Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The New York City Childcare Influenza Vaccine Mandate: A Case Study, Amy E. Metroka

Dissertations and Theses

Background. In 2014, New York City (NYC) became the third jurisdiction in the United States (US) to enact a childcare influenza vaccine mandate, after the states of New Jersey and Connecticut. The mandate was enacted by the NYC Board of Health by amending the NYC Health Code. The mandate’s goal was to increase vaccination rates among 6-59-month-olds attending city-regulated public and private childcare programs, including prekindergarten, to protect children, families, and the community against influenza. Children younger than 5 years are at high risk for severe illness and complications from influenza. Children are also known to be a major source …

Exploring The Health Effects Of Precarious Employment By Sex/Gender Using Mixed Methods, Kathleen Flandrick

Dissertations and Theses

Employment in the United States has changed dramatically since the mid-1970s. Labor market forces like globalization and diversification of the American workforce have led to a heavily segmented labor market where new types of flexible employment such as temporary, contingent, and nonstandard work arrangements are increasingly common. These newer types of work are often on the lower end of the precarious employment continuum, categorizing jobs by their degree of: 1) temporariness, 2) disempowerment, 3) vulnerability, 4) compensation (wages), 5) rights, and 6) ability to exercise worker rights. The increase in precarious employment likely disproportionately affects women when compared to men, …

Predicting Parturition In A Long-Gestating Species: Behavioral And Hormonal Indicators In The Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus), Heather Kelly Velonis

Dissertations and Theses

Captive populations of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in North America are not self-sustaining, and increasing reproductive success within captive populations is a high priority. The ability to accurately predict parturition can have a direct impact on elephant welfare. Elephants in captivity often require significant preparation and management throughout the birthing process, and complications during labor and delivery can necessitate immediate intervention, including stillbirth, protracted labor, maternal aggression towards a newborn calf, and dystocia. Being able to predict when parturition will commence can ensure appropriate staff is available and adequate monitoring is performed. Routine endocrine sampling can be used …

Settler Visions Of Health: Health Care Provision In The Central African Federation, 1953-1963, Catherine Janet Valentine

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines healthcare provision in the Central African Federation, the late colonial union between the British colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland (the later independent nations of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi respectively). Unusually in federal formations, healthcare delivery in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland became a federal function. "Settler Visions of Health" seeks to explain how the white settler elite reconciled the language of development and multiracial partnership with the underlying values of a settler society. Throughout its short existence, the Federal Health Service maintained a celebratory narrative of success designed to legitimize and justify both …

Drivers' Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Bicyclists: Intermodal Interactions And Implications For Road Safety, Tara Beth Goddard

Dissertations and Theses

Road safety concerns are a legitimate concern when promoting increased bicycle use. Currently, the share of bicyclist traffic fatalities and injuries is not proportional to its mode share, and presents both a public health concern and a disincentive to people taking up or continuing to bicycle for transportation. Bicycling is not an inherently dangerous activity; automobile drivers pose the most risk of harm in crashes with bicyclists. Despite that, drivers' attitudes and behaviors toward bicyclists have not enjoyed much systematic study, particularly in the United States. This research explored the dimensions of drivers' attitudes toward bicyclists, including implicit bias and …

Analyzing Dam Feasibility In The Willamette River Watershed, Alexander Cameron Nagel

Dissertations and Theses

This study conducts a dam-scale cost versus benefit analysis in order to explore the feasibility of each the 13 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) commissioned dams in Oregon’s Willamette River network. Constructed between 1941 and 1969, these structures function in collaboration to comprise the Willamette River Basin Reservoir System (WRBRS). The motivation for this project derives from a growing awareness of the biophysical impacts that dam structures can have on riparian habitats. This project compares each of the 13 dams being assessed, to prioritize their level of utility within the system. The study takes the metrics from the top …

