Texas State PA Applied Research Projects
Texas State University Master of Public Administration Program is known for the quality of its student research. Five student papers have won the prestigious national Phi Alpha Alpha (best master’s student paper in Public Affairs and Administration) award. These awards were presented at the conference of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. Twenty five papers have won the McGrew Award for student research from the Central Texas Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. In addition Texas State faculty (Shields and Tajalli) have been recognized nationally and regionally for the quality of the papers through teaching awards. A complete list of the award winning papers can be found at http://mpa.polisci.txstate.edu/student-resources/awards.html. In addition, the papers are cited in journal articles, books, policy reports, dissertations and master’s theses. See an article in the Journal of Public Affairs Education for more information. http://txstate.academia.edu/PatriciaShields/Papers/1402348/Open_Access_Digital_Repository_Sharing_Student_Research_with_the_World .
The Texas State MPA Program uses a unique and recognized method to supervise student research developed by Patricia Shields and Hassan Tajalli. There are several articles, papers and a book that explain the system used at Texas State. Perhaps most importantly, the system of writing papers is informed by the pragmatism and theory of inquiry of John Dewey and Charles Sanders Peirce. See the 1998 article by Patricia Shields for a discussion of the philosophy of science behind these papers “Pragmatism as a Philosophy of Science: A Tool for Public Administration.” (http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/33/).
Note that the Shields and Shields and Tajalli papers are available on the Shields page of Academia.edu and through the links on this page.
The papers are written during a two-course sequence. In the first course students are required to come up with their research question/purpose, write a literature review, develop a conceptual framework, operationalize the conceptual framework and present a research prospectus. In the second course, students work independently with the professor that taught the first class. Papers are defended during an oral exam.
The students use two “pragmatism” inspired tools of inquiry to do this. One known as the Step-by-Step notebook transforms writing a paper into organizing a project. Time, materials and ideas are organized through the notebook. The paper “Enhancing the quality of student papers” http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/5/) provides an explanation of the system. Students actually use the Shields book/workbook STEP BY STEP: Building a Research Project (New Forums Press 2002) to organize their literature review. The Step-by-Step notebook provides an outer order, which enables the deeper reflective and creative thought needed for the transformations in understanding that accompany the writing of a quality research paper. The second tool ( 5 unique Conceptual frameworks) used by students at Texas State provide a kind of intermediate theory which enables students to coherently bridge the research purpose, theory, method, data collection and organization of findings. Discussions of the conceptual frameworks and their link to Dewey and Peirce can be found in the Shields “Philosophy of Science” paper. A detailed discussion and application of the five conceptual frameworks is found in the 2006 Shields and Tajalli article in the Journal of Public Affairs Education “Intermediate Theory: The Missing Link to Successful Student Scholarship” http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/39/ .
Texas State University Master of Public Administration students often hold important positions in Texas State and local government. From their vantage point as student practitioners they can see and explore many issues important to public administration.
In 2006, the Texas State MPA Program began to post the Applied Research Projects to an open access institutional repository (http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/ ). Papers from this repository have been uploaded to Academia.edu. We hope members of the academia.edu community find the papers and the process of producing the papers informative.
Supervisors: Dr. Patricia M. Shields
Address: Texas State University-San Marcos
Department of Political Science
Masters Public Administration Program
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
USA
The Texas State MPA Program uses a unique and recognized method to supervise student research developed by Patricia Shields and Hassan Tajalli. There are several articles, papers and a book that explain the system used at Texas State. Perhaps most importantly, the system of writing papers is informed by the pragmatism and theory of inquiry of John Dewey and Charles Sanders Peirce. See the 1998 article by Patricia Shields for a discussion of the philosophy of science behind these papers “Pragmatism as a Philosophy of Science: A Tool for Public Administration.” (http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/33/).
Note that the Shields and Shields and Tajalli papers are available on the Shields page of Academia.edu and through the links on this page.
