Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah J. Fishback / A growing body of literature suggested that students who come from poverty have potential risk factors that included: being the first in the family to attend a college, being poorly prepared for the academic rigors of college and requiring remedial developmental coursework. Students from poverty who accessed the rural community college also struggled with rising tuition and fees, as well as the cost of books. Students from poverty had greater struggles with social and personal issues and experienced lower completion rates. Limited research has been conducted with this segment of rural students from poverty backgrounds attending community college in the rural setting. This dissertation described a phenomenological case study approach to identify the impact of poverty on the achievement and persistence of rural students who access the rural community college. A small community college in the Midwest representing a rural population and a high percentage of poverty students was selected as the site for the study. The goal of this research was to explore perceived factors by students receiving Pell Grants and in developmental courses while in attendance at a rural community college in order to identify possible strategies to ameliorate barriers in their rural community college experience. The research found this student population to be at high risk with multiple risk factors. In addition to being developmental and receiving Pell Grants, other scholarships combined with working part-time and often full-time were needed to supplement student finances; poor high school academic preparation and counseling; lacked the computer skills necessary for college coursework; being non-traditional; lack of consistency in tutoring services; and being food short and hungry. These additional risk factors made this segment of the student population fragile.

Thesis advisor: Julie Mortimer / Non-practicing entities (NPEs) – firms that do not produce goods or services but license to and sue other companies with portfolios of patents – have drastically increased patent infringement litigation since 2006. Over the same period, the USPTO has granted an increasing amount of patents, indicating that American innovation has strengthened by one measure. This paper finds fault with equating patents granted to innovation and develops a new metric of innovation – the ratio of a firm’s intangible to total assets. Through empirical analysis this study concludes that lawsuits initiated by NPEs between 2006 and 2011 do not affect the rate of American innovation. However, this study also finds that NPEs inflict at least a $567 million innovation cost to the top twenty-five most litigated against firms in the United States. This cost represents money that could be allocated towards research and development or investment, but it is not a dead-weight loss – it is the cost associated with firms’ growth measured in inflation-adjusted total assets. Ultimately, this study highlights the need for continued research into the impact of NPEs on the American economy but provides empirical evidence that the patent troll classification is unwarranted. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

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Purpose Breastfeeding affords numerous benefits for mothers, infants, families, and communities. Rates of breastfeeding are disproportionately low in rural Appalachia. We will describe how use of the AAP CATCH Grant process aided in building a community breastfeeding coalition, conducting a breastfeeding support needs assessment, and developing interventions to promote and support breastfeeding in the region. Methods In 2005, members of a multidisciplinary regional breastfeeding coalition in Northeast Tennessee wrote and received an AAP CATCH Planning Grant. Funds supported regular meetings of the coalition, a needs assessment consisting of surveys and focus groups conducted with patients and healthcare providers in the region during 2007-2008, and dissemination of the group's findings and recommendations. Patient participants were recruited from three health departments and one Pediatric clinic in the region. Provider participants were recruited from three regional professional conferences. Surveys were entered into and analyzed using SPSS 17. Recordings of focus groups were transcribed and transcripts were reviewed to identify themes. Results 19 pregnant women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy, 38 new mothers, and 58 healthcare providers completed a survey. Fifty five percent of new mothers reported ever having breastfed their baby. Thirty seven percent of healthcare providers identified Pediatrics, 21% Obstetrics and Gynecology, and 37% Family Medicine/Primary Care as their primary specialty. 52.6% and 81.6% of pregnant women and new mothers, respectively, reported that their healthcare provider had encouraged breastfeeding. Patients described that their healthcare providers discussed little about breastfeeding other than its benefits. Eighty-four percent of providers reported usually recommending exclusive breastfeeding during the first month of life. Only forty-eight percent of providers considered their advice on breastfeeding to be very important to mothers. Twenty-five percent of providers felt that exclusive breastfeeding for the first sixth months of life is unrealistic for many of their patients. The most commonly cited barrier by providers was that mothers had already decided not to breastfeed before they encountered them. Lack of time and lack of referral resources were other common barriers reported. Providers expressed the lowest levels of confidence in their own skills in evaluating latch, resolving problems of low milk production and breast tenderness, and knowing what referral services exist. Conclusion Patients in this sample described receiving little information about breastfeeding from their healthcare provider. Many health care providers in this region do not recognize the importance of their advice on breastfeeding and feel that breastfeeding is unrealistic for many of their patients. The use of study results by a community breastfeeding coalition to increase community awareness of the importance of breastfeeding promotion and support and to address provider concerns about barriers and educational needs will be discussed.

