Browsing by Author "Ferguson, Margaret Robertson"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Advocacy and Community Based Organizations: How to Achieve Policy Development
    (2013-10-07) Edwards, Taura Brown; Bandele, Ramla M., 1949-; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson; McCormick, John, 1954-
    This study questions if the advocacy efforts of community based organizations, like community development corporations, voluntary member associations, and community action agencies, can achieve policy development. Policy development is defined as the proposal of a policy by a community based organization. That policy proposal receives the attention of local decision makers for consideration. This study uses the stages of the policy process to assess what coordinated activities are most effective to achieve policy development. It was concluded that community based organizations can achieve policy development, if they identify an issue or problem, conduct some level of strategic planning, create a policy agenda, and seek access to decision makers. In all three case analyses, the hybrid organization, community action agency, and the voluntary member association were able to achieve policy development. This research does not focus on policy impact or evaluation. The goal was to ascertain how effective an organization can be at proposing a solution and receiving the attention of local decision makers. This research explores how organizational development can become the foundation for advocating for issues and achieve policy development. Community based organizations are not only government funded service providers, but also community collaborators and educators who stimulate citizen participation and increase public awareness about social issues. Their role as autonomous service providers puts them in a conundrum because of their funding streams. Since the 1950s, researchers have explored the roles and responsibilities of government-funded service providers. This study provides an overview of the roles of community based organizations and activities that define their political participation. It explores how these organizations mitigate issues to ensure overall community success.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Charter schools and neighborhood revitalization in Indianapolis (2000-2010)
    (2014) Marking, Janea L.; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson; Dusso, Aaron; Friesen, Amanda J.
    Charter schools are a major movement in American education and increasingly used as a city strategy for neighborhood rehabilitation. Indianapolis is one of a growing number of urban areas to promote charter schools as catalysts for neighborhood revitalization. Previous studies find mixed results about the causes of neighborhood change or how residents make mobility decisions. The present study seeks to create an empirical model that discovers the impact of charter schools as a neighborhood amenity. This is based on two measures of well-being: change in percentage poverty and change in percentage school-aged residents. Data indicate a negative relationship between charter schools in a census tract and the school-aged resident population. However, statistical analysis did not support a significant relationship between either measure and charter schools in the ten year time frame.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exploring Home Rule Authority: An Assessment of the Impetuses Behind Broad Grants of Local Power
    (2010-01-26T20:06:58Z) Lloyd, Katherine J.; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson; Bandele, Ramla M., 1949-; Goldfinger, Johnny
    This study is a comparative examination of factors related to a state’s likelihood of granting its local governments broad home rule authority or broad local governing discretion. Six factors are assessed: percentage of a state’s residents living in urban areas, state’s heterogeneity, per capita income, region, age of state, and dominant political culture. Binary, logistic regression analysis is used to determine logistic odds of a state’s granting structural and broad functional home rule authority given the posited factors. Results showed no significant relationships between variables.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Gubernatorial coattail effects in state legislative elections : a reexamination
    (2013-12-11) Lang, Matthew Joseph; Dusso, Aaron; Vargus, Brian S.; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson
    Prior studies on state legislative elections have found gubernatorial coattails playing a key role; however, they fail to examine the temporal and state-based trends of this phenomena. Using precinct level data from nine states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming), over two election cycles (2002 and 2006), I measure the importance a state’s ideological makeup, and a governor’s institutional powers has on gubernatorial coattails. Findings reaffirm the importance of coattails, and previously researched variables; however, the addition of the above measures greatly affects coattail strength, dependent on host of controlling factors.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Liberalizing American Voting Laws: Institutionally Increasing Voter Turnout
    (2012-03-19) Hostetter, Joshua Daniel; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson; Dusso, Aaron P.; McCormick, John, 1954-
    This paper expands previous research analyzing the impact voting laws have on voter turnout in national elections in the United States. I analyzed voter turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election and the 2010 off year election in all fifty states to see if voting restrictions declined turnout. My results show evidence that the further away from Election Day voter registration ends, the lower voter turnout a state can expect. I also found laws requiring employers to allow employees time off work to vote on Election Day had lower voter turnout rates than the states allowing employer discretion to determine whether an employee can take time off work to vote. Lastly, my paper shows evidence allowing anyone to vote by mail had a significant increase in the 2008 Presidential Election voter turnout rates compared to states requiring an excuse. However, I did not find any statistical significance in the 2010 off year election.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Regime fatigue : a cognitive-psychological model for identifying a socialized negativity effect in U.S. Senatorial and Gubernatorial elections from 1960-2008
    (2014-07-11) Giles, Clark Andrew; Weiden, David L.; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson; Dusso, Aaron
    This research project proposes to try to isolate and measure the influence of “regime fatigue” on gubernatorial elections and senatorial elections in the United States where there is no incumbent running. The research begins with a review of the negativity effect and its potential influence on schema-based impression forming by voters. Applicable literature on the topics of social clustering and homophily is then highlighted as it provides the vehicle through which the negativity effect disseminates across collections of socially-clustered individuals and ultimately contributes to changing tides of public opinion despite the fact that the political party identification can remain relatively fixed in the aggregate.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Term limits and state legislatures' approval ratings
    (2013-10-07) Downs, John W., III; Ferguson, Margaret Robertson; Bandele, Ramla M., 1949-; Dusso, Aaron