Each year the number of uninsured individuals in the United States continues to grow. This unfortunate occurrence creates negative consequences for those who are uninsured, but also for those who are covered by health insurance plans. Through cost-shifting practices, hospitals and other healthcare organizations are increasing the cost of other healthcare services to help subsidize the care they must provide for those who cannot pay for that care. There have been attempts to solve this problem, but a successful solution has not been implemented. Rather than attempt to study the entire uninsured population, this study seeks to determine precisely why young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are the largest segment of our population that does not purchase health insurance. Socioeconomic status, perceived health, cost, gender, race, and perceived need are all examined in order to determine what type of relationship each one has with a young adult's decision to purchase private health insurance. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze data obtained from the 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. This study is unique because is includes latent variables and examines a variable that is not often included in health insurance studies that exist in the literature, perceived need. The results of the study indicate that being uninsured is largely a matter of having a higher socioeconomic status and being a non-minority. Perceived health, cost, gender, and perceived need were not shown to have a significant relationship with the dependent variable, private health insurance coverage.

Orientador: Cristiano Amaral Garboggini Di Giorgi / Banca: Maria Clara Di Pierro / Banca: José Carlos Miguel / Resumo: Esta pesquisa de caráter qualitativa que contou com o fomento da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) e que faz parte da linha de pesquisa "Políticas Públicas, Organização Escolar e Formação de Professores", busca analisar a movimentação política ocorrida nos anos iniciais da EJA em nível municipal. Essa modalidade de ensino, que ao longo de sua trajetória histórica foi permeada pela luta por conquistas de maiores direitos, possui atualmente uma série de novas ações, que até certo ponto favorecem a sua ressignificação no campo das políticas públicas. Levando esse fato em consideração, procuramos investigar esses processos ocorridos em nível municipal, que com a descentralização do ensino proposta pela Constituição Federal e induzida pelo Fundef, se tornou o principal responsável por ofertar os anos iniciais da EJA. Dentre os municípios, optamos por investigar os considerados "cidades médias", por justamente interligarem, em seus processos, os grandes centros urbanos, com as pequenas cidades, mais especificamente os municípios de Marília, SP e Presidente Prudente, SP. Utilizando como delineamento de pesquisa o estudo de caso e lançando mão dos principais instrumentos de coleta de dados, verificamos que no município de Marília, os anos iniciais da EJA são ministrados em escolas do ensino fundamental regular, com professores contratados para ministrarem aulas nesse nível de ensino ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This qualitative research study which included the development of the Foundation for Research Support of São Paulo (FAPESP ) and takes part of the research "Public Policy, School Organization and Teacher Education", seeks to analyze the political movement that occurred in the early years of Young and Adult's Education (EJA) at the municipal level. This type of teaching, which throughout its history has been permeated by the historical achievements of the struggle for greater rights, currently has a number of new shares, which contributed for a new meaning in the Public Policy field. Considering this, we investigate these processes occurring at the municipal level, in that the decentralization of education proposed by the Brazilian Constitution and induced by Fundef, became primarily responsible for offering the early years of Young and Adult's Education. Among the cities, we decided to investigate those considered "middle cities" due to the interconnection they do in this process, more specifically the cities of Marília and Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil. Using the case study and its main instrument, the data collection, we found that in Marilia, the early years of EJA are taught in regular elementary schools, with teachers hired to minister at this level of classes teaching ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Abstract The present thesis investigated children farmworkers' perspectives on having a job and balancing work and school. It also investigated parents' perspectives about their children's jobs and how they handle work and school. A qualitative approach has been used to investigate children farmworkers' experiences on how they handle work and school. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with three children farmworkers between the ages of 12 and 17 years old and two adults that were parents of the children farmworkers residing in a rural area in the United States. Due to the current pandemic COVID-19, the research was carried out online through the Zoom platform. A thematic method was used to analyze the data collected. Through a critical analysis of transcripts, key concepts were obtained, decomposed into themes, and then organized into two sections for each theme. The themes were labeled: "Importance of the job," "Economic independence," "Impact on the future," "Job satisfaction," and "Compatible with school." The sections for each theme were labeled children's perspectives and parents' perspectives. There is a misconception that children work only in developing countries. Contrary to what has often been assumed, children work worldwide in developing countries and developed countries like the United States and Sweden. Results of this research showed that these children farmworkers want to work because they want to become personally and economically autonomous. Children and childhood are part of the consumer culture society. The study also found that the jobs of these children farmworkers did not affect their schooling and education. A call is made to consider children’s work as an expression of their agency and refrain from perceiving children as vulnerable beings in need of protection but instead, consider their perspective. Further research is needed in an ethnographic field with a more significant sample, including the teachers’ standpoint.