Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Vaccines At The Intersection Of Religion And Politics, Charles Downey

Master's Theses

Vaccine hesitancy – a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite their availability – is a rising threat to global health and has increased in recent years in higher income countries. This is a complex phenomenon with the potential to undo decades of progress toward eradicating communicable diseases. The recent COVID-19 pandemic introduced a new wave of vaccine hesitancy, with evangelical Christians as leading actors in the movement away from vaccines in the United States. The present study investigated factors related to vaccine hesitancy and sources of health-related information among members of evangelical Christian churches in and around Hattiesburg, …

Impact Of Temperature On Children’S Nutrition: A Comparative Study Of Three Ecological Regions Of Nepal, Prakriti Shakya

Master's Theses

Nutrition obtained during the growth period of childhood significantly influences long-term well-being and overall productivity, ultimately contributing to the economy of a society. However, weather shocks can wreak havoc by damaging crops, changing yields of important crops and disrupting market access, which directly impacts the food intake of both adults and children. When these adverse events occur during childhood, short term and long term inadequacy in nutrition as well as disease incidence can cause malnutrition leading to stunted growth and cognitive impairment that may persist into adulthood, affecting the labor market and increasing health expenditure. To address this issue, we …

The Impact Of Female Political Leadership On Intimate Partner Violence In India, Khushboo Patel

Master's Theses

Abstract:

This study employs an instrumental variable approach to examine the impact of female political leadership on women’s experiences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). It finds that in rural areas with more female leaders, incidents of sexual and psychological IPV increase. The analysis investigates the drivers behind this impact, revealing that entrenched gender norms and expectations, such as a husband’s preference for more sons, may exacerbate IPV. Additionally, despite the increase in female leaders, attitudes toward violence remain largely unchanged. These findings highlight the need for research and policy initiatives that not only encourage female political participation but also specifically …

Matrilineal Ethnic Affiliation And Female Empowerment: Investigating Attitudes Towards Female Autonomy And Health In Ivorian Households, Martine Hind Stølan

Master's Theses

Kinship structure is a fundamental aspect of anthropology, however, there is still a gap in literature on its impact on economic research, particularly regarding female autonomy and health. This study aims to address this gap by examining the influence of matrilineal ethnic affiliation on attitudes towards female autonomy and health within Ivorian households. Using data from the 2011 IPUMS Demographic and Health Survey for the Ivory Coast, using female responses, this study investigates the complex dynamics shaping attitudes towards female autonomy and access to health care. Analysis on these aspects is done using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic estimations. …

Does Appearance Matter? The Relationship Of Perceived Body Size And Physical Appearance On Students' Attraction To Physical Activity At Recess, Danielle Belcher

Master's Theses

Drastic declines in recess physical activity (PA) have been observed within recent years (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2017). Due to recess’ discretionary nature, psychosocial variables associated with PA are predictors of students’ PA levels. Recess is also a time of heightened bullying occurrences (Vaillancourt et al., 2010). Appearance-based bullying is the most common type of victimization that occurs in schools, transpiring more often in children with larger body max indexes (BMI), and possibly altering students’ physical self-perceptions. Physical self-perceptions have been shown to impact PA motivation, however, it is still unknown the extent to which appearance-based bullying, body size, …