My thesis traces policy developments in the nuclear power sector in the Republic of France, which is the most dependent country on nuclear energy in the world. The country’s particular brand of elitism, their highly centralized and technocratic government, their reputation for an extremely low rate of carbon emissions, and their discriminatory treatment of immigrants, refugees, and low-income communities all complicate this issue. I limit the scope of my analysis to changes in nuclear policy during the past ten years, under the leadership of Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande and as of May 2017, Emmanuel Macron. Using a policy science framework, I diagnose the points wherein the nuclear energy policy process has malfunctioned, which has rendered it stagnant and ineffective. By adding an environmental justice lens, I show the ways in which the nuclear industry and its advocates perpetuate social and economic inequities. I begin with Sarkozy and his politicization of nuclear energy during a time in which public resistance was growing, thus reaffirming utilitarian principles, colonial hierarchies, systems of exploitation, and the elitism of government. While Fukushima presented a window of opportunity for the country to advocate and lobby for an energy diversification, Sarkozy used the media exposure to his advantage to propagate the economic benefits of nuclear energy, which are discredited by my research. While the socialist party historically stands in ideological opposition to nuclear energy, their complicated relationship with various nuclear institutions and their poor public image inhibited Hollande’s ability to decrease France’s shares of nuclear energy. France’s newly-elected president, centralist Emmanuel Macron, could very well be the political leader that unpacks and remedies deeply embedded problems in the nuclear energy policy process, but it is perhaps to soon to tell. The institutionalization of neo-colonialism, the principle of value-maximization, the increasing party polarization, and the notions of elitism in the French government constrain it and any of its representatives from disrupting and reinvigorating the corrupted policy process. However previous successes at the local level through grassroots mobilization suggest that the tables could turn under a new government and an urgent need to transition to renewables.

Broadly speaking, this research is intended to shed light on how post-genocide societies attempt to address a traumatic history and reconcile the problems of ethnic and religious hatred. Germany and Poland are especially ripe cases for such research given their historical memories of the Holocaust and unique legal and diplomatic efforts to counter anti-Semitism. However, since many of the policies on this issue have only been implemented in the past ten to fifteen years, there has not yet been a comprehensive study that has evaluated their effectiveness. This dissertation will attempt to fill this gap in the literature and provide new insight as to how states can best grapple with this problem. The central question for this research is: Have state policies been effective in reducing levels of anti-Semitic attitudes and incidents in Germany and Poland since 1990? This question will be investigated by first examining the historical development of anti-Semitism in each country, then discussing the policies implemented to address the problem, and finally evaluating the results of such measures. From a public policy perspective, this research will contribute to our understanding of the approaches taken by these two countries and discover which measures have been most effective in reducing anti-Semitic behavior and ideology. The findings show that while the policies implemented have tended to be effective in reducing general anti-Semitic attitudes and helping revive domestic Jewish communities, they have been less successful in reducing levels of anti-Semitic crime. The policy analysis portions of the dissertation provide a number of explanations for these outcomes and acknowledge areas for potential policy improvement. This research has implications not only for the region of Central Europe, but also other societies that continue to grapple with problems of ethnic and religious hatred.

The Tea Party movement’s effect on local and regional planning in Virginia has received little study. This work identifies how conservative political activism has impacted planning in the Commonwealth and how planners have responded. The study relies on a qualitative approach involving 22 semi-structured interviews with activists, planners, and citizens, as well as textual analyses of planning documents, local and regional news reports, and Tea Party social media. The resultant findings show that Tea Party activism is rooted in deep seated ideals about private property rights and individualism. It also reveals that planning processes that increased the amount of public input had the effect of mitigating the impact of activism. The study concludes by suggesting that strategies based in the communicative style of planning offer an effective way to overcome such opposition while enhancing the many benefits of having significant citizen input in the planning process.

As recent immigrants seek a productive and dignified life in “new immigrant destinations” that have little historical experience with immigration, public education systems serve a key function in immigrant integration efforts. In a federal system increasingly focused on accountability, a crucial sub-set of education policy and local responsiveness to immigration is English language instruction and services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and parents. In such contexts, the role that local bureaucrats play, and whether they actively represent the interests of the newfound diversity of community members, are crucial questions if strongly held American ideals of social equity and equal opportunity are to be upheld. This research asks broad questions at the intersection of bureaucratic power, representative bureaucracy and educational policy toward English language learners at the local level. Variations in how school systems in the political bellwether of Virginia responded to a recent policy shock - federal guidance released in January 2015 that reiterated local school system responsibility for providing equal educational access to LEP students and parents – form a unique window into local policy-making. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed methodology that consists of a state-wide survey and interviews with a sub-set of the Title III coordinators who supervise programs for English Language Learners, this research shows Title III coordinators to be unrepresentative in passive terms of the foreign born population but nevertheless to have a strong sense of advocating for English Language Learners. Findings suggest that public service motivation is the key explanatory factor in driving a sense of role advocacy and this in turn drives a greater range of action taking by the coordinator to benefit ELLs. Despite this link between role advocacy and coordinator action, role advocacy is not found to be significant in driving the likelihood or range of system level responsiveness to the letter. Instead, political and demographic factors increase the likelihood of system action but, counter to existing literature, more conservative localities are found to be more likely to have responded to the Dear Colleague Letter. This suggests that a previous reluctance to act in these places may have been dislodged by the letter and points to the importance of change over time in conceptualizing local responsiveness to immigrants.

