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- All Subjects: public policy
- Creators: Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam
Description
In October, 2009, participants of the Arizona Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) began receiving monthly Cash Value Vouchers (CVV) worth between six and 10 dollars towards the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Data from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) showed CVV redemption rates in the first two years of the program were lower than the national average of 77% redemption. In response, the ADHS WIC Food List was expanded to also include canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. More recent data from ADHS suggest that redemption rates are improving, but variably exist among different WIC sub-populations. The purpose of this project was to identify themes related to the ease or difficulty of WIC CVV use amongst different categories of low-redeeming WIC participants. A total of 8 focus groups were conducted, four at a clinic in each of two Valley cities: Surprise and Mesa. Each of the four focus groups comprised one of four targeted WIC participant categories: pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and children with participation ranging from 3-9 participants per group. Using the general inductive approach, recordings of the focus groups were transcribed, hand-coded and uploaded into qualitative analysis software resulting in four emergent themes including: interactions and shopping strategies, maximizing WIC value, redemption issues, and effect of rule change. Researchers identified twelve different subthemes related to the emergent theme of interactions and strategies to improve their experience, including economic considerations during redemption. Barriers related to interactions existed that made their purchase difficult, most notably anger from the cashier and other shoppers. However, participants made use of a number of strategies to facilitate WIC purchases or extract more value out of WIC benefits, such as pooling their CVV. Finally, it appears that the fruit and vegetable rule change was well received by those who were aware of the change. These data suggest a number of important avenues for future research, including verifying these themes are important within a larger, representative sample of Arizona WIC participants, and exploring strategies to minimize barriers identified by participants, such as use of electronic benefits transfer-style cards (EBT).
ContributorsBertmann, Farryl M. W (Author) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Thesis advisor) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Hampl, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Dixit-Joshi, Sujata (Committee member) / Barroso, Cristina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Individual behavior change is a goal of many public policies directed at people of low socioeconomic status. Without evidence of behavioral change, these policies cannot be considered a success: a process of co-production where some level of cooperation between the client and program administrators is required to successfully meet program objectives. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), is one example of a co-production design. WIC encourages women to engage in healthy behaviors by providing healthy food along with nutrition education to improve the health status of low-income families. However, while WIC is one of the most studied nutrition programs, little attention has been paid to the nutrition education portion or to interactions between staff members and participants. This research draws on the public policy and administration literature about street-level bureaucrats and co-production, which provides a framework for understanding the purposeful, inter-dependent relationships between front-line service providers and clients. However, neither literature explicates the process of interactions that is expected to lead to client behavior change and co-production. The primary contribution of this research is the creation of a grounded theory that identifies and explains the WIC interaction process as one of "negotiating healthy self-government". Based on analysis of three months of observations of WIC encounters in two clinics, this research finds that participants and staff members enter into tacit and explicit negotiations concerning the degree to which participants should govern their family's nutrition-related behavior. Clients actively shape the interactions by demonstrating their discipline and efforts to feed their families, while staff members refine and reinforce self-governing behaviors through assessing action, and providing advice to ensure behaviors meet recommendations. Finally, participants and staff members distinctly link self-governing behavior to identity: "good mothers" feed their children healthy food and govern their behaviors to meet nutritional recommendations. This research has implications for the study of behavior change promotion in public programs by introducing the concept of identity as a mechanism for governance and explicating the interaction process between front-line service providers and clients
ContributorsHand, Laura Catherine (Author) / Catlaw, Thomas J. (Thesis advisor) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Committee member) / Lucio, Joanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
As part of the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, chain restaurants with 20 or more locations nationwide are required to post calorie information on menus and menu boards in order to help consumers make healthier decisions when dining out. Previous studies that have evaluated menu-labeling policies show mixed results and the majority have been conducted in urban cities along the east coast. This study was the first to look at the effectiveness of menu labeling in a southwest population. The primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine if noticing or using calorie menu labels in a fast food restaurant was associated with purchasing fewer calories. A second aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and the likelihood of noticing and using menu labeling. Customer receipts and survey data were collected from 329 participants using street-intercept survey methodology at 29 McDonald's locations in low- and high-income neighborhoods throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area. The study population was 63.5% male, 53.8% non-Hispanic white, and 50.8% low-income. Results showed that almost 60% of the study sample noticed calorie menu labeling and only 16% of participants reported using the information for food or beverage purchases. Income was the only socio-demographic characteristic that was associated with noticing menu labeling, with higher-income individuals being more likely to notice the information (p=0.029). Income was also found to be associated with using menu labels, with higher income individuals being more likely to use the information (p=0.04). Additionally, individuals with a bachelors degree or higher were more likely to use the information (p=0.023) and individuals aged 36 to 49 were least likely to use the information (p=0.046). There were no significant differences in average calories purchased among those who noticed menu labeling; however, those who reported using calorie information purchased 146 fewer calories than those who did not use the information (p=0.001). Based on these findings it is concluded that calorie menu labeling is an effective public policy and that nutrition education campaigns should accompany national menu labeling implementation in order to make the policy more effective across all socio-demographic groups.
