Several researchers have identified the challenges faced by military adolescent dependents. However, scholarly literature provides little evidence regarding examples of the impact of military adolescents’ transition and adjustment to residing in a multicultural community overseas. A qualitative case study was conducted of 6 former military adolescents between the ages of 18 and 25, regarding their perceptions of the experiences and challenges they encountered while residing in a multicultural overseas community as a military dependent between grades 8-12. All data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis from which 5 themes emerged.

Benet’s polarities of democracy served as the theoretical framework. Participants unanimously agreed that the lack of needed information while discussing transition with their parents led to negative experiences. Participants also agreed that they have not been included in policy development regarding military adolescent programs, which negatively impacted their integration into the overseas communities. Overall, the results of this study highlight the challenges this population encounters and indicates that the polarity pairs have not been leveraged well, thereby negatively impacting the participants’ overall overseas experience. This study may encourage positive social change by informing Department of Defense policy makers and local installation leaders regarding the enactment of programs that better support military families with adolescent dependents living in an overseas environment. Such policy changes may enhance the experience of dependent military adolescents, encourage the military personnel’s future commitment to military service, and support service member retention.

Hayes, N. B. (2019). The effects of a multicultural overseas community on military adolescents (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing. (Order No. 13879681)

Asylum seekers in the U.S. have faced a plethora of impediments leading to some of them abandoning their applications, which may deny them their rights under the United Nations convention on refugees. Despite the abundance of literature on the plight of these persons, no study has examined the lived experiences of asylum seekers in the U.S. from the time they apply for asylum to the time their applications are adjudicated. Using Benet’s polarities of democracy as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this single participant narrative study was to explore these experiences in order to provide policy makers with a better understanding of the impacts of US Asylum policies on the rights of asylum seekers.

The study’s single participant was an attorney from the Congo who sought and received asylum in the U.S. Thematic analysis was applied to her responses using hand coding. Cultural challenges were identified as the dominant negative theme in the asylum-seeking process. These cultural challenges generated fear in the face of survival issues such as joblessness, poor housing, hunger, and lack of health care. These interrelated sub-themes, analyzed through the lens of the polarities of democracy, suggest that policy makers might improve the asylum-seeking process by using the theory to better understand the impacts that the process has on the rights of asylum seekers. This may allow policy makers to develop strategies to maximize the positive aspects of the polarities of democracy pairs while minimizing the negative aspects, particularly for the pairs of freedom and authority, justice and due process, and diversity and equality.

Nalumango, K. (2019).  Perceptions about the asylum-seeking process in the United States after 9/11 (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing. (Order No. 13879844)

Political division has plagued Northern Ireland since its partition from the rest of Ireland in the 1920s. Current literature recounts the role of nationalist actors in the violent struggle that erupted in 1969 initiating a 3-decade period of civil strife described as the Troubles. However, very little scholarly coverage exists providing details of nonviolent resistance on the part of some community members. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to examine the meanings and perceptions evoked from Irish nationalists from Belfast and Derry who chose to challenge security policies through nonviolent actions from 1970 through 1981. Using a chain sampling approach, 14 protesters volunteered to tell their stories. Benet’s Polarities of Democracy unifying model was used as the theoretical framework for the study.

Data analysis revealed 4 major themes that underpinned informant experiences of protest: social identity, coping, perseverance, and empowerment. Data showed in many instances that more aggressive security tactics used against demonstrators incited more intense anti-state activities. Public administrators, through a combination of written policy and security personnel training, should, therefore, address sociopolitical grievances in a manner that will promote mediation in an effort to avoid instigation of further and more physical protest actions. State officials, as well as elected legislators who write and analyze public policy, may incorporate the findings of this study to expediate the delivery of more democratic government services and to support and promote nonviolent active citizenry.

Caulfield, T. E. (2019). Nonviolent resistance to security policy in nationalist Northern Ireland, 1970-1981(Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing. (Order No. 13422426)

Rural communities in Rivers State, Nigeria are fraught with underdevelopment crises despite the accrual of wealth from oil and gas. Community Development Committees (CDCs) are established by the Rivers State government in each town and village to facilitate community development. However, the CDCs have failed to generate substantive development in rural communities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the perceptions of local stakeholders as to the factors that have contributed to this policy failure. Benet’s theory of Polarities of Democracy was used in this study.

Twenty-two participants in the Khana region of Rivers State were interviewed regarding why the CDCs have failed to promote rural development in the Khana Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Saldana’s method of coding and content analysis were used for data analysis. The results from the analysis revealed that CDCs protected personal and political interests of the elites, excluded the voice of the local citizens, lacked representation from the minority, and CDC officials mismanaged funds and resources. To improve the lives of the rural people in Rivers State, Nigeria, it was recommended that CDCs become more inclusive. Also, CDC leaders need to work closely with all local stakeholders so that each stakeholder and not just the elites of the community will benefit from CDC policies or programs. Implementation of these recommendations might bring about more social justice and equity in the local communities served by CDCs. They might also help to promote reasonable distribution of government wealth through the provision of viable projects in the rural communities in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Kaka, E. B. (2018). Decentralization of local government and rural development in Rivers State, Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing.  (Order No. 10746367)

While researchers have identified the Housing First model of putting homeless persons into permanent housing as the best means of improving the quality of life for chronically homeless individuals, few studies have examined the perceptions of shelter staff workers on the barriers the homeless face in obtaining and maintaining long-term housing. This case study of 2 homeless shelters in New Jersey examined the relationship that fair and just democratic processes play in supporting or undermining Housing First. Data came from New Jersey’s annual Point in Time counts of the number of homeless individuals and families and the causes and service needs of the homeless. Government reports were also analyzed, as well as from semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 14 homeless shelter staff workers.

