Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Serving American Veterans: A Review And Analysis Of Gaps In Service In The Needs Of Veterans, Mary Elisabeth Germann

Baker Scholar Projects

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is the agency of the federal government that is responsible for providing benefits, health care, and cemetery services to US military Veterans and their families. About a quarter of the nation’s population, approximately 70 million people, are potentially eligible for VA benefits and services because they are veterans, family members, or survivors of veterans. Due to this expansive demand, the United States has developed the most comprehensive system of Veterans assistance programs in the World. But many argue that the US VA still falls short of expectations and fails to fulfill the needs …

The Eagle’S Eye On The Rising Dragon: Why The United States Has Shifted Its View Of China, Jackson Scott

Baker Scholar Projects

Since 1978, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has long been viewed as an economic trading partner of the United States of America (US). The PRC has grown to be an economic powerhouse, and the US directly helped with that process and still benefits from it. However, during the mid-2010’s, US rhetoric began to turn sour against the PRC. The American government rhetoric toward the PRC, beginning with the Obama administration, switched. As Trump’s administration came along, they bolstered this rhetoric from non-friendly to more or less hostile. Then, Biden’s administration strengthened Trump’s rhetoric. Over the past ten years or …

Competing For Innovation: A Case Study Of Knoxville And Similar Metropolitan Areas, Lucille G. Marret

Baker Scholar Projects

Knoxville competes with other mid-sized metropolitan areas for economic development and business attraction at the national level. Cities such as Greenville, SC, Huntsville, AL, and Ann Arbor, MI have similar resources and attributes to Knoxville, yet they are consistently surpassing Knoxville in business attraction and expansion. It is necessary for policy makers to understand what factors are contributing to underperformance in order to better support Knoxville’s efforts to create an innovation fund. Comparing available assets and access to funding for each MSA reveals that Knoxville has the necessary resources through the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to …

Centrality And Compliance: Unitary Vs. Federalist Political Systems In The Implementation Of The Kyoto Protocol In Argentina And Uruguay, Aidan Homan

Baker Scholar Projects

When Uruguay and Argentina first gained their respective independence in the early 1800s, they appeared to be following the same path of development As countries that came from the same Spanish colonization, share almost identical agricultural economies, and retain a close relationship, it is logical that they would follow similar trajectories. This assumption proves to be inaccurate in more ways than one, but most prominently within the environmental sphere. One way to analyze this difference in policy implementation lies in compliance with international environmental treaties which contain specific goals and limits for all parties involved. The Kyoto Protocol presents a …

Ballad Health: Understanding Appalachia’S Regional Healthcare Monopoly, Meredith A. Bailey

Baker Scholar Projects

The Ballad Health merger of 2018, which combined the now 21 hospitals in the region under one organization, has impacted the healthcare landscape in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Historically, Appalachia has had to persevere through primary physician shortages, a lack of specialty care, geographic obstacles to accessing healthcare, challenges related to substance abuse, and much more. Since the merger of Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System, little research has been done to assess the perceived impact the aggregation of providers has had on the population it serves. This study utilizes an online survey to better understand the …

The Pink Tax: A Comparative Case Study Between Tennessee And Washington State, Megha Chitturi

Baker Scholar Projects

The imposition of an additional luxury tax on menstrual health products, otherwise referred to as the “Pink Tax” or the “Tampon Tax”, is present in some states while absent in others. The decision to repeal such a tax is one that has proven to be critical, as it removes the connotation that such products are of “luxury” and make them more accessible to menstruators throughout the state. As of 2023, twenty-three states have eliminated the tax. The state of Washington falls under that parameter while Tennessee does not. The purpose of this undergraduate honors thesis is to explore the potential …

The Development Of Health System Resiliency: How Kenya's Experience With Malaria Impacted Its Reaction To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Zoe A. Ward

Baker Scholar Projects

Public health scholars have recently focused on health system resiliency to explain how previous experiences dealing with public health crises impact the healthcare sector, public behavior, and policy response to novel crises. However, it is unclear how resiliency develops. This study contributes by testing whether a health system’s experience with a health emergency and significant interventions impacts the response to a novel crisis. This research asks, “How has Kenya’s experience with malaria impacted its response to COVID-19?” Using the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS), I develop a malaria adherence score to measure county-level compliance …

Does Electoral Proximity Influence Commitment To International Human Rights Law?, Nolan Ragland

Baker Scholar Projects

The core international human rights treaties from the United Nations have been signed and ratified by varying groups of states, and much of previous research has been dominated by a desire to explain ratification of international human rights law (IHRL) through the democratic lock-in effect and states’ economic and political ties to one another. In this paper, I seek to understand when states are ratifying IHRL, testing whether the presence of elections influences commitment to three of the nine core international human rights treaties: the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of …

