Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Local transit – United States'
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1
Campo, Carlos. "Bus rapid transit: theory and practice in the United States and abroad." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/37089.
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Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a relatively new mode with a wide range of applications that are still not well understood. Its explosive growth in developing and developed countries has increased its exposure but has led to mostly experimental implementation with mixed results. Therefore, better understanding about the reasons behind BRT implementation success and shortcomings is needed. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the state of BRT planning under different contexts by assessing how background theory and practical implementation of BRT systems compare. The scope is limited to current a detailed evaluation of 13 case studies in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador chosen to represent some of the most succesful and established systems in the world. Data was obtaiend from previous research as well as direct reporting from agencies. The evaluation is performed through qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods classify BRT systems by characteristics and assess the relationship between their implementation and performance using the criteria defined in the literature. Quantitative methods build upon the previous analysis to more precisely assess their performance from both the users' and the transit providers' perspectives. This research found that BRT as a public transit mode has a large room of improvement in terms of design and implementation, since there is a significant variability in performance under similar conditions and a considerable gap between planning best practices and implementation. Also, that planning guidelines are still in an early stage of development and difer in scope and application to a particular context. It also found that its success is not conscribed to developing countries, but that its wide range of applications need to be better adapted to the context they should serve. The findings are significant because they dispel myths about the real potential of BRT and partially identify the reasons behind successes and failures of current systems, such as understimation of implementation times and lack of knowledge about component integration. Further research should approach these issues mainly in two complementary directions. First, it should focus on expanding the case study approach to the newer systems in operation once better data is available. Second,it should further advance the development of theoretical framwork for better operational design based on urban form, as well as an evaluation framework that puts more emphasis on user experience and sustainability. Finally, the findings reinforce that BRT is a distinct mode so that systems that do not meet its criteria should not be named as such.
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Scott, Marc Angus. "Developing Input to “Best-Value” Vehicle Procurement Practice: An Analysis of Supplier Evaluation and Selection in the U.S. Public Transportation Industry." Diss., North Dakota State University, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/29321.
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Collectively, US public transportation systems operated 137,047 vehicles per peak
period in 2008 (American Public Transportation Association 2010). Buses accounted for
the largest segment among these vehicles, and the passenger van segment was second.
Together, they accounted for 78% of the vehicles operated per peak period (American
Public Transportation Association 2010). Due to their pervasive use in the public transportation industry, buses and vans have been the focus in various academic research studies. However, very few studies have focused on vehicle procurement. Further, none have focused on the specific vehicle procurement function of supplier evaluation and selection. The over-arching objective of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of the relative importance of vehicle supplier attributes in reference to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) “best-value” procurement initiative and the influence of these attributes on the evaluation and selction of bus and van suppliers. This research studies vehicle procurement decision-makers at public transportation agencies to determine which supplier attributes they perceive to be the most important when evaluating vehicle suppliers. Results indicate that the top five supplier attributes were quality, reliability, after-sales support, warranties and claims, and integrity. The order of these top five attributes changed according to the type of supplier being evaluated, i.e., conventional fuel vehicle supplier versus alternative fuel vehicle supplier. The reason for this change was explained as being due to the increased engineering and technological expertise required of alternative fuel vehicle suppliers. Utilizing Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), the research showed that the variation in the perception of the importance of particular supplier attributes was not generally influenced by an agency's urban classification, its vehicle fleet size, its capital expenditure level, its decision-makers' education level, or their years of experience. However, FTA region was determined to have an influence on two attributes. Utilizing a conditional logit discrete choice model, the research also found that in practice price and not quality had the highest parameter estimate and was therefore deemed most important. It was followed by quality, after-sales support, technical capability, and delivery. Further, to garner a deeper understanding of attributes' relative importance, participants in the research identified 41 attribute components and provided metrics by which to measure these components and, by extension, the attributes. This research contributes in four areas. These are government procurement initiatives, agency “best-value” procurement practice, vehicle supplier marketing, and academic research in supplier evaluation and selection in the public transportation industry.
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Ziemke, Dominik. "Comparison of high-speed rail systems for the United States." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/37286.
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After decades of standstill in intercity passenger rail in the United States, the Obama administration recently started major initiatives to implement high-speed ground transportation projects that are expected to improve the nation's transportation system significantly, addressing most prevailing issues like congestion and energy prices while having positive effects on the economy.
This study evaluates and compares two high-speed ground transportation systems that have the potential to improve intercity passenger transportation in the United States significantly: the wheel-on-rail high-speed system and the high-speed maglev system. Both high-speed ground transportation systems were evaluated with respect to 58 characteristics organized into 7 categories associated with technology, environmental impacts, economic considerations, user-friendliness, operations, political factors, and safety. Based on the performance of each system in each of the 58 characteristics, benefit values were assigned. In order to weight the relative importance of the different characteristics, a survey was conducted with transportation departments and transportation professionals. The survey produced weighting factors scoring each of the 58 characteristics and the 7 categories. Applying a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach, the overall utility values for either system were calculated based on the benefit values from the systems comparison and the weighting factors from the survey.
It was shown that the high-speed maglev system is generally slightly superior over the wheel-on-rail high-speed system. Because the magnitude of the difference in the overall performance of both transportation systems is not very big, it is recommended that every project in the high-speed intercity passenger transportation market consider both HSGT systems equally.
