Digital Commons Network^™

Migration, Remittances, And Child Growth: Evidence From Cambodia, Vatana Chea, Patcharawalai Wongboonsin

Journal of Demography

Remittances have become a main resource for development in low- and middle-income countries around the world. With impressive growth in remittances over the decades comes interest in their importance to development. Using data from the 2009 Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey with a sample of 2,767 children under 5 years of age, this study investigates the impact of migration and of remittances on children's quality of health, and tests whether or not the so-called permanent income hypothesis holds for remittances relative to other income. Also employed is two-stage least squares analysis to account for potential endogeneity problems. In short, it was found …

Turning To The Sacred: The Role Of Religious/Spiritual Coping In Psychological Outcomes Of Childhood Interpersonal Trauma, Vanessa S. Tomasik

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are widespread and associated with significant and lasting psychological consequences, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and dissociation. Much of the existing literature has focused on adult trauma or narrowly examined childhood abuse and neglect, with comparatively limited attention given to other forms of childhood adversity such as witnessing intimate partner violence, parental separation, or household dysfunction. As a result, the differential psychological impact of distinct types of ACE exposure (i.e., maltreatment vs. household dysfunction) remains insufficiently understood. Emerging literature on coping identifies religious and spiritual (R/S) coping as an important factor in trauma adaptation. Positive R/S …

Nourishing Births: A Program Evaluation Proposal For Community-Based Nutrition Education, Food Access, And Garden Engagement Among Black Birthing People, Naa Deedei-Vera Hammond

Master's Projects and Capstones

Black birthing people in the United States continue to experience unequal maternal health outcomes, shaped in part by racism and barriers to nutritious food, culturally relevant health education, and supportive community spaces. While prenatal nutrition education and food assistance programs can provide important resources, information alone cannot address the challenges many people face when trying to access healthy and affordable food during pregnancy. The Nourishing Births Initiative is a proposed community-based maternal health program designed to respond to these needs by bringing together prenatal nutrition education, help connecting to food resources, community gardening, and peer support for Black birthing people …

Caribou Migration And Non-Local Hunting In Northwest Alaska: A Gis Analysis Of Hunting Activity And Its Relationship With Caribou Migration Corridors, Brittney L. Jiménezszabo

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Indigenous Alaskans rely on subsistence hunting for food, with Barren-ground caribou making up approximately 27% of their diet. It is believed by subsistence hunters that non-local hunting is forcing a change in caribou migration behavior. This study examined non-local harvesting records from 2013 – 2025 in the northwest and interior Game Management Units (GMU) and Alaksa’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) migration range data to answer the question, is there a spatial relationship between non-local harvests and WACH migration behavior. Mixed methods included spatial autocorrelation and local statistics. Findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis which will help …

How Wisconsin Extension Educators Talk About Climate Change Without Talking About ``Climate Change'', Sky Hershberger, Todd P. Newman

Journal of Extension

Climate change touches all areas of Extension's programming. To understand how educators approach talking about climate change with constituents, we interviewed 15 Extension educators and three program managers in Wisconsin. Crops and Soils educators view climate change as interwoven with their work, Financial Education educators view it as mostly disconnected, and Community Economic Development educators range between these extremes. Educators in all three programs avoid the polarizing phrase ``climate change,'' instead focusing on specific, local, and relatable issues. Educators show empathy and emphasize resilience (adaptation) rather than mitigation. These findings can inform Extension's organizational strategy on climate change.

Horticultural Diplomacy: A Framework For Growing Culturally Aware Gardeners, Stephen Stresow-Cortez, Stephen Reiners, Ashley Miller Helmholdt

Journal of Extension

Derived from person-to-person diplomacy models, a ``horticultural diplomacy'' framework was implemented in a statewide vegetable variety trial program for two seasons to introduce Master Gardeners to diverse crops and cultures. Scaffolding learning with relevant recipes, bed groupings, community tasting events, and collecting community (citizen) science data helped participants build garden skills, gain a greater appreciation for other cultures, and inform new educational materials. Horticultural diplomacy is part of a deliberate effort aimed at growing food and building understanding among (primarily White) volunteers. The techniques that helped make this program successful, adaptable to other garden programs, and aspects that require improvements …

Exploring The Current Landscape Of After-School Programs In 4-H, Theresa M Ferrari, Travis West

Journal of Extension

After-school programs have attracted considerable attention as a setting for positive youth development programming, and 4-H has been part of the growth of the after-school field. We undertook the current study to describe the extent of after-school programming in 4-H and to learn about the breadth of program offerings and their frequency, duration, and location. The 139 respondents to our 15-question Qualtrics survey were from all regions of the United States and conducted programs in diverse communities. The information gained from this survey provides a snapshot of how 4-H professionals are involved with after-school programs in their communities.

Financial Recovery Capital: Exploring The Role Of Extension Education In Promoting Substance Use Recovery, Alex Elswick, Nichole L Huff, Omolola A. Adedokun, Leslie Workman

Journal of Extension

Substance use is a widespread and complex public health challenge. Financial stress (e.g., unemployment, inadequate housing, transportation access, poor financial literacy) is pervasive among people with substance use disorder (SUD). However, few educational interventions exist to address financial stress for this group. Through the theoretical lens of recovery capital (an asset-based approach that describes the totality of resources that support SUD recovery), we summarize the association between financial stress and substance use, offering implications for Extension educators by highlighting PROFIT, an exemplary program that leverages Extension education as a tool to promote financial recovery capital among people with SUD.

Selected Determinants Of The Health Quality Of The Diet Of Women Practicing Aerobic Sports, Maria Gacek, Paulina Mazur-Kurach

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: In the context of the importance of nutrition for health and exercise capacity, this study was conducted to assess selected determinants of the health quality of the diet of female athletes training in one of the gymnastics disciplines—aerobic gymnastics. Materials and methods: The study was conducted among 112 women aged 19 to 30 using several research tools, including the Beliefs and Eating Habits Questionnaire KomPAN, the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Statistical analyses were performed using Spearman's correlation coefficients, at a significance level of α = 0.05. Results: The median score for the …

Eating Disorders & Meat Consumption: A Meta-Analytic Review, Urska Dobersek, Laurel Standiford-Reyes, Tyler Robinson, Alex Antony Edwin, Sarah Siebers

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In this meta-analytic review, we examined the current evidence on eating disorders in relation to meat consumption and meat abstention. We systematically searched six online databases in December 2025 for primary research on eating disorder-related variables in meat consumers and meat abstainers. Fifty-one studies with 55,984 participants (n_{meat consumers} = 44,282, n_{meat abstainers} = 9,751) met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The outcomes were eating disorders and orthorexia nervosa. Meat consumption was associated with lower eating disorder (g = 0.20, 95% CI [0.08, 0.32], p = .001) and orthorexia nervosa symptomology (g = 0.47, 95% CI [0.33, …

The Lender Center For Social Justice Bibliography 2025-2026, The Lender Center For Social Justice

The Lender Center for Social Justice

The Lender Center for Social Justice Bibliography (2025-2026) is a document containing all Lender-Center scholarship written between 2020-2026. The title references the newest entries, which were created in the 2025-2026 academic year.

The Algorithmic Narcissus: Ai Validation And The Atrophy Of The 'Athletic' Social Self, Ilham Phalosa Reswara, Anggi Mayangsari

Jurnal Psikologi Sosial

Artificial intelligence systems designed around continuous affirmation and minimal friction are becoming increasingly prominent as social and relational partners in everyday life. This article examines how sustained interaction with such frictionless AI systems may reshape the developmental conditions under which social selfhood forms and is maintained. Drawing on Cooley's (1902) looking glass self, Kohut's (1971) concept of optimal frustration, and the developmental literature on social competence, the article argues that frictionless AI may distort the social mirror through which identity forms, remove the manageable frustration that appears necessary for psychological growth, weaken empathic capacity, and erode the social stakes that …

