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Title: Understanding the 'good' in 'good public procurement': A survey of the perspectives of public procurement specialists.
Creator: Roman, Alexandru V., Thai, Khi V., Graduate College
Date Issued: 2011-04-08
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3164687
Subject Headings: Government purchasing --Law and legislation, Finance, Public, Public contracts
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Career decision-making self-efficacy, occupational preferences, and gender: A study of undergraduate students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Creator: Aleidan, Mohamed Abdullah, Florida Atlantic University, Nyhan, Ronald C., Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: After many years of substantial investments by the Saudi Arabian government in the education of its citizens, the results, especially in the area of employment, are felt by many to be less than satisfactory. While various factors may be contributing to the rising problem of unemployment in the country, the one focused on in this study was the relationship between self-efficacy and career choices. Specifically, the study examined the relationships between career decision-making self-efficacy,...
Show moreAfter many years of substantial investments by the Saudi Arabian government in the education of its citizens, the results, especially in the area of employment, are felt by many to be less than satisfactory. While various factors may be contributing to the rising problem of unemployment in the country, the one focused on in this study was the relationship between self-efficacy and career choices. Specifically, the study examined the relationships between career decision-making self-efficacy, occupational preferences, and gender. Career decision-making self-efficacy was measured with an existing scale (CDMSES-SF). An instrument was designed in this study to measure occupational preferences. The surveys were administered to 476 male and 424 female undergraduate students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study found no significant relationship between gender and career decision-making self-efficacy. There were, however, a significant relationship between gender and career preferences for such occupations as accounting/finance, administration, computer technology, engineering, security, and social services fields; while in the education, health, and law fields no significant relationships were found. Career decision-making self-efficacy was not related to occupational preferences for any of the fields in this study. The relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and occupational preferences is not affected by gender. The results show that, for males and females, there is no relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and occupational preference within gender for traditionally male-dominated fields, for traditionally female-dominated fields, or for the neutral fields. The negative results of the study provide evidence that the general level of CDMSE is low for males and for females. The study concluded that the results of this study were inconsistent with previous studies that have reported gender differences in career self-efficacy in general and in self-efficacy for the female-dominated versus the male-dominated occupations. The study concludes with policy recommendations directed at helping students improve their CDMSE scores. These recommendations are career development programs, career counseling, job fairs, database information, and government financial support. Further research is suggested to enhance the findings and validity of this study.
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Date Issued: 2002
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/11986
Subject Headings: College students--Saudi Arabia, Vocational guidance--Sex differences, Self-efficacy
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Capital budgeting in American county governments: Analysis of current practices.
Creator: Sekwat, Alex Sube, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: This study analyzes the current practices of capital budgeting in American county governments. The analysis includes a determination of the factors believed to influence the use of a capital budget in counties. The bulk of the data for the study were gathered by means of survey research. A questionnaire was designed, pre-tested, and administered to a select group of county finance officers across the United States. Stratified random sampling procedures were employed in the selection of the...
Show moreThis study analyzes the current practices of capital budgeting in American county governments. The analysis includes a determination of the factors believed to influence the use of a capital budget in counties. The bulk of the data for the study were gathered by means of survey research. A questionnaire was designed, pre-tested, and administered to a select group of county finance officers across the United States. Stratified random sampling procedures were employed in the selection of the sample frame. Limited supplementary data obtained from secondary sources were also used. Descriptive statistics, measures of association, and logistic regression procedures were used in the analysis and interpretation of the data. The analysis of the data using contingency tables and measures of association reveal a significant relationship between the dependent variable, i.e., the use of a capital budget, and several independent variables, notably: degree of urbanization, form of government, state requirements, capital improvement program (CIP), federal grants, state grants, and a periodic inspection program. No significant relationship was established between the use of a capital budget and the following independent variables: geographic region, risk and uncertainty, and size of capital budget or capital investments. Moreover, the analysis of the results reveals that counties with capital budget in contrast to counties without a one have a higher incidence and are more predisposed to: (1) utilize a CIP, (2) receive intergovernmental grants for capital investments, (3) consider risk and uncertainty in evaluating capital investment proposals, (4) have their infrastructure facilities in fairly good physical condition, (5) employ a periodic inspection program, (6) tend to have a large population (urban), and (7) have an elected or appointed professional administrator. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis was used to determine the covariates that have a strong explanatory power of the dependent variable. After testing several models, the parsimonious and best fitting model contained the following variables, and interaction terms: urbanization, state requirements, use a of CIP, interaction of federal grants and urbanization, and interaction of state grants and state requirements. Overall, the results from descriptive statistics, measures of association, and logistic regression analysis, seem to suggest that county governments that use a capital budget performed slightly better than counties without a capital budget when the independent variables are considered as performance indicators.
