Digital Commons Network^™

Mobility, Dispersion And Economic Diversity In Housing Conditions For Hispanics In New York State, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Veronica Diaz, Jorge Soldevilla-Irizarry

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

This report presents housing data in legislative districts in the state of New York and compare them to state-level data to highlight how Hispanic in legislative districts throughout the state fare relative to the district’s overall population as well as the state’s population as a whole.

Findings include Hispanics generally, but not always, having worse outcomes around housing conditions related to costs than other New Yorkers, evident in the data presented at the district level, the county level and the state level. But Latinos are also an increasingly diverse group, not just culturally (e.g., in terms of generational acculturation in …

Synthetic Data Generation Of Health And Demographic Surveillance Systems Data: A Case Study In A Low-And Middle-Income Country, Dorcas Mwigereri, Nigel Kamotho, Akbar Waljee, Ryan Rego, Eileen Weinheimer-Haus, Farhana Alarakhiya, Anthony Ngugi, Nicholson Price, Ji Zhu, Stephen Wong

Population Health, East Africa

Objective To evaluate effectiveness of open-source generative models in producing high-quality tabular synthetic data using a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) dataset from rural Kenya, as a proof of concept in a low- and middle-income (LMIC) setting.

Materials and Methods Three open-source models (CTGAN, TableGAN, and CopulaGAN) were used to generate synthetic data from the Kaloleni/Rabai HDSS dataset. To assess the quality of the synthetic datasets generated by each model, we performed fidelity, utility, and privacy tests.

Results CTGAN outperformed the other models, producing synthetic data that closely mirrored the statistical properties of the real dataset while preserving privacy. …

Validation Of Cognitive And Psychosocial Tools In Kenya: Findings From The Loshak Feasibility Pilot, Sneha Mani, Roselyter Riang’A, Niranjani Nagarajan, Anthony Ngugi, Eunice Muthoni, Muthoni Gichu, Patrick Nzivo Mwangala, Edward Miguel, Michael Walker, Kenneth Langa

Population Health, East Africa

Background and objectives Adapting cognitive tests to culturally diverse and low-resource settings is essential for expanding knowledge of cognitive health in older adults beyond high-income countries. However, contextual differences in novel settings can affect reliability and validity. There is limited evidence on the feasibility of implementing culturally adapted cognitive assessments in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region projected to have over 158 million adults aged 60 and older by 2050. The Longitudinal Study of Health and Ageing in Kenya (LOSHAK) is designed to address this measurement gap by evaluating cognitive tests in this context.

Research design and methods We analyzed data from …

Designing Research With Care: A Critical Race Nepantlera Methodological Approach To Rural Latinx College Access, Mayra Puente, Lupita Romo-González, Marlene López Torres, Melissa Romero

The Rural Educator

Research has widely documented the lack of educational resources and opportunities available to rural communities. Cognizant of the structural and spatial barriers facing rural communities, this study intentionally employed a critical race nepantlera methodology (CRNM) to mitigate the adverse effects of living in geographically isolated, systemically underinvested rural areas. Rather than perpetuating a false notion of objectivity in research, the research team actively supported rural Latinx students in accessing higher education through a CRNM research design, which prioritizes the well-being of research collaborators over the study. In enacting a CRNM approach, the research team demonstrated care while increasing students’ access …

Shoplifting In The Us: Problems, Progress, And The Path Forward, Alan Saquella

Publications

Shoplifting has moved from a manageable nuisance to an urgent threat across the U.S. In large metropolitan and suburban markets alike, retailers, communities, and law enforcement are grappling with increasingly sophisticated theft both opportunistic and organized. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), retail theft (including organized retail crime) cost U.S. businesses nearly $112 billion in 2022. The consequences ripple beyond balance sheets: consumers face higher prices, employees confront increased risk, and some communities lose storefronts that cannot survive persistent losses.

Institutional And Regulatory Responses To Armed Robbery Against Ships : A Comparative Analysis Of Indonesia, Malaysia, And Philippines, Subhash Kumar Kakkuzhiyulla Parambath

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Singapore Awakened: How Success – And Flourishing – Shape Family, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Assoc. Prof. (Dr.) Tan Seow Hon delivered the keynote address at Cultivate SG’s second annual conference, “Unfiltered – The Family on Trial”, on 17 November 2025. In her speech titled “Singapore Awakened: How Success – and the Alternative of Flourishing – Shape Family”, Dr Tan reflects on the “Singapore Dream”, the narrow mindset of success in contrast with the concept of flourishing, and how these impact marriage and family. She concludes by offering some thoughts on how to move from success to flourishing.

