Digital Commons Network^™

Brokerage Competition In Demographically Differing Neighborhoods: A 25-City Study, Jason Beck

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Caring For Caregivers: A Health Care Marketing Opportunity, Yvette Lynne Bonaparte Dr.

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Geomarketing: Revolutionizing Market Strategies And Enhancing Spatial Decision-Making Through Ai-Driven Insights, Mark J. Sciuchetti Dr., Jianping Huang

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Use Of Basal Tree Cavities By Sylvilagus Aquaticus In Central Arkansas, Heath R. Williams

ATU Scholars Symposium

Basal tree cavities are hollow structures at the base of tree trunks utilized by many wildlife species, including small mammals, furbearers, and bats. Dumyahn and Zollner (2010) demonstrated that swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) use basal tree cavities and speculated that they may be used for thermoregulation at the northern limits of their geographic range or as alternative escape routes. To further investigate swamp rabbit use of basal tree cavities, we placed camera traps approximately 1 m from the entrance of the cavities (n = 43) in various Wildlife Management Areas in central Arkansas. Along with control sites without cavities (n=25), …

Risk To Resilience: A Wildland Fire Preparedness And Mitigation Grant Proposal, Jacob Davis

ATU Scholars Symposium

Data shows that Teton County, Wyoming faces an escalating wildfire risk driven by drought, climate variability, and continued expansion of wildland-urban interface (WUI) adjacent to the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park. Although the county is predominantly federally managed land, residential communities, tourism infrastructure, and critical services remain constantly vulnerable to rapid fire spread and constrained initial attack capacity. This study investigates the research question: How can implementation of the Department of Interior (DOI), Office of Wildland Fire (OWF) Slip-On Tanker Units Grant enhance wildfire preparedness, operational response capability, and mitigation effectiveness in Teton County.

A mixed-methods design …

Predictors Of Stress Among Bsw And Msw Students At Fhsu, Octavio Ramirez, Annette Clarke Jones

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Chronic stress leads to severe health consequences, including anxiety, depression, burnout, and physical issues like fatigue and sleep disturbances. This study examined factors predicting stress among a sample (n = 101) of BSW and MSW students attending FHSU. The findings showed that sexual orientation, academic grade point average, and marital status were significant predictors of stress among this sample.

Resource Navigator Passport: From "Resource Lists" To Trackable Next Steps For Veterans, Amanda Keeler, Seth M. Owens, Elizabeth Kubala, Ken Marfilius

Voices of Service Symposium

Veterans participating in the Veteran's Legal Clinic (VLC) in partnership with Altamont often face a familiar challenge at program exit: knowing exactly which supports to contact next, how to reach them, and how to follow through-especially when needs are specialized (e.g., financial planning/credit building, transportation, behavioral health supports) and enrollment pathways are complex. Altamont staff and the VA social worker identified a need for a practical, targeted resource list prior to discharge, while VLC law students requested a resource guide that is usable without overwhelming clients.

To address this gap, we developed the Resource Navigator Passport, a personalized, living document …

Pain Catastrophizing As A Distinct Predictor Of Pain Interference Among Veterans, Annie Zusin, Emily Rabinowitz, Victoria E. Carlin, Qiuxi Huang, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

Introduction: Pain catastrophizing, defined as a cognitive distortion that magnifies threat of pain, is a strong predictor of pain interference. However, the construct of pain catastrophizing has been criticized for potentially reflecting underlying psychopathology rather than a distinct pain-specific process. The present study examined whether pain catastrophizing uniquely predicts pain interference after accounting for symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Clarifying this distinction is critical for understanding whether the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) captures a construct that is meaningfully distinct from general psychological distress or if the measure is conceptually and statistically redundant with psychopathology Method: A sample of 266 …

Co-Occurring Hallucinogen Use And Mental Health Symptoms, Emerson Hoagland, Grant H. Ripley, Joseph W. Ditre, Dessa Bergen-Cico

Voices of Service Symposium

Introduction: Mental health concerns, including depression and psychological distress, remain highly prevalent among U.S. military veterans and are associated with elevated functional impairment, suicide risk, and barriers to care. Public discourse increasingly suggests the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelic substances in treating mental illness. However, population-level data examining associations between psychedelic use and mental health burden among U.S. military veterans remain limited. The present study examined associations between past-year hallucinogen use and past-year major depressive episode (MDE) and serious psychological distress (SPD) among veterans. Method: Data were drawn from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2021-2024). Analyses were …

Associations Between Psychological Distress And Benzodiazepine Use And Misuse Among U.S. Veterans, Joshua Soh, Victoria E. Carlin, Joon Kyung Nam, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