The thesis deals with setting of a system of social housing in the municipalities of the Czech Republic. It is based in particular on the Concept of Social Housing of the Czech Republic 2015-2025, as the legislation on social housing in the Czech Republic has not yet been approved by the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The system is very fragmented for the above reason, there is no consensus in the definition, not even in determining to whom and under what conditions social housing should be allocated. The thesis builds on Schneider and Ingram public policy theory, the theory of social construction of target populations ("TSKCP"). The two main concepts of TSCTP - target population and policy design are the optics and subject of analysis. The most important research activity could be described as an analysis of the availability of social housing in 2nd level municipalities, which was implemented in the form of survey of 388 municipal webpages in order to find out the mention and methodology of providing social housing. Additional interviews with social and housing commissioners took place within one region of the Czech Republic, where we can presume similar socio-economic conditions, but due to anonymity, it cannot be specified more precisely. From the methodological...

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In recent years there have been many advances in the measurement of urban form. However, there is often a gap between the quantitative and qualitative approach, which can prevent useful policy application- scholars and policy makers often do not speak a similar language. This thesis seeks to answer whether LEED for Neighborhood Development can bridge the gap between the quantitative and qualitative and therefore serve as a useful policy metric for assessing urban form. Does it accurately capture an areas spatial structure and more importantly, is it policy relevant?

This paper analyzes nonprofit public relations and its relationship to development communication. It evaluates previous attempts to integrate the two fields for development purposes. The author then offers an alternative approach, a so-called public relations for community development (PRCD) model. The PRCD model is then tested in the form of a case studyùincluding digitally recorded video interviews and observationùon Warm Heart Worldwide, Inc. (WHW), an American-founded and operated nongovernment organization (NGO) in Phrao District, northern Thailand. The study aims to identify which elements of the PRCD approach WHW adheres to, and perceived efficacy of community development as a result. The data suggest that although WHW does maintain an underlying PRCD philosophy, it does not implement public relations practice as outlined in PRCD. In addition to the paper, the audio-visual data have resulted in a video titled Public Relations for Community Development: Warm Heart Foundation in rural northern Thailand .

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the continuous improvement process of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCP). Results of surveys conducted annually by the TNCPE from postapplicants provided data from the state award applicants. Their responses offered indicators of satisfaction among different industry sectors (education, government, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit, and service) with the TNCPE services (criteria booklet, feedback report, site visit policy, TNCPE staff, and team of examiners). The survey data were obtained from the TNCPE office in Nashville, Tennessee in which award applicants were provided a series of survey questions. These questions involved the overall award program and the site visit experiences. Within the program award, data included 26 applicant responses while the site visit surveys included 107 applicant responses. In addition, an alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests. The major conclusions were: (1) there are differences in the industry sectors with the length of the site visit, team of examiners' team leader's leadership, and the clarity of the feedback report (control vs. influence). Other tests were not statistically significant.

The purpose of this study was to discover and assess student financial services delivered to students enrolled at East Tennessee State University. The research was undertaken for institutional self-improvement. The research explored changes that have occurred in student financial services in the dynamic higher education market. The research revealed universities pursued best practices for the delivery of student financial services through expanded employee knowledge, restructured organizations, and integrated information technologies. The research was conducted during October and November, 2006. The data were gathered from an online student survey of student financial services. The areas researched included: the Bursar office, the Financial Aid office, and online services. The results of the data analysis revealed problems with the students' perceived quality of existing financial services and the additional services students desire. The research focused on student perceptions of the quality of financial services by age and gender classifications and response categories. Although no statistically significant difference was found between the age-gender classifications on the perception of the quality of the financial services studied, the research adds to our understanding of student financial services at East Tennessee State University. Recommendation for continued research included annual surveys of segmented student populations that include ethnicity, age, gender, and educational level. The research would be used for continuous improvement efforts and student relationship management. Also additional research was recommended for employee learning in relation to the institution's mission, goals, and values.