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Date Issued: 1994
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12361
Subject Headings: County Budgets--Appropriations and Expenditures, County Budgets--United States, Capital Budget--United States
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Defense acquisition and self-governed compliance programs: An evaluation of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct.
Creator: Penska, Kenneth Kern, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: Research and a review of the related literature indicate that the United States defense industry has had a long history of unethical and illegal business practices. Recent polls find that most Americans believe that their nation's weapon acquisition system is one of the worst managed activities in the public or private sectors. The perception of our government as well as the general public is that the defense industry is neither efficient nor honestly managed. Although the defense acquisition...
Show moreResearch and a review of the related literature indicate that the United States defense industry has had a long history of unethical and illegal business practices. Recent polls find that most Americans believe that their nation's weapon acquisition system is one of the worst managed activities in the public or private sectors. The perception of our government as well as the general public is that the defense industry is neither efficient nor honestly managed. Although the defense acquisition process has been the subject of many reform efforts, it is reasonable to ask whether these reform efforts have had any success. The Defense Industry Initiatives on Business Ethics and Conduct, commonly known as DII, was the defense industry's program response to the concern regarding ethical business practices in defense procurement. This study performs an evaluation of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct in an attempt to determine the impact of this self-governed compliance program. For an overall industry perspective regarding ethical business practices, interrupted time series analysis was employed to determine what effect DII had on reducing unethical behavior in defense procurement. In addition, members of the DII, non-DII member defense firms, government procurement agencies (all services), government oversight agencies, Pentagon officials, and Congressional staffs were surveyed to draw comparisons between the members of DII and these other non-DII groups. The survey addressed questions related to the Defense Industry Initiative, the existing regulations that attempt to deter unethical procurement practices, and the characteristics of the compliance program.
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Date Issued: 1999
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12594
Subject Headings: Defense contracts--Moral and ethical aspects
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Enforcing budgetary and legal compliance in the government sector: An assessment of preauditing in the state of Kuwait.
Creator: Almutairi, Yousef Mohammad, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: Auditing has become both a vital activity that validates correct operations of an accounting system and is an important tool to measure financial and public accountability. Preauditing implementation in Kuwait since 1994 has been designed to ensure and improve compliance with budgetary laws and regulations by governmental units before budget execution. The purpose of this study is to examine whether compliance has been improved in those governmental units that apply preauditing and to...
Show moreAuditing has become both a vital activity that validates correct operations of an accounting system and is an important tool to measure financial and public accountability. Preauditing implementation in Kuwait since 1994 has been designed to ensure and improve compliance with budgetary laws and regulations by governmental units before budget execution. The purpose of this study is to examine whether compliance has been improved in those governmental units that apply preauditing and to determine the factors that affect compliance with budgetary laws and regulations. The research framework is based on a literature review of governmental auditing, enforcement research, and the principal-agent model. Data for this study were obtained from survey questionnaires from financial auditors and managers in governmental units that apply preauditing and those that do not yet apply it. Also, interviews with key public officials added objective and documentary data about preauditing. Factor analysis was employed to summarize the main research independent variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the association and relationship between the independent factors and compliance with budgetary laws and regulations (dependent variable) and test the research hypotheses. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that four factors had a statistically significant association with the dependent variable. These factors were organizational enforcement of penalties, the financial managers' ethics and discretion, political enforcement by the National Assembly, and organizational control and accountability. About 50% of the variation is explained by the factors in the regression equation. The survey results indicate that preauditing has been successful in leading to improvement in compliance in those governmental units that apply preauditing. This finding is supported by the results of the objective data about the governmental units that applied preauditing for three fiscal years. On the other hand, a one way ANOVA analysis showed no significant statistical difference in regard to improvement in compliance with budgetary laws and regulations between governmental units that apply preauditing and those that do not. Based on the study's findings, practical recommendations are presented to improve compliance and the role of preauditing, as well as suggested directions for future research.
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Date Issued: 2000
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12638
Subject Headings: Compliance auditing--Kuwait, Auditing, Internal, Budget--Kuwait
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Factors that shape attitudes toward privatization: The case of Saudi Arabia.
Creator: Al-Homeadan, Abdullah M., Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: This dissertation explores the factors that have shaped the attitudes of department heads in the public sector of Saudi Arabia towards privatization. The study assumes that Saudi Arabia's privatization initiative is not ideologically motivated. Therefore, the attitudes of the study sample toward privatization must have been influenced by factors similar or identical to those found in the literature to influence the attitudes of other people outside Saudi Arabia. The results show that the...
