Identifying solutions to some of Mississippi\u2019s most pressing problems was the focus of the \u201cAdvancing Mississippi: Research for a Better Mississippi for More Mississippians\u201d Conference held last week in Jackson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot think of a more important conference and work,\u201d said Dr. Glenn Boyce, commissioner of Higher Education. \u201cThe key to improving a state like ours, with limited resources, is to tap into the power of synergy. Working together, we can use our university expertise and research capabilities to solve problems and advance the state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Hosted by the University Research Center, the conference featured some of the brightest minds in Mississippi public universities as they covered topics organized into four categories: estimations, employment, being healthy and education. The conference also addressed the systemic challenges that Mississippi faces.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis conference brings together the best and brightest minds to bear on the systemic problems facing our state,\u201d said Dr. Darrin Webb, state economist and director of the University Research Center. \u201cWe\u2019re here to talk about real solutions to make a better Mississippi.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Representative Joel Bomgar, a republican from Madison County, and Representative Kabir Karriem, a democrat from Lowndes County, presented the luncheon keynote. They discussed Mississippi\u2019s current criminal justice system and how a bi-partisan effort to reform the system could improve outcomes for those transitioning to the workforce once their debt to society has been paid.<\/span><\/p>\n The papers presented included:<\/span><\/p>\n Estimations<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Is Hinds County Mississippi Really Worse than Madison or Rankin County?\u00a0<\/b><\/span>A Spatial Equilibrium Approach to Ranking Quality of Life The Role of Income and location in Racial\/Ethnic differences on loan denial in three Mississippi Counties Estimation of the Burden of Cigarette Smoking on the State of Mississippi in 2014 Employment<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Independent Living Program (ILP) and Workforce Development for Youth Aging Out of the Mississippi Foster Care System Understanding the Nature of the Teacher Shortage in Mississippi An Exploratory Study of Effects of Workplace Variables on Organizational Commitment of Mississippi Correctional Staff Being Healthy<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Transforming Lives Through Health Insurance Outreach and Enrollment The Socio-Economic Impact of Community Development Financial Institutions on Child Health Outcomes in Mississippi Health Insurance Influence on Obesity Rates: A Cross-Sectional Study of Mississippi\u2019s 82 Counties Education<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sex Education in Mississippi: An Analysis of the Early Impacts of HB999 Applied Behavior Analysis in Mississippi: New Opportunities, New Challenges, and New Solutions Early Learning Standards 1.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Increasing awareness among childcare providers of how the Mississippi\u2019s Early Learning Standards are beneficially aligned with existing childcare licensing requirements, Head Start framework criteria, and the Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards Financial Literacy among College Students: Comparisons by Gender, Race\/Ethnicity, Age, and National Norms In addition, three student papers were recognized with book scholarships:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>First Place:<\/b>\u00a0\u201cImproving Developmental Mathematics Courses: A Study of Various Methods for Replacing Developmental Mathematics Courses in Higher Education\u201d by Aaron Lyle Wallace,\u00a0Chris Kelly, Marti Pulido, Flora Sumrall and Selah Weems (Mississippi State University- Meridian Campus) # # #<\/span><\/p>\n The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Identifying solutions to some of Mississippi\u2019s most pressing problems was the focus of the \u201cAdvancing Mississippi: Research for a Better Mississippi for More Mississippians\u201d Conference held last week in Jackson….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":69671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1360],"tags":[206,794,1548],"class_list":["post-70537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ihl","tag-ihl","tag-institutions-of-higher-learning","tag-university-research-center"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70539,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70537\/revisions\/70539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/b><\/span>Maury Granger and Gregory Price
\n<\/span>Jackson State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Using a spatial-equilibrium econometric approach, the authors measured local amenities, which informed them about quality-of-life. This approach provided a novel, theoretically tenable and unbiased approach to measuring amenities and gauging quality-of-life in particular locations.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Okechukwu Anyamele, Gail Fulgham and Jean-Claude Assad
\n<\/span>Jackson State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The authors investigated the racial differences in loan denial rates in three Mississippi counties within the Jackson Metro statistical area. The results showed that 31.56% of the difference in loan denial rates between whites and African Americans is explained by endowments, while 68.40% is unexplained. Similarly, 20.60% of the difference in loan denial rates between Hispanics and Whites is explained by endowments, while 79.40% is unexplained.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Alan Barefield
\n<\/span>Mississippi State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The purpose of the research, sponsored by the Mississippi State Department of Health \u2013 Office of Tobacco Control, was to estimate the economic burden of smoking cigarettes on Mississippi\u2019s adult population. The study estimated the total economic burden of smoking on the state to be approximately $6.8 billion with $1.5 billion allocated to direct medical costs and $5.3 billion comprising indirect costs. Also estimated were state fiscal impacts (approximately $90 million for income taxes and sales taxes) and potential wealth redistribution effects quantified by input-output analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Shonda Lawrence and Glenda McMillan
\n<\/span>Jackson State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>There are approximately 3,700 children in the foster care system in the state of Mississippi, with approximately 1,200 children who are 14 to 21 years of age and eligible for independent living services. The study looked at the Independent Living Program (ILP), which provides services that will foster self-sufficiency through employment, and at workforce development for youth aging out of the system. Some of the recommendations brought forward by the study includes early and consistent work experience for youth, a task force to examine employment trends and an oversight committee to monitor employment opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Authors: Kenneth V. Anthony, Dana Pomykal Franz and Devon Brenner
