Dissertation Defense Announcements

Prescription drug expenditures and utilization are the fastest and most widely varying expenditures within Medicaid programs across US states. The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 and the subsequent Medicaid state expansions resulted in very large coverage gains among several demographics at the state level. A number of studies prior to ACA highlighting determinants of health utilization and expenditures have been identified and studied discreetly, however, the relationships among these determinants, and the latent constructs of policy, access, enabling health system and predisposing characteristics have not been tested concurrently in relation to drug expenditures
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS), US Department of Labor , Department of Education, and state Medicaid programs were merged to create a balanced panel data (n=350 observations and 53 variables over a seven ( 7) period from 2009 to 2015); and was analyzed using random effects (RE) panel regression analysis to estimate a model for drug expenditure across US state Medicaid programs.
Based on Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services, and using a Structure Equation Modeling the study also examined the relationships between and tested the hypothesized effects of policy, access and predisposing factors on State Medicaid expenditures. Findings on effects of cost containment policies, ACA expansion, access to health care facilities and demographic distribution within Medicaid and an econometric model that estimates state drug expenditures are included followed by discussions, limitations and future directions for research

Poverty is a global problem dating back to the early nineteen hundred. Issues, such as income inequalities, food insecurities, poor education, lack of good health care, and housing challenges haven often been highlighted in research. The plight of low-income households remains an important topic. Prior research shows entrepreneurship as a possible answer, but how could low-income households take advantage of the opportunity that entrepreneurship provides? Researchers have also shown that a high percentage of low-income households engage in informal entrepreneurship because of the low cost of entry. Not all low-income household that are entrepreneurs’ practice in the informal sector. Thus, what are the factors that contribute to low-income households’ participation in the formalization of entrepreneurship? This dissertation empirically investigates the relationship between social cohesion and the degree of entrepreneurship formalization of low-income households. It further studies the moderating variables family support, risk propensity, and locus of control. The findings suggest that social cohesion has a significant impact on the degree of entrepreneurship formalization, but family support and locus of control do not moderate the relationship. However, risk propensity has a significant negative influence on the relationship between social cohesion and the degree of entrepreneurship formalization.

There has been a considerable interest in the development and installation of the building facade system using a dynamic motion which is called a kinetic facade system. Since the kinetic facade system can respond to the change of the external weather conditions, this can play a key role in saving building energy consumption and satisfying occupant’s thermal and visual comforts. Although the building application of the kinetic facade systems continues to increase because of its benefits, the features of the kinetic system cause relatively high installation costs compared to a conventional fixed facade system. Therefore, evaluating a performance of the kinetic facade system in the early design stages is becoming more important.

However the current process for evaluating the performance using a simulation tool is complicated and time-consuming process because the dynamic motion of the kinetic system. It takes a significant amount of time due to the repetitive simulation process associated with complex geometry and dynamic movements. Therefore, most studies on kinetic performance have limitations in grasping the range of time related to performance and specificity of kinetic movement.

Thus, this research suggested a prediction methodology using a regression model for a customized kinetic façade system. The regression model allowed user to compare the performance of the kinetic facade system without a simulation process. Also, it can be used to predict an optimal angle of a kinetic motion at a specific point in time.

This dissertation investigates a newly emerging phenomenon in Chinese higher education in which a Chinese university partners with an overseas university to open a new university campus in China which began in 2004. This form of university was established in the context of economic growth and education reform in Chinese society. It has brought a change to the rebuilding of nonpublic higher education in China since the late 1980s. It also reinforces the emphasis on internationalization and diversification of higher education set by Chinese government for the 21st century. However, as a joint venture in higher education, this form of education is still unknown to many education scholars with respect to its formation mechanisms and motivations. Moreover, given the changing landscape of Chinese higher education, the current status and future prospects of this type of university are worthy of study considering its benefits as well as challenges for Chinese and the global higher education development. What is more, the social, economic, and policy implications of these universities are even more enormous than its education perspective.
This dissertation is an exploratory case study involving intensive interviews with seven administrators and nine students from four institutions in this study along with content analysis of mission statements and school documents involving all nine institutions in this group. Findings suggest that the emergence of joint venture universities is consistent with the growing trend of globalization and internationalization in worldwide higher education development. Motivations and goals of institutions in pursuing this cooperation may vary among countries. China’s governmental involvement in this kind of education signifies a new trend in higher education collaboration that incorporates governmental interest in political, economic, and global pursuits rather than focusing on the education per se. Thus, this type of joint venture universities is neither public nor private. An unexpected finding is that the emergence of this form of education did not improve education inequality existing in Chinese higher education due to geographical location but reinforce the reproduction of inequality. Also, the small number of special joint venture universities in China seem to aim more for advancing China’s international goals to engage on the global stage, foster China’s active globalization efforts, and prepare Chinese students to be academically and socially ready for globalization. These findings thus have substantial implications for policymakers in relevant areas and help them in policymaking decisions.