Grassroots Resistance In The Sustainable City: Portland Harbor Superfund Site Contamination, Cleanup, And Collective Action, Erin Katherine Goodling

Dissertations and Theses

How does progressive change happen in so-called sustainable cities? In this dissertation, I present findings from a three year-long ethnographic investigation of grassroots organizing in Portland, Oregon, a city at the leading edge of the green urbanism movement. This research centered on an extended case study of the Portland Harbor Community Coalition (PHCC). PHCC is an alliance of grassroots groups working to ensure that cleanup of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site benefits those who have been most impacted by pollution. In this dissertation, I develop three main empirical findings. First, despite depoliticized (sustainability) discourse permeating the harbor cleanup planning process, …

Rural Interprofessional Health Care Education: A Study Of Student Perspectives, Curt Carlton Stilp

Dissertations and Theses

As the cost for health care delivery increases, so does the demand for access to care. However, individuals in a rural community often do not have access to the care they need. Shortages of rural health care professionals are an ever-increasing problem. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 sought to increase health care access by focusing on team-based care delivery. Thus, the need to educate health care students in the fundamentals of team-based practice has led to an increased emphasis on Interprofessional Education (IPE). While past research focused on urban IPE, a literature gap exists for the effects of a …

An Analysis Of Oregon Youth Authority Populations: Who Receives Treatment And What Factors Influence Allocation Of Treatment Resources?, Rebecca Arredondo Yazzie

Dissertations and Theses

Service provision in both adult and juvenile correctional settings is an understudied phenomenon. Research has evaluated the use of evidence-based practices (EBP) in the treatment of mental health and substance abuse among adults and juveniles. Young, Farrell, Henderson and Taxman (2009) highlight the role of organizational factors including climate and culture, opportunities for staff training, resources, administrator attitudes and interagency collaboration in the application of EBP in correctional settings. The Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) aims to provide services to youth under the guise of EBP. Literature in the field of juvenile justice is limited in scope in areas of organizational …

From Food To Food Justice: Pathways And Narratives Of Young Food Activists In New York City, Amy Kwan

Dissertations and Theses

With a rise in obesity and other non-communicable, diet-related health problems and the persistence of food insecurity among many vulnerable populations, the involvement of young people in the current, burgeoning food-justice movement has the potential to bring forth transformative changes to our food system and thus improve population health. While much is known about the outcomes of providing opportunities for young people to be actively and civically engaged in their communities, there is a lack of research on the pathways, narratives, and experiences that bring young people into food justice activism.

Through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 25 young food activists …

Transitional Healthcare Coordination In New York City Jails Among People With Chronic Health Conditions: Contributions To Reduced Reincarceration And Improved Health, Janet J. Wiersema

Dissertations and Theses

People in correctional settings often have poorer health than the general US population. For example, it is estimated that 27.9% of persons in jail have hypertension, 8.1% have diabetes, and 1.6% have HIV, compared to 25.6%, 6.5%, and 0.5%, respectively, in the general population. Jail and other correctional settings are also increasingly recognized as viable places to engage poor and underserved communities into the healthcare system by offering transitional care coordination services to connect people to healthcare and other services to meet priorities after incarceration. At the same time, recidivism is an issue—over 50% of persons in New York City …

Incorporating Place And Space: A Hierarchical Spatial Approach To Exploring Preventable Congestive Heart Failure Hospitalizations In New York City, Rachael Weiss Riley

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Faced with rising medical care costs, increasing prevalence, and widening health disparities, preventing congestive heart failure (CHF) hospitalizations is a central public health concern. Despite evidence of geographical clustering in preventable CHF admissions, there is a lack of research designed to examine spatial patterning of CHF and the local area neighborhood determinants that contribute to this variability. This study sought to assess and evaluate the importance of both space and place in analyzing preventable CHF hospitalizations and readmissions by applying appropriate statistical techniques, clarifying the assumption inherent in each method, and interpreting the findings within the context of existing …

