In business, public policy governs the actions businesses take. Knowing both what the policy is and how it is changing allows for businesses to be more informed, efficient, transparent and sustainable. Businesses that are efficient, transparent and sustainable help to generate economic growth, which benefits the population as a whole. Additionally, well informed businesses help to generate better policy for the business and economic community as a whole. Currently, the US and the International Community have different accounting standards. The convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles has been an area of tension between policy makers and businesses in the United States for several years. The purpose of this paper is to address how convergence is moving through the public policy cycle in the United States. The paper identifies the three political approaches that could be used to formulate policy to address the issue of convergence. The three approaches are rational approach theory, institutionalism, and incremental approach. This paper utilizes a policy analysis to evaluate the benefits, implications, and barriers of each approach. The paper concludes that the United States should use an incremental approach to converge international standards with US standards. The incremental approach allows the US to create understandable policy that saves on convergence costs while increasing cooperation of both boards to create better standards and more accountability.

Billions of dollars have been raised for and spent in low-income countries to increase access to education for girls. Yet despite countless projects to build additional schools, facilitate teacher training, and offer support to provide books, stationery, and school fees, there are many programs falling short of their goals due to low attendance and high dropout rates. I posit that failures in programs for girls’ education are partly due to a gap in development resources committed to addressing menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and cultural taboos. In a literature review of existing development project reports and data, I examined the relationship between girls’ school completion rates and limited social support during menstruation, unsanitary MHM supplies, and/or a lack of adequate bathroom facilities in school. I found that these factors affect girls’ attendance and dropout rates in the crucial years before and during secondary school. In order to demonstrate the potential progress of closing “the menstruation gap,” I reviewed current efforts by international and grassroots organizations working to address MHM on a global and local scale. Therefore, I argue that development agencies should begin to address MHM in their ongoing efforts to promote girls’ education. I further recommend that international development efforts should also endeavor to direct any new or existing MHM resources towards locally oriented and sustainable solutions to achieve objective success for girls’ education programs.

Constant conflict occurs between and within states, especially in the cases of Syria and Ukraine. The role of international institutions is called into question, particularly in cases where national sovereignty and human rights are concerned. In historical cases of international intervention, the ethnic conflict and wars between post-Yugoslavic states defined the 1990’s. Is it under the jurisdiction of international powers to intervene when human rights are violated or should the international community allow for states in conflict to term the rules of aid and intervention? With this in mind, I intend to explore the question: what factors led to or allowed NATO’s bombing campaign of Serbian forces in Kosovo in 1999?

I will attempt to discern whether multilateral institutions provide adequate framework for all states to conduct foreign policy and relations (neoliberal institutionalism), or whether powerful states do as they like (structural realism). In order to do so, I have compiled international interventions from 1999-2013, examining whether each intervention was approved by the UN, NATO, or directly by one state. By comparing this data set, it can be ascertained whether international institutions are influential in the actions of nation states. If these states seek legitimization of their actions through international institutions and they are not approved, I will attempt to confirm whether they continue pursuing the intervention proposed or acknowledge the international community’s voice.

This is a specific case sample using two exclusive international political theories to ascertain which better describes the reality of power relationships between nations during human rights violations. Little comprehensive work has been done examining NATO and theUnited States’ interventions in the context of NATO and UN approval. It is imperative to examine interventions, as domestic conflicts are constant, and informative decisions can be based on statistical evidence to predict the behavior of nation states.

Exploring the Effects of Disclosing Versus Concealing Sexual Identity on Self-Esteem

Purpose: Existing literature suggests that identity disclosure can be a double-edge sword for LGBT individuals (Clausell & Roisman, 2009). These individuals are often left with the choice of concealing their identity, which is associated with shame and lower self-esteem (Corrigan & Matthews, 2003), or coming out and risking discrimination and victimization. This exploratory study investigates whether it is better for an LGBT individuals’ self-esteem to conceal their identity, or disclose it in spite of the increased risk for discrimination and victimization (Legate, Ryan, & Weinstein, 2012).

