Browsing by Department "Public Policy Studies"
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Item Open Access A "Right for Every American:" Understanding the Concept of a "Human Right to Health" in the Context of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(2012-12) Wilmarth, VictoriaThis project examines the role that the concept of a “human right to health” played in the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). It analyzes this topic through the study of speeches made by President Obama and a study of the media through a selection of newspaper op-ed pieces and radio news stories. Key speeches made by candidate Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign were also considered to provide greater context for the health care reform debate. The concept of a “human right to health” played a minimal role in the media during the health care reform debate. Instead, the media discussion emphasized the financial needs and potential implications of reform. Media coverage also chronicled political components of the debate, in addition to a variety of divisive sub-issues. Yet, an “American right” to health played an important role in the rhetorical arc President Obama employed in order to secure the passage of the PPACA. President Obama utilized two key frameworks to discuss health care reform: namely, an American values and responsibilities framework and a financial framework. He adjusted his rhetoric and policy framing strategies according to his audience: the American Public or Congress. Ultimately both frameworks were necessary in order to pass the PPACA. This research has implications for the President’s continued health care work as he and other leaders work to implement the PPACA. It is also relevant to future health care reform efforts and human rights activism at both national and state levels.Item Open Access A Woman’s Place Is in Populism? Female Leadership in the Rise of Right-Wing Populist Movements(2018-01-25) Kaul, AnnaThis research project focuses on the identity formation of female leaders within the patriarchal ideology of right-wing populism. Case studies of Laura Ingraham and Michele Bachmann attempt to explain the emergence of female leaders within a male-dominated ideology. This research may help us better understand the role of women in the rise of right-wing populism and the distinct voices women bring to the movement. The project focuses on debate performances and podcasts produced by the subjects, as well as comparative analysis with Sarah Palin, one of the first female leaders of the right-wing resurgence. The research finds that these leaders purposefully construct an identity tailored to the expectations of their followers, employing a combination of both characteristically masculine, aggressive language and feminine, motherly characteristics. This identity formation allows them to amass followings even within an ideology that discourages female leadership.Item Open Access #Activism: Tracking Twitter's Impact on Campaigns for Political Change(2016-02-01) Brown, ErinSince the turn of the century, the global community has experienced a constant wave of popular uprisings and public protests. The “Arab Spring” triggered a chain reaction that spread not just to the Eastern world, but also to many stable Western democracies, including the indignados (indignant citizens) movement of Spain, the Portuguese Geração a Rasca (desperate generation), and the Occupy campaigns worldwide (Theocharis et al. 2014). Although these movements occurred in different places, addressed different issues, and featured different demands, one common underlying pattern unites them together: the use of social media to mobilize citizens and push for change. Recent research on social movements has thus become increasingly devoted to understanding the role of social media in facilitating citizen communication, coordination, and organization. Scholars contend that the widespread popularity, expansive network reach, and unique “feedback” engagement characteristics of social media mark it as particularly well-suited for mobilizing systematic action (“Grassroots” 2012; Hampton et al. 2011; Nisbet et al. 2012). Among this research, the microblogging platform Twitter has received praise for its ability to simplify the complexities of mass protests and effectively organize community action (Theocharis et al. 2014). Various interest groups have thus increasingly begun to adopt social media – and Twitter in particular – as a means to achieve institutional goals. However, as social communication has moved to online networks, the scope and variety of information that citizens receive has begun to shrink. Understanding how different groups have utilized social media has become imperative to examining what messages people see, and as a result, how social media may change activism in the future. This study thus seeks to answer the following questions: How have interest groups utilized social media, and Twitter in particular, to facilitate political change? How does partisan affiliation affect and shape social media strategy?Item Open Access Alleviating Poverty for Nicaraguan Immigrants: Performance of NGOs in La Carpio, Costa Rica(2010-12) Zhang, TonyThis present study aimed to examine two NGOs in La Carpio, Costa Rica, Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) and Christ for the City (CFC), in terms of their performance across the following three factors: 1). clear goal-setting and showing persistence to achieve those goals; 2). effectively using horizontal and vertical linkages; and 3). effectively using beneficiaries in the planning and implementation of projects, and adapting to the beneficiaries’ needs. The researcher assessed how the organizations are performing in terms of these factors by conducting 18-question-long interviews on staff members at their respective NGOs. Through interviewing three staff members at each organization, the researcher found that both NGOs are performing well in terms of the first and third factors. However, both NGOs could take more action to improve their performance in terms the second factor. It may be inferred that other NGOs in La Carpio areItem Open Access Alternative Mutual Funds: An Initial Approach to