Digital Commons Network^™

What Ever Happened To The Africa In African Human Rights, Thomas Kelley

Faculty Publications

In the late 1970s, the Organization of African Unity (“OAU”) committed to drafting and adopting a human rights instrument that would uphold African values and traditions—those aspects of African culture that were unique and praiseworthy and, in the opinion of many African leaders, superior to those of Europe. The resulting document, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“the African Charter” or “the Charter”), included numerous provisions intended to do just that. However, in the decades following the African Charter’s adoption, African lawyers, judges, and tribunals produced little jurisprudence applying and further defining those uniquely African values and traditions. …

The Gatekeeper’S Dilemma: 'When Should I Transfer This Customer?', Brett A. Hathaway, Evgeny Kagan, Maqbool Dada

Faculty Publications

In many service encounters, front-line workers (often referred to as gatekeepers) have the discretion to attempt to resolve a customer request or to transfer the customer to an expert service provider. Motivated by an incentive redesign at a call center of a mid-size US-based bank, we formulate and solve an analytical model of the gatekeeper's transfer response to different incentive schemes and to different congestion levels. We then test several model predictions experimentally. Our experiments show that human behavior matches the predictions qualitatively, but not always in magnitude. Specifically, transfer rates are disproportionately low in the presence of monetary penalties …

Check Your Attitude: An Examination Of Companies’ Adversarial Disclosures About Tax Enforcement, Hannah W. Judd, Sean T. Mcguire, Connie D. Weaver, Junwei Xia

Faculty Publications

This study examines companies’ voluntary disclosures of an adversarial stance toward tax enforcement in income tax footnotes, where companies express disagreement with tax authorities or a willingness to litigate unresolved audit issues. We find that larger companies, industry leaders, and companies in industries with high litigation risk are more likely to make adversarial disclosures toward tax enforcement, and companies’ tax planning activities do not solely determine such disclosures. We examine the implications of adversarial disclosures on future tax audit outcomes and find that future settlement outcomes are more unfavorable for companies with such disclosures relative to those without. Finally, our …

The Icfr Process: Perspectives Of Accounting Executives At Large Public Companies, Eldar Maksymov, Jeffrey Pickerd, T. Jeffrey Wilks, Devin Williams

Faculty Publications

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act charges management with the primary responsibility for internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). However, prior research tells us little about the ICFR process from management’s perspective. We develop a theoretical model of the ICFR process from management’s perspective and examine that model by surveying 145 and interviewing 35 accounting executives at large US public companies. Our primary finding is that executives feel constrained in their ability to direct ICFR and hold perspectives that reflect these constraints. Specifically, most executives feel compelled by auditors to follow the PCAOB’s preferences even though executives believe these preferences often tend to …

Triangular Fin Array Passively Actuated By Bimetallic Coils For Cubesat Thermal Control, Josh Cannon, Rydge B. Mulford, Brian D. Iverson

Faculty Publications

CubeSat thermal control can be especially demanding due to volume and size constraints, high power dissipation per unit surface area, and highly variable internal and external heat loads. As such, CubeSat developers must rely on thermal control systems that meet the specific requirements of their mission and environmental conditions. Deployable radiators enable satellites to increase their radiative surface area and to reveal highly emissive surfaces during times when increased heat rejection is desired. In colder conditions, when decreased heat loss is preferable, the radiators can be stowed. Passive thermal control systems are unpowered and can increase system reliability by not …

Teacher Collaboration And Elementary Arts Integration: Policy And Possibility, Tara L. Carpenter, Mark A. Graham, Corinna Peterken, Mikaela Cannon, Anna Harris

Faculty Publications

Arts education can be an important part of the elementary child’s experience. However, keeping the arts in schools is often a challenge because of funding concerns and competing academic priorities. An important strategy in arts education advocacy and policy is arts integration. Arts integration creates a rationale for the arts based on the enhancement of the educational experience for all students and the potential to engage underserved or less engaged students with academic disciplines through the arts. This article examines teacher experiences within a statewide program that funds arts specialists in elementary schools with the requirement that they integrate the …

Similar Overall Expression, But Different Profiles, Of Autistic Traits, Sensory Processing, And Mental Health Between Young Adult Males And Females, Garrett Cardon

Faculty Publications

Recent trends suggest that autism is more common in females than traditionally held. Additionally, some argue that females express autistic traits differently than males. Dimensional views of autism could shed light on these issues, especially with regards to understudied behavioral areas, such as sensory processing. We examined autistic traits, sensory processing, anxiety, and related behaviors in a large sample of neurotypical young adult males and females (n = 1122; 556 female; ages 19–26). Participants completed an online survey containing questionnaires related to the above. Between groups statistical analyses, as well as within groups correlations and mediation analyses containing these constructs …

