Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item In Pursuit of Equity: The Politics of Desegregation in Howard County, Maryland(2023) Bill, Kayla Mackenzie; Scribner, Campbell F.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)School desegregation policies aim to redistribute educational resources and opportunities more equitably, but they have not always done so. Evidence indicates that political factors, including resistance from White parents and legal constraints, have undermined desegregation policies’ potential to fulfill their aims. Yet, a few studies suggest that windows of opportunity to desegregate schools exist. Even so, these studies often focus on how a subset of political factors shape desegregation efforts, and some political factors remain understudied. Furthermore, school desegregation research tends to focus on either the political dynamics of advancing these policies or the effects these policies have on segregation. Thus, the extent to which political factors affect desegregation policies’ potential to reduce segregation and, eventually, to advance educational equity remains an open question. My dissertation addresses these gaps in the literature by using a race-conscious political framework and a qualitative-dominant, convergent parallel mixed methods design to explore the politics and outcomes of the Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) recent effort to desegregate by redistricting, or redrawing school attendance boundary lines. Howard County is an ideal setting to study desegregation because it possesses several favorable conditions for desegregating schools, including racial/ethnic diversity, espoused commitments to educational equity, and a history of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic integration. These favorable conditions allow me to “test” whether desegregation is a feasible policy goal for school districts and to provide policymakers with insights about how to advance desegregation policies in ways that maximize their potential to reduce segregation and promote educational equity. I find that school overcrowding, growing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic segregation, and resource inequities led the HCPSS Superintendent and the Howard County Board of Education to initiate redistricting. The superintendent proposed a redistricting plan that had the potential to reduce segregation in HCPSS. Yet, various political factors—including resistance from wealthy White and Asian parents and limitations from HCPSS’s formal attendance boundary adjustment policy—led the board to enact a redistricting plan that had relatively less potential to reduce segregation and would have increased it at some school levels. Upon implementation, the enacted redistricting plan appeared to reduce segregation in HCPSS, but those reductions likely resulted from enrollment changes in the district. Ultimately, findings suggest that, under favorable political conditions, desegregation policies do have the potential to reduce segregation. However, realizing these policies’ potential will require districts to either a) explicitly prioritize desegregation, rather than allowing policymakers to attempt to balance desegregation with other, often competing policy goals, or b) align desegregation with other policy goals, rather than pitting it against them.Item The Impact of Sanctions on the Domestic Response of Autocrats as Conditioned by Political and Economic Structures(2023) Stein, Maeryn Goldman; Huth, Paul K.; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The use of economic sanctions has grown exponentially since the conclusion of the Cold War, and research on these policy tools has similarly proliferated. Although much of this scholarship is dedicated to evaluating the efficacy of sanctions, in recent years researchers have begun considering the consequences of sanctions for target states, and the international community more broadly, while also exploring how the characteristics of the target state influence the effects and outcomes of sanctions. Nevertheless, fundamental questions remain unanswered: How do sanctions impact a leader’s domestic policy choices? How do state structures condition the effects of sanctions? And how do sanctions influence the relationship between leaders and their populace? This project addresses these issues by examining how the economic and political structures that define a state shape how sanctions influence the domestic policy choices of autocratic regimes.I argue that a leader’s domestic constituency is multifaceted, and policies that might quiet certain subsets of the population will have little impact on other groups. Autocratic regimes select a matrix of policies best suited to coopt or suppress different sources of threat, thereby achieving a status quo. When sanctions target a primed audience, autocrats must adjust their policy matrix or risk either a coup or rebellion. The groups that are impacted by sanctions, how these groups respond, and how autocrats can best mitigate unrest is contingent on the types of sanctions imposed (targeted or comprehensive) and the economic and political structures that define the state. My theoretical arguments produce two hypotheses and eight sub-hypotheses. The first hypothesis deals with how the political structure (measured by the regime’s Loyalty Norm) conditions the regime’s domestic policy response (Systemic Repression and/or Patronage) to threats resulting from the imposition of targeted and comprehensive sanctions. The second hypothesis addresses how a state’s economic structure, measured by the regime’s income source (earned or unearned), conditions the response (Public Goods and/or Patronage) to threats that arise from targeted and comprehensive sanctions. I explore the relationship between sanctions, state structures, and response using a reconstructed dataset that examines sanction imposition at the target-year level of analysis. The quantitative study