Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 317-325).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Iowa, 2007. / Supervisor: John Geweke. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-135).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-96). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

<p> The <i>Every Student Succeeds Act</i> of 2015 authorizes a pilot program that allows up to seven states to develop innovative assessment and accountability systems. Prior to the official pilot program launch, the U.S. Department of Education approved one pilot program&mdash;New Hampshire&rsquo;s Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE). To implement the PACE pilot, the New Hampshire Department of Education received a 2-year waiver (2014-2016) from federal statutory requirements related to state annual achievement testing and was granted additional waivers for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. The purpose of this study is to investigate the average effect of the PACE pilot on 8th grade student achievement outcomes in mathematics and English language arts during the first two years of implementation. This study also examines the extent to which those average treatment effects vary according to student characteristics and among PACE schools. PACE students are compared to non-PACE students with similar probabilities of being selected into treatment using propensity score methods. Multi-level modeling is then used to estimate the average treatment effect for students receiving either one or two years of treatment. Findings from this study provide preliminary evidence that the PACE pilot is having a positive effect on 8^th grade student achievement outcomes in mathematics for some students starting in the second year of implementation and no effect in English language arts. Findings also suggest that students with disabilities that attend PACE schools tend to exhibit positive differential effects in comparison to students with disabilities in the non-PACE comparison group in both subject areas, although these findings should be considered exploratory due to the small number of PACE IEP students in the sample. Findings also suggest that male students that attend PACE schools tend to exhibit negative differential effects in comparison to female students in the non-PACE comparison group in both subject areas. Results are descriptive not causal, however, findings could be used to provide assurance to key stakeholders that PACE students are provided an equitable opportunity to learn the content standards. Also, because the focus of PACE pilot is on performance assessments used throughout the year, this study provides initial evidence that the learning gains on performance assessments may carry over to the more traditional state standardized tests. Implications for research, policy, and practice are also discussed.</p><p>

abstract: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA) Public Law No: 111-148, substantially changed health insurance access in the United States. One group that the law particularly affects is young adults, defined as individuals between the ages of 19 to 26. Specifically, the expansion of young adult dependent coverage was one of the first provisions that went into effect after the ACA’s enactment. This dissertation comprehensively studies the impact of the ACA’s dependent coverage provision on young adults. Across three empirical chapters, the dissertation examines outcomes related to health insurance coverage, labor market outcomes, and educational enrollment. Chapter 1, titled “Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Young Adults Insurance Coverage,” documents the changes in health insurance take-up for the young adults population, which has historically had the lowest rates of such coverage. Changes in coverage are also evaluated separately for sub-groups of young adults. Chapter 2, titled “Labor Market Outcomes for Young Adults,” evaluates whether the law altered employment decisions and earnings for this group. It also assess whether the ACA led to increased job mobility for young adults. Finally, Chapter 3, titled “Does having Dependent Coverage from the ACA impact Educational Enrollment,” evaluated changes in educational enrollment levels for young adults following the expansion of parental dependent coverage. The research conducted in this dissertation provides evidence of the ACA’s impact on health insurance coverage, employment, and education. It also provides support for the claim that the ACA covers insurance gaps that young adults might experience as they go through life transitions when they are likely to lose coverage. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Policy 2017

abstract: Science can help inform policy decisions by providing information on the risks and benefits of a technology. In the field of nanotechnology, which is characterized by high degree of complexity and uncertainty, there are high demands for scientists to take an active role in policy debates with regulators, policy-makers and the public. In particular, policy-makers often rely on scientific experts to help them make decisions about regulations. However, scientists’ perceptions about policy and public engagement vary based on their individual characteristics, values, and backgrounds. Although many policy actors are involved in nanotechnology policy process, there are few empirical studies that focus on the establishment of coalitions and their impact on policy outputs, as well as the role of scientists in the coalitions. Also, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulatory authority over nanoscale materials, there is a lack of literature that describes the use of science on EPA’s decision making of nanotechnology. In this dissertation, these research gaps are addressed in three essays that explore the following research questions: (1) how are nano-scientists’ individual characteristics and values associated with their perceptions of public engagement and political involvement? (2) how can the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) can be applied to nanotechnology policy subsystem? and (3) how does the EPA utilize science when making regulatory decisions about nanotechnology? First, using quantitative data from a 2011 mail survey of elite U.S. nanoscientists, the dissertation shows that scientists are supportive of engaging with policy-makers and the public about their results. However, there are differences among scientists based on their individual characteristics. Second, qualitative interview analysis suggests that there are two opposing advocacy groups with shared beliefs in the nanotechnology policy subsystem. The lineup of coalition members is stable over time, while the EPA advocates less consistent positions. The interview data also show a significant role of scientific information in the subsystem. Third, the dissertation explains the EPA’s internal perspective about the use of science in regulatory decision making for nanotechnology. The dissertation concludes with some lessons that are applicable for policy-making for emerging technologies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration and Policy 2017

