This dissertation takes a three-article approach in which the literature from public administration, political psychology and sociology is synthesized around student veterans as a new phenomenon in higher education and public policy. By examining student veterans through the Social Construction of Target Populations (SCTP) framework, these articles contribute to the theoretical understanding of how social identity at the group and individual levels impact a target population's understanding of and reaction to a policy that does not always align with the policy-makers' intent. Because the current SCTP literature has focused on how policy-makers construct target populations and the practices they use to mitigate any negative effects of policy feedback, these articles offer a new perspective by applying symbolic interactionism as a method for capturing the two-way interaction between the target population and the policy's intent. The articles focus on the policy feedback mechanism in the SCTP framework to explain why and how policies shape the identities of target populations, and how they in turn, engage in the policy process by first presenting student veterans as a new social concept, then presenting a case study of how an organization that represents student veterans achieved policy change, and finally, interviewing veterans, revealing that their individual interpretation of the policy is not always representative of the student veteran identity as constructed by policy-makers and advocates. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation takes a three-article approach to understanding how and why student veterans are different from other veterans based upon the latest policy changes to expand educational benefits available through the G.I. Bill. The first article describes what policy-makers and veterans’ organizations claim a student veterans is – a Post 9/11 veteran pursuing higher education that will lead to a career or fulfill the needs of 21st Century jobs. The second article presents a case-study of how an organization that represents student veterans was able to engage in the policy-making process and succeed in achieving policy changes that resulted in the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, also known as the Forever G.I. Bill. The third article focuses on the factors influencing veterans’ decision-making process about when and how to use their educational benefits based on how they understand and interpret the policy. All three articles provide a new perspective on the ways in which policy-makers and advocacy groups can create a new social identity group, such as student veterans, and design and implement policies based on the assumptions these policy actors have about the group. However, at the individual level, student veterans might not always behave in the way policy-makers expect them to, causing student veterans to use or not use their educational benefits based on their perceptions of what the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill means to them.

Many families that experience hunger in the United States rely on Food Assistance Programs to meet their daily nutrition needs. However, these programs do not always meet the needs of these individuals, as has been the case for individuals living under higher than expected levels of poverty in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Using policy feedback theory (PFT), the purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences of individuals from a county in the Great Lakes region of the United States, who depend on the federal Food Assistance Program, with particular attention given to evaluate the effectiveness of distribution mechanisms in helping these individuals meet their food needs. Data were collected through interviews with 11 program clients, 3 program administrators, as well as publicly available agency data. These data were inductively coded and then analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis procedure. Key findings revealed that clients perceived the Food Assistance Program as ineffective in preventing food insecurity without additional programs and resources. The findings also revealed that distribution mechanisms negatively impacted food recipients with limited income, resulting in increased food shortages, requiring recipients to seek additional food programs and resources. These findings also exposed barriers to employment opportunities for recipients, adding to the stress and anxiety experienced from food shortages. Positive social change implications from the findings include providing information to program administrators that can be used to improve the Food Assistance Program, which may in turn improve the lives of those who rely on food assistance programs.

Submitted by Cristiane Oliveira (cristiane.oliveira@fgv.br) on 2011-05-26T14:43:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 72070100770.pdf: 1157601 bytes, checksum: 1d3888d450999d88a856a92549764b8c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia(suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2011-05-26T15:07:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 72070100770.pdf: 1157601 bytes, checksum: 1d3888d450999d88a856a92549764b8c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia(suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2011-05-26T15:09:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 72070100770.pdf: 1157601 bytes, checksum: 1d3888d450999d88a856a92549764b8c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-26T17:18:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 72070100770.pdf: 1157601 bytes, checksum: 1d3888d450999d88a856a92549764b8c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-23 / A pesquisa tem por objetivo explicar o processo político que resultou na configuração institucional do setor federal de transportes consubstanciado na Lei 10.233, de 2001, que reestruturou os transportes aquaviário e terrestre, criou duas agências reguladoras autônomas vinculadas ao Ministério dos Transportes e um conselho para propor políticas nacionais de integração dos diferentes modos de transporte, além do Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura de Transportes. Utilizando-se a abordagem teórica do institucionalismo histórico da Ciência Política contemporânea e o método de comparação controlada com um caso contrastante, a saber, a reestruturação institucional do setor de telecomunicações, a análise mostra como a sequência do processo de reforma e a atuação do mecanismo de policy feedback delinearam um tipo de mudança institucional no setor de transportes caracterizado pela introdução de novas regras e organizações sobre as existentes, diferentemente da mudança no setor de telecomunicações, no qual foram removidas as antigas regras e organizações, substituindo-as por novas. / This research aims to explain the political process that resulted in the current institutional arrangement of the federal transportation sector in Brazil. The Federal Law 10233, of 2001, restructured water and land transportation; it created two autonomous regulatory agencies, a council to propose national policies to integrate the different modes of transport, and the National Department of Transport Infrastructure. Using the theoretical approach of historical institutionalism from contemporary Political Science and the method of controlled comparison between two contrasting cases, namely the cases of the telecommunication and transportation institutional reforms, the analysis concludes that the temporal ordering of the reform process and the mechanism of policy feedback had a significant impact on the outcomes of the transportation case, delineating a pattern of institutional change characterized by the introduction of new rules and organizations on top of existing ones, whereas in the telecommunication sector the institutional change was typified by the removal of existing rules and organizations and the introduction of new ones.

