Digital Commons Network^™

Social Capital As An Intervening Explanatory Mechanism Linking Socioeconomic Status And Deliberative Decision-Making In Citizen Advisory Boards In California Municipalities, Christopher Gerry

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Citizen advisory boards (CABs) are widely used in local government as institutional mechanisms for participatory governance and public input. While these bodies are intended to promote inclusive and deliberative decision-making, persistent socioeconomic inequalities raise concerns about whether CABs mitigate or reproduce disparities in participation and influence. This dissertation examines how socioeconomic status (SES) shapes deliberative decision-making within CABs and whether this relationship operates indirectly through board-level social capital.

Integrating perspectives from participatory governance, deliberative democracy, and social capital theory, the study conceptualizes deliberative decision-making as a collective, board-level process shaped by relational and institutional dynamics rather than individual attributes alone. …

High-Resolution Monitoring Of Intra-Seasonal Agricultural Drought Using Sentinel-2 And Machine Learning Across Bimodal Growing Seasons In Kenya, S. Mohammad Mirmazloumi, Harison Kipkulei, Rose Waswa, Tobias Landmann, Tom Dienya, Maximilian Schwarz, Fabrizio Ramoino, Clément Albergel, Gohar Ghazaryan

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Drought presents significant challenges to agriculture, threatening food security and livelihoods, across many regions. In Kenya, recurrent droughts across diverse agro-ecological zones emphasize the urgent need for reliable and scalable drought assessment methods. Although drought assessment with various datasets has been carried out for this region, many of them often use course or moderate resolution data. This study uses high-resolution Sentinel-2 observations and machine learning to monitor intra-seasonal crop conditions and assess drought impacts across bimodal growing seasons. Using pixel-based supervised random forest models trained with multiple vegetation indices as input, we classify croplands into drought-affected and unaffected areas. The …

Influencer Effect? An Examination Of Dunkin’ And Tarte’S Use Of Influencers, Amanda D. Damiano Ph.D., Wenjing Xie Ph.D.

AMTP Proceedings 2026

The purpose of this project was to understand public perceptions of brands using influencers. The brands Dunkin’ and Tarte Cosmetics served as case studies for this study. A mixed-methods approach was undertaken. Specifically, social media listening in the form of a content analysis was conducted. That was then followed by an online survey of students from a medium-sized university in the northeast. A number of factors were measured related to participants’ stated brand and influencer effectiveness on social media in general, as well as specific to Dunkin’ and Tarte. Additionally, participant demographic factors were measured in accordance with their stated …

Reasoning On Time-Series For Financial Technical Analysis, Kelvin J. L. Koa, Jan Chen, Yunshan Ma, Huanhuan Zheng, Tat-Seng Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While Large Language Models have been used to produce interpretable stock forecasts, they mainly focus on analyzing textual reports but not historical price data, also known as Technical Analysis. This task is challenging as it switches between domains: the stock price inputs and outputs lie in the time-series domain, while the reasoning step should be in natural language. In this work, we introduce Verbal Technical Analysis (VTA), a novel framework that combine verbal and latent reasoning to produce stock time-series forecasts that are both accurate and interpretable. To reason over time-series, we convert stock price data into textual annotations and …

Temporary Protected Status Populations In Massachusetts In 2026, Phillip Granberry, Iván Espinoza-Madrigal

Gastón Institute Publications

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is one of the best expressions of U.S. humanitarian protection and relief. It recognizes a basic truth: people should not be deported to danger.

May this report help build a stronger Commonwealth for all by advancing more thoughtful policymaking and stronger interventions that recognize the deep connections among immigration, community, and economic life.

