Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dpla And Digital Virginias, Jessica Mcmillen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This presentation will provide updates about what’s new with Digital Virginias and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), as well as let you know how to get involved. It will also present information from the Recollection Wisconsin hub on digital readiness. Please also bring your questions about your collections and digital projects.

Temporary Invitations To The Party: Reflections On Recruitment As Performative Action In Diversity Residencies, Jessica Y. Dai, Amanda M. Leftwich, Mallary Rawls

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Willingness To Pay For Policies To Reduce Health Risks From Covid-19: Evidence From U.S. Professional Sports, Brad Humphreys, Gary A. Wagner, John C. Whitehead, Pamela Wicker

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Airborne transmission of COVID-19 increased the need for health policies to reduce transmission in congregate settings associated with minimal risk before the pandemic. While a large literature estimates tradeoffs between policies designed to reduce negative health outcomes, no empirical research addresses consumer willingness to pay for health policies designed to reduce airborne virus transmission. Using survey data from 1,381 fans of professional sports teams, we estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for reduced likelihood of coronavirus transmission through mask and social distancing policies using a stated preference approach. The results indicate increased attendance likelihood if the venue requires masks and …

The Effect Of Monitoring And Crowds On Crime And Law Enforcement: A Natural Experiment From European Football, Brad R. Humphreys, Alexander Marsella, Levi Perez

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Technological advancements like the presence of smart phones and body cameras have led to increased monitoring of police, but little evidence exists on their impact. We address these problems using data on fouls from football matches in five European football leagues over six seasons. This period contains exogenous changes in monitoring rule enforcers through introduction of Video Assistant Referee review and limited "bystanders" from Covid-19 restrictions. Results from difference-in-differences models estimated separately for each league indicate that both events influenced the number of fouls called with substantial heterogeneity across leagues and home/away teams.

Public Interest Or Policy Diffusion: Analyzing The Effects Of Massage Therapist Municipal Licensing, Darwyyn Deyo, Kofi Ampaabeng, Conor Norris, Edward Timmons

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Massage therapy is widely licensed by the states. However, municipalities also often passed massage therapist licensing, motivated by preventing prostitution. Using a novel dataset on municipal licensing and crime data from the FBI, we test if local massage therapist licensing reduced prostitution. We also test a policy diffusion hypothesis, in which cities pass responsive massage therapist licensing. We find that municipal massage therapist licensing does not lead to a reduction in prostitution, but we find support for the policy diffusion hypothesis, with municipalities up to 65% more likely to pass responsive licensing within three years of their neighbor doing so.

The Growth Of Firms, Markets And Rents: Evidence From China, Daniel Berkowitz, Shuichiro Nishioka

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Using recent methods for estimating firm-level markups and profit shares, we document that Chinese manufacturing firms collected more rents following China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This is because the net entry of firms lagged the massive growth in the domestic market. These effects were particularly strong in domestic markets where state ownership was pervasive. While selection on large productive firms drove the rise in the aggregate markups in the United State (De Loecker et al, 2020), these competitive forces played a secondary role in Chinese manufacturing.

Are West Virginia Banks Unique?, Eduardo Minuci, Scott Schuh

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Many factors contribute to weak economic growth in Appalachia, but little research has examined the role of banking heterogeneity and efficiency across states. This paper documents how West Virginia (WV) banks' financial behavior differs from other U.S. banks and shows these differences cannot be explained fully by the composition of banks in the state. Despite experiencing faster banking consolidation, West Virginia still has more and smaller banks that are less efficient and profitable. WV banks' customers and managers heavily favor liabilities (time deposits) and assets (real estate loans) with longer maturity and lower risk and returns. Although shares of time …

The Economic Impact Of Coal Production And Coal-Fired Power Generation In The United States, Christiadi, Eric Bowen, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

While coal production in the United States has declined by nearly 50 percent since its peak in 2008, the sector remains an important part of the US economy in many ways. In this report, we consider the contribution of coal production and coal-fired power generation to the U.S.’ employment base, economic output, labor income, and tax revenue.