A Preliminary Investigation Of A Brief Tier 1 Classroom Management Measure, Allison F. Gilmour, Joseph H. Wehby, Jessica Boyle, Howard P. Wills, Paul Caldarella

Faculty Publications

Multitiered systems for supporting students’ behavior in schools rely on teachers using generally effective classroom management strategies, such as Tier 1 practices. However, few tools exist to easily assess classwide Tier 1 practices. In this brief report, we describe one potential tool, the Classroom Atmosphere Rating Scale–Brief (CARS-B) and assess the properties of the tool using item response theory and multilevel models. We found that most items on the CARS-B had acceptable discriminations and difficulty estimates. Teachers’ CARS-B latent scores were positively associated with student group on-task. We discuss potential changes to the CARS-B and its use in research and …

Land Prices And The Development Process, Henry J. Munneke, C. F. Sirmans, Barrett Slade

Faculty Publications

As lot area increases, it is commonly believed that land prices will increase at a nonconstant rate. In the case where the land price-area curve increases at a decreasing rate with respect to parcel area, it is believed the cost of subdividing land is the driving factor behind the concavity. This paper uses a unique data set to explore how the area elasticity of price changes over the development cycle as land moves from raw land to finished lots. The results show the area elasticity of price increases as parcels of land move through the phases of development. The results …

Explaining Racial Disparities In Personal Bankruptcy Outcomes, Bronson Argyle, Sasha Indarte, Benjamin Iverson

Faculty Publications

We document substantial racial disparities in consumer bankruptcy outcomes and investigate the role of racial bias in contributing to these disparities. Using data on the near universe of US bankruptcy cases and deep-learning imputed measures of race, we show that Black filers are 21 and 3 percentage points (pp) more likely to have their bankruptcy cases dismissed without any debt relief in Chapters 13 and 7, respectively. We uncover strong evidence of racial homophily in Chapter 13: Black filers are 10 pp more likely to be dismissed when randomly assigned to a white bankruptcy trustee. To interpret our findings, we …

Who Invests In Crypto? Wealth, Financial Constraints, And Risk Attitudes, Darren Aiello, Scott R. Baker, Tetyana Balyuk, Marco Di Maggio, Mark J. Johnson, Jason Kotter

Faculty Publications

We provide a first look into the drivers of household cryptocurrency investing. Analyzing consumer transaction data for millions of U.S. households, we find that, except for high income early adopters, cryptocurrency investors resemble the general population. These investors span all income levels, with most dollars coming from high-income individuals, similar to equity investors. High past crypto returns and personal income shocks lead to increased cryptocurrency investments. Higher household-level inflation expectations also correlate with greater crypto investments, aligning with hedging motives. For most U.S. households, cryptocurrencies are treated like traditional assets.

Speed-Accuracy Tradeoffs In Decision Making: Perception Shifts And Goal Activation Bias Decision Thresholds, Jeff Larson, Guy Hawkins

Faculty Publications

A fundamental aspect of decision making is the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT): slower decisions tend to be more accurate, but because time is a scarce resource people prefer to conclude decisions more quickly. The current research adds to the SAT literature by documenting two previously unrecognized influences on the SAT: perception shifts and goal activation. Decision makers’ perceptions of what constitutes a fast or a slow decision, and what constitutes an accurate or inaccurate decision, are based on prior experience, and these perceptions influence decision speed. Similarly, previous experience in a decision context associates the context with a particular decision goal. …

Measuring State And Trait Attention Control Using Mouse Movements, David W. Wilson, Jeffrey Jenkins, J. S. Valacich

Faculty Publications

Attention is a scarce resource in an increasingly distracting world. Although computing devices might well be blamed for much of the distraction we experience, these devices also afford an opportunity for feedback and improvement, as seen in a variety of contexts. This paper provides initial evidence that mouse movement data can be used to measure users’ attention control. Attention control refers to the ability to maintain top-down attention to goal-relevant stimuli and resist the distracting influence of irrelevant stimuli competing for attention. During a controlled experiment with conditions of varying levels of distraction, we captured participants’ mouse movements to determine …

Theming, Service Performance, And Downstream Effects Of Subjective Leisure Experiences, Brian J. Hill, Patti Freeman, Gary Ellis, Emily Catalan

Faculty Publications

We examined determinants (i.e., theming and service performance) and results (proclivity to recommend, enjoyment, perceived value of time spent) of structured leisure experiences. Structured leisure experiences were measured in terms of intensity of engagement (focus on unfolding narrative), absorption (focus on sensory stimuli), and immersion (focus on performance) during participation. Experience measures (n=310) reported by 168 young adults upon exiting a variety of leisure, recreation, and hospitality venues supported the research hypotheses.