An Evaluation Of Southern Nevada’S Pediatric Care Ecosystem, David Damore, Tina Quigley, Nick Fiore

Policy Briefs and Reports

In 2024, The Lincy Institute and the Nevada Health and Bioscience Corporation released a report prepared by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach detailing the case for a stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada. Shortly thereafter, Intermountain Health announced it would build Nevada’s first such facility in Las Vegas, expected to open in 2030. To complement the hospital’s development, The Lincy Institute undertook an independent evaluation of the regional pediatric care landscape. The analysis draws on secondary data and discussions with advocates, health system administrators, practitioners, and providers. The report examines:

• Fiscal, resource, and workforce challenges underlying Nevada’s poor population-level pediatric …

Reducing Food Waste Through Education And Community Collaboration, Myeesha Lance, Sharneece Gary

EFNEP

This Land-Grant Press publication explores strategies to reduce food waste through education, innovation, and community engagement. It highlights consumer behaviors, date label confusion, and planning practices that drive waste, while offering practical solutions like meal planning, grocery management, and clearer food labeling. Key takeaways include the importance of behavior change, policy collaboration, and Extension-led outreach. Target audiences include educators, policymakers, community leaders, and households seeking to improve sustainability and food security

Elite Esports Players And Their Physical Health: A Systematic Review Of Injuries, Musculoskeletal Pain, And Fitness-Related Factors, Michal Steffl, Daniel Opelik, Vladimir Hlinka, Grzegorz Mikrut, Petra Hospodkova

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: The rapid rise of competitive esports has sparked concerns over the physical health of elite players. Prolonged sedentary behaviour, repetitive movements, and poor ergonomic practices may predispose these athletes to injuries, musculoskeletal pain, and unfavourable body composition. Materials and methods: A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted by searching Pub-Med, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science for cross-sectional studies on physical activity (PA), body composition, physical fitness, and musculoskeletal health in elite esports players. Data from 22 peer-reviewed studies involving 5,035 participants aged 16 to 35 were synthesized. Results: Findings consistently show that esports players engage in lower …

Serials Spoken Here, Michelle E. Colquitt, Robert Hilliker, Jordan Claire, Jeremy Whitt, Taylor Ralph, Elizabeth Rapp, Alice Pearman, Megan Horn, Zachariah Motts, Joni Addis

Publications

This edition of “Serials Spoken Here” contains a wide variety of session recaps. Conference sessions from both national/international conferences as well as state/local sessions. Recaps from the ALA Annual Convention & Exhibition, Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L), UKSG, the Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, the American Association of Law Libraries, NISO Plus, ExLibris Users of North America (ELUNA), and the Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) Resource Rendezvous. Topics are arranged under the broad headings of Collection Management, Contracts & Agreements, Legal & Government Serials, Scholarly Integrity, Workflows, Metrics, and Discovery. The editors hope you will take something away from this …

Intimate Partner Violence And Child Wasting Across Countries: An Ecological Cross-Sectional Study, Wanri Lumbanraja, I Ketut Kasta Arya Wijaya, Ruben Cornelius Siagian

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health issue that can affect the well-being of women, their families, and the child-rearing environment. Meanwhile, wasting in under-five children reflects acute malnutrition linked to food insecurity, infectious diseases, poverty, and access to healthcare services. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the prevalence of IPV among women in the past 12 months and the prevalence of wasting in children under the age of five at the national level. This study addresses the gap in cross-national research, which remains limited in linking IPV as an indicator of social vulnerability with wasting as …

Differences In Mental Toughness Among Mixed Martial Artists And Physically Active Individuals, Savannah M. Calleja, Soleil Ramos, Victoria Potvin, Anthony A. Ricci, Gabriel J. Sanders, Corey A. Peacock

