There have been extensive debates on the factors that influence local policy decisions. Although many researchers have contributed to uncovering various influences such as political, economic, institutional, and demographic factors on local policy decisions, however, the concept of QoL rarely has used in extant literature. Local government spending is likely to be affected by citizen demands for achieving community well-being. Additionally, given that different policy functions variably affect local circumstances, the impact of QoL on local policy decisions will depend on the policy area. Hence, this study examined the relationship between QoL and local budgetary decisions based on Peterson's (1981) policy scheme of, three distinct policy arenas (developmental, allocational, and redistributive policy). In examining the relationship of QoL and city spending across policy functions, I also considered economic, political, institutional, and demographic factors, derived from various theoretical perspectives on local policy decisions. The relative influences of community QoL as well as other factors on local policy decisions were estimated by two-stage least squares regression analysis (2SLS) for developmental spending and by ordinary least squares (OLS) for allocational and redistributive spending. To measure community QoL, this study used 89,066 completed surveys from 167 communities in the United States for 2002-2008 are used. QoL appeared as a critical factor influencing local government expenditures in the three policy areas. The impact of QoL on local spending in the three areas differed depending on city income levels; city income levels then moderated local policy decisions. These findings suggest that local policy priorities adjusted in accordance with economic growth. Allocational policy functions also should be thought to be functions of cities geared toward giving them a competitive edge over other cities by meeting evolved citizen preferences for city amenities. These findings also point to distinct patterns of political activities in each policy arena. Given that community QoL reflects adjusted citizens' demands, I contend that community QoL can contribute to performance management by providing additional public information and a complementary performance indicator. / Ph. D.

Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals embody Smart Growth in their effort to revitalize urban areas, finance environmentally responsible transportation systems, provide housing options, and protect natural resources; yet the State defers to its municipalities to implement this planning framework. This research focuses on Goal 14 (Urbanization), linking most directly to Smart Growth Principle 7 (Strengthen and Direct Development toward Existing Communities). It assesses Eugene's, Keizer's, Salem's, and Springfield's growth management policies that specifically target infill development of single family homes against this Goal and Principle. Though these municipalities must demonstrate consistency with the same Goals (see Supplemental File 1 for this context), this research questions whether sufficiently different policy approaches to curtailing sprawl yield significantly different results. The primary analytical method is a logistic regression that uses parcel-level data to understand how administration affects development by isolating these policies' direct effects on observed outcomes (see Supplemental File 2 for this theory).

Cybersecurity is a growing threat not only to nations, critical infrastructure, and major entities, but also to smaller organizations and individuals. The growing number of successful attacks on all manner of U.S. targets highlights the need for effective and comprehensive policy from the local to federal level, though most research focuses on federal policy issues, not state issues. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the decision-making process within the current cybersecurity policy environment in a southern state of the United States. Sabatier's advocacy coalition framework served as the theoretical framework for the study. Data were collected through 5 semistructured interviews with individuals who were either elected or appointed officials, emergency managers, or subject matter experts. These data were transcribed, then coded and analyzed with McCracken's analytic categorization procedure. Participants recognized that the federal government provides some resources but acknowledged that action at the state level is largely funded through the state resulting in a network of dissimilar policies and protocols in states across the country. Findings also revealed that state leadership in some locations better grasps what resources are needed and is more likely to earmark in order to plan for unanticipated cybersecurity needs of the public. Analysis of study data also highlighted areas for future study and identified needed resources or areas of opportunity for creating a more comprehensive and effective cybersecurity policy environment. Implications for positive social change include recommendations for state and federal decision makers to engage in community partnerships in order to more effectively protect the public from cybersecurity threats.

