Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Regularizations Of Undocumented Residents In Spain And The Underground Economy: Insight For United States Policy Makers, Jon R. Davis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

There were an estimated 11 million undocumented residents in the United States in 2010. The issue of undocumented migration and how it should be addressed is a contentious topic in the United States. However, the discussions about how to address illegal migration into the United States rarely include any comparisons to other measures that have been taken in other countries. There are many countries, such as Spain, that have large undocumented resident populations.

This analysis looks at policies that have been enacted in Spain since 1985 to enable undocumented residents to receive legal resident status, referred to as regularizations and …

Assessments Of Dual Degree Programs At University Of Kentucky College Of Pharmacy, Adebayo Ogunniyi

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Information about dual degree programs offered by colleges and schools of pharmacy is scarce. Factors that motivate a pharmacy student to pursue a dual degree have not been formally assessed. Furthermore, whether dual degree graduates pursue non-traditional career paths more often than single degree graduates (i.e. PharmD degree alone) is unknown. The research questions are: 1.) Why do PharmD students pursue dual degree programs at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy? and 2.) Does obtaining a dual degree increase the likelihood of a “non-traditional” pharmacy jobs upon graduation?

There are three main parts of this capstone project. The first …

Policy Outcomes In Indonesia Before And After Democratization, Aung Kyaw Phyo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Different types of regimes face different political situations and have different incentives to pursue different policies. In this paper, I am examining whether there are any differences in economic and social policy outcomes under democracy and dictatorship in Indonesia. The study is divided into two periods. The first period covers the authoritarian rule of President Suharto(1966 to 1998) and the second period covers the new democratic government(1999 to 2010). I set out by analyzing the rules used in distinguishing democracy from dictatorship and discussing the process by which Suharto's regime was categorized as a dictatorship and the Indonesian government after …

Nutrition Policy, Nonmarket Failure, And The Obesity Epidemic, James Woodward

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are based on the Dietary Goals for the United States, represent the federal government’s first attempt to improve the nation’s health by recommending that Americans avoid certain foods. The Guidelines were based on what was perceived, by the government and nutritionists alike, to be solid scientific evidence that consumption of fat and saturated fat in particular, increase the risk of developing heart disease. They also emphasized, and continue to emphasize, the importance of exercise and calorie restriction as the primary means of maintaining a healthy weight. In short, the Guidelines sought to …

The Effects Of Elasticity On Government Revenue Of China, Maiduo Li

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This Capstone evaluates the elasticity of the revenue system in China, by classifying the revenue sources into three categories: the income tax, turnover tax, and charges and fees. By comparing the annual data and specific elasticity of each category between China and the United States, it is found that the revenue system in China, from 2007 to 2010, was relatively inelastic while the major component of the total revenue keeps pace with the steady growth of the economy. Such a revenue system, though it cannot have an explosive growth when the economy is turning better, can provide sustainable, stable revenue …

A Systematic Review Of Physical Activity Interventions In Hispanic Adults, Melinda J. Ickes, Manoj Sharma

Kinesiology and Health Promotion Faculty Publications

Healthy People 2020 aims to achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups. Regular physical activity (PA) improves overall health and fitness and has the capability to reduce risk for chronic diseases. Identifying barriers which relate to the Hispanic population is important when designing PA interventions. Therefore, the purpose was to review existing PA interventions targeting Hispanic adults published between 1988 and 2011. This paper was limited to interventions which included more than 35% Hispanic adults (n = 20). Most of the interventions were community based (n = 16), although clinical, family-based, and faith-based …

Predictors Of Clinician Tobacco Intervention Counseling In Six North Carolina Free Clinics, Joe G. Spangler, Eun-Young Song, Jessica Richardson Pockey, Erin L. Sutfin, Donald W. Helme, Cindy Jones, Kristie L. Foley

Communication Faculty Publications

While the poor and the uninsured are at increased risk for tobacco use, up to two thirds of these patients express interest in near-term quitting. Nonetheless, tobacco counseling rates remain low in clinics serving these patients. As part of a larger tobacco intervention project in North Carolina free clinics, we gathered baseline data on patient characteristics in six randomly selected facilities affiliated with the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics. An exit interview was completed by 231 patients; 126 (54%) were tobacco users. Among all patients, 71% had been asked by a clinician about tobacco use in the past 3 …

Recreational Music-Making In Music Pedagogy: A Manifesto For Change, Brandon Keith Wood

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The arts are an essential part of any student’s well rounded education. The future of music in education will depend on its ability to deliver relevant, effective, and measurable outcomes. However, the expectations and performance nature of traditional curricula often foster a sense of musical elitism and ostracizes students that are solely interested in music as a recreational outlet. Incorporating recreational music-making into education can provide opportunities for students to experience self-expression, creativity, social connection, and enjoyment. These values will not only enhance their education, but also lead to acquired skills for use in all areas of their lives. Activities …

