Skip to main content

MPA Major Research Papers

From 1990 until 2023, all Western Master of Public Administration students completed a faculty-supervised Major Research Paper. Starting in 2024, students complete a Research Report that is not individually supervised.

At the time of submission, students may opt to publicly release their papers. This series contains all publicly available papers completed since 1990.

The program does not endorse the content of these papers which are the independent research of the students. The papers are owned by the authors and posted here with their permission.

If you are the author of an MPA research paper and would like to have that paper removed from this database please contact .

Major Research Papers from 2008 2008

Women in Municipal Politics: Barriers to Participation, Carol Down

Decentralized Administrations and Decision-Making & Effective Policy Implementation: A Study of Agricultural Severance in Southwestern Ontario 2001 to 2007, Paul Hicks

Female Participation in the Police Promotion Process: Are Women Competing for Promotion in Numbers Proportionate to their Statistical Representation in Policing?, Brent Shea

Major Research Papers from 2007 2007

The Theory Disconnect: Reconciling Theories of Justice, Ethics, and Morality with the Practice of Public Administration, Alexander DeLorey

Impacts of the Greenbelt Plan on the Agricultural Industry, Case Study: Town of Erin, Wellington County, Robert Dwayne Evans

Community & Political Participation of Municipal Employees: An Analysis of the Community and Political Participation of Municipal Employees in the City of London, Jennifer Harmer

Differences in Population Growth: A Case Study of Two Eastern Ontario Rural Municipalities, Beverly Kerby

Municipal Capital Works Projects: An Analysis of Scheduling Delays and Cost Escalations, Doug MacKay

Attitudes Toward Public Health Funding: Results of a Survey That Explored Differences in Support by Ontario Municipal Elected Officials for Local Public Health Programs, Elaine Reddick

Major Research Papers from 2006 2006

The Impact of Higher Education on Police Management in Three Ontario Police Services, Jason Dale

No Equity in a Vacuum: The Ontario Municipal Diversity Project – An Examination of the Current State of Employment Equity and Diversity in Ontario Municipalities, Benjamin Elling

Coping with Diversity: Municipal Actions in Response of Increased Immigrant Diversity in the Cities of Hamilton and Markham in Ontario, Erika Hegedues

A Public Policy Analysis: The Effect of Issue Framing and the Policy Network on Environmental Tobacco Smoke Bylaw Development in Peel Region, Deborah Keen

The Evolution of Community Policing in Chatham-Kent: Citizen Engagement, Organizational Change, and the Neighbourhood Policing Project, Dennis Poole

Service Delivery Review: The Ontario Experience, Kelly Stymiest

Major Research Papers from 2005 2005

Capital Expenditures in Metropolitan Toronto: A Comparison of the Capital Operations and Written Literature on Capital Infrastructure for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, Caspar Hall

Comparing Immigrant Services, Practices, Programs, and Policies in the City of London and the City of Toronto: The Implications for the City of London, Tiwei Huang

Watch Your Language: An Analysis of Local Government Collective Agreement Harassment Language, Anne MacArthur

Escaping from the Straightjacket That Baffled Houdini: An Analysis of the Myths and Realities of Empowering Toronto Through a City Charter, Luis Silva

Killing Bambi: Decision-Making When Values Clash, Eha Skaith

Community Mobilization in the Waterloo Regional Police Service: A Process Evaluation of the Community Mobilization Initiative of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, Matthew Torigian

Major Research Papers from 2004 2004

Potential Alternative Revenue Sources for Municipal Infrastructure Maintenance – A Case Study: County of Peterborough Transportation Infrastructure, Chris Bradley

Community Accountability in Ontario’s Healthcare Sector: A Case Study of Six Hospitals, Catherine Cuylle

Intergovernmental Relations: An Analysis to Test the Effectiveness of the Position of an Intergovernmental Relations Officer at the Local Level, Michael Di Lullo

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR): A Tool for Improved Customer Service in Municipalities, Lee Doyle