Method: A total of 730 sexual minority individuals between 18 and 91 (M= 30.10, SD = 13.83) were recruited nationally from university affiliated LGBT groups, LGBT community organizations, and social networking websites (i.e., Facebook). Prior to analyzing data regarding our primary hypothesis, we explored bivariate correlations between identity concealment, victimization, and discrimination, and self-esteem. To answer our question about whether it is better to conceal or disclosure one’s identity, we used hierarchical multiple regression to explore the association between outness and self-esteem after accounting for age and gender in block one, and victimization and discrimination in block two; we entered outness in block three.

Originality: This was the first known study to consider whether disclosing a sexual minority identity is a positive predictor of self-esteem despite the increased risk of victimization and discrimination.

Significance: The results of this study suggest that after accounting for discrimination and victimization, outness accounted for a larger proportion of variance in a positive direction. Despite disclosure putting individuals at risk for victimization and discrimination, which decreases self-esteem, outness appears to have an overall positive effect on self-esteem, which may counter discrimination/victimization effects. This adds insight by illustrating the relative importance of identity disclosure. Clinical implications will be discussed.

The Deadliest Road: Analysis of Drunk Driving Fatalities in Montana

Social Work

Montana holds some of the most deadly roads in the country for impaired driving fatalities. This project examines Driving Under the Influence (DUI) fatalities from the perspective of incarcerated drunk drivers whose crime resulted in the death of another. Two-hour interviews were conducted with both male and female inmates from Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, MT, the WATCH Program in Warm Springs, MT, the Women’s Prison in Billings, MT, and other Department of Corrections facilities. Inmates were asked about their personal history, specific offense, recall of the event, and what they believe would prevent others from driving under the influence. We conducted a preliminary analysis based on grounded theory of the qualitative narratives generated. Inmates’ interviews were analyzed and categorized by themes. These themes were: the relationship between the inmate and their victim, the stage of grief the inmate displayed, and their opinion on how to prevent other people from driving under the influence. The results of this study aid in understanding the implications of driving under the influence. In the future, the study and publication of these first-hand accounts can contribute greatly to the reduction of drunk driving fatalities in the state of Montana.

The presentation will present a proposed psychological study of the link between stigmatizing beliefs and depression vulnerability. Stigma, defined broadly as a perception of being flawed because of a socially-unacceptable characteristic (Blaine, 2000), accompanies a variety of mental health problems (Britt, 2000). One study suggests a link between stigma and vulnerability to depression (Britt et al., 2008). Recent research has distinguished between two kinds of stigma: public stigma, prejudicial views about a stigmatized group believed to be endorsed by the general public (Corrigan, 2004) and self-stigma, "reduction of an individual’s self-esteem or self-worth caused by the individual self-labeling herself or himself as someone who is socially unacceptable" (Vogel, Wade & Haake, 2006). The proposed study will examine whether public stigma and self-stigma play a role in predicting depression proneness. Considering the detrimental effects self-stigma has demonstrated on those with mental illness (Vogel, Wade & Haake, 2006), it is hypothesized that self-stigmatizing beliefs will be as predictive of depression proneness as those regarding public stigma. That is, given stressors, individuals who hold self-stigmatizing beliefs are hypothesized to be more likely to be found to be depression-prone. This finding would run counter to existing work regarding the stigma-mental health relationship by shifting the model from reactive to proactive, one that would identify persons who are prone to depression because of stigma. Background study of the topic is ongoing, and application to UM’s Institutional Review Board is in progress. Study will utilize a within-subjects survey design in which subjects will be asked to complete the Depression Stigma Scale, the Depression Proneness Rating Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. It is hoped that these measures will shed light on any relationships that exist between stigma and depression proneness. It is projected that data collection will be underway at the time of the conference.