The papers are written during a two-course sequence. In the first course students are required to come up with their research question/purpose, write a literature review, develop a conceptual framework, operationalize the conceptual framework and present a research prospectus. In the second course, students work independently with the professor that taught the first class. Papers are defended during an oral exam.
The students use two “pragmatism” inspired tools of inquiry to do this. One known as the Step-by-Step notebook transforms writing a paper into organizing a project. Time, materials and ideas are organized through the notebook. The paper “Enhancing the quality of student papers” http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/5/) provides an explanation of the system. Students actually use the Shields book/workbook STEP BY STEP: Building a Research Project (New Forums Press 2002) to organize their literature review. The Step-by-Step notebook provides an outer order, which enables the deeper reflective and creative thought needed for the transformations in understanding that accompany the writing of a quality research paper. The second tool ( 5 unique Conceptual frameworks) used by students at Texas State provide a kind of intermediate theory which enables students to coherently bridge the research purpose, theory, method, data collection and organization of findings. Discussions of the conceptual frameworks and their link to Dewey and Peirce can be found in the Shields “Philosophy of Science” paper. A detailed discussion and application of the five conceptual frameworks is found in the 2006 Shields and Tajalli article in the Journal of Public Affairs Education “Intermediate Theory: The Missing Link to Successful Student Scholarship” http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/39/ .
Texas State University Master of Public Administration students often hold important positions in Texas State and local government. From their vantage point as student practitioners they can see and explore many issues important to public administration.
In 2006, the Texas State MPA Program began to post the Applied Research Projects to an open access institutional repository (http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/ ). Papers from this repository have been uploaded to Academia.edu. We hope members of the academia.edu community find the papers and the process of producing the papers informative.
Supervisors: Dr. Patricia M. Shields
Address: Texas State University-San Marcos
Department of Political Science
Masters Public Administration Program
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
USA
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Papers by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects
The unit of analysis for this research were individual dogs housed at NYCACCs. Twitter profiles of the dogs chosen for this study were examined to collect data on coat color, age, sex and social media engagement. The dogs in the study spent time a varying amount of time at one of the 5 NYCACCs between January of 2019 and the end of March of 2019. Inferential statistics were performed to determine the presence or absence of a correlation between the variables.
The findings of the study found no relationship between the variables tested. Therefore, Twitter users had no bias when promoting a dog’s profile. This research concludes with a discussion of other factors that may have contributed to a dog being rescued or euthanized.
The results of the survey suggest the alumni are satisfied with the MPA program. Over 80% of the items surveyed revealed positive attitudes among the alumni concerning their experiences. The responses also suggest that the program is true to its mission. Survey findings were compared to the two previous studies and were consistent with previous findings. Overall, alumni were mostly satisfied with the frequency of the courses offered and times of the courses. They also were satisfied with the faculty performance.
The following were the recommendations that alumni had about the program:
Provide more networking opportunities with organizations and alumni
Help students with job placement at graduation
Offer more technology focused courses
Methodology: This research uses focused interviews to gather detailed input from experts in the field of municipal housing policy and programs to refine the primary components and subcomponents of the model. The six respondents include university academics, leaders in non-profit, municipal government, and developers of affordable housing.
Results: Based on the expert feedback, the model is refined to create a final preliminary model that identifies the practical ideal components for municipal affordable housing programs and policies. This model can be used by municipalities to create or refine their own programs. It is recommended that this model is refined further by future research and modified to reflect the context and diversity of municipalities grappling with housing affordability challenges.
Methodology: A standardized, open ended interview was developed to assist with gathering qualitative data. The concepts were identified in the literature review as a framework to construct the interview questions. The sample of this study includes four airport planning officials and two airport executives that were interviewed to discuss the challenges and successes of airport master planning around the country.
Findings: initial findings suggests the respondents agree each airport has similar facilitators and barriers when implementing an airport master planning. The issues are consistent with the literature and the following recommendations were outputs of this research project:
• Develop realistic goals that support the customers’ needs and ensure the goals receive community and political support early in the process.