\n<\/span>Mississippi State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The goal of the study was to understand the nature of the teacher shortage in Mississippi in order to provide policy makers with the information necessary to develop effective solutions. The authors\u2019 findings indicate that districts with a high percentage of black students, districts located in the Yazoo-Mississippi River Delta Region, and districts that generate less money locally for education are more likely to have a teacher shortage. The factors that most influence the shortage extend outside the world of education and education policy and include people\u2019s perceptions and ideas about race, the economics of place and what makes a place a valuable place to live, and the economic health of places. All of these problems are place-based and the solutions must be found in the places. Some of them can be addressed by education policy, but others must be addressed by the larger society. One possible solution that can be addressed within the field of education is to produce teachers who reside in the places experiencing teacher shortage and who are committed to staying.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Linda Keena, Eric Lambert, Zachary Buckner, David May and Stacy Haynes
\n<\/span>University of Mississippi
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The study explored how different dimensions of the workplace are associated with organizational commitment among staff at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, the largest facility in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The study found that key factors in influencing employee commitment include role clarity, input in decision-making and instrumental communication.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Authors: Laura Richard and Kathryn Rehner
\n<\/span>University of Southern Mississippi
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Mississippi adults and children are significantly more likely than adults in the rest of the nation to be uninsured. The E\u00b3 (Educate, Enroll, Empower) Health Initiative was a partnership between the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Social Work and local city government. The study found that the efforts of the E3 Health Initiative resulted in a 65.8% growth in Medicaid\/CHIP enrollment in the targeted zip code area.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Nicholas Hill and Corey Wiggins
\n<\/span>Jackson State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) have an important role in providing financial products and services to underserved communities. Poverty stricken areas are plagued with significant disparities in heath due to inequities between social and economic issues. Specifically, these social determinants of health have both a direct and indirect influence on child health outcomes. This research provides an exploratory examination on what impact CDFIs have on child health outcomes in Mississippi. Utilizing probabilistic and comparative analysis for data collected at the county level in the State of Mississippi, an economic model that predicts the level of investment that maybe linked to obesity rates is developed. At the national level, it is suggested that innovative cross-sector collaborations by the community development sector showed promise in mitigating place-based disadvantage and improving the social determinants of health.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Sam Mozee, Jr. and Jin Zhang
\n<\/span>Jackson State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>This study investigated whether there is a relationship between the percentage of persons not having health insurance (i.e., the un-insured) and obesity rates at the county level in Mississippi. However, the impact of higher uninsured percentages on obesity rates was statistically insignificant and very negligible for the time period under review.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Authors: Robert D. Brown and Sara Porcheddu
\n<\/span>University of Mississippi
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>House Bill 999 was passed during the 2011 legislative session and represents Mississippi\u2019s first attempt to require the teaching of sex education and STD\/HIV prevention in Mississippi schools. First implemented during the 2012-2013 school year, HB999 allows school districts to choose between \u201cabstinence-only\u201d and \u201cabstinence-plus\u201d approaches to adopting sex education curricula. The study provided an initial glimpse into the early impacts of HB999. The study found the Abstinence Plus CHART (Creating Healthy and Responsible Teens) program to be effective. The CHART initiative is a partnership between Mississippi First, the Mississippi State Department of Health, and the Women\u2019s Foundation of Mississippi.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Authors: Meleah Ackley, Shawn Bishop, BreAnna Newborne and James Moore
\n<\/span>University of Southern Mississippi
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>According to the 2015 Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee Report, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects an estimated 10,743 children in Mississippi. ASD causes social and communication issues as well as repetitive behaviors, self-injurious behaviors, tantrum behaviors, and aggression. The authors proposed using Telehealth to provide an economic and efficient way to overcome the challenges in assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in children.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Authors: Kristin Javorsky and Candice Pittman
\n<\/span>Mississippi State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>This study involved a statewide, large-scale survey of licensed early childhood care providers examining choices in implementation of Mississippi\u2019s official\u00a0Early Learning Standards\u00a0<\/i>(ELS) for three- and four-year-olds (preschoolers). Policy recommendations based on survey results include:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>2.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Expanding educational partnership efforts between private childcare centers and public school districts
\n<\/span>3.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Increasing educational and financial opportunities that can raise the formal education levels of the early childhood care and education workforce statewide.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span>Authors: Thomas Taylor, John Thornell, Molly Vaughn and Nathan Pitts
\n<\/span>Delta State University
\n<\/i><\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The purposes of this study were twofold:
\n<\/span>1.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>To assess college student performance on a nationally recognized measure of financial literacy and compare the results for three demographic variables: race\/ethnicity, gender, and age.
\n<\/span>2.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>To compare overall performance of students in this sample against national performance on the same measure.
\n<\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The study found there is a need for financial literacy education to help students learn how to make good financial decisions.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Second Place:\u00a0<\/b>\u201cBridging the Gap: Improving Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mississippi Schools\u201d by Amy Henderson (University of Southern Mississippi)
\n<\/span>\u00b7<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Third Place:<\/b>\u00a0\u201cBlueprint Health: A Social Solution to Obesity in the Workforce and Communities of Mississippi\u201d by Cecilia Snyder, Molly Chaffin , Brian Street and Timothy King (University of Southern Mississippi)<\/span><\/p>\n