<p> High school exit exams have become a popular policy tool in states as well as districts and even schools as a means of improving student achievement and holding students accountable. Despite the extensive use of these exams, the behavioral responses to them and their impact on student outcomes are not fully understood. This study used a nationally representative longitudinal data set&mdash;the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002&mdash;which tracked students starting in the spring of the 10th grade to explore the extent to which exit exam policies were associated with transfer behavior and student attainment outcomes. Transfer behavior was of interest because past research has found that schools that were successful in improving student achievement outcomes were not as successful in keeping transfer and dropout rates low (Rumberger &amp; Palardy, 2005). Transfer behavior was conceptualized as a mediator to the likelihood of earning a regular high school diploma. </p><p> The logistic regression models used to answer the study's research questions found no evidence that statewide exit exams impacted the likelihood of transfer between the 10th and 12th grades or attainment of a regular high school diploma. There was also little evidence that the intensity of the exit exam, as measured using a composite indicator developed by the author, was associated with transfer or attainment outcomes, although the intensity may be influenced by the longevity of the policies. </p><p> Using a broader identification of exit exams that incorporated statewide exit exams, school-initiated exit exams, or locally mandated exit exams identified by school administrators, there was some limited evidence that exit exams were associated with an increased likelihood of transfer and decreased likelihood of earning a regular high school diploma. These results were particularly evident for the bottom quartile of performers on an achievement test (those most likely to fail an exit exam), while having no apparent impact on the top quartile of performers. The findings of this study suggest that school-initiated or locally mandated exit exam policies may be a confounding factor in analyses of the impact of statewide high school exit exam policies. Recommendations for future research and policy are discussed.</p>

<p> Scholars have used studies of &ldquo;street-level organizations&rdquo; to examine how policy is implemented, adapted, and changed through the practices of workers in real-world contexts. This dissertation follows in that tradition, tracing the ways in which Medicaid reforms work their way down to the street-level in a community mental health center with its origins in the clubhouse model of treatment. Based on twelve months of direct observation of street-level practices, interviews with workers, and analysis of agency documents and reports, I examine how new managerial reforms shape the strategies that workers use to provide access to community mental health services and to advance the clubhouse logic of recovery. These findings have implications for scholarship across the domains of community mental health practice, organizational studies, and policy research, suggesting the need for further investigation into how policy reform is produced through the everyday practices of street-level organizations.</p><p> This dissertation uses organizational ethnographic methods to study workers&rsquo; practices at Community Club, a community mental health center located in Chicago, Illinois. The clubhouse is based on the idea that individuals whose lives have been adversely affected by severe mental illness can benefit from treatment in a setting that functions as a social club, where members experience themselves as valued and needed. At the same time, community mental health reforms have been advanced largely by new managerial arrangements that emphasize accountability and performance measurement. These reforms in governance and management produced considerable uncertainty for workers in how Community Club would adapt to changes in policy. This site provides an opportunity to examine how reforms &ldquo;worked&rdquo; in this particular setting and what became of the clubhouse model under new managerial arrangements.</p><p> Data were collected from November 2009 until November 2010. I directly observed therapeutic interactions at Community Club and attended weekly team and managers meetings. Interviews were recorded with frontline workers, team leaders, and program administrators as questions emerged from my day-to-day observations of direct practices. I had access to multiple sources of organizational documentation, including corrective actions, internal notices, and training materials. I attended meetings, webinars, and teleconferences at the Illinois Division of Mental Health for a year. I also attended monthly meetings at the largest community behavioral health trade association in Illinois for two years. Interviews were conducted with key informants at the state and trade levels to better understand how community mental health policy reforms took shape in Illinois. Data were analyzed in an ongoing and iterative fashion for thematic connections. Multiple data sources allowed for triangulation and fact-checking as hypotheses emerged over the course of this study.</p><p> This study finds that workers adjusted to reforms in governance and management in ways that were not reducible to formal statutes alone. First, new managerial reforms restructured the tensions that played out at the street-level as workers negotiated the competing demands of access to care. This study suggests that reforms may place pressure on workers to limit flexibility and openness, may produce both direct and indirect forms of rationing, and may introduce barriers that unevenly affect individuals who are &ldquo;harder to serve.&rdquo; Second, reforms in governance and management restructured three key logics of the clubhouse. Street-level practices that advanced community participation, informal group arrangements, and client self-determination were reshaped by organizational incentives and penalties that increased the costs for workers of providing these services. These changes had observable implications for individuals&rsquo; access to&nbsp;services and for workers&rsquo; ability to act in consonance with manifest principles of the clubhouse and recovery models of treatment. </p><p> This dissertation supports the assertion that formal policy is changed through its implementation in real-world contexts of practice. By revealing the structures that shape most decisively what policy becomes in practice, this study enhances the visibility of social welfare reforms that may otherwise obfuscate how reforms &ldquo;work&rdquo; in practice. This study suggests that social policies should focus not only on accountability and performance measurement, but also on supplying workers with adequate resources to do their jobs well. If, as advocates and researchers have long suggested, there remains significant need for services that support social connection among people with severe mental illness, then it is important for scholars and policymakers to think about how to better equip organizations with the resources they need to facilitate this dimension of care. This dissertation is based on a single case study, which limits the generalizability of its findings. Street-level organizational studies build validity over multiple iterations of case selection, using a comparative perspective to distinguish particular from systematic features of organizational practice. More studies are needed that examine how community mental health policies are produced in the everyday life of organizations, in order to better understand how polices give shape to the nature and distribution of care.</p>