The Eagle’S Eye On The Rising Dragon: Why The United States Has Shifted Its View Of China, Jackson Craig Scott

Baker Scholar Projects

Since 1978, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has long been viewed as an economic trading partner of the United States of America (US). The PRC has grown to be an economic powerhouse, and the US directly helped with that process and still benefits from it. However, during the mid-2010’s, US rhetoric began to turn sour against the PRC. The American government rhetoric toward the PRC, beginning with the Obama administration, switched. As Trump’s administration came along, they bolstered this rhetoric from non-friendly to more or less hostile. Then, Biden’s administration strengthened Trump’s rhetoric. Over the past ten years or …

The Practice Environment For Nurse Anesthetists In Tennessee, Taylor Cathey, Jessica Hobbs, Matthew Owen, Alexis Varney, James Alberding, Tausha Alexander

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Potential consequences of anesthesia provider shortages may include a reduction in health care access, poor patient outcomes, and increased costs to government funded agencies. Current leaders in the anesthesia profession need to establish a work environment that is embracing, supportive, and safe so that certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) can remain healthy and productive. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) scholarly project was to provide an overview of the current CRNA practice environment in Tennessee and advocate for policies to promote CRNA retention and enhance patient access to care. The overarching goal included gathering sufficient evidence regarding …

Ready For Nuclear Energy?: A Policy Review Of The Philippines’ Nuclear Energy Plan And Participation In The Asean Network Of Regulatory Bodies On Atomic Energy, Julius Cesar Trajano

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Recently, the Philippines has been demonstrating its interest in using nuclear energy, including addressing issues and gaps in its nuclear energy preparations, several of which fall under nuclear security, nuclear emergency preparedness and response, and regulatory capacity. This article argues that the ASEAN member states’ growing regional cooperation in nuclear safety and security, spearheaded by the ASEAN Network of Regulatory Bodies on Atomic Energy (ASEANTOM), can have a strong positive impact on the Philippines’ nuclear energy preparations. ASEANTOM’s regional activities and projects can help the Philippines address some of the current critical gaps and issues in its nuclear energy preparatory …

Who Mediates Matters: The Impact Of Individual Mediator Competency Skills On Individual And Civil Conflict Mediation, Erin V. Rowland

Doctoral Dissertations

Until this point, research in the field of conflict mediation concerning how third-party entities impact mediation outcomes has largely focused on the macrolevel factors of those entities and the disputing parties – geographic proximity of the mediating states to the disputants, the presence of alliances, the existence of enduring rivalries, etc. However, even when macrolevel factors are relatively similar, differences still exist in mediation outcome. This research proposes that some differences in mediation outcome are due to the impact of individual mediator factors, more specifically individual mediator competency skills in the form of Knowledge, Know-how, and Behavioral competencies. Borrowing from …

"A Tale Of Twinned Cities": A Comparative Analysis To Predict Potential Twinning On The Us-Mexico Border, Katherine Fulcher

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Coordination Of Inter-Agency Action For Nuclear Security In Uganda, Richard Sseggane

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Despite the dynamic threats to the nuclear security of the East and Central African region, and the decision of the Government of Uganda to embark on a nuclear power programme, there was not much put in place as a coordination and cooperation mechanisms among the stakeholders in the nuclear security activities.

This work confirmed the need in Uganda for the major nuclear security stakeholder agencies with roles and mandates for nuclear security including the regulator, security and intelligence agencies, police, border control, transport control, customs agencies and others to work together as necessary in the different nuclear security activities in …

Metaphor Theory And Its Relation To Social Policy, Victoria Anita Voorhees

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Pricing Impact Of The Decreasing Competitiveness Of The Health Insurance Market, Lauren N. Patterson

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

The Affordable Care Act created the national insurance exchanges of qualified health plans to encourage a higher insured rate, larger risk pools, and lower prices for quality health coverage. Consolidation of insurers can have opposing effects. The insurers’ risk pools will grow, allowing insurers to better hedge for risk. However, consolidation decreases the prevalence of competition in the market, and past research shows that insurer consolidation decreases market competition and increases prices.

