Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Domestic And Foreign Policies Are Intertwined, Matthew Thomas Becker

Faculty and Student Publications

This guest editorial appeared in multiple venues:

1. Missoulian, 25 January 2024
2. The Oxford Eagle, 29 January 2024
3. The Panolian, 29 January 2024
4. Magnolia Tribune, 30 January 2024
5. The Laurel Leader, 31 January 2024
6. The Commercial Dispatch, 1 February 2024
7. The Daily Progress. 7 February 2024

Incrementalism Will Neither Defeat Russia Nor Deter China, Matthew Thomas Becker

Faculty and Student Publications

This Guest Editorial appeared in multiple venues:

1. Magnolia Tribune, 30 May 2023
2. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 31 May 2023
3. Thomasville Times-Enterprise, 6 June 2023
4. Clarion-Ledger, 6 June 2023
5. Hattiesburg American, 6 June 2023
6. Vicksburg Post, 7 June 2023
7. Wyoming Tribune Eagle, 8 June 2023
8. Missoulian, 12 June 2023
9. Independent Record, 12 June 2023
10. Commercial Dispatch, 15 June 2023
11. Daily Progress, 18 June 2023
12. Oxford Eagle, 21 June 2023
13. Delaware State News, 27 June 2023

South-To-North Migration Preceded The Advent Of Intensive Farming In The Maya Region, Douglas J. Kennett, Mark Lipson, Keith M. Prufer, David Mora-Marín, Richard J. George, Nadin Rohland, Mark Robinson, Willa R. Trask, Heather H. J. Edgar, Ethan C. Hill, Erin E. Ray, Paige Lynch, Emily Moes, Lexi O’Donnell, Thomas K. Harper, Emily J. Kate, Josue Ramos, John Morris, Said M. Gutierrez

Faculty and Student Publications

The genetic prehistory of human populations in Central America is largely unexplored leaving an important gap in our knowledge of the global expansion of humans. We report genome-wide ancient DNA data for a transect of twenty individuals from two Belize rock-shelters dating between 9,600-3,700 calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal. BP). The oldest individuals (9,600-7,300 cal. BP) descend from an Early Holocene Native American lineage with only distant relatedness to present-day Mesoamericans, including Mayan-speaking populations. After ~5,600 cal. BP a previously unknown human dispersal from the south made a major demographic impact on the region, contributing more than 50% of …

Shared Genomic Architectures Of Covid-19 And Antisocial Behavior, Charleen D. Adams, Jorim J. Tielbeek, Brian B. Boutwell

Faculty and Student Publications

Little is known about the genetics of norm violation and aggression in relation to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To investigate this, we used summary statistics from genome-wide association studies and linkage disequilibrium score regression to calculate a matrix of genetic correlations (rgs) for antisocial behavior (ASB), COVID-19, and various health and behavioral traits. After false-discovery rate correction, ASB was genetically correlated with COVID-19 (rg = 0.51; P = 1.54E-02) and 19 other traits. ASB and COVID-19 were both positively genetically correlated with having a noisy workplace, doing heavy manual labor, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and genitourinary diseases. ASB and COVID-19 …

Development Of The Spur Tool: A Profiling Instrument For Patient Treatment Behavior, Béatrice Tugaut, Selam Shah, Kevin Dolgin, Hanna Rebibo Seror, Benoit Arnould, Marie Eve Laporte, Aaron Lee, Lydiane Nabec, Reem Kayyali, Joshua Wells, John D. Piette, Guillaume Hubert

Faculty and Student Publications

Background: Long-term treatment adherence is a worldwide concern, with nonadherence resulting from a complex interplay of behaviors and health beliefs. Determining an individual’s risk of nonadherence and identifying the drivers of that risk are crucial for the development of successful interventions for improving adherence. Here, we describe the development of a new tool assessing a comprehensive set of characteristics predictive of patients’ treatment adherence based on the Social, Psychological, Usage and Rational (SPUR) adherence framework. Concepts from existing self-reporting tools of adherence-related behaviors were identified following a targeted MEDLINE literature review and a subset of these concepts were then selected …

