Digital Commons Network^™

Domestic Gastrodiplomacy In The U.S. During The Great Depression And International Relations Theory, Leah Tucker

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

International Relations scholarship has generally treated food as an outward-facing instrument of soft power, leaving its domestic political functions comparatively underexamined. This paper argues that, during periods of systemic crisis, food policy can also operate inwardly as a mechanism of regime stabilization with broader political implications. Using New Deal food programs during the Great Depression as a case study, it introduces the concept of “domestic gastrodiplomacy” to describe how the management of subsistence can reinforce confidence in governing institutions when that confidence is under strain.

The paper evaluates this claim through realist, liberal, and constructivist perspectives. Each highlights a different …

Licensed Social Workers’ Perceived Structural And Systemic Treatment Barriers For Clients With Severe Mental Illness, Myron Curtis White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There was a gap in the existing strategies in social work practice regarding the structural and systemic barriers to health care treatment for clients with serious/severe mental illness (SMI). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented that addressing mental health destabilization in the United States is important and requires an understanding of the mental illness to be addressed, including its causal factors, the relationships between the mentally ill and their community/environment, and the methodology for effecting care. This general qualitative study explored what licensed social workers perceived as structural and systemic barriers to health care treatment access for their …

Insurgent Politics In The Lone Star State: Remembering The Anti-War Movement In Austin, Texas, 1967–1973, By Martin Murray, Manuel Grajales

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Frontera Freeways: Highway Building And Displacement In El Paso, Texas, By Miguel Juárez, Alana De Hinojosa

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

The Names Of Four Scouts: Slavery, Settler Colonialism, And The Limits Of Incorporation At The Texas Capitol Complex Since 1983, Mark Mallory

Journal of Texas History

This essay takes the commemorated names of four Seminole Negro Indian Scout Medal of Honor recipients to examine public memory at the Texas Capitol Complex since 1983. Using archival documents, newspapers, exhibits, and monuments, it traces how the Texas State Preservation Board responded to criticism through limited incorporations of Black, Tejano, and women’s histories while preserving narratives that disavow slavery and settler colonialism. It argues that these incorporations reinforce a framework centered on Texas “pioneers,” obscuring Native histories and misrepresenting the complex intersections of Blackness and Indigeneity embodied by Black Seminole history.

Sustainability Amid Sanctions: Adapting Business Librarian Services To Provide Equitable Services To Incarcerated Students, Ryan E. Yoakum

Midwest Business Librarian Summit (MBLS)

As of 2025, there are over 1.8 million people incarcerated in the United States, but only 6% hold an associate degree or higher. Yet research shows that earning even an associate’s degree can reduce recidivism by 85%. Given the higher rate of incarcerated individuals in Southern states, higher education in prison has the power to transform lives. These programs, however, must work around restrictions set by a state’s department of corrections, which can often lead to disparities between their experience and those of students on campus. These restrictions impact research and other programs supported by academic librarians.

This lightning talk …

Risk, Trust, And Medical Decision-Making: Perinatal Care Among Patients And Providers In South Florida, Isabella Viera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis examines how structural inequality shapes the experience of perinatal care among pregnant individuals and healthcare providers in South Florida, with particular attention to how risk is perceived and communicated, how trust between patients and providers is built or eroded, and how medical decision-making unfolds under conditions of structural vulnerability. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted between October 2025 and April 2026, supplemented by a quantitative analysis of low-birth-weight rates across all 67 Florida counties, the project analyzes how risk is defined, communicated, and lived across community-based prenatal organizations, online educational platforms, and in-depth provider and patient interviews. The …

Racial Profiling In Traffic Enforcement: A Qualitative Exploration Of Police Chiefs' Perspectives On Traffic Stop Data Analysis, Peter J. Didomenica

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial profiling of people of color by police departments as part of traffic enforcement practices is a pervasive practice in the United States. The practice is a form of systemic racism, the conceptual framework for this study, that has resulted in people and communities of color suffering its deleterious effects. Although statistical analysis of traffic stop data is most effective in uncovering racial profiling in traffic enforcement, most police departments fail to conduct such analysis, and for those departments that do so, there is no uniform judicially accepted method. The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons most …

Examining Inmate Labor In Emergency Management: Contributions, Challenges, And Ethical Considerations, Boris Eugene Valiance