Show moreThis dissertation explores the factors that have shaped the attitudes of department heads in the public sector of Saudi Arabia towards privatization. The study assumes that Saudi Arabia's privatization initiative is not ideologically motivated. Therefore, the attitudes of the study sample toward privatization must have been influenced by factors similar or identical to those found in the literature to influence the attitudes of other people outside Saudi Arabia. The results show that the attitudes of the study sample have in fact been influenced by two groups of factors. The first group is related to the private sector. These factors are: The superiority of the private sector's managerial practices, the importance of improving the image of the private sector to draw migrating and foreign investments and reduce international pressures for economic reform, the increases in the capabilities of the private sector, the need to widen the investment base and increase the participation of Saudi citizens in the local economy, the need for a more competitive economy, the need to create new jobs, the need for developed local markets, the need to improve the levels of effectiveness, productivity, and competitiveness in the economy, and the need to strengthen the local economy. The second group is related to the public sector. These factors are: The importance of solving the government's financial difficulties, the need to limit government interventions in the marketplace to give it more time to concentrate on other roles in society, and the need to reduce, or at least limit, the growth of the public sector.
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Date Issued: 1996
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12441
Subject Headings: Privatization--Saudi Arabia--Case studies, Government business enterprises--Saudi Arabia, Government ownership--Saudi Arabia
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Performance measurement using trained observer ratings: The effect of environmental variables on comparative measures in local government.
Creator: Giancoli, Donald Patrick, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: Comparative performance measurement is an anathema to most government officials. While internal comparison with national benchmarks or other similar agencies is an accepted management analysis tool, public comparisons are deemed too politically risky for all but a few governments, agencies, and non-profits. To avoid the unappealing prospect of being unfavorably ranked versus comparable agencies, governments cite two primary objections. First, performance measurement is considered an inexact...
Show moreComparative performance measurement is an anathema to most government officials. While internal comparison with national benchmarks or other similar agencies is an accepted management analysis tool, public comparisons are deemed too politically risky for all but a few governments, agencies, and non-profits. To avoid the unappealing prospect of being unfavorably ranked versus comparable agencies, governments cite two primary objections. First, performance measurement is considered an inexact science, subject to manipulation of input data and outcome scores that affects comparisons. Second, comparative measurement is considered unfair by governments because they maintain each operates in a unique environment of demographic and physical characteristics beyond their control which have significant effects on their ability to deliver quality services. This research addresses both of these objections to comparative performance measurement. It uses trained observer ratings, an accepted objective measurement system, and utilizes a scoring scheme that results in a ratio variable outcome score appropriate for comparisons and statistical analysis. The model was employed for external random testing of street appearance across 30 governments in Broward County, Florida, eliminating the possibility of manipulation by those being measured. In addition, the research evaluates the effects of twelve independent variables, which measure characteristics of each community's unique environment. The research question is whether the effects of the external environmental factors on the composite street rating scores are so significant as to make comparisons meaningless, as government officials contend. The findings of this research do indicate that white, educated, affluent residents tend to live in cities with better streets and that environment is an important element in street appearance. Further, the standard deviation scores indicate that the more diversity in the environment of a city, the more diversity in the quality of its streets. Nonetheless, the conclusion of the research is that although environment is significant, the methods and findings of the model can be employed to control for environmental effects in future comparative performance efforts to assuage the concerns of governments being compared.
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Date Issued: 2003
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12043
Subject Headings: Local government--Labor productivity, Comparative government--Methodology, Municipal government--United States--Evaluation
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Physicians' perceptions of managed care.
Creator: Angeletti, Michelle A., Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: The active physician members of the Broward County Medical Association were sent a mail survey requesting information about their perceptions of and experiences with the managed care industry. Currently, as gatekeepers, physicians are the implement of the managed care system. From an organizational perspective, the role of implementer is a critical position and physicians are directly affected by and affect the operations of managed care as a healthcare delivery system. Even though managed...
