Digital Commons Network^™

Island Nation Duress: Simulating Passive Peer-To-Peer Bluetooth Communication During Disaster Relief, Jason K. Medeiros

Theses and Dissertations

Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction are highly vulnerable to natural disasters, yet many lack the infrastructure to effectively respond and recover. Clear communication during and after such events is critical for evacuation, hazard awareness, and first responders’ coordination. This research explores a simulation-based approach using Bluetooth communication to relay messages across Guam, assessing its efficiency through statistical analysis. By examining regional differences and geographic impacts on Bluetooth messaging, the study aims to identify key factors that enhance peer-to-peer communication for timely and effective disaster response.

Feminists For Sex-Based Rights: Trump Or Harris In The 2024 Election?, Kara Dansky

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Some US feminists who support sex-based rights for women and girls voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election; others voted for Kamala Harris. For an American feminist to vote for a female Democrat for president is not surprising. Still, because the Democrats embraced “gender identity” at the expense of women and girls as a sex class, some feminists chose to vote for Donald Trump. This article explores some reasons for voting one way or the other (or not at all).

Examining The Relationship Between Police Officers’ Characteristics And Police Shootings, Denise D. Brown

Dissertations (2016-Present)

Police deviance, specifically police shootings, has been an ongoing issue and topic of discussion. Prior research has primarily focused on victim characteristics such as age, race, and gender, with limited exploration of police officer characteristics in relation to shootings. This study aims to understand the relationship between police officer characteristics and officer-involved shootings (OIS) and killings. Using state-level data collected over a 5-year period, this research examined how officer demographics correlate with shooting incidents. Findings indicated that officers' age and gender are not significant predictors of police shootings or killings, whereas officer race is a significant predictor of involvement in …

Exploratory Study Of The Relationship Between Housing Affordability And Violent Crime, Larence Budrich Snowden

Dissertations (2016-Present)

This dissertation investigates the complex relationship between violent crime and affordable housing through a mixed-methods approach. It merges quantitative crime data with qualitative insights from residents of public housing developments and areas concentrated with housing choice vouchers in Houston, Texas. The study aims to understand the statistical dimensions of crime and the subjective perceptions of residents living within areas of affordable housing and adjacent to these communities. The backdrop of this research focuses on Houston's metropolitan area housing landscape. The city is characterized by clusters of significant concentrations of affordable housing, primarily through traditional public housing developments and the allocation …

Understanding The Role Qualitative Methods Can Play In Next Generation Impact Assessment, Heidi Walker, Alan Bond, A. John Sinclair, Alan P. Diduck, Jenny Pope, Francois Retief, Angus Morrison-Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Since its inception, impact assessment (IA) has been perceived by many to be a largely technical, quantitative exercise. However, as jurisdictions shift towards a more sustainability-oriented IA that accounts for a wider range of social, cultural, economic, health and well-being, and equity implications of proposed projects and strategic initiatives, values and subjectivity come more to the fore. Making predictions now needs innovative, and rigorous applications of qualitative methods that enable meaningful inclusion of diverse knowledges, values, and information sources, whilst at the same time giving confidence to decision makers and other stakeholders about the evidence base. Adopting such qualitative methods …

Assessing The Perceived Safety Of Cyclists With Virtual Reality, Vahid Balali

Mineta Transportation Institute

In 2022, 7,522 pedestrians and 1,084 bicyclists were killed and approximately 67,000 pedestrians and 46,195 bicyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes on public roadways in the United States, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The transportation industry is faced with a pressing need to bolster the safety of these vulnerable road users. This research develops models of design and environmental factors that influence bicyclists’ and pedestrians’ perception of safety using Virtual Reality (VR) technology and ultimately informs transportation infrastructure design to better accommodate nonmotorized travelers. The goal of the bicycle element of this research is to develop …

Smart Highway Construction Site Monitoring Using Artificial Intelligence, Mehran Mazari, Yahaira Nava-Gonzalez, Ly Jacky N. Nhiayi, Mohamad H. Saleh

Mineta Transportation Institute

Construction is a large sector of the economy and plays a significant role in creating economic growth and national development,and construction of transportation infrastructure is critical. This project developed a method to detect, classify, monitor, and track objects during the construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructure by using artificial intelligence and a deep learning approach. This study evaluated the performance of AI and deep learning algorithms to compare their performance in detecting and classifying the equipment in various construction scenes. Our goal was to find the optimized balance between the model capabilities in object detection and memory processing requirements. …