supports five of my eight sub-hypotheses. Interestingly, the three sub-hypotheses that are not supported involve the use of Patronage, suggesting that there are issues with the definition and/or measures of Patronage I employed that bear further investigation. To further clarify the dynamics between sanction type, economic and political structures, and domestic response, I conduct two case studies that focus on the leader’s use of Patronage. The first case study evaluates the impact of US sanctions on Nicaragua during the 1980s. The second explores how sanctions influenced the Qadhafi regime’s domestic policies in Libya from 1978 - 1999. Taken together, the quantitative and qualitative studies confirm that economic sanctions can and do disrupt the relationship between autocrats and the populace, leading the regime to reconstruct their domestic policy matrix. The state’s structures condition this dynamic, and economic structures can be as influential as political institutions in shaping policies. Finally, this study demonstrates that traditional conceptions of Patronage require further consideration and a regime’s use of Patronage is typically more nuanced than it is for repressive strategies. Conventional measures of Patronage, such as corruption and clientelism, as well as the boundary between Patronage and the provision of Public Goods deserve closer scrutiny.Item Multispectral satellite remote sensing approaches for estimating cover crop performance in Maryland and Delaware(2022) THIEME, ALISON; Justice, Chris; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Winter cover crops encompass a range of species planted in late summer and fall for a variety of reasons relating to soil health, nutrient retention, soil compaction, biotic diversity, and erosion prevention. As agricultural intensification continues, the practice of winter cover cropping remains a crucial practice to reduce leaching from agricultural fields. Maryland and Delaware both incentivize cover cropping to meet water quality objectives in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. These large-scale programs necessitate methods to evaluate cover crop performance over the landscape. Cover crop quantity and quality was measured at 2,700 locations between 2006-2021 with a focus on fields planted to four cereal species: wheat, rye, barley, and triticale. Samples were GPS located and timed with satellite remote sensing observations from SPOT 4, SPOT 5, Landsat 5, Landsat 7, Landsat 8, or Sentinel-2. When paired imagery at 10-30 m spatial resolution , there is a strong relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and percent ground cover (R2=0.72) as well as NDVI and biomass (as high as R2=0.77). There is also a strong relationship between Δ Red Edge (a combination of 740 nm and 783 nm bands) and nitrogen content (R2=0.75). These equations were applied to Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 products and used to estimate cover crop aboveground biomass in ~300,000 ha of Maryland Department of Agricultures and ~60,000 ha of Delaware Association of Conservation Districts enrolled fields from 2019-2021 and grouped by agronomic method. Wintertime and springtime cover crop biomass varied based on planting date, planting method, species, termination date, and termination method. Early planted fields had higher wintertime biomass while fields that delayed termination had higher springtime biomass. Triticale had consistently higher biomass while wheat had the lowest biomass. Fields planted using a drill followed by light tillage or no-till drill had higher biomass, likely due to the better seed-to-soil contact. Fields that were taken to harvest or terminated for on farm use (roller crimped, green chopped) also had higher springtime biomass than other termination methods. Incentives can be used to encourage specific agronomic methods and these findings can be used to inform adaptive management in the Mid-Atlantic Region.Item Protection for whom? A critical examination into the governance of women athletes through policies(2022) Posbergh, Anna; Jette, Shannon L; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Women’s sport remains a contested realm that frequently features standards and regulations implying women are “lesser than,” “different from,” or “derivative of” men (Cahn, 2015, p. 222). As such, a range of protective policies have been introduced as techniques to ensure the safety and health of women, defend “fair competition” in women’s sport, and/or prevent women from violating social and medical boundaries that identify them as women. However, because protective policies rely on divergent rationales in their creation and justification, they elicit different impacts for individuals who are categorized (or wish to be categorized) as women. Previous scholarship has analyzed the underlying issues of science, race, gender, and nationality in individual protective policies and indicated the potential for specific policies (i.e., female eligibility policies) to elicit dangerous health, social, and mental consequences on black and brown women from the Global South. However, there a paucity of research that investigates protective policies as a broad category to understand their similarities, differences, and nuances. To fill this gap, I examine multiple protective policies to conduct a critical, qualitative inquiry into how protective policies are created in elite women’s sports. I focus on how such policies regulate women’s bodies and how different versions of “woman” are constructed by interpreting and selectively drawing from myriad forms of evidence to determine who is protected (and who is excluded), how “protection” is understood, what evidence is mobilized, and how protective policy consequences are justified.I investigate three policies as case studies: the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) 2014 consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), World Athletics’ 2019 policy on