ContributorsGreen, Jessie (Author) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Thesis advisor) / Bruening, Meg (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This research investigates the relationship between municipal annexation and local government's financial condition. It addresses a significant gap in the literature by focusing on the roles of local government revenue structure and land use situations in affecting annexation's fiscal implications. The major research question is how these two categories of local circumstances affect annexation's fiscal implications, and what patterns may emerge based on the empirical evidence. With two parts of empirical analyses, I explore the features of the moderating effects of these two local circumstances: how the interactions between annexation and local circumstances influence local government's financial condition. The first part of the analyses examines the role of local government's revenue structure in affecting annexation's fiscal implications. Using a sample of more than six thousand municipalities, empirical analyses of OLS and interactive regression models show the effects of local taxing authority and revenue reliance. The second part underscores the effects of land use along with annexations in municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area across two decades. Utilizing GIS data for annexation and land use, it presents spatial patterns of annexation activities and land use changes. A fixed effects model with panel data is used to investigate the joint effects of annexation and land use on local government's financial condition. The complicated effects of different land use situations are identified. The findings suggest that annexation has the potential for fiscal gains to local government, but its positive fiscal effects may diminish if the municipality has less capability to make suitable revenue arrangement, and if a high proportion of land in the municipality that remains undeveloped. Above all, this research offers a comprehensive perspective regarding municipal annexation, land use and local government finance, to inform a larger debate of urban growth and local financial management.
ContributorsWang, Jing (Author) / Chapman, Jeffrey I. (Thesis advisor) / Lewis, Paul G (Committee member) / Herbst, Christopher M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This study analyzes how current U.S. immigration enforcement policy has been carried out, specifically under the implementation of the Secure Communities (S-Comm) program. Paying special attention to the enforcement-only policy hysteria and immigration patchwork trend since the 2000s, this study has the following research questions: (1) whether S-Comm has faithfully implemented enforcement actions for removing "dangerous" criminal noncitizens; (2) how counties with different immigration perspectives have responded to such an immigration enforcement program; and (3) whether the implementation of S-Comm has really made local communities safer as in the program goal.
For analysis, 541 counties were selected, and their noncitizen enforcement results under S-Comm were analyzed with 5 time points, covering a 13-month period (Dec. 2011 - Jan. 2013) with longitudinal data analyses. In spite of the rosy advertisement of this program, analysis of S-Comm showed a very different picture. Unlike the federal immigration agency's promise of targeting dangerous criminal noncitizens, 1 in 4 noncitizen removals were for noncriminal violations, and more than half of noncitizen deportations were for misdemeanor charges and immigration violations in the name of "criminal aliens." Based on latent class analysis, three distinct subgroups of counties having different immigration enforcement policy perspectives were extracted, and there have been huge local variations over time on two key intergovernmental enforcement actions under the implementation of S-Comm: immigration detainer issuances and noncitizen deportations. Finally, unlike the federal immigration agency's "immigrant-crime nexus" assumption for legitimating the implementation of S-Comm, no significant and meaningful associations between these two factors were found. With serious conflicts and debates among policy actors on the implementation of S-Comm, this program was finally terminated in November 2014; although, the essence of the policy continues under a different name.
A series of results from this study indicate that the current enforcement-only policy approach has been wrongfully implemented, and fundamental reconsideration of immigration policy should be made. Enforcement-focused immigration policy could not solve fundamental immigration-related problems, including why noncitizens immigrate and how they should be dealt with as humans. More rational and humane approaches to dealing with immigration should be discussed at the national and local levels.
For analysis, 541 counties were selected, and their noncitizen enforcement results under S-Comm were analyzed with 5 time points, covering a 13-month period (Dec. 2011 - Jan. 2013) with longitudinal data analyses. In spite of the rosy advertisement of this program, analysis of S-Comm showed a very different picture. Unlike the federal immigration agency's promise of targeting dangerous criminal noncitizens, 1 in 4 noncitizen removals were for noncriminal violations, and more than half of noncitizen deportations were for misdemeanor charges and immigration violations in the name of "criminal aliens." Based on latent class analysis, three distinct subgroups of counties having different immigration enforcement policy perspectives were extracted, and there have been huge local variations over time on two key intergovernmental enforcement actions under the implementation of S-Comm: immigration detainer issuances and noncitizen deportations. Finally, unlike the federal immigration agency's "immigrant-crime nexus" assumption for legitimating the implementation of S-Comm, no significant and meaningful associations between these two factors were found. With serious conflicts and debates among policy actors on the implementation of S-Comm, this program was finally terminated in November 2014; although, the essence of the policy continues under a different name.
