Browsing by Author "Hollowell, Adam"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    A Policy Analysis of No Hit Zones: What are barriers to No Hit Zone implementation?
    (2018-12-05) Mastrangelo, Madison
    No Hit Zones (NHZs) represent a new policy to prevent corporal punishment and to ensure healthy environments for children and their families. NHZs designate spaces where no hitting of any kind is tolerated and serve as an intervention to shift cultural norms away from physical discipline, starting at the institution-wide level. This mixed-methods thesis is divided into two studies that address the substantial research gap in this nascent field. Study 1 provides an overview of the approximately 50 NHZs nationwide and answers the research question, “What are the barriers to No Hit Zone implementation in institutions, such as hospitals and District Attorney’s offices?” Through the analysis of qualitative data from 44 interviews with professionals involved in NHZ implementation, this thesis establishes a comprehensive list of NHZs and their distribution across states and institution types. Study 1 identifies four central barriers to NHZ implementation: social norms surrounding corporal punishment, framing of the NHZ policy, resource issues, and lack of data surrounding training initiatives. Based on Study 1’s identification of the training barrier, Study 2 analyzes quantitative data from surveys administered before and after NHZ training at Children’s Hospital New Orleans and provides preliminary evidence that training programs can impact healthcare professionals’ views about the use of corporal punishment and increase their perceived ability to intervene when they witness hitting.
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    Bipartisanship in the 21st Century Cures Act
    (2017-12) Scoufis, Courtney
    In the 114th Congress, only 2.7% of introduced bills became laws. During this Congress, the 21st Century Cures Act passed with an overwhelming majority of 392 to 26 in the House and 94 to 5 in the Senate. The purpose of the act was to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of treatments and cures, which is normally a partisan topic. Little comprehensive work has been done towards understanding the act. Content analysis allowed the exploration of the two questions: did political compromise occur in the act, and if so, what were the main characteristics of political compromise? Political compromise is a method of achieving bipartisanship. This project defined it as agreement over the wording of a section, lack of specific content, the removing of content, and the inclusion of content. Political compromise was identified in three main areas: the bipartisan committees used to develop the ideas for the act, the use of preexisting bills as provisions, and the resolving of disputes. The two characteristics that most strongly allowed for political compromise in this act are strategic planning and experienced leadership. These characteristics can help in the analysis of other bills to understand why they do or do not pass.
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    Carceral Care: Examining the Quality of Health Care for Pregnant Women in Jails in North Carolina
    (2021-12-06) Jain, Rhea
    Most women who are incarcerated are of childbearing age and some individuals experience pregnancy while incarcerated. However, research on pregnancy in correctional facilities is limited to within prisons, even though healthcare provision in jails is more variable and inconsistent. This study aims to address the gap in the literature about the quality of health care for pregnant women in jails, rather than prisons, in North Carolina. This purpose of this study is to understand the provision of pregnancy-related health care in jail facilities, and to what extent jails meet the recommended standards of care established by public health agencies. To collect data, surveys were administered among administrators and health care providers from 45 jail facilities across North Carolina and 6 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results indicate a high level of variability in the provision of pregnancy care across detention facilities in North Carolina. Moreover, jails could improve quality of care in the following categories: pregnancy testing, counseling and contraception, postpartum care, HIV screenings, and substance use treatment. Findings suggest that NC jails do not follow the standards of care set by public health agencies in all areas of pregnancy care except prenatal care. Therefore, policymakers should seek to standardize jail health policies according to the benchmark standards of care offered by the American Public Health Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and National Commission on Correctional Health Care, to improve reproductive health care for pregnant, justice-involved individuals.
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    Just War and Statecraft in Paul Ramsey’s Reading of Luke 14:28-33
    (The Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2012-08-01) Hollowell, Adam
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    Purposive Politics: Paul Ramsey, Repentance and Political Judgment
    (Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics) Hollowell, Adam
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    Tablet and Sword: Religion and Violence in Recent Popular Scholarship on the Muslim World
    (Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, 2013-02-04) Hollowell, Adam
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    The Use of Children as Props in Political Campaign Advertising
    (2018-02-03) Scandura, Kate
    This project explores the ways in which children are used in political campaign advertising. Analyzing 97 videos from the 2016 presidential and congressional elections, I coded for the types of children that appeared in campaign advertisements, in what ways they appear, and what messages they are used to convey. I then determined how this differed based on candidate characteristics. I found that girls tend to appear more often than boys, that advertisements feature white children more often than they feature non-white children, that blonde children are disproportionately represented in ads, and that this all varies by candidate and by candidate’s party. I also found that young children and adolescents appear more frequently than babies and teenagers, that the children featured are most often not related to the candidate, that children are generally featured with their parents more often than they are featured with the candidate, and that children very rarely speak in ads, which lends support to the idea that they are used as props.
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    To Seek or Not to Seek: Examining Health-Seeking Behaviors among Ethiopian Immigrants in the United States
    (2018-01-25) Elias, Blaine
    Existing literature suggests that immigrants underutilize U.S. health care. Care utilization is associated with poor health for both patients and those around them. Current health care research lacks data specific to Ethiopian immigrants and the influences of their health-seeking behaviors. Such research is necessary, as the Trump Administration has made recent efforts in reforming health care and immigration policies. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to investigate the reasons why Ethiopian immigrants choose and choose not to seek American health care. Past studies have identified (1) language differences with providers and (2) perceived discrimination from providers as barriers and (1) existing insurance coverage and (2) positive word-of-mouth testimonials from social networks as facilitators to health care use for immigrants. These identified factors served as the hypotheses for this thesis. Moreover, focus group methodology was applied to explore these hypotheses. Five focus groups were conducted with a total of 26 Ethiopian patients (n = 26) of Learn and Live Wholestic Health Services, a public clinic located in Northern Virginia, from July 2017 to August 2017. The focus group discussions highlighted both hypothesized and emerging themes. Language was not a barrier to health care for participants, but there was variation on characterizing social discrimination as a barrier. Public insurance was a facilitator and private insurance was a barrier to utilization. Positive testimonials were strongly regarded as facilitators. In terms of emerging themes, one’s attachment to Ethiopian traditionalism arose as a barrier, while professionalism of U.S. health care was branded a facilitator. This thesis concludes by providing the following policy implications: implementation of health advertisements in Ethiopian immigrant communities, development of tools to solicit Ethiopian ideas, improvement of language services in health facilities, and further health research on Ethiopians immigrants.