Over the past two decades, public organizations have been encouraged and, at times, required to incorporate evidence in their decision-making processes. Evidence broadly refers to data and or knowledge that is gathered, analyzed, and used to generate a conclusion. Despite arguments and the intrinsic assumption that using evidence to inform decisions will improve organizational performance, there is limited empirical research to support this assertion. The proposed study addresses this gap in research and others in the context of local flood risk management. Specifically, using primary data gathered from local floodplain managers and secondary data from the US Census and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), this study seeks to determine (1) the extent to which organizations responsible for managing flood risks exhibit a culture that uses evidence to inform decision making; (2) the predictors of an organization exhibiting a culture that uses evidence to inform decision making; (3) whether organizations exhibiting a culture that uses evidence to inform decision making experience better flood risk management performance outputs (e.g., implementation of mitigation measures) and outcomes (e.g., increased flood resilience); (4) the types of evidence organizations use to manage flood risks; (5) the type of evidence that is associated with better flood risk management performance outputs and outcomes; and (6) whether knowledge of an effective flood risk management program for improving organizations' ability to deal with potential climate change impacts influences an organization's decision to adopt the program. Data gathered from an online survey of 342 floodplain managers in Florida and Texas provided insights into these six research aims. First, respondents reported their organization moderately uses evidence to inform decision making. Additionally, the main factors impacting an organization's culture of evidence usage was if the community had experienced more presidential disaster declarations and if the floodplain manager identified as male and had obtained the Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) licensure. Results also indicated that an organization's culture of evidence usage had not statistical effect on flood risk management performance outputs and outcomes. Rather, the main factors impacting flood risk management performance outputs and outcomes include perceptions of flood risk, participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) program, employee capacity to use evidence, and organizational capacity to manage flood risks. Respondents reported a slightly higher usage of professional evidence compared to scientific evidence; however, neither type of evidence were associated with better flood risk management performance outputs and outcomes. Finally, knowledge of an effective flood risk management program for improving organizations' ability to deal with potential climate change impacts did not appear to influence an organization's decision to adopt the program.

Public universities in the United States have experienced continual state budget reductions since 2008. These cuts have forced public universities to defer maintenance on existing facilities and delay new facility construction. Consequently, public university administrators have sought alternative financing approaches to meet their facility needs. Several public universities have turned to social infrastructure public-private partnerships (P3s). Using a multiple case study approach, this exploratory, descriptive research study examines the use of social infrastructure P3 projects by public universities to determine: (1) what public university facility needs are being addressed, (2) what types of P3s are being utilized, and (3) what role private sector financing has in public university social infrastructure P3 projects. The cases within this study aligned with popular media sources that highlight public university use of social infrastructure P3s to meet facility needs beyond student housing. Of the twenty cases examined, sixteen included a private financing component. Among these cases, the social infrastructure P3 projects were most often financed through tax-exempt bonds provided by state economic development agencies and private partner equity. These financing approaches differ from traditional P3 models. The creative financing methods employed by public universities may have implications for other types of social infrastructure.

This dissertation constructs a Marxian class analysis of one of the most high-profile municipal privatizations of the 1990s---the privatization of New York City's Central Park. Two arguments are advanced. First, it is shown how the complex class analytic contradictions that municipal privatization processes give rise to may work to: undermine private sector rates of accumulation, and stimulate non-capitalist class processes. While the former finding necessarily casts a long shadow over the mainstream privatization discourse's central efficiency/cost propositions, the latter finding highlights the limitations of the discourse's hegemonic association that weds privatization processes to "capitalism." Building upon the latter finding, the final chapter advances an argument that centers on the class transformative opportunities privatization processes---both in the municipal and global contexts---might afford. Such opportunities open up immense theoretical and policy space for radically reconsidering and rethinking privatization processes.

The purpose of this study was to assess Air Force compliance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 USC 1531, et seq.) through an examination of the natural resource management programs on selected installations. The method of approach was an internal document search and personal involvement. Four installations with an endangered species in common, the red-cockaded woodpecker (Pocoides borealis), and a single installation, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, with nine endangered species were selected for analysis. The Air Force is not in complete compliance with the Act. Natural resource managers are not employed at three of the five installations. The endangered species programs do not dominate the resource management programs as strict interpretation of the law would require. Determination of compliance is not only a factor of the evaluation of the biological program, it must include an assessment of the guidance and regulation provided by the law. A sufficient body of case law has not been developed to fully define compliance, however, the indications are that strict interpretation of the Act is neither ecologically nor politically possible. The Air Force cannot comply with the law, biologically, politically, or budgetarily. The Air Force recognizes the pragmatism of wildlife management and will continue "business as usual" with endangered species management programs until a threat of legal action puts emphasis on an installation. Ultimately, court decisions will determine the appropriate compliance in each situation.

