Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Relating Social, Ecological, And Technological Vulnerability To Future Flood Exposure At Two Spatial Scales In Four U.S. Cities, Jason Sauer, Arun Pallathadka, Idowu Ajibade, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Heejun Chang, Elizabeth Cook, Nancy B. Grimm, David M. Iwaniec, Robert Lloyd, Gregory C. Post

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

Flooding occurs at different scales and unevenly affects urban populations based on the broader social, ecological, and technological system (SETS) characteristics particular to cities. As hydrological models improve in spatial scale and account for more mechanisms of flooding, there is a continuous need to examine the relationships between flood exposure and SETS drivers of flood vulnerability. In this study, we related fine-scale measures of future flood exposure—the First Street Foundation's Flood Factor and estimated change in chance of extreme flood exposure—to SETS indicators like building age, poverty, and historical redlining, at the parcel and census block group (CBG) scales in …

Association Between Racial Residential Segregation And Covid-19 Mortality, Suresh Nath Neupane, Erin Ruel

CSLF Articles

This study investigates the impact of racial residential segregation on COVID-19 mortality during the first year of the US epidemic. Data comes from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's and the University of Wisconsin's joint county health rankings project. The observation includes a record of 8,670,781 individuals in 1488 counties. We regressed COVID-19 deaths, using hierarchical logistic regression models, on individual and county-level predictors. We found that as racial residential segregation increased, mortality rates increased. Controlling for segregation, Blacks and Asians had a greater risk of mortality, while Hispanics and other racial …

Assessing Resilience, Equity, And Sustainability Of Future Visions Across Two Urban Scales, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Elizabeth M. Cooke, Nancy B. Grimm, David M. Iwaniec, Lelani Mannetti, Tischa Munoz-Erickson, Darin Wahl

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

AbstractCities need to take swift action to deal with the impacts of extreme climate events. The co-production of positive visions offers the potential to not only imagine but also intervene in guiding change toward more desirable urban futures. While participatory visioning continues to be used as a tool for urban planning, there needs to be a way of comparing and evaluating future visions so that they can inform decision-making. Traditional tools for comparison tend to favor quantitative modeling, which is limited in its ability to capture nuances or normative elements of visions. In this paper, we offer a qualitative method …

Heat Exposure And Resilience Planning In Atlanta, Georgia, Nkosi Muse Ms, David M. Iwaniec, Christopher K. Wyczalkowski, Katharine J. Mach

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

The City of Atlanta, Georgia, is a fast-growing urban area with substantial economic and racial inequalities, subject to the impacts of climate change and intensifying heat extremes. Here, we analyze the magnitude, distribution, and predictors of heat exposure across the City of Atlanta, within the boundaries of Fulton County. Additionally, we evaluate the extent to which identified heat exposure is addressed in Atlanta climate resilience governance. First, land surface temperature (LST) was mapped to identify the spatial patterns of heat exposure and potential socioeconomic and biophysical predictors of heat exposure were assessed. Second, government and city planning documents and policies …

A Convenient Rhetoric Or Substantial Change Of Teacher Racial Diversity? A Text Mining Analysis Of Federal, State, And District Documents, Sing Hui Lee, Briana Keith, Yasmine Bey, Yinying Wang, Xiulong Yang, Xiang Li, Jonathan Shihao Ji

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Teacher racial diversity has been widely considered important in education. However, it remains unclear to what extent and how teacher racial diversity has been addressed at the federal, state, and district levels. In this study, we employed text mining to collect and analyze over three million documents at the federal, state, and district levels. We found that while students of color had disproportionately less access to racially diverse teachers, the documents under our analysis insufficiently discussed the recruitment and retention of racially diverse teachers. Our findings also reveal that education agencies at the federal, state, and district levels paid scant …

A Social-Ecological-Technological Systems Framework For Urban Ecosystem Services, Timon Mcphearson, Elizabeth Cook, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Chingwen Cheng, Nancy B. Grimm, Erik Andersson, Olga Barbosa, David G. Chandler, Heejun Chang, Mikhail Chester, Daniel L. Childers, Stephen Elser, Niki Frantzeskaki, Zbigniew Grabowski, Peter Groffman, Rebecca Hale, David M. Iwaniec, Nadja Kabisch, Christopher Kennedy, Samuel Markolf, Marissa Matsler, Lauren E. Mcphillips, Thaddeus Miller, Tischa A. Muñoz‐Erickson, Emma Rosi, Tiffany Troxler-Gann