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Dunning, Anne Elizabeth. "Transit for National Parks and Gateway Communities : impacts and guidance." Diss., Available online, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005, 2005. http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-11192004-163050/unrestricted/dunning%5Fanne%5Fe%5F200505%5Fphd.pdf.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005.Rodgers, Michael O, Committee Member ; Contant, Cheryl, Committee Member ; Steinemann, Anne, Committee Member ; Amekudzi, Adjo, Committee Member ; Meyer, Michael D, Committee Chair. Includes bibliographical references.
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Swiantek, Kirk M. "Stock in-transit : why we have it, why it matters." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2002. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion-image/02Jun%5FSwiantek.pdf.
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Gordon, Michael A. "Funding Urban Mass Transit in the United States." Thesis, Boston College, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1844.
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Thesis advisor: Richard, S.J. McGowanAs urbanized areas have grown across the United States, roads have quickly developed with them. Yet many cities have developed this infrastructure at the cost of failing to adequately fund urban mass transit, in spite of the important services it provides for the poor, commuters, and the environment. Consequently, many urban mass transit systems have struggled with deficits, increased fares, and reduced service. This study examines six major systems in the United States and analyzes data from these systems to provide policy recommendations regarding urban mass transit funding
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Economics Honors Program
Discipline: College Honors Program
Discipline: Economics
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Glock, Earl Ferdinand. "The Rise of Modern Richmond and the Fall of Electric Transit." W&M ScholarWorks, 2009. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539626601.
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Ryburn-LaMonte, Terri Simms L. Moody. "Route 66, 1926 to the present the road as local history /." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9960423.
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Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1999.Title from title page screen, viewed July 28, 2006. Dissertation Committee: L. Moody Simms (chair), M. Paul Holsinger, Dolores Kilgo, Lawrence W. McBride. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 333-346) and abstract. Also available in print.
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McBurney, Andrew Patrick. "A glimpse of Bike-n-Bus: an exploratory survey of the United States." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/43705.
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Bike-n-Bus includes any number of methods where bicycle serves as the access mode to some form of bus transit. This study examines bike-n-bus operations in the United States based on telephone interviews with transit professionals from 33 transit agencies across the lower 48 states. It reviews past trends in research and gives some history of bike-n-bus in the U.S. and abroad. A brief explanation of methodology is followed by a description of the various facets of U.S. bike-n-bus operations, based on both interviews and the literature, with commentary by survey respondents. The study ends with a long term vision for bike-n-bus based on the characteristics of that mode-couple.
Conclusions are addressed to various audiences: transit agency, community leader/ policy maker, and researcher. Included are suggestions for possible next steps in research and implementation. These findings would be of interest to those studying transit and bicycle travel, developing travel demand models, managing a transit agency, or those with influence over bicycle policy and infrastructure.
Most transit agencies have installed front-mounted bicycle racks on their entire bus fleet, and expressed satisfaction that the amenity accommodates bicyclists. However, agencies have made only moderate efforts to follow-up on this success. Studies suggest that cycling to transit can be competitive with the private automobile in journey-to-work trips and attracts new riders to transit. Better bicycling infrastructure is the most significant way to increase the number of bike-n-bus riders. However, transit agencies seem reluctant to support these improvements.
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Genuth, Joel. "The local origins of United States national science policy." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11299.
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Boren-King, Tammy S. "Factors affecting the successful consolidation of local governments." Virtual Press, 2000. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1166401.
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This study examines existing theories regarding local government consolidation and applies them to four case studies. From existing theories, thirty-four factors that influence the outcome of consolidation attempts are identified. These thirty-four factors are applied to four case studies. These are Nashville/Davidson County (1958), Cleveland/Cuyahoga County (1959), Nashville/Davidson County (1962), and Jacksonville/Davidson County (1967). Thirty of the thirty-four factors prove to be less influential than theorized. Four factors prove to be essential to any successful consolidation attempt. They are as follows:1. The presence of long standing unsolved problems that are under the jurisdiction of the local government.2. The presence of a crisis situation.3. Favorable state laws regarding the types of voting majorities needed for passage of consolidation measures.4. The presence of a strong grassroots campaign for consolidation.Department of Urban Planning
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McNally, Kevin. "Transit-Oriented Development in the United States: A Historical Review and Case Study Analysis." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1307322963.
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容曉華 and Hiu-wah Eva Yung. "The planning and development of a new metro system: the case of the Dubai metro." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2008. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B41549326.
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Bryant, William Patrick. "An exploration of local smart growth initiatives within the United States." Birmingham, Ala. : University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. http://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2007m/bryant.pdf.
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Rizos, Anthony Charles. "Implementation of advanced transit traveler information systems in the United States and Canada : practice and prospects." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59766.
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Thesis (M.C.P. and S.B. in Planning)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-115).
Over the past few years, public transit agencies across the United States and Canada have increasingly implemented methods for passengers to access traveler information using new media and personal mobile communications devices. The most advanced examples of these devices, commonly known as "smartphones," combine telephone, Internet browsing, and personal digital assistant (PDA) functionality into a single, portable unit. Mobile data applications are literally exploding on the scene every day, and transit agencies are under tremendous social and political pressure to deploy more related information systems as rapidly as possible. These applications are popular with technology-savvy riders who enjoy easy and real-time access to information and updates about their transit routes and services of choice, anywhere they happen to be. A review of the literature, as well as interviews with managers at thirteen transit authorities across the spectrum of size and technical sophistication, provides a portrayal of the states of the practice and art, and paints a clear picture of the challenges facing implementation of these advanced systems in the field. The research confirms the initial hypothesis that while transit agencies are indeed devoting energy to pursuing advanced traveler information systems, the approaches to implementing them could be improved. Based on the findings, I recommend that transit agencies: conduct necessary market research; develop more explicit and comprehensive traveler information system strategies; clarify the role and business case for social media; secure sufficient financial and technology resources; ensure sufficient operating as well as capital funding; eliminate constraints on use of data from commercial software; and, adopt and embrace open-source software development using an "open government" model.
by Anthony Charles Rizos.
