<p> Research literature has documented Nigeria&rsquo;s leadership crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1960. This crisis corresponds with political instability and infrastructure weaknesses, which have resulted in crime, corruption, poverty, lack of social cohesion and personal freedoms, environmental degradation, gender inequities, and deteriorating conditions of public works. No literature was located that addressed the impact of leadership on the governance and development of infrastructure in Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate this phenomenon in Nigeria between 1960 and 2010. The theoretical framework comprised Burns&rsquo; and Bass&rsquo; theories of transformational leadership, and Davis&rsquo; and Toikka&rsquo;s theories of transformation and transition in governance. Data were collected through personal interviews with a purposeful sample of 13 past presidents of Nigeria, public officials, and infrastructure development experts, and by reviewing secondary data on leadership and development in Nigeria during the period 1960&ndash;2010. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify patterns and themes. Findings showed that (a) political instability and the Nigerian civil war have been obstacles to infrastructure development and implementation; (b) military dictatorships implemented improvements, although they neglected rural areas; (c) a new national infrastructure plan must be funded, developed, and implemented; (d) corruption must be combatted in awarding project contracts; and (e) Nigeria&rsquo;s governance should be based on a pragmatic-visionary form of leadership. The implications for positive social change include informing policy makers about the importance of infrastructure development in Nigeria in order to improve economic growth and the lives of citizens.</p>

<p> This dissertation analyzes administrative discretion in public policy implementation in application of a new framework of integrative approach to administrative discretion developed from deficiencies of the citizen participation, representative bureaucracy, and private-interest groups democracy frameworks. The new framework holds that public agencies use discretion to integrate in decision making views of elected authorities, private-interest groups, public-interest groups, and other groups that seek to influence implementation. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy is used as the case study, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is the implementation setting. The dissertation answers the following question: How integrative of group views was DOE&rsquo;s discretionary decision making in the implementation of NCLB? This research applies a structured content analysis method that consists of content analysis and a content analysis schedule (see Jauch, Osborn, &amp; Martin, 1980). Using a Likert question, the dissertation developed six integration levels of DOE&rsquo;s discretionary decision making from not at all integrative to extremely integrative and found that most decisions were very integrative.</p>

<p> On October 1, 2013, the most visible component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) (ACA) went live. Health insurance marketplaces provided residents with a place to shop and receive subsidies for insurance plans that contained the essential health benefits required by the ACA. The ACA required each state to establish an exchange, but it also provided flexibility so if a state elected not to (or could not) build its own, the federal government would implement the marketplace. <b></b>A handful of states chose a hybrid implementation, which used the federal HealthCare.gov website but left certain decisions to the states. In the end, twice as many states chose to use the federal HealthCare.gov website compared to states that created a state-based marketplace and website. This trifurcated approach to implementing the health insurance marketplaces where residents were either served by a federally-facilitated, state-based, or hybrid marketplace, provides a unique situation for comparison and analysis relating to federalism and public policy implementation. </p><p> This policy analysis examines the implementation of the ACA&rsquo;s health insurance marketplaces in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It discusses enrollment success during the first five open enrollment periods across all three marketplace types. </p><p> Among the federally-facilitated, state-based, or hybrid marketplaces, was one type more successful than the others at enrolling residents in health insurance? What factors may have played a role in success or failure? This study discusses the ACA marketplaces as a case study in federalism and public policy implementation.</p><p>

<p> Concepts such as &ldquo;brain drain&rdquo;, although now outdated, capture the essence of the uneven distribution of costs and benefits of the migration of skilled workers from south to north. There is solid evidence of the positive contributions of skilled immigrants to their host economies. Nevertheless, the sending countries, with few exceptions, have not fully capitalized on the skills and networks of their high-skilled diasporas. This research adopts the diaspora option concept, which capitalizes on these skills and networks as a viable strategy for economic development. Using the migration relationship between Lebanon and the United States, this study contributes to a growing area of research that investigates the <i>search</i> role of skilled immigrants and returnees and their impact on knowledge transfer to the countries of origin. The research presented herein attempted to answer the overarching exploratory question: What are the patterns and dynamics of high-skilled diasporas and returnees&rsquo; direct and indirect <i>(search)</i> contributions to the home country and what related policies or facilitative interventions are needed to leverage and enhance these contributions? To address this question, the field research employed interview and survey techniques.</p><p> The findings of this research revealed that Lebanese diaspora high achievers and networks, as well as high-skilled returnees, have engaged in different forms of direct and indirect contributions to the home country, but their impact remains less than transformational on Lebanon&rsquo;s innovation system. There is substantial evidence of the nascent emergence of institutionalized Lebanese transnational search networks attempting to bridge and translate capabilities and opportunities between the home country and the global knowledge markets. These networks hold a growing portfolio of gestating projects and initiatives that have not yet materialized in tangible investments or success stories. Institutional factors at home, such as economic and political instability, weak infrastructure, and outdated regulatory and legal frameworks, in addition to the absence of diaspora engagement public policy, appear to be the main impediments for optimal and transformational engagement. These impeding factors represent areas for possible improvement if diaspora linkages and contributions were to be leveraged. Thus, the case of Lebanon demonstrates a laissez-faire diaspora option that encapsulates the suboptimal incorporation of skilled diasporas into the development process of their home countries without notable diaspora engagement public policy. Consequently, this research advocates for a proactive and fully endorsed diaspora option to better capitalize on countries&rsquo; skilled diasporas and returnees for transformational impact.</p>

