Malachite green series

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Child Support and Father-Child Contact: Leveraging Panel Data to Establish a Causal Path

Three waves of panel data are used to examine the relationship between child support payments and fathers’ contact with their nonmarital children. Cross-lagged effects models are incorporated to identify the direction of causality between these two behaviors. Controlling for the lagged term and a rich set of individual characteristics eliminates the relationship between paying formal support and whether fathers see their children, although a strong reciprocal relationship remains between paying any support (formal or informal) and contact. For the subgroup of fathers who consistently see their children, paying any support leads to more frequent contact, but the reciprocal relationship does not exist.

Child Support Enforcement and Fathers’ Contributions to Their Nonmarital Children

Research shows that stronger child support enforcement increases the amount of formal support received by children from their nonresident fathers. Yet, little is known about: 1) the informal cash and non-cash contributions that nonresident fathers make—especially to nonmarital children, 2) the effect of child support enforcement on these types of contributions, and 3) most importantly, the effect of child support enforcement on total (formal plus informal) child support contributions. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that strong enforcement reduces the amount of informal support, increases the amount of formal support, and most importantly, has no effect on the total amount of support received by unwed mothers. The effects on total payments are negative for parents who stopped cohabiting recently and positive for parents who never cohabited or stopped cohabiting three or more years ago. Implications for policy hinge upon future research.

Alien Registration- Mills, Lenna (Wade, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32732/thumbnail.jp

CENTERING THE VOICES OF SOUTH CAROLINA\u27S EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION TEACHERS: A MULTI-CASE STUDY EXAMINING HOW THEY SELECT AND ARE INFORMED BY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the existing literature focused on quality early care and education (ECE). Specifically, this study examines two main research questions: (1) How do teachers in South Carolina licensed, privately-funded ECE programs select professional development opportunities and (2) How does participating in professional development inform their practices? These questions are particularly significant in light of the minimal requirements for teachers to enter the ECE field in South Carolina. Due to the low entry requirements for ECE teachers, professional development can play a key role in transforming minimally qualified individuals into teachers who care for and educate the state\u27s youngest children for future success. The review of research literature found few studies focused squarely on privately-funded ECE settings and even fewer studies incorporating the voices of ECE teachers regarding professional development. This study uses a multi-case methodology involving four privately-funded ECE centers in South Carolina. Through single- and cross-case analyses, assertions emerge suggesting that teachers are most likely to select training based on content and that delivery approaches are most likely to determine whether the professional development will inform their teaching practices. This study centers teacher voices within the research arena, a sphere of influence where they are not typically found, but where they are needed to aid ECE advocates and policy makers to better understand the complexities surrounding required professional development within ECE settings in South Carolina

Race Disparities in Birth Outcomes in the U.S. South and the Rest of the Nation

There are well-documented and as yet unexplained disparities in birth outcomes by race in the United States, even after controlling for socioeconomic status. This paper examines the sources of disparities in low birth weight between blacks and whites in the U.S., by focusing on differences in disparities between two very distinct geographic areas, the Deep South and the rest of the country. Two findings from prior research drive the analyses: First, health overall is worse in the Deep South states; Second, race disparities are smaller in the Deep South than in the rest of the nation. A number of potential explanations for these findings are examined. Results suggest that, first, almost all of the increased burden of low birth weight in the Deep South states may be explained by differences in race composition and socioeconomic status between the Deep South and rest of the nation. Second, the lower race disparities found between the two regions are being driven by much worse outcomes for white mothers in the Deep South (vs. the rest of the country), particularly for poor whites, as opposed to better outcomes for black mothers. Potential paths for future research are recommended

Value Co-Creation Propositions: A Self-Determination Theory of Customer Acceptance, Trust and Wellbeing

With the emergence of shared business models, hospitality and tourism consumers are faced with the decision to accept value propositions from various service providers, including traditional, collaborative and shared. Grounded in service-dominant logic, theory of acceptance, theory of value, self-determination theory and generational theory, this dissertation examines why consumers accept value propositions from service providers and what drives customers to collaborate with front-line employees. The research uses three studies that utilized a destination resort context with a mixed factorial equal cells experimental design. Study 1 utilized a 3 (generations) x 3 (business models) x 4 (value propositions) factorial between-within subjects design. Study 2 manipulated independent self-determination factors and used 3 (generations) x 2 (customers vs. employees) x 2 (strong or weak SDT factor) x 4 (value propositions). Study 3 extended study 2 by examining the additive effects of self-determination factors. The new conceptual framework of propositions-acceptance-collaboration was tested. This study is the first to simultaneously examine different value proposition results in three different business models and explore the differences between customers and employees in perceptions of collaboration. Mediation effects of co-created value and levels of acceptances on personal, organizational and collaborative results were tested and established. Strong self-determination factors positively influenced co-created value appraisal and outcomes of collaboration. Additive self-determination factors had a positive impact on outcomes when compared with independent factors

Child support enforcement and fathers' contributions to their nonmarital children

Research shows that stronger child support enforcement increases the amount of formal support received by children from their nonresident fathers. Yet, little is known about: 1) the informal cash and non-cash contributions that nonresident fathers make—especially to nonmarital children, 2) the effect of child support enforcement on these types of contributions, and 3) most importantly, the effect of child support enforcement on total (formal plus informal) child support contributions. Using data on unmarried parents from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that informal payments decline more rapidly than formal payments increase for the first 36 months, after which time this pattern flips. The flip suggests that public enforcement on average has positive effects on payments. States with stronger than average enforcement have larger than average increases in formal support and smaller decreases in informal support, resulting in a statistically insignificant increase in cash support. That the results differ substantially by when parents stopped cohabiting—with negative effects in the short-run and positive effects in the long-run—suggests that stronger child support enforcement may be efficacious in the long run