Show moreThe active physician members of the Broward County Medical Association were sent a mail survey requesting information about their perceptions of and experiences with the managed care industry. Currently, as gatekeepers, physicians are the implement of the managed care system. From an organizational perspective, the role of implementer is a critical position and physicians are directly affected by and affect the operations of managed care as a healthcare delivery system. Even though managed care has the beneficial aspects of controlling healthcare costs and an emphasis on preventive care, it still appears that physicians perceive the managed care industry quite negatively. Because managed care does not appear to be a transitory phenomenon and is rapidly expanding in both the private and public sectors, it is important to identify the aspects of the managed care industry at are associated with the negative perceptions of physicians. The study focused on such topics as changes in the physician's level of satisfaction with both patients and practice that have been caused by managed care, the financial incentives used by MCOs to limit treatment and the ethical conflicts that these incentives can create for physicians, whether physicians need to participate in managed care to maintain their financial viability, the presence of gag clauses in physician contracts, the physician-patient relationship and how it is affected by the managed care environment, patient continuity of care, whether managed care should be regulated by the government, whether physicians have been penalized by or involuntarily disenrolled from MCOs, and whether physicians played by managed care rules or "game the system" or bent managed care rules to improve patient outcomes. This study also reviewed the professional and demographic variables that may influence differences between perceptions and experiences. The results indicate that there are few between group differences based on gender, practice location and years in practice. There are more differences based on race, type of practice, type of medical training, location of medical training, and percentage of practice income based on managed tare contracts. There appear to be many significant between group differences based on percentage of patients in managed care and number of managed care affiliations.
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Date Issued: 1999
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12595
Subject Headings: Physicians--Attitudes, Managed care plans (Medical care)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The impact of the budget deficit on key macroeconomic variables in the major industrial countries.
Creator: Al-Khedair, Saleh Ibrahim, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: This study was conducted to analyze the impact of the budget deficit on key macroeconomic variables in the seven major industrial countries (G-7): Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Four models were developed to test the impact of the budget deficit on the variables of importance within the economies of the countries in question. The first model tested the relationship between the budget deficit and the short-term interest rate. The second...
Show moreThis study was conducted to analyze the impact of the budget deficit on key macroeconomic variables in the seven major industrial countries (G-7): Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Four models were developed to test the impact of the budget deficit on the variables of importance within the economies of the countries in question. The first model tested the relationship between the budget deficit and the short-term interest rate. The second explored the impact of the budget deficit on the long-term interest rate. The third model examined the impact of the budget deficit on the trade balance. The fourth and final model was specified to explain the relationship between the budget deficit and economic growth. The data utilized in this study covered the period from 1964 to 1993 and were gathered mainly from the international statistics of the International Monetary Fund. The data were standardized in the form of the percentage of the gross domestic product and the percentage change over the previous year in order to compile similar data across the seven countries. Multiple regression analysis as well as meta analysis were used to analyze the data. The multiple regression results indicated that the budget deficit leads to higher short-term interest rates in Japan and the United States. With respect to the long term-interest rate, the budget deficit led to an increase of this rate in France, Germany, and the United States. The budget deficit, however, appeared to worsen the trade balance in Canada. In Italy and the U.S., the trade balance improved with the budget deficit. With respect to the economic growth, the budget deficit is a significant variable of growth in France, Germany, and Italy. When the data for the seven countries were combined in meta analysis, the results showed that the budget deficit led to higher short-term interest rates in the seven countries. The budget deficit, however, did not manifest any impact on the long-term interest rates. The trade balance was worsened by the budget deficit and the economic growth improved in all the seven major industrial countries.
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Date Issued: 1996
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12466
Subject Headings: Debts, Public, Budget deficits, Fiscal policy, International economic relations
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Managed competition in Florida health care system: An implementation study.
Creator: Feldheim, Mary Ann, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: The study examines the implementation of managed competition in Florida as a legislated, decentralized, public-private partnership having the characteristics of a network. The policy subsystem model of Milward and Wamsley was used to examine the network, the network structure, the reasons and rewards for participation, and the normative theory that holds the CHPA network together. A snowballing interview procedure was used to reconstruct the unit of analysis and data were analyzed using...
Show moreThe study examines the implementation of managed competition in Florida as a legislated, decentralized, public-private partnership having the characteristics of a network. The policy subsystem model of Milward and Wamsley was used to examine the network, the network structure, the reasons and rewards for participation, and the normative theory that holds the CHPA network together. A snowballing interview procedure was used to reconstruct the unit of analysis and data were analyzed using grounded theory (open coding, axial coding, selective coding), descriptive statistics, and a matrix for network analysis. Findings on network structure, organizational and/or individual roles and participation provide public administration with important clues on how to survive in an increasingly networked world. In addition, the study demonstrates the usefulness of the policy subsystem model in examining public-private partnerships.
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Date Issued: 1998
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12559
Subject Headings: Managed care plans (Medical care)--Florida, Health care reform--Florida
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Information systems management and outsourcing: A study of American city governments.
