View All Items
- Title
- ECONOMIC AND LEGISLATIVE EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE BASED FUNDING AND LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSING PROGRAMS.
- Creator
-
Papa, Andrew, Milon, Abby, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of this research paper is to evaluate different elements of the State University System of Florida. Specifically, this paper will analyze how universities will respond when appropriated 20 million dollars of performance based funding and will also evaluate how efficient the 2009 changes in Florida's [statute] 464 were. This paper will use comparative statics and a duopoly model in order to explain behavior of universities when they are appropriated performance based funding....
Show moreThe purpose of this research paper is to evaluate different elements of the State University System of Florida. Specifically, this paper will analyze how universities will respond when appropriated 20 million dollars of performance based funding and will also evaluate how efficient the 2009 changes in Florida's [statute] 464 were. This paper will use comparative statics and a duopoly model in order to explain behavior of universities when they are appropriated performance based funding. Moreover, this paper will use measures of central tendencies and hypothesis testing in order to statistically analyze data of Florida's Licensed practical nursing programs provided in the 2013 OPPAGA Nursing education report. When all is said and done the findings in this paper could suggest statutory reform of Florida's [statute] 464.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004842, ucf:45464
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004842
- Title
- Wealth Over Health? An Analysis of Macro-Level Factors That Influence Public Opinion on Health Care Policy.
- Creator
-
Reiss, Jacquelyn, Hinojosa, Ramon, Hinojosa, Melanie, Huff-Corzine, Lin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Currently, the U.S. reports some of the worst health outcomes while spending the most money on health care when compared to other developed countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2018, Americans took out $88 billion in debt to cover the cost of medical care and approximately 28.5 million individuals remained uninsured. Despite poor health outcomes across the country, health care reform is a highly controversial issue and has been for the last...
Show moreCurrently, the U.S. reports some of the worst health outcomes while spending the most money on health care when compared to other developed countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2018, Americans took out $88 billion in debt to cover the cost of medical care and approximately 28.5 million individuals remained uninsured. Despite poor health outcomes across the country, health care reform is a highly controversial issue and has been for the last century. Historically, elites in the Republican party have aligned themselves with New Right political philosophies, which stand for a privatized health care system with minimal government involvement. Elites in the Democratic party have aligned with Pluralist political philosophies, which is an orientation that encourages government oversight to protect the health of its citizens. Recently there has been a rise in political polarization that has stemmed from the asymmetric movement of the Republican Party further to the right escalating the controversy around health care reform. In addition to growing polarization, recent studies have found that politicians are more responsive to the affluent classes while concurrently accumulating an influx of wealth. When neglecting to vote with the majority of their constituents, politicians have tried to change public opinion rather than address it. These short-term manipulation strategies have been found to confuse constituents more than mobilize them, contributing to the controversy around health care reform today. This project aims to understand how macro level structures affect public opinion on government funding of health care utilizing the thermostatic model and the works of Nicos Poulantzas and Michel Foucault as theoretical frameworks to understand how political structures influence public opinion and how political structures are shaped within Capitalistic societies. Specifically, the current study examines how the political leaning of Congress and the Presidency, total lobbying dollars contributed by the top five medical industries, and the number of health care bills passed per year affects public opinion on government funding of health care between 1986 and 2018. The data were accumulated from multiple sources including the General Social Survey, OpenSecrets.org, GovTrack.us, and the Senate, House, and White House websites. After completing bi-variate and multi-variate autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models the only variable that was found to impact public opinion was the political party of the Presidency.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007713, ucf:52453
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007713
- Title
- CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AT FLORIDA COMMUNITY COLLEGES.
- Creator
-
Morgan, Nancy, Bozeman, William, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
As educational funding from traditional sources decreases and the cost of operating educational programs increases, community colleges are seeking ways to diversify funding streams and increase revenue. For many 2-year colleges, resource development, particularly the procurement of government grants and contracts, represents a viable source of revenue. The purpose of this research was (a) to establish a profile of grant development programs in Florida community colleges and (b) to identify...