M.C.P.and S.B.in Planning
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Schussman, Alan. "Making Real Money: Local Currency and Social Economies in the United States." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194682.
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Local currencies have been founded in dozens of communities around the United States. By printing their own money that can only be used at participating local merchants or service providers, or in direct exchange with community members, advocates of local currencies try to reinvigorate local commerce, demonstrate community opposition to "big box" retailers and globalization, and support local employment. Although many local currencies have been founded, most of them have had only limited success, but even where local currencies fail to thrive, they raise important questions about the ways in which we organize institutions. This dissertation has two key concerns that emerge from those questions, the first of which is to explore the ways in which the meaning of money is reconfigured by the organizers and the users of local currencies. Second, this project seeks to explain the conditions under which local currencies operate, with the goal of building an understanding of how organizations successfully challenge the deeply embedded and institutionalized practices that surround the use of money. Local currencies are an innovative form of community economic organization that has previously gone under-studied by scholars. This project, the first to address local currencies with a large set of quantitative macro-level data as well as case-oriented archival and survey data, adds to knowledge of movement development and maintenance, and the social construction and use of money. Local currency reminds us that the systems of dollars and cents are socially constructed and that they therefore are changeable. But changing institutions that are part of our everyday life is difficult; because the use of money is so deeply embedded in routines and institutions, it's difficult to even ask questions about money: Where does money come from? Why do we trust it? And how might alternatives to money work? Local currency reminds us that money is not necessarily as "real" as we tend to think and it invites us to think about the system of institutions in which we live.
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Ricci, Kimberley Ann. "The implications of planning techniques for protecting solar access : a survey of state and local legislation." Virtual Press, 1988. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/546120.
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The purpose of this paper was to compile a nationwide survey by state, on legislation designed to protect access to solar energy. Brief summaries of the information received are included. Land use planning techniques and tools such as zoning and subdivision regulations, as well as special solar zones and planned unit developments have been discussed as they relate to protection of solar access and solar energy use. This paper has distinguished between two types of solar energy systems, active and passive, and associated problems with each.Primary concerns for the users of solar energy systems have been the availability of solar energy and its access to the collector's surface. Solar energy is environmentally safe, however, access to solar energy can be a limiting factor to its use. Solar access protection methods vary with location. The differences in needs between rural and urban areas have been discussed.Increasing solar technologies indicate the need for communities to regulate solar access through innovative legislation. This paper with brief introductions to solar energy access protection techniques, and the state-by-state survey was prepared so as to provide the reader with a basic understanding of solar access protection and act as a guide to access protection methods.Department of Urban Planning
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Bama, Mathias Che. "Comparison of local government structure in Cameroon and the United States of America (Pennsylvania)." Instructions for remote access. Click here to access this electronic resource. Access available to Kutztown University faculty, staff, and students only, 1992. http://www.kutztown.edu/library/services/remote_access.asp.
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Kessler, Matthew L. "How Transportation Network Companies Could Replace Public Transportation in the United States." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7045.
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The quantity of cell phone applications or mobile apps have seen an upsurge at an exponential rate in under a decade. Many have been created for a variety of industries, including transportation. The advent and subsequent commercialized implementation of near-instant transport by a middleman-type of app is now known as a Transportation Network Company or TNC. Examples of the more renowned TNCs are Uber, Lyft and Sidecar.
In recent years, TNCs have cultivated a tremendous following, to the degree of taxicab desertion. Moreover, the massive success of TNCs led to expansion of its capacities into public transportation.
The TNC’s expeditious popularity has garnered the attention of government and transit agencies. Without fail, TNCs can complement, supplement or compete with transit. However, sparsely has there been any deep discussion about a TNC potentially supplanting transit. The aim of this paper is to show how TNCs could replace public transportation in the United States if subsidized at the same level of transit agencies. Austin, Texas was analyzed as the case study city. A comparison of subsidization between Austin’s transit agency: Cap Metro, the local TNCs, and on a national aggregate level was conducted. The evidence herein clearly shows that TNCs are highly competitive when in revenue service operating at full capacity, potentially replacing public transportation.
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Pöschl, Caroline. "Local government taxation and accountability in Mexico." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2015. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3680/.
