Many teen parents face challenges when completing secondary education resulting in unsustainable family units. Previous researchers focused on services to teen mothers while completing secondary education, with little addressing the long-term impact of Alternative Specialized Education Services (ASES) as the former teen mother matured. This phenomenological study explored the perceptions of 8 former teen mothers (ranging in age from 20 to 54) of ASES'€™ impact on their values and decision-making as they matured. Program theory was the overarching framework and values clarification the interpretive lens. Data were inductively coded and subjected to interpretive phenomenological and thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: (a) family dynamics, (b) socioeconomic status, (c) educational aspirations, and (d) ASES impact. Study findings provided evidence of the positive impact ASES made in equipping a vulnerable population with the tools necessary to achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability and strengthening fragile families who, then, required less government intervention. Findings indicated that ASES provide a valuable service that cannot be replicated in the traditional school environment and should be identified as part of the educational continuum, receiving support equal to instructional counterparts. Data also indicated that ASES is continually at risk due to the lack of funding as there are no current data supporting their value to educational instruction and family sustainability. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include policy recommendations to the Delaware Department of Education to fund ASES with the goal of improving teen mothers'€™ sustainable self-sufficiency through improved educational outcomes.

The failure of communications, particularly related to interoperability, between police and firefighters responding to dangerous situations has resulted in death or injury to themselves or those they strive to protect. Using Grebner's and Shannon and Weaver's conceptualizations of communications theory as the foundation, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to evaluate, from the perspective of first responders, what barriers exist that may impede opportunities for interoperability of communications systems. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 18 experienced first responders from the states of California, New York, and Texas. Interview data were deductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Key findings indicated that participants perceived differences in technology among agencies as a primary source of frustration and impediment to full interoperability. Further, participants identified policy barriers, a lack of inter-agency training opportunities, and budgetary constraints as frustrating the efforts toward interoperability. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to policy makers and first responder agency leadership to support policy change, including appropriations, that encourage increased interoperability among first responder agencies to foster a more expeditious response to large scale emergencies.

Public policy has important implications for the lives of the poor. This dissertation analyzes how three types of policy impact the poor in developing countries. First, tax and transfer systems can benefit many poor while still making some poor worse off, and this phenomenon is overlooked by measures currently used to assess transfers in tandem with the taxes used to pay for them. I show that comparisons of poverty before and after taxes and transfers, as well as measures of horizontal equity and progressivity---which are often used to analyze anti-poverty policies in tandem with the taxes used to pay for them---can fail to capture an important aspect: that a substantial proportion of the poor are made poorer (or non-poor made poor) by the tax and transfer system. I call this fiscal impoverishment, and axiomatically derive a measure of its extent. Second, the government's choice of how to measure poverty---specifically, the choice between a unidimensional (usually income or consumption-based) measure and a multidimensional measure that incorporates other dimensions such as health and education---can affect the strategic interactions between government ministers, leading to changes in the amount of resources spent to alleviate poverty. In a game-theoretic framework, I show that despite introducing free riding, a multidimensional measure usually leads to an increase in total antipoverty spending; antipoverty expenditures can be further increased by publishing partial dimensional indices alongside the scalar multidimensional one. Third, efforts to digitize government transfer programs through savings accounts and debit cards can enable the poor to build trust in financial institutions and save more. I study a natural experiment in which debit cards were rolled out to beneficiaries of a Mexican conditional cash transfer program, who were already receiving their transfers in savings accounts through a government bank. Using a rich combination of administrative and survey data, I find beneficiaries initially used their cards to check their balances and build trust in the bank, after which they used the account to save. Formal and overall savings increased, and this effect was higher for women with low baseline bargaining power who may have the most difficulty saving at home. / Sean Higgins

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The central objective of this study is to examine the policy, legal, and constitutional implications resulting from the Chaoulli v. Quebec (2005 1 S.C.R. 791) both for the rights of Canadians within the scope of the publicly funded healthcare system and the configuration of that system. In examining the policy implications the thesis focuses on Quebecs Bill 33, Ralph Kleins Third Way proposal, and the development of national wait time benchmarks. In examining the legal implications the thesis focuses on the so-called copy-cat cases triggered by the Chaoulli case, namely Flora v. Ontario, Murray v. Alberta, and McCreith and Holmes v. Ontario. In examining the constitutional implications of Chaoulli the thesis focuses on the expansion of the interpretation of Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the elevation of timely access to healthcare to a Charter right. <p>The study concludes with some observations regarding how Canadas publicly funded healthcare system could evolve in the future and the role of the courts in the evolution of the system. It provides a warning that if appropriate and timely action is not taken by federal and provincial officials to minimize wait times in the publicly funded healthcare system, the implications of Chaoulli will continue to expand through future litigation and judicial decisions. One of the potential outcomes of such litigation and decisions is development of a two-tier or multi-tier healthcare system in Canada.