Show moreAs educational funding from traditional sources decreases and the cost of operating educational programs increases, community colleges are seeking ways to diversify funding streams and increase revenue. For many 2-year colleges, resource development, particularly the procurement of government grants and contracts, represents a viable source of revenue. The purpose of this research was (a) to establish a profile of grant development programs in Florida community colleges and (b) to identify factors associated with successful grant development. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect information about grant development programs at the 28 publicly-supported community colleges in the state of Florida. Twenty-six colleges completed the survey. The grant success rate, return on investment, and organizational and operational integration of institutional advancement functions of the respondent colleges were incorporated into linear mathematical models to predict grant development success. Although no statistically significant predictive relationships were determined, organizational and operational integration of institutional advancement functions can not be considered to be without some influence on a college's ability to generate grant revenue. The potential for community college efforts to yield increasing grant funding will continue to transform higher education. The study of the components and characteristics that allow for predicting successful grant acquisition is of continuing research interest and mounting practical importance to community college presidents, administrators, trustees, and resource development professionals.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000352, ucf:46282
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000352
- Title
- NONPROFIT BOARD EFFECTIVENESS, FUNDING SOURCE,AND FINANCIAL VULNERABILITY.
- Creator
-
Hodge, Matthew, Martin, Lawrence, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on their governing board of directors to provide leadership, strategic guidance, and financial oversight. The nonprofit community continues to grow, and the services provided by these organizations have become a critical part of our society, providing a wide variety of services targeting a diverse population. In this context, how the role of the board of directors impacts the financial position of the nonprofit organization is of great interest to both the...
Show moreNonprofit organizations rely heavily on their governing board of directors to provide leadership, strategic guidance, and financial oversight. The nonprofit community continues to grow, and the services provided by these organizations have become a critical part of our society, providing a wide variety of services targeting a diverse population. In this context, how the role of the board of directors impacts the financial position of the nonprofit organization is of great interest to both the academic community and the practitioner. This study examined three areas of interest: board effectiveness, funding source, and financial vulnerability. First, the association between board effectiveness and financial vulnerability was tested. Second, specific board behaviors associated with strategic planning and stakeholder management were tested to determine if they were greater predictors of financial vulnerability. Finally, the role of funding source (specifically privately funded organizations) as a moderating variable for board effectiveness and financial vulnerability was explored. The sample was composed of 112 participants, consisting of board member/executive director survey responses and financial information for the participating organizations. The sample was drawn from six counties in the Central Florida area. Data were collected from a series of mailings, and surveys were distributed at nonprofit lecture series. The Financial Vulnerability Index (FVI) was used as a measure of the financial condition of the nonprofit organization and represented the dependent variable in this study. The Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire (BSAQ) was used to assess board effectiveness and represented the independent variable in this study. Primary funding source was identified as a moderating variable, while board size, age of the organization, CEO tenure, service area, United Way affiliation, national affiliation were included as control variables. Board effectiveness as measured by the BSAQ was a significant predictor of financial vulnerability as measured by the FVI. The strategic and stakeholder behaviors associated with board effectiveness were not found to be significant predictors of financial vulnerability, beyond other behaviors associated with board effectiveness. Funding source was shown to moderate the observed relationship between board effectiveness and financial vulnerability, as the association between effectiveness and financial condition was significant in privately funded nonprofit organizations (no such significance was identified in government funded or commercially funded organizations).
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0000974, ucf:46690
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000974
- Title
- An empirical investigation into the determinants of the federal funds rate with special emphasis on trends in market participation.
- Creator
-
Martin, Michael A., null, null, Business Administration
- Abstract / Description
-
Florida Technological University College of Business Administration Thesis
- Date Issued
- 1978
- Identifier
- CFR0003523, ucf:53000
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0003523
- Title
- Strategic Improvement: A Systems Approach using the Balanced Scorecard Methodology to Increase Federally Financed Research at the University of Central Florida.
- Creator
-
Walters, Joseph, Rabelo, Luis, Ajayi, Richard, Calabrese, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The University of Central Florida has many successful measures to reflect on as it celebrates its 50th year in 2013. It is the university with the 2nd largest student population in the U. S. and its overall ranking in the U.S. News (&) World Report has improved 4 years in a row. However, with respect to research, the federally funded research and development for the University of Central Florida (UCF) has remained flat. In addition, when compared to other schools, its portion of those federal...
