Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of The Islamophobic Experiences Of The Female Convert And Immigrant Muslims In America, Aliaa Dawoud

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study compares the Islamophobic experiences of female converts and immigrants in America. It is based on interviews with a total of thirteen women, six Muslim born ones and seven converts. Both groups included hijabis and non-hijabis. Unlike most other studies, in which the converts are mostly or exclusively converts from Christianity, two of the interviewees were converts from Judaism while another one was a convert from a Christian/Buddhist/atheist background.

This study argues that Islamophobia is primarily manifested in the form of pervasive everyday racism that is levied at both female converts and immigrants alike, largely in the form of …

Essays In Applied Microeconomics, Ege Aksu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of two chapters that investigate the effect of public health policies on health outcomes.

The first chapter evaluates the impact of the extensive health care reforms enacted between 2003–2013 under the Health Transformation Program (HTP) in Turkey on maternal and infant health outcomes for the poor. By focusing on a specific insurance program (Green Card) expansion that was a part of HTP, I explore changes in infant survival, fertility, and children’s vaccination status. Before 2004, all public health insurance beneficiaries (the control group) were covered for outpatient services, including prenatal and postnatal doctor visits, gestational diabetes screenings, …

Chipping The Blue Wall: The Effect Of Dogs On Police Officer Receptivity To An Employee Assistance Program, Kenneth M. Quick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is substantial evidence that demonstrates the negative impact of stress on police officer mental health is increasing due in large part to perceived societal shifts in support for the police and trends in criminal justice reform efforts. While employee assistance programs (EAP) are the dominant mechanism for police agencies to address officer mental health, officers are reluctant to use them due to a combination of mental health stigma and organizational distrust. This dissertation studied police officer perceptions of an employee assistance program (EAP) and the effect of exposure to professionally trained dogs during an outreach session on indicators of …

Strengthening U.S. Jail Systems’ Response To Infectious Diseases: An Evaluation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erinn Bacchus

Dissertations and Theses

Jails across the United States were struck with increased infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown the structural make up of jails, lack of preparedness plans, and overcrowding contributed to health risks and poor health outcomes both inside jails and local communities. Yet little research has been dedicated to strengthening jail responses to infectious disease outbreaks spanning prevention measures, data collection, and reentry planning. Gaps include information on the (1) myriad infectious disease mitigation strategies used in jails and adherence to CDC prevention guidelines, (2) development of a standardized epidemiologic surveillance system, and (3) experiences working at …

Examining Book Banning Trends In The U.S., Amanda D. Filchock

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project is a web application for users to explore book banning trends across the United States. It is intended to serve as a resource for students, parents, educators, librarians, and authors who are interested in understanding the ways that book banning attempts have changed between 2021-2023 in the United States. These audiences will be able to interact with data visualizations to inform their own research and deepen their understanding of this current topic. Interactive features include: the ability to search by the title or author of a book to learn where, when, why, and by whom the book …

Evaluating Climate Sentiment In Sec 10-K Filings: S&P 50 Companies, Ruby Chu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Evaluating Climate Sentiment in SEC 10-K Filings: S&P 50 Companies investigates how climate sentiment is portrayed in corporate financial reporting, focusing on SEC 10-K filings from leading S&P 50 companies. These filings offer detailed insights into financial performance, risks, and management discussions, providing a rich dataset for analyzing corporate behaviors with sustainability and environmental concerns. This study aims to shed light on the extent to which companies address environmental issues and the implications for environmental stewardship by analyzing how these topics are portrayed in their SEC 10-K filings. Drawing inspiration from established greenwashing indicator frameworks, the study develops a climate …

An Antisemitism Academia Crisis: Communication Failure On Three Ivy League College Campuses, Rickardo W. Shuzzr

Student Theses and Dissertations

The issue of Antisemitism on college campuses in the United States has gained significant attention following the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th, 2023. This discriminatory behavior, hate speech versus free speech, and academia's role in the geopolitical climate have sparked protests and raised questions about the responsibility of universities today. It has even led to high-profile presidents from institutions such as Harvard, MIT, and UPenn being called to testify before a congressional oversight committee. These university presidents and others have been the subject of ongoing flak in the public sphere. As a result, there have been …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Normative Orientations To Housing Activism And The Uneven Path To Nonprofitization In New York City, 1964–1989, Andrew Wilkes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What are the distinct contributions of normative orientations (including theological and ideological ones) in the public policy process? While the literature on policy formation in the past three decades has embraced at least some idea that ideology matters, little has focused on whether the content of their specific normative orientations leads groups to contribute to, and engage in, a policy process differently. By examining Paul Sabatier’s advocacy coalition framework in conversation with Rev. Dr. Gayraud Wilmore’s tripartite, theoethical framework of liberation, elevation, and survival, this dissertation contends that the normative commitments of advocacy stakeholders within New York City’s tenant movement …

Budget Capping Health Care: Its Impact On Health, Susan Chen

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of a budget cap on healthcare is to constrain total healthcare expenditure without compromising quality. This paper examines the impacts of budget capping on health and behavioral health outcomes, exploiting the completed Maryland All-Payer Model and the ongoing, extensional Maryland Total Cost of Care model, both of which capped healthcare budgets in Maryland. I use data from 2011-2021 surveys of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system and generalized difference-in-difference regression models to find that budget capping improves health and behavioral health outcomes with a greater favorable effect during the Maryland Total Cost of Care model.