A series of results from this study indicate that the current enforcement-only policy approach has been wrongfully implemented, and fundamental reconsideration of immigration policy should be made. Enforcement-focused immigration policy could not solve fundamental immigration-related problems, including why noncitizens immigrate and how they should be dealt with as humans. More rational and humane approaches to dealing with immigration should be discussed at the national and local levels.
ContributorsJung, Dongjae (Author) / Cayer, N Joseph (Thesis advisor) / Lewis, Paul G (Thesis advisor) / Herbst, Christopher M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Objective: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federally-funded program that provides supplemental food packages, nutrition education, and healthcare referrals to low-income women, infants, and children under 5, who are at the highest nutritional risk. This study explores if household WIC participation is associated with healthier dietary behaviors among age-ineligible children (5-18-years-old) in WIC households. Consumption frequency of fruits, vegetables, 100% juice, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and energy-dense snacks (sweet and salty snacks) among children from WIC and income-qualifying non-WIC households were compared.
Methods: Data were obtained from two cross-sectional panels (2009-10 and 2014) of the New Jersey Child Health Study conducted in four low-income New Jersey cities. Questions from previously validated surveys assessed consumption frequency of fruits, vegetables, SSBs, and sweet and salty snacks. Analyses were confined to 570 children between 5-18 yrs; of which 365 (5-11 yrs: 237, 12-18 yrs: 128) resided in WIC participating households and 205 (5-11 yrs: 138, 12-18 yrs: 67) in income-qualifying non-WIC households. Over half of the sample was African American and 43% were Hispanic. Multivariable analyses were conducted to compute incidence rate ratios (IRRs) using negative binomial regression to compare the differences in eating behaviors of children in WIC vs. Non-WIC households
Results: Household WIC participation was associated with a slightly higher frequency of vegetable consumption among 12-18-year-old children (IRR= 1.25, p=.05); differences were significant among older males (12-18-years-old) (p=.006), and not in females.
Frequency of 100% juice consumption was significantly higher among younger females (5-11-years-old) in WIC households who consumed juice about 44% more frequently (p=.02) compared to similar age girls in non-WIC households. Hispanic children in WIC households reported a lower frequency of SSBs consumption (p=.01); this association was only true among males (p=.02).
Conclusions: Household WIC participation is associated with healthier dietary behaviors among age-ineligible children living in the households, suggesting a positive spillover effect of the program. Proposed changes to WIC packages are likely to have dietary implications not only for WIC participants but also for non-participating children residing in WIC households,
Methods: Data were obtained from two cross-sectional panels (2009-10 and 2014) of the New Jersey Child Health Study conducted in four low-income New Jersey cities. Questions from previously validated surveys assessed consumption frequency of fruits, vegetables, SSBs, and sweet and salty snacks. Analyses were confined to 570 children between 5-18 yrs; of which 365 (5-11 yrs: 237, 12-18 yrs: 128) resided in WIC participating households and 205 (5-11 yrs: 138, 12-18 yrs: 67) in income-qualifying non-WIC households. Over half of the sample was African American and 43% were Hispanic. Multivariable analyses were conducted to compute incidence rate ratios (IRRs) using negative binomial regression to compare the differences in eating behaviors of children in WIC vs. Non-WIC households
Results: Household WIC participation was associated with a slightly higher frequency of vegetable consumption among 12-18-year-old children (IRR= 1.25, p=.05); differences were significant among older males (12-18-years-old) (p=.006), and not in females.
Frequency of 100% juice consumption was significantly higher among younger females (5-11-years-old) in WIC households who consumed juice about 44% more frequently (p=.02) compared to similar age girls in non-WIC households. Hispanic children in WIC households reported a lower frequency of SSBs consumption (p=.01); this association was only true among males (p=.02).