2025 March, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for March of 2025.

Breaking Up Male-Dominated Collusive Arrangements: Women's Representation In Bureaucracy And Corruption, Beomgeun Cho, Heeun Kim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We investigate the impact of women's representation in bureaucracy on corruption. In this study, we demonstrate how women bureaucrats' experiences in male-dominated workplaces contribute to curbing corruption. To do this, we investigate three dimensions of women's representation (average share, average rank, and hierarchical dispersion) in South Korean regional governments. Empirical evidence shows that the higher women bureaucrats are ranked, the more bureaucrats are disciplined against misbehaviors and the lower the corruption risks are in public procurement. The findings imply that having women bureaucrats at higher ranks reduces corruption risks because they disrupt male-dominated collusive arrangements and abide by ethical standards …

Patient Consent And The Right To Notice And Explanation Of Ai Systems Used In Health Care, Meghan E Hurley, Benjamin H Lang, Kristin Marie Kostick-Quenet, Jared N Smith, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Given the need for enforceable guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI) that protect the public and allow for innovation, the U.S. Government recently issued a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights which outlines five principles of safe AI design, use, and implementation. One in particular, the right to notice and explanation, requires accurately informing the public about the use of AI that impacts them in ways that are easy to understand. Yet, in the healthcare setting, it is unclear what goal the right to notice and explanation serves, and the moral importance of patient-level disclosure. We propose three normative functions …

Navigating Your Us Bioscience Career Into The 2030s, Peter J Hotez

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The coming decade might see major cuts to the United States Government funding for biomedicine and the mainstreaming of pseudoscience. But your biosciences PhD gives you the problem-solving skills to navigate this maelstrom, especially if you maintain flexibility, optimism, and enthusiasm for uncharted paths.

Family Genetic Risk Communication And Reverse Cascade Testing In The Babyseq Project, Melissa K Uveges, Hadley Stevens Smith, Stacey Pereira, Casie Genetti, Amy L Mcguire, Alan H Beggs, Robert C Green, Ingrid A Holm

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Purpose: Genomic sequencing of newborns can initiate disease surveillance and therapy for children and may identify at-risk relatives through reverse cascade testing. We explored genetic risk communication and reverse cascade testing among families of newborns who underwent exome sequencing and were identified as having a risk for an autosomal dominant disease.

Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with parents of newborns enrolled in the BabySeq Project who had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant associated with an autosomal dominant childhood- and/or adult-onset disease returned. We used directed content analysis to derive themes.

Results: From 11 families, all first-degree relatives (n = …

Thai Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax: Does It Really Help?, Sitaporn Suriya, Buraskorn Torut

Kesmas

A solution recommended by the World Health Organization to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases is the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax. This study aimed to evaluate the Thai SSB tax efficiency affecting the change in post-tax individual-level consumption and find causal explanations for the people’s consumption behavior after the SSB tax was implemented. This study used a Productivity Model, and stratified random sampling was conducted by selecting 1,200 people. An in-depth interview was conducted to seek causal explanations for post-SSB tax consumption behavior with 15 key informants. The results revealed the SSB tax’s efficiency in terms of perception and understanding at …

Socio-Epidemiological Perspectives Of Sexual Trauma Experiences And Influential Factors On Sexual Orientation In Men Who Have Sex With Men, Rico Januar Sitorus, Misnaniarti Misnaniarti, Legiran Legiran, Rizma Adlia Syakurah, Diana Dewi Sartika, Asri Maharani, Retta Patresia

Kesmas

The complexity of sexuality and sexual trauma experiences, including harassment, unwanted touching, sexual urges, and forced sexual intercourse, should not be underestimated because of the tendency to initiate adverse psychosocial impacts. Sexual harassment can increase mental health risks, which may influence sexual orientation decisions. This quantitative study, using a cross-sectional design, aimed to determine a relationship between sexual trauma experiences and sexual orientation in men who have sex with men (MSM). This study population was MSM living in Palembang and Prabumulih City, with a sample size of 216 respondents. The proportion of respondents with homosexual orientation was 57.1%, and the …