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a physiological and psychological demanding sport. While the majority of the literature conducted in MMA regards physiological health and risk of injury, researchers are beginning to assess the psychological profiles of MMA athletes. Previous studies have evaluated mental toughness (MT) within MMA; however, no study has examined MT in MMA athletes at the professional division. Therefore, the primary purpose of this research was to evaluate the difference in mental toughness between professional MMA athletes and physically active individuals. Secondary aims are to evaluate potential variations in mental toughness within the professional level between champion and …

Examining The Effect Of Having A Disability On The College Experience, Grace Dudley

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Among people 25 or older in the United States in 2022, just 21% of individuals with a disability had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 38% of individuals without a disability had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Previous research has identified a variety of barriers that students with disabilities may face as they pursue postsecondary education. The purpose of this study was to examine barriers students with disabilities (SWDs) face once they arrive at college in order to investigate how higher education may be made more accessible. Barriers were assessed by surveying SWDs attending James Madison University, a …

Changes In Physical Activity And Sleep In Relation To Reductions In Body Weight And Cholesterol Levels Among Adults With Ptsd, Jeffery Kibler, Karla Patricia Molina Valenzuela, Shalynn Murphy, Claudia Ocholski, Valeria Rangel Cunha, Dania Dabbagh, Blaise Desautels, Alexis B. Tola, Mindy Ma

Faculty Articles

There is evidence of strong relationships between posttraumatic stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Interventions focused on healthy behaviors may promote CVD risk-reduction in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study includes analysis of the associations among key outcomes from an intervention study of a cognitive behavioral healthy lifestyle intervention in PTSD, treated as an adjunct to standard trauma therapy. Specifically, we examined whether changes in physical activity and sleep efficiency were associated with changes in body weight and cholesterol. The health behavior intervention is conducted in 12 weekly sessions and includes four overlapping modules (physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and …

Data-Driven Risk Mapping For Safer Roads: Unincorporated Dekalb County, Georgia, Getachew B. Demisse, Stacy C. Grear, Araya D. Araya, Shimelis Gebru, Solomon Negash, Leo Ladefian, Carlo Frate

The Geographical Bulletin

This study presents a decade-long spatiotemporal analysis of more than 206,000 traffic accidents recorded between 2015 and 2024 in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia. The primary goal of the study is to identify critical patterns of roadway risk and inform data‑driven safety interventions. Using crash records from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) AASHTOWare Safety platform and standardized crash‑rate calculations, the analysis revealed strong temporal regularities, including elevated crash frequencies during afternoon peak hours, Fridays, and seasonal transition periods such as October. Spatial analyses further demonstrate that crashes are highly concentrated along a limited subset of corridors, consistent with High Injury …

Moral Ecology In Shakespeare's Tragedies: Nature, Animals, And Conscience As Ethical Agents In Hamlet, Macbeth, And King Lear, Md. Abu Bakkar

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

Shakespeare's tragedies repeatedly dramatize a universe in which moral transgression produces consequences that extend beyond individual psychology to affect society, nature, and the non-human world. This study examines how Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear construct a system of moral ecology, understood as a framework of ethical causality in which human actions generate interconnected consequences across psychological, social, and natural orders. Using qualitative close reading informed by moral criticism, ecocriticism, animal studies, and early modern cosmology, the study analyzes selected passages representing natural disturbance, animal imagery, and conscience as forms of ethical response. The findings show that the three …

Colorado Mental Health Professionals’ Personal And Professional Perspectives Of Nutrition: A Phenomenological Study, Tanya M. Tyrrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Growing evidence supports the relationship between nutrition and mental health. However, little is known about how mental health professionals (MHPs) experience nutrition, perceive its role in relation to mental health, or integrate nutrition into psychotherapy. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore Colorado MHPs’ lived experiences with nutrition and examine how those experiences informed their professional perspectives of nutrition. Guided by constructivist epistemology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 MHPs practicing in Colorado, and data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Analysis generated eight themes. Findings revealed that 1) MHPs experienced nutrition as a lifelong developmental process …