<p> The scholarly research on emergency supply chain management acknowledges its inherent significance in efficacious disaster response, however, what is unknown is how to employ alternative means of transportation, specifically hybrid airships, to deliver relief aid direct to a point of need amidst a lack of intact infrastructure following disaster. The purpose of this study was to investigate subject matter expert opinions to determine the level of consensus on how to apply the innovative transportation mode of hybrid airships to emergency supply chain management through delivery of emergency supplies direct to a point of need despite a lack of intact infrastructure following a disaster event. It addresses the following research question: How do subject matter experts envision effective employment of hybrid airships in emergency supply chain management within the United States? This research was a qualitative, Type 2 case study of Hurricane Sandy utilizing the examination of publicly available documents and focused interviews. The interview sample was a criterion-based selection of subject matter experts who participated in the logistical response to Hurricane Sandy, and the sample of documents were obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Qualitative data analysis was used to identify and interpret themes throughout the data, and content clouds were specificity used to assist in visualizing interview transcript data. The consensus among subject matter experts is that hybrid airship application to emergency supply chain management should commence via a FEMA initiative to preposition the craft regionally throughout FEMA zones. Future research should address integration challenges through a Delphi study to poll a broader range of subject matter experts to refine consensus on hybrid airship employment in disaster logistics.</p><p>

abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine Maricopa County high school teachers' perspectives on educational policy rhetoric messages. The current time and setting among Arizona high school educators provide a unique opportunity to gain the perspective of those who will be implementing the reform and held accountable for subsequent student performance before the reform takes effect and while the policy talk that precedes reform efforts is at its peak. The questions that this study sought to answer were the following: 1. What are Maricopa County High School teachers' perceptions of policy talk regarding Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSSI) and high stakes accountability measures with respect to student achievement outcomes and implementation? 2. How do these perspectives vary by teacher context (e.g. experience, content taught, district, and site demographics) within the 9-12 educational system? To determine the answers, a sequential explanatory mixed methods design was selected. The first phase involved the collection and analysis of quantitative data followed by collection and analysis of qualitative data in the second phase. A survey instrument was developed utilizing CCSSI/PARCC policy rhetoric statements and was administered to high school teachers. Initially, survey data identified overall trends among high school teachers' perceptions of educational reform policy (CCSSI) talk messages. Subsequently, qualitative focus group interviews further informed results. Results indicated that portions of policy talk messages have resonated; however, these tended to be the oldest and most oft-repeated statements. Newer messages related to changes in instructional practices and student outcomes were less widely accepted. It would appear from the results that teachers are unsure of what CCSSI really entails due to a lack of clarity in message and presentations for practitioners regarding implementation. A significant complicating factor in this effort is the unique nature of the CCSSI as a nationalized movement. Furthermore in Arizona, the backlash of conservative Republicans against CCSSI has led some teachers to believe that the implementation is up in the air, without discernible direction or support. This has left educators to interpret this latest change through their own lenses, which has defined their level of agreement and acceptance with these policy statements. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2014

In the developing countries where development plans are effected through the budget, it is imperative that effective and efficient execution of plans require not only integration between planning and budgeting, an efficient budgeting system, but also that, since national goals are realized through fulfilment of planned targets in programs and projects, the budgeting system should have a built-in format which reflects such activities, and that they ought to be the basis for financial allocations. The essence of such effective integration, an efficient budgeting system and presentation of activities in the budget, lies in the fact that since planning is a continuous process which involves the constant re-examination of trends, tendencies, policies, in order to adapt and adjust government policies and to make plans flexible, it requires as its basis for rational decision-making and ultimate selection of courses of action, assemblage of facts, data thoroughly analysed to ensure that what has been planned is in fact achieved. The planning process, and even more so the plan execution process, thus needs a lot of active, positive support to be successfully maintained; an efficient management tool providing the necessary vehicles for evaluation of achievements of planned targets. Therefore it is hypothesized that the evaluation of a development plan's performance is of only partial validity if it is not based on a budgetary classification system, which along with reflecting the physical and financial targets in the plan is effectively integrated with it. Integration between a comprehensive plan and the budget involves first, annual programming of the goals and targets in the plan; second, assignment of responsibility of carrying out its component programs and projects; third, effective coordination and the closest of co-operation between the central planning agency, the ministry of finance and the operating agencies; making such an annual program the basis of budget presentation and allocation of financial resources to accomplish the targets; and fifthly integrating the physical and financial plans of the programs in the budget classification system to provide tools for progress reporting and evaluation. Using the Soviet planning experience to illustrate the processes involved, it is noted that although the processes are complex, yet the planning and budgeting systems are fully synchronized. Such effective co-ordination and integration are found to be wanting in many developing countries. The formulation of plans is divorced from plan implementation and there is no link anywhere in the budgeting system between planned targets and financial allocations. Planning is thus not only incomplete but also ineffective as the mechanism to give effect to planning decisions is not attuned to the requirements of development planning. It is demonstrated that owing to inadequate planning, or lack of flexibility in planning, absence or inadequacy of proper and efficient communication between planning and budgeting agencies, deficient budgetary techniques employed in the process of plan implementation and failure of the budgetary system to link financial resource allocations to the needs of physical targets, the system operating, leads one to conclude that an efficient budgeting management system to implement plans may be more important than the plans themselves. Therefore since evaluation and analysis of progress on projects and programs is critical to "planning for development" to enable selection from among alternative objectives, policies and programs and optimal allocation of limited resources, the attributes of program and performance budgeting that help in this process are analysed. It is demonstrated that it is an efficient management tool whose salient features can contribute to both effective plan implementation and execution and the whole planning process. It is pointed out that the technique links planning with budgeting and provides in its format planning goals in the form of programs and project targets linked to the requisite financial resources and also provides the necessary classification systems and tools to evaluate a plan's performance. The principles of program and performance budgeting provide the basis for the case study of Ghana's planning and budgeting systems. It is demonstrated that although some features of the technique are being utilized, there is not effective coordination and co-operation in the formulation and presentation of annual programs and the budget. Owing to this lack of coordination it is demonstrated that plan implementation and execution has been ineffective and that there is room for improvement. In conclusion, it is emphasized that in countries "planning for development" an efficient budget mechanism to effectuate the social, economic and physical development policies of governments is more important than the development plans. Thus it is noted that program budgeting is an efficient mechanism and the information it provides is very essential and useful to formulating, implementing and evaluating soundly conceived plans. As such it is a useful tool which a developing country, like Ghana, should adopt to buttress its development planning efforts. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate