Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Self-Reported Consumption Of Bottled Water V. Tap Water In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Kentucky, Jason W. Marion

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Quantitative studies on drinking water perceptions in Appalachia are limited. High-profile water infrastructure failures in the U.S. and Eastern Kentucky, coupled with human-made and natural disasters in the Appalachian Region, have likely impacted opinions regarding tap water.

Purpose: To use existing unexplored data to describe baseline tap water v. bottled water consumption in Kentucky.

Methods: Telephone-based cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) directed by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Among many items in KHIP, self-reported consumption of bottled water over tap water, reasons for bottled water use, and demographic data were obtained. …

A Better Life: Factors That Help And Hinder Entry And Retention In Mat From The Perspective Of People In Recovery, Adam D. Baus, Martha Carter, Jennifer Boyd, Erin Mcmullen, Trey Bennett, Alexandra Persily, Danielle M. Davidov, Christa Lilly

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Opioid addiction and opioid-related overdoses and deaths are serious public health problems nationally and in West Virginia, in particular. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is an effective yet underutilized treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).

Purpose: Research examining factors that help individuals succeed in MAT has been conducted from provider and program perspectives, but little research has been conducted from the perspective of those in recovery.

Methods: This study, co-developed with individuals in recovery, took place in West Virginia-based MAT programs using an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. The survey was open February through August 2021. Data were analyzed late 2021 …

A Study On Characteristics Associated With Unmet Adl Needs Among People With Disabilities In Korea, Sun-Gill Jung

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Long-term care services are assistance provided to people with disabilities needing help with ADL (activities of daily living). This study aims to address two research questions regarding people with disabilities in Korea who have ADL needs: 1) who is served and not served by long-term care services from the government, and 2) what characteristics are associated with unmet ADL needs among those who are not served by long-term care services. To answer these questions, this study utilizes data from the supplementary survey of people with disabilities in the 2020 Korea Welfare Panel and conducts descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. The …

Solving The Healthcare Employee Shortage: The Effectiveness Of Incentive Programs In Enticing Young Health Professionals To Appalachian Kentucky Communities, Taylor Williams

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky’s Appalachian counties have long been recognized as medically underserved areas, with access to care being limited by a shortage of healthcare professionals in the region. This issue, specifically as it pertains to primary care physicians, has been the focus of many programs hoping to improve access to care in these communities for many years. Is the ongoing effort to recruit and retain primary care physicians in Appalachian Kentucky counties effective? Hypotheses The mean number of people per physician in Appalachian Kentucky counties reported in 2013 is equal to the mean number of people per physician in Appalachian Kentucky counties …

Factors Associated With Successful Military-To-Civilian Transition Among Special Forces Veterans, Edward Richter

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the military-to-civilian transitional experience in a sample of Special Forces veterans. Acknowledging challenges in accessing the veteran population, most existing research on the military-to-civilian transition consolidates military occupations into a single sample. This method fails to address the intricacies that may exist within individual military occupations, especially that of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. Special Forces qualified soldiers represent the largest portion of all U.S. Military Special Operations Forces and are responsible for the majority of all Special Operations activities, yet their experience in transitioning out of the Army is largely unknown. …

Homeownership And Mortgage Loans: How Important Is A Conventional Loan?, Zachary Owen

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Communities across the United States face a housing crisis that stems in part from a scarcity of conventional home mortgage loans. Conventional mortgage loan application numbers have decreased, and racial disparities persist in mortgage application denial rates. In 2020, the Urban Institute reported that when applying for a mortgage, Black applicants were denied 27.1% of the time, yet White applicants were denied only 13.6% of the time. These denial rates are highly correlated with homeownership rates. Today, despite policy efforts, the difference in White and Black homeownership rates is higher than in the 1960s when the government enforced discriminatory housing …

Foster Caregiving: How Interactions With The Child Welfare Agency Impact Foster Parent Satisfaction, Recruitment, And Retention, Ethan Engelhardt

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Professionals of the child welfare system in Kentucky have continuously worked to retain and recruit new foster parents for the foster care system. Foster parents are uniquely placed in a surrogate caring position for children removed from their homes for reasons of abuse or neglect. Foster parents accept this role and step in to provide a safe and loving household for many children. There are more than 9,000 children placed in Out of Home Care (OOHC) on any given day in Kentucky, leaving many children in need of a loving and supportive household. Foster parents hang in the balance between …

Improving Connectivity For Remote Cancer Patient Symptom Monitoring And Reporting In Rural Medically Underserved Regions, Esther Max-Onakpoya