Introduction: Psychological distress, defined as a generalized state of emotional suffering characterized by depressive and anxiety symptoms, is common among U.S. military veterans. The use of benzodiazepines, which are central nervous system depressants often used to treat symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and insomnia, is also prevalent in this population despite ongoing concerns regarding dependence, misuse, and potential adverse mental health outcomes. Although benzodiazepines may provide short-term symptom relief, both their use and misuse may contribute to increases in symptoms of psychological distress. As such, this study examines the relationship between psychological distress and BZD use and misuse among …

Ai-Human Relationship Experiences, Ari Rad

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Recent scholarly research regarding “human–chatbot relationships

(HCRs)” demonstrates that users often report having developed

meaningful connections with artificial intelligence. Although the

initial exposure to AI chatbots is seemingly predicated on users’

“curiosity,” the data suggest that “loneliness” is a precursor that

maintains the use of chatbots (Skjuve et al., 2022; Skjuve et al.,

2023). A cross-sectional mixed-method survey study demonstrated

that “loneliness” and “lower perceived social support” are among the

initiators of the use of chatbots for companionship (Herbener &

Damholdt, 2025).

The unique characteristics of these AI companions (e.g., being

socially safe, nonjudgmental, and always available) have brought

forth …

Blessing Or Burden?: Parental Religiosity And Lgbtq Adolescent Well-Being, Emma S. Griffitts, Lindsey Maner, Adam Rogers

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study investigated the associations between parent religiosity and their LGBTQ teen's psychological risk and resilience factors. LGBTQ youth showed higher risk factors, but parent religiosity also predicted greater resilience, mediated by child religiosity. These effects were stronger among LGBTQ teens than non-LGBTQ teens, suggesting that their internalized faith may lead to increased coping and well-being in minority contexts.

Citations, Accounting, And Accountability: Citing Sources And Building Connections At The Defense Comptrollership Program New Student Orientation, Winn W. Wasson

Voices of Service Symposium

By student request, the Defense Comptrollership Program at Syracuse University integrates focused instruction on citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, and using citation management software into its orientation. The session uses "humor in uniform", in the form of a World-War-II-era cartoon, to convey the "why":of citing sources to a military-connected audience--particularly those studying accounting--namely that using citations not only provides proper credit to one's sources; it also helps track down the source of incorrect information, rectify past mistakes, and safeguard against future errors.

"Out Of Step": How Executive Department Must March Together In Recognizing "Honorable" Service, Brent Filbert, Elizabeth Kubala, Seth M. Owens

Voices of Service Symposium

This article examines how veterans with less-than-honorable discharges must navigate two separate systems--the VA's Character of Discharge (COD) process and the Department of War's discharge upgrade system--despite both addressing similar underlying issues. These systems apply different legal standards and priorities, leading to inconsistent outcomes, delays, and duplicative proceedings. The lack of coordination between the agencies creates an administrative burden that can prevent eligible veterans from accessing benefits and health care. The article argues that recent expansions in VA COD regulations have made the systems functionally similar, but without shared legal effect between their decisions. To address this, it proposes a …

Bridging The Gap: How My Internship In The Veterans Legal Clinic Helps To Narrow The Civilian-Military Divide, Anna Lupardo, Elizabeth Kubala

Voices of Service Symposium

Anna Lupardo, an undergraduate student at Syracuse University, describes how her internship in the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic has helped bridge the civilian-military divide on campus. Her work has included coordinating the AFCCA outreach visit, observing the Onondaga County Veteran Treatment Court, and conducting weekly visits to support homeless veterans at Altamont. She has taken on a leadership role as the VLC's Volunteer Coordinator, working to expand undergraduate involvement in veteran and military community events. Additionally, she was named a Veteran and Military Learning Scholar through the Center for Health Behavior Research and Innovation, allowing her …

Designed For Those Who Served: Universal Design Principles In The National Veterans Resource Center, Emily Jalbert, Elizabeth Kubala, Ken Marfilius

Voices of Service Symposium

The National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC) at the Daniel and Gayle D'Aniello Building exemplifies a holistic approach towards accessibility tailored to the specific needs of veterans on Syracuse University's campus with an emphasis on universal design. The purpose of the building is to further the social, economic, and wellness concerns of veterans while providing resources through the military focused offices in the building. The accommodations at the NVRC go above and beyond standard requirements and are a part of the universal design of the NVRC, making the building a hub of accessibility for veterans.