Analyzing the Impact of Regulation on Fund Performance(2014-12-30) Ziment, JaredThis study seeks to examine the performance differences between regulated and unregulated investment funds. The funds studied are called alternative mutual funds by federal regulators, and are different than traditional mutual funds. Sponsors of these alternative mutual funds have increased their offerings to the investing public which has attracted regulators’ attention. Regulators are assessing whether the current regulatory framework is sufficient for protecting investors. The objective of this empirical analysis is to determine the effect of regulations on the performance of these alternative mutual funds relative to unregulated funds of similar character. This type of study is a first step in examining the possible cost of operational regulation on investment fund performance. This thesis begins with a history of investment fund regulation in the United States. The discussion moves to a review of the theoretical underpinnings of financial regulation for investment funds. After establishing the historical environment for the regulation, the report moves to an explanation of alternative investment strategies and follows with a description of their significant growth. The report summarizes the results of the empirical tests, and concludes with suggestions for future policymaker inquiry. While the limitations of the data set constrict the explanatory power of this study, the results are indicative of the potential impact that regulations can have on the benefits that alternative mutual funds provide to investors. The SEC may be well advised to execute a large-scale analysis on the effect of the operational restrictions on alternative mutual funds versus comparable unregulated private funds. Insights gained might guide improvements in the regulatory structure for this growing sector.Item Open Access An Old Problem in a New Market: Public and Private Regulation of Counterfeit Consumer Goods in the Chinese C2C Market(2015-03-05) Sui, XinshuThe emergence of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online marketplaces in China has greatly complicated the regulation of counterfeit goods. Endemic information asymmetries, strong consumer demand for counterfeits, and conflicting economic interests have challenged the effectiveness of independent government regulation and marketplace self-regulation but also created conditions for co-regulation. Using historical analysis, this thesis examines the evolution of government regulation and marketplace self-regulation of C2C counterfeits in China. It assesses the forces that have driven the shifts in the regulatory paradigm, and evaluates the complexity of Chinese online counterfeit regulation. The Chinese regulatory regime against fake goods online has been mostly shaped by the nation’s perceived economic interests and the business interests of the chief online commercial platform, Taobao. This regime, moreover, has been gradually evolving from independent government regulation and marketplace self-regulation toward co-regulation. The well-developed regulatory paradigm, nonetheless, bears an expedient character, as regulators have often used the regulation to advance certain interests over the others. The regulation of C2C online counterfeit in China also reveals the limits of and opportunities for transnational regulatory governance of online intellectual property.Item Open Access Anti-Americanism in Pakistan: An Analysis of Pakistani Elite Opinions Regarding the United States and Drone Strikes in 2010(2015-01-15) Sawh, AnjaliIn 2010, 122 drone strikes occurred in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, resulting in 849 civilian and militant casualties. Although the Pakistani government did little to protest against the use of drones, Pakistani elite opinion was complex in its response to both America and drone strikes. This paper argues that drone strikes made Pakistan’s elite more critical of America and drones during this period, and that civilian casualties most strongly influenced these opinions. This paper analyzes the rhetoric used in hundreds of English and Urdu Pakistani newspaper articles in order to understand the sentiments of Pakistan’s elite societal members toward America and the drone program. This paper finds that due to several influential factors, particularly civilian casualties, both drone strikes in Pakistan as well as sentiments toward America were discussed in negative, positive, and neutral terms, resulting in a highly multifaceted understanding of Pakistani elite opinion.Item Open Access Associations between HIV/AIDS funding activities and family planning efforts(2012-06-04) Choi, DaniellaThirty years since the onset of the HIV epidemic, the global community has achieved many significant milestones to combat the disease thanks to an unprecedented financial commitment for the cause. However, some argue that the disproportionately large disease-specific funding creates a parallel funding structure, which may hinder the necessary integration between different health agendas. One key issue is the lack of integration between HIV and family planning/reproductive health services. Despite the natural and substantive link, the existing literature suggests that the expansion of HIV program may be at the expense of critical family planning programs. This paper seeks to examine the claim that there may be a negative linkage between HIV/AIDS funding and family planning efforts. The author first observes the extent of family planning needs in countries with high HIV prevalence rates and finds that in ten countries worst hit by the epidemic, 1 in 4 women do not have access to contraceptives despite their desire to use contraception. The author then uses the difference-in-differences method to study the changes in Family Planning Efforts index (measured by the Futures Group) in 41 HIV-endemic countries by the amount of HIV aid received relative to each country’s Gross National Income. These analyses repeatedly suggest that countries receiving a large sum of HIV aid relative to their national economy perform worse in family planning efforts over time compared to the countries receiving smaller sums of HIV aid. This paper