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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2018 highlights the importance of short-lived greenhouse gasses to combat global warming. This study explores the relationship between Gross Domestic Product per capita and methane per capita. The relationship is explored in relation to the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory where the subjects to examination used are High Income Countries and Low Income Countries based on United Nation classifications in 2019. In total 47 countries are examined where 30 countries are High Income Countries and 17 are Low Income Countries. The relationships are examined for the time periods 1970 to 2017 through Fixed Effect Models. To improve accuracy additional control variables are added: Population in agriculture (% of total employment), balance of payments and forest areas. With the added control variables, the time frame used in Fixed Effect Models changes to 1991 to 2017. The different Fixed Effect Models provide inverted U-shaped relationships for Low Income Countries and uncertain results for High Income Countries according to the Environmental Kuznets Curve.

<p>This thesis was successfully defended on January 15, 2014 at McMaster University.</p> / <p>Understanding why policies change is an important pursuit for researchers and policy-makers alike. Research evidence is one of many possible factors that encourage or constrain policy change, as is the role of ‘networks’ of policy actors. Despite extensive empirical literature on each of evidence-informed health policy and policy networks, the two have rarely been studied together, particularly in low-income country policy environments. This thesis explores both of these variables in a broader structural context of institutions, interests and ideas. Concepts and approaches from social network analysis are applied to three distinct research questions and chapters with the objective to: 1) develop and test a conceptual framework for the integration of networks, institutions, interests and ideas as major variables explaining policy change; 2) test the relationship between policy network structure (closure and heterogeneity) on the use of research evidence and innovation across the three cases; and 3) model the factors that influence the formation of an evidence exchange relationship between policy actors, and the effect of those exchanges on actor-level use of research evidence. Taken together, the findings of this dissertation present persuasive support for adopting a network lens to study evidence-informed health policy and policy change.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation investigated the development of stereotypes surrounding public school children in Brazil, primarily focusing on poor students of Afro descent. It explored how these stereotypes have influenced education policymaking and examined the efforts of Darcy Ribeiro and Paulo Freire to challenge these prevailing notions. Employing archival research to trace the historical creation of stereotypes about Black Brazilians from impoverished backgrounds since the country's declaration of independence, the study delved into historical accounts and perspectives offered by various political actors—policymakers, educators, families, and society in general. The aim was to understand how ideas and images about poor and Black students have been constructed and impacted the education policy process in the country. The findings revealed that historically, governing elites associated vulnerable populations with societal problems such as crime, diseases, and idleness. Consequently, different policies were designed and implemented, predominantly proposing work as a solution to restrain Black and poor populations. For children, schools emerged as spaces where they should be disciplined and tailored to meet the needs of the workforce. To understand the historical construction of these stereotypes, I conducted interviews with education stakeholders to assess the persistence of these ideas and the efforts schools make, or fail to make, to counteract the influence of negative social constructions on public school students. The research also delved into Ribeiro’s and Freire’s perspectives on public education—how they attempted to translate their theories into practice, and the complexities encountered during the design and implementation of their policies in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the city of São Paulo, respectively. This occurred during a pivotal period: the redemocratization of Brazil. As influential figures in policymaking, they faced resistance from those adhering to traditional narratives reinforcing stereotypes. Archival research and interviews with individuals who worked with Ribeiro and Freire in the design and implementation of their policies were central to understanding the challenges they faced in attempting to transform public schools in Brazil. The findings underscore the intricate connections among historical narratives, policy formulation, and the persistent endeavor to reshape the educational landscape for marginalized communities in Brazil. This research contributes to unraveling the dynamics of challenging stereotypes in education and delves into the transformative potential inherent in policy interventions. By focusing on Brazilians who are most reliant on public policies, the study not only informs the academic discourse but also provides insights for policies that can meaningfully impact the lives of those historically underserved.

Abstract Background Data about the effectiveness of digital contact tracing are based on studies conducted in countries with predominantly high- or middle-income settings. Up to now, little research is done to identify specific problems for the implementation of such technique in low-income countries. Methods A Bluetooth-assisted GPS location-based digital contact tracing (DCT) app was tested by 141 participants during 14 days in a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia in February 2020. The DCT app was compared to a paper-based reference system. Hits between participants and 10 designated infected participants were recorded simultaneously by both methods. Additional data about GPS and Bluetooth adherence were gathered and surveys to estimate battery consumption and app adherence were conducted. DCT apps accuracy was evaluated in different settings. Results GPS coordinates from 101/141 (71.6%) participants were received. The number of hours recorded by the participants during the study period, true Hours Recorded (tHR), was 496.3 h (1.1% of maximum Hours recordable) during the study period. With the paper-based method 1075 hits and with the DCT app five hits of designated infected participants with other participants have been listed. Differences between true and maximum recording times were due to failed permission settings (45%), data transmission issues (11.3%), of the participants 10.1% switched off GPS and 32.5% experienced other technical or compliance problems. In buildings, use of Bluetooth increased the accuracy of the DCT app (GPS + BT 22.9 m ± 21.6 SD vs. GPS 60.9 m ± 34.7 SD; p = 0.004). GPS accuracy in public transportation was 10.3 m ± 10.05 SD with a significant (p = 0.007) correlation between precision and phone brand. GPS resolution outdoors was 10.4 m ± 4.2 SD. Conclusion In our study several limitations of the DCT together with the impairment of GPS accuracy in urban settings impede the solely use of a DCT app. It could be feasible as a supplement to traditional manual contact tracing. DKRS, DRKS0 00293 27. Registered 20 June 2020 - Retrospectively registered.

Many studies have been conducted on the achievement gap between Caucasian and minority students (Bankston & Caldas, 1998; A. Brown & Donnor, 2011; Howard, 2008; O’Conner, Lewis, & Mueller, 2007; Osborne, 1999), as this gap has been a persistent problem for decades. However, despite more students of color gaining access to institutions of higher education, there is still a severe gap in college graduation rates (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011), with African American males being the least likely group to be found on college campuses (Dunn, 2012), and thus, possessing the lowest college graduation rate. St. Peter Claver Academy (pseudonym) is a Catholic, male high school located in an inner city, low-income community in the western United States. The demographic composition of the school is 65% Latino and 35% African American. Despite the fact that 100% of seniors are accepted into a college or university, the graduates of St. Peter Claver Academy have very poor college graduation rates. This qualitative study investigated the narratives of seven African- American graduates of the school in order to understand their college experiences, looking closely at attrition, retention, resilience, and persistence. Through the lens of critical bicultural theory, the voices of these former students are central to this study in an effort to seek common threads about their experiences, which can provide educators useful insight on how to improve the college graduation rate for this underrepresented student population group.