Seeing Beyond The State: Private Sector-Led Smart City Governance In Bsd City, Indonesia, Prerona Das, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In recent decades new cities have sprung up at a rapid pace, aided by private sector funding (Hogan et al., 2012). Within the realm of smart city development, private sector influence over urban governance has substantially increased, particularly through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). However, in Indonesia, there is an emerging trend of the private sector exerting significant control over ‘independent’ greenfield smart cities beyond state-led frameworks. This paper develops the idea of seeing beyond the state which involves looking past conventional state-centered approaches to urban governance. It considers instead how power and control are exercised outside or beyond the usual boundaries …

Home And Religion, Emma Alexandra Grimley, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This chapter explores how religious practices and identities intersect with the home as both a construct and physical locale and surveys the social science literature on religion in/and the home. We argue that the shifting space-times of religious practice reflect and influence the changeable and porous boundaries between public and private space, the home and beyond the home. This influence is shown by reference to three areas of focus: the home as a private space of and for religion; the use of religion to cross social and spatial boundaries of home; and the reconfiguration of the home in religious practice …

The Covid-19 Pandemic’S Effects On Older People, Michele Dinman, Morgan Van Vleck

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide ranging effects on people of all ages. In many respects, older people had the same experiences as younger people, but there were some aspects of the pandemic unique to the older population. While COVID-19 cases have been equal among different age groups, older people experienced a greater number of hospitalizations and deaths compared to younger people.

Community-Engaged Research For Gulf Resilience, Devon Brenner, Brenna Jungers, Katerina Sergi

Publications

The Gulf Coast faces complex environmental, economic, and cultural challenges, often resulting in conflicting community interests. Community-Engaged Research (CEnR) offers a collaborative approach where researchers and community members co-design and implement studies to address these issues. By involving communities from the onset, CEnR fosters trust, respects local knowledge, and ensures research outcomes are beneficial and equitable. This method is particularly vital in the Gulf region, where diverse interest group needs must be balanced to maximize positive impact and minimize harm.

Bottled Water, Daniel Jaffee

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bottled water has transformed from a niche product into the most-consumed packaged beverage worldwide. This commodity is linked to broader struggles over human rights and social justice, the question of who owns nature, and the future of public goods. Bottled water's negative environmental externalities include high energy and carbon footprints and major plastic waste pollution caused by disposal of hundreds of billions of single-serving plastic bottles. These dynamics have generated oppositional movements that are both contesting bottled water consumption and resisting the industry's extraction of groundwater. Recent scholarship emphasizes bottled water's impacts on public tap water and its relationship to …

Rewilding The Built Environment: Navigating Economic, Political, And Social Barriers To Urban Ecological Restoration, Carly E. Smith

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Urban rewilding offers a nature-based approach to restoring ecological processes in cities while advancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and public well-being. Unlike conventional green infrastructure, rewilding allows ecosystems to develop with minimal intervention, emphasizing succession, complexity, and long-term adaptability. This paper examines the political, economic, and social factors that frame how rewilding is understood and implemented in urban planning. Governmental frameworks often prioritize order, predictability, and short-term results, making it difficult to accommodate the uncertainty and ecological complexity that rewilding requires. Economic models struggle to capture its long-term value, frequently overlooking ecosystem services or reconciling competing land uses. Social perceptions of …

A Descriptive Study Of Black College Students’ Perceptions Of Law Enforcement After Police Brutality, Alisia L. Collins

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Police brutality is a social issue that has tormented the mental health of the Black community for decades. Seeing brethren battered and bruised countless times has taken an emotional toll on the relationship of the Black community with the American justice system and the officers meant to uphold it. Previous research has shown that the Black community primarily has a negative perception of law enforcement because of factors like police brutality, unjustified shootings, and legal policies within the justice system. Compounding experiences can occur for people with disabilities within the Black community. Specifically, autistic people have a higher risk of …

Migration And U.S. Labor Market Effects Of The Mexican Drug War, Mark Borgschulte, Yuci Chen, Eduardo Medina-Cortina

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the effect of the Mexican drug war on Mexico-to-U.S. migration and the resulting effects on population, employment, and wages in U.S. labor markets. Our empirical strategy compares U.S. counties differentially connected to Mexican municipalities through historical migration networks, using drug violence triggered by close municipal elections in 2007–2008 as a source of exogenous variation. Over the following decade, migrants fleeing the violence—the vast majority of whom are undocumented—cause native-born U.S. workers’ employment rates to increase and unemployment rates to fall, while wages do not change. Employment gains are largest for natives without a college degree. Employment effects fade …

How Does County Industry Mix Matter For Working-Age Mortality?, Xue Zhang, Iliya Gutin, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez

Population Health Research Brief Series

The types of industries that dominate employment in a county shape the health of the entire community, even for people who don't work in those sectors. This brief summarizes findings of a study that examined how five major employment sectors—agriculture, manufacturing, mining and construction, services, and professional services—were associated with overall county-level mortality rates and with mortality from drug overdoses, suicides, alcohol-related causes, and cardiometabolic disease among U.S. adults ages 25-64 from 2000 to 2022 Data are from the National Vital Statistics System and County Business Patterns. Findings show that the effects of local industries shift vary across time and …

Balispirit Festival As A Regenerative Event Transformation Model: The Tri Hita Karana Framework In Support Of Sustainable Spiritual Tourism, Maha Dewi

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

The global tourism sector is undergoing a transition toward Regenerative Tourism (RT). RT emphasizes active ecosystem restoration and community empowerment, surpassing the objectives of passive sustainability. In Bali, this transition appears in the Trilogy of Serenity, Spirituality, and Sustainability. This study examines the BaliSpirit Festival (BSF) as a case study that operationalizes the local Tri Hita Karana (THK) philosophy. This philosophy integrates spiritual (Parhyangan), social (Pawongan), and environmental (Palemahan) harmony as its foundation. The study uses a descriptive-analytical qualitative methodology to evaluate BSF's practices in advancing Sustainable Spiritual Tourism (SST). Results show BSF has established a culturally grounded regenerative event …

Digital Marketing Opportunities For The Advancement Of The Tourism Industry Case Study: Indihome Pt. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Abiyyu Sangaji

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

Digital marketing is becoming increasingly important in the tourism industry as a way to reach a wider target market and increase sales. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method aimed at exploring digital marketing opportunities in the tourism industry through a case study of IndiHome PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia. The results of the study indicate that digital marketing can provide significant opportunities for the tourism industry, particularly in terms of the use of social media, websites, and engaging visual content. Furthermore, the results also show that the use of data and analytics can help companies optimize their digital marketing campaigns. However, …

Casar Public Lecture: The Fierce Battle For The 2024 Us Presidency: Race, Gender, And The Power Of Identity Politics, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

In light of the upcoming 2024 US Elections, we hosted this lecture on SUNDAY OCTOBER 27TH - 1-2 pm titled: "The Fierce Battle for the 2024 US Presidency: Race, Gender, and the Power of Identity Politics." Speakers: CASAR guest speaker Dr. Sherri McFarland - moderated by CASAR Assistant to Director and Adjunct Faculty Yasmeen El-Ghazaly. Dr. Sherri Lynn McFarland's academic and professional careers demonstrate her passionate desire to contribute to the economic, social, and political progress of African and Middle Eastern North African (MENA) countries and their diasporic communities. Her keen interest in the people of these regions led her …

Taming The Chaos: Strategies For Streamlining Library Work In An Interruption-Driven World, Melanie S. Brasher, Amanda K. Izenstark

Public Services Faculty Presentations

Library workers often can’t follow the typical productivity advice doled out by productivity experts. In a job that is essentially managing ongoing interruptions with the added bonus of needing to describe what you’ve accomplished to numerous stakeholders, how can you keep track of what you do, what you need to do, and what you need to know? Join this session for some examples of frameworks and connect with others to tame the chaos that is modern library work. Due to the size of this topic, we will poll attendees live in order to choose the topics of greatest interest to …

How Sociologist Paul F. Lazarsfeld Became An Influencer: 80 Years Of Opinion Leader Research, Amelie Duckwitz, Hermann Strasser

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Probation Officers' Experiences Working With Individuals Who Have Antisocial Personality Traits, Katherine Ore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In fulfilling their role of monitoring individuals outside of a prison setting, probation officers may encounter individuals who have antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) or antisocial personality (ASP) traits. Individuals who have ASP traits and are not diagnosed with ASPD are still impacted by recommendations of punishment, higher recidivism rates, and a lack of treatment resources provided. Individuals in the criminal justice system with ASP traits are not a new phenomenon, but there is a lack of research on the probation officers' experience working with these individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the experiences of probation …

Qualitative Insights Into The Complexity Of Calling: Moving Beyond Quantitative Boundaries, Jeannel King

The Qualitative Report

Why are deeply personal and lived experiences often reduced to standardized measurements? Calling is one such experience. Although widely recognized as complex, personal, and contextually shaped, the concept of calling has most often been researched through quantitative methods over the past two decades. This study employed qualitative content analysis (QCA) to examine how calling was researched across 267 peer-reviewed journal articles, trace methodological patterns, and consider how those choices influence the field’s conceptualizations of the construct. The analysis integrated deductive coding of methodological features and inductive identification of conceptual themes, refined through abductive synthesis. This hybrid strategy positioned the study …