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The taxation-accountability theory broadly states that if governments are dependent on taxation, they will become less corrupt and more accountable to citizens. The need to raise tax revenue is said to spark incentives that lead to mutually beneficial bargaining between government and citizens. Citizens agree to make tax payments in return for more accountable governance and increased influence in government decision-making. Several scholars have shown empirical evidence in support of this taxationaccountability theory at the national level, yet few have studied it at the local government level. This paper explores this theory in the context of Mexican municipal governments using a mixed methods research approach. It first surveys the relationship between taxation and accountability using econometric analysis and then employs a comparative case study of six urban municipalities that are under considerable pressure to raise their tax revenue. The latter is based on several months of field research conducted in the states of Guerrero, Tabasco, Baja California Sur, Aguascalientes, Yucatán and Coahuila. It reveals the processes that evolve from revenue pressure, whether they lead to tax bargaining, and the extent to which greater accountability can be expected as a result. The findings provide some evidence of tax bargaining and positive correlations between the importance of taxation in a government’s budget and accountability. However, the causal link to greater accountability is not straightforward and is greatly hindered by the institutional framework surrounding local government. While implicit agreements between government and citizens showed that equilibrium between taxation and accountability was consistently maintained, restrictions on local power and other institutional factors stood in the way of increased local taxation sparking greater local accountability. These factors may be remedied by reform.
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Martus, Christopher E. "The distribution and objectives of local forestry-related ordinances in the United States." Thesis, This resource online, 1992. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08042009-040400/.
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Schupp, Justin Lane. "Where does local food live? An examination of farmers’ markets in the United States." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394792719.
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Hall, Douglas Keeter. "The complexity of change consciousness : a challenge for public school leadership at the local campus level /." Thesis, Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3008258.
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Bielski, Mark Francis. "Divided Poles in a divided nation : Poles in the Union and Confederacy in the American Civil War." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2014. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5432/.
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This thesis studies a group of Poles embroiled in the American Civil War. They span three generations and share culture, nationality and devotion to their ideals. The common thread running through their lives is that they came from a country that had basically disintegrated at the end of the previous century, yet they carried the concepts of freedom that they inherited from their forefathers with them to America. Their ancestral Poland had been openly democratic and deemed dangerous to the autocratic imperial neighbours that partitioned it. These men came to a new country, then exercised their “Polishness” as they became embroiled in the great American upheaval, the Civil War. Of the nine of them examined, four sided with the North and four with the South. Another began in the Confederate cavalry and finished with the Union. In a war commonly categorized as a struggle between two American regions, there has not been significant attention devoted to Poles and foreigners in general. These men carried their belief in democratic liberalism with them from Europe in to the American War. Whether fighting to keep a Union together or to establish the new Confederacy, they held to their ideals and made a significant contribution.
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Schrader, Timo. "Loisaida as urban laboratory : pioneering community activism in New York, 1964-2001." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49960/.
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This thesis offers the first in-depth analysis of the network of Puerto Rican community activism in the Lower East Side from 1964 to 2001. The community of Loisaida organized itself to fight against postwar urban deindustrialization, housing disinvestment, and gentrification, which threatened to displace an entire generation of Puerto Ricans who migrated to this New York neighborhood and tried to make it their home. Using an amalgam of unprocessed organizational archives, oral histories, ephemera, and neighborhood publications, this project recreates the history of community action in Loisaida. Focusing on key institutions and community groups that mobilized residents and built a lasting activist network, this thesis demonstrates how community groups pioneered a methodology for more sustainable community activism. These activists turned Loisaida into their laboratory, constantly experimenting with and adapting new strategies to put up a solid defense against absentee landlords, greedy developers, opportunist politicians, and an era of increased policing of urban space. The interplay of community activism, urban politics, and Puerto Rican history in Loisaida provides three crucial insights: (1) the need for grassroots organizations to adapt their activism to the changing needs of the community, (2) the creativity of urban communities to transform and design their immediate environment, and (3) the key strategies that enable activists to develop campaigns to their full potential. By uncovering these insights, this thesis raises new and challenging questions about the nature of sustained neighborhood activism at a major transitional phase in United States urban history: the shift from 1960s antipoverty programs to 1980s neoliberal policies. It shows the ingenuity and strength of activists who confronted this shift in the socio-political urban landscape by devising strategies to continue serving the residents of Loisaida. In 2017, the same community leaders who mobilized residents in the early 1960s are still marching on City Hall to demand the return of their former headquarters.
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Hennessey, Jessica Lynne. "Endogenous institutional change the transformation of the state-local relationship in the united states /." College Park, Md.: University of Maryland, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/9574.
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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2009.Thesis research directed by: Dept. of Economics. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Rajbhandari, Isha. "The Impacts of Oil and Gas Developments on Local Economies in the United States." The Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500413045323116.
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Rice, Jennifer Lea. "Making Carbon Count: Global Climate Change and Local Climate Governance in the United States." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194452.
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In the absence of federally-mandated climate change regulations in the United States, many municipalities have begun to design and implement their own climate mitigation and adaptation programs during the past decade. These include programs such as the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, where more than 1,000 cities have pledged to meet Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions targets within their own jurisdictions, as well as efforts to integrate climate information (e.g. tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow) into resource planning efforts to better assess the effects of climate change on water supplies. Using three related case studies in these areas, this dissertation examines the emergence and spread of local climate change programs in the US, with an emphasis on how government institutions work to make climate governable, and the potential effects these practices have on social life and the production and circulation of scientific knowledge. Central findings of the dissertation include: 1) Cities, through the use of everyday and routine political mechanisms that they have available to them, have become key sites of government action on climate change. In the process, local governments have been able to reaffirm, and in some cases expand, their influence within the public sector of environmental policy; 2) Carbon is the political currency of local climate change programs. Through the creation of GHG inventories (i.e. "carbon territories") and the production of carbon-relevant citizens, climate has become the object of urban environmental governance; and 3) Climate science is utilized in complex and contradictory ways in climate mitigation and adaptation programs. Several framings of climate science have been constructed by local governments as a means to justify action on climate change, while resource managers have begun to incorporate paleoclimate data into water resources planning. In both cases, the use of science has advanced political action on climate change, but the reliance and privilege of scientific discourses may preclude other "non-expert" communities from participating in the debate. This also demonstrates the "science effect," where the practices of science and the state are constructed as separate and distinct, when they are, in fact, coproduced through the practices of climate governance.