Creator: Kim, Yong-Mi, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: An information system is defined as "a system that uses information technology to capture, transmit, store, retrieve, manipulate, or display information used in one or more business processes" (Alter, 1996, p. 61). The use of information systems (IS) in local governments has dramatically increased and diversified over the past ten years. Because IS expenditures are expected to increase, IS management will be a key issue in city governments. In order to explore IS management and outsourcing in...
Show moreAn information system is defined as "a system that uses information technology to capture, transmit, store, retrieve, manipulate, or display information used in one or more business processes" (Alter, 1996, p. 61). The use of information systems (IS) in local governments has dramatically increased and diversified over the past ten years. Because IS expenditures are expected to increase, IS management will be a key issue in city governments. In order to explore IS management and outsourcing in American city governments, three theoretical perspectives and three models are employed. The three theoretical perspectives influencing IS outsourcing are (1) economic factors, (2) diffusion of innovation, and (3) organizational factors. The three models focus on three factors: (1) the percentage of total city budget allocated to total IS expenditure, (2) the percentage of total IS budget allocated to IS outsourcing expenditures, and (3) the percentage of total IS budget allocated to each IS function. In Model 1, the findings show that the population size of city government is inversely related to the total percentage of city budget allocated to total IS expenditures: as the population size of city government increases, the percentage of the total budget of the city government allocated to IS expenditures decreases. In Model 2, three theories to explain decisions regarding IS outsourcing are used. Economic factors influencing IS outsourcing decisions are when: (1) pressure to reduce cost is important, (2) access to cutting-edge technology is important, (3) IS requires a long time for the in-house staff to learn, and, (4) IS facilities are not available. However, city administrators did not express a concern about the loss of control of strategic applications, about being locked into a contract, or even about added costs for business or technology changes when their IS is outsourced. Theories of innovation diffusion includes several factors. The findings show that city IS administrators do learn about IS outsourcing from neighboring governments. Organizational factors that can potentially influence the IS outsourcing decision include the type and population size of city government, available resources, and internal transaction costs. IS outsourcing expenditure as a percentage of total IS expenditure does not vary with the type and size of city government, a finding which requires further investigation. The analysis of different types and sizes of city governments appears in Model 3. When more resources are available to the IS department, the city government is likely to hire IS experts, provide facilities, and engage in a higher rate of insourcing. Internal transaction costs measured by time delays are inversely related to the expenditures on IS outsourcing. In Model 3, IS outsourcing expenditure by function as a percentage of total IS expenditure, three theoretical perspectives are employed to explain this analysis. In the category of economic factors influencing IS outsourcing, asset-non specific IS functions such as data processing/operations and network/telecommunications are outsourced in order to reduce cost while asset-specific IS functions, such as application development/maintenance, are outsourced in order to gain access to cutting-edge technology. With respect to whether theories of innovation diffusion explain the IS outsourcing decision, the findings show that city governments investigate other neighboring governments to determine whether there have been IS outsourcing decisions in the areas of data processing/operations, network/telecommunication, and application development/maintenance. According to the findings, first, small city governments tend to allocate a higher IS outsourcing expenditure as a percentage of total IS expenditure to than do large city governments. Second, large city governments tend to allocate a lower percentage of IS outsourcing expenditure to systems planning/management because large city governments tend to set up this IS function within the organization and, thus, spend money on maintaining this function. Third, the council-manager type of city governments tend to allocate a higher rate of IS outsourcing expenditure to network/telecommunication and application development/maintenance than do the mayor-council type of city governments.
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Date Issued: 1998
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12582
Subject Headings: Information resources management, Contracting out
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Employment rates and average wage of Targeted Jobs Tax Credit participants in Florida compared to selected Job Training Partnership Act participants by target groups.
Creator: Gnage, David Charles, Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the third quarter 1992 employment rates and average wages of individuals who were Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC) certified in Florida during the third quarter of 1987. The employment rates and average wages were compared to a select group of individuals who were released for employment in Florida by the Jobs Training Partnership Act (JTPA) during the same time period. The primary research question concerned the effectiveness of the TJTC...