Mixed-Methods & Ai For Methodological Literature Reviews, António Pedro Costa, Pablo Burneo, Judita Kasperiuniene

The Qualitative Report

In the Generative AI (GenAI) era, social researchers have explored different tools for different phases of research projects. Despite AI and GenAI being highly relevant topics in current literature, few researchers have addressed the question of how to explore GenAI tools based on human-AI collaboration to improve the quality of methodological literature reviews. Based on a real project as a sample, “a competence framework for social researchers integrating GenAI”, we propose a detailed analytical model that triangulates evidence from both quantitative and qualitative data analyses. A mixed-methods approach is looked at, with a focus on the qualitative dimension (quant-QUAL). The …

Sarah Lewis’ Terrific Toolkit: A Positive Psychology Perspective On The Practicality Of Appreciative Inquiry Application, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Sarah Lewis (2025) has made a strong contribution to the “How To” resources for conducting Appreciative Inquiry with her new book, Practical Appreciative Inquiry: A Toolkit for Applying Appreciative Inquiry to Organisational Challenges, Opportunities, and Aspirations. She has crafted the tome from a positive psychology perspective and her extensive experiences as an organizational consultant and facilitator, author, and postgraduate level lecturer in the United Kingdom. Her presentation is divided into two interrelated major sections - Background and Practice Theory and Applications, in which the backgrounding is full of practicalities and the applications are grounded in sound Appreciative Inquiry thinking. Through …

A Very Positive Review Of Positive Autoethnography: An Introduction To Theory And Practice, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Emerging from a creative marriage of positive psychology and autoethnography, Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky and Claude-Hélène Mayer (2025) present a wonderful addition to both families with their new book, Positive Autoethnography: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. The authors do an excellent job situating this new methodology in the rich traditions of both foundational areas and present the theoretical and practical qualities of a variety of positive autoethnography derivations. In what might be the most interesting variation of this evolving form of autoethnography is its promise as a form of therapy – a very positive development indeed.

Exploring The Impact Of Guangdong Province's Talent Policies On The Retention Of Fresh Master's Graduates For Employment In Guangdong, Kai Hong Sun

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

University graduates' choice of local employment serves as a core driver for promoting regional economic innovation, by effectively meeting corporate talent demands and injecting high-quality talent resources into regional development. This dynamic holds strategic significance for sustaining regional economic growth and fostering social stability. Talent policies attract graduates to local employment by offering preferential conditions and development opportunities while advancing their career growth and achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes for both talent and regions. Investigating the influence of talent policies on graduates' employment location decisions holds practical relevance in the current context.

This research examines the mechanisms through which …

Social Vulnerability Associations With Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma Treatment And Prognostic Disparities, Camaren M. Cuenca, David M. Bruss, David J. Fei-Zhang, Jill N. D'Souza, Anthony M. Sheyn, Jeffrey C. Rastatter, Daniel C. Chelius

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Objectives: Prior studies investigating the impacts of social determinants of health (SDoH) on hypopharyngeal cancer have only assessed the impact of individual factors on patient outcomes. This study uses the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and a national patient cohort to examine how the interrelational influence of SDoH affect hypopharyngeal cancer prognosis, treatment, and follow-up. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed patients from 1975 to 2017 with a diagnosis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma in the NCI-SEER database. Net social vulnerability and its contributions from 15 SDoH variables were ranked and scored across all US counties, yielding a SVI. SVI scores were …

A Story Within Stories: Using An Analytic Framework To Move From Individual To Collective Storying In The Analysis Of Academic Entrepreneurship Narratives, Olga Gusak, Elena Lyutykh

The Qualitative Report

In this article the objective is to tell a story of one narrative inquiry that employed paradigmatic analytic procedures to explore academic entrepreneurship. Participating twelve college leaders in executive positions in vocational education schools in the USA, invited as information rich cases from personal networks, were powerful storytellers, comfortable with sharing representative anecdotes and shaping the strategic story for their organizations. Their stories were gathered during two rounds of in-depth interviews. Relational ontology and constructivist epistemology underpinned data collection and inductive analysis with assumptions about researchers and participants as co-constructors of the meaning of the social phenomenon of academic entrepreneurship. …

Personal Cultural Memory As Part Of Life Stories: Insights From Biographical Research On Japanese Canadian And Japanese American Wartime Experiences, Maria Wacławik

The Qualitative Report

The study focuses on the experiences of these communities during World War II, when they were displaced and incarcerated following the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the face of such traumatic events, the challenge arises in how individuals convey memories when words alone may not suffice. The main objective of this research was to determine, based on autobiographical narratives, the links between the memory of wartime experiences of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians and their ethnic identity. I do not analyze entire collections of mediated memories stored by narrators, but only those that were introduced during the interview as part …