The Influence Of Emotion Regulation And Family Involvement On Diabetes Distress Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Patric J. Leukel, Sophie R. Kollin, Bianca R. Lewis, Aaron A. Lee

Faculty and Student Publications

Adults with diabetes frequently experience diabetes related distress, which is associated with negative health outcomes. Family members are commonly involved in patients’ diabetes self-management. However, family involvement can have helpful and/or harmful effects on patients’ diabetes outcomes. Use of interpersonal strategies to regulate negative emotions may play a role in patients’ interactions with family members and experience of diabetes distress. This study examined the influences of interpersonal emotion regulation and family and friend involvement on diabetes distress among 373 adults with type 2 diabetes. Two separate three-step sequential linear regression models were used to test the main and interactive effects …

‘Why Me?’ The Role Of Perceived Victimhood In American Politics, Miles T. Armaly, Adam M. Enders

Faculty and Student Publications

Despite growing recognition among journalists and political pundits, the concept of victimhood has been largely ignored in empirical social science research. In this article, we develop a theory about, and use unique nationally-representative survey data to estimate, two manifestations of victimhood: an egocentric one entailing only perceptions of one’s own victimhood, and one focused on blaming “the system.” We find that these manifestations of victimhood cut across partisan, ideological, and sociodemographic lines, suggesting that feelings of victimhood are confined to neither “actual” victims nor those partisans on the losing side of elections. Moreover, both manifestations of victimhood, while related to …

Effectiveness Of A Health Coaching Intervention For Patient-Family Dyads To Improve Outcomes Among Adults With Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Ann Marie Rosland, John D. Piette, Ranak Trivedi, Aaron Lee, Shelley Stoll, Ada O. Youk, D. Scott Obrosky, Denise Deverts, Eve A. Kerr, Michele Heisler

Faculty and Student Publications

Importance: More than 75% of US adults with diabetes do not meet treatment goals. More effective support from family and friends ("supporters") may improve diabetes management and outcomes. Objective: To determine if the Caring Others Increasing Engagement in Patient Aligned Care Teams (CO-IMPACT) intervention improves patient activation, diabetes management, and outcomes compared with standard care. Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized clinical trial was conducted from November 2016 to August 2019 among participants recruited from 2 Veterans Health Administration primary care sites. All patient participants were adults aged 30 to 70 years with diabetes who had hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels …

Individual Differences In Adults' Second Language Fluency Development: Motivation And Language Use, Jimin Kahng

Faculty and Student Publications

Utterance fluency (UF) in a second language (L2) has been found to be associated with L2 proficiency. Nevertheless, the longitudinal development of UF has been underexamined and its relationship with individual differences such as motivation and L2 use has rarely been investigated simultaneously. The current study investigated L1-Chinese L2-English speakers' changes in UF (speed, pausing, and repair phenomena) before and after 5-month study-abroad and related UF changes to L2 use and motivation. The results showed that participants improved in mean syllable duration and end-clause silent pausing. Individuals' changes in certain UF measures, such as mean syllable duration and mid-clause pause …

Sexual Misconduct: Policies To Improve Institutional Accountability And Reduce Individual Burdens, Meeyoung Lamothe, Megan Lepere-Schloop, Sungdae Lim, Jungwon Yeo, Erynn Elizabeth Beaton, Ralph Brower, Sung Ju Kim, Misun Lee, Eunsil Yoo

Faculty and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Congress Must End The ‘One China’ Policy, Matthew Becker

Faculty and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Sustaining The Individual In The Collective: A Kantian Perspective For A Sustainable World, Zachary Vereb

Faculty and Student Publications

Individualist normative theories appear inadequate for the complex moral challenges of climate change. In climate ethics, this is especially notable with the relative marginalization of Kant. I argue that Kant's philosophy, understood through its historical and cosmopolitan dimensions, has untapped potential for the climate crisis. First, I situate Kant in climate ethics and evaluate his marginalization due to perceived individualism, interiority and anthropocentrism. Then, I explore aspects of Kant's historical and cosmopolitan writings, which present a global, future-orientated picture of humanity. Ultimately, Kant's philosophy offers a unique take on the climate deadlock capable of sustaining the individual in the collective.