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Incarcerated individuals remain inconsistently engaged in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, creating both an operational gap and an ethical challenge regarding labor equity, safety, voluntariness, and human dignity. Guided by RBT and EMT, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how incarcerated individuals are utilized in emergency management and to examine stakeholder perceptions of the operational, ethical, and policy implications of inmate labor programs. The research questions examined current utilization patterns, stakeholder-perceived benefits and drawbacks, and ethical concerns influencing participation decisions. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with purposefully sampled emergency management professionals, policymakers, and correctional …

Francis Bacon As Philosopher Of Leadership: The Essays As Manual For Values-Based Leaders, Matthew Sharpe

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

This essay presents the case for Francis Bacon as what we would today term a leadership theorist avant la letter, focusing on the development of the character of leaders, faced with all the pressures of their role.  We aim to show Bacon's leadership theory at once anticipates without directly embodying contemporary leadership theories (in part 1): not only presenting a robust moral vision for leadership, as serving the public good (part 2), but differentiating characteristic kinds of “followers,” with their strengths, weaknesses, and characteristic vices, and realistically addressing how to best lead them (Part 3); and providing ten "how …

Learning Values-Based Leadership Through Practice, Jenny Guan

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

This essay explores how values-based leadership can be developed through leadership practice in real-world contexts. Drawing on a Servant Leadership book project involving global contributors, it adopts the Values Clarity Model™ as a reflective lens and uses a practice-based approach informed by observation, imitation, and reflection to examine how leadership values are enacted in authentic settings. By analyzing the project in relation to what I learned in the Principles of Business Leadership course at business school, this essay reflects on how leadership values are understood, practiced, and internalized in real-world settings.

This reflection suggests that values-based leadership is not formed …

Beyond The Romance Of Leadership: Shackleton, Self-Inflicted Crisis, And The Values Of Recovery, Carl Lee Tolbert

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Two men answered to the name Ernest Shackleton. One belonged to the ice, where he was pioneering, inspirational, and heroic. The other belonged to dry land, where he was restless, indebted, and unfulfilled (Smith, 2014). The 1914 to 1916 Endurance expedition has become the most celebrated leadership case study of the past century, a status the 2022 discovery of the ship's preserved wreck has only hardened. Public and scholarly sentiment runs overwhelmingly positive. This article reads that sentiment as a late expression of what Meindl and colleagues named the Romance of Leadership, the disposition to attribute outcomes to dramatic individual …

Undermining The Responsibility For Climate Change: An Overview And Forecast, Robert Agnew, Jennifer Agnew

International Journal on Responsibility

This paper first examines the extent to which individuals feel responsible for addressing climate change. It next provides an overview of the factors undermining responsibility. Such factors include the efforts of the fossil fuel industry and its allies to deny climate change, the political division surrounding climate change, a range of structural and social constraints, certain features of climate change, and selected individual values and traits. The core part of the paper then asks whether the responsibility for addressing climate change will increase as the effects of climate change become more common and severe. While there is some reason to …

Second-Layer Money Or Fiduciary Media? A Full-Reserve Critique Of Bitcoin Price Stabilization: A Comment On Blasco And García De Enterría, Philipp Bagus, Joel Serrano

Journal of New Finance

This article critically examines Blasco and García de Enterría’s proposal that certain Bitcoin-denominated second-layer instruments—real bills, private scrip, and cash notes—could reduce Bitcoin’s short-term volatility and function as media of exchange. From a full-reserve Austrian perspective, it argues that the relevant distinction is not between base money and higher layers as such, but, within those layers, between fully backed monetary certificates and fiduciary media. Although second-layer instruments may smooth short-term volatility, those that operate as fiduciary media introduce counterparty risk, redemption risk, and credit expansion unsupported by real saving, potentially generating long-term instability.

Older Adults' Caregiving Expectations For The Future, Smita Ekka Dewan, Derek Tice-Brown, Janna C. Heyman, Henry J. Davis, Colette Phipps, Joanne Mcmahon, Laura Sutter, Ye Feng, Jacqueline Heyde

Publications and Research

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore older adults' perception of caregiver stress and their anticipation of becoming a caregiver (N = 723). Bivariate analyses revealed that perceived caregiving stress was higher among older adults who were females, White/Non-Hispanics, with chronic health conditions, who had experienced prior physical and financial caregiving burdens and was lower among those with just a high school degree. Multivariate analyses revealed that perceived caregiving stress levels remained higher only for those with past experience with physical caregiving, those with chronic health conditions, older females and White/Non-Hispanic older adults. The overall model was …

How Young Mothers’ Interpersonal And Emotional Well-Being Impacts Parental Stress And Dating Violence, Jonathan Jin

