When a Tree Falls in Fayetteville Does it Make a Sound: The Impact of Issue Voting on Local Nonpartisan Elections

This research provides an explanation of the impact that high-profile issues can have on local nonpartisan elections. The tree ordinance in Fayetteville sparked a controversy that ignited the community\u27s interest in the race for Mayor. This controversy provides a unique opportunity to measure how issue voting effects elections that have limited information available. The research regarding behavior in local nonpartisan elections is incomplete, because of the challenges this subject provides for political scientist. It is difficult to gauge a voter\u27s choice when the voter\u27s process limited knowledge of the candidates and party affiliation is removed. Generally political scientist view issue voting as requiring a high level of voter sophistication, yet voting behavior at the local level is notable for its lack of sophistication. The purpose of my research is to show that when limited tangible information is available to voters they will base their votes on easy-issues such as the tree controversy. This research contributes to theories in the fields of voting behavior, voter sophistication, and issue voting

Representative Regionalization: Toward More Equitable, Democratic, Responsive, and Efficient Local Government in New Brunswick

Responding to the Government of New Brunswick’s Green Paper on Local Governance Reform released in April 2021, this report diagnoses the problems of the province’s existing system of local governance and proposes a solution that leverages existing assets to create a more equitable, democratic, responsive, and efficient local governance system. A reformed local governance system will help New Brunswickers confront difficult present and future economic and demographic challenges. This report recommends strengthening New Brunswick’s 12 Regional Service Commissions along the lines of British Columbia’s regional districts—multi-purpose bodies that have coordinated service delivery and land-use planning in that province since the 1960s. The report outlines the history of regional districts, describes their key features, and shows how they could be implemented in New Brunswick through modest reforms to the existing Regional Service Commissions. We call this approach representative regionalization because it would strengthen local government, give a democratic voice to the 30% of New Brunswickers who live outside of incorporated municipalities, and distribute costs and benefits more equitably within regional housing and labour markets. Importantly, representative regionalization would be minimally disruptive to existing institutions and longstanding practices—indeed, much less disruptive than other potential options such as forced municipal incorporation and amalgamation. Representative regionalization is not a centralizing move. Rather, it would enhance local autonomy by empowering local democratic institutions to make decisions in the interest of their communities.https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/urbancentre-reports/1004/thumbnail.jp

A spiritual formation and discipleship study for believers in the local church

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1113/thumbnail.jp

From Tinkering to Transformation: Gradual Institutional Change in New Brunswick’s Local Governance System

This article situates the history of local governance reform in New Brunswick in the debate between two theoretical traditions in historical institutionalism: critical juncture analysis and gradual institutional change. While New Brunswick appears to be a case of punctuated equilibrium followed by a half century of stagnation, the local governance system is a case of gradual institutional change dominated by layering. Drawing on Mahoney and Thelen’s theory of gradual institutional change and Tsebelis’ theory of veto players, this paper identifies the relevant change agents and tracks their influence through four prominent reform episodes since the 1970s.Cet article situe l'histoire de la réforme de la gouvernance locale au Nouveau-Brunswick dans le débat entre deux traditions théoriques de l'institutionnalisme historique : l'analyse de la conjoncture critique et le changement institutionnel graduel. Alors que le Nouveau-Brunswick semble être un cas d'équilibre ponctué suivi d'un demi-siècle de stagnation, le système de gouvernance locale est un cas de changement institutionnel graduel dominé par la stratification. En s'appuyant sur la théorie du changement institutionnel graduel de Mahoney et Thelen et sur la théorie des joueurs à veto de Tsebelis, cet article identifie les agents de changement pertinents et suit leur influence à travers quatre épisodes de réforme importants depuis les années 1970

The Relationship Between Superstition and Confidence in Sport

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between superstition and confidence in sport. The Superstitious Rituals Questionnaire, a single-item confidence question, the confidence subscales from the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory- 28, Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment Tool-3, Trait Sport Confidence Inventory, and the New General Self-Efficacy Scale were used to measure superstitions and self-efficacy among the athletes. A convenience sample of current and former NCAA athletes (N = 109, n = 61 males, n = 48 females) were sent the link to the questionnaire on Qualtrics. Results showed that athletes used a mean of 13 superstitions. Superstitions from the Pre-game/Meet subscale were the most used, while superstitions from the Fetish subscale were the most effective. Three Pearson correlations among Team Rituals use subscale and confidence were negative and statistically significant. Correlations among superstition effectiveness and confidence were positive and significant for the Fetish (five), Clothing and Appearance (three), and Prayer (one) subscales. Gender differences were assessed by ANOVAs for confidence and superstition use and effectiveness. An ANOVA was also performed to test the differences between high and low confidence groups and superstition use and effectiveness. Overall, the NGSE was correlated the most with superstition use and effectiveness (significant for 5/14 correlations). Also, the Fetish subscale was the most effective and the most consistent correlation with the confidence measures (5/6). This study provides insight for future research in superstition and confidence. Also, this study allows sports psychologists to utilize lucky charms in their application of superstitions and pre-performance routines in sport

Estimating Indigenous Australian employment in the private sector

Impetus for attempting to delineate 'real' private sector employment derived from concerns regarding the shortcomings of data on this issue identified by the review of the Aboriginal Employment Development Policy (AEDP). In seeking to address these concerns, private sector employment is defined here as consisting of activities that do not depend primarily on government funding for their existence. Using census data, two methods are employed to estimate change in the number of Indigenous people employed in this redefined private sector in 1986 and 1991. The first, a residual approach, uses a mix of census statistics and administrative data sets. The second is based on judicious scrutiny of detailed industry tables from the census cross-classified by private sector employment. Revised statistical limits of Indigenous employment in the private sector are produced with intercensal growth substantially deflated. This paper considers the determinants of employment income for Indigenous Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression techniques are applied to 1991 Census data to consider the question: does the lower income of these Indigenous people reflect differences in their factor endowments (like education) rewarded in the labour market, or are they rewarded differently for the same set of endowments than are non-Indigenous Australians. The results show that the main source of lower incomes for Indigenous Australians was their smaller endowment of human capital characteristics. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of these results