An Ethnic Security Dilemma In Bosnia-Herzegovina: Civic Pride And Civics Education, Matthew Becker

Faculty and Student Publications

This article attempts to explore the link between education and democracy. Education is supposed to serve as a unifying factor and socialization agent among citizens of a state; teaching them who they are and what their country expects of them. The role of the educational system is important for the state in building a civic identity and patriotism among students. In Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), students complete a “Democracy and Human Rights” civics education course in primary and secondary schools; however, the current pedagogical implementation of instilling a civic identity is low, with little attention paid to civic identity promotion. This article …

No Association Between Perinatal Mood Disorders And Hypertensive Pregnancies, Sarah Araji, Ashley Griffin, Wondwosen Kassahun-Yimer, Laura Dixon, Shauna Kay Spencer, Sheila Belk, Gail Ohaegbulam, Kedra Wallace

Faculty and Student Publications

Mental health disorders such as anxiety and/or depression are the most common mental health disorders seen among reproductive aged women and can increase during pregnancy. Many sociodemographic risk factors have been associated with anxiety and/or depression in pregnancy, which can lead to adverse maternal and infant outcomes including the risk of a hypertensive pregnancy. The current study prospectively examined self-reported anxiety, depression and stress in pregnant women without a history of fetal loss or mood disorders beginning at 20–26 weeks. At each study visit, circulating immune factors associated with perinatal mood disorders were measured in blood samples that were collected. …

Sexual Attitudes And Characteristics Of Onlyfans Users, Stacey Diane Arañez Litam, Megan Speciale, Richard S. Balkin

Faculty and Student Publications

As new forms of sexually explicit material (SEM) platforms emerge, sex research and sexuality-based studies must also evolve. Although the subscription-based platform OnlyFans has become an increasingly popular way for content creators to share and access SEM, the demographic information and sexual attitudes of users across sex have not yet been reported. The present study contributes to the existing body of SEM literature by providing a demographic analysis of OnlyFans users and an assessment of sexual attitudes between users and nonusers across sex. In this study, participants from a US-based sample (n = 718, Mage = 29.46, male [n = …

The Unity Of Hobbes’S Philosophy: Science, Politics, And God?, Zachary Vereb

Faculty and Student Publications

This paper re-examines the dispute concerning Hobbes’s religious beliefs in light of his natural philosophy. First, I argue that atheistic readings of Hobbes can be more plausibly defended provided interpreters make use of a methodological unity thesis. Second, I suggest that theistic readers of Hobbes have good reason to favor the autonomy thesis. I conclude by highlighting how a re-examination of the theism dispute motivates reconsideration of the role of Hobbes’s natural philosophy and scientific methodology vis à vis politics. Maintaining the unity thesis as a methodological device can shed important light on the politics and methods of Leviathan. More …

Annual Report, 2021-2022, University Of Mississippi. School Of Journalism And New Media

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

What Happens After Debriefing? The Effectiveness And Benefits Of Postexperimental Debriefing, Rachel Leigh Greenspan, Elizabeth F. Loftus

Faculty and Student Publications

After participating in an experiment, people are routinely debriefed. How effective is debriefing when the experiments involve deception, as occurs in studies of misinformation and memory? We conducted two studies addressing this question. In Study 1, participants (N = 373) watched a video, were exposed to misinformation or not, and completed a memory test. Participants were either debriefed or not and then were interviewed approximately one week later. Results revealed that, after debriefing, some participants continued to endorse misinformation. Notably, however, debriefing had positive effects; participants exposed to misinformation reported learning significantly more from their study participation than control participants. …

After Transnistria, The Suwalki Gap, Matthew Becker

Faculty and Student Publications

This Guest Editorial appeared in multiple venues:

1. The Commercial Dispatch, 26 April 2022
2. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 28 April 2022
3. The Palm Beach Post, 28 April 2022
4. Magnolia Tribune, 29 April 2022
5. The Sun Sentinel, 7 May 2022

Examining American Adult’S Mental Well And Ill-Being During The 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic Using A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Lauren N. Jordan, C. Veronica Smith

Faculty and Student Publications

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic is an international health crisis that has caused unprecedented shifts in people’s environments and has threatened people’s wellbeing. The current study uses self-determination theory (SDT: 10) to understand how people were handling the pandemic, which proposes three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are vital for human growth and thriving. Furthermore, we examined how people’s wellbeing and ill-being changed over the course of the pandemic. Methods: A sample of 193 American adults from around the country reported on their need satisfaction and frustration as well as well and ill-being at three time periods during the …

When Growth Is Not Enough: Inequality, Economic Gains, And Executive Approval, Ryan E. Carlin, Timothy Hellwig, Gregory J. Love, Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo, Matthew M. Singer

Faculty and Student Publications

A robust economy is assumed to bolster leaders' standing. This ignores how benefits of growth are distributed. Extending the partisan models of economic voting, we theorize executives are more likely rewarded when gains from growth go to their constituents. Analyses of presidential approval in 18 Latin American countries support our pro-constituency model of accountability. When economic inequality is high, growth concentrates among the rich, and approval of right-of-center presidents is higher. Leftist presidents benefit from growth when gains are more equally distributed. Further analyses show growth and inequality inform perceptions of personal finances differently based on wealth, providing a micro-mechanism …

Nationalized Cosmopolitanism With Communist Characteristics: The Esperanto Movement's Survival Strategy In Post-World War Ii Bulgaria, Ana Velitchkova

Faculty and Student Publications

The case of the Bulgarian Esperanto movement under state socialism demonstrates a social movement can survive under authoritarianism by establishing a legitimate activist culture acceptable to the regime while pursuing its intrinsic goals. Bulgaria, a close Soviet ally, was a difficult case of movement survival. In the early years following World War II, the national Esperanto periodical Bulgara Esperantisto was a key organizing tool for the movement reporting on its activities, reaching out to potential recruits, and legitimizing the movement under the new communist-led regime. Examining the periodical's discourse over a two-year period, I find that the movement managed to …

Consensus Definition Of Misophonia: A Delphi Study, Susan E. Swedo, David M. Baguley, Damiaan Denys, Laura J. Dixon, Mercede Erfanian, Alessandra Fioretti, Pawel J. Jastreboff, Sukhbinder Kumar, M. Zachary Rosenthal, Romke Rouw, Daniela Schiller, Julia Simner, Eric A. Storch, Steven Taylor, Kathy R. Vander Werff, Cara M. Altimus, Sylvina M. Raver

Faculty and Student Publications

Misophonia is a disorder of decreased tolerance to specific sounds or their associated stimuli that has been characterized using different language and methodologies. The absence of a common understanding or foundational definition of misophonia hinders progress in research to understand the disorder and develop effective treatments for individuals suffering from misophonia. From June 2020 through January 2021, the authors conducted a study to determine whether a committee of experts with diverse expertise related to misophonia could develop a consensus definition of misophonia. An expert committee used a modified Delphi method to evaluate candidate definitional statements that were identified through a …

Impact Of A Dyadic Intervention On Family Supporter Involvement In Helping Adults Manage Type 2 Diabetes, Margaret F. Zupa, Aaron Lee, John D. Piette, Ranak Trivedi, Ada Youk, Michele Heisler, Ann Marie Rosland