Show morePurpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the third quarter 1992 employment rates and average wages of individuals who were Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC) certified in Florida during the third quarter of 1987. The employment rates and average wages were compared to a select group of individuals who were released for employment in Florida by the Jobs Training Partnership Act (JTPA) during the same time period. The primary research question concerned the effectiveness of the TJTC program, a tax expenditure program, compared to the direct budget program JTPA. Problem. The social goal of both programs was to encourage firms to hire those individuals who traditionally experience high unemployment rates. The TJTC approach was intended to increase employment incentives to employers to recruit, hire, and train members of specific target groups. In general, JTPA provides training then releases the individual for employment. Critics of TJTC have claimed that the employers have hired individuals who they would have hired anyway (windfalls) or that they have laid off non-target group members (substitutions). Employers have also been criticized for not providing the necessary training to provide for long term employment. Methodology. The study examined the employment records of four sets of individuals: (1) individuals who were TJTC vouchered but not certified, (2) individuals who were TJTC certified, (3) individuals who completed JTPA training and were not TJTC eligible, and (4) individuals who completed JTPA training, were TJTC eligible but not vouchered. This study included five target groups: disadvantaged youth; disadvantaged ex-convicts; AFDC recipients; disadvantaged Vietnam veterans; and vocational rehabilitation referrals. The economic status was identified as employment rates and mean wages. Both chi-square and log-linear analysis were used to compare the employment rates for each target group and each race, for both TJTC and JTPA one program was more effective in increasing the probability of future employment. Variance analysis was used to determine if one program was more effective in increasing future compensation for members of a target group. Findings. TJTC served many more individuals than JTPA across of the five target groups. JTPA may increase the probability of employment for AFDC recipients and Whites. The mean wage was found to be independent of both TJTC and JTPA. The disadvantaged Vietnam Veterans had the highest mean wage and the AFDC recipient the lowest. The mean wage for Blacks was found to be lower than that of other races.
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Date Issued: 1993
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12356
Subject Headings: New jobs tax credit--United States, Occupational retraining--Law and legislation--United States, Employees--Training of
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A new framework for determining the magnitude of the corporate tax shelter problem.
Creator: DiCicco, Joel Mark., Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: This dissertation introduces a new definition of a corporate tax shelter as any deduction taken by a corporation that was not intended as a tax expenditure by Congress. Unlike predecessor definitions of tax shelters that utilize laundry lists of indicators, this new definition effectively excludes tax code abuses, yet allows for the employment of legitimate corporate loopholes. Under this new paradigm of a tax shelter, a simple macro-framework utilizing only readily-available data and public...
Show moreThis dissertation introduces a new definition of a corporate tax shelter as any deduction taken by a corporation that was not intended as a tax expenditure by Congress. Unlike predecessor definitions of tax shelters that utilize laundry lists of indicators, this new definition effectively excludes tax code abuses, yet allows for the employment of legitimate corporate loopholes. Under this new paradigm of a tax shelter, a simple macro-framework utilizing only readily-available data and public information produced results estimating the impact of corporate tax shelters on federal receipts similar to estimates produced by other researchers using complicated econometric models that rely heavily on confidential tax return information.
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Date Issued: 2003
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12041
Subject Headings: Tax shelters--United States, Corporations--Taxation--United States
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Interstate fiscal disparities among American states: An empirical study.
Creator: Qiao, Yuhua., Florida Atlantic University, Thai, Khi V.
Abstract/Description: Oakland (1994) defined fiscal disparities as "differences in fiscal effort required to achieve a particular fiscal outcome" (p. 199). Fiscal disparities among states create inequity, because the welfare of citizens across the nation is substantially affected by where they live. Since no systematic study about interstate fiscal disparities has been conducted, this dissertation attempts to fill this gap by examining (1) the trends of interstate fiscal disparities in the period of 1970 to 1992...
Show moreOakland (1994) defined fiscal disparities as "differences in fiscal effort required to achieve a particular fiscal outcome" (p. 199). Fiscal disparities among states create inequity, because the welfare of citizens across the nation is substantially affected by where they live. Since no systematic study about interstate fiscal disparities has been conducted, this dissertation attempts to fill this gap by examining (1) the trends of interstate fiscal disparities in the period of 1970 to 1992 and (2) the determinants of interstate fiscal disparities. The model used in this dissertation is developed after a thorough examination of the literature on fiscal disparities. The dependent variable is interstate fiscal disparity as measured by the difference between a state's general expenditure per capita and the mean general expenditure per capita of the fifty states, and by the standard deviation of the general expenditures per capita of the fifty states. Two groups of independent variables are identified from the literature: state fiscal capacity variables (state personal income per capita, state own-source revenue per capita, and federal grant-in-aid per capita) and environmental cost variables (percentage of state dependent population, percentage of state population living in metropolitan areas, percentage of state population living below the poverty line, and percentage of state population enrolled in public schools). Hypotheses that correspond to the model are tested using cross-sectional regression analyses and a time series analysis. There are three related findings about the trends of interstate fiscal disparities. First, interstate fiscal disparities increased over the period of 1970-1992. Second, interstate fiscal disparities increased in a faster pace during 1980-1992 than during 1970-1979. Third, interstate fiscal disparities increased to a much larger degree in public welfare, hospitals and health than in other state functions. There are two major findings about the determinants of interstate fiscal disparities. Both cross-sectional analyses and time series analysis found state own-source revenue per capita, federal grants-in-aid to state per capita, and previous year's state general expenditure per capita to be statistically related to interstate fiscal disparities. Time series analysis also found that the percentage of state population living in metropolitan areas, the percentage of state population living under the poverty line, and the percentage of state population enrolled in public schools are statistically significantly related to interstate fiscal disparities. The dissertation concludes with policy recommendations that can be used to address interstate fiscal disparities.