As experienced fighter pilots leave the United States Air Force (USAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), there is a need to develop new competent pilots to meet national defense requirements. Fighter training programs are expensive for taxpayers, and the USAF and RAAF face significant resource problems developing and implementing these programs. Using policy feedback theory and punctuated equilibrium theory as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this comparative, multi-case study of current USAF F-16 and RAAF F-18 fighter pilot training policies was to inform training policy development and efficacy of future USAF and RAAF fighter pilot training programs. Data were gathered from training policy documents and 12 interviews with F-16 and F-18 pilots. Data were deductively coded and analyzed using policy feedback and punctuated event themes. Findings indicate that policy feedbacks and punctuated events influence fighter pilot training policy. Best practices for training include optimum stress management, appropriate academic course timing, and phase-based training techniques. Optimal instructional approaches included a servant leadership philosophy and a need for improved kinesthetic flight preparation tools and procedures. The USAF and RAAF approach fighter pilot training differently. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to the USAF and RAAF that may improve fighter pilot training policy at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayers.

Increasing numbers of Florida parents are withdrawing their children from traditional public schools in highly-rated school districts to enroll them in tuition-free, startup, charter schools. Since not all parents have equal access or are as equally motivated to elect school choice alternatives, the fiscal sustainability of the traditional public school system is at risk. Using Schattschneider's policy feedback process as a model, the purpose of this research was to gain an in depth understanding of the role policy perception plays on the decision-making process by parents. Data for this qualitative single-case study were collected through interviews with 8 charter school parents residing in a single top-performing Florida public school district. All data were inductively coded and then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Key findings indicated that participants elected school choice based on perceptions that diminished curricular rigor and diminished classroom safety are the direct result of the classroom compositions found in a general education classroom in a traditional public school. The participants opined that the inability of traditional public schools to adequately accommodate for the diverse abilities of students placed in general education classrooms in accordance with current policy results in higher-achieving students being disenfranchised. The social change significance is showing how parental perception of existing policy impacts school choice election, thus providing guidance to lawmakers about legislative reforms that could limit the school choice migration and secure the viability of traditional public schools for those children limited in school choice options.

Food insecurity (not having continuing access to nutritious food to maintain health) is common in the United States, especially in working poor households. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a well-documented safety net for individuals and families struggling with food insecurity. Little is known about the effect of SNAP policy on food insecurity in working poor military households. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of food-insecure Army families and the perceived influence of SNAP policy on their food-insecurity. The theoretical framework was policy feedback theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 13 Army heads of households. Data were coded and categorized to identify 3 themes: impact of Army culture, federal programs as stabilization, and limiting SNAP policy. Participants struggle with food insecurity due to unique aspects of military culture, such as transition, and the limitations of current SNAP policy. Findings may be used to inform policymakers of the influence of SNAP policy on food insecurity in the U.S. Army.

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.

The patient-as-consumer has emerged as a narrative in the government health care system that cares for beneficiary veteran patients, elevating the phenomenon of choice in health care legislation and administration. The problem of the submerged state of a health policy was the issue examined within the context of access to health care and what patients experience when choice is present. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations of beneficiary veteran patients to choose a preventive care option, a seasonal flu shot, at a private sector retail pharmacy rather than at their government health care provider, with the goal of understanding what social marketing strategies supported their decisions, how they defined choice, and what they expected from their choice option. Research questions focused on reasons for patients’ decisions to choose outside preventive care within the context of a social marketing campaign and their interpretation of choice in health care policy. Drawing on the policy feedback theory, an interpretative phenomenological approach was employed. Purposive semistructured interviews of 7 patients were conducted. Data were analyzed using a 3 step process that included descriptive theme-centered coding, emergent sub-coding, and a clustered coding analysis. Two key themes emerged: first, choice in health care policy is relative to a patient’s individual circumstance, and in order to have choice, one must have options; and second, veterans value their earned health care benefits and trust their government provider. Implications for social change include policy maker awareness of the importance of social marketing as a tool for communicating a health policy and legislation so they can make more informed decisions and veterans can feel empowered as patients.

Recent episodes of financial instability have motivated researchers as well as policy makers to intensify research on financial stability. This thesis contributes to current research and policy discussion by elaborating and empirically testing methodologies, which can be used to measure financial sector vulnerabilities and identify potential risks for financial stability. It further focuses on the link between real and the financial sector as well as possible implications of household financial distress on the aggregate economy. Together with the proposed framework we provide the survey of the current literature on these topics as well as the empirical results. We argue in favour of stress testing methodologies covering the key risks on banks' balance sheets. These frameworks can also be used for emerging markets where data availability is typically limited. It is shown that due to high volatility of credit growth in emerging economies, the static approach assuming constant balance sheet items is not very appropriate. Furthermore, the feedback effect between the financial sector and the real economy might play an important role under certain assumptions, and therefore it should be taken into account by policy makers. This effect can also emerge in the real sector itself as potential instability can...