QMSS encourages its students to submit their work for presentation and publication. In order to encourage this we offer small scholarships to students who have their work accepted to conferences and wish to travel to present.
Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference
Title: The Effect of "Second Life" on Consumer Behavior in the "Real World"
(May 2008)
American Political Science Association
Title: Dirty Pool Revisited: Applying Randomization Tests to the "Democratic Trade" Hypothesis
(September 2009)
BYU Center for Economic Self Reliance's ESR Conference
BYU Center for Economic Self-Reliance
Title: Entrepreneurship versus MicroFranchising: A Baseline Study of Small Business Owners and Fanmilk Vendors in Accra, Ghana
(November 2007)
Comparative International Education Society
Title: Educated Unemployed: Story of mismatched resources, agendas and aspirations.
(Spring 2009)
Eastern Sociological Society
Title: Children’s Habitual Disposition: A Comparison of Career Mother Families Versus Non-Career Mother Families
(Spring 2009)
Emperical Research On Sexual Orientation
Title: Testing Family Transition Hypothesis for Gay Political Socialization
(February 2008)
International Journal of Mental Health Addiction
International Journal of Mental Health Addiction: Childhood Adverse Events and Health Outcomes among Methamphatamine-Dependent Men and Women
Joint Statistical Meetings
Joint Statistical Meetings 2008
"Should Democrats Move to the left on Economic Policy?", Gelman & Cai 2008
Awarded "Best of the Annals of Applied Statistics" at Joint Statistical Meetings 2008
Midwest Political Science Meetings
Midwest Political Science Meetings
Title:Tar and Taxes: Investigating State Allocations of Tobacco Settlement Funds
(April 2007)Pfizer Global Health Fellows
Global Health Fellow Works to Identify Health Solutions in Bangladesh
30 Oct 2009
Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and
founder of Grameen Bank, with Global Health Fellow
Matt Williams
During his six-month Global Health Fellowship in Bangladesh earlier
this year, Matt Williams was charged with helping the Global Access
Team gain a better understanding of the health care needs and behaviors
of low-income communities in rural areas. But his eagerness to take his
experience a step further added a new dimension to his research.
Williams, a New York-based Senior Manager of Market Analytics for the
Emerging Markets (Specialty/Oncology) Business Unit, tried to integrate
himself in the local community as quickly as possible. He traveled to
health clinics by rickshaw and waded through floods on foot during
monsoon season; played cricket with and taught English to local
schoolchildren; listened to villagers' stories over long meals in their
homes; and even took Bangla language classes.
"I could usually make people laugh with a few words of bad Bangla,
which often helped to alleviate any reservations people had toward me
as a foreigner," said Williams, who served as Strategic Healthcare and
Market Analytics Advisor to Grameen Health from March to September of
this year.
Williams' fellowship was part of the partnership that Pfizer announced
last year with Grameen Health, an organization that runs 51 health care
clinics in rural areas of Bangladesh. He visited 25 of the clinics,
conducting interviews and focus groups with more than 400 patients,
health care providers and community leaders.
"While Pfizer can contribute to Grameen's successes, there is a lot
that we can learn from such partners with potential implications for
our business in both emerging and developed markets," Williams said.
"They have a firm understanding of local customs and business
practices, have insight into patients' unique health care needs and
have often approached problems in very different ways than Pfizer is
accustomed to."
Global Health Fellow Matt Williams with health care
clinic staff in Bangladesh
In operation for more than 10 years, the clinics include a physician,
on-site pharmacy and lab operations, but Grameen hopes to improve the
quality and scope of care provided, according to Sebastian Fries,
Director, Global Access, Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations. Upon
partnering with Pfizer, Grameen was not looking for donations, but
rather committed partners who have a track record of success in health
care, he said.
One of the goals of Pfizer's Global Access team, which is leading the
partnership on behalf of the Emerging Markets Business Unit, is to look
for ways to develop new, sustainable business models that address
health care needs of low-income customers in developing countries,
Fries said. However, "the team realized early on that we do not
understand enough about the health care needs of this population. This
is where Matt's work in Bangladesh has helped us to gain important
insights."
Williams' research, however, was just the beginning stage of the
partnership. Pfizer and Grameen are currently reviewing pilot
opportunities to develop commercially viable business models that
increase the utilization of the Grameen clinics. Additional aspects of
a pilot would focus on refining the existing microhealth insurance
program, and increasing awareness and branding of Grameen's health
operations in the rural areas.
"One thing I saw firsthand is that poor people around the world
generally are not looking for a handout," Williams said. "They are
value-conscious consumers who are often willing and able to pay for
health care, as long as the quality is right and they are treated as
respected patients."
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Title: The Interpersonal Implications of Focalism in the Evaluation of Decisions
(February 2007)
The Society for Empirical Legal Studies
Title: Social Norms, Rule of Law and Gender Reality
(September 2008)