The research question animating this project is ‘what is the nature of neoliberalism’s influence on recent and contemporary US climate change policy?’ Situating itself against several growing bodies of literature which have sought to underscore the fetishism of markets in recent environmental and climate policy agendas under neoliberalism – e.g., the work of Heynen et al (2007) on ‘neoliberal environments’; Paterson and Newell’s (2010) work on neoliberalism and carbon markets; and the work of Dryzek et al (2003) on state forms and ecological modernization – this project argues that any such analysis must be predicated on a considerably more nuanced conception of (a) ‘neoliberalism’, (b) the historic role of states in fostering accumulation, and (c) the nature of policy development within any specific neoliberal context. Applying these theoretical re-conceptualizations to the American context, the project argues that a central tension informing contemporary US climate policy under neoliberalism can be understood a stand-off between two prevailing logics in the federal policy process: on the one hand, Washington’s attempt to build on its tradition of using state power to foster high-tech market development by cultivating the alternative energy realm as a developmental state project, and on the other, the anti-regulationist bent of neoliberalism which seeks to delegitimize the ‘pull’ policies required to ‘creatively destroy’ conventional energy and animate domestic alternative energy markets. Against the general conception of the US as a ‘climate laggard’ whose policy options are restricted market mechanisms and generally anathema to progressive ecological modernization, this body of work shows how the US has managed to develop a robust set of interventionist ‘push’ and ‘pull’ climate policies along ‘alternative policy pathways’, despite the prevailing anti-state rhetoric of neoliberalism.

Prior research on statewide educational telecommunications has focused on cataloging initiatives in various states, describing activities in individual states, or in exploring telecommunications policy from a planning-level perspective. In these studies, it is recognized that policies and implementation behaviors vary across individual states; however, a theoretical basis for how and why policy and implementation models differ among states has not been provided. Research also suggests that many states are moving toward the adoption of successful models from other states, and that there is a need for policy research to assist states in developing policies. This dissertation attempts to apply the systems perspective in organization theory (Thompson 1967; Mintzberg 1983) and concepts from political feasibility analysis (Meltsner 1972; Webber 1986) to qualitative data on educational telecommunications systems in three western states: Oregon, Colorado, and Utah. The research will provide descriptions of activities that can be referred to by state policy makers in evaluating the feasibility of adopting another state's planning model, and in developing their own policies. The research also will contribute to the growing literature on state policies and implementation models for distance education. The three states represent models of educational telecommunications systems prevalent in the U.S., and each differs in the level of statewide planning, governance, finance, and delivery of educational telecommunication represented by its model. Interviews with policy makers and practitioners in each state, combined with documentary evidence and prior research, provide descriptions of organizational responses to statewide policy and planning for distance education. Conclusions indicate that state policies are lagging behind technological change, and that variations in policy and planning among states result from constraints and contingencies imposed on institutions by contextual variables peculiar to each state. States that engage in careful planning for statewide telecommunications, taking into account the political culture, organizational behaviors, and historical relationships between higher education and state government, will have the greatest success in developing and implementing policies.

Municipalities tend to develop their stormwater management policy by examining those of their neighboring communities, chosen out of convenience and perception of similarity rather than a purposeful, directed search. Alternatively, having a policy that is backed by science creates regulations that policy makers can confidently support. To address this issue, the model used in this study incorporates local rainfall and development data to analyze stormwater runoff volumes for various storm events using one year of development data from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The runoff values are used to analyze several policy combinations based on simplified policies, model policies, and customizable policies. Outputs of the tool include project count, impervious area managed, runoff managed, and runoff cleaned. This study indicates that stormwater managers can use the outputs of this tool to choose the policy that best meets their city’s unique goals.

<p>A critical anti-racist feminist analysis is used to examine the City of Toronto's current approach to gender equity and to consider how the City can move forward based on the discussion of Toronto's issues and challenges and other cities' successes. Written from the perspective of one member of a 14-member City of Toronto women's advisory committee, it examines the City's approach to diversity in general and gender equity in particular. The analysis finds serious flaws in the City's current approach, related to a lack of gender equity structures and mechanisms, a lack of interest in, and resources allocated to, such structures and mechanisms, and a lack of civic engagement of women, which forms a part of the City's overall democratic deficit. Structures and mechanisms implemented in other cities in order to promote gender equity are explored in order to provide the City with successful possibilities to consider. A proposed six-stage model categorizes various levels of commitment that cities have demonstrated towards achieving gender equity. This model allows cities, such as Toronto, to assess their individual progress on gender equity relative to other cities and to better understand the need to increase their efforts. Lastly, recommendations to the City of Toronto to enhance its gender equity approach are discussed. Despite the limitations of this study, the author believes it was highly necessary to document and disseminate the issues related to the City of Toronto's approach to gender equity in order to open up productive dialogue between the City and the community and to motivate effective, equity-enhancing change in a timely manner.</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Organ donation in India is a complex issue due to the country’s large population, diverse religious beliefs and myths surrounding organ donation, varying literacy rates, nation-wide focus on disease control, and the commercialization of organs. India has only made marginal steps to address the significant obstacles in order to ensure adequate supplies of organs are available to meet the demand.</p> <p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of this study is to analyze the feasibility of implementing an organ donor registry in Mumbai, India. This is achieved by reviewing current organ donation policies and processes in Mumbai, exploring perceptions of key informants about Indian government health priorities, and identifying possible reasons why the Indian government has not made efforts to increase the deceased donor rate.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> This qualitative policy analysis employs semi-structured interviews with physicians, transplant coordinators, and representatives of organ donation advocacy groups in Mumbai to explore key informants’ perceptions about the feasibility of developing and implementing an organ donor registry. The 3-I framework (ideas, interests, and institutions) is used to analyze the results and frame the discussion and their implications.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Key informants cite various barriers to the implementation of an organ donor registry in Mumbai, including public misconceptions about organ donation, competing health priorities on the government agenda, and limited hospital infrastructure.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In the absence of a focusing event or a policy entrepreneur who is able to push the issue of organ donation onto the health policy agenda, both central and state governments may have little incentive to aggressively pursue the implementation of a donor registry in more than a superficial way. Moreover, even if the issue reached the government’s policy agenda, current barriers may be too overwhelming to overcome. This suggests that implementing an organ donor registry in Mumbai as a means of enhancing organ availability is not feasible in the current environment. Instead, efforts to enhance the transplant system should focus on alternate strategies, such as public education, until the policy environment becomes more amenable to change.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

