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ASSESSING THE CORE CHILD SOCIAL SAFETY NET: USING ADMINISTRATIVE DATA TO UNDERSTAND PROGRAM REACH AND HOUSEHOLD CHURN IN SNAP
No full textThe United States has a wide array of federal programs designed to address childhood poverty. Six programs comprise the core child social safety net providing critical income, housing, and nutrition assistance to low-income children and their families. These core programs require substantial federal outlays, yet there is no systematic process in place to evaluate if these programs are working as intended.
Using the vantage point of the SNAP program and newly and exclusively available administrative data, this study focuses on two measures of process evaluations to compare the measurement of program reach of SNAP participants (Aim 1) and examine the associations of household churn in the SNAP program (Aim 2).
This study uses SNAP administrative data from the USDA, or SNAP-AD, capturing the complete set of households that participated in SNAP in 2011 in six states. Data for Aim 1 included SNAP-AD, Census surveys ASEC and ACS, and the Official SNAP statistics to compare estimates of the number of children and households with children that participated in SNAP. Aim 2 used SNAP-AD to examine household churn for 2011 SNAP households. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to compare the measurement of program reach. Probit and multinomial models were used to examine the associations between household characteristics and the likelihood and frequency of churn.
The results indicate the conventional measurement of program reach undercounts the number of children and households with children compared to the administrative data. Undercounts were more severe for households with children than children, with the largest deficit observed in the ASEC. The study also found that household characteristics are associated with the likelihood of churn. Households with children headed by non-White, single, less than high school educated, and non-English speakers were at higher risk of churning than other households. Of these churners, employed and Hispanic-headed households were also more likely to churn multiple times.
The study finds that undercounts in the reach of programs and household churn are issues that undermine the implementation of social programs for children. Furthermore, these issues affect some children more than others with significant policy implications. The implications of undercounting participants and churn have tangible costs to programs and families and disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations. Strengthening process evaluations of core child social programs would improve fairness and equity of allocating vital resources and funding to disadvantaged children, their families, and communities
Organic Search Engine Optimization for Museum Websites in 2023: Strategies for Improved Online Visibility and Access
No full textForemost, this research attempts to uncover the state of the art of organic search engine optimization (SEO) in 2023 as it relates to museums in the United States. It looks at the challenges that museums face with search engine optimization and how data aggregators like Google Arts & Culture and the Digital Public Library of America fit into the online organic visibility of collection metadata. Finally, the research identifies the most common content management systems and online collections solutions that art museums are using and their websites’ technical optimization. The paper draws conclusions based on a literature review as well as technical audits and manual reviews of 214 art museum websites. The research is intended to serve as an orientation for museums evaluating their online strategies in 2023 and as a starting point to help inform museums’ own research into the SEO-friendliness of popular content and online collections solutions. It concludes with recommendations to help museums realize common missed opportunities in organic search engine optimization
ELECTRICITY IS CRITICAL FOR INCREASING CHILD SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: EVIDENCE FROM ETHIOPIA UNDER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
No full textImproving access to electricity is a major challenge in Ethiopia, one of the fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. While many households in urban areas have access to grid connected electricity, less than half of those in rural areas do. Investment in education lags far behind that of other low- and middle-income countries and many children are still forced into child labor, child marriage or pregnancy.
