Suchergebnisse

This thesis examines the field development of animal welfare in the United States (US). Empirically, it draws on three different analytical frameworks: a historical process analysis of the first American wild bird protection organization in the progressive era; network and event history analyses of animal lawsuits from 1865 to 2010; and event sequence and count analyses of animal-related legislation between 1698 and 2008. Theoretically, the thesis focuses upon one of the key questions facing institutional theory: what are the mechanisms and processes through which micro-level1 action and macro-level phenomena are connected? To answer this question, this thesis attends specifically to (1) the processes that connect the micro-level action and macro-level institutions, and (2) two structural mechanisms that are not a sum of micro-level action, but lead to macro-level phenomena. This macro-level phenomenon is the development of the animal welfare field. The findings of this thesis advance current understanding of how micro-level action and macro-level institutions are connected through processes and structural mechanisms. The results also reveal how these processes and mechanisms can produce particular field dynamics that cannot be adequately explained through extant theories, which tend to rely either exclusively on agentic forces or exogenous shocks. Thus, this study specifies the ways in which both processes and structural mechanisms connect micro- and macro-level research within the institutional literature.

Purpose. To assess tobacco screening and counseling in student health clinics, including facilitators, barriers, and associations with campus- and state-level variables. Design. We conducted a mixed-methods study with an online survey and qualitative interviews. Setting. Study setting was student health clinics on college campuses. Subjects. Subjects included 71 clinic directors or designees from 10 Southeastern states (quantitative survey) and 8 directors or designees from 4 Southeastern states (qualitative interviews). Measures. Quantitative measures included demographics, screening and counseling practices, clinic-level supports for such practices, perceptions of tobacco on campus, institution size, public/private status, state tobacco farming revenue, and state tobacco control funding. Qualitative measures included barriers and facilitators of tobacco screening and counseling practices. Analysis. Logistic and linear regression models assessed correlates of screening and counseling. Qualitative data were analyzed using multistage interpretive thematic analysis. Results. A total of 55% of online survey respondents reported that their clinics screen for tobacco at every visit, whereas 80% reported their clinics offer counseling and pharmacotherapy. Barriers included lack of the following: time with patients, relevance to chief complaint, student self-identification as a tobacco user, access to pharmacotherapy, and interest in quitting among smokers. In multivariable models, more efforts to reduce tobacco use, student enrollment, and state-level cash receipts for tobacco were positively associated with clinic-level supports. Conclusion. This study highlights missed opportunities for screening. Although reports of counseling were higher, providers identified many barriers.