Browsing by Author "G. David Garson, Committee Member"

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Judicial Performance Evaluation: Policy Diffusion Across the American States
(2008-12-03) Paynter, Sharon Renee; Richard C. Kearney, Committee Chair; Maureen Berner, Committee Member; Dennis Daley, Committee Member; G. David Garson, Committee Member
Tensions between independence and accountability, two hallmarks of the American judicial branch, create a responsibility, perhaps even an obligation, for officers of the court to perform efficiently, effectively, and to undergo periodic performance review. Creating performance evaluation programs holding courts accountable from both individual and organizational perspectives is challenging. It is difficult to evaluate judges and preserve the critical independence needed to decide cases freely, based only on the law. An innovative program called judicial performance evaluation (JPE) may change that. Despite its promise, the program has only been adopted by twenty states. Why those states? What forces compel actors to pursue JPE programs? The characteristics leading to policy diffusion in the American states are evaluated by considering how and when JPE programs have been adopted by state institutional bodies. The effects of legislative professionalization and method of judicial selection have the greatest impact on increasing the likelihood of the policy adoption. However, despite anecdotal evidence and findings from extant studies in other policy areas, political ideology, and geographic proximity are variables not significantly related to JPE diffusion. This study blends extant literature from social science including work from scholars of public administration, public policy, judicial administration, and court reform. The initial contribution of this dissertation is to help researchers understand why JPE may appeal to some states and not others. However, its primary purpose is to shed light on the intersection of these fields and to study policy diffusion using event history analysis. This study re-opens the door for court administration and reform literature to join mainstream public administration studies.
Public perception of law enforcement's treatment of suspects in North Carolina: Testing conflict, attitude consistency, and ecological theories
(2002-11-20) Weinstein, Meredith Blackwell; Michael L. Vasu, Committee Chair; Ellen S. Vasu, Committee Member; Deborah L. Weisel, Committee Member; G. David Garson, Committee Member
This research study examines whether citizens of North Carolina perceive the existence of discrimination in the treatment of suspects by law enforcement officers. The study was undertaken to ascertain the factors which characterize persons who believe that law enforcement officers treat certain suspects differently than others versus people who do not believe differential treatment exists. Previous research has acknowledged that it is of equal importance to study public perceptions of bias in the criminal justice system as to study whether bias actually exists. As such, this study does not attempt to determine if discrimination actually occurs, but rather what the public perceives as occurring in the criminal justice system. To study the factors influencing perceptions three models, proposed in previous research, were tested to explain differential attitudes: conflict theory, attitude consistency theory, and ecological theory. Additionally, a combined model including the components of each theory was tested. The three models were analyzed based on data collected from samples of North Carolina residents in 1997, 1999, and 2001. The findings suggest that none of the three models adequately explains differing perceptions. Furthermore, the model with the greatest explanatory ability was the combined model, thereby indicating that perceptions are multidimensional and a single theoretical explanation is insufficient. Based on the research findings, several policy implications were identified: Policymakers must recognize the interdependence of the elements that compose the criminal justice system. Policymakers must recognize the need to close the gap between the public's perception of discrimination and reality. Policymakers must recognize the disparity in public opinion of specific segments of the population. Policymakers must recognize the importance of positive public opinion to the success of policing initiatives.
Synchronous Online Citizen Panels: Effects of Process, Deliberation, and Decision Confidence on Panelist Satisfaction
(2007-07-20) Prosseda, Kathleen; James H. Svara, Committee Chair; Patrick W. Hamlett, Committee Co-Chair; G. David Garson, Committee Member; Michael D. Cobb, Committee Member
This study explores citizen satisfaction with using computer-mediated communication as a means of coming to consensus about a complex policy issue. There is little research on computer-supported collaborative work related to the online deliberation of public policy issues. Features of online communication have the potential to either enhance or detract from deliberation and consensus-building. Six volunteer citizen panels comprising the 2003 North Carolina Citizens' Technology Forum were examined. Panels were entirely Web-based and modeled after the Danish-style consensus conference. Discussions were informed and goal-directed using primarily synchronous communication. A mixed-method approach was used. Citizens reported mildly favorable impressions of their online experiences; however the regression equation did not show any significant linear relationships between overall satisfaction and the independent variables of deliberation, consensus, decision confidence, changes in trust, and changes in efficacy. Those with prior chat room experience tended to have higher satisfaction than their fellow group members. As a group, panelists did gain trust with group efficacy improving to a significant degree. The qualitative analysis, though, revealed some concerns about the credibility of the citizen forum with regard to having an impact on decision-makers. Overall, the merits of computer-mediated communication for policy discussions seemed to outweigh the challenges for this group of participants. The task/technology fit was adequate. This study shows that policy deliberations by citizens are feasible in a strictly online environment thus opening up a new public space.