Show moreThe University of Central Florida has many successful measures to reflect on as it celebrates its 50th year in 2013. It is the university with the 2nd largest student population in the U. S. and its overall ranking in the U.S. News (&) World Report has improved 4 years in a row. However, with respect to research, the federally funded research and development for the University of Central Florida (UCF) has remained flat. In addition, when compared to other schools, its portion of those federal research dollars is small. This thesis lays the groundwork for developing a model for improving the federally financed academic research and development. A systems approach using the balanced scorecard methodology was used to develop causal loop relationships between the many factors that influence the federal funding process. Measures are proposed that link back to the objectives and mission of the university. One particular measure found in the literature was refined to improve its integration into this model. The resulting work provides a framework with specific measures that can be incorporated at the university to improve their share of the federally financed research and development. Although developed for UCF this work could be applied to any university that desires to improve their standing in the federal financed academic research and development market.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0005069, ucf:49955
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005069
- Title
- A Fifty State Legislative Review of Charter School Funding, Governance and Accountability.
- Creator
-
Fordham, Tionis, Murray, Kenneth, Murray, Barbara, Doherty, Walter, Hutchinson, Cynthia, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
As waves of educational reform spread across the United States, charter schools continue to emerge as an alternative to the traditional public school. This study examined funding, governance, and accountability provisions of nationwide charter school legislation to ascertain similarities, differences, litigated challenges and funding issues throughout the United States of America. In order to study charter school legislation and litigation, all of the United States charter school legislation...
Show moreAs waves of educational reform spread across the United States, charter schools continue to emerge as an alternative to the traditional public school. This study examined funding, governance, and accountability provisions of nationwide charter school legislation to ascertain similarities, differences, litigated challenges and funding issues throughout the United States of America. In order to study charter school legislation and litigation, all of the United States charter school legislation was collected along with American court cases related to charter schools and charter legislation. Legislation was reviewed to identify similarities and differences in funding, accountability and governance provisions throughout America. Court cases, involving charter schools and charter school legislation, were reviewed to identify the types of issues being litigated and the resulting legal decisions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0006217, ucf:51111
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006217
- Title
- ESSAYS ON MUTUAL FUND GOVERNANCE AND THE ADVISORY FEE CONTRACTS.
- Creator
-
ERZURUMLU, YAMAN, Frye, Melissa, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This dissertation consists of three studies related to corporate governance of equity mutual funds in a framework of relations between the three closely interrelated actors of mutual fund industry. The mutual fund advisers, the shareholders and the mutual fund board being the advocate of shareholders rights. The first study analyzes the advisory fee, using a survivorship bias free data set of 176 equity funds managed by 125 different advisers. The price of professional portfolio management...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three studies related to corporate governance of equity mutual funds in a framework of relations between the three closely interrelated actors of mutual fund industry. The mutual fund advisers, the shareholders and the mutual fund board being the advocate of shareholders rights. The first study analyzes the advisory fee, using a survivorship bias free data set of 176 equity funds managed by 125 different advisers. The price of professional portfolio management provided by the mutual fund adviser depends not only on the fund characteristics but also on the fund objective, the adviser's portfolio related and management based decisions, and the portfolio performance. I find that the advisers may reduce their own costs through the use of derivatives or manipulate the actual fee contract by engaging in soft dollar agreements. Advisers actively manage the advisory fee contracts responding to the outcome of their management decisions. The advisory fee increases after voluntary fee reimbursement or if the adviser is not fully reimbursed for certain services. Risk taking behavior is the main motivation behind the structure of advisory contracts. Also, I show that non-surviving funds have higher advisory fees, suggesting competitive fee pricing may be necessary for survival. The second study focuses on the relation between general board characteristics, independent director characteristics and the advisory fee which is solely an outcome of the negotiations between the fund board and the adviser, thus a good proxy for the governance skills of the board. I also examine the impact of SEC's regulation change of 2000. Mutual fund scandals that took place after the regulation change of 2000 suggested that besides the fraction of independent seats, the individual characteristics of the members that occupy board seats are crucial for mutual fund board governance. I find that boards benchmark objective average fee but not necessarily for the best interest of shareholders. Shareholders are likely to benefit from the expertise of members with higher tenure and finance backgrounds. Although increase in board independence is likely to contribute to board governance, the effect of 2000 regulation change of board independence on its arguably target group is limited. Nominating committee improves the board governance. Although the results do not suggest that an independent chairman directly improves board governance, I find modest evidence that the impact of an independent chairman is likely to depend on the expertise of the member that would occupy the chairman seat. Third study analyzes a specific tool, soft dollar arrangements using a survivorship bias free data set of 432 equity funds managed by 129 different advisers. Soft dollar arrangements affect all three actors of mutual fund industry. They are widely used by the advisers, have to be monitored closely by the fund board and eventually affect the overall wealth of shareholders. Fund advisers determine the broker base, scope of brokerage services and whether to self produce or outsource brokerage services through soft dollar arrangements. In return, shareholders expect to benefit from better fund performance and reduction in advisory fee. I find that transaction execution not necessarily motivated by additional brokerage services is likely to be responsible for high turnover. Construction of brokerage base by the adviser is not arbitrary. Advisers ex ante construct the broker base in order to minimize the brokerage commissions and considering ex post soft dollar arrangements. Transaction execution related services lead to less brokerage commissions and soft dollar use while both increase if research is a consideration for broker participation. More concentrated broker base leads to lower brokerage fee and higher soft dollar use. Results indicate that advisers enforce competition within brokerage industry for lower cost of transaction execution. Shareholders benefit from increasing soft dollar use through performance improvement and reduction in advisory fee. Yet, the cost of soft dollar arrangements seems to exceed their benefit to shareholders. If the results indicate competition within brokerage industry for lower cost of transaction execution, the undisclosed premium paid for the additional services are likely to be responsible for this adverse effect.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001180, ucf:46874
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001180
- Title
- MAKING THE DECISION: FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO PARENTS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA.
