Tag Archives: Ford 2021

Long-Run Economic Effects of the Measles Vaccine

This summer I worked with Professor Atwood and Ethan Ross to study the labor and productivity outcomes associated with receiving the measles vaccine during childhood. Our project was a continuation of Professor Atwood’s previous research, which focused on the United States. Her results showed increased earnings and employment associated with the measles vaccination, and this summer our goal was to replicate this research in other countries to see if the results are similar. Measles is a universal disease, meaning that geography doesn’t have an impact on how common it is, so our research could be done in any part of the world.  My focus was on England & Wales, while Ethan looked at Italy.  

Our time was divided between tracking down data and researching. The goal for data collection was to find data on measles incidence rates and population for a time period surrounding the rollout of the vaccine. For England & Wales, this time frame was 1950-1980. We were able to access digitized versions of this data for the 1950s and are currently in the process of obtaining physical copies from Cornell University for the remaining years.  Additionally, we wanted long-run data, including employment status and region of residency. In terms of research, Ethan and I looked at measles, its history, and the vaccine. For England & Wales, I researched the vaccine rollout, labor force participation (i.e. do we see differences between men and women), and internal migration.

 

While we were unable to get complete results in this short time frame, we were able to make substantial progress tracking down hard-to-find data and conducting research important to providing context to this project.  

 

Analyzing the Social Experiences of Immigrant Afro-Caribbean Women Teachers

During my time as a Ford Scholar, I worked alongside Professor Kimberly Williams-Brown on a project to document the social experiences of international Afro-Caribbean women teachers. Literature on the recruitment and lives of these teachers is sparse. As a result, addressing the continued gap in research related to understanding Afro-Caribbean teachers is long overdue. This summer, I divided my time between analyzing data and assisting Professor Williams-Brown with her publications.

Figure 1. Pie graph of respondents time spent teaching in their home countries.

I analyzed data curated from a qualitative methods approach consisting of a 24-question survey, semi-structured interviews, life histories, and focus groups. Altogether, this data allowed us to begin understanding who these Afro-Caribbean teachers are, and how they make sense of their lives teaching. To date, we have 24 responses with participants residing in New York, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

This project has provided new avenues for me to pursue. As I move forward with my research for my thesis, Professor Williams-Brown has provided me with new epistemologies and frameworks. As I look to study the current state of education in the Caribbean, getting a test run of these epistemologies with real data has shown me what connections are possible.

Figure 2. Pie graph of the types of negative social interactions immigrant teachers documented.

In the future, I hope to continue aiding Professor Williams-Brown as she recognizes the plights of those shouldering the burden of the American educational system. My experience with the project has illuminated the marginalized experience of educated immigrants present in the USA. With this, the research we conduct constitutes a key part to understanding how little we study the racialization and experiences of immigrant teachers in educational studies and what the experiences of a subset of foreign, Black teachers may tell us about race, schooling, and the possibilities of resistance, educational development, and social justice.

 

Measles Vaccination in Childhood: The Impact on Human Capital Development and Health Status

Over the course of Summer 2021, I worked with Professor Atwood and Zoe Tolbert on a project dealing with the long-run economic impacts of the measles vaccine. In her paper published earlier this year, Professor Atwood conducted this research in the context of the  United States. She found that exposure to the measles vaccine was associated with a 1.1% increase in annual income, which can be attributed to the increased productivity that results from a healthier childhood. Our goal for the summer was to replicate this analysis in other countries. I researched the measles vaccine in Italy, while Zoe focused on England & Wales.

The summer began with research into the measles virus itself. Before the advent of the vaccine, measles was a universal disease, and nearly every child contracted measles before the age of sixteen. There is substantial evidence that infection by the measles virus has a prolonged suppressive effect on the immune system by causing an “immune memory loss” that lasts years and leaves children more vulnerable to other infections, which can potentially lead to severe, long-term complications. Vaccinated children therefore avoid not just measles, but the years-long weakened immune system resulting from it.

Measles Rates Over Time (Click to view in separate tab)

As the summer progressed, I shifted my focus towards Italy. The measles vaccine was licensed in Italy in 1976, but due to a cost disincentive, uptake of the vaccine was slow and regionally heterogeneous. This response was further compounded by the lack of a centrally coordinated national vaccination effort. In addition, a substantial portion of the Italian population is considered vaccine-hesitant, which can primarily be traced to a thoroughly disproven and since-retracted 1998 study drawing a causal link between Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccination and autism. Vaccine hesitancy is relatively widespread in Italy and has prevented the country from maintaining herd immunity from measles in recent years.

My experience this summer with the Ford Scholars program has been invaluable. With the help of Professor Atwood and the advice of several other professors, I have significantly developed my research skills and my understanding of data analysis. The research subject itself has been intellectually engaging, comprehensive, and thought-provoking — I learned much about epidemiology, biology, the social impacts of vaccines, and the relationship between vaccinations, health, and productivity. This research is especially meaningful to me in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which public confidence in the benefits of vaccines – not just with regard to health, but also economic well-being – has been more important than ever before. 

Co-Creating an Architectural Intensive with an Aspiring Architect in the Ozarks

Arianna Hilliard ’22, and Professor Adédoyin Tęríba

Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, AR. E. Fay Jones (1988).

This summer, I worked alongside Professor Tęríba to create an Architectural Intensive course for the Spring 2022 semester. The intensive course is named Lines Intertwine: Fay Jones and the Architecture of the Ozarks and will focus on the works of the late architect E. Fay Jones.

We began this project by traveling to Arkansas to view Jones’ work. We visited the Thorncrown Chapel (1980) located in Eureka Springs, and the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel (1988) located in Bella Vista. During the trip, we discussed the structures and our findings to begin planning the intensive course. Much of our research was developed during the trip, as we could analyze the structures close up.

 

Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, Bella Vista, AR, E. Fay Jones (1988).

After returning, we created a syllabus and itinerary for the intensive course and trip to Arkansas. There were three main components to this process: discussing and analyzing the architecture we viewed on our trip, creating a trip itinerary, and creating a course syllabus that covers key components to studying Jones’ architecture. The trip to Arkansas includes visits to the Thorncrown Chapel, Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, several sites in the Garvan Woodland Gardens, and the Fay Jones archive at the University of Arkansas. Professor Tęríba and students will stay in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Hot Springs, Arkansas, two towns full of historic architecture.  The syllabus is meant to introduce four Vassar students to Jones’ work in theory and in-situ i.e. visiting the structures in their settings.

 

Me and Professor Tęríba at the entrance of the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel.

This project highlighted the importance of experiencing architecture in its truest and most concrete form and looking through the lens of an architect to analyze their process; my understanding of E. Fay Jones’ architectural work grew immensely. This experience allowed us to create a course that will encourage students to immerse themselves within Jones’ work and begin to understand his process of designing architecture.