From Bison To Cattle: The Ecology Of The Southern Plains 1500-1750,
2018
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
From Bison To Cattle: The Ecology Of The Southern Plains 1500-1750, Jenni Tifft-Ochoa
Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards
Bison made their home on the Southern Plains for millennia. However, their migratory patterns began to shift in the 17th and 18th centuries. My research investigated what caused this drastic shift and how it had far reaching effects on the ecology of the Southern Plains. Using archives from two prominent Catholic priests, I began to piece together why the bison left the Southern Plains. Rather than focus on the Europeans as the main players, I instead focused on the Indigenous peoples, the animals, and the land as the centralized actors in this project. I discovered that the introduction …
Feasibility And Acceptability Of Hiv Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Nigeria,
2018
Population Council
Feasibility And Acceptability Of Hiv Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Nigeria, Population Council
HIV and AIDS
HIV self-testing (HIVST) provides an alternative to facility-based HIV testing services, particularly for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM), who face barriers to testing due to stigma, discrimination, and criminalization. This brief reports on a study in Nigeria that demonstrates high acceptability for HIVST among MSM. Lessons learned from this study indicate that the scale-up of HIVST in Nigeria must include provision of adequate pre- and post-test counseling information, as well as the availability of helpline support to improve linkage to care for those who test positive. Future research should explore how HIV retesting can …
Evaluating A Multidisciplinary Integrated Management Team Intervention To Improve Maternal And Child Outcomes And Hiv Service Uptake And Retention In Lesotho,
2018
Population Council
Evaluating A Multidisciplinary Integrated Management Team Intervention To Improve Maternal And Child Outcomes And Hiv Service Uptake And Retention In Lesotho, Project Soar
HIV and AIDS
Pregnant and postpartum HIV-positive women face a particularly complex set of barriers to prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) uptake at the policy, health facility, community, and individual levels. They are vulnerable to poor retention in care and adherence to treatment, especially in the first three months after initiation of treatment and the postpartum period. In addition, counseling and support for primary prevention among HIV-negative pregnant women is almost nonexistent in PMTCT programs. This brief describes the IMPROVE study—a multidisciplinary integrated management team intervention to increase maternal and child health and HIV service uptake and retention—that Project SOAR is …
Modeling The Expected Cost-Effectiveness And Impact Of Oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis In Uganda And Swaziland,
2018
Population Council
Modeling The Expected Cost-Effectiveness And Impact Of Oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis In Uganda And Swaziland, Project Soar
HIV and AIDS
Clinical trials have shown that oral antiretrovirals (ARVs) containing tenofovir/emtricitabine used by HIV-negative individuals to prevent HIV acquisition, called oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), are safe and effective in several populations. Prior modeling work has demonstrated that oral PrEP is most cost effective when targeted to populations at very high risk of infection, with risk dependent on a combination of individual behavior and epidemic contexts. This brief describes a study Project SOAR is conducting to assist Uganda and Swaziland in making critical decisions about oral PrEP introduction and scale up by modeling the expected cost effectiveness and impact of oral PrEP …
Proposed Metrics To Measure Quality: Overview,
2018
Population Council
Proposed Metrics To Measure Quality: Overview, Anrudh K. Jain, John Townsend, Saumya Ramarao
Reproductive Health
The first quality-of-care framework in family planning was articulated over 25 years ago and a considerable amount of work has been done since then to measure quality in the context of routine service delivery, yet, we do not have agreed-upon indicators to measure quality that can be applied uniformly across different health systems and social contexts. This paper takes a slightly different approach and uses a common definition of quality from the outset. Indicators of quality are required for describing the nature of family planning services and quality of care offered by a health service delivery program, and for improving …
Extending The Utility Of Public Use Microdata,
2018
South Dakota State University
Extending The Utility Of Public Use Microdata, Eric A. Guthrie
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Applied demography employs population studies in the effort to answer real world questions and provide insights for the problems that business and civic leaders face on an ongoing basis. To answer these questions the applied demographer sometimes performs primary research, but more often they attempt to leverage and extend the use of publicly available data to answer the questions presented in an efficient and timeconstrained manner. The work described here looks at a problem presented by the Michigan Department of Education and the solution presented by the Michigan State Demographer. The problem required estimates for a single-year age group at …
Estimating Population Growth Of Las Vegas,
2018
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Estimating Population Growth Of Las Vegas, Ryan Desacola, Jacob Valadez, Ryan S. Tan
Math 365 Class Projects
An issue we have identified is Las Vegas' population growth. To those that live in Las Vegas, many know that Las Vegas is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States of America; due to its rampant growth, projecting future population growth is of utmost importance in order to prepare public utilities, housing developments, and other such services for the inevitable incrase. Consequently, for our project, we are attempting to extrapolate upon existing population growth trends (identified by censuses of years past) and utilize the method of least squares to turn out extrapolation into a mathematical prediction.