• Engage political figures early in the process and incorporate their ideas, airport must garner support from key political figures for large project funding.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
Eddie identified seven categories that contribute to the development of the conceptual framework: deliberative public sphere, citizen engagement, branding and fundraising revenue, space for marginalized voices, interconnected, instantaneous information, accountability, and connection to clients. Eddie also created a coding protocol that this researcher used to conduct a content analysis of California Habitat for Humanity websites.
The evidence of website attributes that exemplified Eddie’s model varied. There were few affiliates that made accessibility a priority. Most affiliates used adequate and appropriate branding and posted their supporting organization’s information. The majority of California’s website showed an impressive use of social media activity. The bigger the area served, the more citizen engagement was allowed for. The ability to join monthly e-newsletters was also prevalent.
Administrators responsible for designing and revising non-profit websites should consider the criteria put forth by Kenix (2007), modified by Eddie (2017), and used for this applied research project to support website user’s engagement and allow the non-profit maximum effectiveness.
Method: The study uses San Marcos, Texas as a case study and focuses on the relationships between Texas State University, purpose-built off-campus student apartments, and the city. The study utilizes pillar questions which uses document analysis, structured interviews, and historical archival methods to collect data.
Findings: Findings showed that many purpose-built student housing complexes do not follow all the regulations under the Texas Property Code. Students also encounter issues with their roommates, excessive charges, and lease durations. Overall, City of San Marcos and Texas State University believe that the ACT agreement improved relationships for all involved, although some believe it is too one-sided.
The purpose of this applied research project consists of three portions. The primary purpose is to develop a preliminary framework to be used in evaluating commercial signs regulatory legislation in Texas. The secondary purpose is to assess the utility of the framework by using it to evaluate Texas’ existing commercial signs legislation. Third, the research provides recommendations to improve legislation and the framework.
The preliminary framework developed as a product of this research is based on four categories fleshed out in the literature review: Constitutionality and Defensibility, Establishment of Effective Control, Societal Implications and Program Administration. These broad categories are sub-divided and operationalized into formulated questions used to evaluate Texas Transportation Code Chapter 391 and associated rules Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Subchapter 21: I (43 TAC 21: I) and Texas Transportation Code Chapter 394 and associated rules Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Subchapter 21: K (43 TAC 21: K).
The evaluation discovered that the framework is functional for analyzing commercial sign legislation for its alignment with the four categories. The results find that Texas Transportation Code Chapter 394 and associated rules Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Subchapter 21: K align poorly to the framework which may suggest that if challenged, they could be found to be unconstitutional.
Method: This study is modeled after Janet Walsh’s 2012 study of the career aspirations and progression of women in law firms. The law profession, similarly to municipal government, is characterized by disproportionate representation of women at the highest firm-level position of partner. Through an electronic survey, this research examines the demographic characteristics and circumstances, employment characteristics and work patterns and arrangements of female assistant city managers and department directors in Texas municipalities. Respondents also answered questions about their work-related attitudes in order to glean some insight into what drives their career aspirations and progression. This research identified 71 female assistant city managers and department directors in Texas municipalities, whose contact information was listed in the Texas City Management Association online membership directory. 37 surveys were completed and returned, yielding a response rate of 52%.
Findings: This research revealed some of the multitude of factors that play a role in the forming of work-related attitudes and career aspirations of female assistant city managers and department directors in Texas municipalities. Insight was gained into the demands encountered by women in these positions, the struggles they face working in a male-dominated field, the problems that arise with trying to balance work and family lives, and their career aspirations. One major takeaway from this research was the importance of mentorship as a way to ensure success as a female in the profession. Many respondents highlighted the importance of both having a mentor at some point in their careers and being a mentor to up-and-coming professionals. Another significant finding of this study was that 59% of respondents had interest in becoming a city manager. Though this is a promising statistic, there are still 41% that do not have interest in becoming a city manager, opening the door to questions of how this relates to the percentage of women in the field that actually become city managers. Finally, and perhaps the most important takeaway from this research is that this group of highly educated and experienced women that are currently serving Texas municipalities have prepared themselves to excel at their current jobs, and many have also prepared themselves to take a city management position in the future.