Using data from OECD countries, one can investigate the effect of cultural diversity on anti-smoking policies. We use panel data models to test the impact of culture on the effectiveness of anti-smoking policies. It is assumed that two forces are effecting tobacco consumption in a society. These forces can be smoke preventive and smoke encouraging factors. Each of these forces consists of smaller subsets. Preventive policies and the time effects are the main parts of the smoke preventive forces. Culture and its effect on personal capital and social capital can be a part of smoke encouraging or smoke preventive forces. Using different proxies for culture and fixed effect models, this study allows one to investigate the differences in effectiveness of public policies in different OECD countries. The results from empirical investigation indicate that effectiveness of public policies depends on culture, therefore varies across countries. This is important for policymakers who need to avoid imposing uniform policies across a region with cultural diversity without accounting for cultural differences.

Using data from OECD countries, one can investigate the effect of cultural diversity on anti-smoking policies. We use panel data models to test the impact of culture on the effectiveness of anti-smoking policies. It is assumed that two forces are effecting tobacco consumption in a society. These forces can be smoke preventive and smoke encouraging factors. Each of these forces consists of smaller subsets. Preventive policies and the time effects are the main parts of the smoke preventive forces. Culture and its effect on personal capital and social capital can be a part of smoke encouraging or smoke preventive forces. Using different proxies for culture and fixed effect models, this study allows one to investigate the differences in effectiveness of public policies in different OECD countries. The results from empirical investigation indicate that effectiveness of public policies depends on culture, therefore varies across countries. This is important for policymakers who need to avoid imposing uniform policies across a region with cultural diversity without accounting for cultural differences.

The central objective of this study is to examine the policy, legal, and constitutional implications resulting from the Chaoulli v. Quebec (2005 1 S.C.R. 791) both for the rights of Canadians within the scope of the publicly funded healthcare system and the configuration of that system. In examining the policy implications the thesis focuses on Quebecs Bill 33, Ralph Kleins Third Way proposal, and the development of national wait time benchmarks. In examining the legal implications the thesis focuses on the so-called copy-cat cases triggered by the Chaoulli case, namely Flora v. Ontario, Murray v. Alberta, and McCreith and Holmes v. Ontario. In examining the constitutional implications of Chaoulli the thesis focuses on the expansion of the interpretation of Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the elevation of timely access to healthcare to a Charter right. <p>The study concludes with some observations regarding how Canadas publicly funded healthcare system could evolve in the future and the role of the courts in the evolution of the system. It provides a warning that if appropriate and timely action is not taken by federal and provincial officials to minimize wait times in the publicly funded healthcare system, the implications of Chaoulli will continue to expand through future litigation and judicial decisions. One of the potential outcomes of such litigation and decisions is development of a two-tier or multi-tier healthcare system in Canada.

<p> This quantitative research was conducted to identify and examine what variables contributed to Kentucky Medicaid Region Three physicians&rsquo; experience of policy alienation (PA) and subsequently influenced their willingness to implement Kentucky&rsquo;s 2013 Medicaid policy strategies (WI). This research was a modification and expansion of the original study of policy alienation (PA) conducted by Tummers (2012a) testing the concept on another segment of healthcare professionals (Medicaid participating physicians) in Kentucky. Giddens&rsquo; structuration theory (1984) provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Findings indicated top down and bottom up (&ldquo;street-level&rdquo;) structural and material constraints influenced physician willingness to implement. Results supported all hypotheses and were consistent with the previous findings of Tummers (2012a). Finding in regards to physicians, what needs to be considered in the strategic management of Medicaid policy change are: 1. The influence of personalities, 2. The often unique aspects of Medicaid policies, 3. The often changing healthcare environment in which the policy is developed and implemented, and 4. Those unforeseen events that occur often disrupting even the best thought out strategies. Policy developers need to tailor and adjust strategies for policy implementation at each level of the hierarchy, acknowledging and recognizing a combination of factors influence successful policy strategy implementation and realizing strategies with the goal of instituting behavioral change at the &ldquo;street-level&rdquo; may not be effective in all regions. </p>