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Rural residents are often faced with many disparities when compared to their urban counterparts. Two key areas where these disparities are apparent are access to health and Internet services. Improved access to healthcare services has the potential to increase residents' quality of life and life expectancy. Additionally, improved access to Internet services can create significant social returns in increasing job and educational opportunities, and improving access to healthcare. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on the intersection between access to Internet and healthcare services in rural areas. More specifically, it attempts to analyze systems that can be used to improve Internet access …

The Thin Line In The Bluegrass Schools: A Quantitative Study On How School Resource Officers Impact A School And District's Use Of Exclusionary Discipline In Kentucky, Mia Morales

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Legislatures across the country have been developing laws and policies to place police officers, also known as School Resource Officers (“SROs”), in schools. A recent piece of legislation in Kentucky, entitled the School Safety and Resiliency Act, requires all school campuses in Kentucky contain at least one SRO. Researchers have found relationships between the presence of SROs and the use of exclusionary discipline, and this research expands on that foundation by looking statewide at school- and district-level variables.

Using a multiple regression model, this research examined the presence of SROs in schools and the ratio of number of SROs to …

Examining Migration Flows Across Kentucky's Counties, James Brady Stein

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The state of Kentucky is home to many rural counties which experience high levels of outward migration due to their relatively unfavorable economic conditions. While migration trends nationally have begun to plateau, migration flows from county to county show a much more volatile story. This study will examine the relationship between economic opportunity and migration flow estimates in Kentucky’s counties through a multiple regression approach with the response variable being annual migration flow estimates, with multiple predictor variables showing the economic composition of the county. Variables used in this regression include annual unemployment rates, educational attainment levels, county poverty rates, …

Estill County "Twin Cities" Consolidation Study, Logan Hart

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

To provide essential services without imposing an unreasonable financial burden on their residents, local governments, particularly those with a declining population or tax base, are seeking ways to maximize their resources. Municipal consolidation is one of the solutions that many local governments have considered. This study aimed to determine if municipal consolidation would improve the efficiency and financial standing of the Estill County, Kentucky cities of Irvine and Ravenna. The study's findings suggest that consolidation could lead to cost benefits for both cities. However, due to the limited availability of data, further research is required to gain a complete understanding …

Improving Tax Compliance In Indonesia Through The 2022 Voluntary Disclosure Program, Farid Al Firdaus

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Developed or developing countries have conducted Voluntary Disclosure Programs (VDP) to increase tax revenues and taxpayers' compliance. Non-compliant taxpayers prefer this way to regular law enforcement to be more compliant. This study focuses on supporting Indonesia, the lowest tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio in Asia and the Pacific, in improving its taxpayers' long-term compliance through the 2022 VDP; this amnesty had fewer participants, shorter periods, and higher rates than the first one in 2016. Using descriptive analysis, it is concluded that the 2022 VDP could reveal taxpayers' wealth known and unknown by the tax authority, increase revenue as a fraction …

Examining Academic Performance And Education Stability Measures For Youth In Foster Care, Alex Asbury

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The state of Kentucky has seen an increase in its population of youth who are involved with child welfare and in the foster care system while also seeing less cases end in reunification with families. While youth process trauma related to the removal from their homes and the potential of experiencing multiple moves through their time with child welfare, it is important that educational stability remain intact to promote normalcy and improve educational outcomes for youth in foster care. Following the signing of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Kentucky education system has seen improvement in its processes …

Association Of Diabetes Prevalence With Labor Force Participation Rates In Kentucky Counties, Ryan Montgomery

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Compared to other states in the USA, Kentucky has one of the highest rates of diagnosed diabetes and one of the lowest levels of labor force participation. This project employs a multivariable linear regression model to estimate the correlation between county-level diabetes prevalence and county-level labor force participation rates in Kentucky counties from 2015-2019, using publicly available data from the Centers for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Labor force participation rates serve as the dependent variable and diabetes prevalence rates serve as the primary independent variable, alongside nine …

Offshoring And Subordinate Financialization In Developing Countries, Logan Kuegel

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This study will investigate the relationship between global value chain integration and financialization in the Global South. It is intended for policy research committees in international organizations such as the United Nations (Commission on Trade and Development Special Committee on Cization), the International Monetary Fund (Development Committee), the World Trade Organization, and World Bank. The global production network represents the international division of production through intermediate offshoring, while financialization represents the entrance of traditionally nonfinancial actors (namely firms, governments/banks, and households) into the financial system.