Careers In A Box: A Promising Career Exploration Curriculum For Rural Youth, Kristine M. Ramsay-Seaner, Amber Letcher, Elizabeth Koob, Meagan Scott Hoffman, Laura Hasselquist

The Rural Educator

This article highlights a career exploration curriculum that was developed to support the vocational guidance needs of school counselors working in six rural, high-need communities in North Dakota and South Dakota. Based on social cognitive career theory, Careers in a Box was created to bridge existing gaps in career exploration curricula for rural middle school youth. This grab-and-go curriculum introduces participants to specific careers across the spectrum of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences and provides them with hands-on activities associated with these careers. While program evaluation is ongoing, preliminary results indicate an associated increase in personal resilience in …

Buried Identities: Analyzing Maya Gender Roles Through Burials At Chan Chich, Belize, Nicole Watson

Student Publications

The site of Chan Chich, Belize, has undergone excavations since 1996, but there has been little attention given to the question of gender. Burial analyses serve as the most fruitful way to comprehend gender inequalities and differences at Chan Chich, and this paper examines every burial excavated at the site since its first field season. The findings show evidence for elite women engaging in craft production and ritual activities, while also receiving immense care and effort in their burial constructions. Although there is limited data to work with, it is clear that some women held essential responsibilities and gained respect …

Capacity For What? Elon Musk’S Doge, Public Value Destruction And The Darkside Of Policy Capacity, Adam Wellstead, Michael Howlett

Michigan Tech Publications

Purpose – This paper addresses a missing element in Wu et al.’s (2015) ninefold policy capacity framework: the ‘capacity for what’ question. Specifically, it explores the objectives toward which policy capacities are directed, focusing on how government capabilities and competencies can be utilized to either create or destroy public value. Design/methodology/approach – Through a literature review, the paper establishes the connections between public value and policy capacity. An illustrative case of value destruction, specifically, the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) experience during the early second term of the Trump administration, is used to demonstrate how policy capacity can be …

Assessing The Impact Of Alumni Relations: Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Understand Fsu Students Motivation To Engage, Eldaneka Rolle, Richard Waters Phd, Ciara A. Lewis

AMTP Proceedings 2026

This study aimed to understand Florida State University graduate and upper-division undergraduate students in the College of Communication and Information, attitudes and perception of connection through the specific behavior, engagement with alumni relations. If individuals perceive a connection, is there perceived behavioral control (PBC), does PBC influence their intent to remain connected through one of the four key components, experience, communication, volunteer and philanthropy. Five focus group discussions were conducted using semi-structured interviews. Through thematic analysis, eight common themes were developed, Major, Minor or Certification Interest, Program Experience, Faculty, Advisors and Staff, Event Participation, Communication Preference, Volunteer Opportunities, Small Contributions …

“I Should’Ve Listened!”: Lived Experiences Of Postsecondary Transitions Among Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders From Non-Traditional High Schools, Kristen De Rose

Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of former students with EBD who attended a non-traditional high school. Eight semi-structured individual interviews were conducted to understand how students experienced emotional and academic supports during high school and throughout the transition into adulthood. Results revealed that participants appreciated attending a non-traditional school for its school connectedness, emotional and instructional supports, and school-based counseling. Additionally, findings suggest the school did not prepare them for the transition to post-secondary life. These findings suggest that emotional and academic support for students with EBD in non-traditional high school settings positively affected students’ sense of success …

The Intersection Of Social Desirability And Cultural Competence In Counselors: Broaching Sexual Topics With Sexually Minoritized (Lgb) Clients, Jareb Kinney

Dissertations

Mental health counselors increasingly work with sexually minoritized clients, yet limited understanding exists regarding how social desirability shapes counselors' perceived cultural competence and their willingness to broach sensitive sexual topics in therapeutic settings. This gap can obscure the subtle ways personal conditioning and professional performance pressures influence clinical practice. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore how social desirability influences mental health counselors' experiences and perceived cultural competence when discussing sex-related topics with sexually minoritized clients. Guided by symbolic interactionism, the study employed a purposive and snowball sampling strategy to recruit ten mental health counselors with direct clinical experience serving …

Bug-In-Ear ECoaching To Enhance Parents' Use Of Embedded Learning Opportunities With Preschool-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aeshah Alturki

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has heightened the need for effective communication interventions. Parents are key partners in intervention and, with appropriate support, can serve as effective intervention agents. However, parents often require ongoing support to implement evidence-based practices. The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effects of online Bug-in-Ear (BIE) eCoaching on parents’ fidelity of embedded choice-making during family routines with their preschool-aged children with ASD. This study also examined the generalization and maintenance, children’s communicative responses, and parents’ perceptions of the intervention. A single-subject nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across two parent–child dyads …