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Date Issued: 1998
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12554
Subject Headings: Finance, Public--United States--States, Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations--United States
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Stakeholders, Advocacy Coalitions and The Policy Process: Policy Change in Everglades Restoration.
Creator: Taylor, Leslie, Thai, Khi V., Sapat, Alka K., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: This study is about advocacy coalitions' efforts at influencing the debate surrounding the formulation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Policy change as utilized in the dissertation views the adoption of CERP as a change in government policy on Everglades restoration that was achieved through competing stakeholders and coalitions. As one of the largest environmental restoration projects ever undertaken in the U.S. and possibly the most complex in terms of reconciling...
Show moreThis study is about advocacy coalitions' efforts at influencing the debate surrounding the formulation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Policy change as utilized in the dissertation views the adoption of CERP as a change in government policy on Everglades restoration that was achieved through competing stakeholders and coalitions. As one of the largest environmental restoration projects ever undertaken in the U.S. and possibly the most complex in terms of reconciling stakeholder views and understanding the science of restoration, the federal government and the state of Florida were keen on providing a formal participatory process for stakeholder input. The formulation process leading up to the adoption of CERP forms a unique study in our understanding of coalition behavior, their efforts at influencing governmental policy and the way the deliberative and participatory process worked. The major purpose of the dissertation is to examine the perceived effectiveness of stakeholders and coalitions, specifically the environmental and agribusiness coalitions, to influence policy change in Everglades restoration. The study looks at how policy change was achieved within the formal institutions established and other infonnal channels developed through cooperation and consensus. Utilizing the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), interest group and coalition building literature, I hypothesize that the influence of coalitions in bringing about policy change is affected by five factors: internal factors such as (I) heterogeneity of stakeholders' beliefs, (2) membership size and external factors including (3) the presence of policy brokers, (4) change in the systemic governing coalition, and (5) presence of multiple coalitions. These factors are assumed to have contributed to altering or changing the dynamics and the direction of discourse in the policy process. Data was drawn from interviewing stakeholders who are members of the environmental and agribusiness coalitions and from secondary sources. The study shows that both the environmental and agribusiness coalitions perceive their efforts to be effective and instrumental in impacting the events and issues in the restoration process and particularly in influencing policy change. The study also reveals that the deliberative and participatory process, although sometimes contentious, has been a successful mechanism in allowing stakeholders to influence the formulation of CERP.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000615
Subject Headings: South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program, Wetland Restoration--Government Policy--Florida--Everglades, Everglades (Fla)--Government Policy, Political Planning--Florida, United States--Politics and Government--2001---Decision Making
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An Inquiry into Fire Service Consolidation and the Economies of Scale Debate: The Centralization Versus Decentralization Argument.
Creator: D’Angelo III, Salvatore A., Thai, Khi V., Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: Addressing the current homeland security challenges requires scholars, practitioners, elected officials, and community partners working in unison to mitigate the hazards confronting first responders. Built on public choice theory, this research addressed a specific component of the emergency preparedness matrix: the most preferred fire service organizational design. The fire department organizational designs in this study included a Florida county, city, and independent special control fire...