Purpose: The purpose of this Applied Research Project is three-fold: first, this research develops a practical ideal model employee handbook by adapting one developed by Rebecca Short (1997) and Neftali Garcia (2002) and expanded upon by Shanna Brown (2013). Second, the model is used to assess 16 city employee handbooks in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Finally, based on this assessment, recommendations to improve the quality of the handbooks are made.
Method: This research uses content analysis as the sole data collection method. Content analysis studies in this research are the city employee handbooks. A systematic random sampling was taken of handbooks in four city classifications (small, medium, large, extra-large) in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each handbook was evaluated against the ideal handbook model and a rating assigned to each component.
Findings: Overall, city employee handbooks in the Commonwealth of Virginia need improvement. It is recommended that the handbooks be updated to include legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as well as equal pay and anti-discrimination legislation. The handbooks also need to include updated maternal/paternal leave policies and social media use guidelines, define bullying, and provide information about union membership prohibition for public employees.
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to describe how key issues surrounding gun control are treated in the Justice Quarterly Journal. The Justice Quarterly journal is recognized for its discussion of criminal justice, so it should cover gun control policy. A review of the literature related to gun control policy demonstrates the history of gun control policy in the United States as well as factors that makeup gun control policy.
Methodology: Gun control policy is reduced to five major categories. The categories used in the content analysis include gun laws, court cases, other court cases, effectiveness of gun control, type of gun control, and politics of gun control. The categories of gun control policy derived from the literature and the topics that make up gun control policy. A content analysis of articles found in the journal Justice Quarterly from 1998 to the present issue is used to describe the gun control policy content.
Findings: This study measures and describes the frequency of discussion by the Justice Quarterly dealing with gun control policy. Among the five categories and subcategories that fall under it, the most frequently discussed were the type of gun control. Overall, the topics are underdeveloped and require more discussion. Recommendations are made to enhance future contributions to the journal Justice Quarterly.
Purpose
The purpose of this explanatory research is to identify the factors that distinguish a school district, which meets standards from those, which do not meet standards. This paper will focus on a brief history of educational policies that impacted academic performance in the United States and a data driven analysis emphasizing school district performance in Texas.
Method
This research paper explores four hypothesis (teacher pay, male teachers, teacher experience, and pupil to teacher ratio) developed from the Texas Education Agency Texas Academic Performance Report. A total of 26 school districts were selected for the 2016-2017 academic year that did not meet requirements and were compared to 26 school districts that met standards. The comparison school districts were selected based on similar academic criteria to the school districts that did not meet requirements. Academic performance was then evaluated at both sets of school districts using aggregated data to create the framework for the data. After, a quantitative analysis is used to determine the significance of the academic results from the school
districts chosen in Texas.
Findings
The research hypothesis states that school districts that do not meet standards would have lower teacher pay, male teachers, teacher experience and higher pupil to teacher ratios than schools that met requirements. Actual results, however, only supported half of the hypotheses. The research found there is a significant difference in teacher pay and teaching experience in under performing districts and districts that meet requirements.
Purpose In Texas, dual credit enrollment has steadily increased since the Legislature first approved it in 1995. Dual credit first began as an effort to provide high school students the opportunity to sample college-level coursework but quickly became a statewide strategy for achieving higher education completion goals. In the early 2000’s, Texas policymakers decided to deregulate college tuition and decrease state funding, which has made the cost of attending college increasingly difficult for students and parents. In addition, those who can afford college are not graduating at high enough rates to fulfill the state’s projected workforce needs. Increased cost and lagging graduation rates created the environment for dual credit expansion in Texas. The purpose of this applied research project is to explore how university personnel perceives the impact of dual credit students on advising, teaching, and administrative systems.