The Role Of Socioeconomic Context In The Association Between Educational Attainment And Morbidity And Mortality, Jennifer Brite

Dissertations and Theses

Although the association between educational attainment and health is one of the most studied in the social science, little is known about the role of social and economic context. Fundamental Cause Theory suggests that the education-health gradient will be weakest in contexts where the better educated are unable to leverage their resources to achieve better health. This dissertation tests several different factors that may moderate the association between educational attainment and morbidity and mortality: 1. Demographic characteristics, including race, immigration status, and gender, 2. Status consistency (defined as education equivalent to that required for current occupation), 3. Unemployment rates at …

Wicked Water Problems: Can Network Governance Deliver? Integrated Water Management Case Studies From New Zealand And Oregon, Usa, Jacqueline Dingfelder

Dissertations and Theses

Integrated water management is a wicked public policy problem with no clear path to resolution. This dissertation is an in-depth qualitative comparative analysis of two collaborative governance processes created to tackle complex water problems in New Zealand and Oregon, U.S.A. Both cases convened a wide range of state and non-state actors in efforts to find common ground, build consensus for change, and develop innovative water policy solutions.

The goal of this comparative case study analysis is to gain a better understanding of collaborative network governance frameworks as applied to integrated water management and primary factors for success. The proposition posits …

Profiles Of School Readiness And Implications For Children's Development Of Academic, Social, And Engagement Skills, Elizabeth Jane Tremaine

Dissertations and Theses

Academic achievement gaps across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups are apparent as soon as children enter kindergarten: racial minorities, Hispanics, and poor children begin school at a distinct disadvantage compared to their White peers from middle- and high-income families (Chatterji, 2005; Fryer, Jr. & Levitt, 2004; Magnuson, Meyers, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2004; Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005; Reardon, 2011). To understand these gaps at kindergarten entry, it is essential that researchers understand the skills with which children enter kindergarten.

Previous research on school readiness has been limited by variable-centered methods that separate components of school readiness (e.g., early academic skills, social …

Survive Or Thrive: A Mixed Method Study Of Visiting Chinese Language Teachers' Identity Formation In The U.S. Classrooms, Li Xiang

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years in the United States, an increasing number of people are learning Mandarin, the dominant Chinese language in China. Because of the shortage of Mandarin teachers, many visiting teachers from China with Chinese educational background are teaching Mandarin in the U.S. schools. In the U.S. classrooms, these teachers are challenged to adapt to a new setting. This experience can lead them to changing their teaching identity, that is, their basic beliefs, attitudes and practices about teaching. Understanding how Chinese teachers may form a new teaching identity in the U.S. context serves to inform future professional development activities designed …

The Force Of Manhood: The Consequences Of Masculinity Threat On Police Officer Use Of Force, Aurelia Terese Alston

Dissertations and Theses

Positive community-police relations, which are based on mutual trust, are key to equitable and just policing. Use of force that is perceived as unfair and biased can quickly undermine relations between the police and the public. In an attempt to understand what psychological factors contribute to police use of force decisions and potentially racially biased use of force application, this study proposed masculinity threat as an important psychological factor that influences police behavior. Masculinity threat occurs when a man's status as a man is threatened, and threats to masculinity are often associated with increased aggression and dominance as a way …

A Study Of Shame-Proneness, Drinking Behaviors, And Workplace Role Ambiguity Among A Sample Of Student Workers, Sarah Nielsen Haverly

Dissertations and Theses

As many as 50% of full time students are employed for pay while enrolled in secondary education (Condition of Education; Planty et al., 2009). It is well documented that college is a vulnerable time for heavy drinking, and similarly, increased consumption among the workforce continues to rise. Student workers, who occupy both roles, therefore may be particularly at risk. The present research explored potential factors related to this stressful dual role experience, which was hypothesized to be related to increased alcohol consumption. One such factor proposed was the self-conscious emotion of shame. According to Hull's (1981) Self Awareness Model, individuals …

