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Policy Solutions For Juvenile Cyber-Deviant Behaviors: Insights From Criminological Theory, Holly Verity Williams

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The aim of this thesis is to develop a deeper understanding of online deviance as a phenomenon among juveniles, both in terms of engagement and victimization, by applying Attachment Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Self-Control Theory. Throughout the literature, Attachment Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Self-Control Theory have been attributed as key criminological theories in the explanation of juvenile deviance offline, but little research has been applied to online deviance in this way. This thesis seeks to apply the same criminological theories to the phenomenon of online deviance among juveniles and compare outcomes to both online and offline deviance among …

An Examination Of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Healthcare Utilization, And Stigmatizing Language In Populations With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (Nas), Farah Tahsin

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Substance use disorder (SUD) during pregnancy, which includes opioid use disorder (OUD), has developed into a significant medical and social concern, as it can cause a range of complications for pregnant women, fetuses, and infants. One common condition resulting from OUD is neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a withdrawal syndrome experienced by infants after being exposed to opioids in the womb. NAS can cause visual physiological or neurodevelopmental complications or outcomes in newborns. Unfortunately, large-scale studies focusing on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with NAS are minimal. NAS consists of indications and symptoms that can also affect the autonomic nervous, gastrointestinal, …

Examining The Everyday Life Of Child Care Workers: How Low Wages And The Lack Of Benefits Affect Their Lives And Decisions About Employment, Amanda Megan Mcdougald Scott

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Child care workers’ wages have been an issue that has plagued the early childhood education field for over five decades. Although research exists on child care workers’ low wages, turnover rates, and lack of benefits, the details of daily life experiences from child care worker perspectives are scant. This study aims to add a lived experience perspective to the child care worker research, as well as provide stories which may be used as examples to inform policy change.

This qualitative Participatory Action Research entailed semi-structured interviews with 14 child care workers to investigate: (a) the everyday life of child care …

Barriers To The Adoption Of Green Building Materials And Technologies In Developing Countries: The Case Of Burkina Faso, Goulwendin Alexia Nikyema

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This research examines barriers to the adoption of green building materials and technologies in developing countries, using the case of Burkina Faso. Developing countries understand the need to incorporate sustainability as part of their national agenda; however, their ability to implement it is hampered by actual and/or perceived barriers. To gain insight on these barriers, this study solicited perceptions from various stakeholders from the design and construction field in Burkina Faso. The barriers explored in this research are grouped into the following five categories as defined in the literature: (1) government, (2) human, (3) knowledge and information, (4) market, and …

An Embedded Case Study Of The Proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Statute & The Proposed Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Statute, James Vines

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The purpose of this explanatory, embedded case study was to understand why the proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention statute and the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment statute did not passed. The data for the study was conducted through direct observations of congressional committee hearings, document analysis and open-ended interviews. The proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention statute addresses cyberbullying by imposing criminal sanctions. The proposed Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Statute seeks to provide federal grants to institutions of higher education to implement anti-harassment programs. The findings revealed that vague terminology, language dealing with LGBT people and sexual orientation as well …

The Least Restrictive Environment Clause Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act And Institutional Ableism: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Laura O'Laughlin

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This study focused on terms anchored in special education and associated stigma of disability in schools. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ensured the right to education in US public school systems for students with disabilities. An associated term asserted that children with disabilities must be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Yet, IDEA did not address the institutional or social stigma arising in the wake of labeling students as disabled. The stigma, a result of ableism, promotes a premise of normalcy and marginalizes students with disabilities. This study was a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the LRE clause. …

Essays On Attractiveness Of Multinational Corporations, Nikolay Anguelov

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This dissertation analyzes selected policies designed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) as a means of economic growth. The focus is on multinational corporations (MNCs) because most foreign direct investment is done by MNCs. The dissertation first shows the effects that the presence of MNCs has on economic growth before examining tradeoffs between direct costs (i.e., transportation and production costs) and policy factors in attracting MNC FDI.
Essays 1, 'Multinational Corporations and Their Effect on Gross Domestic Product' and 2, 'Competing for Innovation: The Economics of Knowledge Acquisition' examine how FDI in combination with socioeconomic, economic, and policy factors affect …

Agritourism As A Viable Strategy For Economic Diversification: A Case Study Analysis Of Policy Options For The Bahamas, Erecia Hepburn

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This research examines the prospects for developing an economic diversification policy for The Bahamas, utilizing agritourism. The Bahamas is plagued with the dominance of one traditional sector, tourism combined with the lack of economic innovation and the inability to maintain domestic demand for food security, which has the potential for economic crisis if there are any serious 'external shocks' or setbacks in mainstream tourism. Such a possible drop in tourism is most evident from experiences in 2001 with the Straw Market fire of Sept 4th, and the terrorist attacks in America on September 11th, coupled with the escalating cost of …

The Relevance Of Offsetting Policy Effects: Covert Distributive Politics In The Conservation Reserve Program , Robert Carey

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The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), as initially authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985, operated by removing land from agricultural production in order to generate environmental benefits, primarily erosion reduction. Policy, however, often generates unintended consequences. One potential unintended consequence in the CRP is slippage; if the upward pressure that the idling of cropland exerts on commodity prices results in the activation of new land, behavior that may partly offset the program's environmental benefits, then price-feedback slippage is said to have occurred. Examination of county-level wheat production data for the United States during the years 1980 to 1993 utilizes …