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

As rates of urbanization and climatic change soar, decision-makers are increasingly challenged to provide innovative solutions that simultaneously address climate change impacts and risks and inclusively ensure quality of life for urban residents. Cities have turned to nature-based solutions to help address these challenges. Nature-based solutions, through the provision of ecosystem services, can yield numerous benefits for people and address multiple challenges simultaneously. Yet, efforts to mainstream nature-based solutions are impaired by the complexity of the interacting social, ecological, and technological dimensions of urban systems. This complexity must be understood and managed to ensure ecosystem-service provisioning is effective, equitable, and …

Feeling The Heat? Fear Of Failure And Performance, Alberto Chong, Marco Chong

CSLF Working Papers

Using a new, objective measure, we study the role of fear of failure in performance and find that it is positively linked with the latter, a finding that tends to contradict the conventional wisdom in both psychology and behavioral economics. We use individual data from the nationally syndicated television show MasterChef for the years 2010 to 2020 and exploit situations in which contestants are on the verge of being dropped from competition. Using ordinary least squares, we show that extreme fear of failure is associated with an increase of two to four positions in the final placement of the competition.

Microaggressions: An Introduction, Natasha N. Johnson Edd, Thaddeus Johnson

CJC Publications

Microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults toward people who are not classified within the “normative” standard. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with people who differ from themselves. This review of microaggressions in its numerous forms seeks to address the current literature regarding aversive behavior and its impacts; this includes investigating the manifestation and influence of everyday “isms,” on the quality of life of those on the receiving end of these acts. Ensuing …

Revisiting The Theory Of Revenue Diversification: Insights From An Empirical Analysis Of Municipal Budgetary Solvency, Benedict Jimenez, Whitney Afonso

PMAP Publications

How does revenue diversification shape the budgetary solvency of city governments? Previous studies informed by the public choice/fiscal illusion perspective suggest that diversification leads to unsustainable government expansion and budgetary imbalance. In contrast, the organizational adaptation/modern portfolio theory suggests that diversification enables government to prepare for external fiscal shocks. We use different measures of revenue diversification and rely on audited financial information to develop general fund-based and government-wide budgetary solvency measures for more than 500 midsized and large cities in the U.S. from 2006 to 2012. Addressing omitted variable bias, the results of the econometric analyses indicate that the type …

Applying The Loss-Conflict Model Of Fiscal Retrenchment: Understanding City Expenditure And Revenue Responses To A Budget Crisis, Benedict Jimenez

PMAP Publications

Using data from a 2015 national survey of U.S. cities with a population of 50,000 or more, this research examines cities’ responses to a budget crisis. The study develops and tests a model of retrenchment choices that categorizes expenditure- and revenue-related actions implemented by cities based on the degree of loss that they are likely to inflict on budgetary actors and the resulting conflict. Factor analysis confirms that city responses can be categorized into two groups representing slight-loss/low-conflict and high-loss/high-conflict retrenchment actions. The study then applies regression analysis to identify the different economic, fiscal, demographic, political, governance, and institutional factors …

The Network Of Online Stolen Data Markets: How Vendor Flows Connect Digital Marketplaces, Marie Ouellet, David Maimon, C. Jordan Howell, Yubao Wu

CSLF Articles

In the face of market uncertainty, illicit actors on the darkweb mitigate risk by displacing their operations across digital marketplaces. In this study, we reconstruct market networks created by vendor displacement to examine how digital marketplaces are connected on the darkweb and identify the properties that drive vendor flows before and after a law enforcement disruption. Findings show that vendors’ movement across digital marketplaces creates a highly connected ecosystem; nearly all markets are directly or indirectly connected. These network characteristics remain stable following a law enforcement operation; prior vendor flows predict vendor movement before and after the interdiction. The findings …

Finding Evidence Of Community Cultural Wealth In Georgia: Testimonios Of Latina Immigrants On Navigating Cultural, Social, And Economic Barriers, Michelle S. Yrigollen-Robbins