I examine how the number of plans offered in a set market, pricing components, and county health variables impact the monthly premium pricing of plans sold on the …

Policy Of Current Hospital Translation Services And Recommendations For Future Adjustments For Spanish-Speaking Patients, Isidora Rose Beach

Baker Scholar Projects

It is a seldom-discussed fact that English-speakers in America enjoy a quality of health care that is not necessarily afforded to non-native speakers receiving care at the same facilities. Policy regarding what is required of health institutions in terms of translation services is exceedingly vague, and implementation of this policy is inconsistent. This lack of guidance makes it possible for many patients needing interpreters to fall through the cracks. This project will examine current policy guiding interpretive services in the U.S., and will recommend more specific guidelines that would improve quality of care for limited English proficiency individuals. This project …

The Cost Of Child Care On Female Labor Force Participation, Richard Joseph Goyette

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Policy Of Current Hospital Translation Services And Recommendations For Future Adjustments For Spanish-Speaking Patients, Isidora Rose Beach

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Pricing Impact Of Decreasing Competitiveness Of The Health Insurance Market, Lauren N. Patterson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A History Of Welfare Policy In The United States: To Feed Or Blame The Hungry?, Lauren Ann Kataja

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Essays On Environmental Policy Instruments, Emissions Leakage And Public Policy, Shreekar Pradhan

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays related to my research on environmental policy, emissions leakage, and public policy. In the first essay, I address how open economies respond to environmental policy instruments under uncertainty. I develop a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for a small open economy (SOE) and evaluate the macroeconomic fluctuations in response to cap-and-trade, pollution tax, and emissions intensity standard under two shocks: productivity and terms of trade. My findings suggest that cap-and-trade policies are most effective in dampening the macroeconomic volatility from productivity shock. However, under the terms-of-trade shock, pollution tax, and intensity target policies are …

Public Support For Social Welfare Policies: A Cross-National Examination, Andrew Lee Morelock

Doctoral Dissertations

What explains public support for social welfare policies? The extant literature on this topic suggests that people’s attitudes are mainly a reflection of their political ideology and economic self-interest. However, this explanation fails to recognize the role that the public sector plays in influencing individuals’ social welfare policy preferences. The literature, with few exceptions, also does not thoroughly acknowledge how national context alters people’s attitudes. Data from 23 national samples in Europe, North America, Eastern Asia, and Oceania taken from the 2006 ISSP are examined using multilevel regression. The dependent variable is a measure of individual’s views of governmental responsibility, …

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

Essays In Environmental Economics And The Economics Of Higher Education, Justin R. Roush

Doctoral Dissertations

Maximizing welfare in the economy requires effective policies that mitigate negative externalities and incentivize positive externalities. My first paper concerns emissions at manufacturing plants in the US, a major source of negative externalities. Globalization has created concerns that pollution can move across country boarders. Therefore, I study the environmental performance of foreign manufacturing establishments in the US to test if foreign establishments in pollution intensive industries are heavy emitters. I find that foreign firms are not dirtier than domestic establishments on average. However, they are significantly cleaner in industries with high fixed costs and dirtier in industries with low fixed …

The Fair And Laissez-Faire Markets: From A Neoliberal Laissez-Faire Baseline To A Fair Market, Eric L. Dixon

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

The essay begins with a brief overview of the role of the neoliberal conception of the laissez-faire market in modern political economy. The essay then goes on to defend three claims: 1) the laissez-faire version of a market should not be considered the economic ideal or baseline version of a market because often the fundamental conditions required to reach a genuine equilibrium are unfulfilled under a laissez-faire environment, 2) a distribution resultant from a laissez-faire market should not be considered the ultima facie just distributive baseline because an unregulated market may allocate commodities according to morally arbitrary factors and requires …

Institutional Setting And Carrier Viability In The Airline Industry: A Continuing Review Of The Post-Deregulation Experience, Sean W. Sullivan

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A False Start: The Role Of Ballistic Missile Defense In Us-Russian Relations, Matthew Elisha Dillon

Senior Thesis Projects, 2013

In response to Iranian nuclear ambition the US and NATO have enacted a collective security initiative that will install Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) technology throughout Europe. However, during an otherwise cooperative period in US-Russian relations (e.g., the Obama administration’s “Reset” and the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty or START), NATO’s posture in Eastern Europe has compelled Russia to likewise reinforce its defenses and develop measures to incapacitate opposing BMD systems. This research analyzes the political impacts of BMD on US-Russian relations, focusing particularly on NATO’s European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) program--described above.

An Examination Of The European Advertising Standards Alliance: The Relationship Between Uncertainty Avoidance And Children's Online Advertising Regulation Code., Nathan Evans

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Dimensions Of Trust In Public Relations And Their Measurements, Joosuk Park

Doctoral Dissertations

Trust judgment of an organization’s publics validates the existence of an organization as well as being one of the most powerful moderators of public relations effectiveness. The ideas of trust as one of the key dimensions to explain relational status between an organization and its key publics has been around more than a decade. Over the last two decades, the idea of trust in fact has been showing rising prominence across many diversified studies of relationship and relationship management. In relationship management, one of the important goals of public relations is to build mutually beneficial relationships among organizations and their …