This study explored the extent to which contemporary public discourses, as instantiated by the January, 1991 United States Senate debates on the question of war with Iraq, show evidence of what Jean Bethke Elshtain refers to as chastened patriotism: a new politics unencumbered by traditional war and peace discourse and its totalizing aspects. Discourse analyses revealed many examples of chastened patriotism constructions in the texts of these debates, embedded in a range of discursive formations. The analyses revealed, also, that the structure of the debates had no determining influence on displays of such constructions. As a whole, the study presented that Elshtain's chastened patriotism vocabulary is accessible to pragmatic appropriation, and is sufficiently rich of ethical content and political possibility as to lend to the making of a less dangerous and deadly world.

The study focuses on the perceptions of women who are managers in the Executive Branch of Massachusetts State Government. In particular, several formal and informal organizational systems that help or hinder the career advancement of women into upper level positions are explored. Three questions were addressed: (1) How do female managers gain familiarity with various aspects of the workplace such as organizational culture and access to resources? (2) What sorts of flexible work options and benefits would be particularly important or useful to career-oriented female managers? and (3) What steps do organizations take (or should organizations take) to insure the existence of and appreciation for workforce diversity and the equitable treatment of all employees? A representative sample of 500 research participants was randomly selected from the total population of women who are managers in the Executive Branch of Massachusetts State Government. A mailed questionnaire was distributed to each of the women in the sample. A return rate of 68 percent was achieved. Some of the highlights are: the research participants' view of their place of employment is regarded as cooperative, flexible, and empowering; the availability of supportive people is perceived as emanating from the workplace; and an informal source of information about their workplace is available. There was also evidence of a willingness to help, support, and mentor others, especially women, and a high degree of compliance and support of affirmative action and antiharassment policies by employees in their workplace. The data also indicated a need for: more women in top executive positions; a more systematic use of training to encourage professional growth and enhance career mobility; a more systematic use of and evaluation of flexible work options and support mechanisms; and a greater use of and refinement of male/female mentoring, role modeling, and support.

This study was designed to examine the unanticipated changes that occur for single organizations that participate in Interorganizational Relationships (IORs). Its purpose was to discover the unanticipated effects that organizations participating on one IOR known as the Neighborhood Center Association (NCA) experienced. It was focused to examine effects at an organizational level and to take into consideration NCA development over time. Through the use of participant observation, in-depth interviewing and document analysis methods it was intended to provide an insider's viewpoint of the case. This combination of purpose and focus was shown to be unique and lacking in the general literature on IORs. The NCA was a partnership of neighborhood centers which delivered human services to their neighborhood residents. All centers were located in the same small city and shared four common funders. The author was involved as a consultant to the partnership for several years. The NCA was seen to proceed through a series of developmental stages over its lifespan from 1980-89. Those stages of increasing then decreasing intensity were named as Networking, Coordination, Collaboration and Decline (Loughran, 1982). The results of the study identified five general areas of unanticipated changes that occurred for neighborhood centers participating in the NCA. (1) The NCA tended to impair the ability of neighborhood centers to adapt to their changing environment and eventually facilitated the forced consolidation of centers by their funders. (2) The existence of the NCA acted to unify neighborhood center funders together which in turn affected both neighborhood centers and the NCA in many ways. (3) The NCA served to intensify relationships between neighborhood centers and their directors which led to unexpected complications in those relationships. (4) The NCA required commitments of its members and thus tended to reduce their autonomy. (5) Consultants (including the author) were involved in nearly all key NCA development issues and thus strongly influenced that development and the subsequent effects on neighborhood centers.

The recent increase in the number of disasters and complexities surrounding existing emergency management efforts necessitate cross-sector collaboration and coordinated response. While previous scholarly works have discussed emergency management efforts from a collaborative perspective, little consideration has been paid to the role public-private-nonprofit partnerships (PPPs) play in emergency management and disaster response. Understanding the outcomes of PPP can be particularly important for emergency managers who make decisions under uncertain conditions and complex situations. The purpose of this study is to operationalize emergency management PPPs and assess the role of these networks on three outcomes organizational resilience, PPP institutionalization, and PPP effectiveness. To this end, this study developed an interdisciplinary conceptual framework using literature from public administration, emergency management, and health management disciplines. Using the proposed conceptual framework, this study designed a web survey for emergency managers and operators (i.e., practitioners) in public, private, and nonprofit sectors in Florida. The findings of this study can help emergency managers across multiple sectors and policymakers to better understand the factors that contribute to successful PPPs in emergency management and assist them in planning for, managing, and utilizing their resources when collaborating with other organizations in response to disasters. This study also provides policy and practical implications for federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as local emergency management offices from public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

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