Browsing by Subject "Demography"
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Item A Micro and Macro Analysis of Adult U.S. Mortlaity(2010-07-14) Russell, Christi N.This study utilized individual and county-level analysis to examine the impact of demographic and distal factors on individual level mortality as well as spatial and county specific attributes on county death rates. The data used in the individual level analyses come from the linked NHANES NDI data set and the county level data come from multiple sources including spatially referenced sources. Findings suggest that having private or Federal insurance attenuates the mortality discrepancy between racial groups at the individual level and that spatial factors have an impact on county death rates that are not explained by county attributes. These analyses present questions about using common indicators to measure mortality at different levels suggesting that the variables used to understand mortality on the individual level are different from those that should be used to understand mortality at the county level.Item An analysis of the types of goals selected as most important and least important by adolescents(Texas Tech University, 1980-05) Perkins, Barbara LNot availableItem An assessment of fashion awareness of women based on selected demographic factors(Texas Tech University, 1980-05) Huffman, Karen EliseNot availableItem Black and white : does race matter for health outcomes among Hispanics?(2012-05) Chinn, Juanita Jeanne; Hummer, Robert A.Heterogeneity within the Hispanic population in the United States (US) has important implications for health. Despite the empirical work examining heterogeneity in Hispanic health and mortality by nativity, generational status, and country of origin, relatively little research has been devoted to understanding if and how racial identification impacts Hispanic health outcomes. Racial differences in health and mortality are well documented throughout the literature, particularly for non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites. Meanwhile, current socio-demographic and health literature commonly compares US non-Hispanic racial groups with people who claim Hispanic ethnicity, the latter of whom are comprised of multiple racial groups. Thus, this dissertation examines the racial heterogeneity of the Hispanic population and the implications of race for physical health among Hispanics. Using the National Health Interview Survey and the National Centers for Health Statistics Linked Birth/Infant Death Cohort Files, the key findings of this dissertation are (1) racial identity is associated with socioeconomic status among Hispanics, (2) infants born to Hispanic black mothers displayed statistically significant higher odds of being born with low birth weight when compared to infants born to Hispanic white mothers, (3) there is evidence of weathering in the infant health of Hispanics, as measured using birth weight, (4) black-white disparities in the risk of infant mortality exist within the Hispanic population, (5) both Hispanic blacks and those of other races have greater odds of functional limitations than Hispanic whites and for Hispanic blacks; moreover, this disadvantage increases with age, (6) I show no race differences in the odds of hypertension or poorly self-assessed health status. In short, the results of this dissertation suggest that the social experience for Hispanic blacks and whites is different and that this difference affects health outcomes. It is imperative that future research and health policy recognize the racial heterogeneity of this population, in both empirical analyses and policy decisions regarding social influences on physical health.Item Casting a crime net, catching immigrants : an analysis of secure communities' effects on the size of foreign-born Mexican populations(2013-12) Gutierrez, Carmen Marie; Kirk, David S.Following the precedent decision to expand the power of immigration enforcement set by the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g), the Department of Homeland Security developed its own partnership agreement with local police to increase detection and deportation efforts through its 2008 policy, Secure Communities (S-Comm). S-Comm represents the nation’s “largest expansion of local involvement in immigration enforcement in the nation’s history” (Cox & Miles 2013, pg. 93). Although slated to enhance public safety by removing “criminal aliens” convicted of serious offenses, S-Comm has broaden its scope to achieve attrition in the undocumented immigrant population more generally by also focusing on the removal of those who violate low-level and immigration laws, as well as those who have recently entered the U.S. illegally. Its implementation and enforcement procedures, however, have been found to disproportionately target foreign-born Mexican residents relative to other undocumented individuals, which may lead to negative consequences for S-Comm’s efficacy. Has S-Comm effectively reduced the size of the Mexican immigrant population in the U.S.? Exploiting the variation in the timing of its implementation as well as the disparate levels of its enforcement, my research extends a quasi-experimental design to investigate S-Comm’s effect on the size of local Mexican immigrant populations. Testing the influence of S-Comm’s implementation and enforcement will reveal the salience of passing laws that target unauthorized migration—an empirical contribution to previous work that has only assessed state and local policies. Moreover, such results may also enhance theoretical knowledge of punitive practices formulated to produce deterrence.Item Clothing interest and shopping patterns of used-clothing-store patrons(Texas Tech University, 1980-12) Christie, Jeanette CarolynThis research was designed to investigate clothing interest of used-clothing-store patrons and retail-clothing store patrons in relation to various demographic variables: age, level of education, employment status, marital status, and level of income. The study included a secondary problem investigating the policies of used-clothing stores and the shopping patterns of used-clothing-store patrons. The General Clothing Interests Questionnaire was distributed to 110 used-clothing-store patrons and 110 retail clothing- store patrons. It consisted of 32 attitude statements which represented eight specific clothing interest scales. One