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

The Latinx immigrant population in Georgia has hopes of settling in a community that provides economic stability for their families, and academic opportunities for their children. This study explores the journeys of five Mexican women, from their decisions to leave their home country to their settling in the United States. The findings are based on a qualitative study that reveals the testimonios of the participants’ navigational challenges of crossing borders, settling in Georgia, and raising bicultural children in the New South. The participants’ testimonios show evidence of Yosso’s community cultural wealth, and the findings counter the deficit narrative about Georgia’s …

Legislating What Matters: How Policy Designs Shape Two New Immigrant Destinations Schools’ Responses To Immigrant Students, Kristina Brezicha

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

This comparative case study examines the policies of two new immigrant destinations in the United States and Canada that in the past 20 years experienced a rapid influx of immigrants. Using an integrated framework of policy design theory and the context of reception, this paper analyzes the framing of immigrant students in the state, district, and school-level policies. Interviews with immigrant students in these communities show how these policies shaped their schooling experiences and communicated important messages to them about their role in their new communities, thus shaping their political identities. The findings highlight the important interplay of these different …

Cryptomarkets And The Returns To Criminal Experience, Marie Ouellet, David Décary-Hétu, Andréanne Bergeron

CSLF Articles

Criminal capital theory suggests more experienced offenders receive higher returns from crime. Offenders who accrue skills over their criminal career are better able to minimize detection, increase profits, and navigate illegal markets. Yet shifts in the offending landscape to technologically-dependent crimes have led some to suggest that the skills necessary to be successful in conventional crimes no longer apply, meaning ‘traditional’ criminals may be left behind. The recent turn of drug vendors to online markets provides an opportunity to investigate whether ‘street smarts’ translate to success in technologically-dependent crimes. This study surveys 51 drug vendors on online drug markets to …

The Urex Guide To Scenarios, Lelani Mannetti, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Elizabeth Cook, David M. Iwaniec, Nancy B. Grimm, Robert Lloyd, Timon Mcphearson, Tischa A. Muñoz-Erickson

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

This Scenario Planning Guide outlines how the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN) supports ongoing efforts in its nine network cities in conducting participatory workshops. The Scenarios Working Group team, together with students, researchers, and collaborators across the network, have synthesized the co-produced visions from Workshop I. City-leads, practitioners, network participants, and participating institutions are encouraged to use the quantitative and qualitative outputs to further develop resilient, equitable, and sustainable transition pathways to help bring about their envisioned futures.

The primer begins with a brief description of the UREx SRN, before introducing the innovative framework applied to …

Assessment Of Urban Flood Vulnerability Using Thesocial-Ecological-Technological Systems Framework In Six Us Cities, Heejun Chang, Arun Pallathadka, Jason Sauer, Nancy B. Grimm, Rae Zimmerman, Chingwen Cheng, David M. Iwaniec, Yeowon Kim, Robert Lloyd, Timon Mcphearson, Bernice Rosenzweig, Tiffany Troxler, Claire Welty, Ryan Brenner, Pablo Herreros-Cantis

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

As urban populations continue to grow through the 21 st century, more people are projected to be at risk of exposure to climate change-induced extreme events. To investigate the complexity of urban floods, this study applied an interlinked social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) vulnerability framework by developing an urban flood vulnerability index for six US cities. Indicators were selected to reflect and illustrate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to flooding for each of the three domains of SETS. We quantified 18 indicators and normalized them by the cities’ 500-yr floodplain area at the census block group level. Clusters of flood vulnerable areas …

Illicit Activity Detection In Large-Scale Dark And Opaque Web Social Networks, Dhara Shah, T. G. Harrison, Christopher B. Freas, David Maimon, Robert W. Harrison

EBCS Articles

Many online chat applications live in a grey area between the legitimate web and the dark net. The Telegram network in particular can aid criminal activities. Telegram hosts “chats” which consist of varied conversations and advertisements. These chats take place among automated “bots” and human users. Classifying legitimate activity from illegitimate activity can aid law enforcement in finding criminals. Social network analysis of Telegram chats presents a difficult problem. Users can change their username or create new accounts. Users involved in criminal activity often do this to obscure their identity. This makes establishing the unique identity behind a given username …

Examining The Crime Prevention Claims Of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design On System-Trespassing Behaviors: A Randomized Experiment, Daren Fisher, David Maimon, Tamar Berenblum