Rock Paper Scissors And Evolutionary Game Theory,
2018
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Rock Paper Scissors And Evolutionary Game Theory, Christian Cordova, Rudolf Jovero, Evan Thomas
Math 365 Class Projects
In Rock Paper Scissors (RPS), three different "species" compete, but no single species has a dominating strategy. In evolutionary game theory, replicator equations model population densities over time. When a mutation is introduced, they are called "replicator-mutator" equations. Using the replicator-mutator equation in [1] we have shown how population density of three species change.
Namibia Has A Strong Foundation For Implementing The Treat All Guidelines And Reaching The Unaids 90-90-90 Targets,
2018
Population Council
Namibia Has A Strong Foundation For Implementing The Treat All Guidelines And Reaching The Unaids 90-90-90 Targets, Project Soar
HIV and AIDS
In late 2015, the World Health Organization announced new treatment guidelines recommending that anyone who has tested positive for HIV should begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) as soon as possible. In light of this policy, the Government of Namibia included “treat all” in the 2016 National Guidelines for ART, and began nationwide implementation in April 2017. Project SOAR is generating evidence on how the national rollout of the treat all guidelines and decentralization of ART services affect client-level treatment outcomes, quality of ART services, and treatment costs in Namibia. This brief highlights baseline findings that provide a snapshot of ART services …
“The Problem With The Haitians Is Their Language”: Language As Color-Blind Racism,
2018
South Dakota State University
“The Problem With The Haitians Is Their Language”: Language As Color-Blind Racism, Ruthie Wienk
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This project explores the mechanisms of exclusion and oppression of a Haitian population in a rural community in South West Florida. The analytical approach taken is an analysis of the social field and habitus as dispositions and embodied culture. Language has been identified as a tool to marginalize the population in the general social order. Through this process, language operates as a form of color-blind racism which justifies the exclusion of the Haitian community but is insufficient in explaining their overall social outcomes. Qualitative data were collected for this project in the form of unstructured interviews, focus groups, photographs of …
Socioeconomic Achievements Of Asian Americans In The 21st Century,
2018
University at Albany, State University of New York
Socioeconomic Achievements Of Asian Americans In The 21st Century, Bo Zhou
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This dissertation research is a comprehensive study of Asian Americans' socioeconomic achievements. It aims to measure changes of Asian Americans' socioeconomic achievements between 2005 and 2015, to examine the glass ceiling facing Asian Americans, and to evaluate the impacts of the Great Recession and concentration on occupational attainments of Asian Americans.
Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research,
2018
University at Albany, State University of New York
Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This dissertation examines topics related to racial and ethnic diversity through three essays. Each essay takes a new perspective on a current issue in the literature and utilizes a unique statistical methodology to address that issue. The first essay uses the Monte Carlo Simulation Method to develop a measure of segregation for the ACS and uses it to assess whether the ACS is useful for measuring segregation in places with different sizes. The second essay considers whether a relatively unexplored factor, genetics, is correlated with migration. This perspective broadens our understanding of why migration occurs and is perpetuated over time. …
Beyond The Parental Generation : The Influences Of Grandparents' Socioeconomic Status On Grandchildren's Wellbeing,
2018
University at Albany, State University of New York
Beyond The Parental Generation : The Influences Of Grandparents' Socioeconomic Status On Grandchildren's Wellbeing, Ying Huang
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Health disparities in relation to socioeconomic status are persistent and pervasive in the United States. My dissertation investigates the intergenerational determinants of child wellbeing. Driven by several life course models as well as the cumulative (dis)advantage theory, this dissertation examines whether and how grandparental socioeconomic status (SES) shapes the health and cognitive skills of their grandchildren, paying special attention to identifying direct and indirect processes, and assesses the heterogeneous effects by child race. Analyses are based on longitudinal data from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the supplemental studies of Child Development Supplement (CDS). I use multivariate …
Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (Imagen): Adapting The Girl Roster™ For Lakota Communities,
2018
Population Council
Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (Imagen): Adapting The Girl Roster™ For Lakota Communities, Kelly Hallman, Stephanie Martinez
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This brief reports on a first-of-a-kind meeting between the Population Council’s GIRLCenter and organizations such as the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society (WBCWS) that work locally with Native American communities to understand the specific needs of adolescent girls in Indian Country. This followed an inaugural meeting of the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) with its wealth of insight concerning the needs of the Native communities they serve, and the GIRL Center’s myriad programmatic tools and resources that have been tried and tested in global settings for several decades. The IMAGEN Approach is an adaptable process that links these two …
