Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On Farmer Willingness To Participate In Best Management Practices In The Kentucky River Watershed, Hua Zhong

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation explores the adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the Kentucky River watershed. Through a survey of farmers in the Kentucky River watershed, chapter two investigates farmers’ current BMP adoption and their willingness to engage in additional adoption incentivized through a proposed Water Quality Trading (WQT) program. This chapter includes two parts: the first part is to investigate the factors influencing farmers’ current usage of BMPs; the second part is to estimate farmers’ willingness to implement BMPs given different levels of compensation specified in the survey. Farmers’ experiences about BMPs are more likely to persuade them to adopt …

Determinants Of An Individual's Suicide Intention In South Korea, Nam Keun Choi

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study has examined a variety of variables that influence an individual’ s suicide intention, and analyzed the impact of these variables. The data are from the 2014 wave of the Korea Welfare Panel Survey (KoWePS). I analyze data on 13,687 out of 17,134 survey participants.

The dependent variable of my study is suicide intention such as suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The independent variables are classified into three categories: socio-demographic, psychological and mental health. Socio-demographic variables are gender, age, education, marital status, and income. Psychological variables are self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and religion. Mental health variables are depression, alcohol use, …

A Study Of The Effects Of County Characteristics On College Enrollment, Patrick La Mar

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

For the past 100 years, policy analysts studied college enrollment at the individual level. Yet little research has been performed on whether the surrounding community characteristics contribute to enrollment rates. This is in part due to seeing college attendance as an individual choice whereas K-12 enrollment is typically predetermined by place of residence. However, this ignores the potential impact economic and social characteristics a community has on students while growing up. This paper attempts to add to the literature by testing county level variables with a panel regression with high school fixed effects.

The results show higher averages of KEES …

Factors Associated With Intervention By Bystanders In Sexual Violence Crimes, Kathy Chang Liu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kitty Genovese’s case in 1964 remains the classic example in discussions of bystander intervention. In recent years, people heard similar cases where bystanders act indifferently or are slow to report the crime. This made me ask the research question of this Capstone: What factors are associated with intervention by bystanders?

The data set I used here is the incident data file from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data, which covers the years 1992-2013. I pulled out 11 explanatory variables including victim characteristics, offender characteristics, and external/environmental factors. I used a regression model with robust standard errors to examine the …

Financial Implications Of The Medicaid Expansion For Academic Medical Centers, Madeleine Oritt

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), with the goal of reforming the United States health care system and providing insurance for millions of uninsured citizens and residents. One component of the legislation was the expansion of Medicaid eligibility, which would extend to include all individuals “under age 65 whose family income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty guidelines ($14,484 for an individual and $29,726 for a family of four in 2011)” (NCSL, 2015). This provision was challenged in the United States Supreme Court, which ruled …

The Effects Of Uncertainty On Local Government Budgeting: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Kentucky Counties' Responses To Budgetary Uncertainty, Alyshia Powell

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Congress must pass twelve separate appropriations spending bills by October 1st to enact the annual federal budget. Since 1974, Congress has only passed the federal budget by the beginning of the fiscal year four times (Draper and Pitsvada 1984). Continuing resolutions are utilized to help fill the gap until Congress and the President can agree upon a budget, but they often come with delays in funding of federal programs. Because the appropriations process also funds many state and local revenue sources, any delays or cuts caused by a continuing resolution can have significant effects on their budgeting processes as well. …

Determinants Of Student Engagement In Undergraduate Research At The University Of Kentucky, Tricia Coakley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

No executive summary.

The Impact Of Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (Bos) Program: School Operational Assistance To The Household Expenditures In Education: A Case Study Of Indonesia, Anton Abdul Fatah

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (BOS) Program was launched in 2005 as a grant directly from the government to each school’s bank account based on the number of the students. The main goal of BOS is to cover school tuition in the public schools, lighten operational expenses in the private schools, and to provide free education for poor students, both in public and private schools. Since the BOS Program has been implemented nationally and the funding is granted based on the number of students, this study hypothesizes that the BOS Program will have an impact on the household expenditure in education. …