hundred twenty-one returned questionnaires were statistically analyzed by t-test and analysis of variance tests. The hvpotheses were accepted or rejected at the .05 probability level. The study determined that, in general, clothing interests of women are similar regardless of type of store patronized, age, level of education, employment status, marital status, and level of income. Differences, however, were recognized in regard to various specific clothing interest scales. A Survey of Used-Clothing-Store Managers, consisting of 17 questions, was distributed to 4 9 managers in the West Texas area. Frequency distributions and percentages were calculated for the 25 responses obtained. It was found the number of used-clothing stores have increased in the past five years. Policies of the used-clothing store were found to vary with (1) how the merchandise is obtained and (2) where the store profits go. A majority of used-clothing store managers reported similar shopping patterns of their patrons.Item Color preferences relative to demographic factors, personality, and self-concept with implicatons for homemaking education(Texas Tech University, 1977-08) Choate, Janis MNot availableItem Comparative population policy(2011-05) Hardy, David McGrath; Wilson, Robert Hines; Stolp, ChandlerIn the last thirty years an increasing number of governments are taking an interest in the growth rate and age structure of their populations. The chief concern among advanced economies is that pay-as-you-go pension and health care systems for the elderly will be unsustainable as the ratio of younger workers to older beneficiaries shrinks from aging populations. Resistance to reforms such as reduced or delayed benefits, or higher taxes has focused attention on a third option, growing the working-age population. There is a growing consensus on the economic benefits of population growth, a reversal from the 1960s through 80s. Governments try to grow the population through incentives for more children and/or accepting more immigrants. This report compares the population policies of Singapore, the United States, France, and Japan to analyze governments' motives and policy outcomes. Middle-income nations like China and Brazil can learn from the experiences of developed nations to avoid the same predicament in the future. Each government's mix of fertility incentives, immigrants, and guest workers is a product of their economic and political circumstances. The surest way to grow the population, accepting immigrants, is usually the least popular. The most popular is the most unproven, providing benefits for larger families. There is no consensus what the most effective fertility incentives are. Population policy has never been just about the economy, it is steeped in political and cultural visions. Shedding that political baggage is a prerequisite to a more rational, sustainable policy approach to demography.Item Dietary compliance of hemodialysis patients: personality and demographic correlates(Texas Tech University, 1980-12) Alexander, Lelia HarrisonNot availableItem Feminism: the development of a scale and exploration of antecedents(Texas Tech University, 1980-05) Overton, Helen HawthorneNot available.Item Feminism: the development of a scale and exploration of antecedents(Texas Tech University, 1980-05) Overton, Helen HawthorneNot availableItem The household production of men's and women's health in the United States(2013-08) Brown, Dustin Chad; Hayward, Mark D.; Hummer, Robert A.The inverse association between individuals' own education and adverse health outcomes is well established, but the influence of other people's education -- particularly those with close social ties or who are family members -- and adult health outcomes is not. The material and non-material resources available to individuals via their own education likely are shared within a marriage to become resources at the household or family-level. Research on spousal education and adult health outcomes is sparse -- especially in the United States. Therefore, this dissertation examines how husbands and wives' education combine within marriage to influence each other's self-rated health and annual risk of death in the United States. The analyses utilize two nationally representative data sources: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality File (NHIS-LMF). Chapter Two establishes an inverse association between spousal education and poor/fair self-rated health among married adults in the United States. The results also showed that spousal education attenuated the association between one's own education and fair/poor self-rated health more for married women than married men and age-specific analyses revealed that these differences were largest among married persons ages 45-64. Chapter Three reveals that individuals' own education and their spouse's education each share an inverse association with the annual risk of death among married adults. Although this association generally does not vary by gender, spousal education apparently is a more important determinant of all-cause mortality risk among married non-Hispanic whites in comparison to married non-Hispanic blacks. Age-specific analyses also suggest that the influence of own and spousal education on adult mortality risk weakened with increasing age. Chapter Four assesses life expectancy differentials between men and women in different marital status groups at different points in the educational distribution. The results imply that spousal education substantially contributes to life expectancy disparities between married and unmarried persons. The results also imply that focusing only on the relationship between married persons' own education and life expectancy masks substantial heterogeneity within educational groups attributable to spousal education. Overall, the findings strongly suggest that education is a shared or household health resource among husbands and wives.Item Living Life in the Middle? Multiracials, Residential Segregation and the Fate of the U.S. Color-line(2013-10-21) Barron, JessicaA vast amount of social sciences research investigates the residential segregation of racial groups in the U.S.however very little is known regarding the segregation of multiracial Americans. The principle aim of this research is to examine the segregation patterns of mixed-race adults but to do so within a broader perspective. The segregationpatterns found in this