaking. This research has added to knowledge about the important components of citizen-user involvement in policymaking. The results provide guidance to policy actors about ways to enhance involvement. People with mental health and social housing needs have important experiential and other knowledge to contribute to policymaking. The challenge is the ongoing search for the means to ensure that their voices are heard and carry weight.

No description available.

No description available.

For Maori, the management fo New Zealand�s coast and its resources is fundamental to their cultural identity. Iwi and hapu throughout New Zealand have close relationships with the coast and unique rights and responsibilities for its future management. However, there does not appear to be wide recognition of the crucial role of Maori in New Zealand�s coastal management regime. Co-management initiatives in coastal management, particularly under the Conservation Act 1987, Resource Management Act 1991 and several legislative initiatives controlling fisheries management, are explored and critiqued. Overall, the initiatives demonstrate that progress is being made in coastal management for better protection of Maori coastal values. Nevertheless, there is scope for further improvements concerning greater Maori involvement in coastal management. Recommendations for genuine co-management systems in New Zealand�s coastal management regime include effective communication between iwi and Government; appreciation of the unique nature of each iwi in New Zealand; involvement of a third party communicating between iwi and Government representatives; appropriate funding and resources to maintain the co-management system, and encouragement and motivation from the Government to initiate and maintain the co-management system.

Diss. Sundsvall : Mittuniversitetet, 2008.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2004. / "Fall 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-96).

Thesis (M.A. in communication)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed July 28, 2009). "Edward R. Murrow College of Communication." Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-42).