Vertical Integration And Competitive Balance In Professional Sports: Evidence From Minor League Baseball, Qi Ge, Brad R. Humphreys, Alexander Eisert

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Major League Baseball (MLB) teams regularly call up players from their Minor League Baseball (MiLB) affliates to fulfill roster needs. This paper utilizes a manually collected panel of player call-ups between 1946 and 2019 and studies their impact on competitive balance in the minor leagues. Our results indicate an overall positive relationship between call-ups and competitive balance in the MiLB, with the pro-competitive effect primarily driven by the AA leagues and not AAA leagues. We also  find suggestive evidence of the effect being likely explained by the promotion of MiLB players to MLB, rather than the demotion of MLB players …

The Political Effects Of Trade With Japan In The 1980s, Shuichiro Nishioka, Eric Olson

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

The 1974 trade act substantially increased the executive branch's authority in trade negotiations through the granting of fast-track and Section 301 authority. This paper evaluates the effect on U.S. voting behavior resulting from trade with Japan over 1976-1992 time period after the act was passed. To capture U.S. trade exposures to Japan, we develop the Bartik index from Autor et al (2013) for import competition with Japan and show that local exposure to import competition had statistically significant negative impacts on Republican presidential candidates over the 1976-1984 period. Although the second Reagan administration used Section 301 to open Japan's markets …

Economic Impact Of The West Virginia International Yeager Airport Expansion, Eric Bowen, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Kanawha County serves the largest metropolitan area in West Virginia and has the greatest amount of airplane traffic in the state. The airport has begun construction on a new terminal building and plans a variety of other construction projects in order to upgrade its facilities and handle the expected increased traffic through the area. In this report, we provide an economic impact estimate of the terminal’s expansion and associated growth in region on the West Virginia economy.

Hired During Covid: Interviewing And Onboarding In A Pandemic, Roslyn Grandy, Lauren M. Fletcher, Faythe Thurman, Rachel Whitney

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The pandemic forced those working in higher education to navigate a myriad of changes in all facets of day-to-day operations. From January-February 2022, we conducted a study that surveyed hiring managers for professional academic library positions to identify how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their hiring and onboarding processes. We will present our preliminary findings from the mixed-methods survey in advance of a published article. Our study identifies changes in hiring practices and reflects the current attitudes of hiring managers in regards to future employment practices.

Because many interview processes have transitioned to an online format, some hiring managers are …

The Economic Impact Of The North Central West Virginia Airport Expansion, Eric Bowen

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The North Central West Virginia (NCWV) Airport in Clarksburg/Bridgeport has experienced rapid growth over the last decade. The number of airline passengers through the airport increased nearly four-fold between 2010 and 2019. The airport was also chosen as the primary US hub for the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries airplane refurbishment facility, which services airplanes from most major airlines.

Because of this rapid growth, the NCWV Airport has begun construction on a new terminal building in order to handle the increased traffic through the area. In this report, we provide an economic impact estimate of the terminal’s expansion and associated growth in …

Reported Experiences With Plea Bargaining: A Theoretical Analysis Of The Legal Standard, Krystia Reed, Allison Franz, Vincent Calderon, Alisha Meschkow, Valerie F. Reyna

West Virginia Law Review

Although the majority of criminal cases in the United States are settled with plea bargains, very little empirical evidence exists to explain how defendants make life-altering plea bargain decisions. This Article first discusses the psychologicalfactors involved in plea bargaining decisions. Next, this Article empirically examines the factors involved in plea decisions of real-life defendants within the legal and psychological contexts. Finally, this Article highlights the psychological issues that need to be further examined in pleabargaining literature.

Municipal Finances In West Virginia, Christopher Plein, Priscila Borges Marques Dos Santos, Eric Bowen, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

West Virginia’s municipalities are part of the lifeblood of our state. From the smallest incorporated towns and villages to our larger cities like Charleston, Wheeling, and Morgantown, our state’s cities and towns often act as hubs for civic, social, cultural, and economic activity. We associate these municipalities and their surrounding communities as places to shop, work, worship, and receive services like healthcare and education. This report seeks to place West Virginia’s cities and towns in this broader context of change, challenge, and opportunity by providing an in-depth study of major features, trends, and factors in municipal finance.

Pandemic Transitions: The Impact Of Covid 19 On Hiring And Onboarding In Academic Libraries, Lauren M. Fletcher, Roslyn Grandy, Faythe Thurman, Rachel Whitney

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objectives: To explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected hiring and onboarding practices in academic libraries.