Is There A Trade-Off? Infant Health Outcomes And Managed Care Competition, Shana L. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This study offers insights into the impact of competition among Managed Care organizations (MCOs) on infant birthing charges and birth outcomes. Kentucky provides one of the nation’s first case studies to determine successes and failures of Medicaid MCOs, and by doing so, provides a prediction of the impact of Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) competition on healthcare costs and birth outcomes. An analysis of a natural policy experiment in the state of Kentucky reveals that infants insured by a Medicaid MCO stay longer in hospitals, are less healthy, and cost more than those insured under Traditional Medicaid prior to …

Conduit Bond Financing Of Local Governments—Perspective From The U.S. And China, Zihe Guo

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

As an alternative way to issue bonds, conduit financing has been widely used by local governments and nonprofit organizations. Conduit financing allows one entity to issue debt on behalf of single or multiple borrowers. In the state of California in the U.S., a local agency is allowed to issue municipal bonds in compliance with law, but can also borrow through a joint powers agency (JPA). In this case, the JPA serves as a conduit. Conduit financing is preferred by local agencies in certain circumstances because it is more convenient or fixed issuance costs can be split between several conduit borrowers …

Web Of Ties: The Effect Of Relationship Ties On Government Funding For Nonprofit Organizations, Anthony Heath Rico

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Chapter 1 raises the research question guiding this study. Do relationships that board members of nonprofits have to officials in other agencies affect the likelihood of acquiring grants? The objective of this study was to examine the role that relationship ties played in the nonprofit sector’s ability to receive grants.

Chapter 2 ties the research agenda to existing research. Nonprofit organizational and financial behavior was explained in terms of resource dependence. Since nonprofit organizations face uncertainty in resource allocation, the behavior of the organization and the board members change in reaction to uncertainty. The relationships that board members possess serve …

Across The States: Do Long Term Services & Supports Policies Affect The Number Of Nursing Home Residents With Low-Care Needs?, Mary Otis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Long term care for the elderly has been steadily gaining salience in the public policy realm for many years. The federal government has been vigorously studying and exploring solutions, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) efforts to expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) in order to reduce dependence on institutional care. These federal efforts include various incentive programs and policies recently offered under the Affordable Care Act. However, data on the strength of each state’s long term services and supports system has not been easily accessible until recently. The report “Raising Expectations: A State Scorecard …

Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes For Hispanic Consumers In Traditional Settlement Areas And New Immigrant Destinations: A 17-Year Trend Analysis, Karen E. Waddle Cinnamond

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

At the end of the 20^th century, economic and political forces converged to create an unprecedented migration of Hispanics across and within U.S. borders. Many migrated for work in new destinations like the Southeast instead of traditional regions in the Southwest. In the Southeast many communities struggled to meet the economic and social needs of its newest members of a population that grew seemingly overnight.

The state-federal vocational rehabilitation system is an important service to meet the economic and social needs of people with disabilities that impair their ability to work. Current scholarship suggests Hispanics and other minorities experience …

Northside, Jesse L. Houk

Theses and Dissertations--English

The Northside of Lexington, Kentucky is an area with its own culture, community and art. While living in this community I was able to learn, grow and develop alongside this newly renovated area. The people and their lives intersect in such a way that creates a tension at times. However, many social awareness advocates vie for the success of this neighborhood for many years to come. The objective of studying such an area as the Northside in Lexington is to focus on the similarites rather than the differences in culture, community and artistic endeavor. With a collection of essays and …

Construction And Validation Of A Holistic Education School Evaluation Tool Using Montessori Erdkinder Principles, Anthony Philip Setari

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The purpose of this study was to construct a holistic education school evaluation tool using Montessori Erdkinder principles, and begin the validation process of examining the proposed tool. This study addresses a vital need in the holistic education community for a school evaluation tool. The tool construction process included using Erdkinder literature to justify the development of each item through the use of an item matrix, ultimately leading to the development of the 23 item formative Montessori Erdkinder School Evaluation Survey. The validation process included a series of three Rasch Rating Scale Model analyses with data from a sample school. …

Examining The Strain-Crime Relationship Among African American Women: An Empirical Test Of Agnew's General Strain Theory, Nathan Lowe

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Agnew’s (1992; 2006) general strain theory (GST) has become one of the foremost theories to explain crime in contemporary criminology. While it has undergone several empirical tests over the years, there remain many understudied aspects of the theory. The current study addresses some of these aspects by longitudinally exploring the relationship between multiple types of strain and drug and non-drug crime among a sample of African American women.

