Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2021, Honors

This study looks at Stark County, Ohio—a national political bellwether—through the conduction of a survey at all six of its institutions of higher education, enabling the study of the gender gap and women's generational gap in a college-educated atmosphere. A total of 864 respondents among students, staff, and faculty gave responses that were used to analyze political party affiliation, political ideology, and attitudes toward public policies. While women were far more likely to identify as Democrats, chi-square and independent samples t-tests indicate that women only support more liberal pro-women policies and government program expansion; men and women has similar attitudes toward both economic and social inclusion policies. Women over 25 held more liberal attitudes toward pro-women and social inclusive policies than college-age women, but the two groups answered similarly on government programs and economic inclusion.

Committee: Koop Berry PhD (Advisor); Barbara Palmer PhD (Other) Subjects: Gender; Political Science; Public Policy; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1958, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics

This study investigates the effects of decentralization on economic growth in U.S. counties. Decentralization has given counties the added responsibility of economic growth and welfare administration. Counties use various strategies to attract and retain businesses so they can provide income and jobs for residents. Localization of economic development and decentralization of welfare programs may have an effect on economic growth of county governments. County governments in the U.S. may act strategically by setting lower welfare benefit levels, and offering business incentives to new and existing firms, thus resulting in the possible under-provision of local public services and a decrease in economic growth. Key objectives of this study are to construct a measure of decentralization and investigate whether decentralization leads to differences in economic growth in U.S. counties. A simultaneous equation framework is used to explore the relationship between decentralization and economic growth. Economic growth is measured by population and employment growth. An interaction term is constructed between decentralization and rural status to verify whether decentralization's effects differ by rural status of counties. County level data from forty-six states in the U.S. are used in the analyses. The hypothesis that the effect of decentralization on rural counties is different from that of urban counties is tested. The hypothesis that decentralization has a negative effect on economic growth of U.S. counties is also tested. Other hypotheses that are tested are that population growth and employment growth each has a positive effect on the other. The results reveal that population and employment growth both positively affect each other. Decentralization has a significant effect on population growth but no effect on employment growth. Both rural and urban counties show a negative relation with population growth so the hypothesis that decentralization results in lower economic g (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Kraybill (Advisor) Subjects: Economics, Agricultural

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2011, Leadership and Change

This dissertation encompasses a case study and a Participatory Action Research project. The case study focuses on climate change mitigation activities within King County, Washington and its 39 cities and towns and discusses progress and challenges related to transportation issues, efficiency measures, and sustainability planning. The findings indicate there is a high level of activity in waste reduction, environmental outreach and education, bicycle and pedestrian promotion, tree canopy protection, sustainability policies, and green building. Other categories, such as energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emission inventories and goal setting are on the rise. Twelve of the cities were found to be highly active with several more initiating new sustainability related policies and programs. The two overall biggest challenges to implementing climate change mitigation efforts in this area are the lack of financial and technical resources and the lower prioritization of these activities. The Participatory Action Research project was developed and conducted in collaboration with King County and nine of its cities in support of regional climate change and sustainability solutions, with the intent to increase climate change mitigation within King County. As a result of the project, the King County Cities Climate Collaboration was created to formalize a working partnership between the cities and the County, encourage and support region-wide emission reduction strategies, and increase efficiency and effectiveness of efforts through bottom-up collaboration and systemic operational integration. The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd.

Committee: Alan Guskin PhD (Committee Chair); Philomena Essed PhD (Committee Member); David Fluharty PhD (Committee Member); Michele Betsill PhD (Other) Subjects: Area Planning and Development; Climate Change; Earth; Energy; Environmental Management; Environmental Philosophy; Environmental Studies; International Law; Land Use Planning; Natural Resource Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Public Administra