Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Association Of Skin Cancer Prevention Knowledge, Sun-Protective Attitudes, And Sun-Protective Behaviors In A Navy Population, Rachel Newnam, Uyen Le-Jenkins, Carolyn Rutledge, Craig Cunningham

Nursing Faculty Publications

Introduction: U.S. Navy service members are primarily between the ages of 18 and 30 years and often required to be outside for extended periods of time in geographical locations with increased and often unfamiliar ultraviolet indexes that collectively increase their risk for skin cancer. Skin cancer is the country's most common form of cancer, yet there is a paucity of skin cancer prevention literature, especially within the U.S. Navy. The purpose of this study was to describe skin cancer risk and skin cancer prevention "cues-to-action" and to determine if skin cancer prevention knowledge was associated with sun-protective attitudes (e.g., prevention …

Investigating Public Support For Biosecurity Measures To Mitigate Pathogen Transmission Through The Herpetological Trade, Elizabeth F. Pienaar, Diane J. Episcopio-Sturgeon, Zachary T. Steele

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The expanding global trade in herpetofauna has contributed to new infectious disease dynamics and pathways that allow for the rapid spread of pathogens geographically. Improved biosecurity is needed to mitigate adverse biodiversity, economic and human health impacts associated with pathogen transmission through the herpetological trade. However, general lack of knowledge of the pathogen transmission risks associated with the global trade in herpetofauna and public opposition to biosecurity measures are critical obstacles to successfully preventing pathogen transmission. In 2019 we administered a survey to 2,007 members of the public in the United States of America to ascertain their support for interventions …

The Poverty In Usa: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Last Two Decades, Sara Negri

Economics Theses & Dissertations

Poverty is a global problem that affects not only the undeveloped states but also the most developed ones. This research paper will analyze this problem in depth, trying to summarize several definitions, several causes that can lead to an increase in the poverty rate, and policies implemented by the government in order to reduce the total number of poor people. The author analyzed the poverty rate in each state of the United States from 1990 to 2019 using a panel data analysis. She found out that California is the state with the highest value of poor people in the U.S. …

Corruption May Worsen In Democratizing Economies: But Don't Let It Erode Our Faith In Democracy, Shaomin Li, Ilan Alon, Jun Wu

Management Faculty Publications

This commentary is based on a recent study we conducted on the relationship between regime type, corruption, and economic development. We build a theory that links corruption and regime type to economic growth and test it on 158 countries, using multiple databases including Polity IV, transparency international, the World Bank, and others. We first distinguish three regime types, autocracy (dictatorship), anocracy (countries in early stage of democratization), and mature democracy. We found that when autocratic countries begin democratize, corruption usually gets worse. As the infant democracies mature, corruption decreases.

Medicaid Expansion In The United States: A State Comparative Study Examining Factors That Influence State Decision Making, Tiffany J. Henley

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and a Supreme Court ruling that the federal government cannot compel states to expand Medicaid, a policy window has opened for states to change Medicaid policy. States are now faced with the option to expand Medicaid. Although the literature on Medicaid expansion indicates that politics plays a determining role on states’ decisions on Medicaid expansion, comprehensive analyses of dominant factors that affect these decisions on Medicaid is lacking in the field of Medicaid policy. This study will explore the decision making process of state level policies and the …

Armed Humanitarian Intervention: The Role Of Powerful Leaders In Framing And The National Security Decision Making Process, John Marshall Callahan

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This study identifies and analyzes the decision making and framing processes for selected cases of armed humanitarian intervention by the United States in the post-Cold War Era. It fills a gap in the literature on decision making, focusing on the role of the powerful individual leader in national security decision making and the framing of interventions to the U.S. public and other stakeholder audiences. An examination of extant literature on the subject of U.S. foreign policy decision making, and development and implementation of framing strategies is used to determine the role of the individual leader in those processes using three …

U.S. Military Aid And The Role Of Foreign Armies In Civil Politics, Jennifer Jones Cunningham

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The recent expansion of the Egyptian military's role in civil politics has led to uncertainty regarding the relationship between U.S. military aid and democratization. However, studies focusing on the link between foreign aid and democratization often exclude military aid from their analyses. This omission is particularly problematic given that civilian control over the military is a vital precondition for democratic consolidation, and a high percentage of U.S. military aid recipients are not yet consolidated democracies. Proponents of military aid point to the role security cooperation can play in diffusing democratic norms of professionalism. Critics worry military aid strengthens an institution …

Explaining Nuclear Energy Pursuance: A Comparison Of The United States, Germany, And Japan, Lauren Emily Mckee

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Energy is critical to the functioning of the global economy and seriously impacts global security as well. What factors influence the extent to which countries will pursue nuclear energy in their overall mix of energy approaches? This dissertation explores this critical question by analyzing the nuclear energy policies of the United States, Germany and Japan. Rather than citizen opposition or proximity to nuclear disasters, it seems that a country's access to other resources through natural endowments or trading relationships offers the best explanation for nuclear energy pursuance.