The Effects Of Covid 19 Job Demands On Public Sector Employees’ Organizational Commitment: The Mediating Roles Of Work Engagement And Job Burnout, And The Moderating Role Of Supervisor Support, Benjamin R. Kaufman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

United States citizens rely on state government employees to provide essential public services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these employees responded by administering both routine and novel procedures to protect public health, often placing them on the frontlines and at increased risk of contagion. Concurrently, the pandemic-driven economic downturn created budget shortfalls that threatened the job and financial security of the state workforce. Together, these conditions substantially increased job demands for state government employees.

Guided by the Job Demands–Resources (JDR) Model, this study examined how COVID‑19-related job demands influenced state employees’ work engagement, job burnout, and organizational commitment, and whether supervisor …

Ptsd Symptoms And Cannabis Use Among College Students: Examining The Role Of Trauma-Related Cannabis Use To Cope, Christopher T. Latourrette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more than four times as likely to develop cannabis use disorder (CUD) as those without PTSD. This common co-occurrence is often interpreted through a self-medication framework in which cannabis is used to manage PTSD symptoms. Prior work has relied heavily on veteran samples, includes measures of cannabis coping that are not specific to PTSD, and has most commonly examined total PTSD symptom severity, limiting precision in understanding how discrete symptom clusters relate to cannabis outcomes. The present study sought to examine associations between individual PTSD symptom clusters and cannabis use severity and to …

Extending The Job Demands-Resource Model In Classified Work Environments: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Job Demands, Resources, Job Satisfaction, And Retention Among Engineers, Gregory Gooden

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model is a widely used framework for understanding how work conditions influence employee attitudes and retention-related outcomes. However, empirical evidence testing JD-R dynamics in classified technical work environments remains limited, particularly using longitudinal designs that account for structural constraints, nonrandom participation, and outcome-specific measurement challenges. Classified work is characterized by persistent demands, restricted flexibility, and security-driven limitations on available resources, raising questions about whether and how JD-R processes generalize to this context.

This study examines whether job demands and job resources predict subsequent job satisfaction and retention intent in a classified technical workforce using multi-wave longitudinal …

Empowering Change: Building Environmental Sustainability Initiatives And Becoming A Sustainability Champion, Amanda C. Karls

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

In an era marked by escalating environmental challenges and an urgent need for sustainable development, higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly positioned as critical actors in advancing sustainability within the communities they serve. Regional comprehensive universities (RCUs), in particular, occupy a distinctive position as access‑oriented, community‑embedded public institutions; yet sustainability efforts at these institutions often unfold under conditions of limited resources, diffuse responsibility, and informal governance. This dissertation examines how individual actors at RCUs effectively advance environmental sustainability initiatives in the absence of centralized infrastructure or formal authority.

Guided by the overarching research question—How can individual actors at regional comprehensive …

Herding Cats: The Behavioral Foundations Of Successful Multi-Sector Partnerships, Paul B. Olsen

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Multi-sector partnerships (MSPs) are problem-solving groups composed of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, private firms, community groups, and individuals. These partnerships have often struggled to achieve consistent success, with performance rates estimated at 30%–50%, largely because MSPs are tailored to the specific interests, resources, and implementation contexts of the constellation of stakeholders involved in each project. This situation raised important questions regarding how MSP performance can be predicted and whether the likelihood of success can be enhanced during the early planning stages of partnership formation.

Social value orientation (SVO) is a behavioral public administration theory that may help explain variation in …

Personality Predictors Of Cybersecurity Vulnerability: Insights From Self-Reports And Stimulated Threat Scenarios, Saroja Roy Grandhi

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In this cyber dependent and enabled era, understanding the role of human factors in digital security is essential. This study investigates the relationship between Big-Five personality traits and cybersecurity behaviors by examining both self-reported and stimulated behaviors in security threat scenarios. Participants completed validated questionnaires to report their personality traits, cybersecurity practices and engage in task-based stimulations to capture behaviors such as phishing detection, password creation, and response to security alerts. The study tested whether higher conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness would be associated with stronger cybersecurity practices and smaller discrepancies between self-reported and observed behaviors. And, whether greater extraversion and …