female eligibility, and World Athletics’ 2019 policy on transgender eligibility. These three policies are selected for analysis because they reflect the range of science-supported protective policies. While all seek to protect women, each adopts a different stance on the importance of sex differences, in the process demonstrating the social construction of “sex” and malleability of scientific evidence. Guided by feminist, critical race, and Foucauldian-inspired governmentality studies approaches, I center the relevant discourses, knowledges, and power relations within policy rationales to better understand how protective policies regulate (women’s) bodies and maintain social norms. Each case study analysis consists of two data sets: the actual policy texts and nine semi-structured interviews with policy authors, scientists, and other relevant administrators involved in the creation, drafting, and implementation of the three policies. I analyze the data through thematic analysis followed by Foucauldian discourse analysis, informed by a governmentality studies perspective. Using this two-step analytic framework, I first determine what was said in document texts and by participants, followed by a deeper level of analysis and contextualization of how dominant discourses, knowledges, and power relations were created and mobilized to protect (some) women athletes. My findings are organized into four empirical chapters. In the first empirical chapter, I examine the document texts to provide a broad examination into the contexts surrounding their creation, as well as the unproblematized logics that inform their dominant discourses, ways of knowing, and power hierarchies. Based on my analysis, I bring to light the implications of the logics underpinning the documents, including the use of elite medical discourses, the construction of “suspicious” athletes, biologizations of race and gender, and individual diagnoses that lack attention to broader social, political, and cultural dimensions. In the second empirical chapter, I focus on the interviews, or “expert knowledge,” with those involved with researching, drafting, and implementing the three case studies to understand how they draw from (certain) forms of evidence, interpret and/or circulate dominant discourses and knowledges, and navigate the (often) contentious process of creating protective policies (see Wells, 2020). In the third and fourth empirical chapters, I examine both sets of data (policy and interview). In the first of these two empirical chapters, I provide an overview of the “start-to-finish” process behind creating and implementing protective policies and investigate the “tensions” that emerge at each step in the process: from explaining why protective policies exist, to finding or constructing appropriate forms of evidence, to determining the necessity of a separate women’s category, to methods of governing. In the latter empirical chapter, I more closely parse through these “tensions” behind and within the rationales and strategies of protective policies to reveal the complexity reality of such documents, particularly with consideration to (protected) participation, (controlled) unfairness, and (felt) policy implementation. This dissertation is significant as it elucidates how, if, and when women’s rights and bodies are protected through policies. As sport shapes and is shaped by society, this research illuminates on a societal scale how science and policy shape dominant ways of knowing, particularly regarding gender, sex, race, and human rights. Especially in a time when legal protections of women’s autonomy, bodies, and rights are in question, this project provides insight into how protective policies enact a range of measures to safeguard (some) women’s bodies through regulation, discipline, or even exclusion. By investigating how sociocultural and scientific knowledges intersect to determine who qualifies as “woman,” who is considered in need of “protection,” and how protection is implemented, the findings from this dissertation will hopefully inform organizational and administrative efforts to create more equitable, compassionate, and inclusive policies, both in sport and society.Item Deliberation and Legitimacy in Economic Development Policy(2021) Good, Joseph E; Wible, Scott; English Language and Literature; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Most policy decisions are channeled through deliberative forums, such as a city council or state legislature. Economic development is a frequent concern in those deliberative forums, as economic development policy can greatly affect the life and livelihood of constituents. Yet the process of economic development policy can be enigmatic, intimidating, and/or inequitable. Accordingly, this dissertation analyzes economic development in localized policy processes and decisions. The driving goal is to better understand and ameliorate policy problems, especially problems of democratic deliberation and legitimacy. Thus, this dissertation joins other works that aim to “illustrate how rhetoric engages advocates and audiences alike to frame public problems and identify policy solutions.” This dissertation uses case studies as the basis for qualitative analysis. The case studies are distinct episodes of economic development decisions and campaigns. Rhetorical analysis is the main method of analysis. But this dissertation also honors the goals of a “problem structuring” study, where policy problems are interpreted, organized, and more clearly defined. Furthermore, each case is structured as an ecological study. This intensive observation of past situations and decisions allows a more concentrated focus on policy problems. Chapter one introduces the frame of work, methods, and goals. Chapter two is an intensive look at the economic development policy of Harrisburg, PA from 1999-2003. This centers around an aging trash incinerator and encompasses issues such as environmentalism and social justice. Chapter