Exploring Physician Well-Being: A Bibliometric Analysis Of Mental Health, Suriya Kumareswaran, Bala Murali Sundram, Vanitha Thurairasu

Kesmas

This bibliometric study examined the evolving research landscape on physician mental health from 2010 to 2023, analyzing key themes, publication trends, and global contributions. A total of 3,360 articles, including 3,137 original research and 223 reviews, were sourced from Web of Science and Scopus. Findings revealed a significant increase in research output, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with burnout, depression, and anxiety emerging as dominant themes. The US accounted for most publications, while research from low- and middle-income countries remains limited, indicating a substantial global disparity. Thematic analysis highlighted variations in burnout assessment methodologies, underscoring the need for standardized evaluation …

Determinants Of Adolescent Resilience Levels In Surabaya City, East Java Province, Indonesia, Riris Diana Rachmayanti, Fatwa Sari Tetra Dewi, Diana Setiyawati, M Dody Izhar, Andrei Ramani

Kesmas

Assessing adolescent resilience may provide valuable insights into adult resilience. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between determinants and adolescent resilience in Surabaya City. The participants of this cross-sectional study were 277 adolescents aged 12–19 years who were in senior high school. The outcome was the resilience levels. This study's findings indicated relationships between resilience levels and stress experience (p-value = 0.01), access to mental health information (p-value = 0.00), life satisfaction (p-value = 0.00), family harmony (p-value = 0.03), presence of adults to share (p-value = 0.04), feeling safe at home, school, and community (p-value = 0.00), perception …

Five-Year Journey Of Technical Assistance In Health Governance Reforms: A Case Report, Popy Yuniar, Indang Trihandini, Ibnu Muyassar, Latifatul Khoiriyah, Minawati Minawati, Fathiyya Aliyah Birjaman, Tyra Septi Diana, Annabel Serafina, Hertina Raisa Putri, Rana Maimunah, Riko Setiawan, Nadazaira Alifia Ramadhianisa, Aris Diyanto

Kesmas

Many districts and cities in Indonesia continue to have Public Health Development Index scores below the national average, highlighting the need for improved health governance. This study assessed the five-year impact (2019–2023) of a mentoring program for 149 District Health Offices in preparing annual work plans, focusing on stagnation or performance declines. Using a qualitative approach, the study analyzed annual work plan scores before and after technical assistance, conducted focus group discussions, and carried out in-depth interviews to identify challenges. Key barriers included data management issues, weak advocacy, knowledge transfer gaps, and poor cross-sectoral coordination, which hindered decision-making and program …

Public Health Entrepreneurship In Indonesia: What Is Next?, Hadi Pratomo, Roy Darmawan, Karina Samaria

Kesmas

Public health has been demanded to search for ways to improve well-being by tackling societal and ecological factors that influence health through cooperative strategies and partnerships across various fields. More interdisciplinary, interprofessional, and action-oriented approaches toward sustainable public health programs are recommended to be made. Therefore, public health entrepreneurship is an indispensable approach to creating new interventions that address future public health problems. The Indonesian Ministry of Health conceptualized five public health entrepreneurship skills as standard competence for public health personnel. In addition, the Association of Indonesian Public Health Higher Education Institutions has identified several study materials and learning outcomes …

مدى توافر موارد نظم المعلومات الادارية في المنظمات الخدمية دراسة استطلاعية في مديرية توزيع كهرباء مركز نينوى, نور ضياء عزيز, نبأ مؤيد عبدالحسين الطائي, فدوى علي حسين

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تقييم مدى توافر موارد نظم المعلومات الإدارية في مديرية توزيع كهرباء مركز نينوى من منظور العاملين فيها. كما تسعى الدراسة إلى الكشف عن أي اختلافات في وجهات نظر العاملين حول هذا التوافر بناءً على عوامل ديموغرافية مثل الجنس، العمر، والمؤهل العلمي. اعتمدت الدراسة على المنهج الوصفي المسحي كأداة أساسية لجمع البيانات. تم تصميم استبانة تضمنت (17) سؤالاً تغطي خمسة مجالات رئيسية هي: الموارد البشرية، الموارد المادية، البرامجيات، قواعد البيانات، والشبكات والاتصالات. تم توزيع هذه الاستبانة على العاملين في المديرية. كشفت نتائج هذه الدراسة عن الصورة الحقيقية لتوافر موارد نظم المعلومات الإدارية وتباينها بالنسبة للافراد المبحوثين ، …

