56:824:701 Theory and History of Community Development (3)
This seminar course will examine and synthesize the theories from many disciplines that contribute to the field of community development in both U.S. domestic and international contexts.
56:824:702 Quantitative Methods I (3)
This course covers probability, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics.
56:824:703 Logic Social Inquiry (3)
This class explores critically the philosophy, epistemology and alternative approaches to organizing and executing social science inquiry.
56:824:704 Alternatives Development Strategies for Distressed Cities (3)
This course offers a critical examination of “third sector” and “new economy” community development strategies emerging within global civil society, and assesses their potential for revitalizing impoverished U.S. cities.
56:824:705 Regional and Economic Development (3)
An examination of the relationship between city and suburb from the perspective of regional development and dynamics of economic change due to sprawl and deindustrialization.
56:824:706 Practicum in Community Development (3)
A field experience course to apply Public Affairs at the community development level in the Delaware Valley region. Students work individually or in groups with a community-based client organization (usually, a non-profit or governmental agency) as consultants on an applied research project under the supervision of a faculty member. Projects could include data analysis, development of plans, interviewing and data collection. Maximum 2 semesters of earned credit.
56:824:707 Legal and Regulatory Environment of Community Development (3)
An examination of the legal perspective and practices that affect community development with a focus on the regulatory environment and social justice concerns that are present in the practice of this field.
56:824:708 Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables (3)
This course examines advanced regression models for binary, multinomial, ordinal, censured and truncated dependent variables, as well as models for count data and event history analysis.
56:824:709 Quantitative Methods II (3)
This course covers bivariate and multiple regression models, with an emphasis on constructing regression models to test social and economic hypotheses.
56:824:710 Planning, Markets and Community Development(3)
Examines the key theories and frameworks in the areas of strategic management and entrepreneurship, and the major theoretical trends in the areas where business and public affairs intersect.
56:824:711 Politics of Community Development (3)
Examines power, politics and conflict in community development in the post-WWII U.S. urban context, and critiques the liberal paradigm of much of the community development literature to better situate community development problems in a broader understanding of political economy.
56:824:712 Special Problems in Community Development (3)
A course on varying themes in community development.
56:824:713 Research Design (3)
This course explores alternative methods for organizing, conducting, and analyzing social scientific studies to facilitate the drawing of valid causal inferences.
56:824:714 Qualitative Research Methods (3)
Covers the “nuts and bolts” of qualitative research: gathering data through interviews, focus groups, observation and archival research.
56:824:715 Poverty Alleviation Strategies (3)
Strategies for poverty alleviation at the community level in the U.S. and in developing countries are examined, beginning with an assessment of the fundamental causes of poverty and the tools the poor possess for survival.
56:824:716 International Negotiations (3)
Examines both the substance and the process of international negotiation- principally negotiations between or among governments. Substantive areas include: arms control, trade, peace and conflict, and environmental negotiations.
56:824:717 International Economic Development (3)
This course investigates what is meant by “development.” How is it attained? Who is responsible to make sure it happens? Competing theories about the determinants of international poverty are examined, along with central debates in the field. Topics include: the role of NGO’s, micro-lending, debates about the efficacy of aid, urbanization, and environmental change.
56:824:718 Data Management (3) Prerequisite: 824:709
In this course, students learn how to automate research using large data sets with simple computer programming. The course covers the principles and practical techniques of data cleaning, data organization, quality control, and automation of research tasks. Topics include: data types, useful text and math functions, labeling, recoding, data documentation, merging datasets, reshaping, and programming structures such as macros, loops, and branching.
56:824:719 Directed Study (3)
Independent study with a faculty member on a project of the student’s choosing. The instructor and the student enter into a contract at the beginning of the semester for work to be completed, and keep a copy of this form (link), along with a copy of the student’s final paper in the student’s file in the program office.
56:824:721 Happiness and Place (3)
Happiness and subjective well-being are increasingly identified as goals and measures of government-sponsored interventions in human and economic development. This course focuses on the geographic distribution of happiness and the importance of community and social capital in addressing social problems such poverty and inequality. After grounding the study of happiness in a rigorous theoretical foundation, the course engages students in a data-driven inquiry into the determinants of subjective well-being, paying special attention to the role of place.
56:824:722 Public and Nonprofit Management (3)
This course examines contemporary management approaches, techniques, and skills for managing various kinds of public organizations. Decision-making, administrative leadership, planning, implementation, evaluation, and ethics are key topics.
56:824:723 Ethics in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors (3)
Study of the federal, state, and local laws governing the conduct of public officials and of ethical standards beyond the boundaries of law. Relates professional standards of public administration to ethical problems in government.
56:824:724 Labor-Management Relations in the Private and Public Sectors (3)
Analysis of the structure and development of labor-management relationships in the United States and abroad, focusing on both private industry and governmental organizations. Explores history and the surrounding law while focusing on the negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, related micro- and macroeconomic problems, and issues that accompany the growth of the nonunion sector in both private and public sectors.
56:824:725 Geographic Information Systems in the Public Sectors (3)
An introductory geographic information systems (GIS) course, with an emphasis on application; training primarily uses open-source GIS software. Students will be able to produce maps and conduct basic research using geographical data in any discipline that uses such data, e.g., public policy and administration, sociology, criminology, and public health/epidemiology.
56:824:726 Inequality and Segregation (3)
This course examines the dimensions of inequality, including economic inequality and poverty, residential segregation by race and class, and the concentration of poverty. The focus is primarily on the U.S., but comparisons with other industrialized nations will also be discussed. The course will address questions of definition and measurement, historical and current trends, causes and consequences, and policy responses. Students will be expected to work with official data to calculate measures of poverty, inequality, and segregation; to understand the main theoretical and empirical debates; and to understand the role of public policy in addressing or exacerbating these problems.