also includes case studies of Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Vietnam to provide qualitative dimensions and to present policy implications. This is a preliminary research connecting HIV/AIDS funding and its effect on family planning efforts. Future research is critical to comprehensively understand the linkage between the two factors and to develop effective ways for integration.Item Open Access Athletics or Academics? An Analysis of Student-Athlete Collegiate Priorities(2016-01-23) Mendes, LexiThis thesis examines the academic and athletic priorities of collegiate student-athletes, using Duke University as a case study. Analyses of information collected through online surveys (N= 151) and in-person interviews (N=8) suggest that both non-revenue athletes and revenue athletes value their academics more than athletics. However, comparisons of the two groups indicate that non-revenue athletes value their academics slightly more than do revenue athletes. Revenue athletes struggle with short-term academic goals, such as studying outside of class and turning academic coursework in before the deadline. These findings suggest the need for more effective support policies to help revenue athletes devote more time to their academic courses.Item Open Access Attempting Education Reform through the Courts: The Inefficacy of Abbott V Court-Mandated Funding Reallocation and Reforms in Underperforming School Districts in New Jersey(2010-12) Song, KevinThis research project analyzes the effects of the 1998 Abbott V New Jersey Supreme Court decision on student achievement in the state’s underperforming Abbott districts. The Court mandated the reallocation of the districts’ state aid to best practice reforms. This project uses regression analysis to compare the Abbott districts to socioeconomically similar districts in New Jersey while controlling for the confounding factors of each district’s Black student percentage, Hispanic student percentage, socioeconomic status, and expenditure per pupil. The results show that Abbott V had no effect on fourth grade achievement between 2004 and 2007 and lowered achievement growth for cohorts of students who entered fourth grade in 2004 and 2005. The results hold for both language arts and math achievement measured both as district proficiency rate and district average score. The project concludes that Abbott V was not effective in increasing student achievement and that the state was justified in eliminating the Abbott district system under the School Funding Reform Act of 2008.Item Open Access Ballistic Missile Defense in Japan: Process-Tracing a Historical Trajectory(2014-12-17) Van, ShanelleWhy did Japan deploy ballistic missile defense when and how it did? The prevailing view characterizes Japan’s BMD decision as a response to North Korea’s 1998 Taepodong missile launch. But “Ballistic Missile Defense in Japan: Process-Tracing a Historical Trajectory” contests this simple assumption of causation. The thesis first pieces together a more comprehensive historical narrative from contemporary sources and interviews with formal officials. Analysis of this newly revised timeline then demonstrates that focusing events like the Taepodong incident were but one of several factors driving BMD; others included alliance pressures, bureaucratic leadership, and defense industry profitability. These findings are more important now than ever as the United States pivots towards Asia and transitions to relying on Japan as an equal military partner. Understanding the history of missile defense in Japan leads to the heart of how and why the United States’ close ally makes its national security decisions, and thus allows both parties to forge a better alliance.Item Open Access Barriers to Health Engagement for Emerging Adults in Postsecondary Institutions of Durham, North Carolina(2018-01-25) Sicard, KelseyThe goal of this research project was to identify trends of and barriers to health engagement for emerging adults in postsecondary institutions. The motivation for studying health engagement—which includes all actions taken for, or behaviors relating to, the promotion of an individual’s health—stems from the growing prevalence and financial burden of chronic illness in the United States. Health engagement can help combat chronic illness by promoting more positive health outcomes. Emerging adults represent one target population for this health intervention since they are still forming their identities and lifelong habits. Postsecondary education is pursued by half of emerging adults in the U.S., so these institutions provide a natural avenue for research. This mixed-methods study focused on three postsecondary institutions which included a two-year community college, a public Historically Black University, and a four-year private institution. Statistical analyses on 874 survey responses found that engagement is a significant (p<0.001) predictor of self-reported health status and found significant differences (p<0.01) in the engagement scores and health outcomes among institutions. A regression model on the Youth Engagement with Health Services score identified significant predictors of engagement (R2=0.15; p<0.001). Focus groups, which included a total of 30 participants, helped inform the barriers faced by students and helped explain the significance of the variables in the model. Finally, an engagement process emerged that provides a foundation for institutional policy change to address these barriers.Item Open Access Beijing Migrant Education: Challenges and Prospects in Light of the Five Certificate Policy(2014-12-12) Feng, EmilyToday, approximately 23 million migrant children live in China’s cities. However, China’s anachronistic household registration system (hukou system) prevents migrant workers and their children from accessing public benefits like public education. In response, private entrepreneurs began opening private, illegal schools for migrant children in cities like Beijing and Shanghai in the early 1990s. In January 2014, the Beijing government began implementation of the “Five Certificate Policy,” which provides a pathway for migrant students to obtain a public school enrollment number but only after they have secured a set of