This research intends to gain deeper insight into the social innovation processes within public and private organizations. The purpose of the study will be to determine if public and private organizations are influenced more by internal organizational factors or external organizational factors. Using Roger’s diffusion theory, Mohr’s internal determinants and Berry and Berry’s unified theory as a foundation, this research will endeavor to prove hypotheses which suggest that private organizations are influenced more by internal organizational factors and public organizations are influenced more by external organizational factors although not exclusively. The research method for this study will involve a mixed methods approach. A survey of innovation champions will be implemented online followed by a qualitative interview of a subset of those respondents. In addition to the research specific to internal and external organizational factors, this study will also seek to assess the importance of the use of innovation champions during the social innovation process. Social innovation is a new concept in the realm of innovation. This research will offer much needed insight into a process that is new and evolving.

Research indicates that many youth-serving agencies do not adopt evidence-based innovations in the field of youth violence prevention. This qualitative study was designed to explore a sample of community-based decision makers’ perceptions of why innovative, evidence-based programs and practices for the prevention of violence by youth are, or are not, adopted at the local level. The rationale for this study was that knowledge of evidence-based innovations in youth violence prevention originates primarily from research scientists who are external to the organizations that are the intended recipients of the innovations. Prior research has not viewed the failure to adopt evidence-based innovations from the perspective of the impediments and facilitators of recipient organizations’ capabilities of understanding the value of and acquiring the new external knowledge. This research study used interviews from a purposefully selected sample of 28 decision makers in public and nonprofit organizations with youth-serving missions located in three urban cities. These interviews constituted a secondary data set for this study and were drawn from a larger set of 38 interviews after a review for suitability. The learning process model of absorptive capacity was used as an a priori framework for the analysis of the interviews. This model recognizes the influences of environmental conditions, knowledge characteristics, learning relationships, mental models, structures and processes, and strategies on the organizational capability to absorb new external knowledge. This study revealed that environmental conditions were a key impediment to the acquisition of new evidence-based knowledge for use in the adoption of YVP programs. Key findings were a lack of issue leadership and strategy at the local level and unstable funding for agencies’ core and non-core programs, such as YVP efforts. A second set of key findings demonstrated that mental models were facilitators and impediments. A high value was placed on YVP as an issue area, but the expectation was that YVP programs require external funding. Decision makers also defined program success differently than prevention scientists. Recommendations are offered for prevention science researchers to increase the likelihood that innovations in YVP will be discovered and utilized by practitioners.

Consumer direction, a model of long-term care service delivery where service recipients and their families/advocates have enhanced control and choice over the services that they receive, is a growing phenomenon in United States. As it becomes greater utilized, it is important to understand the model and study its impacts. This dissertation details the history of the consumer direction movement, describes the current landscape of consumer direction in the United States, and presents a comparison study of users of consumer-directed (CD) services in three of Virginia Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid Waivers. Self-determination theory is provided as a theoretical framework for understanding consumer direction. The influences of liberty, empowerment, and paternalism are discussed in the context of self-determination theory as well as multidisciplinary influences. Results from the study indicate that overall, CD services facilitate self-determined decision making by enhancing recipients choice and control over services. When comparing differences between waiver groups, the survey domain of “access” was the only domain where statistically significant differences (p<.01) were found. Implications for users, advocates, and administrators of CD services are discussed.

This dissertation examines reported campus crime at Virginia’s institutions of higher education. Utilizing secondary data and content analysis, the research seeks to determine the amount and types of crime occurring on Virginia campuses and which correlates explain such crimes. Three sources of campus crime statistics are included and scrutinized in detail, including the Clery Act statistics, Virginia Incident-Based Reporting statistics and campus crime logs. Regardless of data source, findings indicate that the vast majority of reported campus crime is comprised of property offenses. The research argues to separate analyses by campus police departments versus campus security departments for more meaningful findings. For multivariate analysis, the study employs campus crime logs as the outcome measure for reported campus crime. The results indicate that, in all models, percentage of students living on campus significantly contributes to the explanation and prediction of total, violent/personal, and property crime log offenses reported per 100 students at institutions with either campus police departments or security departments. Additionally, percentage male enrollment was found to significantly contribute to violent/personal offenses reported per 100 students at institutions with campus police departments. Implications of findings and recommendations for policy and future research are discussed.

This dissertation focuses on student learning outcomes assessment in criminal justice programs in American colleges and universities. Particularly, this research sought to establish a baseline understanding about how criminal justice programs are measuring student achievement toward learning outcomes. The baseline does not include what students should be learning or how that learning should be assessed; it includes only what is actually happening in criminal justice programs in terms of how student learning is being assessed. The baseline data were then compared to the results from two studies that focused on student learning assessment in political science departments and public relations programs in institutions of higher education.The population for this research included 834 two-and four-year accredited institutions of higher education that offer a degree in criminal justice/criminology. A total of 369 criminal justice programs were included in the randomly-generated sample, and 44 percent of these programs completed the online questionnaire.The online survey instrument used for this research consists of 30 questions that are aligned with the "ideal type" of learning assessment model where a set of learning objectives are developed, assessment instruments are created and implemented, data are regularly collected and analyzed, and changes are made to improve the curriculum/instruction.The major findings of this research indicate that a large majority of criminal justice programs are assessing student learning to some degree, but many are using instruments that are documented as ineffective measures of assessment (e.g., grades, surveys, and Major Field Test). Also, a substantial number of criminal justice programs are located in institutions that place a high priority on learning assessment, but a small percentage of the programs reported that adequate resources are available for assessment purposes. Regardless of these factors, many criminal justice programs seem to be following the ideal type of learning assessment model where the process is completed by making changes to the curriculum and instruction to improve student learning and development. When compared to political science and public relations, it appears that criminal justice as an entire discipline is up to par in terms of its overall involvement in student learning assessment.