<p>This paper investigates the effects of intergovernmental grants on municipal labour demand in Finland and Sweden during the period 1985-2002. Both these countries have large public sectors in which local authorities play a significant role. In addition, both countries went through major grant reforms in 1993, reforms that meant that most targeted grants were replaced by general, non-earmarked grants. This allows for studying the effects of the different types of grants separately. The results suggest that targeted grants affect Finnish municipal employment more than general ones do, at least when looking at levels. When looking at elasticities, however, the opposite is indicated. In Sweden intergovernmental grants appear to have no effect at all on municipal employment before the reform, but after the estimated elasticity is 0.10. This is somewhat lower than in Finland, where the estimated elasticities are 0.13 and 0.14 before and after the reform, respectively. The results also lend additional support to the so called “flypaper effect”, an empirical phenomenon that has been observed in numerous previous studies.</p>

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown University. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2811. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-51).

This paper investigates the effects of intergovernmental grants on municipal labour demand in Finland and Sweden during the period 1985-2002. Both these countries have large public sectors in which local authorities play a significant role. In addition, both countries went through major grant reforms in 1993, reforms that meant that most targeted grants were replaced by general, non-earmarked grants. This allows for studying the effects of the different types of grants separately. The results suggest that targeted grants affect Finnish municipal employment more than general ones do, at least when looking at levels. When looking at elasticities, however, the opposite is indicated. In Sweden intergovernmental grants appear to have no effect at all on municipal employment before the reform, but after the estimated elasticity is 0.10. This is somewhat lower than in Finland, where the estimated elasticities are 0.13 and 0.14 before and after the reform, respectively. The results also lend additional support to the so called “flypaper effect”, an empirical phenomenon that has been observed in numerous previous studies.

Un recueil de toutes du CRSNG détenues à l'université Laurentienne durant 2003-2004. A booklet of all NSERC grants held at Laurentian University in 2004-2005. / CRSNG et l'université Laurentienne NSERC and Laurentian University

This dissertation analyzes competition for foundation grants in the nonprofit sector. First, I examine how inter-organization competition and foundation activity in local grants markets affect organization behavior through institutional pressure on (1) firm fundraising expenses, (2) program expense ratios, and (3) revenue diversification. Second, I explore the impacts of nonprofit program expense ratios and fundraising expenses on foundation grantmaking. This analysis focuses on the relative "prices" of donations to competing nonprofit organizations, represented by these expense ratios, and the impact prices have on foundation grant decisions relative to the impact that nonprofit marketing has. Finally, I examine whether greater competition in grants markets increases the importance of program expense ratios and firm marketing behavior for grant selection. Overall, this dissertation contributes to our understanding of organization behavior and foundation influence in grant-seeking markets and competition's role in the distribution of charitable grants.

The concept of ¡§Web 2.0¡¨ is starting. It takes ¡§the interaction, the participation, and the sharing¡¨ as the core value.Web2.0 not only creates a unique business model, but also makes many Internet entrepreneurs miracles. Many domestic and international Web2.0 new ventures set up only a few years but have pretty high value. These successful stories attract countless creative young people, they use the Internet as a tool to make their own dreams come true again. The service industry is the core of the industrial structure in Taiwan. But compared to other developed countries, the service industry of Taiwan creates fewer employment opportunities. Taiwanese who lose their jobs are younger and younger. Besides the most special point is the better education they get, the higher unemployment rate it shows. The development of the Web2.0 service industry provides a great solution for industrial restructuring and the improvement of career problems in the future. Funding is the most important factors of the new ventures, but it is difficult for Web2.0 companies to fund because of their special characters. The development of Web2.0 new ventures includes concept formation, company foundation, breakeven and IPO. That can be separated seed, startup, expansion and mezzanine stages. Each stage has its own special funding gap and difficult as follows : 1. Application not permitted, unable to obtain grants or concessionary loans. 2. Little scale and high risk of Web2.0 companies, unable to attract venture capital industry participation. 3. Value of Web2.0 companies is focus on intangible assets, the lack of secured financing. 4. Compared with large enterprises, it is difficult for Web2.0 companies to apply for grants from our government. 5. Lack of resources to contact with famous enterprises or venture capital. Suggestion: 1. Create the ¡¨Web2.0 innovative service R&D program¡¨. 2. Set the ¡¨Web2.0 angel fund¡¨. 3. Enhance Web2.0 companies credit. 4. Provide counseling service for Government subsidies programs. 5. Make a venture capital communication and cooperation platform.