Neoliberal Capitalism and the Evolution of the U.S. Healthcare System

The U.S. economy has undergone dramatic restructuring since the 1970s. These structural changes have had profound implications for every sector of U.S. society, but their effects on the development of U.S. healthcare policy have not yet received adequate theoretical or empirical attention. My dissertation addresses this gap with a specific focus on the development of neoliberal capitalism. Using Social Structure of Accumulation (SSA) theory, I analyze three important cases of U.S. healthcare legislation: the establishment of the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, the failed Clinton Health Security Act of 1994, and the recent Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010. I argue that these reforms must be understood in relation to its contemporary SSA—the set of dominant institutions and ideas that facilitates capitalist accumulation. I show how in each period, the structures of the proposed policies, as well as their support, opposition, and ultimate legislative outcomes, all reflect the concurrent restructuring of U.S. capitalism. Chapter 1 offers an overview of the unique developments in U.S. healthcare. Chapter 2 categorizes and evaluates the existing literature on U.S. healthcare development and outlines the contributions of this dissertation. Chapter 3 presents a theoretical overview of social structure of accumulation theory and the concept of neoliberal capitalism. Chapter 4 analyzes the 1965 Amendments to the Social Security Act, which established the programs of Medicare and Medicaid and passed at the height of regulated capitalism. Chapter 5 analyzes the attempted Clinton healthcare reforms that occurred in the 1990s, when neoliberal capitalism was well entrenched. Chapter 6 analyzes the passage of the ACA, which was precipitated by the 2008 financial crisis, when neoliberal capitalism’s institutions and dominant ideology were under threat. I analyze the ways in which this crisis facilitated the passage of the ACA, a healthcare reform with features significantly more statist than those that were blocked in the 1990s. This analysis of the interplay of neoliberal capitalism and the U.S. healthcare sector fills a gap in the existing literature on when and how the U.S. healthcare system is able to resist change

An evaluation of the self-esteem of at-risk middle -level youth with intervention of the Mentorship Program

This study concentrated on the self-esteem of at-risk middle school students in a mid-west city involved in an alternative school Mentorship Program. This study examined two aspects of a structured mentorship program for at-risk youth attending an alternative middle school. The first purpose of the study was to evaluate the possible effect of the mentorship program on the self-esteem of the student, while the second purpose was to examine the perceptions of the program\u27s participants. The first method was examined utilizing a quasi-experimental, design and the second employed a qualitative methodology. The Mentorship Program had 16 planned sessions to engage the students and the mentors in an examination of self. The sessions also allowed the students to explore the expectations and social skills necessary for work and school. Interviews of students and mentors were conducted prior to the relationship with follow-up evaluations during and after the planned mentoring sessions. A follow-up interview was conducted with the mentors and the program facilitator upon completion of the program to garner their perceptions of the effectiveness of the program. Student self-esteem was assessed prior to and after involvement in the Mentorship Program utilizing The Piers-Harris Children\u27s Self-Concept Scale. A staff member completed the Teacher\u27s Report Form and rated the behavior and attitude of students involved in a mentoring relationship. Student attendance, behavioral referrals, and number of days suspended were also tabulated. Students and mentors were encouraged to meet informally between the planned sessions to solidify their relationship. Originally, 10 students were matched with mentoring adults and 11 students were members of the control group. Only three of the mentors followed the established protocol, thus bringing the statistical sample to three. There was no significant difference between the self-esteem scores the students involved in the Mentorship Program and the students who were not involved in the program. There was no significant difference in the attendance rate, the number of referrals, nor the number of days suspended between groups. There was also no significant difference in teachers\u27 perceptions of students\u27 behaviors at the conclusion of the program. Although no statistical significance was found, the data provided positive information that needed further examination. The perceptions of the mentors and the facilitator provided positive feedback that will assist the alternative school staff\u27s future implementation of the program

The Effect of Video Recording on Self-Assessment of High School Vocal Music Students

This research project is designed to examine the effects that video recording and evaluation have on the high school choral music students\u27 skill development of tone, dynamics, rhythm, and pitch and provide information about self-assessment as a directional learning tool for singers to increase student achievement through self-regulated learning. Research indicates the power of self-assessment as an evaluation in the classroom. It has provided educators with tools to implement effective self-assessment practices that promote performance and self-efficacy. This research project will define self-assessment, address what skills are being assessed, and specify the methods of assessment that will be implemented. Models of self-assessment and implementation methods for these assessments in the choral music classroom will give music educators practical examples

Art Library First Annual Report 1947-1948

Sections include: organization and routine, personnel, description of the library, circulation statistics, accomplishments, projects, and needed equipment.UT Librarie

Histochemical investigations on the interrenal system of the brook lamprey (Lapetra planeri Bloch). [Translation from: Acta biol.med.germ. 24, 553-554, 1970. ]

Histochemical experiments are conducted in order to study the interrenal cells of European brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri)

Mixing effect on volume growth of Fagus sylvatica and Pinus sylvestris is modulated by stand density

Despite the increasing relevance of mixed stands due to their potential benefits; little information is available with regard to the effect of mixtures on yield in forest systems. Hence, it is necessary to study inter-specific relationships, and the resulting yield in mixed stands, which may vary with stand development, site or stand density, etc. In Spain, the province of Navarra is considered one of the biodiversity reservoirs; however, mixed forests occupy only a small area, probably as a consequence of management plans, in which there is an excessive focus on the productivity aspect, favoring the presence of pure stands of the most marketable species. The aim of this paper is to study how growth efficiencies of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) are modified by the admixture of the other species and to determine whether stand density modifies interspecific relationships and to what extent. Two models were fitted from Spanish National Forest Inventory data, for P. sylvestris and F. sylvatica respectively, which relate the growth efficiency of the species, i.e. the volume increment of the species divided by the species proportion by area, with dominant height, quadratic mean diameter, stocking degree, and the species proportions by area of each species. Growth efficiency of pine increased with the admixture of beech, decreasing this positive effect when stocking degree increased. However, the positive effect of pine admixture on beech growth was greater at higher stocking degrees. Growth efficiency of beech was also dependent on stand dominant height, resulting in a net negative mixing effect when stand dominant heights and stocking degrees were simultaneously low. There is a relatively large range of species proportions and stocking degrees which results in transgressive overyielding: higher volume increments in mixed stands than that of the most productive pure pine stands. We concluded that stocking degree is a key factor in between-species interactions, being the effects of mixing not always greater at higher stand densities, but it depends on species composition