Data for this study were collected as part of a larger study on how drug use and criminality are related to health disparities, particularly HIV, and service utilization among African American drug-using …

Does The Mentors & Meals After School Program Have An Effect On Student Grades?, Lisa Caswell Johnson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

While technology continues to progress and the United States continues to be considered one of the most privately wealthy nations in the world, the education gap for African American and Hispanic students continues to be a concern for teachers, school administrators, state and local politicians, and all who study public education policy. School districts persistently look for ways to improve student achievement in traditional as well as non-traditional ways, while aligning with state and local education goals and staying within budget.

This study examines a new mentoring model for middle school students. The program, Mentors & Meals (M&Ms), was the …

The Impact Of Increased Cigarette Prices On Cigarette Consumption, Bohyun Yoo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The objective of this study examines whether the way to raise cigarette prices drastically and discontinuously is effective in reducing cigarette consumption. We use monthly data for cigarette consumption to measure the price elasticity of cigarettes’ demand and adopt real cigarette prices, real individual income, education level, and unemployment rate as independent variables. We consider how consumers adjust their consumption practices in response to the increased prices. After examining the result of regression, we conclude that cigarette real price has a significant association with the reduction in cigarette consumption. If we divide the last twelve years into periods when prices …

An Implementation Analysis Of Needle Exchange Programs In Kentucky: Implementation Barriers And Facilitators Identified By Stakeholders, Samantha Jane Harris

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky law authorizes county health departments to implement harm reduction needle exchange programs given that the county receives approval from all governing authorities including the local and/or district boards of health, the county government, and the city government in the jurisdiction in which the exchange is intended to operate. As of April 2016, five county health departments operate needle exchange programs and around 20 other county health departments are seeking approval from their governing authorities or beginning to discuss engaging in this process.

I conducted qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in the implementation process to determine the facilitators and barriers …

In Search Of "Real" Migrants: The Effects Of County Level Factors On Enrollment In The Migrant Education Program In Kentucky, Thomas Hatton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Migrant laborers and their families have historically faced, and continue to face, major barriers in their education. The migrant population is, according to Dr. Michael Romanowski, “the most undereducated major subgroup in the United States” (Romanowski, 2003). The lack of educational attainment among migrant families can be attributed to numerous factors: above all, the disruptive migratory lifestyle of seasonal agricultural workers (Rosenthal & Banz-Spall, 2003), but also to socioeconomic burdens, mental and physical health issues, and more recently, linguistic and cultural barriers.

The Migrant Education Program is a supplemental federal program that was created under Title 1 Part C of …

Perspectives On The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee: A Survey Of State Air Agencies, Cassandra Yannelli

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) was created in 1977 under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The role of CASAC is to provide technical and scientific advice to the EPA Administrator on National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), required under the CAA. The standards themselves and the science upon which the standards are established for the six “criteria” pollutants included in the NAAQS are reviewed periodically by CASAC. The committee also exists to bridge new research developments to current environmental requirements.

Section 109(d) of the CAA requires the chartered CASAC to …

From Bail Bondsmen To Risk Assessments: Assessing Kentucky's Pretrial Release Approaches, Ismaila Ceesay

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

As one of only four states that ban bail bond companies, Kentucky is an experiment in the “laboratory of democracy,” which is made even more interesting because the state has tried three different approaches to pretrial release—the Pre-1976 approach, the 1976 to 2011 approach, and the 2011 to present approach. An assessment of these approaches show s how state actions and inaction can affect the right to pretrial release and underscores the importance of adopting appropriate state pretrial release policies.