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Cumley, Samantha Renee. "The political economy of imprisonment : an analysis of local areas in the United States." Diss., University of Iowa, 2012. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1309.
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Between the 1970s and 2000, the U.S. imprisonment rate increased by 700% (e.g., Beck and Harrison 2001). During the same time period, technological advancements and the decline of manufacturing production in urban areas eliminated many of the higher-paying blue collar job opportunities previously available to workers without college educations (e.g., Morris and Western 1999). The simultaneous large changes in imprisonment and labor markets are striking and the co-occurrence of these events suggests a possible connection between increasingly insecure employment conditions and rising imprisonment rates. Further, policies targeting the poor population (including criminal justice) became more punitive since the 1970s. This co-occurred with a resurgence of Republican Party popularity and overall imprisonment rates subsequently increased (e.g., Beckett and Sasson 2004). Understanding the association between labor market conditions and imprisonment may be especially important for historically disadvantaged minority groups. Research has yet to consider how specific labor market shifts (e.g., restricted blue collar opportunities) may influence imprisonment rates. It is unknown whether such labor market dynamics may better explain the exposure of historically disadvantaged racial minorities to criminal justice system control. This project examines the issues raised in the foregoing discussion using a unique dataset created for this purpose. Data at the local-level are combined from two primary sources: the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics1989 and 1999), and Integrated Public Use Micro Sample (IPUMS) data (1990 and 2000) (Ruggles, Alexander, Genadek, Goeken, Schroeder, and Sobek 2010). This project also draws from two general election studies, "General Election Data for the United States" (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research 1995) and American University Federal Elections Project data (Lublin and Voss 2001), and controls for criminal justice system characteristics using the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation 1988, 1989, 1998, 1999) and The Book of the States (1990 and 2000). Findings suggest that the percentage of men without college education and restricted blue collar employment rates for unskilled workers are positively associated with prison admission rates within the corresponding local areas. In addition, the local percentage voting for Republican presidential candidates is positively associated with prison admission rates. Further, concentrated disadvantage among local African American populations is significantly and positively associated with prison admission rates for this group. Conversely, concentrated socioeconomic disadvantage among Whites is significantly and negatively associated with prison admission rates for African Americans. In addition, the local percentage of unskilled African Americans is significantly and positively associated with prison admission rates for African Americans and Whites. Finally, the percentage of unskilled workers employed in blue collar industries is significantly and negatively associated with African American and not significantly associated with White prison admission rates.
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Appel, Edward John Jr. ""The Free State of New Orleans": Local Law Enforcement and Illegal Gambling in the 1920s." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2010. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1242.
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This thesis examines illegal gambling in New Orleans and surrounding parishes in the 1920s. It will focus on a series of raids mounted by the Louisiana National Guard to end illegal gambling in both St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes in August and November of 1928 and again in February of 1929. Corrupt leadership and public toleration allowed gambling houses in both St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes to operate openly for nearly an entire decade. Pressure from economic, religious and civic organizations within the city of New Orleans forced newly elected Governor Huey P. Long to take swift action in the fight to end gambling in Jefferson and St. Bernard Parishes.
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Deal, Keren H. "An examination of municipal finance reform regarding municipal bankruptcies in the United States." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/07M%20Dissertations/DEAL_KEREN_35.pdf.
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Kim, Kyungwoo. "Effects of Disasters on Local Climate Actions: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Actions." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1062866/.
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This dissertation investigates the effects of natural disasters and political institutions on municipalities' climate change policies. Although most theoretical frameworks on policy adoption highlight the roles of extreme events as exogenous factors influencing policy change, most studies tend to focus on the effects of extreme events on policy change at the national level. Additionally, the existing theoretical frameworks explaining local policy adoption and public service provision do not pay attention to the roles of extreme events in local governments' policy choices. To fill those gaps, this dissertation explores the roles of natural disasters and political institutions on municipal governments' climate change policies. It does this by applying the theory of focusing events to local climate mitigation and adaptation actions. Based on the policy change framework, the political market model, and the institutional collective action frameworks, this dissertation develops and tests hypotheses to examine the effects of natural disasters and political institutions on municipalities' climate mitigation and adaptation policies. The dissertation uses 2010 National League of Cities (NLC) sustainability surveys and the 2010 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) sustainability survey to test the hypotheses. Analytical results show that floods and droughts influence local climate change policies and suggest that local governments can take advantage of extreme events when initiating a policy change. The results also suggest that political institutions can shape the effects of natural disasters on municipalities' climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
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Von, Sehlen Jennifer Ann. "Beyond organic defining alternatives to USDA certified organic /." CONNETC TO THIS TITLE ONLINE, 2007. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05312007-142541/.
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Beem, Ronald R. McBride Lawrence W. "Using local history in the secondary school social studies curriculum." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1994. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9521328.
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Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1994.Title from title page screen, viewed April 4, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lawrence W. McBride (chair), M. Paul Holsinger, Mark A. Plummer, Jo Ann Rayfield, Joseph A. Braun, Jr. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-166) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Fosher, Kerry. "'I'm just thinking out loud here' making United States homeland security at the local level /." Related electronic resource: Current Research at SU : database of SU dissertations, recent titles available full text, 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/syr/main.