Methodology: The most commonly stated goals of dual credit are for high school students to take lower-level university classes in order to complete postsecondary degrees at faster rates and with lower costs. Many reviews of dual credit have examined programs from the students’ perspective. This applied research project takes a different approach by utilizing expert interviews to explore how university personnel perceives the impact of dual credit students on advising, teaching, and administrative systems. Universities, who are advising and educating this new type of student, can offer valuable insight into whether or not dual credit is achieving its intended purposes. For dual credit to be successful, it needs to be working for everyone involved in the educational pipeline.
Findings: Based on the interviews this project concluded that while university personnel understands the appeal of dual credit, they also believe dual credit students present challenges to the university systems. The advising staff finds it difficult to determine if dual credit students have mastered the curriculum well enough to enroll them in the next course. The faculty believes that many dual credit students are not adequately prepared to transition seamlessly into upper- division coursework. Several professors cited a lack of maturity and weak writing skills of particular concern. The administration reports that it is taking dual credit students longer to graduate than they think, due to differing degree requirements and sequential coursework. And finally, one administrator warns that first generation dual credit students may persist and complete college at lower rates than traditional dual credit students. This project reveals diverse, expert opinion on how dual credit students are faring at Texas universities and can be used to form preliminary policy recommendations and the basis for future research.
Method: This research uses four working hypothesis (hazard area identification, forest management practices, the planning process, public education) that are framed to evaluate the urban wildfire mitigation policy of the City of Austin. The working hypothesis contains land use management methods and wildfire mitigation policies that can be found in scholarly literature. Each hypothesis and sub-hypothesis provides the framework to assess the City of Austin’s Policy. The study assesses the City of Austin through the revised building code, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and direct observation.
Findings: This study found that the City of Austin adequately meets the suggested wildfire mitigation policies outlined in a review if scholarly literature. The study also made recommendations for the City to improve certain aspects of its policies to prevent urban wildfires.
Method: A semi-structured interview was developed to assist with gathering qualitative data. The three core concepts identified in the scholarly literature served as a framework that was used to build the interview script. The sample of this study is comprised of three VTC programs in Central Texas and administrators from each program was interviewed in person.
Findings: Preliminary findings suggest respondents are utilizing similar methods to address each concept in most cases. Specifically, programs are consistent in how they identify and screen veterans and how they maintained a continuity of care; but programs are inconsistent in how they measured for long-term effectiveness. The project identified the following recommendations:
• Programs should ensure that all intake booking facilities within their jurisdiction, both county and municipal, capture veteran status through intake questionnaires.
• Programs should consider incorporating research-based instruments into the assessment process to provide an objective measurement of motivation.
• Programs should consider retaining identifying information on all veterans admitted into programs for recidivism statistics and comparative analysis purposes.
The unit of analysis for this research were individual dogs housed at NYCACCs. Twitter profiles of the dogs chosen for this study were examined to collect data on coat color, age, sex and social media engagement. The dogs in the study spent time a varying amount of time at one of the 5 NYCACCs between January of 2019 and the end of March of 2019. Inferential statistics were performed to determine the presence or absence of a correlation between the variables.
The findings of the study found no relationship between the variables tested. Therefore, Twitter users had no bias when promoting a dog’s profile. This research concludes with a discussion of other factors that may have contributed to a dog being rescued or euthanized.
The results of the survey suggest the alumni are satisfied with the MPA program. Over 80% of the items surveyed revealed positive attitudes among the alumni concerning their experiences. The responses also suggest that the program is true to its mission. Survey findings were compared to the two previous studies and were consistent with previous findings. Overall, alumni were mostly satisfied with the frequency of the courses offered and times of the courses. They also were satisfied with the faculty performance.
The following were the recommendations that alumni had about the program:
Provide more networking opportunities with organizations and alumni
Help students with job placement at graduation
Offer more technology focused courses
Methodology: This research uses focused interviews to gather detailed input from experts in the field of municipal housing policy and programs to refine the primary components and subcomponents of the model. The six respondents include university academics, leaders in non-profit, municipal government, and developers of affordable housing.