<p> Understanding federal managers&rsquo; use of evidence (performance measurement data and evaluation results) to inform decision-making is an important step to develop concrete strategies to remove barriers to use and increase use. The goals of this research are to: 1) explain the extent to which senior level managers and executives in federal agencies use performance measurement data and evaluation findings and results to inform decision-making; 2) understand the factors that influence use of evidence to inform decision-making; and 3) explore strategies to enhance the use of evidence. </p><p> The study employs a case study approach focusing on four federal agencies whose managers&rsquo; exhibit varying degrees of success in utilizing evidence (e.g., performance measurement data and program evaluation results). The four case study agencies that are the subject of the study are: United States Agency for International Development (AID), Department of Treasury (Treasury), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Department of Transportation (DOT). The study relied on publicly available secondary data sources that were supplemented by document reviews and interviews with a small number of key informants. </p><p> The findings indicate that performance measurement use occurs within the four case study agencies, however, it&rsquo;s use declined from 2007 to 2017 for SBA, DOT and Treasury. Although a decline in use for some categories was evident in AID, other types of use increased. The results indicate that nearly 40% or more of respondents for the case study agencies use performance measurement data to inform decisions related to program strategy, problem identification and improvements and personnel performance related issues. </p><p> The data also suggest an important distinction and nuance associated with different levels of management who use performance information, as well as specific types of use. For example, the agency&rsquo;s top leaders and first line supervisors are more likely to use performance measurement data. However, an organization&rsquo;s middle management tends to be less likely to use data to inform decisions regarding changes to the program. </p><p> The most common factors that influence performance information use across the four case study agencies include: manager perceptions about who pays attention to performance information, the lack of incentives and the perceived authority (or lack of) to make changes to improve the program. In addition, access to timely and readily available data, information technology and or systems capable of providing the needed data, access to training, and staff knowledge and expertise to develop performance measures and conduct evaluations were found to influence the use of performance measurement. </p><p> In general, there is an overall decline in the percentage of managers who report an evaluation of their program was conducted from 2013 to 2017 in all four case study agencies. Despite this decline, over 50% of AID managers were aware of an evaluation that was conducted within the past five years. The lower responses reported by DOT (28%), SBA (32%) and Treasury (34%) is consistent with the absence of robust program evaluation efforts. In 2017, managers at AID, SBA and Treasury report using program evaluation results to implement changes to improve program management or performance, while AID, DOT and Treasury managers report using program evaluation to assess program effectiveness, value or worth.</p><p>

<p>This analysis evaluates three tax and expenditure limitation (TEL) policies in Colorado: the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR), the Statewide Limitation on Property Tax Revenue (SLPTR), and the Gallagher Amendment (GA). It extends previous research in two novel ways. First, it enables analysis of overlapping policies while incorporating county-specific characteristics, by abstracting away from specific policies. Rather, the focus rests on the impacts of these policies on property tax levies. Second, it incorporates spatial dependency to account for overlapping populations and economic activity. Econometric and machine learning techniques are employed to analyze county-level panel data from Colorado over the 1993-2009 time period. Within this framework, the revenue and expenditure implications of TEL policies are evaluated, and TELs are found to have material impacts in both cases. TELs are associated with depressed revenues and measurable changes in expenditure behavior. With this context, the final empirical section evaluates the drivers of successful "deBrucing" efforts, in which localities are able to exempt themselves from components of TABOR and SLPTR. The analysis demonstrates that socioeconomic factors are the dominant determinant of voting outcomes.

<p> Many researchers and political experts have commented on the disenfranchisement of the citizenry caused by irresponsible use of power by the government that potentially violates the 4^th Amendment rights of millions of people through secret mass surveillance programs. Disclosures of this abuse of power are presumably protected by the 1^st Amendment, though when constitutional protections are not followed by the government, the result can be prosecution and imprisonment of whistleblowers. Using a critical autoethnographic approach, the purpose of this study was to examine the devolution of democratic governance and constitutional rights in the United States since 9/11. Using the phenomena of my signature indictment (the first whistleblower since Daniel Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act) and prosecution by the U.S. government, data were collected through interviews with experts associated with this unique circumstance. These data, including my own recollections of the event, were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. The findings revealed that the use of national security as the primary grounds to suppress democracy and the voices of whistleblowers speaking truth to, and about, power increased authoritarian tendencies in government. These tendencies gave rise to extra-legal autocratic behavior and sovereign state control over the institutions of democratic governance. Positive social change can only take place in a society that has robust governance and social structures that strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and do not inhibit or suppress them.</p>