Bioengineering The Future Of The Human Species: H+’S Ideological Iterations Of Trans-/Posthumanity As Exemplified By Futurist Literary Texts = (Bio)Technological Solutions For (And/Or) Reification Of Systemic Inequities?, Marjorie E. Bomhower

English Theses & Dissertations

While humanity has, throughout our species’ history, endeavored to dream and create astonishing, and ever-evolving, (bio)technologies with the utopian ideals of bettering our day-to day lives and achieving greater longevity, our endeavors have (thus far) not only produced remarkable, beneficial advances in longevity and quality of life, but have also yielded devastating and dire outcomes; often at the cost and victimization of marginalized communities. This dissertation focuses on select (bio)technologies – particularly, those promoted by H+ (the most current and popular technoutopianist non-profit, “educational,” organization) – with an investigation of current and nascent (bio)technological evolutions, futurist literary texts, and critical/digital …

Wildfires, Smoke Pollution, And Household Purchasing Behaviors, Tamara Sheldon, Crystal Zhan

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we investigate households’ behavioral responses to wildfires in California to understand their mitigation and adaptation strategies. We combine daily household-level consumer purchase data from the NielsenIQ Consumer Panel with detailed wildfire incident and smoke exposure data from various sources. Our analysis reveals that wildfires reduce retail trips and overall spending, both in-store and online, likely due to evacuations. However, wildfire-driven smoke increases purchases of essential goods, indicating adaptive behavior. More experienced households tend to respond more cautiously, and we observe heterogeneity in responses based on income, age, and pre-existing health conditions. These findings highlight the complexity and …

"On The Same Rope": An Exploratory Study Of Staff Experiences At The Mountain Seed Foundation's Healing Base Camp Program, Jill C. Kivikoski

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Since the escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainians have faced significant social and public health challenges, particularly among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF), including disability, traumatic stress, and barriers to mental health care (Kostenko et al., 2024; Krasnodemska et al., 2023; O’Grady & Galouchka, 2023). Retreat based programs grounded in shared military identity may offer an accessible form of support (Barrett & Currin, 2024). Mountain Seed Foundation’s (MSF) Healing Base Camp (HBC) was developed to promote healing and resilience among Ukrainian SMVF (Mountain Seed Foundation, n.d.).

This qualitative dissertation used a single-case study design (Yin, …

Perceptions Of The Community Eligibility Provision (Cep) Program, Angela H. Napier

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how educators and families perceive and experience the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and its influence on student attendance, engagement, well-being, and school climate within one public school division. While prior research has established quantitative links between universal meal programs and academic outcomes, limited research has explored how stakeholders interpret and experience these effects in practice. Addressing this gap, this study employed a convergent mixed-methods design, integrating archival attendance data, surveys, and semi-structured interviews with principals, assistant principals, teachers and families. Quantitative findings revealed modest but inconsistent changes in absenteeism following the CEP implementation, while qualitative findings provided …

Objectification And Discrimination Among Bi+ Women: Body Image Outcomes And The Moderating Role Of Relationship Type And Partner Gender, Kaitlyn E. Ryan

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Objectification theory posits that being sexually objectified by others leads to a greater likelihood of engaging in body surveillance behaviors, which in turn is associated with higher body shame (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Prior research has identified both objectification and anti-bisexual discrimination as significant predictors of body surveillance and body shame among bi+ women (i.e., bisexual, pansexual, queer) (Brewster et al., 2014; Salim et al., 2024). No studies, however, have considered the unique experiences of romantically partnered bi+ women, including the potential moderating effects of partner gender and relationship type. The present study examined whether romantic relationships are protective for …

Relational Victimization And Student Dropout Intentions: Examining The Impact Of Trauma And The Buffering Role Of Friend Support, Makaila Belk