In this paper, I examine the relationship between electricity poverty and children’s school attendance in Ethiopia, taking advantage of the episode of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March 2020 and September 2020, 26 million children in Ethiopia were kept out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This increased the importance of electricity in education, as the closure of schools meant that many children missed out on government-provided distance learning opportunities, and there were fears that child labor, child marriage or pregnancy would increase, further widening the education gap in the country. This paper analyzes the impact of improved access to private electricity in each household on children’s school attendance after the pandemic restrictions were lifted, controlling for age, gender, and region. The results indicate that school attendance recovered after schools reopened, regardless of age, gender, or region. However, lack of private access to electricity had a significant impact on children’s school attendance, as access to remedies was limited during the pandemic, and school attendance for this group declined significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. I show that this was associated with a greater likelihood of child labor, child marriage or pregnancy, especially in conflict areas. Overall, this analysis shows that improving private access to electricity can lead to better educational outcomes
EXPLORING THE FRONTIERS OF MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE OF THE HUMAN KIND
No full textMy interests revolve around medical advances, especially new approaches to the management of age-old conditions such as diabetes or obesity. I am intrigued by medical breakthroughs that change healthcare paradigms while improving patient outcomes. But it’s not just healthcare. Other inventions and innovations that fuel humanity’s technological advances fascinate me. While the stories included in this collection have no central theme, the thread that binds them is my fascination with science and technology and my informal storytelling style
BLACK TO THE FUTURE: A DESIGN-BASED APPROACH TO BLACK STUDENTS’ COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS
No full textDespite decades of education policy change, students, especially those attending systems in low-income areas, continue to face significant barriers to being prepared for life after high school. Although factors like advanced course offerings have shown to increase postsecondary readiness, only 57% of African American students attend high schools offering the classes necessary for them to be college ready. Students are graduating high school needing considerable additional time to develop the appropriate communication, digital literacy, and cultural competencies to address immediate, real-world challenges. This study addresses disproportionate college and career readiness outcomes at urban U.S. high schools across a southwestern major metropolitan area.
Through the lens of nested ecological systems theory, this study explored educational policies like school accountability mandates, inequitable distribution of resources and ineffective educator professional development contribute to a cycle which perpetuates barriers to postsecondary advancement for Black students (Aleman, 2007; Au, 2016; Grant & Ray, 2010). A significant factor for Black students’ college and career readiness is the role non-familial adults in schools play.
To further examine the nature of disproportionality in Black student college and career readiness outcomes in the context of an urban Southwest school district, a needs assessment study was conducted. The needs assessment aimed to identify patterns and congruent findings between the research literature and the researcher’s professional context, which prepared educators for the classroom microsystem. Based on the review of literature surrounding the problem of practice, teacher beliefs were chosen as an actionable factor of study operationalized as the constructs of teacher self-efficacy and teacher outcome expectancy. The assessment pointed to opportunities to address teacher efficacy via professional learning.
To address this, the researcher used sociocultural theory, Castro’s (2013) notion of racialized college and career readiness and the Liberatory Design framework (Anaissie, Cary, Clifford, Malarkey & Wise, 2021) to develop a guidebook for implementation of design-based approaches to school improvement. Design principles and associated practices emphasize shifting power to teachers and students, minimizing transactional relationships and using school community member’s lived expertise as expertise in developing novel solutions to college and career readiness challenges. Finally, implications, conclusions and the researcher’s reflections are shared
KINETICS OF QUINONE-CO2 ADDUCT FORMATION FOR ELECTROCHEMICALLY MEDIATED CARBON CAPTURE
No full textElectrochemically mediated carbon capture (EMCC) is a widely investigated method for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the next generation of carbon capture technologies. Among the promising CO2 carriers studied in EMCC, quinones are particularly notable for their excellent redox properties and significant swing in CO2 affinity. However, the lack of kinetic profiles for the quinone-CO2 reaction remains a major obstacle in optimizing this process. To address this issue, an electroanalytical method was developed to calculate the bimolecular rate constant for the reaction between reduced quinone and CO2. This study investigates how varying electrolyte microenvironments and sorbent molecular structures affect the kinetics and thermodynamics of the quinone-CO2 reaction. Both cation and anion species and their concentrations were found to influence the rate of reaction. Specifically, the size of the cations and anions and the concentrations of the supporting salt in the electrolyte were identified as critical factors. Furthermore, quinone structures and hydrogen bonding significantly contributed to the reaction rate. Overall, the findings presented in this thesis aim to provide foundational insights into the kinetics of the quinone-CO2 reaction to design and optimize practical EMCC implementations
OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES OF THE RELATION BETWEEN GALACTIC WINDS AND STAR FORMATION AT HALF THE AGE OF THE UNIVERSE
No full textGalactic winds are the outflowing gas launched from galaxies, driven by the momentum and energy released from the star formation or black hole activities. They are among the most important feedback processes which affect the formation of galaxies across more than ten billion years of the cosmic history. Albeit the importance, the physical properties of the winds are not yet fully constrained, neither are the relations between the wind properties and galaxy properties. Observational studies of the wind properties and the relations are needed so that the roles of the winds in galaxy formation can be understood from a theoretical perspective.