<p> Forestlands have been identified as a valuable resource to mitigate climate change due to the biome&rsquo;s capacity to both sequester greenhouse gases and substitute for fossil fuels. Woody biomass has been proposed as a substitutable input for coal-generated electricity as economies attempt to transition to renewable power while addressing economic development goals. However, increasing the intensity of forest management for energy production has the potential to result in significant ecological, economic and social consequences at local, regional and global scales. In this context, my dissertation explores the capacity of existing policy frameworks to stimulate and support sustainable power production from forest biomaterials. In Chapter Two, I explore the interactions between shifting goals, actors and institutions in influencing incentives that shape today&rsquo;s policy mix for woody biopower production in Wisconsin. The study&rsquo;s results reveal that the state&rsquo;s shifting focus away from using renewable energy as a means to pursue climate change mitigation and energy security goals combined with an absence of supportive coalitions has resulted in the dismantling of support for the woody biopower policy framework. In Chapter Three, I use data from a household survey of Tomahawk, Wisconsin residents to evaluate support for woody biomass production for power generation. Results show that respondents in biomass producing communities are more supportive of biomass sources such as forestry residues and forestry thinnings than dedicated harvesting operations. In addition, the results indicate that using an ecosystem services approach can help explain differences in support between these respondents and provide insights into socially acceptable forms of biomass harvesting operations. Chapter Four evaluates the use of sustainable forest management certification programs as a policy instrument to source sustainable woody biomass. The study evaluated the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification programs using bioenergy sustainability criteria found in the academic literature. The analysis shows a deficiency in these programs to address key criteria pertaining to climate change mitigation and would be improved by coupling sustainable forest management programs with bioenergy sustainability schemes such as designed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.</p><p>

<p> Existing research indicates that employee engagement is tied to positive organizational outcomes, like higher productivity and lower workforce attrition. Research also indicates the supervisors&rsquo; performance is a key element in improving the employees&rsquo; levels of engagement. Within the Federal government, there is a wide range of measured employee engagement. Given the importance of employee engagement, the key role of the supervisor, and the range of federal employee engagement, this mixed methods research was designed to identify promising practices from three agencies noted for their work in employee engagement between 2013&ndash;2016. There were three research questions. 1. Which large federal agencies&rsquo; survey responses in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) showed marked improvement in employee engagement and the performance of their first-level supervisors as measured between 2013 and 2016? 2. For those large federal agencies that were able to improve their employee engagement over the period 2013 to 2016, along with a large agency with consistently high engagement, what changes have they made in the areas of selection, development, guidance and support, and accountability for first-level supervisors? 3. Is there a correlation between the supervisors&rsquo; view of their agencies in those four areas, as reflected in the Merit System Protection Board&rsquo;s (MSPB) Merit Principles Survey Path L data, and the agencies&rsquo; employee engagement as evidenced by the established FEVS indices? </p><p> Through analysis of FEVS data, the Department of Labor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, were identified as large agencies with unusually positive results in employee engagement. Qualitative interviews, and the examination of statements by senior agency representatives, provided data regarding agency initiatives related to the improvements in the Office of Personnel Management&rsquo;s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) engagement indices. Additionally, the quantitative portion of this research identified specific areas of correlation between the views of supervisors at 20 large agencies using the Merit System Protection Board&rsquo;s 2016 Merit Principles Survey (MPS) Path L data, and employee engagement indices based on FEVS results from that same year. </p><p> Analysis of the quantitative data revealed numerous instances of statistically significant correlation between supervisors&rsquo; views expressed in the MPS data and the FEVS engagement indices. Composite variables were designed using the findings from the qualitative research and the identified correlations related to major initiatives. Linear regression of a model using three of these composite variables based on supervisors&rsquo; MPS responses, explained nearly 80 percent of the variation in FEVS employee engagement scores among the 20 large agencies in both the FEVS and MPS databases. Using both the rich understanding from the qualitative research, and the identified relationships from the quantitative results, recommendations for a process to address employee engagement in general, and numerous specific initiatives, focused on supervisors, are provided for consideration and further research.</p><p>

<p> This quantitative research was conducted to identify and examine what variables contributed to Kentucky Medicaid Region Three physicians&rsquo; experience of policy alienation (PA) and subsequently influenced their willingness to implement Kentucky&rsquo;s 2013 Medicaid policy strategies (WI). This research was a modification and expansion of the original study of policy alienation (PA) conducted by Tummers (2012a) testing the concept on another segment of healthcare professionals (Medicaid participating physicians) in Kentucky. Giddens&rsquo; structuration theory (1984) provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Findings indicated top down and bottom up (&ldquo;street-level&rdquo;) structural and material constraints influenced physician willingness to implement. Results supported all hypotheses and were consistent with the previous findings of Tummers (2012a). Finding in regards to physicians, what needs to be considered in the strategic management of Medicaid policy change are: 1. The influence of personalities, 2. The often unique aspects of Medicaid policies, 3. The often changing healthcare environment in which the policy is developed and implemented, and 4. Those unforeseen events that occur often disrupting even the best thought out strategies. Policy developers need to tailor and adjust strategies for policy implementation at each level of the hierarchy, acknowledging and recognizing a combination of factors influence successful policy strategy implementation and realizing strategies with the goal of instituting behavioral change at the &ldquo;street-level&rdquo; may not be effective in all regions. </p>