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Board Of Adjustment: Fifty Years Later, Kathryn L. Moore

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial Independence And The State Court Funding Crisis, David J. Barron

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Do We Have 18th Century Courts For The 21st Century?, Michael L. Buenger

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

State Courts And Public Justice: New Challenges, New Choices, John T. Broderick, Lawrence Friedman

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reconsidering State Parole Board Membership Requirements In Light Of Model Penal Code Sentencing Revisions, Stefan J. Bing

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Debt And Discipline: Neoliberal Political Economy And The Working Classes, Tayyab Mahmud

Kentucky Law Journal

Over the last three decades, neoliberal restructuring of the economy created a symbiosis of debt and discipline. New legal regimes and strategic use of monetary policy displaced Keynesian welfare, facilitated financialization of the economy, broke the power of organized labor, and expanded debt to sustain aggregate demand. Public laws and policies created afield of possibility within which financial markets extended their reach and brought ever-increasing sections of the working classes and the marginalized within the ambit of the credit economy. Reordered public policies and new norms of personal responsibility demarcated the horizon within which the economically vulnerable pursued strategies of …

At Risk Patients And Doctors: Why Increased Agency Enforcement And Private Causes Of Action Under The Supremacy Clause Are Needed To Protect Medicaid Providers And Beneficiaries, Steven Clark

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Charting Kentucky's Path: How The Commonwealth Can Innovate Its Public Schools With Charter Legislation, Tyler Roberts

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Health Care Reform, Wellness Programs And The Erosion Of Informed Consent, Matt Lamkin

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"A Matter Of Grace": Alternatives To Billing Insurance For Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations, Jessica C. Harvey

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

E Pluribus Urbes: Interest Group Organization’S Effect On The Fragmentation And Governance Of American Urban Areas, Matthew L. Howell

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

American cities have proliferated in the post-War era. More than 2,000 new cities were founded between 1950 and 2000. While the history of the local government boom has been documented, research into urban fragmentation has explored why there is no consolidation of metropolitan areas rather than exploring why Americans chose fragmentation initially.

This dissertation proposes that individuals create new jurisdictions because individuals prefer to have governments which give them the services individuals desire, even if they could have similar (but not perfect) services cheaper in a larger jurisdiction. Individuals, however, must balance the benefit they get from better fitting cities …

School, Family, And Faith: Social Influences On Educational Outcomes Of Nonmetropolitan Sexual Minority Students, Christopher J. Stapel

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Social institutions in rural communities tend to be highly interrelated and social ties tend to be dense and multiplex. Human ecological theoretical models posit that all institutions in which an individual is embedded interact in complex ways. As such, this dissertation examines the influences of school, faith, family, and risk contexts on the grade point averages of students who attended school in nonmetropolitan counties in Appalachian Kentucky. Using data disaggregated by gender from nearly 5,000 adolescents, I identified risk and protective factors on grade point averages by attraction type (exclusively opposite-sex attracted, same-sex attracted, and unsure of attraction), identified differences …

Explaining Benefit Utilization Variability In Fmnp In Kentucky: An Application Of Pierre Bourdieu’S Theory, Stephanie M. Holcomb-Kreiner

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Research has demonstrated the crucial role fresh fruit and vegetable consumption plays in maintaining good health. However, most Americans do not consume adequate amounts, and low-income Americans consume the lowest quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables. The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) attempts to rectify this situation by providing vouchers to low-income women, children, and elders that can be used only at farmers’ markets for the purchase of locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, FMNP and SFMNP exhibit variable and often low benefit utilization. This variable and often low benefit utilization is …

Multiracial Churches: An Unusual Arrangement, David John Luke

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

It is commonly said that 11:00 A.M. Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. The contact theory explains how interracial contact can help to ameliorate racism - and this type of interaction can easily be fostered in a church environment. Durkheim's idea of the "collective effervescence" felt in ritual experiences would be beneficial for crossing racial lines and improving race relations in the U.S. in multiracial churches. A great deal of recent sociological work has focused on the phenomenon of church segregation on a nationwide scale. This paper compares characteristics found in nationwide religious congregation surveys and case …

Graduate Employees’ Work And Organizing In Today’S University: A New Social Movement Theory Approach To Internal And External Struggles, Michael Carl Ide