Results: Based on the expert feedback, the model is refined to create a final preliminary model that identifies the practical ideal components for municipal affordable housing programs and policies. This model can be used by municipalities to create or refine their own programs. It is recommended that this model is refined further by future research and modified to reflect the context and diversity of municipalities grappling with housing affordability challenges.
Methodology: A standardized, open ended interview was developed to assist with gathering qualitative data. The concepts were identified in the literature review as a framework to construct the interview questions. The sample of this study includes four airport planning officials and two airport executives that were interviewed to discuss the challenges and successes of airport master planning around the country.
Findings: initial findings suggests the respondents agree each airport has similar facilitators and barriers when implementing an airport master planning. The issues are consistent with the literature and the following recommendations were outputs of this research project:
• Develop realistic goals that support the customers’ needs and ensure the goals receive community and political support early in the process.
• Engage political figures early in the process and incorporate their ideas, airport must garner support from key political figures for large project funding.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
• Provide the FAA with a master plan that clearly demonstrates the need for new facilities to support passenger demand and meaningful justification.
• Improve communication across the organization.
• Ensure the master plan can be funded as presented.
Eddie identified seven categories that contribute to the development of the conceptual framework: deliberative public sphere, citizen engagement, branding and fundraising revenue, space for marginalized voices, interconnected, instantaneous information, accountability, and connection to clients. Eddie also created a coding protocol that this researcher used to conduct a content analysis of California Habitat for Humanity websites.
The evidence of website attributes that exemplified Eddie’s model varied. There were few affiliates that made accessibility a priority. Most affiliates used adequate and appropriate branding and posted their supporting organization’s information. The majority of California’s website showed an impressive use of social media activity. The bigger the area served, the more citizen engagement was allowed for. The ability to join monthly e-newsletters was also prevalent.
Administrators responsible for designing and revising non-profit websites should consider the criteria put forth by Kenix (2007), modified by Eddie (2017), and used for this applied research project to support website user’s engagement and allow the non-profit maximum effectiveness.
Method: The study uses San Marcos, Texas as a case study and focuses on the relationships between Texas State University, purpose-built off-campus student apartments, and the city. The study utilizes pillar questions which uses document analysis, structured interviews, and historical archival methods to collect data.
Findings: Findings showed that many purpose-built student housing complexes do not follow all the regulations under the Texas Property Code. Students also encounter issues with their roommates, excessive charges, and lease durations. Overall, City of San Marcos and Texas State University believe that the ACT agreement improved relationships for all involved, although some believe it is too one-sided.
The purpose of this applied research project consists of three portions. The primary purpose is to develop a preliminary framework to be used in evaluating commercial signs regulatory legislation in Texas. The secondary purpose is to assess the utility of the framework by using it to evaluate Texas’ existing commercial signs legislation. Third, the research provides recommendations to improve legislation and the framework.
The preliminary framework developed as a product of this research is based on four categories fleshed out in the literature review: Constitutionality and Defensibility, Establishment of Effective Control, Societal Implications and Program Administration. These broad categories are sub-divided and operationalized into formulated questions used to evaluate Texas Transportation Code Chapter 391 and associated rules Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Subchapter 21: I (43 TAC 21: I) and Texas Transportation Code Chapter 394 and associated rules Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Subchapter 21: K (43 TAC 21: K).
The evaluation discovered that the framework is functional for analyzing commercial sign legislation for its alignment with the four categories. The results find that Texas Transportation Code Chapter 394 and associated rules Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Subchapter 21: K align poorly to the framework which may suggest that if challenged, they could be found to be unconstitutional.