Faculty and Student Publications

Background: Family support for adults’ diabetes care is associated with improved self-management and outcomes, but healthcare providers lack structured ways to engage those supporters. Objective: Assess the impact of a patient-supporter diabetes management intervention on supporters’ engagement in patients’ diabetes care, support techniques, and caregiving experience. Design: Multivariate regression models examined between-group differences in support-related measures observed as part of a larger trial randomizing participants to a dyadic intervention versus usual care. Participants: A total of 239 adults with type 2 diabetes and either A1c >8% or systolic blood pressure >160mmHg enrolled with a family supporter. Intervention: Health coaches provided …

Sustainable Blueprint: Do Stock Investors Increase Emissions?, Olatunji Abdul Shobande, Lawrence Ogbeifun

Faculty and Student Publications

The lack of agreement on climate policies among stock-market investors has raised signifi-cant concerns about GHG-emission levels, likely reflected in asset pricing. This study uses annual data sourced from the World Bank from 1980 to 2019 to examine whether stock-market investments increase GHG emissions in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) coun-tries. The study employs the panel-standard fixed effects and the Arellano-Bover and Blundell–Bond dynamic methods and shows that stock-investor confidence is critical for emissions reduction in OECD countries. Additionally, the results highlight the potential mechanism through which the stock market can influence emissions in the OECD countries. We …

Finding Aid For The Sam Lumpkin Collection (Mum00141)

Archives & Special Collections: Finding Aids

Papers, photographs, and scrapbooks of Sam Lumpkin of Tupelo, Mississippi. He served as a Democrat in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1932 to 1942 and as Speaker of the House from 1940-1942. Lumpkin was Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1948 to 1952. During the 1952 presidential election, he led the faction of Democrats who supported Republican presidential nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The Criticality Of Financial Development And Energy Consumption For Environmental Sustainability In Oecd Countries: Evidence From Dynamic Panel Analysis, Olatunji Abdul Shobande, Lawrence Ogbeifun

Faculty and Student Publications

This study explored whether financial development and energy consumption affect environmental sustainability in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The empirical evidence used in this study was based on the standard fixed effects and the Arellano-Bover/Bundell Bond dynamic panel approach. Our empirical results demonstrated the importance of a financial development index and energy efficiency for reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability in the OECD. The mechanism through which financial development affects carbon emissions has been identified as energy consumption and foreign direct investment. Our study recommends that financial development be prioritised alongside investments in energy efficiency to promote …

Climate Change And Food Security In Selected Sub-Saharan African Countries, Ahmed Adefemi Adesete, Oluwanbepelumi Esther Olanubi, Risikat Oladoyin Dauda

Faculty and Student Publications

This study examined the nexus between climate change and food security in Sub-Saharan African Region (SSA). With focus on 30 countries within the region, the study employed the dynamic panel data analysis using the one-step and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) model. The time observed spanned from 2000 through 2019. The study found that increase in greenhouse gas emission would lead to an increase in prevalence of malnourishment rate, resulting in a decrease in food security in SSA. In addition, climate change and food price have a negative significant effect on food security, while income and food supply …

Did2s: Two-Stage Difference-In-Differences, Kyle Butts, John Gardner

Faculty and Student Publications

Recent work has highlighted the difficulties of estimating difference-in-differences models when the treatment is adopted at different times for different units. This article introduces the R package did2s which implements the estimator introduced in Gardner (2022). The article provides an approachable review of the underlying econometric theory and introduces the syntax for the function did2s. Further, the package introduces functions, event_study and plot_event_study, which uses a common syntax to implement all of the modern event-study estimators

Association Between Electronic Media Use, Development Milestones And Language In Infants, Maian Stamati, Lucas G. Gago-Galvagno, Stephanie E. Miller, Angel M. Elgier, Rocío A. Hauché, Susana C. Azzollini

Faculty and Student Publications

The use of electronic media has increased in early childhood. During early childhood, language and motor skills are important for the development of other cognitive skills. Therefore, it becomes essential to study how the use of screens is associated with these important skills in the first years of life. The objective of the following research was to describe the use of electronic media (i. e., TV, cellphone and tablet) and its association with language and developmental milestones in the first years of life. Participants were 253 primary caregivers of infants between 2 to 48 months (M = 30.17 months, SD …