five “certificates,” or items of paperwork, to qualify. In this study, I interviewed migrants and researchers to determine the greatest challenges presently faced by migrant schools and how those challenges are translated to their students in Beijing. I also interviewed migrant parents and teaches on the consequences of the Five Certificate Policy and collected further information about student enrollment and policy provisions. The great challenges faced by migrant educators and students stemmed from the resource scarcity and precarity of the migrant schools. Furthermore, an analysis of the Five Certificate Policy reveals that its implementation differ from district to district within Beijing itself. The policy opaqueness and difficulty in meeting all of its provisions has increased the exclusion of migrants from the public education system and further disrupted educational pathways. Moreover, it has contributed to the precarity faced by migrant schools, exacerbating preexisting resource scarcity problems. Going forward, the Beijing government should standardize the Five Certificate Policy system, provide resources for migrant students who wish to apply to school enrollment in their home provinces, and look to incrementally incorporate migrant schools into the public education system. In the long term, as China continues to urbanize and develop smaller, inland cities, the national government should invest in the economic development of these cities and the education systems within them so as to create more even distributions of opportunity for all of China’s citizens.Item Open Access Between Migration and Belonging: Citizenship Policy in Spain and Ireland in the 21st Century(2010-12-10) Covington, KimberlyAfter an economic boom in the 1990’s, Ireland has experienced a more concentrated and sudden in-migration than any European country in the past decade. Spain, too, attracted a sudden inflow of immigrants with its economic success beginning in the 1990s and amplified through the early 2000s. As both of these countries have struggled to redefine and revise their immigration policies to accommodate these changes, one very important piece of the immigration puzzle has also come under scrutiny: citizenship. Citizenship policy is a window into how a country defines itself and its willingness to accept foreigners into that defined space. Ireland and Spain are two countries that, for most of their history, never had a significant foreign presence that might challenge their definitions of inclusion in this way. This very recent immigration timeline in each, therefore, makes them two very unique environments in which to study citizenship policy. Given this confluence of circumstances, the following analysis will attempt to illuminate how the citizenship policies of Spain and Ireland affect who becomes a citizen in each country. By linking the language of these policies to observable data of naturalization, it will be possible to see more clearly both the implications of these policies as well as possible outside factors that affect who becomes a citizen and how these shape the identity of these two countries.Item Open Access Beyond HIV/AIDS: Has The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Sparked Policy Change?(2011-12) Forman, AlyssaThis paper examines the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR) effect on national policy change in fifteen recipient countries. It looks at three policies across these countries: abstinence, be faithful, use condoms; anti-prostitution pledge; and men who have sex with men. Countries are most likely to make a policy change when the policy is explicitly stated in PEPFAR and implemented by the national government. In Uganda, strong leadership by President Museveni led to policy change toward American preferences, despite an existing and successful national HIV/AIDS plan. In Kenya, the newly elected President Kibaki implemented PEPFAR policy priorities and used the ensuing funding to establish himself as a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In both cases, the countries shifted towards American preferences because the policies in question were implemented on a national level and explicitly required by PEPFAR.Item Open Access Bipartisanship in the 21st Century Cures Act(2017-12) Scoufis, CourtneyIn 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.Item Open Access Breakfast Breakdown: Examining Systematic Differences in Compliance with Nutrient Guidelines in the School Breakfast Program(2010-12) Cheney, MeganIn policy circles and academic publications, discussions of the School Breakfast Program focus on encouraging participation and expansion. The hope is that breakfast provision will improve the diets of low-income children and bolster students’ academic achievement. Yet policymakers have done little analysis of the program’s implementation. What research there is indicates that the majority of schools do not serve breakfasts that meet federal nutrition requirements. Before a nation-wide effort to increase School Breakfast Program participation is undertaken, factors that indicate successful (or unsuccessful) program implementation must be identified. This study uses data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-III to explore relationships between select school characteristics and the nutritional value of the school’s subsidized breakfasts. Key variables include age of the student population, the racial/ethnic composition of the school, district poverty levels, urbanicity, program participation, and the availability of competitive foods. Significant relationships between levels of nutrients provided and age of the student population, racial/ethnic composition of the population, income, urbanicity, and participation rates suggest that systematic differences exist in School Breakfast Program implementation. These disparities have important implications for the future of school nutrition policy.Item Open Access Bridging Black and White: The Influence of a Large Latino Student Population on Interracial Interaction in North Carolina(2011-12-20) Glencer, NathanUsing data from four high schools in North Carolina, this study examines the impact of growth in Latino enrollment since 2000 on interracial