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Kleinman, Jonathan I. (Jonathan Isaac). "Thinking globally, acting locally : investigating local-level capacity in the United States to pursue sustainability." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39047.
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Plath, Lydia. "Performances of honour : manhood and violence in the Mississippi slave insurrection scare of 1835." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2009. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2789/.
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In early July, 1835, rumours of a slave insurrection swept central Mississippi. Deviant white men, with bad characters and dishonourable motives, were—or so the residents of the small towns along the Big Black River in Madison County believed—plotting to incite the slaves to rebellion so that during the resulting panic they could rob the banks and plunder the cities. These rumours were entirely unfounded, but within a few weeks, groups of white citizens calling themselves ‘committees of safety’ had examined and tortured an unknown number of men (both white and black) whom they thought to be involved in the conspiracy, and by the end of July about a dozen white men and around twenty or thirty slaves had been put to death in Mississippi. As a moment during which white men not only articulated their notion of what it meant to be a ‘man,’ but also demonstrated and violently enforced it, the insurrection scare is an opening, a window, into the lives of men in the antebellum South. Through this window, we can see how Southern white men conceived of their identity as white men and constructed a notion of manhood—one of honour—to which all white men, regardless of class, could aspire. While Northerners emphasised restraint, and inner feelings of honour, Southern manhood was defined almost entirely by public display. Honour had to be performed. Further, because all white men could attempt to give a performance of honour, there existed in the South a sense of equality amongst all white men—a herrenvolk democracy—despite the vast differences in wealth and status that existed. African Americans, on the other hand, could make no claims to honour in the eyes of white men because to have honour was to have power.
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Neculai, Catalina. "'Some fanatical New York promoting' : literary economies of urban regime transformation in New York City, 1970s-1980s." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2008. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2733/.
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The project is an inter-disciplinary intervention into a field that may be largely called New York Studies or, more explicitly, the uses of urban, human and cultural geography for a cultural-materialist history of New York between the fiscal crisis years of the mid-1970s through to the Market Crash of October 1987. My concern is to offer a critique of urban regime transformation in New York, the kind of private-public coalitions taking shape in response to the advent and consolidation of the FIRE (finance, insurance and real estate) industries and their socio-spatial implications, through the lenses of cultural production. I am interested in the ways in which representation - the literary, the cinematic (more sparsely and tangentially), the documented and the archival in an analytically productive conjunction - encodes and arbitrates the changes in the production of urban space in New York City. Thus, the project underlines the heightened significance of literary economies for understanding the experiential structures of urban transformation in 1970s and 1980s New York. Driven by the belief that written culture, just like visual art, may prefigure and telescope urban change, a handful of New York writers dared to tread (both literally and symbolically) where the sociologist, the urban geographer or the documenter does so by professional default, and thus engaged head-on with the hard city of socio-economic networks. This kind of ‘urbanisation of [literary] consciousness’ calls for refreshed modes of enquiry, proposed in Chapter 1, at which point fetishist and aestheticist constructions of the city in the postmodernist key become inadequate, insufficient and politically ineffectual interpretative strategies. The following three-fold case study analysis of counterculture and the underground economy, of homesteading and ‘low rent’ fiction, of the finance industry, publishing and ‘financial writing’ may offer radical opportunities for revisiting both the space of representation and the represented space of urban decline and growth through a geocultural reading for the unevenness of urban space.
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Doddington, David Stefan. "Hierarchies and honour among enslaved men in the antebellum South." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2012. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/55999/.
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When exploring the histories of male slaves in the antebellum South, there remains a tendency for them to feature as a singular entity; the failures and successes of male slaves are often discussed as all encompassing and identical. However, in defining male slaves as a monolithic entity seeking to affirm manhood in the face of oppression and attempted emasculation by white society, there is a danger that we remain wedded to a “white/black” dichotomy that neglects the complexity of interactions among enslaved people and issues of intersectionality. It is vital that we do not ignore the plurality of gender as a social and cultural construct and the manner in which enslaved people conceptualised and created gender identities from a variety of different attributes and ideals. Scholars have increasingly made it clear that socially becoming “male” or “female” was not biological destiny in the antebellum South, but there remains comparatively less attention to the multiplicity of masculinities among enslaved men. Yet enslaved men were not a homogenous body and nor was there a single understanding of what being a man meant in slave communities. Multiple understandings of, and a variety of ideals, were invoked as evidence of “manhood” by contemporaries, white and black, that went beyond any simplistic, singular, or naturalised model. Enslaved people formulated and articulated multiple models of masculinity, drawing upon a variety of different and potentially conflicting contemporary ideals to create masculine identities and a sense of selfhood. Furthermore, this sense of a gendered self could come through comparison with, and refusal of other “masculine” behaviours in their communities: enslaved men could rank themselves as men in direct comparison to others in their communities.
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Crutchfield, Rory. "'I saw America changed through music' : an examination of the American collecting tradition." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2012. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3392/.