Girlsread! Girls’ Rights: An Empowerment Curriculum,
2018
Population Council
Girlsread! Girls’ Rights: An Empowerment Curriculum, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Nicole Haberland, Barbara Mensch, Pamela Nyirenda, Diana Bulanda-Shalala
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This curriculum guide is designed to help female mentors in the GirlsRead! program in Zambia to directly engage girls in critical thinking about gender inequalities and discrimination, and help them build the assets and confidence needed to act on their own behalf and as progressive voices in their communities. GirlsRead! participants are girls in grade 7—the last year of primary school—when they are at high risk of leaving school. The curriculum includes 19 sessions that cover a range of topics from gender equality to sexuality to rights, in meetings that provide a space and opportunity for girls to regularly interact …
Exploring Barriers And Opportunities For Pre-Eclampsia And Eclampsia Prevention And Management In Ethiopia,
2018
Population Council
Exploring Barriers And Opportunities For Pre-Eclampsia And Eclampsia Prevention And Management In Ethiopia, Pooja Sripad, Hussein Ismail, Amy Dempsey, Karen Kirk, Charlotte E. Warren
Reproductive Health
The Ending Eclampsia Project is a five-year cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Population Council, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health Ethiopia, which seeks to expand access to quality underutilized interventions and commodities for the prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E). This report presents qualitative findings from formative research conducted to: 1) assess the policy and health systems environment related to PE/E prevention and management, 2) identify potential bottlenecks in the supply chain, 3) investigate PE/E knowledge, attitudes, and practices at policy, health system, and community levels, 4) describe the barriers …
A Study Of Employment Outcomes Among Technical And Vocational Secondary Education Graduates In Egypt [Arabic],
2018
Population Council
A Study Of Employment Outcomes Among Technical And Vocational Secondary Education Graduates In Egypt [Arabic], Salma Nasser, Ali Rashed
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In Egypt, some 450,000 students graduate from technical and vocational schools each year. Yet just over 50 percent are employed immediately following their graduation. This brief explores the kinds of jobs that are available to these graduates, and the factors that affect the remaining 50 percent who do not join the work force. The report aims to understand the types of training that best prepare students for the available jobs, differences in opportunities for male and female graduates, and connections between work and the home and/or community circumstances that may hinder employment. The report offers recommendations for improving the education …
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Endline Results—Executive Summary,
2018
Population Council
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Endline Results—Executive Summary, Population Council
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Adolescent girls in Zambia face a range of risks and vulnerabilities that challenge their healthy development from girls into young women, and they often lack the social, health, and economic assets that are necessary to mitigate these risks. The issues that confront vulnerable girls—high rates of gender-based violence, unsafe sex that puts girls at risk for unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections, school dropout, lack of economic resources and income-generating options, and lack of agency and participation—are interdependent and have similar causes. The vulnerabilities confronting Zambian adolescent girls formed the basis for designing the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), which 1) …
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Financial Literacy And Savings—Two-Year Follow-Up,
2018
Population Council
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Financial Literacy And Savings—Two-Year Follow-Up, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Through the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), the Population Council and partners implemented a social, health, and economic asset-building program in Zambia for over 11,000 vulnerable adolescent girls aged 10–19 years. The AGEP intervention was comprised of three major components: 1) weekly safe spaces groups in which girls met once a week for two years for training on sexual and reproductive health, life skills, and financial education; 2) a health voucher that girls could use at contracted private and public facilities for general wellness and sexual and reproductive health services; and 3) a savings account that was designed by the …
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Health,
2018
Population Council
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Health, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) intervention was conducted over two years to support more than 11,000 vulnerable adolescent girls in Zambia. It was led by the Population Council in partnership with the Young Women’s Christian Association of Zambia (YWCA), the National Savings and Credit Bank of Zambia (Natsave), and the Government of Zambia. To assess the impact of AGEP on mediating and longer-term demographic, reproductive, and health outcomes, Population Council researchers designed and implemented a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial across all program areas. This brief presents the final AGEP findings, highlighting, in the Zambian context, what can be …