Conclusions: Household WIC participation is associated with healthier dietary behaviors among age-ineligible children living in the households, suggesting a positive spillover effect of the program. Proposed changes to WIC packages are likely to have dietary implications not only for WIC participants but also for non-participating children residing in WIC households,
ContributorsSteeves, Stephanie N (Author) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Thesis advisor) / Tasevska, Natasha (Committee member) / DeWeese, Robin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Cities today face new economic, political, and social challenges spurred, in part, by the growth of immigrant and newcomer populations and increasing competitive pressure in the context of contemporary globalization. In the face of these challenges, some U.S. city and county governments have adopted the “welcoming city initiative,” which promotes both immigrant integration and economic growth. To date, little research has explored why different U.S. cities decide to pursue the welcoming city initiatives, what cities really hope to achieve through them, or what governing arrangements emerge to develop and implement these initiatives. In addition to illuminating the emerging discursive, political, and organizational dynamics of welcoming, this dissertation contributes to the literatures in urban asset development, urban regime theory, and political and bureaucratic incorporation.
Drawing on 30 interviews with key actors and document analysis, this dissertation employs a multiple case study design to conduct an interpretive policy analysis of the initiatives of four U.S. welcoming cities: Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Chicago, Illinois; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The analysis explores three independent but interconnected themes. The first theme concerns multiple, context-specific framings of “welcoming” and the types of assets cities seek to leverage and develop through the welcoming city initiatives. This investigation finds that while each city puts a priority on developing a certain set of assets based on its unique political, economic, and demographic contexts, welcoming efforts tend to encourage immigrant entrepreneurialism, the leveraging newcomers’ human capital and financial assets, and the development place-based assets to attract and retain newcomers. The efforts to strengthen community capacity seek to institutionalize a new norm of welcoming, structure immigrant-friendly governance practices, and engage newcomers and longer-term residents in their community affairs. The second theme probes the ways in which these four cities create and maintain governing regimes for the initiative. The analysis finds that, while the four cities develop different governing structures, all pursue the creation of mixed types of governing coalitions that combine pro-growth and opportunity expansion regimes by incorporating the goals of economic growth and immigrant integration. The third theme investigates different modes of immigrant incorporation and their contribution to immigrant integration, the final stage in immigrant settlement. The analysis suggests that political leaders and bureaucratic agencies of the welcoming cities tend to build reciprocal relationships, rather than principal-agent relationships, in which political leaders rely on the positional, professional, and technical expertise of bureaucrats. In these early stages on the initiative, political and bureaucratic incorporation aim to create institutional changes that help immigrants and newcomers to be viewed as political constituents and clients of bureaucratic agencies.
This dissertation broadly concludes that the welcoming city initiative is a promising new urban economic development framework that could reshape urban space by integrating pro-growth demands with social integration and inclusion. Going forward, however, deeper consideration of the perspectives and rights of immigrants and newcomers themselves is needed in these initiatives.
Drawing on 30 interviews with key actors and document analysis, this dissertation employs a multiple case study design to conduct an interpretive policy analysis of the initiatives of four U.S. welcoming cities: Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Chicago, Illinois; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The analysis explores three independent but interconnected themes. The first theme concerns multiple, context-specific framings of “welcoming” and the types of assets cities seek to leverage and develop through the welcoming city initiatives. This investigation finds that while each city puts a priority on developing a certain set of assets based on its unique political, economic, and demographic contexts, welcoming efforts tend to encourage immigrant entrepreneurialism, the leveraging newcomers’ human capital and financial assets, and the development place-based assets to attract and retain newcomers. The efforts to strengthen community capacity seek to institutionalize a new norm of welcoming, structure immigrant-friendly governance practices, and engage newcomers and longer-term residents in their community affairs. The second theme probes the ways in which these four cities create and maintain governing regimes for the initiative. The analysis finds that, while the four cities develop different governing structures, all pursue the creation of mixed types of governing coalitions that combine pro-growth and opportunity expansion regimes by incorporating the goals of economic growth and immigrant integration. The third theme investigates different modes of immigrant incorporation and their contribution to immigrant integration, the final stage in immigrant settlement. The analysis suggests that political leaders and bureaucratic agencies of the welcoming cities tend to build reciprocal relationships, rather than principal-agent relationships, in which political leaders rely on the positional, professional, and technical expertise of bureaucrats. In these early stages on the initiative, political and bureaucratic incorporation aim to create institutional changes that help immigrants and newcomers to be viewed as political constituents and clients of bureaucratic agencies.
This dissertation broadly concludes that the welcoming city initiative is a promising new urban economic development framework that could reshape urban space by integrating pro-growth demands with social integration and inclusion. Going forward, however, deeper consideration of the perspectives and rights of immigrants and newcomers themselves is needed in these initiatives.