- Creator
-
Himschoot, Brian, Murray, Thomas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In the opening decades of the 21st Century, a movement towards parental choice in public schools has taken flight. One of the choices becoming more readily available to parents of young children is charter schools. Charter schools are expanding across the United States and Central Florida is representative of this growth. Parents are faced with more choices as they make decisions on their children's educational future than ever before making the availability of quality, accurate information...
Show moreIn the opening decades of the 21st Century, a movement towards parental choice in public schools has taken flight. One of the choices becoming more readily available to parents of young children is charter schools. Charter schools are expanding across the United States and Central Florida is representative of this growth. Parents are faced with more choices as they make decisions on their children's educational future than ever before making the availability of quality, accurate information about local schools paramount. While scholarly work on charter schools, the effects of media coverage on public opinion, and how parents make choices for their children exists, in many cases the research offers inconclusive results and rarely was there an attempt to connect all three. This paper, written from a parent's perspective, analyzes research, newspaper articles, interviews, and surveys of Central Florida's media outlets, public school representatives, and parents of young children to determine the types of information on charter schools available to parents of young children in Central Florida. The purpose of this thesis will be to investigate the information available to parents when considering a charter school for their young children by comparing the stated opinions of the local media, district school boards, and the charters themselves. It also identifies who is responsible for disseminating this information, and how the parents choose to gather and use this information.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFH0004466, ucf:45105
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004466
- Title
- TRACKING ERROR OF LEVERAGED AND INVERSE ETFS.
- Creator
-
Romano, John, Gilkeson, Jim, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Tracking ability of leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds can be very important to investors looking for a dependable return. If the investor wants to put their money on a certain index they feel strongly about, they expect their investment vehicle to track that return appropriately. Over the years, we have seen tremendous growth in the exchange traded fund industry. In 2006, leveraged and inverse funds were introduced to the market, allowing investors to take leveraged and directional...
Show moreTracking ability of leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds can be very important to investors looking for a dependable return. If the investor wants to put their money on a certain index they feel strongly about, they expect their investment vehicle to track that return appropriately. Over the years, we have seen tremendous growth in the exchange traded fund industry. In 2006, leveraged and inverse funds were introduced to the market, allowing investors to take leveraged and directional trades on indices. These investment vehicles can be traded as easily as any stock, and therefore need some attention. Since any novice investor can access and trade these funds, they need to be aware of the risks they are taking. In this study, I test whether the ProShares S&P tracking leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds track their appropriate index multiple as promised. I did this by running regressions on each fund against the appropriate multiple of their underlying indices. I did this for funds of different market capitalization, for different holding periods, and with different amounts of leverage, to compare how these funds track in different conditions. I found that the large cap funds tend to track the best, with the small cap funds tracking the worst. I also find that tracking error tends to increase with longer holding periods. I find that the distribution of excess returns becomes less normal over longer holding periods, and begins to flatten out and widen. There does not seem to be a concrete conclusion as to whether or not the amount of leverage affects the tracking ability of the funds. I end up with mixed results when comparing amounts of leverage by model fit and by tracking error. Direction also does not seem to play any role in the tracking ability of these funds.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004184, ucf:44893
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004184
- Title
- Financial evaluation of milege based user fees for Florida's transportation funding.