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This thesis is concerned with the history of folk music collecting in America and seeks to demonstrate the overriding importance of the political, socio – cultural, intellectual, and technological contexts on this work of folk music collecting. It does so via an examination the work of five of the principal folk music collectors in America in the 19th and 20th centuries: Francis Child, Cecil Sharp, John Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Harry Smith, arguing that the work of each of them was impacted by various contexts which were central to their theories of folk music, their collecting methodologies, and what they did with the material they collected. Each of these collectors, whose work was governed by the context in which they were working, introduced transformations in the theory, practice, and output of folk music collecting. These transformations are held to represent the American collecting tradition, and are in fact what define the American collecting tradition and allow it to continue developing as a discipline from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.
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Arnett, Sarah B. "Fiscal Stress in the U.S. States: An Analysis of Measures and Responses." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2012. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/pmap_diss/38.
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Fiscal stress is an important and recurring problem that states face. Research to date on state fiscal stress involves, predominantly, cross-sectional and case study analyses and does not address the effectiveness of state responses. Many of these studies use different definitions and measures of fiscal stress compounding the difficulty of comparing fiscal stress findings. The present research effort adds to the fiscal stress literature by (1) clarifying the meaning of fiscal stress in the state context, (2) developing a measure of fiscal stress that operationalizes this meaning and is comparable across units, and 3) using this measure analyzes patterns in and the effectiveness of state responses. Fiscal stress is measured using four indexes: budget, cash, long-run, service-level. Eleven financial indicators, calculated using data from state Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs), are used to create these indexes for all fifty states for the years 2002-2009. Descriptive analysis compares state fiscal stress levels (grouped into low, moderate, and high fiscal stress by cluster analysis) to state economic growth rates, state responses, and institutional factors yielding several findings. First, states do not use an incremental or punctuated equilibrium strategy in responding to fiscal stress; nor do their responses follow the pattern predicted by Cutback Management theory. Second, institutional factors affect both the levels of fiscal stress and state responses to fiscal stress. Regression analysis supports and extends these findings. First, short-term responses of expenditure cuts, tax increases, and rainy day fund use do not affect state fiscal stress levels. Second, these responses have long-term effects on fiscal stress levels. A major implication of this research is that there is very little states can do in the short-term to reduce fiscal stress. However, by balancing expenditures and revenues states can set themselves up to weather the next economic downturn with lower levels of fiscal stress.
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Walker, Deirdre I. "Homeland Security Knowledge Management for local law enforcement in the national capital region." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2005. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion/05Sep%5FWalker.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2005.Thesis Advisor(s): David Brannan, Phyllis McDonald. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-53). Also available online.
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Miller, Patrick E. "How can we improve information sharing among local law enforcement agencies?" Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2005. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion/05Sep%5FMiller%5FPatrick.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in National Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2005.Thesis Advisor(s): Chris Bellavita. Includes bibliographical references (p.65-67). Also available online.
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Leweke, Robert W. "Advertising and social responsibility as models of the press : a study of three local newspapers /." Thesis, This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06112009-063325/.
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Emler, Jay Scott. "How to fund homeland security without federal dollars : state and local funding of homeland security initiatives in light of decreased support by the federal government /." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Naval Postgraduate School, 2008. http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2008/Sept/08Sep%5FEmler.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security And Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.Thesis Advisor(s): Bellavita, Christopher. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 3, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-84). Also available in print.
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Appleby, Clare A. "Local regulation of immigration." Diss., [La Jolla] : University of California, San Diego, 2009. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p1464878.
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Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009.Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 2, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-88).
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Pollard, Dianne. "School Board Leadership: A Study of Training for School Board Members Across the United States." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49571.
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Local school board members play a significant role as leaders of public education in the United States. As leaders, local school board members are charged with the responsibility to create an environment within their school districts that enable students to meet rigorous content knowledge and performance standards. The public's expectations of the local school boards have changed considerably in recent years, primarily due to the standards and accountability reform movement. In most states, local school board members are now being held accountable for student achievement based on annual standardized assessments. The increased expectations and scrutiny of local school boards have been accompanied with greater emphasis on preparation and training programs for local school board members.
The purpose of this study was to investigate and report states' mandates and requirements for local school board training and to document the characteristics of training activities provided for local school board members across the United States. The design of this quantitative study included two surveys disseminated to two target populations. The first target population was comprised of the executive directors of each state's school boards association. The second target population included local school members who held leadership positions in their school boards association for their respective states.
The study was designed to identify which states in the United States: (1) mandate training for local school board members with an enforcement provision; (2) mandate training for local school board members with no enforcement provision; and (3) do not mandate training for local school board members. The study explored whether or not there were differences in the perceptions held by local school board members regarding training pursuant the following variables: (1) length of service on the local school board; (2) education level; (3) gender (4) district size (5) whether the board member was elected or appointed; and (6) whether training in their respective states was mandated, mandated with an enforcement provision, or not mandated. Information was also requested relative to the characteristics of training activities provided for the local school board members.
The findings from this study showed that the legal requirements for training of local school board members across the United States have remained relatively unchanged from those reported in previous research studies. There were minimal differences found in local school board members' perceptions about training in states that mandate training (with and without an enforcement provision) and states that do not mandate training. An analysis of data collected through a survey administered to a delimited population of local school board members indicated a preference for training through use of for small-group concurrent sessions. The respondents perceived that small group concurrent sessions was the most effective presentation format for training. Further analysis of data also found that the respondents perceived that regional meetings and school board retreats were effective formats for training.
Findings from the study appear to suggest that local school board members participated in training whether it was mandated in their states or not. The findings also seem to imply that more emphasis and attention could be placed on the quality of the training provided for local school board members.Ed. D.