الرفاهية عند العاملين من منظور الدور التأثيري للنرجسية التنظيمية: دراسة تحليلية في وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي في العراق, سنان فاضل حمد

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

البحث يهدف إلى تحقيق جملة من الاهداف أهمها بناء أطار نظري يربط بين (النرجسية التنظيمية ) بوصفة متغير رئيسا (رفاهية العاملين) بوصفه متغير تابعاً، فضلاً عن التعرف على طبيعة العلاقة والتأثير بين النرجسية التنظيمية ورفاهية العاملين في وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي العراقية، ولغرض جمع بيانات الجانب العملي، تم تصميم استبانة مكونة من محوين بالاعتماد على مقاييس جاهزة، وتم توزيع الاستبانة على عينة عشوائية مكونة من (75) فرداً ممن يعملون في مناصب قيادية عليا ووسطى ضمن الهيكل التنظيمي للوزارة، ولغرض تحليل الاستبانة واستخلاص النتائج منها تم استعمال برنامج (SPSS V.26)، وتم استعمال عدد من الوسائل الاحصائية منها الوسط الحسابي والوسيط …

Marijuana Legalization Policy And Federal Drug Task Force Programs: A Study Of Drug Control Federalism, Kendal D. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine and understand the influence of state cannabis legalization measures on the drug enforcement function of federal and state-local investigators working in the DEA Task Force Program operating in states that have legalized marijuana. Since America is experiencing an ongoing drug epidemic, phenomena like state cannabis legalization measures may impact the efficacy of national drug control policy and worsen the crisis. This study and its findings are therefore important because federal drug task force programs underpin the conduct of America’s national drug control policy. Federalism and intergovernmental relations are used in …

قياس مستوى الوضوح الاستراتيجي لدى القيادات الإدارية في جامعة الشرقية بسلطنة عمان, دلال صالح مهدي, تركي بن خالد بن سعيد النافعي, عزة راشد سليمان السعيدية

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

تهدف الدراسة الحالية قياس مستوى الوضوح الاستراتيجي لدى القادة الإداريون في جامعة الشرقية بسلطنة عمان، تم استخدام المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، كما استخدمت الاستبانة في جمع البيانات والمعلومات وتم تطبيقها على عينة مكونة من (384) قيادي، وتوصلت نتائج الدراسة إلى أن مستوى الوضوح الاستراتيجي للأداء المؤسسي لدى موظفي جامعة الشرقية بسلطنة عمان كان عاليا، وكذلك جاء متوسطًا أيضًا في بعد وضوح الإجراءات والأنشطة، وبعد وضوح الأهداف وبعد وضوح الهيكل التنظيمي، بينت النتائج عدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى (α ≤ 0.05) بين استجابات أفراد عينة البحث بسبب متغيرات الجنس، والمؤهل العلمي، وسنوات الخبرة، والمسمى الوظيفي.

Strategies Police Agencies Can Implement To Improve Officer Mental Health, Robert Gleason

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The profession of law enforcement is commonly recognized as being extremely stressful. Policing has the potential to produce extraordinarily high levels of stress among officers, particularly in contemporary political and social situations. This stress can be induced by several reasons, including but not limited to the occupation itself, the organization, and the organizational leadership. Long-term exposure to chronic stress has been linked to adverse effects on mental and physical health, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, exhaustion, and, in extreme situations, suicidal ideations and attempts. This qualitative study examined strategies and initiatives that police officers believe would help agencies …

Constraints Interfering With The Goals Of Child Maltreatment Programs In Northwestern Wyoming, Barbara Andersen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child abuse and neglect occurs in the United States and Wyoming. There are numerous variables that influence caregivers to abuse, and if unresolved, these variables can contribute to future events of child maltreatment. This study focused on the programs assigned to achieve reunification and the constraints observed by the program providers that interfere in resolving the variables that cause child maltreatment. The research questions were: What specific factors or constraints impede the successful achievement of program goals? In what ways do the identified constraints hinder the effectiveness of the programs? What strategies could be implemented to overcome constraints and improve …