Show moreAddressing the current homeland security challenges requires scholars, practitioners, elected officials, and community partners working in unison to mitigate the hazards confronting first responders. Built on public choice theory, this research addressed a specific component of the emergency preparedness matrix: the most preferred fire service organizational design. The fire department organizational designs in this study included a Florida county, city, and independent special control fire district (ISFCD) that serve residents on a full-time platform. The concurrent embedded methodology used attempted to unearth which organizational design achieves economies of scale based on quarterly emergency service calls: the centralized county model or the decentralized city/ISFCD models. This study was an inquiry into the centralization versus decentralization argument, with emphases on fire service scale economies and inter-local service agreements Using multiple linear regression modeling accompanied by face-to-face interviews with the respective fire chiefs, this research showed that the county and ISFCD achieve scale economies over 44 quarters, fiscal years 2004-2014. Moreover, the interviews uncovered that response times were the driving factor behind instituting voluntary inter-local service agreements between the three fire departments. Other positive benefits from the service agreements include an increase in personnel and scene safety, dispatch center protocol enhancements, multi-company/jurisdictional training, overtime savings on large-scale disaster incidents, and trust building. The implications of this research for the scholarly and practitioner community include a better understanding of the technical and allocative efficiencies within the fire service arena. Melding public choice theory with strands of inter-local service agreement literature provides policymakers and scholars with a template for uncovering the fire service production/provision narrative. Though the centralization-decentralization argument is not solved within the research scope presented, the future narrative as uncovered in the research requires a citizenry inclusion. The future public choice prescriptions regarding fire service consolidation requires not only statistical modeling, but a normative democratic ethos tone incorporating multiple stakeholders with the citizens’ concerns at the forefront.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004674, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004674
Subject Headings: Emergency management -- Decision making, Metropolitan government -- United States, Municipal services -- United States, Organizational effectiveness, Preparedness -- Government policy, Regional planning
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An empirical analysis of factors influencing organizational cultural competence within emergency medical services systems.
Creator: Diggs, Schnequa, Thai, Khi V., Florida Atlantic University, College of Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines factors with influence on the organizational cultural competence of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems. The purpose of this study was to draw on theories of representative bureaucracy and transformational leadership to assess cultural competence in Emergency Medical Services systems from the perspective of EMS leadership, within careful consideration of the external environment in which EMS systems operate.
Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004439, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004439
Subject Headings: Emergency medical personnel -- Training of, Emergency medical services -- Management, Organizational effectiveness, Outcome assessment (Medical care), Transformational leadership
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Administrative Discretion in Public Policy Implementation: The Case of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Creator: Angervil, Gilvert, Thai, Khi V., Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: This dissertation analyzes administrative discretion in public policy implementation in application of a new framework of integrative approach to administrative discretion developed from deficiencies of the citizen participation, representative bureaucracy, and private-interest groups democracy frameworks. The new framework holds that public agencies use discretion to integrate in decision making views of elected authorities, private-interest groups, public-interest groups, and other groups...
Show moreThis dissertation analyzes administrative discretion in public policy implementation in application of a new framework of integrative approach to administrative discretion developed from deficiencies of the citizen participation, representative bureaucracy, and private-interest groups democracy frameworks. The new framework holds that public agencies use discretion to integrate in decision making views of elected authorities, private-interest groups, public-interest groups, and other groups that seek to influence implementation. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy is used as the case study, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is the implementation setting. The dissertation answers the following question: How integrative of group views was DOE’s discretionary decision making in the implementation of NCLB? This research applies a structured content analysis method that consists of content analysis and a content analysis schedule (see Jauch, Osborn, & Martin, 1980). Using a Likert question, the dissertation developed six integration levels of DOE’s discretionary decision making from not at all integrative to extremely integrative and found that most decisions were very integrative.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004808, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004808
Subject Headings: United States.--No Child Left Behind Act of 2001., Education and state--United States--History--21st century., Administrative procedure., Administrative discretion., Public administration--Decision making., Educational accountability--Law and legislation--United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The impact and effectiveness of capital investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: an assessment using Keynes economic theory.
Creator: Byaruhanga, Vincent, Thai, Khi V., Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: The purpose of this study is to find out the effect of government spending on capital investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 on GDP and employment growth. This research utilized US quarterly data from 2003 QI to 2013 QII. In the first part the research used variables from the Keynes economic model and utilized two-stage least square analysis to assess the effect of government spending on GDP. The results from the regression analysis indicate that an increase...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to find out the effect of government spending on capital investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 on GDP and employment growth. This research utilized US quarterly data from 2003 QI to 2013 QII. In the first part the research used variables from the Keynes economic model and utilized two-stage least square analysis to assess the effect of government spending on GDP. The results from the regression analysis indicate that an increase of one dollar in government spending increases GDP by 1.569 dollars. The researcher found that the general government spending multiplier was 1.9. The coefficient for government spending in the Recovery Act was 0.383, implying that for every one dollar in government spending, Recovery Act spending on capital investments contributed 0.383 dollars.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004183, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004183
Subject Headings: Business cycles -- United States -- History -- 21st century, Investment analysis, Keynes, John Maynard -- 1883-1946, Keynesian economics -- Mathematical models, Solow growth model, Solow, Robert M., United States -- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Format: Document (PDF)

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Thai, Khi V. (19)	+ -
Florida Atlantic University (18)	+ -
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