<p> The growth of mobile phone use has paralleled increased reports of identity theft. Identity theft can result in financial loss and threats to a victim's personal safety. Although trends in identity theft are well-known, less is known about individual cell phone users' attitudes toward identity theft and the extent to which they connect it to cell phone use. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how cell phone use is affected by attitudes toward privacy and identity theft. The study was based on social impact theory, according to which people's attitudes and behavior are affected by the strength and immediacy of others' attitudes and behavior. The research questions concerned the extent to which participants connected cell phone use with decreasing privacy and increasing cybercrime, how the use of biometrics affected cell phone users' attitudes and behavior, and what steps can be taken to reduce the misuse of private information associated with cell phone use. Data collection consisted of personal interviews with representatives from 3 groups: a private biometrics company, individual cell phone users who earn more than $55,000 a year, and individual cell phone users who earn less than $55,000 a year. Interviews were transcribed and coded for themes and patterns. Findings showed that interviewees were more likely to see identity theft as a problem among the public at large than in the industries in which they worked. Participants recommended a variety of measures to improve cell phone security and to reduce the likelihood of identity theft: passwords, security codes, voice or fingerprint recognition, and encryption. The implications for positive social change include informing government officials and individual users about the use and abuse of cell phones in order to decrease violations of privacy and identity theft while still promoting national security.</p>

<p>Despite vast literature examining causes of terrorism, domestic terrorism has only recently begun to be studied as an entity unto itself. It has long been postulated that a country&rsquo;s wealth influences its domestic terrorism rates but very little research has backed that claim. Preliminary data suggests that there may be important differences between what leads to domestic attacks conducted by terrorist organizations and attacks conducted by people acting alone. The current study hypothesizes that the relationship between a country&rsquo;s wealth, as measured by GDP per capita, and its domestic terrorism rate may be different for lone-wolf terrorism than for group-affiliated terrorism. Results support this hypothesis but not in the expected way; per-capita GDP appears to have a non-linear relationship with lone-wolf terrorism and a linear relationship with group-affiliated terrorism. The data were highly sensitive to changes in model specification so caution must be taken when drawing conclusions based on these findings. Although these results are preliminary, they should encourage future researchers to examine the differences between lone-wolf and group-affiliated domestic terrorism to best understand and prevent both phenomena. </p>

<p> The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the impact that two notable school reforms have had on student achievement in Colombia. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay lays out the conceptual framework for the dissertation. It describes the education production function that underlies most analyses in the economics of education, and reviews the main evidence on the impact of school resource policies on student outcomes. </p><p> The second essay analyzes the impact of longer school days on student achievement in Colombia, where primary and secondary students attend schools that have either a complete (7-hour) or a half-day (4-hour) schedule. Using test score data from 5^th and 9^th graders in 2002, 2005, and 2009, along with school administrative data, this study identifies the effect of longer school days by implementing a school fixed effects model. The main model compares variation in average test scores across cohorts for schools that switched from a complete schedule to a half schedule and vice versa. I find that among schools that switch schedules between 2002 and 2009, the cohorts exposed to complete schedules have test scores that are about one tenth of a standard deviation higher than cohorts that attended half schedules. The impact of a complete schedule is larger for math test scores than for language test scores, and it is larger for 9^th grade test scores than for 5^th grade test scores. Effects are largest among the poorest schools in the sample, and those in rural areas. The results suggest that lengthening the school day may be an effective policy for increasing student achievement, particularly for the lowest-income students in Colombia and other developing countries. </p><p> The third essay analyzes the impact of the "Escuela Nueva" (EN) model (New School) on student achievement, using test score data from SABER 2002 and 2005, a national standardized test administered to 5^th and 9^th graders in Colombia. EN is an educational model originally designed to improve the effectiveness of rural schools. It is characterized by multigrade classrooms (i.e., one instructor teaches students in various grades in the same classroom), a child-centered curriculum, flexible systems of grading and promotion, intensive teacher training, and parental involvement. To mitigate the concerns about systematic selection of schools into EN that might bias the estimations of the EN impact, this study implements a school fixed effects model that controls for time-invariant characteristics within the school. Results show that among schools that switched models between 2002 and 2005, the cohorts of 5^th grade students exposed to EN have on average 0.135 of a standard deviation higher language test scores than cohorts exposed to other models, while there is no statistically significant impact on switching to EN for 9^th graders. The impact of EN is largest among rural schools and the poorest schools in the sample.</p>

