Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Conflict Resolution Studies

First Advisor

Judith McKay

Second Advisor

Dustin Berna

Third Advisor

Gregory Vecchi

Keywords

code enforcement, complaints, document analysis, hemeneutics, local government, phenomenology

Abstract

The current hermeneutic phenomenological study was completed to provide direction for the content analysis of code enforcement complaint documents by municipal code enforcement agencies. This hermeneutic interpretive research was conducted using qualitative content analysis of greater than 500 code enforcement complaint documents submitted to a municipal code enforcement agency over 12 months. The phenomenological research was guided by the following research questions: 1.What indicators are identified by content analysis in a complaint document received from the community of shareholders of a municipal code enforcement agency? 2. What manner of delivery of a complaint document is most frequently exercised by the shareholders of a municipal code enforcement agency? 3. What may the frequency of violations recognized in complaint documents inform a municipal government of a community and its needs? 4. How may a municipal government advance the results of a content analysis of code enforcement complaint documents towards promoting improvements in a community? The theories of symbolic interactionism and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) were used within the methodological paradigms of hermeneutics and phenomenology to understand the function and experience of a complaint document within the code enforcement system and its shareholders. The findings of this research identify how the content analysis of code enforcement complaints can reveal and prioritize the needs, threats, and trends that impact a community and lead to municipal programs that focus on those community issues with collaborative conflict resolution programs that can improve the sense of community for its shareholders, its government and the field of conflict resolution.

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