- Creator
-
Moradi, Massoud, Al-Deek, Haitham, Radwan, Ahmed, Abdel-Aty, Mohamed, Uddin, Nizam, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
ABSTRACTMotor fuel taxes have been collected as a principal source of highway funding for close to a century. They account for approximately two thirds of all the highway user fees and about half of all highway expenditures. Federal fuel taxes have not kept pace with the inflation in general and increasing traffic demand and resulting construction, maintenance and operation costs of the transportation assets in particular.Lack of political will, combined with rising anti-tax sentiment among...
Show moreABSTRACTMotor fuel taxes have been collected as a principal source of highway funding for close to a century. They account for approximately two thirds of all the highway user fees and about half of all highway expenditures. Federal fuel taxes have not kept pace with the inflation in general and increasing traffic demand and resulting construction, maintenance and operation costs of the transportation assets in particular.Lack of political will, combined with rising anti-tax sentiment among the populace, has kept the federal tax level not only well below its initial intents, but also at a unsustainable level in future.Mileage based user fees are possibly an alternative to the fuel taxes, which have been the main mechanism for funding the transportation system.Mileage based user fees have been successfully utilized in many parts of the world with glowing results. Germany's (")TollCollect("), a quasi government enterprise has utilized GPS technology in collecting the users' fee from the truck operators. The system has been a financial engine providing much needed funding for many major transportation projects. Oregon Department of Transportation, in a federally co-funded pilot project, examined the practicality of the mileage based user fee collection at the fuel pumps. According to the Oregon study, there are not any major technical difficulties in mileage based user fee collection at the pump. Study participants (general motorist) did not express any objection to the mileage based user fee collection.This dissertation evaluates revenue impacts of several pricing policies including: Current per gallon fuel taxes, conversion to a mileage based user fee, time of day user fee application, area type user fee and congestion priced user fees. State of Florida's years 2015-2035 fuel revenue forecast is used as a case study. A model is constructed to estimate annual vehicle miles travelled for the analyses period. Fuel efficiencies, current per gallon fuel taxes and their corresponding mileage-based user fee equivalents are the input to a financial model developed for comparisons. Results demonstrate that decrease in fuel revenues due to vehicles fuel efficiency improvements can be offset by replacing current per gallon fuel taxes with a mileage-based user fee. Pricing the user fee according to area type, roadway classification, time of day and congestion level can not only generate more revenues but also assist in demand management.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004416, ucf:49378
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004416
- Title
- What's your focus? The impact of regulatory focus on resource acquisition.
- Creator
-
Stevenson, Regan, Ford, Cameron, Schminke, Marshall, McKenny, Aaron, Short, Jeremy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Entrepreneurs need resources. Previous research has established that entrepreneurs send signals of (")quality(") to potential resource providers in order to obtain resources. However, a behavioral research approach would contend that resource acquisition depends on much more than venture quality signals. In this dissertation, I extend beyond the signaling paradigm and investigate the resource acquisition process using a framework contingent on entrepreneur signals, resource provider...
Show moreEntrepreneurs need resources. Previous research has established that entrepreneurs send signals of (")quality(") to potential resource providers in order to obtain resources. However, a behavioral research approach would contend that resource acquisition depends on much more than venture quality signals. In this dissertation, I extend beyond the signaling paradigm and investigate the resource acquisition process using a framework contingent on entrepreneur signals, resource provider dispositional differences, and their interactive effects. Specifically, I leverage regulatory focus theory and regulatory fit theory to augment and move beyond the signaling theory approach. Methodologically, I undertake two studies. The first study uses archival field data consisting of a sample of 895 new venture pitches. In each of these pitches, I analyze the displays of promotion and prevention focus sent by entrepreneurs across video and textual narratives. To complete this analysis I develop novel measures of promotion and prevention focus suitable for computer-aided textual analysis (CATA). In the second study, I use a sample of 120 investors and a quasi-experimental approach to assess the moderating role of investor-level promotion and prevention focus on the relationship between entrepreneur displays of promotion and prevention focus and resource acquisition. The findings and their implications are discussed in relation to extant new venture resource acquisition literature and regulatory focus theory.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006185, ucf:51139
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006185
- Title
- THE INFLUENCE OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS ON PROPORTIONALITY OF REPRESENTATION IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
- Creator
-
Cox, Jamesha, Jewett , Aubrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
There are proportionally fewer Hispanic Americans, African Americans and women in Congress than in the United States population. Existing literature prescribes a variety of explanations for this disparity including skewed nominations procedures, differing participation rates, racial gerrymandering, voting biases, and funding inequities. This study revisits one aspect of the underrepresentation issue: campaign contributions. Money has been an integral component of the electoral process since...