Food Access Narratives In Southeast Portland, Oregon, Gwyneth Genevieve Mckee Manser

Dissertations and Theses

Since the late 1990's, "food deserts" have dominated the academic and policy literature on food access and food security. Food deserts are defined as areas that lack easy access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food, and are typically measured using Geographic Information Systems and spatial data sets. However, while food deserts may provide a useful measure for identifying food insecurity at a broad scale, they fail to account for individual definitions and perceptions of food access (Barnes et al. 2015; McEntee 2009). Furthermore, the food desert model assumes a lack of agency on the part of low-income populations (Alkon et …

Contextualization: An Experimental Model For Efl Writing Instruction In China, Guimin Tang

Dissertations and Theses

Chinese students learning English as a foreign language seem to get good marks in tests, but are poor or limited in their ability to write in English. This dilemma of China's EFL writing instruction seems to be related to the decontextualized EFL writing practices. This study aims to examine how Chinese EFL college students respond to changes in their writing instruction that pays attention to the context of EFL teaching and learning. In this study, context refers to three levels: linguistic context, situational context and cultural context.

Using the mixed methods approach, I conducted the study by engaging 60 second-year …

Regulating Pavement Dwellers: The Politics Of The Visibly Poor In Public Space, Lauren Marie Larin

Dissertations and Theses

Many researchers argue the increasing reliance on sit/lie ordinances to regulate homeless people's use of public space is one in a suite of neoliberal policies that shape the geographies of public space in cities to serve the needs of global capital. However, these policies are developed at the local, not global, level as specific actors make claims in the public sphere that communicatively shape policy formation. Through comparative case study, this research asks, how do different actors, situated in specific local and global contexts, influence the adoption of sit/lie ordinances?

I examine two cases of policymaking in Portland and San …

Explaining Unequal Transportation Outcomes In A Gentrifying City: The Example Of Portland, Oregon, Eugenio Arriaga Cordero

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines unequal outcomes of urban transportation policies in the neoliberal era. It focuses on inequalities in the Portland, Oregon metro area between 1994 and 2011 as measured in three key areas: 1) access to public transit; 2) the journey-to-work; and 3) "household-serving" trips. Growing concern over the harmful impacts from an increasing dependence on cars has led planners in the U.S. to encourage a modal shift from private car to public transit, bicycling, and walking. The required policies to make this modal shift possible, however, might inadvertently be benefiting "choice" riders at the cost of transport disadvantaged groups. …

An Analytical System For Determining Disciplinary Vocabulary For Data-Driven Learning: An Example From Civil Engineering, Philippa Jean Otto

Dissertations and Theses

Data-driven learning (DDL), an inductive teaching approach in which students learn through corpus interaction, has gained recent traction as way to teach specialized vocabulary in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classes. There is little research, however, that addresses how to choose specialized vocabulary for teaching with DDL.

This study addressed this gap in research by exploring the potential of a three-part analytical, corpus-based system for determining vocabulary to teach with DDL for a specific context of language use. This system included (1) identifying words that were significantly more frequent in a specialized expert corpus than in a corpus of general …

Land Use Mix And Pedestrian Travel Behavior: Advancements In Conceptualization And Measurement, Steven Robert Gehrke

Dissertations and Theses

Smart growth policies have often emphasized the importance of land use mix as an intervention beholding of lasting urban planning and public health benefits. Past transportation-land use research has identified potential efficiency gains achieved by mixed-use neighborhoods and the subsequent shortening of trip lengths; whereas, public health research has accredited increased land use mixing as an effective policy for facilitating greater physical activity. However, despite the celebrated transportation, land use, and health benefits of improved land use mixing and the extent of topical attention, no consensus has been reached regarding the conceptualization and measurement of this key smart growth principle …

Lexical Bundles In Applied Linguistics And Literature Writing: A Comparison Of Intermediate English Learners And Professionals, Kathryn Marie Johnston

