<p> This thesis was written as to meet the requirements and specifications of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy National Security capstone course SPP 607.01. Written in the spirit of the official National Security Strategies created by each Presidential administration, this document looks to analyze policy concerns of the United States, surrounding the Russian Federation. Despite the seemingly endless points of contention between both nations where there interests conflict, there are an abundance of opportunities where both nations&rsquo; interests align. It is within these concurrent interests that opportunities arise for coordination and cooperation. Policy makers whom adopt a realistic understanding of the Russian Federation, can pragmatically craft policy to advance American interests in the region and more readily protect the Security of the United States.</p>

<p> Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities in Florida. The collected data included reviews of local news reports, voter turnout reports, and community health assessments, along with focus groups and semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 of the communities&rsquo; African American residents. Benet&rsquo;s polarities of democracy model was employed to analyze the relationship between racism and social capital. Analysis included inductive coding followed by pattern matching to identify overarching themes between the selected cases. One key theme was that perceived racial disparity inhibited bridging and linking social capital in the selected communities. Another key theme was that racism created social capital deficiencies and a dysfunctional community culture, which limited the capacity to address collective issues. Social change implications include specific policy recommendations to state and local leaders to increase the participation of Black community members in democratic processes. Additionally, this research has potential to improve understanding of the various ways that racism may affect Black Communities.</p>

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The objective of this study is to examine the effect of existing nursing home services on the elderly. In addition, it will also examine the effectiveness of the Alternative Health Service Project, The servlces provided under the project include: Alternative Living Services (adult foster care, boarding care, congregate living); Home Delivered Services (home health services and personal care assistance) ; and Adult Day Rehabilitation (ambulatory health care and health related supportive services in a day center. AHS clients reside. in two of Georgia’s ten Department of Human Resources aistricts, .Oistrict III (Atlanta), DIstrict X (Athens), are 50 years old or older, and either reside in a nursing home or have been certified. for nursing home care prior to receiving prolect services. All potential clients receive a health and. social needs assessment:. Of those persons who are felt to he appropriate for alternative services, 75 percent are referred Coservice group, the remainder are assigned to a control group and are not offered AHS services. The existence of the control group allows AHS to comnare the effectiveness of project services with nursing home care and other services available in the community, Since the population of the elderly in this community is increasing yearly, the availability of various services to address their needs is imperative. Until recently, the nursing homes are the only care centers available to the elderly. The various documented abuses by these nursing homes demand that alternatives should be found, The Alternative Health Service is one that is being presently explored. The main sources of information were Georgia Department of Medical Assistance Annual Reports and interviews with clients. In addition, the writer used other publications such as books, periodicals and journals.

The main purpose of this degree paper is to assess the impact of Reaganomics on the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM). In the context of this effort, the follow ing categories of NCBM programs and activities will be analyzed: educational and research; economic development;community development; municipal management; program coordination; and legislative and policy advocacy. By use of the case study approach, the writer conducts a detailed assessment of the impact of Reaganomics on a minority organization which to a large extent relies on Federal funding. The dismantling of certain programs and departments, coupled with a reduction in spending, tax cuts and the shifting of both the tax burden and public services from Washington to state and local government is seen by the NCBM as an attempt to reduce the gains made by minorities since the Reconstruction. The NCBN, like many other non-profit organizations endeavors to find alternative sources of funding to enable it to continue to operate and eventually become self—sustaining. The writer views various measures which are being pursued to ameliorate the negative impact of Reaganomics. The main source of information for this descriptive study was obtained as a result of the writer’s participative observation while assigned to the NCBM as an intern. Primary information was elicited from NCBM staff members as well as black mayors. A wider variety of information was derived from secondary sources such as textbooks, magazines, newsletters and NCBM file data. .

The primary intent of this degree paper is to discuss the current problems confronting Title II of the Social Security Act. An attempt has also been made to highlight the four major problems, namely the short and long-term financing problems, the negative effects on savings, the benefit increase dilemma, and the mandatory nature of the program, as well as presenting divergent viewpoints of many authorities on these problems. The social security program is very important to mil lions of elderly and disabled Americans. Without it, the economic hardships for these groups of people would be unbearable. The data for this study were obtained from books, periodicals, newspapers and unpublished materials.

The intent of this paper is to identify and recommend solutions to the inconsistency between zoning decisions made by the Atlanta City Council and the land use/zoning elements of the Comprehensive Development Plan. The first section consists of the introduction, which contains the definition of what is meant by zoning. The second section contains the agency's background information. Section three lays out the analytical approach and tools to be used. The last two sections give the analysis of the problem underlying the failure of the City Council to uphold the guidelines and policies of the Comprehensive Development Plan and the recommendations to resolve it. The main sources of informaton were interviews, per sonal observations and findings, numerical analysis and indepth examination of six selected cases.

This paper examines trade unionism in the City of Atlanta Civil Service. Focusing on the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and general service employees, with the city as members, the study employed the qualitative research methods of participantobservation and analysis of secondary data sources. Major findings of the study are first, the lack of collective bargaining agreement (contract) between AFSCME and the City of Atlanta. This problem is found to be related to the legal setting of the City of Atlanta, the influence of the Civil Service Board on labor relation matters and the attitudes of public managers towards collective bargaining. Georgia's law pertaining to collective bargaining is vague. As a non-statutory state, collective negotiations in Georgia are limited to a meet-and-confer policy and the use of the union security measure of dues check-off. Secondly, board members are found to lack proper qualifications in personnel matters yet are trusted with initial responsibilities of assisting the city in serving and maintaining highly skilled, motivated and productive personnel. In addition, the board is responsible for a complete evaluation and the passing of final disciplinary decisions on employees, without adequate experience and knowledge in these areas. The results are inconsistent judgement and delay in adjudicating grievance cases. Thirdly, the attitude of public managers towards collective bargaining with public employees in the city is negative. This negative attitude is enhanced by over reliance on attorney general opinions which govern and shape labor-relation matters in the city.