Show moreThere are proportionally fewer Hispanic Americans, African Americans and women in Congress than in the United States population. Existing literature prescribes a variety of explanations for this disparity including skewed nominations procedures, differing participation rates, racial gerrymandering, voting biases, and funding inequities. This study revisits one aspect of the underrepresentation issue: campaign contributions. Money has been an integral component of the electoral process since before the American Revolution and its impact on the current composition of Congress ought to be explored to a greater extent. Previous research shows that contributors rarely, if at all, discriminate on the basis of gender. This study intends to further investigate the congressional campaign funding of African Americans and provide some much needed insight regarding the campaign financing of Hispanic American candidates. Using financial and biographical data from each candidate within the 2004 and 2008 election cycles, a multiple regression model will be employed to evaluate the extent to which gender and minority status determine the distribution of congressional campaign funds independent of other electability traits considered influential by contributors (the percentage of vote received in the last election, incumbency, and the leadership position held are indications of candidate strength that affect campaign contributions). The magnitude and statistical significance of these coefficients provides further understanding into funding inequities.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFH0004484, ucf:45076
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004484
- Title
- FEDERAL FUNDING AND THE RISE IN UNIVERSITY TUITION COSTS.
- Creator
-
Kizzort, Megan, Hofler, Richard, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Access to education is a central part of federal higher education policy, and federal grant and loan programs are in place to make college degrees more attainable for students. However, there is still controversy about whether there are unintended consequences of implementing and maintaining these programs, and whether they are effectively achieving the goal of increased accessibility. In order to answer questions about whether three specific types of federal aid cause higher tuition rates...
Show moreAccess to education is a central part of federal higher education policy, and federal grant and loan programs are in place to make college degrees more attainable for students. However, there is still controversy about whether there are unintended consequences of implementing and maintaining these programs, and whether they are effectively achieving the goal of increased accessibility. In order to answer questions about whether three specific types of federal aid cause higher tuition rates and whether these programs increase graduation rates, four ordinary least squares regression models were estimated. They include changes in both in-state and out-of-state tuition sticker prices, graduation rates, as well as changes in three types of federal aid, and other variables indicative of the value of a degree for four-year public universities in Arizona, California, Georgia, and Florida for years 2001-2011. The regressions indicate a positive effect of Pell Grants on in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees, a positive effect of disbursed subsidized federal loans on the change in number of degrees awarded, and a positive effect of Pell Grants on graduation rates.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFH0004522, ucf:45162
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004522
- Title
- A Qualitative Inquiry Investigating the Inclusive Practices of Teachers within Catholic Schools.
- Creator
-
Bell, Alicia, Little, Mary, Vitale, Thomas, Gresham, Gina, Flanigan, Jacquelyn, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This phenomenological investigation examined the inclusive practices used to instruct students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms by educators within a large Catholic diocese in the southeast US. This study used phenomenological research methods to examine the perspectives, practices, and policies of Catholic school educators in inclusive settings through interviews, observations, and artifact reviews of school data to triangulate findings within this research. Surveys completed by...
Show moreThis phenomenological investigation examined the inclusive practices used to instruct students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms by educators within a large Catholic diocese in the southeast US. This study used phenomenological research methods to examine the perspectives, practices, and policies of Catholic school educators in inclusive settings through interviews, observations, and artifact reviews of school data to triangulate findings within this research. Surveys completed by administrators and faculty members provided initial knowledge and perspectives of inclusive practices for instruction of students with disabilities (SWDs) within inclusive settings. Structured interviews and classroom observation were then completed with participants at the school to investigate the inclusive practices used within their classrooms and school for SWDs. All data were collected and analyzed from the observations of students with disabilities and educators in inclusive classrooms at the Elementary School site of this study, along with the data from surveys and interviews with the administrators and key faculty members at the school. The analyses across data sources resulted in five key themes attributed to inclusive practices within the school setting. The five themes that emerged were: (a) Catholic educators' belief to educate all students; (b) support provided of inclusive education; (c) planning for inclusive education; (d) differentiated instruction; and (e) consistency of vision and goals for inclusive education across the grade levels and throughout the school. This study exposed the key factors and practices that educators in a Catholic school attributed to successful inclusive practices for students with moderate to severe disabilities. This research provides initial research and data about inclusive practices in Catholic schools.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006720, ucf:51895
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006720