Honors Theses

Universities prioritize strategies that improve student success, with graduation rates serving as a key indicator of institutional effectiveness (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017; York et al., 2015). Considering this, we examined peer relational victimization, an interpersonal stressor involving exclusion and reputational harm (Casper et al., 2020; You & Bellmore, 2012), as a predictor of dropout intention. Using archival data collected from undergraduate volunteers recruited from the University of Southern Mississippi (N = 291), we tested a moderated mediation model. We predicted that trauma-like symptoms would partially mediate the relationship between peer relational victimization and dropout intention and that perceived social …

The Spread Of Conspiracy Theories And Social Media Radicalization: “Stop The Steal” On Social Media, Zaynab Saleem

Honors Theses

This study examines how conspiracy-related content spread across social media platforms following the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, specifically the “Stop the Steal” (STS) movement. While conspiracy theories are often seen as influential on niche parts of the internet, less is known about how they compare to non-conspiracy content in terms of engagement, visibility, and how they change over time. To address this gap, this study uses a quantitative approach to compare STS and non-STS content across two distinct types of social media platforms: a text-based platform (Platform A) and a video-sharing platform (Platform B). Data was collected using keyword searches …

Public Opinion Of And Faith In The U.S. Supreme Court, Allee Gay

Honors Theses

The US Supreme Court has been historically trusted as an impartial arbiter of the Constitution. However, in 2022 the level of public trust in the Supreme Court dropped to a historic low, and faith in the institution has not recovered in the following years. Previous research demonstrated that Supreme Court decisions can influence public opinion and suggested that the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic can be blamed for this decline. Further research proved that the President’s role in appointing justices can have an effect on the perception of the Court. This study examines both the reactions to controversial cases …

Women Leading In Higher Education: Exploring The Experiences Of Women Leaders In Student Affairs, Amelia Lindsay

Honors Theses

Student affairs is a field within higher education that works to support students’ out-of-classroom needs and provide them with a college experience that promotes holistic growth. This study examines the experiences of women leaders in student affairs at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States and the opportunities and barriers they encountered in their pathways to their careers. Through in-depth, qualitative interviews, clear themes emerged regarding both facilitators of and challenges to their progression to leadership. Data show that their early life characteristics, self-perceptions, collegiate involvement, and mentorship were the largest catalysts in their career trajectories while the challenge …

Developing A Range Prediction For The Imperiled Florida Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex Badius) Using Species Distribution Modeling, Noah Williamson

Honors Theses

The Florida Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex badius) was once widespread and commonplace throughout the sandhills of the Southeastern United States, providing key ecosystem services, such as seed dispersal and soil aeration. Over recent decades, however, Florida Harvester Ant populations have declined in some areas. Current literature postulates that Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA), and the insecticides used to manage them, as well as further human encroachment onto their habitat, all likely contributed to Florida Harvester Ant population declines. Thus, to better protect these organisms, pursue data-driven conservation efforts, and guide management practices, more information about their nest site selection, as well …

Utilizing A Brief Experimental Analysis To Examine Therapeutic Interventions On Math Anxiety And Math Fact Fluency In School-Age Children, Erin Simon

Honors Theses

This study utilized a brief experimental analysis (BEA) to examine the effects of taped problems (TP) alone and in combination with brief therapeutic interventions on math fact fluency and math anxiety in elementary-aged students with language disorders. Math anxiety was assessed pre- and post-intervention using the Early Elementary School Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (EES-AMAS), a standardized measure for examining math anxiety levels in young students, and math fact fluency was measured using 2-minute Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) probes. Results indicated that TP-only was associated with improvements in digits correct per minute (DCPM) for most participants; further, the addition of therapeutic interventions …

Exploring Stakeholder Awareness, Institutional Support, And Implementation Of Co-Design In Higher Education: Challenges And Ai Readiness, Shrikant W. Ramteke

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Purpose In this paper, the gap between the discussion of co-design in the theory and its application in the higher education practice is identified. By contrasting the level of knowledge that the stakeholders possess regarding co-design, the support that the institutions provide them, and their implementation of co-design in practice, it leaves a few general trends, attitudes, and problems.

Design/methodology/approach We were given a structured survey, which measured composite indices of awareness, institutional support, implementation and AI readiness. The study used non-probability purposive sampling technique since it will address the stakeholders who have firsthand experience in the participatory design …