This thesis investigates the dynamics behind the urbanisation processes in ex-rural areas where agricultural economy had collapsed. Being aware of local values marketable in tourism, applying tourism as an agent of change is a pervasive vision. This approach relies on strategies that highlight local resources to compete in the tourism market by making use of technical means of globalisation. It is expected that the process diversifies local economies in order to bring welfare to the entire local community. To this end, a great functional role is attributed to local NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and local governments on behalf of local democracy. Thus, a power process begins in the place subjected to tourism development. The actors in this power process can be effective at different scales like local, national and supra-national. This thesis maintains that the transformation in rural areas cannot be kept distinct from the political processes that result in the transformation of cities. Both transformations endeavour to solve system crises. The transformation in rural areas should be accepted as a process of class strategy that has both winners and losers itself. For this purpose, this thesis investigated the local agents of this class strategy, whereas it initiates the capital accumulation process in cities by the agents of either state apparatuses or market mechanisms. This investigation aims at the role of local non-governmental organisations and local governments in this process. An Aegean town which faced a rapid transformation along with tourism development is selected for the case study because the development was known as an autonomous local movement that was not based on a tourism development plan. The case study was based on qualitative data from deep-interviews with local community members and the actors of tourism development. According to the findings of the study, entrepreneurs that belong to mid-classes of big cities initiated and conducted the development process. These actors, who had more financial means and cultural capital than the local community, represented themselves and acted through local NGOs / then, they examined power in order to construct rationalities of the development in their own favour. These rationalities which were beyond capacities of local people did not result in participation of local people in the development process. Local people only affected the process of decision-making through property holdings. Consequently, capital accumulation process of this mid-class, the main actors of the development, was accelerated because local people sold or rented out their properties in the real estate market developed by the tourism. On the other hand, the local government formed a counter power striving to attract both national and supra-national big capital to the town in the process.

In 2000, respectively 2003 the Czech Republic finished the first and the second stage of public administration reform, which is closely linked with the issue of public financing, especially the financing of municipalities. This diploma thesis analyzes the problematic aspects of the financing of municipalities in the Czech Republic in terms of the status of municipalities in the political system. Municipal budgets are the means by which local governments fulfil their objectives, policies and ensure the development of their municipalities. It is a highly topical issue. Political leaders of local authorities are not due to play the differing roles and provide different level of public services, united in the opinion of the form of financing of local budgets. Municipalities do not have such a strong unified voice in ensuring its priorities. These different interests are reflected in the programs of political parties. The question of financing municipalities would probably disintegrated ODS and TOP 09 together with STAN in the coalition in cas of the absence of other contradictions. The issue of local governement funding goes beyond the scope of political science. It is multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary topic. In order to grasp and research the topic from political science perspective, it is...

The absence of federal government consensus on various nicotine policy matters, such as the legality of menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes, gives rise to distinct agendas, policy landscapes, and public attitudes at the state and local levels. As a result, nicotine activist groups and interested stakeholders are actively engaged in shaping the future of nicotine policy and use. This thesis explores the culture of local activist groups in Central Florida to understand how they influence nicotine-related policy change and set the tone for nicotine use in their communities. Drawing on data collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with activist group members, key actors, and nicotine users in Volusia County and Orange County, I argue that various external and internal factors compel activist groups to adopt a reactive strategy in addressing nicotine-related use and disparities rather than a proactive one. This thesis provides a novel, holistic perspective on nicotine-related policy change from both the activist and user viewpoints, and contributes significantly to scholarship on nicotine policy change by filling a previously unexplored gap in the anthropological literature.

<p>This thesis is a case study that examines what political decisions have been taken and how these policies have been implemented. Further this thesis discusses how legitimacy of local policy makers and implementors is affected. The subject studied have been the social service of Jönköping municipality and the intervention of safe-housing aimed at women who have been, or are subject to violence by person close to them. In our study we have examined local policy within the territory of the intervention and how this policy is implemented. A qualitative method with semi-structured interviews was used in combination with quantitative methods to examine protocols from the social welfare board and an action program named <em>"Skydd och stöd för misshandlade kvinnor och deras barn” [Protection and support for abused women and their children].</em></p><p>The purpose of this study has been to highlight how the social services implemented the local policy of safe-house accommodation in Jönköping municipality from the legitimacy and discretion perspectives. Theoretical concepts used in the study is legitimacy, discretion and implementation. To analyze our data we use the street-level bureaucracy theory (Lipsky 1980). Our survey showed that the intervention safe-house accommodation was not mainly governed by local policy, instead, it was directed by street-level bureaucracy.</p>