The Polarities of Democracy model as described by Benet helped identify whether democracy was being served rightly and justly within these homeless communities. Information was analyzed by inductive coding and by identifying themes and patterns that emerged from the interviews. The primary finding of this study was that lack of available housing, lack of resources to gain access to housing, and lack of knowledge of resources that are available for housing acquisition and maintenance plays a role in causing individuals to become and remain chronically homeless. Social change implications include policy recommendations to local, state, and federal legislators to increase accountability in the allocation of funding for housing support and the development of a volunteer case management force to meet the service needs of the chronically homeless.

Griffith, J. L. (2017). Perceptions of homeless shelter staff workers on chronic homeless individuals (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing.  (Order No. 10285279)

Political decentralization has been advanced in the 21^st century as a prescription for enabling citizens’ participation in politics and increasing good governance. However, empirical investigations have offered limited knowledge about decentralization efforts in Liberia. This study explored if decentralization could serve as a catalyst for citizens’ participation and good governance in Liberia. The polarity of participation and representation – one of the pairs in the polarities of democracy model developed by Benet – was used to establish the theoretical foundation for this study.

The study employed a case study research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 participants recruited through snowball sampling and subjected to a thematic content procedure for analysis. The main theme indicated that decentralization was perceived as Liberia’s best policy option to repair 171 years of political, social, and economic challenges. Establishment of service centers at the county level to manage social development funds and the passage of the local government act were acknowledged as achievements of the decentralization policy in Liberia. On the other hand, the country’s long history of centralized governance, corruption, inequality, constitution violations, and misused of public resources were identified as major obstacles to successful implementation of decentralization policy measures. The social change implication of the study involves identifying a potential avenue for the government and citizens of Liberia to build a stronger relationship through reform which will ultimately enhance citizens’ ability to be involved in governmental decision making at both national and local levels.

Clarke, R. T. (2019). Decentralization policy and citizen participation in government: The case of Liberia (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing. (Order No. 13858105)

One million Zimbabwean Black commercial farm workers have been displaced from their homes since the launch of the government-sponsored Fast Track Land Reform Program in 2000. There has been limited research done on the impact of the land reform program on Black commercial farm workers. The purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences of the Black former commercial farm workers since being evicted from their homes. The study provided representatives of this vulnerable and silenced population with a platform to articulate their stories based on their lived experiences. The intent was to stimulate debate around the issues of social justice and human rights and hence the research data were viewed through a social justice theoretical lens. The study employed participant interviews, observation activities, and document analysis to address the research questions and provide a better understanding of the experiences of the farm workers.

Content analysis was applied to the findings and generated several themes including homelessness, joblessness, health problems, and social exclusion. Data triangulation and member checking were utilized to strengthen the trustworthiness of the study. Post-doctoral analysis of the experiences of homelessness and joblessness was conducted utilizing Benet’s Polarities of Democracy theoretical framework. The findings suggested that in social and economic terms the land reform program has left the former farm workers homeless and impoverished, thus generating a humanitarian crisis that will necessitate considerable social investment. The potential for positive social change includes the development of sustainable social policies that address such issues as access to health care, malnutrition, equitable education, and decent shelter for the target population.

Muzorewa, W. (2013). The impact of Zimbabwe’s land reform program on black commercial farm workers (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University, School of Public Policy and Administration). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Full Text database, UMI Publishing. (Order No. 3600897).

Violence is considered a public health problem in the United States, yet little is known about the benefit of using a combined epidemiology and criminology (EpiCrim) approach to focus on urban youth gun violence. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to determine in what ways Akers and Lanier’s EpiCrim approach in tandem with Benet’s polarities of democracy approach is explanatory of gun homicides by youth in U.S. urban areas and if the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System adequately addresses gun abatement measures. Data were collected through semi structured interviews of 16 criminal justice practitioners and medical professionals with experience relative to juvenile justice policies pertaining to gun violence. Interview data were inductively coded, then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. The findings indicate that EpiCrim provides a platform to focus research efforts on complex issues that are drivers for behavioral risk factors associated with youth gun violence in urban areas. Participants perceive a necessity for legislative revisions supporting gun violence research and the reduction of privacy issues that pose barriers to EpiCrim research. EpiCrim research can provide data that help identify the root cause of youth gun violence in urban areas, and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System does not fully address gun abatement measures. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to local, state, and federal legislatures to explore legislative action to incorporate EpiCrim strategies as a method to reduce gun violence among youth in urban communities.

McMillan, Joseph Anthony, “Epidemiology and Criminology: Managing Youth Firearm Homicide Violence in Urban Areas” (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 7941.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7941