studyare used as a proxy for thesocial positionof multiracial groups, addressing the tenets of six varied perspectives, spanning the disciplines of race and ethnicity, demography, and economics. This study examines segregation patterns of multiracial adults in49 U.S. cities using various summary indicators acquired with data from the 2010 U.S.Census.Thisstudyincorporates a recent methodological innovation by drawing on refined versions of segregation indices that improve the quality of segregation estimates in situations involving small groups such as the multiracial population. Three main findings emerged:1) multiracial segregationpatterns varyfrom the patterns of their single-race counterparts,2) multiracial segregation patterns varyacross type ofmultiracial combination and 3) residential outcomes for multiracials vary across urban areas and regions of the country.These findings suggest that contrary to the contemporary perspectives on social position of racial groups, multiracials hold various positions in the racial hierarchy based on racial composition.Item The Bay Art Gallery: Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida(Texas Tech University, 1990-05) Archer, Melvyn E.The universe is built and operates as a hierarchy of dynamic system and sub-systems. Nature can be described as a large ordered system which remains stable, while its sub- systems contain variety, diversity and uniqueness. The human mind can perceive the whole system of nature only because it is a part of the order of systems. Architecture, born of the human mind, should be as unique as any other sub-system while its essence should contribute to the wholeness of natures system. The intent of this thesis is to produce architecture as a sub-system that gives meaning in part to the whole of a larger system. This will be achieved through simulation of natural cycles, rhythms and patterns. The implementation of which will be by means of natural materials, textures and colors.Item The influence of age, sex, family size, and community size on attitude toward tactile communication(Texas Tech University, 1982-05) Berryhill, Natalie BethThe purpose of this research was to find the relationship of age, sex, family size and community size to tactile attitudes. The Hines Tactility Measure (Hines, 1978) and the Tactile Avoidance Measure (Anderson & Leibowitz, 1976) were administered to 525 subjects ranging from 18 to 92 years of age. Subprograms performed on the data collected were: a Stepwise Multiple Regression, a Frequency analysis, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, and Reliability. Results indicated that approximately 8.7% (p <.01) of the variance was accounted for by the four variables. Other findings were that tactility decreased as age, family size, and community size increased, and that tactility was strongest among females. The internal analysis of each test and the .71 (p <.01) intercorrelation between the tests indicated that both measures were valid and reliable predictors of tactile attitudes. The Reliability subprogram yielded a standardized item alpha of .87 on the Hines, and .82 on the TAM.Item The use of demographic variables in a study of urbanism in the state economic areas of Texas(Texas Tech University, 1965-08) Richardson, James T.The purpose of this thesis is to use demographic variables effectively in a study of urbanism.* This purpose is accomplished by first constructing an Index of Urbaniam using certain selected demographic variables that, according to prevalent theory, differentiate between rural and urban ways of life. Then the selected Indicators are used to characterize the state economic areas (S£A*a) of Texas in such a way that the SEA's will be ranked on the Index of Urbanism in an arrangement that will reliably indicate their relative degree of urbanism.Item Whooping crane (Grus americana) demography and environmental factors in a population growth simulation model(Texas A&M University, 2006-08-16) Gil de Weir, KarineThe Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is among North America??s most charismatic species. Between 1938 and 2004, the population that migrates between Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP), grew from 18 to 217 individuals. The recovery plan objective for this endangered species is to downlist the population in 2035, but this requires interpretive assessment of population responses to environmental factors over the long term. I analyzed 27 years of banding data, 37 years of nest monitoring data, and 20 years of winter reports to estimate age-specific mortality and fecundity rates. The resulting life table yielded an intrinsic rate of increase (r) of 0.14/y, a net reproductive rate (Ro) of 6.4/y, and a mean length of a generation (G) of 13y. Path analysis of environmental factors, demographic variables (natality and mortality), and the finite rate of population increase (lambda) showed that annual mortality, temperatures from the ANWR, WBNP and at a migration stop-over in Nebraska, and pond water depth were good predictors of lambda variability. However, other environmental factors were significantly correlated: at ANWR, October- March temperature (extreme minimum and maximum), December temperature (mean and extreme minimum), November-January precipitation, and September-March freshwater inflow; at WBNP, March-September precipitation, March-May temperature, and temperatures during the September - October fall migration. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) affected lambda indirectly through environmental factors in Nebraska and ANWR. I graphically analyzed relevant data trends from 1967 to 2004 to identify the relation between phases of PDO and environmental and demographic variables. During PDO cold phases, a synchronization of ??extreme?? environmental values was observed from the different regions; during warm phases extreme environmental values were scattered. Most periods of Whooping Crane population decline happened during cold phases. I developed a compartment model to represent Whooping Crane population dynamics utilizing the new data on survivorship and fecundity from banded birds. The model was capable of simulating historical population trends with adjustments in brood success and egg mortality. The model will allow future studies to test population responses to various environmental scenarios at the WBNP, during fall and spring migrations, and at the ANWR.