The Crisis In State Highway Finances: Its Roots, Current Effects, And Some Possible Remedies, Juita-Elena Yusuf, Lenahan O'Connell

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This paper focuses on the American states and the sources of the expanding structural imbalance between their highway-related revenues on the one hand and expenditures for transportation infrastructure needs on the other. The paper describes the roots of the funding problem over recent decades, looks at some of the responses taken at the state and federal level, and discusses their inherent limitations as solutions to this funding crisis. The paper also presents several policy recommendations for increasing revenues. We demonstrate that a variable rate gas tax indexed to the construction cost index and improvements in automobile fuel efficiency and a …

The 2002 National Security Strategy: The Foundation Of A Doctrine Of Preemption, Prevention, Or Anticipatory Action, Troy Lorenzo Ewing

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, initiated a strategic shift in American national security policy. For the United States, terrorism was no longer a distant phenomenon visited upon faraway regions; it had come to America with stark brutality.1 Consequently, the administration of President George W. Bush sought to advance a security strategy to counter the proliferating threat of terrorism.

The ensuing 2002 National Security Strategy articulated the willingness of the United States to oppose terrorists, and rogue nation-states by merging the strategies of "preemptive" and "preventive" warfare into an unprecedented strategy of "anticipatory action," known as the Doctrine of …

The Visport Project: Visualization Of Port Logistics, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Ginger S. Watson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article focuses on the introduction of Visualization in Port Logistics (VisPort) web-based tool project for the visualization of port careers and logistics in the U.S. It outlines the educational objectives of the project including the virtual reality experience associated with port operation, the multimedia environment for the learning of students, and the simulation of port logistics. It mentions that the scientific and technical visualization curriculum offered to students enhances the skills related to scientific and mathematical concepts as well as the experience on graphic techniques.

Personal Responsibility Versus Government Responsibility Welfare Attitudes Post-1996, Emily C. Ing

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The welfare system in the United States underwent a major overhaul in 1996, transforming Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Since then, there has been little research conducted on attitudes toward welfare. This is still a topic worth investigating, as poverty and homelessness remain a problem in the United States.

This thesis hypothesized that attitudes about welfare would vary according to an individual's commitment to individualism, a hegemonic value in the United States. This thesis also hypothesized that welfare attitudes would vary according to an individual's education, gender, marital status, race, and …

Unhealthy Politics Of Oral Health, Michele Leonardi Darby

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Editorial. Comments that a survey conducted by national advocacy group Oral Health America found that people from the U.S. are underachievers in access to dental hygiene. Measurement of success in oral health care; Proposal to implement dental hygiene practice laws; Shortage of dentists in rural and inner city communities.

Grade Retention: A History Of Failure, William A. Owings, Susan Magliaro

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Although almost 50 years of research has shown that grade-level retention affords no academic advantages to students, this practice is gaining increasing attention as schools face political pressure to be accountable for student achievement. The negative effect that retention has on children is ignored in favor of an overly simplistic view of it as a panacea for education woes. In an attempt to better meet student needs, educators historically have seen retention as a way to reduce skill variance in the classroom. However, this practice has not achieved its objective. An at-risk population is cognitively and affectively harmed by retention. …

The Implementation Of The Reagan Administration's Counterterrorist Policy, Howard Lawrence Steinberg

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the implementation of President Ronald Reagan's active counterterrorist policy. The paper attempts to determine why the stated policy of "swift and effective retribution" was not carried out. This paper concentrates on the discrepancies between the numerous statements advocating retaliation made by Reagan and his top officials and the failure of these officials to administer the necessary orders for such retaliatory policies. This research indicated numerous causes, although the primary cause is attributed to the divergent opinions of the reticent Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and the more retributive views of the two successive Secretaries of State, Alexander …

Inter-American Indemnity: Internal Security And The Mutual Security Program For Latin America (1951-1961), Robert George Baker

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the purpose of U.S. military aid in the American Republics from 1951 through 1961 and proves that concern for internal security became dominant during that period. At first military aid supported hemispheric defense against communist aggression, which Washington orchestrated through mutual defense agreements, but by 1953 maintenance of internal security emerged as the major aim of aid to several Central American nations. In 1956 the National Security Council determined that internal security was a vital goal of the military aid program for Latin America. The ascendance of internal security concerns is described and analyzed in three parts: …