EBCS Articles

Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a non-punitive method for reducing crime through the design of the built environment. The relevance of CPTED strategies however is less clear in the context of computing environments. Building upon prior research indicating that computing environments may change computer users’ behaviors, this study tests the effectiveness of CPTED based approaches in mitigating system trespassing events. Findings from this randomized controlled field trial demonstrate that specific CPTED strategies can mitigate hacking events by: reducing the number of concurrent activities on the target computer, attenuating the number of commands typed in the attacked computer, and …

Translating A Global Emission-Reduction Framework For Subnational Climate Action: A Case Study From The State Of Georgia, Marilyn A. Brown, Blair Beasley, Fikret Atalay, Kim Cobb, Puneet Dwivedi, Jeffrey Hubbs, David M. Iwaniec, Sudhagar Mani, Daniel Matisoff, Jacqueline Mohan, Jeffrey Mullen, Michael Oxman, Daniel Rochberg, Michael Rodgers, Marshall Shepherd, Richard Simmons, Laura Taylor, L. Beril Toktay

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

Subnational entities are recognizing the need to systematically examine options for reducing their carbon footprints. However, few robust and comprehensive analyses are available that lay out how US states and regions can most effectively contribute. This paper describes an approach developed for Georgia—a state in the southeastern United States called “Drawdown Georgia”, our research involves (1) understanding Georgia’s baseline carbon footprint and trends, (2) identifying the universe of Georgia-specific carbon-reduction solutions that could be impactful by 2030, (3) estimating the greenhouse gas reduction potential of these high-impact 2030 solutions for Georgia, and (4) estimating associated costs and benefits while also …

Artificial Intelligence In Educational Leadership: A Symbiotic Role Of Human-Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making, Yinying Wang

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Purpose. Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a type of algorithms or computerized systems that resemble human mental processes of decision-making. This position paper looks beyond the sensational hyperbole of AI in teaching and learning. Instead, this paper aims to explore the role of AI in educational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach. To explore the role of AI in educational leadership, I synthesized the literature that intersects AI, decision-making, and educational leadership from multiple disciplines such as computer science, educational leadership, administrative science, judgment and decision-making and neuroscience. Grounded in the intellectual interrelationships between AI and educational leadership since the 1950s, this paper starts …

Examining The Actor Coalitions And Discourse Coalitions Of The Opt-Out Movement In New York: A Discourse Network Analysis, Yinying Wang

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Background/Context: Since 2013, opting out of state standardized tests has become a movement—the grassroots, organized efforts to refuse to take high-stakes state standardized tests. In particular, opt-out rates in the state of New York have been consistently fluctuating around 20%.

Purpose/Objective: This study aims to examine the actor coalitions and discourse coalitions that have propelled the opt-out movement in the state of New York—the movement’s epicenter with the highest opt-out rate in the United States.

Conceptual Framework: This study is conceptually grounded in the advocacy coalition framework (ACF), a prominent conceptual lens to investigate the formation of coalitions and their …

More Than A Blind Woman: Principal Teacher Miss Hannah Guillan And Her Contributions To The Georgia Academy For The Blind, 1852-1898, Cristy Sellers Smith, Chara Haeussler Bohan

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Aligning Systems For Health: Two Years Of Learning, Georgia Health Policy Center

GHPC Books

There is no single best practice of partnering, governing, financing, and implementing, but Aligning Systems for Health has uncovered new learnings and practical approaches to align diverse partners who have a common goal of improving health, equity, and well-being. Our new book, Aligning Systems for Health: Two Years of Learning, advances understanding of how people and organizations across health care, public health, and social services sectors can work together in new and sustainable ways to advance health and well-being. With new insights and practical learnings from both research and practice, this book can benefit all who are working to build …

Dynamics Of International Giving: How Heuristics Shape Individual Donor Preferences, Suparna Chaudhry, Andrew Heiss

PMAP Publications

State restrictions on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly pervasive across the globe. While this crackdown has been shown to have a negative impact on public funding flows, we know little about how it impacts private philanthropy. How does information about crackdown abroad, as well as organizational attributes of nonprofits affect individual donors’ willingness to donate internationally? Using a survey experiment, we find that learning about repressive NGO environments increases generosity in that already-likely donors are willing to donate substantially more to legally besieged nonprofits. This generosity persists when mediated by two organizational-level heuristics: NGO issue areas and main funding …