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This is a mixed-methods comparative study of union and non-union graduate employees’ work experiences, following Wicken’s (2008) call for additional research into the graduate union movement. I used focus group interviews, finding that nonunionized participants had significantly more negative views of their work and faculty members than unionized participants. Non-unionized participants were also more likely to display greater internalization of neoliberal views and neoliberal subjectivity, and were more likely to see their problems in fatalistic terms. I found increased activity with the union to be associated with both decreased fear and anxiety as well as an increased sense of personal …

Making Boundaries And Linking Globally: “Material Politics” Of Phytosanitary Regulation On Mexican Mangos, Kiyohiko Sakamoto

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation illuminates how phytosanitary (PS) regulations enable mango exportation from Mexico to the United States. PS regulations are technical and legal measures to prevent plant pests from proliferating or being transported to other places and are important regulatory mechanisms enabling the globalization of agriculture. My case study investigates how PS regulations enable Mexican mango exportation as an aspect of the globalization of agriculture, illustrating the consequences of PS regulations to humans and non-humans. More specifically, three research questions are posed: (1) How does the PS regulation network operate to draw distinctions between pest/non-pest, thereby enabling the export of Mexican …

Middle-Class Crisis In The Colonization Transition: Comparing Catalysts And Consequences In Taiwan, 1988-2008, Jui-Chang Jao

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The Taiwanese middle class has experienced two waves of crisis over the past three decades in the context of a colonization transition involving globalization and democratization as primary catalysts. On the economic front, Taiwan’s economy has become increasingly integrated into the Chinese market, resulting approximately one million of the Taiwanese middle class relocating to China. Moreover, neoliberal economic reforms have led to a downsized state sector of the Taiwanese economy. These economic changes affect the growth and stability of the Taiwanese middle class. Meanwhile, on the political front, an ongoing democratic consolidation and decolonization efforts have brought about significant political …

Stability Of Antibiotic Resistance Patterns In Agricultural Pastures: Lessons From Kentucky, Usa, Sloane Ritchey, Siva Gandhapudi, Mark Coyne

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Proteasome Regulation Of Caspase-8: Significance In Cancer, Michael Vincent Fiandalo

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Anti-tumor therapeutic strategies based on combinations of chemotherapeutic agents with a death inducing ligand such as TNF-α Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL), are directed towards selective and effective cancer cell apoptosis and enhanced therapeutic response. We previously demonstrated that proteasome inhibition sensitizes TRAIL resistant prostate cancer cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis via stabilization of the active p18 subunit of initiator caspase-8. The present study investigated the functional link between caspase-8 and the proteasome, by analyzing the impact of caspase-8 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation on the outcomes of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway in cancer cells. Caspase-8 ubiquitination status was assessed by polyubiquitin …

The Cellular Nucleic Acid Binding Protein Regulates The Alzheimer’S Disease Β-Secretase Protein Bace1, Christopher J. Holler

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease affecting the elderly population and is believed to be caused by the overproduction and accumulation of the toxic amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide in the brain. Aβ is produced by two separate enzymatic cleavage events of the larger membrane bound amyloid precursor protein, APP. The first, and rate-limiting, cleavage event is made by beta-secretase, or BACE1, and is thus an attractive therapeutic target. Our lab, as well as many others, has shown that BACE1 protein and activity are increased in late-stage sporadic AD. We have extended these findings to show that BACE1 …

Attentional Bias And Alcohol Abuse, Jessica Jane Weafer

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Selective attention towards alcohol-related cues (i.e., “attentional bias”) is thought to reflect increased incentive motivational value of alcohol and alcohol cues acquired through a history of heavy alcohol use, and as such attentional bias is considered to be a clinically relevant factor contributing to alcohol use disorders. This dissertation consists of two studies that investigated specific mechanisms through which attentional bias might serve to promote alcohol abuse. Study 1 compared magnitude of attentional bias in heavy (n = 20) and light (n = 20) drinkers following placebo and two doses of alcohol (0.45 g/kg and 0.65 g/kg). Heavy drinkers displayed …

The Role Of Syntaxin And Tomosyn In Platelet Secretion, Shaojing Ye

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Platelet secretion is important for hemostasis and thrombosis. The components released are also involved in atherosclerosis, inflammation, angiogenesis, and tumor growth. Though the exact mechanism(s) of platelet secretion is still elusive, accumulating evidence demonstrates that SNAREs (Soluble N-ethylmaleimide Sensitive Factor Associated Receptor) and their regulatory partners are critical for platelet exocytosis. Formation of a trans-bilayer complex composed of one v-SNARE (i.e. VAMPs) and two t-SNAREs (i.e. syntaxin and SNAP-25-type) is minimally required for membrane fusion. Regulatory proteins control the rate and specificity of the complex assembly. VAMP-8 and SNAP-23 (a SNAP-25-type t-SNARE) are clearly important; however, the …