Theses and Dissertations

This two-part dissertation investigated two distinct, yet interconnected aspects of young mothers’ wellbeing which span individual and interpersonal factors. Study 1 examined how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are related to parental stress, and how symptoms of anxiety and depression might mediate this association. Within a sample 255 young mothers with an average age of 22.2 (SD = 2.3), the pooled results of a parallel mediation model across 10 imputed datasets indicated a significant average direct effect of ACEs on parental stress (0.25, p < .01), suggesting that experiencing a history of ACEs was significantly associated with more parental stress. Study 2 examined the relationship between young mothers’ romantic attachment, emotion regulation, and dating violence (DV) victimization. In a different sample of 256 young mothers with an average age of 19.8 years (SD = 1.1), more avoidant (less secure) romantic attachment styles (β = 0.26, SE = 0.1, p < 0.01) and more anxious romantic attachment styles (linear component β = 3.81, SE = 0.9, p < 0.001 and quadratic component β = -2.86, SE = 0.9, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with greater DV victimization. Future research may extend this work by using longitudinal designs to test bidirectional links between interpersonal and emotional wellbeing factors among young mothers.

Do I Belong Here?: A Narrative Inquiry Into Ableism, Accommodation, And Professional Identity Among Medical Students With Mobiilty Disabilities, Nicole J. Albano Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Nicole J. Robinson DO I BELONG HERE?: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO ABLEISM, ACCOMMODATION, AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS WITH MOBILITY DISABILITIES 2025-2026 Ane Turner Johnson, Ph.D. Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Despite federal and institutional disability policy designed to protect equitable access to education, medical students with mobility disabilities encounter systemic barriers shaped by ableism, inconsistent accommodation practices, cultural bias, and exclusionary learning environments. This qualitative study sought to describe the lived experiences of undergraduate medical students with mobility disabilities within U.S. MD and DO programs. A qualitative narrative inquiry using Kim’s (2016) two-phase life story interview …

From Classroom To Cell: Examining Protective Factors Against The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Ronald Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Truancy and chronic absenteeism among adjudicated youth are significant concerns for educators, school administrators, policymakers, and juvenile justice stakeholders because persistent school disengagement may contribute to pathways associated with the school-to-prison pipeline. Grounded in Hirschi’s social bond theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between parental involvement, extracurricular activities, and teacher–student social bonds and truancy/chronic absenteeism among adjudicated youth. Secondary data were obtained from the Pathways to Desistance study, which included 1,070 adjudicated youth ages 14–17 from Maricopa County, Arizona, and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the relationships among …

The Institutional Production Of Ethical War Across Modern Conflict, Katerina Udov

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

This paper argues that modern warfare operates through an ethical infrastructure that enables, rather than restrains, the use of violence. Contrary to the common assumption that moral frameworks such as Just War Theory function as safeguards against harm, the historical record shows that ethical language, humanitarian rhetoric, and democratic narratives serve as mechanisms to legitimize intervention, manufacture consent, and naturalize civilian suffering. Through case studies including Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, U.S.-backed coups in Latin America, and French intervention in Mali, the paper traces how political leaders, media institutions, and corporate actors frame war as a moral necessity while pursuing strategic and …

The Effectiveness Of Banks’ Influence On Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Eu Agriculture, Jan Koleśnik

Journal of Banking and Financial Economics

This article analyses the effectiveness of the banking sector in limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in European Union agriculture and the impact of EU banking groups‘ policies on their Polish subsidiaries. The study is based on data from 2019–2025 sourced from the Eurostat database, the European Banking Authority (EBA), and capital adequacy disclosures (CQ5 and CR1-B reports). The research sample included 14 EU countries with an agricultural share in GDP of between 1% and 3.6% and 62 EU banking groups at the highest level of consolidation. A linear regression model was employed, using the change in gas emissions as the …

The Asymmetric Effect Of The Rupiah Exchange Rate On Indonesia's Non-Oil And Gas Exports, Muhammad Sugiantoro, Diah Wahyuningsih, Ris Yuwono Yudo Nugroho, Widita Kurniasari, Ahmad Kamil

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan

This study aims to analyze the asymmetric effect of the rupiah exchange rate on Indonesia's non-oil and gas sector exports, by considering the control variables. As well as identifying whether Indonesia's non-oil and gas sector exports are more responsively influenced by rupiah exchange rate depreciation or rupiah exchange rate appreciation. The analysis technique used is Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) with quarterly data from 2016 to 2023. The results showed that the rupiah exchange rate has an asymmetric effect on Indonesia's non-oil and gas sector exports, both in the short and long term. Depreciation and appreciation of the rupiah exchange …