three observes university-centered economic development. A series of case studies shows how universities employ similar rhetorical appeals to secure funding and investment. Chapter four addresses democratic legitimacy. After defining the term, the case studies of previous chapters are re-analyzed to uncover problems of democratic legitimacy. In using this localized focus and distinct methodology, this dissertation endeavors to ameliorate policy problems in the analyzed cases. Yet these problems are often analogous to policy processes in many other contexts. Therefore, this dissertation is applicable to many policy situations across the country.Item Menthol Tobacco Sales Restrictions at the Local Level: Community Perceptions, Lessons Learned, and Policy Evaluation(2019) D'Silva, Joanne; Fryer, Craig S.; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Menthol cigarettes are a significant public health concern. While sales of regular cigarettes have declined in recent years, menthol cigarette sales are increasing. Known for their minty taste and cooling effects, menthol cigarettes are a starter product for youth. The tobacco industry has a long history of predatory marketing to African Americans, who are more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes, have lower quit rates, and experience higher tobacco-related mortality than white smokers. Because flavored cigarettes are appealing to youth, the 2009 Tobacco Control Act banned the sale of flavored cigarettes; however, menthol was exempted. Due to federal inaction on menthol, localities are enacting restrictions to address this social justice issue. In 2017, Minneapolis, Minnesota was among the first U.S. jurisdictions to restrict menthol sales to tobacco shops and liquor stores. Grounded in the Social Ecological Model, this dissertation utilized multiple methods to increase our understanding of the experience and impact of the Minneapolis menthol policy. Study 1 examined African American adult smoker perceptions and found that many menthol smokers perceived menthol to be as harmful or more harmful than non-menthol cigarettes and emphasized the role of tobacco industry targeting to African American communities and youth. Participants also indicated mixed support for menthol policy restrictions. Study 2 identified key factors that led to policy passage and included an in-depth assessment of critical steps in policy-making from policy formulation through adoption. The active engagement of youth and support of members of communities most impacted by menthol tobacco-related disparities were identified as critical to the policy’s successful adoption. Study 3 evaluated the impact of the menthol policy on the retail environment and found reduced menthol availability and decreased menthol marketing at the point-of-sale two months following policy implementation. Unintended consequences of the policy were also observed; two tobacco shops were added to convenience stores and continued to sell menthol tobacco. Results from these studies provide critical insights from several phases of the policy process. Findings can inform other jurisdictions around the country interested in pursuing menthol restrictions to reduce the burden of tobacco use and advance health equity for priority populations.Item The Triumphs and Tensions of Transfer Articulation: Investigating the Implementation of Maryland's Associate of Arts in Teaching Degree(2018) Maliszewski Lukszo, Casey Lynn; Cabrera, Alberto; Espino Lira, Michelle; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation study investigated the implementation of the Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.) degree at two, public four-year universities in Maryland. Using Honig’s (2006a) Framework for Policy Analysis as a conceptual framework, I used higher education and policy implementation research to expand the conceptual model’s three dimensions: the Policy Dimension, the Places Dimension, and the People Dimension. Using an interpretative case study design, I used multiple data sources, including semi-structured interviews with state and university administrators and faculty, interviews with A.A.T. students, observations of state and university meetings, and a review of federal, state, and university documents. This study revealed that administrators and faculty generally perceived the A.A.T. degree to be an effective method to recruit diverse students into teaching professions and to create more efficient transfer pathways into education baccalaureate programs. However, administrators and faculty acknowledged a number of challenges associated with implementation, including: 1) confusion surrounding admissions policies into education programs; 2) trouble completing the Basic Skills Test requirement; and 3) miscommunication, misadvisement, and misalignment with regard to transfer courses in the A.A.T. program, which often led to transfer credit problems. Three factors were found to influence implementation challenges: 1) state and organizational governance structures and culture; 2) state and university leaders (particularly how they interpreted the A.A.T. policy and how they communicated those interpretations to others); and 3) external pressures, such as accreditation and state workforce demands. Some challenges associated with transfer credit articulation can be attributed to differences between community college and university priorities and values. Overall, the findings from this dissertation provide additional understanding of the promise and the challenges associated with subject-specific state transfer articulation degrees, such as the A.A.T. While subject-specific transfer policies can yield some positive effects on transfer pathways, they are not the sole solution to fixing transfer credit problems. To conclude, I provide recommendations for state policymakers, considerations for university practitioners, and directions for future research.Item A case study of a district's intended