This study addresses the growth of multicultural education through a policy analysis paradigm. This study focuses on the growth and current status of multicultural education through policy formation, the administration of multicultural education through policy implementation and the effects of multicultural education through policy impact. To obtain data regarding the three areas of multicultural education policy status, implementation and impact, a survey was sent to all fifty chief state school officers (CSSOs). The survey inquired about the current status of multicultural education policy mandates and administrative processes used in policy implementation. Policy impact was assessed through CSSO's responses to ten perceptual statements about the impact of multicultural education. The findings reveal that thirty-three states have at least multicultural programming policy mandate in the areas of multicultural education, bilingual education, ethnic studies, affirmative action, textbook adoption procedures, or inservice education and technical assistance. The frequency of these policy mandates has decreased since 1980. The usage of certain common administrative practices were examined to determine multicultural education policy and program implementation. The most frequently used practices are (1) the involvement of students, teachers, administrators and community members in planning at the state level (2) a reflection of multicultural education in state education agency organizational structure and (3) assignment of specific personnel the responsibility for implementing multicultural programming. The impact of multicultural education is viewed by CSSOs as a positive force in schools; however, it has not been evenly implemented within or across the states nor has it been a major focus in most states. An examination of the response patterns of two groups of CSSOs (those with mandated multicultural education policies in their respective states and those without) reveals that the two groups view multicultural educational impact differently. Those CSSOs with mandated state policies responded more positively to the impact of multicultural education. From examining the data regarding policy status, implementation and impact, certain inferences are drawn about the current status and future of multicultural education.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Bibliography: leaves 629-639. / by Charles J. Perry. / Ph.D.

The purpose of this study was to examine three state-sponsored health insurance programs targeted at small businesses and identify the political and economic factors that contributed to their success. I evaluated the success of each states program using three criteria: reducing the number of uninsured, program participation, and providing portability. In my analysis, I examined factors which may have played a role in the varying levels of success that were observed. I found that the success of a program depended largely on two factors: economic conditions within the state and the quality of the program. / Department of Political Science

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Prior studies on state legislative elections have found gubernatorial coattails playing a key role; however, they fail to examine the temporal and state-based trends of this phenomena. Using precinct level data from nine states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming), over two election cycles (2002 and 2006), I measure the importance a state’s ideological makeup, and a governor’s institutional powers has on gubernatorial coattails. Findings reaffirm the importance of coattails, and previously researched variables; however, the addition of the above measures greatly affects coattail strength, dependent on host of controlling factors.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of state income taxes on returns to investments in forest management on private nonindustrial (PNIF) lands. It contains a review of major federal income tax provisions which directly affect timber investments. Income tax laws are described for individuals in the 50 states, with emphasis on those directly applicable to forestry. Two separate analyses are performed to examine the combined effects of federal and state income taxes on typical nonindustrial private forestry investments. In the first, the combined federal-state income tax liability is computed for hypothetical PNIF owners in the year of a timber sale. State income taxes for medium income landowners who manage their forest range from 4 percent of the total tax liability in Louisiana to 40 percent in Wisconsin. In the second analysis, after-tax returns are computed for a hypothetical forest management investment. The net present value of the investment for a landowner in the 33 percent federal and 10 percent state marginal tax brackets, ranges from $479 per acre in Wisconsin to $551 per acre in Oregon. The results show that provisions for long-term capital gains treatment, amortization of reforestation costs, and the deduction of annual operating expenses can be an effective means for reducing the impacts of federal and state income taxes on PNIF investment returns. North Carolina, California, and Oregon have special provisions for reporting forestry management cash flows which help reduce state taxes. It is important for investors to keep complete and accurate records in order to take full advantage of federal and state tax saving provisions. / Master of Science

There has been much scholarly attention directed at the Iraq war's role in determining voter choice. I attempt to extend that research into voter turnout to determine what role the Iraq war played in 2006 voter turnout. This paper argues that turnout at the state level could be explained by the number of US deaths each state had sustained from the Iraq occupation at the time of the election. A theory of voter activation based on information availability is put forth to explain the relationship between national events and voter turnout wherein national events like the Iraq war will raise the amount of information voters have at their disposal, which will increase the likelihood of their voting on election day. Regression analysis comparing the turnout rates of the 50 states to their casualties in Iraq revealed no relationship between the two factors, indicating that something else is responsible for the high turnout of the midterm.

The major purpose of this study is to analyze hazardous waste enforcement by the states as mandated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). States' historical enforcement records from 1980 to 1990 are analyzed to determine the pattern of variations in enforcement. This study differs from previous studies on hazardous waste regulation in that it employs longitudinal data from 1980 to 1990 to analyze states' enforcement effort.

Why do interest groups participate in state courts of last resort by filing amicus curiae briefs? Are they influential when they do? This dissertation examines these questions using an original survey of organized interests that routinely participate in state supreme courts, as well as data on all amicus curiae briefs and majority opinions in over 14,000 cases decided in all fifty-two state supreme courts for a four year period. I argue that interest groups turn to state judiciaries to achieve the dual goals of influencing policy and organizational maintenance, as amicus briefs can help organized interests achieve both outcomes. Furthermore, I contend that amicus briefs are influential in shaping judicial policy-making through the provision of legally persuasive arguments. The results suggest that interest groups do file amicus briefs to both lobby for their preferred policies and to support their organization's long-term viability. Additionally, the results indicate that organized interests also participate in counteractive lobbying in state courts of last resort by filing amicus briefs to ensure their side is represented and to dull the effect of oppositional amici. The findings also demonstrate support for the influence of amicus briefs on judicial policy-making on state high courts, as amicus briefs can influence the ideological direction of the court's majority opinions. Overall, this research extends our understanding of interest group lobbing in the judiciary and in state policy venues, and provides insight into judicial politics and policy-making on state courts of last resort.

Limiting the terms of members of Congress has become a highsalience issue in contemporary American political discourse, necessitating the attention of the United States Supreme Court to provide constitutional guidance. The forces reviving this debate, dormant since the nation's founding period, merit scrutiny. In addition to reviewing the positions of term limitation advocates and opponents, specific limitation proposals--which lack uniformity as some are chamber-specific, others are life-time bans, etc--also require investigation. The review of relevant judicial precedents will also provide helpful preliminary information useful to analyze U.S. Term Limits vs. Thornton, the term limits case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 1995. Researching this increasingly divisive political issue ought to generate a useful, concise synopsis of the historical and judicial issues underpinning the debate, the discussion itself, and analysis of relevant judicial action. / Department of Political Science