Enhancing Student Development In Social Work Through Military Culture And Mental Health Practice, Ken Marfilius, Allyson Donovan

Voices of Service Symposium

The Introduction to Military Culture and Mental Health Practice course refines students' clinical skill sets through therapeutic frameworks tailored to the lived experiences of active-duty service members and veterans. By addressing a population often overlooked in social work education, the course strengthens both professional identity and ethically grounded practice. It stands as a practically relevant and essential component of MSW training.

Federal Funding Opportunities For Veterans Research, Chetna Chianese, Katherine Mcdonald, Tessa Livingston, Mcallister & Quinn

Voices of Service Symposium

Veterans and military-connected populations face distinct health challenges-including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, military environmental exposures, and substance use disorders-that require dedicated research attention. Multiple federal agencies fund research on these topics through a range of mechanisms. This poster provides a landscape overview of current and anticipated funding opportunities to help university-based researchers identify sponsored funding pathways for Veterans' health research.

Predicting Request Resolution In Coordinated Care Networks For Military-Affiliated Populations, Zachary Bridgewater, Joshua-Paul Miles, Catherine Annis, Julia Carboni, Gilly Cantor, Michelle Shumate

Voices of Service Symposium

Coordinated care is an interorganizational network approach to care that connects individuals to diverse services (e.g., housing, income assistance, job support, social and spiritual support, etc.) via human navigators and shared referral platforms. This approach has become prevalent in the military-connected sphere to help service members, veterans, and their families (SMVF) access care. Yet, prior research suggests variation in the resolution of coordinated care referrals"”25% for one United Way 211 (Boyum et al., 2016), and 66% and 88% for two Unite Us networks (Drake et al., 2024; White et al., 2025). This research explores why some referrals resolve while others …

Statewide Coordinated Care For New Mexican Veterans: Viability Assessment & Community Design, Nosa Akol, Zachary Bridgewater, Vincent Delsignore, Emily Graham, Mary Rachel Keville

Voices of Service Symposium

Veterans in New Mexico navigate a fragmented system of support, marked by rural access barriers, limited coordination among providers, and inconsistent pathways to care. To address these longstanding challenges, the New Mexico State Legislature engaged the IVMF to assess readiness for and design a roadmap to a statewide coordinated care network aimed at serving veterans and their families.

Over 2022-2023, the IVMF evaluated the state's readiness for such a network by mapping service providers, assessing collaboration practices, and analyzing demographic and rurality factors. Our team engaged 41 nonprofit and government organizations to understand community needs, current coordination, and perspectives on …

Strength In Partnership: Advancing Veteran Resilience Through The Orp-Va Vital Collaboration, Ken Marfilius, Ron Novack, Dwayne Murray, Margo Lance, Daijon Richards

Voices of Service Symposium

"Strength in Partnership: Advancing Veteran Resilience through the ORP-VA Vital Collaboration": demonstrates how meaningful collaboration transforms ideas into action and creates pathways for lasting community impact. This initiative connects the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs Resiliency Program (ORP) with the VA's Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) Program to advance the health, academic success, and overall well-being of student veterans. Through this collaboration, student veterans gain direct access to VA healthcare, mental health counseling, and transition support, integrated into their campus experience. This partnership bridges federal and university systems and ensures that veterans receive holistic care that addresses the …

Syracuse Veterans Field Guide: The Homefront Edition, Amanda Keeler, Seth M. Owens, Elizabeth Kubala, Ken Marfilius

Voices of Service Symposium

Social services are available to veterans in the Syracuse area, yet locating and accessing help can remain challenging-particularly when needs span multiple systems and eligibility requirements are unclear. The goal of this project was to create a brief, pocket-sized resource guide that can be distributed to area veterans and used quickly "in the moment": to identify actionable supports.

The guide organizes services into 12 categories: accessing veterans' benefits; mental and physical healthcare; education benefits; financial services; housing; nutritional support; legal services; documentation resources; technology access; and peer support. Within each category, the guide provides a curated, limited set of local …

The First Dedicated Va Benefits Attorney For Syracuse University Veterans, Andrew M. Patterson, Elizabeth Kubala

Voices of Service Symposium

In 2025, Andrew M. Patterson became the first university-based Veterans Benefits Attorney in the U.S., a role established through the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic at Syracuse University College of Law. Andrew is an Army combat Veteran and former Massachusetts State Police Trooper who provides free legal services to the Syracuse University veteran community "” students, faculty, and staff. His practice covers the full spectrum of VA claims, including disability compensation, education benefits (GI Bill, VR&E, Yellow Ribbon), healthcare enrollment, and discharge upgrades. The initiative integrates clinical legal education with institutional support to reduce barriers and improve …

Va Medical Center Collaboration With Coordinated Care Networks: Barriers And Benefits, Gilly Cantor, Zachary Bridgewater, Kimberly A. Hochstedler Webb, Kritee Gujral, Todd H. Wagner, Leslie R.M. Hausmann

Voices of Service Symposium

AmericaServes is a network approach for coordinating care among health and human service organizations to address the needs of the military-connected population. The IVMF and researchers with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) partnered on two studies to explore the extent to which Veteran Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) participate in AmericaServes and the benefits of collaboration for veterans.