Housing Satisfaction In South Korea, Yoo Gunseuk

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since April 2013, the Korean government has implemented a series of plans to stabilize the housing market, which has suffered from falling housing prices and surging rent after the 2008 financial crisis. This study estimates the effectiveness of the government's plans by analyzing the housing satisfaction of 2012 and 2014 Korea Housing Survey (KHS). The data used in this study are collected from the KHS carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT)

This study uses 2012 and 2014 KHS to show that some variables and subcategories of household and housing attributes have positive or negative correlation …

American Obesity: Rooted In Uncertainty, Institutions And Public Policy, James Woodward

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Despite the efforts of policymakers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders, obesity and related health problems show no signs of receding from their record-high rates. Public policy has largely taken the form of consumer advice, (e.g., USDA’s Dietary Guidelines). Since consumers bear most of the costs associated with their obesity, the goal of obesity prevention appears to be incentive-compatible, prima facie. That is, there is no a priori case for much further policy intervention unless existing advice is deficient or consumers’ exhibit systematically poor decision-making.

My review of the literature shows that scholars have long conveyed a consistent narrative regarding …

Applying A Positive Theory Of Organizations: A Closer Examination Of State Environmental Protection Agencies, Emily Bedwell

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Why do American states organize as they do for environmental protection? According to Moe (1990), “a positive theory of organizations has two goals: 1) explain where institutions come from and why they take the forms they do, and 2) understand their effects for political and social behavior.” This paper will examine Moe’s question in terms of state environmental agencies: What influences state adoption of a comprehensive environmental structure? To address this question, I develop a theory of state adoption of organizational structure drawing on organizational theories of public organizations. The latest comprehensive examination of state agency structure in the literature …

Competitive Food Policy Implementation In Kentucky Schools, Paula Gisler

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

This study was designed to explore the literature on competitive food policy implementation (CFPI); examines demographic and school factors associated with CFPI; and explores the experiences of school leaders and staff in CFPI using a proposed theoretical framework to guide the research. Competitive foods are those sold in vending machines, a la carte settings, fundraisers, class parties and other venues which compete with foods offered through the national school lunch and breakfast programs. Competitive foods have traditionally been of low nutritional value and high energy density. CFPI may be effective in reducing student calorie intake and BMI. However, evaluation of …

A Review Of University Responses To Informal Queries And Open Records Requests For Aggregate Hiring-Related Data, Sheila Brothers

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Open records (OR) laws ensure that members of the public, including public managers, directors of nonprofit organizations, and individual citizens, have access to the records created by public agencies. Local government and state government agencies are generally recognized to be subject to OR laws, but so are Kentucky’s public universities. The author created a survey to review the responses to both an informal query and a formal open records request made of Kentucky’s eight public, four-year universities (Eastern Kentucky University; Kentucky State University; Morehead State University; Murray State University; Northern Kentucky University; University of Kentucky; University of Louisville; and Western …

Effect Of Mass Media On Family Planning Choices In Indonesia, Beta Ardiansyah

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Realizing the necessity of family planning, the Indonesian government started family planning programs in the late 1960s, long before the global Program of Action from the International Conference of Population (ICPD) in 1994.

Many studies have tried to draw plausible explanations for the prevalence of family planning focused mainly on socio-economic factors but few studies have approached the issue from the perspective of mass media influence as the variable of interest. This study attempts to fill this gap created by the lack of empirical evidence about mass media effects of family planning choices by examining the contraceptive behavior of Indonesian …

Fitting Square Pegs Into Round Holes: Atlantic Coast Conference Member Institutional Responses To Ncaa Sanctions, 1986-2016, Matt Arant

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The current state of college athletics is a popular debate topic among many Americans. Matters of athlete compensation and how large-scale commercialization has undermined traditional notions of academic integrity and genuine amateurism are the most common topics covered, but I decided to shift the conversation from the NCAA as a whole to the individual institutions and conferences that grapple with the same issues. Using the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) from 1986-2016 as a sample, I wanted to both comprehend how specific institutions respond to NCAA sanctions and the way the conference treats previously non-compliant programs when it undergoes expansion efforts. …

The Effect Of Per Capita Income On Broadband Access, Austin Coleman

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The purpose of this inquiry is to determine the effect of income and ruralness on broadband access. This is relevant because of the economic effects of broadband access, which are not evenly distributed. The primary method of analysis employed was a multivariate regression model incorporating variables measuring broadband access, per-capita income, ruralness, race, and state-level effects. I found that income and ruralness were both significant, and that every $10,000 of per-capita income is associated with a change in broadband access rates of approximately 9%. The results also showed large, significant state-level effects that can be attributed to a combination of …