Methodological Variations In Environmental Justice Screening Tools And Their Impact On Disadvantaged Community Designations, Thomas Robbins, Qingran Li, Stephen Bird

Faculty Publications

Government agencies in the United States have developed environmental justice screening tools (EJSTs) and designations to promote equitable distribution of benefits from environmental policies to disadvantaged communities (DACs). However, the methodological choices embedded in these tools, including the selection, weighting, and aggregation of environmental justice indicators, vary across EJSTs, and their implications for DAC designation outcomes are poorly understood. Here we systematically compare four EJSTs at the federal and state levels and show that these tools produce substantial variation in the DAC census tracts, with some tools emphasizing socioeconomic burdens while others prioritize environmental risks. Using quantitative regression models, we …

Low-Income, Minority-Serving Public Schools In Southern California Have Disproportionately High Surface Temperatures, Joaquin Murillo, Gabriella R. Dauber, Joshua B. Fisher, Gregory R. Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Extensive evidence demonstrates that people from minority backgrounds often face unequal exposure to extreme heat and have less access to green space that can provide cooling relief. What is less clear is whether these inequities extend to students on school playgrounds, where high temperatures can affect physical health, social and emotional well-being, and learning. We paired high resolution, satellite remote sensing surface temperature data for all 615 of the public schools in Orange County, California (serving ca. 450,000 students) with data on neighborhood household income, race/ethnicity of school enrollment, distance from the coast, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index as a …

Gene-Environment Interactions In Cardiovascular Aging: Volunteering, Polygenic Risk, And Biomarker Change In European And African Ancestry Populations, Seoyoun Kim, Byeongju Ryu, Erin Ware, Koichiro Shiba, Cal J. Halvorsen

Brown School Faculty Publications

Volunteering has been associated with better cardiovascular health, but whether this association varies by genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular disease remains unclear. This study examined associations between volunteering and cardiovascular biomarkers, assessed associations between biomarker-specific polygenic scores (PGSs) and these outcomes, and tested whether polygenic risk moderated volunteering–biomarker associations among U.S. adults aged 51 years and older.

Why Sports Participation Matters For Girls In Urban Core Public Schools, David Mcleod, Angela B. Pharris, David Crynes, Emmy Hufnagel, Eddie Wright, Sabrina Hynd, Tim Mclaughlin

Journal of Youth Development

Sports participation plays a critical role in supporting academic success, school engagement, and social-emotional well-being, particularly for girls in urban core public school settings. This study examines the relationship between athletic participation and academic outcomes, attendance, and social-emotional functioning in a large urban public school district during the post-COVID period. Findings indicate that student-athletes outperform non-athlete peers across multiple indicators, including grade point average, enrollment in advanced coursework, and school attendance. Female athletes, in particular, demonstrate stronger academic performance and more favorable social-emotional outcomes compared to female non-athletes. Despite these advantages, a pronounced decline in girls’ sports participation occurs between …

(Wp 2026-04) The Concept Of Position And Its Ontological Meaning In The History Of Economics, John B. Davis

Economics Working Papers

This paper examines the concept of relative position in the history of economics understood as ‘being in a position’ in a structure of positions. This is first discussed in macro-distributional terms in connection with Ricardo and Marx and in micro-behavioral terms in connection with Du Bois and Veblen. The paper then discusses two recent approaches in economics that employ the concept of relative position in a combined macro-micro analysis: the capability approach and stratification economics. For explicitly ontological analysis of the concept, the paper compares three different interpretative strategies from outside economics: Cambridge social positioning theory, embodied and distributed cognition …

Full Issue, Volume 21, Issue 3, Journal Of Youth Development

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Illinois Model Programs Of Study Guide: Education (Draft For Public Comment), Education Systems Center

Practitioner Toolkits and Resources

This draft was available for public comment through September 30, 2026. A final version will be released in October 2026.