Researching The U.S. Senate Presidential Nominee Confirmation Process, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The beginning of 2025 has seen renewed public attention and emphasis on the constitutionally mandated U.S. Senate confirmation process. This stems from the beginning of the second Trump Administration as its nominees navigate this process. The presentation provides historical background on this process, demonstrates what nominees, Senate oversight committees, and the full Senate in administering this process and enables readers to find out how to access information resources documenting this process. The confirmation process continues throughout presidential administrations and may involve little public attention and controversy or acute public attention and controversy. The contrasting 2025 confirmation experiences of Secretary of …

Assessing The Zeitenwende: Implications For Germany, The United States, And Transatlantic Security, John R. Deni, Marina E. Henke, Aylin Matlé, Sophia Besch, Tim Bosch, Loyle Campbell, Angela E. Stent, Jeffrey D. Rathke, Theresa Luetkefend, May-Britt U. Stumbaum, Sharon De Cet

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Chapter 1 - ©2025 John R. Deni. All rights reserved.
Chapter 2 - ©2025 Marina E. Henke. All rights reserved.
Chapter 3 - ©2025 John R. Deni. All rights reserved.
Chapter 4 - ©2025 Aylin Matlé. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5 - ©2025 Sophia Besch. All rights reserved.
Chapter 6 - ©2025 Tim Bosch. All rights reserved.
Chapter 7 - ©2025 Angela E. Stent. All rights reserved.
Chapter 8 - ©2025 Jeffrey D. Rathke and Theresa Luetkefend. All rights reserved.
Chapter 9 - ©2025 May-Britt U. Stumbaum and Sharon de Cet. All rights reserved.

The essays in this volume analyze …

Beyond Congestion Pricing, Gregory H. Shill

Journal of Law and Mobility

After years of political and legal efforts to block it, congestion pricing finally went into effect in New York City in January 2025. Early indications are positive, though threats to its continuation from the Trump administration and others remain. But its journey to this point has already made one thing clear: it is time for the Big Apple to seize more of its own destiny in transportation policy.

The battles that delayed and still imperil the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion pricing scheme underscore the need for policies that New York City can implement unilaterally. Making urban transportation policy in the …

Deep Core Advocacy Coalitions, Christopher M. Weible, Anna M. Crawford, Allegra H. Fullerton, Kayla M. Gabehart, Katherine E. Imhoff, Giulia Mariani

Michigan Tech Publications

As one of the most established theoretical approaches to public policy, the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) has moored most of its theoretical arguments around a textbook policy conflict consisting of two or more advocacy coalitions in a mature adversarial policy subsystem within an advanced polyarchy. This article steps beyond the textbook by introducing deep core coalitions marked by compounding intersectional identities operating at the macro-system. It offers two illustrations of deep core coalitions, one bound by their collective transgender identity and the other by their collective traditionalist identity. Finally, this article concludes with a discussion of what it means for …

Sweet Lies: Influence Of Food Marketing On Childrens’ Health And The Need For Reform, Mollie M. Warrington

Honors Theses

Markedly, there is heavy marketing of unhealthy food to children. This has become a significant public health concern because of escalating rates of child obesity, which have long-term consequences for physical health and severe mental health repercussions, such as body image concerns and low self-esteem. This thesis explores how food marketing strategies, historically rooted in television ads and evolving through digital platforms, are linked to children's dietary choices and broader public health implications. It analyzes various manipulative tactics, such as digital advertising, influencer endorsement, and gamification, showing how companies take advantage of the cognitive vulnerabilities of children to propagate unhealthy …

Navigating The Neoliberal Assemblage: The Role Of A Nonprofit Organization Shaping Disaster Governance And Community Resilience, Andrew Michael Russo

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the evolving role of Nonprofits Active in Disasters ("NADs") in disaster governance through a case study of the Cascade Relief Team, a nonprofit organization responding to the 2020 Echo Mountain Complex Fire in Oregon. Utilizing governmentality and assemblage theory frameworks, the study investigates how CRT navigates the complex interplay between neoliberal rationalities, community needs, and disaster response practices.

The research reveals CRT's multifaceted role in shaping disaster knowledge, mediating between official frameworks and local realities, and influencing the formation of resilient subjectivities. While CRT's practices often align with neoliberal approaches to disaster management, emphasizing individual responsibility and …