Dissertations and Theses

Lexical bundles (fixed sequences of three to four words) have been described as building blocks of discourse, both written and spoken (Biber & Barbieri, 2007), and as a useful mechanical device for creating writing that is suited for its academic field (Hyland, 2008). Having noticed that the academic theses of my students at Longdong University in Qingyang, China seemed very different from professional writing in their fields, I created a thesis project that addressed the question of how professionals in their fields were using bundles and how the learners' use of these bundles in terms of frequency, structure, and function …

Investigating The Relationship Between Supervisor Status And The Modus Operandi Of Juvenile Sexual Offenders: A Routine Activity Theory Perspective, Kelly E. Stewart

Dissertations and Theses

A significant proportion of child sexual abuse perpetration is committed by juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs), a subgroup of offenders whose patterns of offending, or "modus operandi," have been found to be markedly different compared to their adult counterparts (Kaufman et al., 1996; Kaufman et al., 1998). Many of these JSOs commit sexual abuse perpetration while acting as a babysitter, or a temporary supervisor to their victim. The present study investigates the routine activities of JSOs and their victims’ caregivers that are associated with the JSO being placed into a supervisory role. The study also investigates subgroup differences in the use …

Key To Success Of Offshore Outsourcing, Deep Patel

Dissertations and Theses

With the proliferating growth in technology and Innovation and the necessity to use new technology skills, outsourcing has become a notable trend in the IT industry. Characterized by USP's like cost-effectiveness and timeliness, outsourcing companies has surged tremendously in the last decade. However, amidst the entire buzz, outsourcing has contributed to some major failures at recent times (A & M, 2016). That has even made organizations to critically think before going forward with an off-shore outsourcing company. A substantial issue on organizational capability and on-time delivery has questioned the very foundation of its efficiency. This has now leaded to surface …

Teacher And Student Perceptions Of World Englishes (We) Pronunciations In Two Us Settings, Marie Arrieta

Dissertations and Theses

The present study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of two groups each of ESL teachers and students in the United States regarding World Englishes (WE) pronunciations before and after watching a video on WE accents. Data gathered via online surveys were analyzed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results show that the perceptions of the teachers in the study ranged from somewhat negative to mildly positive, both pre- and post-video, which is consistent with Brown's (1993) findings that teachers' perceptions changed little if at all after being briefly exposed to WE stimuli. The education of the teachers …

Effects Of Spatially Distributed Stream Power On Check Dam Function In Small Upland Watersheds: A Case Study Of The Upper Laja Watershed, Guanajuato, Mexico, Zachary Andrew Herzfeld

Dissertations and Theses

Watershed restoration comes in a variety of forms depending on which set of problems are sought to be remedied. Severe soil erosion, in the form of gullying and/or headcutting, can be mitigated through constructing check dams in well-selected locations. This practice has been used throughout the upland subwatersheds within the Upper Laja River watershed in Guanajuato, México. The present study employed Wolman pebble counts to systematically assess the effectiveness of 21 check dams located near the city of San Miguel de Allende. Particle size distributions taken directly downstream and upstream of each check dam were differentiated, aggregated and compared--with the …

Out In "The Numbers": Youth And Gang Violence Initiatives And Uneven Development In Portland's Periphery, Dirk Kinsey

Dissertations and Theses

Incidence of youth and gang violence in the Portland, Oregon metro area has increased dramatically over the past five years. This violence has recently become more spatially diffuse, shifting outwards from gentrified, inner city neighborhoods, towards the city's periphery. These incidents exist within the context of a shifting regional political economy, characterized by a process of gentrification associated displacement and growing, and distinctly racialized and spatialized, inequalities. While gang researchers have long argued a corollary between the emergence of gangs and economically and culturally polarized urban landscapes, the ongoing suburbanization of poverty in American cities suggests a new landscape of …