interaction in cafeterias, extracurricular activities, and classrooms. From 1990-2000 North Carolina’s Latino population increased by 394 percent. Since that time student populations across the state have continued to grow more diverse. Gordon Allport’s Contact Theory asserts that under certain circumstances increased interaction between students from different backgrounds positively influences achievement and tolerance. However, as student diversity has increased, many North Carolina schools have demonstrated a trend towards increasing segregation. Of the four schools considered in this paper, those with increasing Latino enrollment tend to exhibit increasing exposure rates between black and white students, while those with small and relatively constant Latino enrollment tend to demonstrate decreasing exposure rates between black and white students. Dynamics of interracial interaction are highly complex, but this study’s results suggest that greater student participation in structured programs encourages interracial contact and effectively reduces segregation at schools with diverse student populations.Item Open Access Charter Schools, Gentrification, and the Division or Betterment of Urban Communities(2014-12-30) MaxMacarthy, NgoziHistorically, under resourced and poor performing school districts hampered policy efforts to revitalize urban working class neighborhoods. The housing market works in tandem with the education “market,” with schools influencing and being influenced by their surrounding neighborhoods. This study analyzes the possible link between gentrification, or the rehabilitation of working class neighborhoods, and the rise of charter school schools. Charter schools, publically funded but privately operated, are growing exponentially under current local and national school reform policies and provide alternatives to traditional neighborhood schools. Through content analysis of newspaper articles and case studies on two New York City charter schools and their neighborhoods, this study gains perspective on the relationship between charter school creation and the changing socio-economic and cultural demographics of a neighborhood. While the media analysis suggests that the perceived link is not widespread or heavily reported, the case studies indicate that some community members perceive that the charter school is related to the ongoing gentrification of the neighborhood. Those who perceive the link are divided- while many view the charter school as increasing the racial and cultural divide in the gentrified community, others view an emerging charter school as a sign for urban cultural, economic revitalization and increased opportunities for historically underserved communities.Item Open Access China's Engagement in Multilateral Institutions: Understanding the Trade Creation Impact of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area(2010-05-06T13:01:56Z) Yuan, LangtianOver the past two decades, the rise of China has caused profound changes in the traditional underpinnings of international relations in Asia. China’s speedy economic development and military modernization led to heightened competition and conflicts with fellow East Asian countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s that caused many scholars and policy experts to become concerned with the nature of its rise to power. These concerns evolved into the great “engagement” versus “containment” debate in the 1990s regarding whether to engage or isolate the fledgling power during its ascension. Whether the international community is able to find a proper incentive that leads to the incorporation of China in the regional and international multilateral framework seemed to be the central question of the debate. Since the early 2000s, however, the Chinese government has implemented a series of liberal policy reforms regarding international relations which significantly improved its diplomatic relations with its neighbors and reassured the rest of the world of the benign nature of its rise to power. In particular, China’s increasing engagement in regional multilateral institutions surprised many western policy makers who have traditionally considered China’s hostile and suspicious attitude toward such institutions one of the major destabilizing factors in its rise to power. One prominent example of China’s increasing influence in regional multilateral institutions is its role behind the creation and implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA). Conceived in 2002, ACFTA seeks to promote regional economic cooperation through the gradual removal of trade barriers and unification of rules and economic practices in East Asia. With the 2010 deadline for the FTA’s implementation process fast approaching, the paper seeks determine the economic value of ACFTA through the application of the gravity model of trade. In particular, it hopes to answer the question whether ACFTA functions as an effective instrument promoting regional trade or merely serves to reinforce preexisting economic norms. Through the finding, the paper also hopes to offer some insights onto the question of whether China’s newfound enthusiasm in partaking in regional economic cooperation is paralleled by actual effective economic reforms. The empirical results from the gravity model are inconclusive on the trade creation aspect of ACFTA. However, analysis of other empirical data, including a closer inspection of specific ACFTA policies, do suggest that the FTA accomplished more than simply reinforcing preexisting economic norms. Moreover, the study of China’s leadership role behind the creation of ACFTA serve to reflect the new sophistication and confidence behind Beijing’s foreign policy and its altered attitude toward multilateral institutions. At the same time, it is important to note that China’s avid engagement in regional multilateral institutions and willingness to compromise in certain negotiations do not imply a full acceptance of regional cooperation and integration. There remains a great amount of uncertainty around the question of whether the recent patterns of economic cooperation are indicative of a permanent shift in the basic preferences of the Chinese government that can have long-term impact.