Methods: An embedded mixed-methods approach, utilizing grounded theory, was used to develop an online survey to identify changes that occurred in hiring and onboarding practices in academic libraries resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were hiring managers (including human resources staff, library administration, search committee chairs, or library supervisors) in an academic library setting. Invitations to participate were sent to multiple academic library listservs and social media groups.

Results: Results will be analyzed to determine trends in hiring and onboarding practices …

Meeting The Needs Of Online Students Through Creative Reimagining And Collaboration With Instructors, Jenn Monnin, Beth Nardella

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This chapter presents a case study where a Health Sciences Librarian and an Exercise Physiology Professor at an R1 University transformed two library instruction sessions into one graded online assignment. Successful student outcomes proved the asynchronous online method worth continuing for future courses regardless of class format.

The typical instruction methods and experimental modifications made to accommodate remote learning demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic and online course sections will be presented in this chapter. Student learning outcomes will be examined followed by a discussion of best practices discovered during the project. A final recommendation will be made for librarian and …

Life After Steel: How Covid-19 Shed Light On Canton Township's Industrial Past, Daniel D. Dillon

Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review

Undeniably, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways in which life carries on, whether this manifests in the forms of altering how people interact or how individuals work to further career goals. In the field of archaeology, attending an accredited field school takes central importance to developing much-needed skills; however, the virus made such opportunities nonexistent. Seeking a remedy for this rapidly-changing situation, I decided to make the decision to run a “field school” in my parents’ backyard. What was uncovered went beyond the nearly 300 recovered artifacts, extending into the largely unexplored history of Canton Township, Washington, Pennsylvania. Just …

Parkersburg Area Economic Outlook: 2022-2026, Connor Kelly, Lauren Moore, Glenn Whited, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Parkersburg Area economy experienced a substantial loss in jobs during COVID-19 recession, as the combination of public health measures and massive negative shock to economic activity globally caused employment in the area to plunge by nearly 8,000 jobs in early-2020. By some measures, the area’s recession was not demonstrably worse than what occurred at the state and national level yet was still unprecedented in terms of how fast these losses happened when compared to previous economic downturns. At the same time, the area has recovered nearly 6,000 jobs over the last six quarters, putting its overall recovery on par …

Weirton Area Economic Outlook: 2022-2026, Mackenzie Hill, Ben Sbei, Isabelle Dallaire, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Weirton Area1 suffered a sharp drop in employment during the COVID-19 recession, but the region experienced a relatively milder bout of job losses during the early phases of the pandemic compared to many areas.

Context, Classification And Study Methodologies In Research Into Nature-Based Therapies: Protocol For A Scoping Review, Samantha I. Moyers, Christiaan G. Abildso, George A. Kelley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Introduction

Nature provides an array of health benefits, and recent decades have seen a resurgence in nature-based interventions (NBI). While NBI have shown promise in addressing health needs, the wide variety of intervention approaches create difficulty in understanding the efficacy of NBI as a whole. This scoping review will (1) identify the different nomenclature used to define NBI, (2) describe the interventions used and the contexts in which they occurred and (3) describe the methodologies and measurement tools used in NBI studies.

Methods and analysis

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols Extension for Scoping Reviews, …

Analyzing Parent Characteristics And Invalid Responses On The Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory, Samantha N. Franzese

Munn Scholars Awards

Child abuse is a concerning issue, as 3.5 million children in the United States were referred for suspected maltreatment to Child Protective Services (CPS) in 2016, and millions more impacted worldwide (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018). Additionally, it is estimated that roughly 2.5 million Australian adults have experienced child maltreatment (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Hence, it is crucial to assess for child abuse potential using measures that are effective in clinical utility. The Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory (BCAP; Ondersma et al., 2005) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses for child abuse potential and utilizes a Lie Scale that detects …

Using A Data-Driven Approach To Examine Facility Use Definitions In Campus Recreation, Sera Janson Zegre, Rodney P. Hughes, Andrew M. Darling, Craig R. Decker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Existing research in campus recreation establishes a relationship between facility use and academic outcomes, but published studies define users differently. In response to inconsistent definitions of participants in campus recreation, this study uses a data-driven approach to compare facility use definitions. Authors illustrate the implications of choosing different participant definitions for relationships between campus recreation and two undergraduate academic outcomes, first-year retention and first-year cumulative grade point average (GPA). This study uses data from a three-year timeframe, linking sources of data on students’ recreation facility use, academic outcomes, and student records. Authors provide a summary of previous definitions, results from …