Attempting to use a heterodox framework, this paper builds upon literature that synthesizes the two …

Bolstering Resistance To Misinformation Through K-12 Education, Allison Johnson

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Misinformation online and in news media is a problem because it degrades truth and hinders legitimate democratic discourse. As misinformation becomes more prevalent, we need to start finding ways to limit the extent of the problem. To do so, I recommend a policy solution based on inoculation theory. Inoculation theory, as the name suggests, uses the metaphor of a vaccine. When receiving the flu shot, we get a weakened dose of the virus, which in turn helps us to create antibodies and later be more effective at fighting the real flu. In this instance, people are exposed to weakened doses …

Addressing Money Laundering In The United States Real Estate Sector, Hunter Mccormick

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

The United States faces threats to economic stability and legal integrity from money laundering practices in the real estate market. Legislative loopholes, complicit enablers, and aging technological systems used by government agencies allow individuals to flow ill-gotten wealth into the United States with little effort. As a result of these factors, local economies suffer job loss, once-inhabited properties lie empty in decay, and trust in government weakens. Illegal wealth is transformed into protected assets in the form of property and can stored to later fund terrorism organizations or influence the American people. Approximately $2.3 billion was laundered through real estate …

Curbing Diabetes Prevalence And Reducing Risk Through Policy, Grayson Blount

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

The purpose of this policy brief is to illuminate the dire circumstances surrounding the ongoing diabetes epidemic in Kentucky. Type II diabetes mellitus, a preventable and manageable chronic illness, affects nearly 465,000 Kentuckians currently. Beyond the daily struggle associated with diabetes, many acute complications can arise that are severly detrimental to quality of life, such as blindness or lower extremeity amputation. Additionally, the costs associated with diabetes are tremendous, to patients, to providers, and to the state. It is in the best interest of all stakeholders to do whatever we can in order to reduce prevalence and improve management of …

Convicted Felons And Voting, Olivia Corley

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Felony disenfranchisement impacts nearly 4.6 million individuals in the United States with low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately affected. This policy is a practice that restricts the voting rights of individuals who have been convicted of a felony. This brief provides an overview of the challenges faced by those affected by felony disenfranchisement, as well as the implications for democracy in the United States. Highlighting a 50-state scan of state voter restrictions, I showcase the different laws and policies that restrict the voting rights of individuals with felony convictions across the United States. The history of felony disenfranchisement in …

Child Welfare And The Opioid Crisis In The Bluegrass State, Irina Mohler

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This brief discusses the challenges facing Kentucky's child welfare system, particularly due to the opioid epidemic, childhood adversity, mental health needs, and limited social services. Kentucky has one of the highest child neglect rates and opioid dispensing rates in the nation. The state's child welfare system includes services like the Child and Family Services Plan, Independent Living Program, and Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team (START), but it faces issues such as high caseloads and data gaps. It aims to emphasizes the importance of providing the highest standard of care for children in Kentucky and seeking effective recommendations by examining similar …

Making Transportation Safer, Jack Reynolds

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

While often overlooked, the overreliance on private transportation across the United States has become a major source of danger, with thousands of lives lost every year to motor vehicle crashes. These deaths have been taken for granted, yet what is often forgotten is that in the face of increasing rates of motor vehicle crash deaths, we have the capability to prevent future tragedies like these from occurring through targeted policy decisions. While certain reforms to private transportation were found to be effective in improving traffic safety, such as implementing graduated licensing systems and lowering speed limits, the primary component of …

Three Essays On Rural Education: Descriptive Studies Focused On Federal Rural Definitions And Policy Changes, Kyung Ha Oh

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Rural education issues in K-12 public schools are understudied despite a large rural student population in the U.S. This dissertation studies how different federal definitions of rural change how rural school districts and their diverse communities are portrayed, in comparison to their non-rural counterparts. This study also explores the recent federal rural policy changes on rural district revenue and student academic outcomes.