The charter school movement is considered one of the fastest growing education reform efforts in the United States today, serving over 1 million children nationwide. The demand to improve the quality of education in the United States has been paramount over the last twenty years.In December 2001, Congress approved a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and renamed it the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), P.L. 107-ll0, H.R. 1. Although ESEA was enacted in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson to supplement state and local efforts to provide all children with high-quality education, NCLB has a broader and more ambitious scope than previous school reforms in that it focuses on student test results. It is believed that this legislation is a conduit for charter schools becoming the likely alternative to public education. This study will advance the discussion of the key factors of four States charter school movements and how charter school legislation varies from state to state. Additionally, the study will examine how NCLB was conceived and determine if there now exists a relationship between NCLB and the status of charter schools in the nation.Public school systems in the United States have operated as educational monopolies, creating barriers to other forms of elementary and secondary education, such as magnet schools. In crafting the NCLB, some policymakers viewed passage of legislation supporting NCLB as an opportunity to make dramatic changes in the delivery of education in this country.

In 2002, Virginia increased the age that children needed to be restrained in a child safety seat from age three to age five. Employing a pre and post intervention analysis, this study evaluated the 2002 Virginia child safety restraint law and determined if the number and severity of motor vehicle crash injuries to children ages four and five changed significantly post-law. Two groups of children, children under age four and children ages six and seven, were utilized as control groups. Motor vehicle crash injury and death data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles police crash report file, Virginia Health Information hospital discharge database, and the Virginia Department of Health death database from January 1, 1995 through June 30, 2007 were analyzed. Only select motor vehicle crash e-codes were included in the analyses. An independent samples t-test was conducted and rate per 100,000 was calculated for each age group to determine if there was an effect on the numbers of injuries, fatalities, and injury severity post-law. A significant decrease of injuries and mild and moderate injury severity in the target group and both control groups post-law was found. The target group had the greatest reduction post-law. The 2002 law, along with the interaction of concurrent events and initiatives and possibly spillover effect, may explain why all groups, saw significant reductions post-law. The possibility that education, federal initiatives, enforcement, engineering, public policy changes, and/or enhancements in the medical system may have played a role in the findings is explored. Future research on motor vehicle crash injuries is recommended if statewide emergency room, urgent care center, or physician office data are ever collected. Also, Virginia amended their child passenger safety law in 2007. The 2007 law required children through the age of seven to be properly secured in a child safety restraint. An analysis of the 2007 law would determine if the two year increase in age had an effect on injuries and fatalities of children when involved in a motor vehicle crash.

Abstract AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: LISTENING TO OLDER WOMEN By Suzanne Faries Lowe, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2008 Chairman of Committee Laura J. Moriarty, Ph.D. Professor of Criminal Justice Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs There has been a great deal of research during the past four decades on the topic of domestic violence. Very little research has been conducted, however, on the effects of long-term intimate partner violence on older women. The four women who participated in this in-depth study ranged in age between 63 and 70, and each had been in a violent and abusive relationship for at least twenty years. Two of the women were divorced from their abusers, while two were still married. Each of the women was interviewed twice, for a total of between 4 ½ and 6 hours. The interview topics included discussions of their childhood, courtship, marriage, and relationships with their now adult children. Social learning, social bond, feminist, and exchange theories were used as a framework for understanding the dynamics involved in these abusive relationships. The respondent’s experiences, observations, health issues and suggestions have been used, together with an examination of the pertinent academic literature on the topics, to formulate policy recommendations and ideas for fertile areas of future research.

The natural reefs of the world are experiencing higher use and pressures, resulting in anthropogenic impacts that are deteriorating many coral stands and creating poor water quality. The Florida Keys rely primarily on the reef system that surrounds the archipelago for their socioeconomic health and successful future. The Florida Keys shares the symbiotic relationship of the terrestrial and marine realms with many other states and countries and the experience of higher demand on the resource. Artificial reefs could provide a substitute to the natural reefs for commercial and recreational users. An increased demand for derelict vessels of the U.S. Navy and Maritime Administration has illustrated the popularity of their use as artificial reefs.Local decision-makers do not have the experience to apply to an artificial reef proposal and many rely on existing anecdotal data and "expert" testimony. A lack of evaluation criteria adds to the difficulties of determining if an artificial reef proposal is appropriate for their community. With little empirical data available in the literature and a lack of comprehensive pre and post deployment data completed, how does the decision-maker decide? This study seeks to determine if a method exists that provides criteria and best practices for evaluation of artificial reef projects. Although the study's focus is on artificial reefs, this matrix could be modified to apply to any project where similar dynamics apply. The matrix uses a disaggregate method modeled after the Goeller scorecard. The model provides a best practice's matrix developed through a meta-analysis of three existing artificial reef projects, a comprehensive literature review, and interviews with three decision-makers at different levels of participation. The matrix applies identified best practices and provides a scoring method that can assist the decision-making process. This study acknowledges the limitations of a research project such as this and realizes that many decisions in a political realm have variables not covered in a study of this scope. However, an identified lack of decision-making continuity demonstrates the need for such a study and the research provided within this study is an important first step.

This study examined the role of the Benefits Fraud and Compliance Act (BFCA) in affecting H1B hiring policy in the state of Virginia, as it pertained to seven computer science-related occupations. By employing an independent samples t-test approach, it was discovered that there was a statistically significant difference in H1B actual wages, proposed wages, and per-employer offers before and after BFCA.