Method: This study is modeled after Janet Walsh’s 2012 study of the career aspirations and progression of women in law firms. The law profession, similarly to municipal government, is characterized by disproportionate representation of women at the highest firm-level position of partner. Through an electronic survey, this research examines the demographic characteristics and circumstances, employment characteristics and work patterns and arrangements of female assistant city managers and department directors in Texas municipalities. Respondents also answered questions about their work-related attitudes in order to glean some insight into what drives their career aspirations and progression. This research identified 71 female assistant city managers and department directors in Texas municipalities, whose contact information was listed in the Texas City Management Association online membership directory. 37 surveys were completed and returned, yielding a response rate of 52%.
Findings: This research revealed some of the multitude of factors that play a role in the forming of work-related attitudes and career aspirations of female assistant city managers and department directors in Texas municipalities. Insight was gained into the demands encountered by women in these positions, the struggles they face working in a male-dominated field, the problems that arise with trying to balance work and family lives, and their career aspirations. One major takeaway from this research was the importance of mentorship as a way to ensure success as a female in the profession. Many respondents highlighted the importance of both having a mentor at some point in their careers and being a mentor to up-and-coming professionals. Another significant finding of this study was that 59% of respondents had interest in becoming a city manager. Though this is a promising statistic, there are still 41% that do not have interest in becoming a city manager, opening the door to questions of how this relates to the percentage of women in the field that actually become city managers. Finally, and perhaps the most important takeaway from this research is that this group of highly educated and experienced women that are currently serving Texas municipalities have prepared themselves to excel at their current jobs, and many have also prepared themselves to take a city management position in the future.
Purpose: The purpose of this Applied Research Project is three-fold: first, this research develops a practical ideal model employee handbook by adapting one developed by Rebecca Short (1997) and Neftali Garcia (2002) and expanded upon by Shanna Brown (2013). Second, the model is used to assess 16 city employee handbooks in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Finally, based on this assessment, recommendations to improve the quality of the handbooks are made.
Method: This research uses content analysis as the sole data collection method. Content analysis studies in this research are the city employee handbooks. A systematic random sampling was taken of handbooks in four city classifications (small, medium, large, extra-large) in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each handbook was evaluated against the ideal handbook model and a rating assigned to each component.
Findings: Overall, city employee handbooks in the Commonwealth of Virginia need improvement. It is recommended that the handbooks be updated to include legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as well as equal pay and anti-discrimination legislation. The handbooks also need to include updated maternal/paternal leave policies and social media use guidelines, define bullying, and provide information about union membership prohibition for public employees.
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to describe how key issues surrounding gun control are treated in the Justice Quarterly Journal. The Justice Quarterly journal is recognized for its discussion of criminal justice, so it should cover gun control policy. A review of the literature related to gun control policy demonstrates the history of gun control policy in the United States as well as factors that makeup gun control policy.
Methodology: Gun control policy is reduced to five major categories. The categories used in the content analysis include gun laws, court cases, other court cases, effectiveness of gun control, type of gun control, and politics of gun control. The categories of gun control policy derived from the literature and the topics that make up gun control policy. A content analysis of articles found in the journal Justice Quarterly from 1998 to the present issue is used to describe the gun control policy content.
Findings: This study measures and describes the frequency of discussion by the Justice Quarterly dealing with gun control policy. Among the five categories and subcategories that fall under it, the most frequently discussed were the type of gun control. Overall, the topics are underdeveloped and require more discussion. Recommendations are made to enhance future contributions to the journal Justice Quarterly.
Purpose
The purpose of this explanatory research is to identify the factors that distinguish a school district, which meets standards from those, which do not meet standards. This paper will focus on a brief history of educational policies that impacted academic performance in the United States and a data driven analysis emphasizing school district performance in Texas.
Method
This research paper explores four hypothesis (teacher pay, male teachers, teacher experience, and pupil to teacher ratio) developed from the Texas Education Agency Texas Academic Performance Report. A total of 26 school districts were selected for the 2016-2017 academic year that did not meet requirements and were compared to 26 school districts that met standards. The comparison school districts were selected based on similar academic criteria to the school districts that did not meet requirements. Academic performance was then evaluated at both sets of school districts using aggregated data to create the framework for the data. After, a quantitative analysis is used to determine the significance of the academic results from the school
districts chosen in Texas.