Este estudo tem como objetivo identificar as dinâmicas dos atores sociais relacionadas à temática das plantas medicinais no contexto da Região Noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul. O trabalho buscou seguir as práticas sociais visando resgatar e analisar a trajetória do Fórum pela Vida, identificar práticas enraizadas localmente de trabalho com plantas medicinais e analisar em profundidade a experiência da farmacinha Saúde Alternativa em Santo Cristo/RS. O Fórum pela Vida foi criado no final da década de 1990, no Rio Grande do Sul, mobilizando grande contingente de pessoas interessadas ou envolvidas com as temáticas das plantas medicinais, saúde, produção de medicamentos, políticas públicas, proteção da biodiversidade. Após um processo desmobilizador em nível estadual, o único Fórum que continuou atuando foi o da Região Noroeste. Para analisar tais processos, a Perspectiva Orientada aos Atores (POA) foi utilizada. Para este fim o trabalho inicialmente apresenta o local do estudo e introduz a discussão sobre o desenvolvimento e a batalha de conhecimentos. Para em seguida, analisar a trajetória do Fórum pela Vida enquanto organização estadual e local, apresentando a transversalidade de temas, interfaces de conhecimentos que perpassam os fóruns. Na última parte do trabalho analisa a farmacinha Saúde Alternativa identificando quais eram as problemáticas cotidianas que fomentaram a organização das mulheres, trazendo a discussão sobre a saúde como tema transversal. Ao abordar a ação social e a luta pelo resgate do conhecimento sobre as plantas medicinais, evidenciou-se como os diferentes projetos de desenvolvimento afetam o cotidiano dos indivíduos e, como os mesmos encontram saídas e mobilizam manobras. / This study aims to identify the dynamics of social actors related to the theme of medicinal plants in the context of the Northwest Region of Rio Grande do Sul. The study sought to follow the social practices in order to retrieve and analyze the trajectory of the Forum for Life, identify locally rooted practices working with medicinal plants and analyze in depth the experience of farmacinha Alternative Health in Santo Cristo / RS. The Forum for Life was created in the late 1990s, in Rio Grande do Sul, mobilizing large numbers of people interested or involved with the theme of medicinal plants, health, medicine production, public policy, protection of biodiversity. After a demobilizing process at the state level, the only forum that continued acting was the Northwest Region. To analyze these processes, Oriented Perspective to Actors (POA) was used. To this end the work initially presents the study site and introduces the discussion on the development and battle skills. To then analyze the trajectory of the Forum for Life as state and local organization, with the crosscutting issues, knowledge interfaces that run through the forums. In the last part of the paper analyzes the farmacinha Health Alternative identifying what were the everyday problems that fomented the organization of women, bringing the discussion on health as a crosscutting theme. In addressing the social action and the fight for the rescue of knowledge about medicinal plants, it became clear how different development projects affecting the daily lives of individuals and how they find ways out and mobilize maneuvers.

This thesis is a case study that examines what political decisions have been taken and how these policies have been implemented. Further this thesis discusses how legitimacy of local policy makers and implementors is affected. The subject studied have been the social service of Jönköping municipality and the intervention of safe-housing aimed at women who have been, or are subject to violence by person close to them. In our study we have examined local policy within the territory of the intervention and how this policy is implemented. A qualitative method with semi-structured interviews was used in combination with quantitative methods to examine protocols from the social welfare board and an action program named "Skydd och stöd för misshandlade kvinnor och deras barn” [Protection and support for abused women and their children]. The purpose of this study has been to highlight how the social services implemented the local policy of safe-house accommodation in Jönköping municipality from the legitimacy and discretion perspectives. Theoretical concepts used in the study is legitimacy, discretion and implementation. To analyze our data we use the street-level bureaucracy theory (Lipsky 1980). Our survey showed that the intervention safe-house accommodation was not mainly governed by local policy, instead, it was directed by street-level bureaucracy.

This dissertation examines various internal factors within a county and external factors outside the county that influence policy adoption. Particular attention is given to external factors, or the possible ways that counties respond to the policies of their neighbors. This study focuses on the multiple external processes involved that contribute to policy adoption. These include policy diffusion, lagged diffusion, and conditional diffusion. These processes are used to test hypotheses that will better explain how counties react to their neighbors' policy adoptions. Unlike most studies that examine only one process, multiple processes are tested to determine if they vary across different policies. This study explores Tax Incremental Financing districts, smoking bans, and the sales tax rates of counties in the state of Missouri. Missouri is politically, economically, and demographically similar to other states, therefore making it a sufficient case for this study. I find that different processes are involved in policy adoption, and that counties mainly react to one another through economic competition. I also find that certain county-level characteristics influence a county's likelihood of adopting policies. These findings will enable scholars to better determine the multiple processes involved in county policy adoption.