First, we conducted a convergent parallel mixed-methods pilot study. We interviewed staff from 7 AmericaServes coordination centers and VAMCs in those locations. We then categorized VAMC participation into levels of intensity and complexity, and identified barriers and facilitators to participation. We found that …

Va Wholehealth Approaches To Treatment Of Ptsd, Mackenna Murphy, Justin Hirschberg, Emily Rabinowitz, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented the Veterans Health Administration Whole Health model as a system-wide transformation toward personalized, proactive, and patient-driven care. Whole Health emphasizes the integration of conventional medical treatment with complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches, including mindfulness, yoga, meditation, tai chi, acupuncture, health coaching, and peer support. Given the high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and substance use disorders among veterans, Whole Health programming may offer a non-stigmatizing and holistic pathway to mental health support.

Exploring The Use Of Touch In Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Alexis Pungitore

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review explores how touch influences the dance/movement therapy (DMT) process. As touch in DMT appears underexplored, the review draws extensively on related fields to inform DMT practice regarding touch. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and professional codes of ethics, it synthesizes theoretical and empirical findings on the regulatory and relational functions of touch, including co-regulation, attachment, interoception, and connectedness. Ethical considerations, particularly informed consent, boundaries, power dynamics, trauma- informed care, and cultural responsiveness, are emphasized. Findings from the collected data suggest that intentional, consensual, and clinically attuned touch can support emotional regulation and relational growth, while underscoring the need …

Promoting Participation In Adults With Intellectual Disabilities (Id) Through Inclusive Theatre Education And A Professional Theatre Partnership, Lila R. Clark

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Intellectual Disabilities (ID) are characterized by a deficit in intellectual and adaptive function that affects between 1% and 3% of the general population (Patel et al., 2020). As young people age out of the school system between 18 and 21 years of age, opportunities for meaningful participation in their community drop drastically (Codd & Hewitt, 2020). This lack of opportunity can lead to decreased overall mental health and quality of life, possibly explaining why adults with ID are disproportionately affected by mental illness when compared to their typically developing peers (Hall, 2017; Pinals et al., 2022). The purpose of this …

Suena Como Nosotros: A Spanish-English Storybook For Growing Voices, Stephanie Czajka

Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this project is to address the lack of speech therapy resources available to bilingual Spanish-English-speaking children between the ages of four to six. It will target common speech and language difficulties observed in children during the critical language development period, between the ages of four and six. This book will provide an accessible, culturally relevant speech therapy resource that can be used in the comfort of the home. Through the creation of this book, equity in healthcare access will be promoted, and bilingual pride and identity will be supported. The objectives of this project include designing and …

Military And Veterans Law Society, Rebecca J. Lee, Elizabeth Kubala

Voices of Service Symposium

The Military and Veterans Law Society (MVLS) is a student organization at Syracuse University College of Law dedicated to providing legal support, community outreach, and policy research for the local veteran population. A flagship event, 'Cuse Vet Fest, drew over fifty Central New York veterans and offered free services including VA Healthcare enrollment, benefits claims, VA ID cards, and estate planning documents prepared by attorneys from Bond, Schoeneck & King. MVLS also partners annually with Tully Rinckey and Price Chopper/Market 32 to distribute over 100 free turkeys to local veterans each Thanksgiving. Additional highlights include co-hosting the Second National Military …

Psychological Distress, Hazardous Duty, And Alcohol Risk Among Student Veterans, Anna Lupardo, Emily Rabinowitz, Victoria E. Carlin, Dezarie Moskal, Stephen A. Maisto, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

Introduction: Military service and college environments are each associated with higher alcohol risk. Psychological distress is consistently linked to alcohol risk, and hazardous duty exposure is associated with both greater distress and problematic alcohol use. However, it remains unclear whether hazardous duty influences the relationship between psychological distress and alcohol risk among student service members. Clarifying this relationship is critical to informing targeted prevention and support efforts for veterans in higher education. Method: Participants included 3,258 current and former service members who responded to the American College Health Association 2023-2025 National College Health Assessment IIIb. Participants completed measures on alcohol …