and unintended results connected to the implementation of a required ninth-grade algebra 1 strategic initiative(2015) Mirshah-Nayar, Afsaneh Afie; Davis, Tom; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)There is a long history of debate around mathematics standards, reform efforts, and accountability. This research identified ways that national expectations and context drive local implementation of mathematics reform efforts and identified the external and internal factors that impact teachers’ acceptance or resistance to policy implementation at the local level. This research also adds to the body of knowledge about acceptance and resistance to policy implementation efforts. This case study involved the analysis of documents to provide a chronological perspective, assess the current state of the District’s mathematics reform, and determine the District’s readiness to implement the Common Core Curriculum. The school system in question has continued to struggle with meeting the needs of all students in Algebra 1. Therefore, the results of this case study will be useful to the District’s leaders as they include the compilation and analysis of a decade’s worth of data specific to Algebra 1.Item EXAMINATION OF THE MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA RECORDS AT A FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCY(2015) Doran, Chad; Bertot, John; Kurtz, Michael; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Maintaining and preserving records has long been regarded as essential to the functioning of federal government and to related open government initiatives in particular. However, the literature identifies specific technology and policy-related challenges of managing social media records. While there exists in the literature a limited examination regarding the management of social media content in the federal agencies, a close analysis is needed to identify how social media records are being managed in practice. As the nature of social media and electronic content are both rapidly evolving, it is important to ensure that current practice guidelines are applicable to new technology and continually re-aligned to policy as requirements and regulations change. In recent years, effective management of social media records has become relevant not only in terms of ongoing compliance but as an essential element of open government and transparency-related initiatives. Additionally, and perhaps even more important, all records management and archive practices, including social media preservation, serve a larger social function of maintaining and documenting our collective memory and experiences. This study provides an in-depth analysis of social media records management within a federal executive agency, utilizing a mixed-methods approach consisting of website review, document review, and follow-up interviews. This study presents theoretical as well as practical implications. On the theoretical level, the study contributes to records management theory, application of information models, and the definition of the record in the social media environment. On the practical level, this research provides recommendations to industry and federal agencies for the development of standards, guidance, and technologies for the management and preservation of social media records.Item Three Essays on Non-Balanced Economic Growth, Economic Geography, and the Regulation of Public Land in the United States(2014) Taylor, Michael H.; Chambers, Robert G; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is comprised of three essays. The first essay, "The Spatial Consequences of Non-Balanced Growth," develops a theoretical model of regional development to analyze the consequences of non-balanced growth for the spatial distribution of population and production. The essay focuses on the spatial consequences of deindustrialization, where deindustrialization refers to the increase in the service sector's share of total employment over time. This essay demonstrates that the presence of non-balanced growth at the national level has implications for both regional population movements and the long-run distribution of population between regions, as well as for several of the relationships between regional economic activity and regional population growth that are emphasized in the previous literature. The second essay, "Non-Balanced Growth in the United States: Evaluating Supply-Side versus Demand-Side Explanations," develops and calibrates a dynamic general equilibrium model that integrates supply-side and demand-side explanations for NBG, and uses it to evaluate the extent to which the two explanations for NBG can account for patterns of NBG consistent with the "Kuznets" and "Kaldor" facts in the post-war United States. This essay demonstrates that it is necessary to consider both explanations for non-balanced growth to generate patterns of sectoral output and employment growth that are qualitatively consistent with the Kuznets facts as they occurred in the United States over the study period. In addition, the model generates equilibrium dynamics that are broadly consistent with the Kaldor facts for a wide range of different parameterizations. The third essay, "Regulatory Policy Design for Agroecosystem Management on Public Rangelands," analyzes regulatory design for agroecosystem management on public rangeland. It presents an informational and institutional environment where three of the most prominent regulatory instruments on public rangelands -- input regulation, cost-sharing/taxation, and performance regulation -- can be defined and compared. The essay examines how the optimal regulation is shaped by informational asymmetries between ranchers and regulators within federal land management agencies, limitations on the ability of regulators to monitor ranch-level ecological conditions, and constraints on regulators' actions due to budget limitations and restrictions on the level of penalties they can assess.