In this dissertation, I present a series of observational studies of the galactic winds that are driven by star formation. I perform measurements of the wind properties and study the relations between these properties and several galaxy properties related to the star formation, including the star formation rate (SFR) and SFR density. These studies are focused on the cosmic epoch when the Universe was half of its current age, an epoch when the impacts of the winds on galaxy formation are expected to be prominent. To begin with, I present a case study of a massive star-forming galaxy at the epoch and show that the winds are launched from its inner and outer parts. A further analysis supports that the winds are most likely driven by the spatially extended star formation inside the galaxy. Second, I turn the focus to a large sample of star-forming galaxies and characterize the statistical trends between the maximum wind velocity and the SFR densities measured from multiple spatial scales. These trends indicate that the maximum wind velocity of a galaxy might be related to the SFR density measured from the most intensely star-forming regions inside the galaxy. Finally, I present a technical analysis regarding the methods of measuring the SFRs and SFR densities from observations, and show that a flexible dust attenuation law needs to be adopted for these measurements. I conclude with an outlook for the future steps toward a better understanding of the roles of the winds in galaxy formation
THE DUAL PIVOT: A STUDY OF THE FACTORS THAT UNDERMINED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ARAB GULF PARTNERS BETWEEN 2010 AND 2022
No full textThe relationship between the United States and its Gulf partners is currently at a critical juncture, characterized by mutual mistrust and diverging interests. As the United States endeavors to rebalance its strategic focus towards competition with China in the Indo-Pacific region, Gulf partners are adapting to significant shifts in global politics, including an apparent de-prioritization of the Middle East in American foreign policy priorities.
The concept of the ‘dual pivot’ is proposed to convey that the relationship between the United States and Gulf partners is not exclusively determined by a singular pivot controlled by the United States. The Arab Gulf states are also pivoting by balancing their strategic relationship between the United States, China, Russia, and India. They see their interests maintained in a multipolar world. While the United States is rebalancing its engagement in the Middle East, the Arab Gulf states are engaging in shaping what the great-power competition looks like in the region.
Several factors shaped the relationship between the United States and its Arab Gulf partners between 2010 and 2022. The methodology for determining these factors is through interviewing subject matter experts. These factors are grouped into six categories. They are great-power competition between the United States, China, Russia, and India in the Middle East; the geopolitics of energy and changes in the global energy landscape; regional dynamics and security; the military relationship between the three Arab Gulf States and the United States; political economy; and values such as human rights and democracy.
A comparison between three Arab Gulf states -Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar- exhibits divergent security interests, particularly in the areas of regional politics, defense cooperation, and relations with external powers. While the three countries have sought to maintain close security ties with the U.S., they engaged differently with other global powers, such as Russia and China
Spontaneous Demobilization in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Implications for Theory and Practice
No full textThe objective of this thesis is to determine whether spontaneous demobilization fueled the post-conflict security dilemma dynamics of fear and uncertainty, the ambiguity of weaponry, and the desire for self-defense capabilities immediately following the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This thesis argues that spontaneous demobilization fueled the security dilemma dynamics of fear and uncertainty, but also mitigated security dilemma dynamics by diminishing the ambiguity of weaponry and allowing combatants to retain means of self-defense, thus decreasing vulnerability. Primary and secondary sources are used to establish the context under which spontaneous demobilization occurred and to provide the reader with a comprehensive explanation for why spontaneous demobilization occurred on a large-scale in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995. Process tracing is then used to evaluate the hypothesis and establish links between spontaneous demobilization and the security dilemma dynamics of fear and uncertainty, the ambiguity of weaponry, and desire for self-defense capability. Finally, this his thesis finds that spontaneous demobilization in Bosnia and Herzegovina fueled the security dilemma dynamics of fear and uncertainty, but diminished the ambiguity of weaponry and allowed combatants to retain means of self-defense, thus decreasing vulnerability