ContributorsAhn, Jeong Joo (Author) / Catlaw, Thomas J (Thesis advisor) / Lewis, Paul G (Committee member) / Lucio, Joanna (Committee member) / Mossberger, Karen (Committee member) / Williams, Linda M. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
With an abundance of sunshine, the state of Arizona has the potential for producing large amounts of solar energy. However, in recent years Arizona has also become the focal point in a political battle to determine the value and future of residential solar energy fees, which has critical implications for distributed generation. As the debate grows, it is clear that solar policies developed in Arizona will influence other state regulators regarding their solar rate structures and Net Energy Metering; however, there is a hindrance in the progress of this discussion due to the varying frameworks of the stakeholders involved. For this project, I set out to understand and analyze why the different stakeholders have such conflicting viewpoints. Some groups interpret energy as a financial and technological object while others view it is an inherently social and political issue. I conducted research in three manners: 1) I attended public meetings, 2) hosted interviews, and 3) analyzed reports and studies on the value of solar. By using the SRP 2015 Rate Case as my central study, I will discuss how these opposing viewpoints do or do not incorporate various forms of justice such as distributive, participatory, and recognition justice. In regards to the SRP Rate Case, I will look at both the utility- consumer relationship and the public meeting processes in which they interact, in addition to the pricing plans. This work reveals that antiquated utility structures and a lack of participation and recognition justice are hindering the creation of policy changes that satisfy both the needs of the utilities and the community at large.
ContributorsGidney, Jacob Robert (Author) / Richter, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Jurik, Nancy (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
As India expanded its grid infrastructure, decentralized renewable energy technologies, such as off-grid solar, also emerged in parallel as an electrification solution. This dissertation critically examines the role of off-grid solar in facilitating rural electrification efforts in India. Specifically, it applies the frameworks of the multi-level perspective, capabilities approach, and energy justice to achieve three objectives: (1) trace the evolution of off-grid solar in India; (2) understand the role of solar micro-grids in improving household capabilities and well-being; (1) examine whether and how community-scale solar micro-grids can operate as just means of electrification. This research relies on qualitative case-study methods. The historical research in Paper 1 is based on published policy documents and interviews with energy experts in India. It finds that landscape-regime-niche actor relations and politics were crucial in shaping off-grid solar transition outcomes. There is also a narrative component, as the key narratives of energy security, environmental degradation, climate change and energy for development converged to create spaces for state and non-state interactions that could nurture the development of off-grid solar. The community-level research in Papers 2 and 3 analyze a local energy initiative of community operated solar micro-grid using semi-structured interviews and participant observations from three villages in Maharashtra. Solar micro-grids play an important part in expanding people’s choices and opportunities. The benefits are not uniform across all people, however. Increases in energy-related capabilities vary by economic class and gender, and to some extent this means certain biases can get reinforced. In addition, the inability of solar micro-grids to keep up with the changing electrification landscape and daily practices means that the challenges of affordability, reliability and community engagement emerged as important concerns over-time. Empirically, this dissertation finds that off-grid energy initiatives must be carefully designed to be in alignment with local values and realities. Theoretically, it adds to debates on justice in energy transitions by showcasing the regime-led innovations, and temporality elements of energy justice local energy initiatives.
ContributorsRajagopalan, Sushil (Author) / Breetz, Hanna (Thesis advisor) / Klinsky, Sonja (Thesis advisor) / Singh, Kartikeya (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program provide nutritious meals to school-age children. USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is designed to extend the reach of these programs by allowing schools in low-income areas to provide free school meals to all students at no cost to families. CEP has been shown to increase school meal participation, nutritional intake, academic achievement, and attendance in previous research studies. This study aims to examine the impact of long-term CEP participation on student weight outcomes. Nurse-measured height and weight data for school years 2013-14 to 2019-20 were collected from 141 K-12 public schools in four low-income cities. School-level prevalence of obesity was calculated from students’ heights and weights using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol. CEP participation for each school year was obtained from the state Department of Education. Schools in the sample began participating in CEP at different times yielding varying numbers of years of CEP exposure over the study period. Multivariable analyses examined the relationship between school CEP exposure and the prevalence of obesity, controlling for school-level covariates. Multivariable analyses showed that for every additional year of CEP participation, the school-level prevalence of obesity was 0.4% lower (p=0.018). The regression-adjusted obesity prevalence for schools that never participated in CEP was 28.0%, while the obesity prevalence for schools with 6 years of CEP participation was 25.4%. The lower prevalence of obesity in CEP-participating schools was primarily driven by elementary schools. These results suggest that the benefits of CEP participation can cumulate over time, significantly reducing school-level obesity prevalence over time.
ContributorsDykstra, Tatum Nicole (Author) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Thesis advisor) / Acciai, Francesco (Committee member) / McCoy, Maureen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024