This dissertation consists of three descriptive essays. The first chapter shows how we choose to define ‘rural’ changes what differences are accentuated between rural and non-rural districts. Definitions of ‘rural’ is closely related to who gains access to …

A Multilevel Jurisdictional Analysis Of The Impact Of Walmart On Host Communities, Matt Young

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This research takes a holistic approach to answer the empirical question about what impacts Walmart has on host jurisdictions. This consists of a thorough review of the extant literature; a formalization of Walmart’s potential impact into a theoretical framework; a consideration of endogeneity within Walmart’s operations from multiple angles; a nationwide analysis of impacts on labor and retail markets at both the county and municipal level; a nationwide analysis of the impacts on housing prices and property tax revenue post Walmart; a multistate analysis of host jurisdictions’ reactions to these changes through the lens of local sales taxes; finally, a …

Three Essays On Consumption Taxation In Indonesia, Partomuan Transparenter Juniult

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Consumption taxes play a major role in revenue generation for many developing countries. They are also used to encourage or discourage certain consumption behaviors. However, the administrative aspects of implementing these taxes can create challenges for the tax authorities, and lead to distortions in taxpayer behavior. To overcome these challenges, efforts have been made to simplify policies and utilize technology to improve administration and compliance. My dissertation aims to provide empirical evidence on the effects of three consumption or commodity tax policy reforms in Indonesia. The dissertation consists of three essays as follows.

In my first essay, titled “The effect …

Coalition Of The Ending: Why States Withdraw From International Military Coalitions, Weiss Mehrabi

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation examines the causes and conditions motivating states to discontinue supporting an ongoing military coalition operation and prematurely abandon their partners. In exploring coalition defection through a three-article dissertation, I advance three separate theoretical arguments focusing on three levels of analysis.

The first article contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of political regime types on coalition abandonment during interstate wars. I argue that anocracies are dependable wartime partners and will not abandon coalition warfare earlier than autocracies and democracies. I advance two arguments for the theory of anocratic reliability. First, leaders of mixed regimes expect severe post-defeat …

Navigating The Maze Of Student Loan Debt: Exploring Long-Term Economic Implications And Strategies For Alleviating The Burden, Kimberly Faulk

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This capstone paper explores the long-term economic implications of student loan debt on individuals and society and identifies potential strategies that can be implemented to alleviate the burden. Student loan debt has become a significant issue globally, affecting individuals of all backgrounds and having far-reaching consequences for both individuals and the broader economy. The analysis reveals that the long-term economic implications of student loan debt on individuals are multifaceted. High levels of debt can hinder financial stability and economic mobility, as borrowers struggle to save, invest, and participate in the broader economy. The burden of student loan debt can delay …

A Study On Motivators And Satisfaction In Arts And Culture Public Programs: Implications For Policy Implementation, Eunyoung Yi

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study examines individuals’ motivations related to their participation in arts and culture activity programs and their support for the active roles of the government in cultivating such programs in South Korea. In doing so, this study suggests policy implications that help policymakers and stakeholders develop effective arts and culture programs in the public sector.

This study claims that redesigning the program contents reflecting sociopsychological motivations, expanding the policy target to the general public, and embracing the concept of lifelong arts and culture education will ensure inclusive accessibility and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens.

Guided by intrinsic and …

An Analysis Of Test Scores In The Central And Eastern Time Zones, Rliey Reed

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

During daylight savings in Kentucky, elementary students in the Eastern Time Zone receive around an hour less of sunlight than students in the Central Time Zone when attending school in the morning. With recent discussion of making daylight savings permanent, it's important to discuss the effects that going to school in the dark has on students' test scores. Research has been done to study the effects that operating on less amounts of sunlight has on school aged children. This study seeks to do the same, by comparing test scores of 3rd grade students on the Central and Eastern Time Zones …

Cares Act Unemployment Insurance Program Implementation In Kentucky: A Case Study, Alicia Landon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the United States. The deadly virus filled hospitals to capacity and caused approximately 375,000 deaths nationwide over the next nine months (Ahmad et al., 2021). In an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, federal and state governments closed businesses and agencies within a matter of weeks. Almost as quickly as the threat to human health changed the lives of Americans, the secondary threat of economic disruption began to unfold. Nationwide unemployment rates increased from approximately 4% to 15% between February 2020 and April 2020 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, …

Did The Covid-19 Pandemic Cause A Learning Loss In Reading And Mathematics? Empirical Evidence Using 2022 Grade 8 Students In Kentucky., Tiyani Rodrigo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 2020, most United States (U.S.) schools closed abruptly. Due to the pandemic, students and teachers were affected in multiple ways. Nearly three years post-pandemic, it is evident students lost in academic achievement. Lower academic performance may impact the future economy and labor force due to lower productivity. Therefore, understanding the causal impact COVID-19 had on academic achievement is vital to develop policy that will help mitigate the long-term impact. In this capstone, I will estimate the size and direction of the impact COVID-19 had on Mathematics and Reading skills for grade 8 students in Kentucky. Using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) …