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Garcia, Maria E. "Governing Gambling in the United States." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2010. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3.
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The role risk taking has played in American history has helped shape current legislation concerning gambling. This thesis attempts to explain the discrepancies in legislation regarding distinct forms of gambling. While casinos are heavily regulated by state and federal laws, most statutes dealing with lotteries strive to regulate the activities of other parties instead of those of the lottery institutions. Incidentally, lotteries are the only form of gambling completely managed by the government. It can be inferred that the United States government is more concerned with people exploiting gambling than with the actual practice of wagering.
In an effort to more fully understand the gambling debate, whether it should be allowed or banned, I examined different types of sources. Historical sources demonstrate how ingrained in American culture risk taking, the core of gambling, has been since the formation of this nation. Sources dealing with the economic implications of gambling were also studied. Additionally, sources dealings with the political and legal aspects of gambling were essential for this thesis. Legislature has tried to reconcile distinct problems associated with gambling, including corruption. For this reason sports gambling scandals and Mafia connections to gambling have also been examined.
The American government has created much needed legislature to address different concerns relating to gambling. It is apparent that statutes will continue to be passed to help regulate the gambling industry. A possible consideration is the legalization of sports wagering to better regulate that sector of the industry.
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Nukpezah, Julius Atsu. "The Adoption, Management, and Performance of Local Government Investment Pools: A Comparative Analysis of State Practices." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2016. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc849621/.
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This dissertation examines the factors influencing a state’s decision to adopt a local government investment pool (LGIP), the institutional arrangements used in managing them, and the effect of the institutional types on LGIP performance. The dissertation extends the policy adoption theory with insights from investment theory to demonstrate that management credibility influences the likelihood of a state’s LGIP adoption. The study finds that the quality of financial management, the quality of professional leadership, proximate state neighbors who have previously adopted an LGIP, and economic factors determine a state’s proclivity to policy adoption. The dissertation also describes the institutional arrangements used in managing LGIPs and develops typologies based on their institutional arrangements. The dissertation compares LGIPs depending on the risk aversion of their institutional arrangements. The research extends the risk-return tradeoff in investment theory to LGIP institutional arrangements. The empirical findings show that LGIP institutional arrangement that has greater risk report higher performance. The dissertation also finds that competition in the LGIP market due to multiple vendors, and periods of economic recession account for higher performance because of higher risk-taking behaviors associated with them. This dissertation promotes public funds investment laws that emphasize prudent management of government finances and guides managers of the public purse on the types of institutional choices that optimize returns with minimal risk.
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Wallez, Philippe. "Local and regional information in the age of electronic media : a comparative study (United States - France)." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017AIXM0557.
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La concurrence est en voie d’extinction dans l’industrie de la Presse Quotidienne Régionale en France et des grands journaux « metropolitan » des Etats-Unis. La concurrence est un débat économique et sociétal récurrent dès qu’il s’agit de médias. La pluralité des voix est considérée à tort ou à raison comme un des piliers de la démocratie représentative. Elle est protégée par des lois en France et aux Etats-Unis visant à réguler la concentration. Force est de constater que ces textes restent sans efficacité sur le terrain. Les économistes sont partagés quant à l’effet de la concentration sur les affaires. Certains soulignent une baisse du lectorat//audience dans les départements en situation de monopole. La corrélation dominante cause/effet n’a jamais été prouvée, dans la mesure où le déclin de la presse a d’autres raisons. Les partisans de la concentration avancent les avantages financiers de cette situation, principalement des économies d’échelle et la possibilité de fixer les prix hors de la réalité d’un marché concurrentiel. Mais cette époque est révolue. Notre sujet est pourtant pionnier au sens où la concurrence redevient la règle sur le marché de le publicité numérique et également des «informations ». Des starts-up se multiplient aux Etats-Unis défiant les groupes historiques dans une compétition certes encore très asymétrique, La France semble toujours en retard quant à cette émergence d’entrepreneurs régionaux. A travers des études de cas, nous tenterons de prouver que la concurrence marketing et éditoriale a encore un effet dopant sur les ventes « papier » (compétition Ouest-France et Télégramme ou sur Chicago à moindre échelle)Due to concentration, in the United States and France, competition is about to be eradicated in the local and metropolitan newspaper industry. Some scholars regret the lack of pluralism which is historically the function of the press in a representative democracy. Pluralism is highly regulated by the states, but laws could not prevent concentration. Economists are divided about the impact of concentration regarding business. Some point out that circulation has dropped in newly monopolistic areas. But they do not provide the undoubtedly proof of a correlation between those two facts. Economies of scale and financial benefits (price-fixing) of a monopolistic position may justify concentration on an economic level. Some companies have enjoyed double-digit profit while in a monopolistic position. But this time is over. The emergence of the Internet has generated a highly competitive market regarding advertising and news business. Our topic is thus not lamenting the good old days of competition, but it is pioneering. In the United States, many start-ups, mostly non-profit, challenge the legacy regional and metropolitan newsgroups the same way that already big groups do nationwide, such as Buzzfeed or Quartz or Vox. Entrepreneurs, in a Schumpeterian meaning, strive to replace stagecoach owners and build the railways of the future. The trend is much less clear in the French case.Our research wants to assert that marketing and full editorial competition still boosts circulation and business (Brittany in France) and is an unavoidable rendezvous for the legacy groups in the digital news era because they are forced to abandon the corporate culture of the past