This study provides insights into the behavior of an environmental policy subsystem. The study uses neural network theory to model the Gulf of Mexico Program's allocation of implementation funds. The Gulf of Mexico Program is a prototype effort to institutionalize a policy subsystem. A project implementation fund is at the core of the Gulf of Mexico Program. The United States Environmental Protection Agency provides the implementation fund and the Mexico Program Office (GMPO) administers it. The GMPO uses the implementation fund to encourage other federal, state, local, and private organizations to undertake projects designed to improve the environmental quality and economic vitality of the Gulf of Mexico and its surrounding region. The implementation fund constitutes a program "portfolio" and is the Gulf of Mexico Program's primary means of influencing policy. The way a policy subsystem manages its program portfolio through the allocation of fiscal resources provides important insights about its priority concerns and dominant actors. The benefits of this study are threefold. First, the study offers an initial systematic description and analysis of the Gulf of Mexico Program and its policy implementation process. Second, using the Gulf of Mexico Program as a prototype, the study sheds new light on why and how policy subsystems formulate and implement policy. Finally, the study provides a means to assess the value of neural network theory as a technique for modeling and analyzing policy subsystem behavior. / Ph. D.

Unstable residential and inadequate academic environments lead to poor educational outcomes for low-income students in urban areas. In 2011, Ohio enacted a law to create a college preparatory boarding school (CPBS) for low-income students by 2013. However, Ohio's CPBS has not yet been established, thereby denying these students an opportunity to attain skills needed to enter college. Using the policy feedback theory (PFT) and Fredrickson's theory of social equity (SET) as foundations, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the nature of implementation barriers and propose solutions by exploring 2 successful CPBS programs in Maryland and Washington, D.C. The research questions focused on identifying implementation practices from the successful CPBS programs with the aim to propose options to implement Ohio's law. Data were collected from a purposeful sample of 14 participants which included 2 Ohio legislators; public administrators, Ohio (7), Maryland (1), Washington, D.C (3); and 1 Ohio union leader, and a review of relevant public and official records. All data were deductively coded and subjected to a constant comparison analysis. Results showed that Ohio's public education administrators were excluded from the CPBS policy's design, unlike their peers. Further, Ohio's CPBS law favored a particular stakeholder involved in its design and was not executed when Ohio's education administrators and the entity disagreed over public assets ownership. The findings affirmed SET's condition for an open and inclusive policy process and PFT's claim that current policies affect resources and the paradigm for new policies. Positive social change implications from this study include recommendations to Ohio's policymakers to create a more inclusive process involving parties willing to provide an effective learning environment for economically marginalized children.

In the aftermath of the 2008 economic recession, governments across the globe were forced to confront a difficult reality: growth and spending would need to be revised dramatically downward while central government systems would have to be made more efficient. In the United Kingdom specifically, the 2010 general election became a referendum on how quickly and severely to implement austerity policies the likes of which had not been seen for generations. Why did the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition choose austerity when other alternatives, such as a public sector stimulus package, were also available? To answer this question this research seeks to understand how and why political actors in the United Kingdom respond to economic and political crises through the implementation of specific efficiency reforms. This is accomplished through two specific steps: the establishment of an analytical framework to better understand the dynamics of efficiency reforms and an in-depth study of the historical development of efficiency reforms from the early twentieth century through the present. A historical institutionalist theoretical foundation is employed in order to understand the evolution of ideas throughout this time span. A thorough understanding of institutional effects, including aspects of lock-in effects and process tracing, are essential components of understanding why powerful political actors choose certain efficiency reforms over others. Ultimately, this research is meant as a first step towards a greater understanding of efficiency in government. Previous research has examined specific reforms in relative isolation without the benefit of historical context. By systematically tracing the evolution of efficiency reforms across different eras a more complete understanding of policies and political actors is established. Further research, including comparative studies across political systems and the incorporation of quantitative date, is discussed in the conclusion.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act is India’s most recent national-level policy in pursuit of universalizing elementary education. While some states have been successful at increasing the number of students who attend school, reducing dropout rates, and reducing the rates of out of school children, others are still struggling to make progress. The states that are successful are surprising in some instances because they are not particularly wealthy, they have large rural populations, and some face larger socio-political issues. This thesis finds that the states succeeding in meeting RTE goals are not always the states that are the best at implementing RTE norms. States are often successful when they violate the RTE norms in order to suit their communities’ educational needs. States are also successful when they introduce child welfare policies outside of education in order to address external issues that prevent children from attending school.

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts