<p> Citizenship/immigration status, high poverty rates and gender specific issues, present a significant problem, when addressing the mental health needs of Latino adolescents. This study utilized data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). The independent variables for the study were citizenship/immigration status, socioeconomic status, and gender. The dependent variable was mental health. To examine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, a frequency and regression analysis was performed. The results of the study indicate that citizenship/immigration status and gender are significant predictors of mental health among Latino adolescents. The results of the study suggest that social workers, community leaders, community members, and mental health providers, should explore selecting effective interventions with optimal outcomes for the mental health of this population.</p>

<p> The US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) places citizens' rights to request and discover information in competition with the right of the government to conceal official secrets (Bathory &amp; McWilliams, 1977; Rourke 1957). Simply put, FOI in practice pits secrecy versus transparency, with administrative discretion in the middle. Though FOIA applies to all federal government departments and agencies in the United States, the tension becomes most acute when applied to the most secretive participants in the national security enterprise, the 16 member intelligence community. Secret-keeping can exert psychological and social pressure on organizations (Simmel, 1906; Weber, 1920/2009) that have the potential to impact individual decision making and shape collective norms (Freidman, Landes &amp; Posner, 1991; Keane, 2008; Sandfort, 2000). This effort examines how secrecy impacts transparency initiatives by researching how the US Intelligence Community FOIA programs perform compared to other federal agencies using multivariate analysis of FOIA annual report data in conjunction with an experimental methodology. The research results show that while intelligence agencies release similar information to control agencies, they differ significantly in the how and when that information is provided. In particular, intelligence agencies take longer to respond than peer agencies and offer less information with the response. These findings contribute to theory by leading to a refined model of transparency and contribute to practice by supporting recommendations for policy makers and FOIA program administrators.</p>

<p> How does a drug with a limited safety and efficacy record become an international blockbuster? In June 2006 the FDA approved and recommended a new vaccine directed against 4 types of sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, associated with 70% of cervical cancer cases and 90% of genital wart cases. Branded as a "cervical cancer vaccine" Gardasil has been met with as much fanfare as controversy, and retains blockbuster status in Merck's portfolio. Sold as a cancer risk-reduction method, Gardasil carries its own risks, with startlingly low efficacy and elevated likelihood of serious adverse events (side effects). Through the lens of risk, this dissertation examines Gardasil's popularity in the face of evidence that it is neither as safe nor as effective as advertised. Through three distinct research projects, I identify (a) five sociological factors responsible for Gardasil's success on the heels of Vioxx, one of the biggest drug scandals in history; (b) how amongst healthy vaccinated girls, cervical cancer is experienced as a "risk object," yet when a young woman experiences a serious adverse event that "object of risk" and her "experience of risk" shift toward Gardasil; and (c) that Gardasil is so trusted among young women, that warnings about potential side effects from others made some girls more likely to get vaccinated and have a positive opinion on the vaccine, suggesting that Gardasil benefits from a broader cultural assumption that vaccines are inherently safe and effective. Physicians and pharmaceutical marketing also play an important role. Gardasil is a risk-reduction drug and vaccine purported to treat risk while it simultaneously creates new risk for further health problems in some consumers. This dissertation contributes to sociological literatures on pharmaceuticalization, pharmaceutical pseudoscience, the social construction of risk, research on regulatory agencies, and the sociology of medicine more broadly.</p>

<p> The fast and easy global movement of capital throughout the financial system, from lenders to borrowers and through intermediaries and financial market participants, has been recognized as a source of instability associated with illiquidity and financial crises. The purpose of this research was to better understand how regulation either enables or constrains capital movement. The theoretical framework comprised 2 contrasting public policymaking models, Arrow's rational-comprehensive model and Kingdon's garbage can model, which were used to derive opposing hypotheses. The research question addressed the nature of the relationship between Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) regulations and the flow of capital into Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) when lenders share their borrower-related loan risks through intermediaries with other market participants. This quantitative study was a quasiexperimental time series design incorporating an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model using secondary data published by the U.S. government. The 2 independent variables were regulatory periods involving 2 CDSs regulations and the dependent variable was capital in the U.S. financial system that is deployed to CMOs. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000's ARIMA model (1,2,1) was significant at <i>p</i> &lt; .05 and was negatively correlated to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008's ARIMA model (1,1,0), <i>r</i> = -.91, <i>n</i> = 18, <i>p</i> &lt; .001. These results suggest that regulations cannot be relaxed and then reinstated with predictable results. The potential for positive social change is from stable financial institutions that mutually benefit depositors and borrowers.</p>

<p> Participation of colorectal cancer survivors (CRC) in the workforce has been described by clinicians, survivors, and researchers as a way to improve mood, quality of life (QOL), and survival. Maintaining self-esteem and financial independence have also been attributed to continued employment of the CRC survivor. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to describe patterns of employment of the CRC survivor and to examine the individual, disease, and work-related factors that influence presenteeism and perceived adequacy of sick pay (ASP) policy. The Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy and the Pathways to Work Life Recovery guided the design, selection of variables, and specification of the relationship between variables. The study included 97 CRC survivors who were employed at the time of diagnosis and who had completed treatment &ge;6 months and &lt; 7 years to survey. Among working subjects, at-work limitations ("presenteeism") were measured by the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) consisting of four scales: Time Management, Physical Tasks, Mental-Interpersonal Tasks, and Output Tasks scales. The EORTC QLQ-C30 V3 was used to measure quality of life and the PHQ-9 for depression. The majority of gaps in employment occurred within the first year of diagnosis (21%) and attributed to poor health (56%), having been fired or laid off due to cancer (11%) or retirement (33%). A total of 27% had gaps in employment by 3 years; 13% were intermittent. The unemployment rate for cancer survivors in this study was 18.6% at the time of survey. Slightly over 25% of those who experienced a gap in employment did so involuntarily. Higher education (OR = 0.346, p=.006) was the only variable that significantly associated with a gap in employment. Having insurance (p=.03), QOL (p=.01), and depression (p=.003) significantly contributed to increased presenteeism. Earlier stage (OR=0.330, p=.050) and professional occupation (OR=3.281, p=.040) significantly contributed to perceptions of having an ASP policy. The importance of measuring continued employment of CRC survivors is supported in this study. The provision of an ASP policy may avoid disruption of work and create an easier transition for continued employment of the CRC survivor.</p>

<p> Military intervention forces use a variety of techniques to achieve success in counterinsurgency operations. One technique recently put into more widespread practice by military units in Iraq and Afghanistan is key leader engagement. <i>Key leader engagements</i> are meetings that members of intervention forces conduct with influential people within a host-nation population capable of swaying the support of broader constituencies. The intent of these engagements is to establish functional relationships with powerful local leaders to further mission objectives. </p><p> This project is the first attempt to empirically evaluate the impact of key leader engagements as part of counterinsurgency operations. Using data from the Department of Defense's Combined Information Data Network Exchange (CIDNE) database during the military "Surge" of forces in Baghdad, Iraq, the author evaluates the impact of key leader engagements on reducing attacks against elements of the coalition military intervention force in the city. While some of the findings support practitioners' assertions about key leader engagements, others go counter to some of the prevailing assessments of key leader engagement effectiveness. First, the author finds that key leader engagements only impact levels of violence when conducted in conjunction with other intervention force operations. Second, the author found that&mdash;contrary to some practitioners' assessments that more engagements led to more successful counterinsurgency operations&mdash;large numbers key leader engagements were not always associated with a reduction in attacks. It was only those forces that appeared to use key leader engagements discriminately that observed a reduction in attacks. Third, key leader engagements involving promises were associated with an increase in attacks against the intervention force. Finally, contrary to the expectation that more frequent contact with small numbers of key leaders would reduce prejudice and strengthen cooperative relationships, frequent contact with small numbers of key leaders was associated with an increased propensity for attacks. </p><p> Based on these findings, the author recommends that the U.S. military continue its efforts to identify "best practices" for key leader engagements, refine the methods of evaluating the effectiveness of these engagements, mandate the integration of lethal and non-lethal targeting boards, and incorporate a greater analytical capability into the evaluation of persuasive operations in war.</p>

<p> In 2000, President Bill Clinton enacted the <i>Children's Internet Protection Act</i> (CIPA) which requires all K-12 schools and publicly funded libraries to use Internet filters to protect children from pornography and other obscene or potentially harmful online content as a stipulation for receiving E-Rate funding. The varying interpretations of CIPA and E-Rate guidelines may impact the learning opportunities of secondary students. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to examine the interpretations of federal policy (CIPA), state policy (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. &sect;17:100.7), and district policy on E-Rate funding as related to Internet filtering and secondary student learning opportunities in Region III school districts in Louisiana. The works of Heins (2001, 2003, 2006), Cho (2001, 2003, 2006), Feldman (2006), and Willard (2000, 2003), leading researchers in the fields of Internet safety and Internet filtering, were reviewed so that the issues surrounding Internet filtering and opportunities for student learning could be better understood. </p><p> Using a mixed methods research approach, the researcher explored state interpretations of the<i>Children's Internet Protection Act</i> through examining Louisiana's PreK-12 Educational Technology Standards. Through interviews and administration of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) survey on Internet filtering, district interpretations were solicited. Following survey administration, the researcher led two focus groups to solicit perceptions of district technology personnel and secondary teachers on the impact of Internet filtering on student learning opportunities at the secondary level. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to garner further information on policy interpretations and perceptions. Findings from this study shall serve as a resource for participating districts to ensure maximum opportunities for all students to learn in the 21^st century. </p>

<p> Throughout the nation, grocery retailers are reentering underserved communities amidst growing public awareness of food deserts and the rise of federal, state, and local programs incentivizing urban grocery stores. And yet, even with expanding research on food deserts and their public health impacts, there is still a lack of consensus on whether grocery stores truly offer the best solution. Furthermore, scholars and policymakers alike have limited understandings of the broader neighborhood implications of grocery stores newly introduced into underserved urban communities.</p><p> This dissertation analyzes how local organizations and agencies pursue grocery development in order to understand the conditions for success implementation. To do this, I examine the historical drivers, planning processes, and outcomes of two extreme cases of urban grocery development: a Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market (a chain value store) in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point and the Mandela Foods Cooperative (a worker-owned cooperative) in Oakland's West Oakland districts. </p><p> Through a comparative institutional analysis, I find that both Fresh and Easy and Mandela Foods reflect distinctive neighborhood revitalization legacies, critical moments of institutional capacity building, localized versions of national policy narratives, and the role of charismatic leaders in grocery store implementation. While national narratives shape the rhetoric of urban grocery development, ultimately local context dictates how food access issues are defined, who addresses them, and how. These findings suggest that federal grocery incentive programs should: 1) maintain a broad framework that enables local communities to define food access problems and their solutions on a case-by-case basis, 2) encourage diverse solutions not limited to grocery stores and supermarkets, and 3) emphasize community reinvestment goals.</p>

<p>Oregon&rsquo;s Statewide Planning Goals embody Smart Growth in their effort to revitalize urban areas, finance environmentally responsible transportation systems, provide housing options, and protect natural resources; yet the State defers to its municipalities to implement this planning framework. This research focuses on Goal 14 (Urbanization), linking most directly to Smart Growth Principle 7 (Strengthen and Direct Development toward Existing Communities). It assesses Eugene&rsquo;s, Keizer&rsquo;s, Salem&rsquo;s, and Springfield&rsquo;s growth management policies that specifically target infill development of single family homes against this Goal and Principle. Though these municipalities must demonstrate consistency with the same Goals (see Supplemental File 1 for this context), this research questions whether sufficiently different policy approaches to curtailing sprawl yield significantly different results. The primary analytical method is a logistic regression that uses parcel-level data to understand how administration affects development by isolating these policies&rsquo; direct effects on observed outcomes (see Supplemental File 2 for this theory). </p>

<p> Juvenile delinquency continues to be a major social problem in the United States. One of the more salient problems with the juvenile justice system in the United States is its staggering incarceration rate, which poses a significant problem for youth exposed to the juvenile justice system, and the community as a whole. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perspective of the program facilitators about the effectiveness of the restorative justice program in reducing recidivism for African American males aged 12 to 17 in Baltimore City's urban community. This study relied upon restorative justice theory as conceptualized by Braithwaite as the theoretical framework. Using intrinsic case study design, data were collected from 7 restorative justice facilitators, who participated in face-to-face interviews using semistructured, open-ended questions. Miles and Huberman's qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data and to record emerging themes and patterns. The key finding of this study indicates that facilitators believe restorative justice results in a reduction of the recidivism rate specifically through the conferencing program when Braithwaite's reintegrative shaming is incorporated into the process. According to the program facilitators, the conferencing program is effective in reducing juvenile recidivism as it promotes transparency and openness to all stakeholders through being very clear and upfront on all levels with the juveniles, parents, and volunteers. As such, there are implications for positive social change by involving all the stakeholders&mdash;family, community, policy makers, and juvenile justice practitioners&mdash;that may result in reduced incidences of juvenile offending, thereby promoting safer communities.</p>