The American Congress Digital Archives Portal Project White Paper, Danielle Emerling

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This white paper documents the work of the American Congress Digital Archives Portal project to aggregate congressional archives into a single, online platform and make them more broadly available. Congressional archives document the democratic process; the development of public policy; and multiple narratives related to the country’s social, cultural, and political development. Work of the project included developing standards and best practices; creating governance structures for the one-year project and future phases; developing a web portal that meets user needs and adding archival content; determining digitization priorities via a research survey; conducting usability testing; and communicating and publicizing the project. …

Economic Impact Of A Proposed Metals Manufacturing Plant, Eric Bowen

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

In this briefing paper, we estimate the potential economic impact of a new metals manufacturing plant in West Virginia. Data for this study were provided by the West Virginia Development Office. We consider the economic impact of the plant construction and operational spending in terms of output, employment, employee compensation, and select state and local tax revenue.

Sexual Assault On Campus: The Impact Of The Women's Gymnastics Scandal On Michigan State, Bryan Mccannon, Kaleigh Strohl

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In 2017 Larry Nassar was sentenced to 60 years for assaulting over 300 women during his career as team doctor for the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team and as an osteopathic doctor and professor at Michigan State University. The university received a stream of negative publicity for their role in the scandal. We identify the impact of the sexual assault scandal on the university. Using a synthetic control method approach, we estimate the differences between the real and “synthetic” Michigan State in several university outcomes. We find significant reductions in the number of applications, changes in gender ratio of incoming …

Mindfulness In The Sport Academy Classroom: Exploring Benefits And Barriers Of A Low-Dose Intervention, Andrew Augustus, Sam Zizzi

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a low-dose mindfulness program with student–athletes (SA) at a
sport academy in the USA. First, SAs were introduced to mindfulness in their health class with conceptual lessons and guided
meditations from the Headspace ‘Guide to Meditation’ series. Following each episode, SAs reflected on their experience
via guided prompts led by their teacher. The second phase shifted towards applying mindfulness within their sport through
app-based guided meditations and sport-based reflections led by teachers in their mental skills classes. Student–athlete
perceptions of these experiences were captured through the reflection exercises and a post-program evaluation …

Care To Walk In My Shoes? Repairing Trust After Violations Of Benevolence, Luke Aaron Langlinais

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines how perceived perspective taking relates to trust repair, specifically in the context of a benevolence-based violation. I draw on perspective taking theory, attribution theory, and the integrative model of organizational trust to explore a model of interpersonal trust repair. The extant literature on trust repair primarily focuses on violations of ability and integrity, leaving the third dimension of trustworthiness, benevolence, largely unexplored. Yet, research suggests as many as 96% of workplace employees have been victims of benevolence-based offenses, such as disrespect, condescension, or degradation. The present research expands the theoretical bounds of the extant trust repair literature …

Aacsb Accreditation And Student Demand, Bryan Mccannon, Katherine Starr, Marisa Cameron

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We ask whether AACSB accreditation has a meaningful impact on university admissions. To do this, we explore 16 U.S. institutions which first achieved this certification recently. We, first, document a modest, but nonzero, impact on university-wide undergraduate applications, without any changes in first-year enrollment, price, or quality of the incoming student body. Restricting attention to business schools, while initial evidence suggests that the accreditation is associated with a decrease in enrollments, we show that this is complicated by non-parallel trends prior to accreditation. Compared to their comparison institutions, universities who seek out accreditation were experiencing flatter business enrollments. Correcting for …

Save To Win: Using Contests To Promote Savings, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Rodriguez, Roman Sheremeta

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We ask whether linking savings accounts to contests can promote saving. We do this by offering contest-linked accounts to individuals in rural Uganda where poverty is a serious problem. Our design builds off of results in experimental economics documenting excessive competitiveness in contests, with the goal of harnessing this behavior for the good. We find that, properly designed, we encourage savings beyond both pre-treatment levels and the control group. We explore reasonable heterogeneous treatment effects and document long lasting impacts on wealth.