Community Ai Resilience: A Five-Pillar Framework For Preparing Communities For An Ai-Transformed World, Robin D. Anderson, Nicholas A. Curtis

Faculty Scholarship

Current artificial intelligence readiness strategies focus almost exclusively on two priorities: expanding access to AI tools and developing a technical workforce. While necessary, these efforts are insufficient. AI seems likely to transform how people work and, with that, to reshape how individuals derive meaning, how families function, and how communities organize. This paper presents the Community AI Resilience Framework, a five-pillar model addressing the human systems dimensions of AI transformation: (1) Economic Resilience and Regulatory Adaptation; (2) Social Cohesion and Belonging Infrastructure; (3) Psychological Resilience and Identity Reconstruction; (4) Civic and Educational Renewal; and (5) Ecological and Leisure Commons Management. …

Collaboration Is Key: Improving And Increasing Inclusive Programming Through Partnership, Brandy D James, Elizabeth Sparks, Fiona S Davey, Burris Duncan, Nadine Chau

Journal of Extension

Collaborative partnerships between Cooperative Extension offices and the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities are a key opportunity to assess and improve accessible, inclusive programming for the communities they serve. This article outlines such a partnership between local Extension, the local UCEDD, and the local Network for Down Syndrome. It reviews their collaborative process and the resulting pilot program—-an inclusive cooking class. Evaluations of the program and collaborative process demonstrate that the partners' collaboration enabled organizational capacity building and improved service provision for persons with Down Syndrome.

Foreword, Beth Patin

Information Literacy Collab

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Information Literacy Collab

Information Literacy Collab

No abstract provided.

Recommendations For Conducting Ethical Network Research, Francisca Ortiz Ruiz, Paola Tubaro, José Luis Molina, Jennifer Watling Neal, Raffaele Vacca, Jana Diesner, Jimi Adams, Michelle Birkett, Jenny Godley, Juniper Lovato, Michael Schönhuth, Laura Teves, Michael Zimmer

Faculty Publications

Ethical considerations in social network studies are grounded in the general principles of human subjects’ research, including avoidance of harm, promotion of justice, equitable distribution of burdens and benefits, respect for human dignity, and protection of confidentiality. To help navigate these challenges, this article presents recommendations for conducting ethical network research, developed by a multi-disciplinary and multi-national working group. The article is divided in three main sections where there are certain recommendations identified for each one of them: data collections, use, and availability. Discovering how others addressed and solved problems can be a way for all of us to improve …

Implications Of Weather Variability On Corn Yield In The U.S., Gideon Ayettey

LSU Master's Theses

Climate variability is a major source of risk to U.S. crop production, disrupting planting schedules and threatening yields. While prior research has explored the implications of weather shocks on crop yields, this study investigates the indirect channel via which weather variability impacts corn yield through planting delays in the U.S. Previous research has shown that U.S. corn production is highly vulnerable to short-term climate variability (Hu & Buyanovsky, 2003). We use county-level data from 2015 to 2024 for the top five corn-producing states and use a 2-stage least squares method to measure the effect. However, in our specification, planting day …

Mandatory Arrest Laws: Breaking The Cycle Of Violence In Colorado And Nebraska, Ryann Lavata Livingstone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Economic Effectiveness Of Climate Smart Agriculture In U.S. Rice Production Systems, Adriana Dimas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates the economic performance and adoption potential of climate-smart irrigation practices in Louisiana rice production systems, with particular emphasis on Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). Rice producers in the U.S. Mid-South face increasing challenges associated with rising input costs, water management constraints, and climate variability, creating interest in production practices that improve resilience and resource-use efficiency.

The first component of this study analyzes the profitability and risk efficiency of alternative irrigation systems using stochastic simulation and Stochastic Efficiency with Respect to a Function (SERF). Results indicate that Hybrid AWD systems in Morehouse Parish consistently generated the highest risk-adjusted …

“Pride Runs Through Our Veins”: A Qualitative Investigation Of Black Parents’ Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices Among Black Youth With Disabilities, Nicole A. Telfer, Danielle J. Allen, Noreen Yazejian, Iheoma U. Iruka

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

While ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) practices are crucial in Black/African American families, little is known about ERS practices in Black families of Black children with disabilities. In the current study, we investigated ERS practices among Black/African American parents’ who are raising children with disabilities and how this may influence children’s outcomes. A total of N = 8 Black/African American parents were invited for semi-structured interviews to explore more deeply their ERS practices among their children with disabilities. Several themes emerged from the data, which highlights ERS practices from a DisCrit lens, as well as the overall experiences of parents and their …