The Restrictive Deterrent Effect Of Warning Messages Sent To Active Romance Fraudsters: An Experimental Approach, Fangzhou Wang, C. Jordan Howell, David Maimon, Scott Jacques

EBCS Articles

Victims of romance fraud experience both a financial and emotional burden. Although multiple studies have offered insight into the correlates of perpetration and victimization, no known study has examined if, and how, romance fraud can be curtailed. The current study uses a randomized experimental design to test the restrictive deterrent effect of warning messages sent to romance fraudsters via email. We find that active romance fraudsters who receive a deterrence message, instead of non-deterrence messages, respond at a lower rate; and, among those who respond, use fewer words and have a lower probability of seeking reply without denying wrongdoing. The …

Situational Awareness And Public Wi-Fi Users' Self-Protective Behaviors, David Maimon, C. Jordan Howell, Scott Jacques, Robert Perkins

EBCS Articles

Accessing public Wi-Fi networks can be as dangerous as it is convenient. People who access a public Wi-Fi network should engage in self-protective behaviors to keep their data safe from malicious actors on the same network as well as persons looking over their shoulder, literally and proverbially. Using two independent research designs, we examined under what circumstances were people more likely to access an unsecured Wi-Fi network and engage in risky behavior on these networks. Findings from the first study, based on survey data, reveal that people who are more situationally aware are less likely to access personal accounts on …

What Is The Role Of Emotions In Educational Leaders’ Decision Making? Proposing An Organizing Framework, Yinying Wang

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Purpose: Emotions have a pervasive, predictable, sometimes deleterious but other times instrumental effect on decision making. Yet the influence of emotions on educational leaders’ decision making has been largely underexplored. To optimize educational leaders’ decision making, this article builds on the prevailing data-driven decision-making approach, and proposes an organizing framework of educational leaders’ emotions in decision making by drawing on converging empirical evidence from multiple disciplines (e.g., administrative science, psychology, behavioral economics, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroeconomics) intersecting emotions, decision making, and organizational behavior. Proposed Framework: The proposed organizing framework of educational leaders’ emotions in decision making includes four core propositions: …

A Reflective Study Of Online Faculty Teaching Experiences In Higher Education, Chara H. Bohan, Katherine A. Perrotta

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Despite the popularity of online course and degree offerings in higher education, a lack of data persists on the unique challenges and opportunities online faculty face. Gaining insights about these experiences is important to ensure the quality of online teaching as colleges and universities continue expanding e-learning programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the online teaching experiences of two faculty members through the implementation of reflective study methods. Major findings show that faculty access to professional development and mentoring, isolation and connectedness to the campus community, and academic freedom and curriculum control have significant implications for …

The Co-Production Of Sustainable Future Scenarios, David M. Iwaniec, Elizabeth Cook, Melissa J. Davidson, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Matei Georgescu, E. Scott Krayenhoff, Ariane Middel, David A. Sampson, Nancy B. Grimm

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

Scenarios are a tool to develop plausible, coherent visions about the future and to foster anticipatory knowledge. We present the Sustainable Future Scenarios (SFS) framework and demonstrate its application through the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) urban site. The SFS approach emphasizes the co-development of positive and long-term alternative future visions. Through a collaboration of practitioner and academic stakeholders, this research integrates participatory scenario development, modeling, and qualitative scenario assessments. The SFS engagement process creates space to question the limits of what is normally considered possible, desirable, or inevitable in the face of future challenges. Comparative analyses among …

Integrating Existing Climate Adaptation Planning Into Future Visions: A Strategic Scenario For The Central Arizona–Phoenix Region, David M. Iwaniec, Elizabeth Cook, Melissa J. Davidson, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Nancy B. Grimm

CSLF Articles

Cities face a number of challenges to ensure that people’s well-being and ecosystem integrity are not only maintained but improved for current and future generations. Urban planning must account for the diverse and changing interactions among the social, ecological, and technological systems (SETS) of a city. Cities struggle with long-range approaches to explore, anticipate, and plan for sustainability and resilience—and scenario development is one way to address this need. In this paper, we present the framework for developing what we call ‘strategic’ scenarios, which are scenarios or future visions created from governance documents expressing unrealized municipal priorities and goals. While …