Findings
The research hypothesis states that school districts that do not meet standards would have lower teacher pay, male teachers, teacher experience and higher pupil to teacher ratios than schools that met requirements. Actual results, however, only supported half of the hypotheses. The research found there is a significant difference in teacher pay and teaching experience in under performing districts and districts that meet requirements.
Purpose In Texas, dual credit enrollment has steadily increased since the Legislature first approved it in 1995. Dual credit first began as an effort to provide high school students the opportunity to sample college-level coursework but quickly became a statewide strategy for achieving higher education completion goals. In the early 2000’s, Texas policymakers decided to deregulate college tuition and decrease state funding, which has made the cost of attending college increasingly difficult for students and parents. In addition, those who can afford college are not graduating at high enough rates to fulfill the state’s projected workforce needs. Increased cost and lagging graduation rates created the environment for dual credit expansion in Texas. The purpose of this applied research project is to explore how university personnel perceives the impact of dual credit students on advising, teaching, and administrative systems.
Methodology: The most commonly stated goals of dual credit are for high school students to take lower-level university classes in order to complete postsecondary degrees at faster rates and with lower costs. Many reviews of dual credit have examined programs from the students’ perspective. This applied research project takes a different approach by utilizing expert interviews to explore how university personnel perceives the impact of dual credit students on advising, teaching, and administrative systems. Universities, who are advising and educating this new type of student, can offer valuable insight into whether or not dual credit is achieving its intended purposes. For dual credit to be successful, it needs to be working for everyone involved in the educational pipeline.
Findings: Based on the interviews this project concluded that while university personnel understands the appeal of dual credit, they also believe dual credit students present challenges to the university systems. The advising staff finds it difficult to determine if dual credit students have mastered the curriculum well enough to enroll them in the next course. The faculty believes that many dual credit students are not adequately prepared to transition seamlessly into upper- division coursework. Several professors cited a lack of maturity and weak writing skills of particular concern. The administration reports that it is taking dual credit students longer to graduate than they think, due to differing degree requirements and sequential coursework. And finally, one administrator warns that first generation dual credit students may persist and complete college at lower rates than traditional dual credit students. This project reveals diverse, expert opinion on how dual credit students are faring at Texas universities and can be used to form preliminary policy recommendations and the basis for future research.
Method: This research uses four working hypothesis (hazard area identification, forest management practices, the planning process, public education) that are framed to evaluate the urban wildfire mitigation policy of the City of Austin. The working hypothesis contains land use management methods and wildfire mitigation policies that can be found in scholarly literature. Each hypothesis and sub-hypothesis provides the framework to assess the City of Austin’s Policy. The study assesses the City of Austin through the revised building code, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and direct observation.
Findings: This study found that the City of Austin adequately meets the suggested wildfire mitigation policies outlined in a review if scholarly literature. The study also made recommendations for the City to improve certain aspects of its policies to prevent urban wildfires.
Method: A semi-structured interview was developed to assist with gathering qualitative data. The three core concepts identified in the scholarly literature served as a framework that was used to build the interview script. The sample of this study is comprised of three VTC programs in Central Texas and administrators from each program was interviewed in person.
Findings: Preliminary findings suggest respondents are utilizing similar methods to address each concept in most cases. Specifically, programs are consistent in how they identify and screen veterans and how they maintained a continuity of care; but programs are inconsistent in how they measured for long-term effectiveness. The project identified the following recommendations:
• Programs should ensure that all intake booking facilities within their jurisdiction, both county and municipal, capture veteran status through intake questionnaires.
• Programs should consider incorporating research-based instruments into the assessment process to provide an objective measurement of motivation.
• Programs should consider retaining identifying information on all veterans admitted into programs for recidivism statistics and comparative analysis purposes.