<p> This research contributes to the literature on evaluation practice, by reflecting on the role of internal evaluation within organizational communication systems as a whole. A systems theory approach is used to reflect upon the role of internal evaluation, as a means to provide and communicate feedback information. In particular, this study represents exploratory research on the topic of "organic evaluation". Organic evaluation activities are defined in this study as properties that emerge spontaneously within feedback communication systems. Evidence of its practice has been identified within nonprofit organizations operating in Los R&iacute;os, Chile. The findings suggest that organic evaluation is conducted to produce and/or communicate feedback information within nonprofit organizations. Findings are also shared regarding needs and constraints that nonprofit organizations face when internally attempting to access, process, and communicate feedback information. Finally, this research highlights the importance in recognizing organic evaluation being conducted within nonprofit organizations in order to formalize its practice and improve feedback communication systems.</p>

<p> Cleveland has experienced population loss in the past decade because of the economic and foreclosure crisis, which caused many of the residents to move away, creating an increase in vacant homes and lots. Urban community gardens are a form of greenspace that repurposes vacant homes and lots that would otherwise be potential sites for debris, dumping, arson, squatters, and crime. Other forms of greenspace have been shown to positively increase feelings of community, ties to place, and create feelings of safety while offering social space and recreation areas in urban environments. I conducted a survey at three urban community gardens in different Cleveland neighborhoods to determine who was using the gardens, how they were using them and if garden participation increased feelings of community, community strength, and improved how the participants felt about their neighbors and neighborhood. Non-gardeners were also surveyed for comparison. Survey results indicate that the gardens are similar to other forms of urban greenspace in that they serve to increase feelings of community, create ties to place by creating neighborhood satisfaction, and increasing feelings of safety. This research suggests that urban gardens are a positive way to repurpose vacant land in residential neighborhoods by offering greenspace and strengthening the community.</p>

<p> Current economic development policy is unevenly effective across Appalachia. At the root of this policy is the annual determination of County Economic Status, a metric intended to measure performance in relation to the rest of the nation. This designation, calculated from income, unemployment and poverty data, is deeply flawed. Understanding how public investment and economic accessibility interact can yield improved results when implementing development policies and funding initiatives aimed at the region. Failure to recognize the assets and challenges unique to the region, coupled with an imperfect understanding of the regional interactions between local economies, have led to mis-targeted programs and unsatisfactory results. </p><p> A comprehensive examination of how public and private facilities interact to improve the overall well-being of a region in terms of the spatial patterns of accessibility and investment can increase understanding of the role of public investment in Appalachia, and improve program targeting. An economic accessibility model is generated and evaluated at the community level, and evaluated in conjunction with public investment practices, to uncover important information about the effectiveness of development efforts and the evolution of economic regions.</p>

<p> In higher education and in engineering education in particular, changing majors is generally considered a negative event - or at least an event with negative consequences. An emergent field of study within engineering education revolves around understanding the factors and processes driving student changes of major. Of key importance to further the field of change of major research is a grasp of large scale phenomena occurring throughout multiple systems, knowledge of previous attempts at describing such issues, and the adoption of metrics to probe them effectively. The problem posed is exacerbated by the drive in higher education institutions and among state legislatures to understand and reduce time-to-degree and student attrition. With these factors in mind, insights into large-scale processes that affect student progression are essential to evaluating the success or failure of programs. </p><p> The goals of this work include describing the current educational research on switchers, identifying core concepts and stumbling blocks in my treatment of switchers, and using the Multiple Institutional Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) to explore how those who change majors perform as a function of large-scale academic pathways within and without the engineering context. To accomplish these goals, it was first necessary to delve into a recent history of the treatment of switchers within the literature and categorize their approach. While three categories of papers exist in the literature concerning change of major, all three may or may not be applicable to a given database of students or even a single institution. Furthermore, while the term has been coined in the literature, no portable metric for discussing large-scale navigational flexibility exists in engineering education. What such a metric would look like will be discussed as well as the delimitations involved. </p><p> The results and subsequent discussion will include a description of changes of major, how they may or may not have a deleterious effect on one's academic pathway, the special context of changes of major in the pathways of students within first-year engineering programs students labeled as undecided, an exploration of curricular flexibility by the construction of a novel metric, and proposed future work.</p>

<p> Efforts are currently underway in the US federal context to improve and strengthen evaluation practice and increase the use of evaluation results to inform policies and programs. However, these efforts remain unrealized, due partly to the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework that views evaluation and related organizational processes and institutions as part of a larger system. Early intuitive theoretical taxonomies of evaluation policy suffer from the lack of connection to specific examples and instances, and are missing clear classification criteria that would allow practical application. To generate a grounded taxonomy of evaluation policy, this study surveyed members of the American Evaluation Association in 2009, asking them to generate examples of evaluation policy, and then to sort and rate these suggested policies. Results are analyzed using the concept mapping method of Trochim (1989), which first translates aggregate sorting decisions into conceptual &ldquo;distances&rdquo; on a two-dimensional dot map, then uses hierarchical cluster analysis to generate groupings of ideas. These groupings become the foundation for categories in a theoretical taxonomy. Findings reveal several different dimensions by which participants grouped evaluation policies, including the dimensions of &ldquo;value&rdquo; and &ldquo;policy mechanism.&rdquo; A values-by-mechanisms taxonomy and instructions for its use in an evaluation policy inventory process are proposed.</p>