Tribute To Professor James Moliterno, Patricia Roberts, Soledad Atienza, Eleanor Myers, James S. Heller, Gary Tamsitt, Neal Devins, Peter Čuroš, Veronika Tomoszek, Maxim Tomoszek, Paul Žilinčík, Rongjie Lan, José M. De Areilza, Irina Lortkipanidze, Ján Mazúr, Javier Guillen, Lucia Berdisová, James Étienne Viator

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Angry Face And A Guilty Conscience: The Intrapersonal Effects Of Fake Anger In Negotiation, David Hunsaker, Teng Zhang, Mckenzie Rees

Faculty Publications

Research on anger in negotiation suggests that expressing anger can have detrimental effects on the relationship between the parties but may also improve the expresser’s economic outcomes, resulting in the use of fake anger (i.e., anger that is expressed but not felt) as a negotiation strategy. Based on research on moral emotions, we argue that fake anger in negotiation will lead to expressers’ guilt, which in turn negatively impacts their self-perception and their overall subjective experience of the negotiation. Across three studies (two online and one face-to-face), we consistently demonstrate that fake anger lowers negotiators’ feelings about themselves as well …

The Traditional Restorative Justice Practices That Have Influenced Southern Africa, Angelo Kevin Brown

Faculty Publications

The indigenous peoples of Southern Africa have a tradition of using restorative justice practices. The region has used restorative justice practices primarily until European colonization had enforced a Western criminal justice and legal system. During and after colonization, Southern Africa has continued to use traditional methods for public safety and resolving conflicts in communities. This led to governments having a dual system in which nonserious violations are usually handled in the traditional courts, and the more serious crimes are handled in the formal criminal courts.

A Multi-Measure Approach For Lexical Diversity In Writing Assessments: Considerations In Measurement And Timing, Kelly Woods, Brett James Hashimoto, Earl K. Brown

Faculty Publications

Several researchers (e.g., Gebril & Plakans, 2016; Crossley & McNamara, 2012) have noted a relationship between lexical diversity (LD) and writing proficiency. Previous research has indicated that typical LD measures can account for as much as 44 % of variability in writing proficiency (Crossley et al., 2011). However, it remains unclear which of the numerous LD measures (or combination of measures) that exist best predict writing proficiency (e.g., McCarthy & Jarvis, 2010). The present study addresses these issues using scored writing assessment samples from 911 ESL students. LD was assessed with a battery of ten measures through the Python lexical-diversity …

Surzhyk: Attitudes & Usage Among Ukrainian People, Kateryna Kravchenko, Joseph A. Stanley

Faculty Publications

What is Surzhyk?

• refers to a range of macaronic (mixed) sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages
• originally meant mixing of two different types of flour (wheat and rye), which is considered a lower grade flour
• there is no unifying set of characteristics
• the term is used for norm-breaking, non-obedience to or non-awareness of the rules of the Ukrainian and Russian standard languages
• it is not Russian-accented Ukrainian

An Analysis Of Ukrainians’ Language Attitudes And Ideology: A Conflict-Catalyzed Identity Shift, Kateryna Kravchenko, Joseph A. Stanley

Faculty Publications

Literature Review:

• Positions of Russian language have traditionally been strong
• “The State has to ensure the comprehensive development and functioning of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of social life throughout the entire territory of Ukraine” (Constitution of Ukraine, art. 10)
• The majority of Ukrainians (74%) have never experienced discrimination against Russian speakers by Ukrainian speakers, and 67% have never experienced discrimination against Ukrainian speakers by Russian speakers (Masenko, 2009, pp. 117-119).
• After 2014, slight changes in attitudes: more positive views towards Ukrainian, worsening of attitudes towards Russian (Kulyk, 2016)

Enriching Our Understanding Of Language Change With Vowel Formant Trajectories, Joseph A. Stanley

Faculty Publications

American English vowels are variable in pronunciation

• ban vs. bat, too vs. boo
• feel vs. fill, [bæt] vs. [bæ̞̙ t]

We can categorize these differences:

Shifts:

• I pronounce /u/ fronter than my grandparents do.
• My students pronounce /æ/ as lower and more centralized than I do.

Mergers:

• For me, cot and caught are distinct; for 95% of my students, they’re homophones
• In Utah, feel and fill are often pronounced the same

Language change happens as some variants spread to more and more people.

A Prophylactic Approach To Compact Constitutionality, Katherine Mims Crocker

Faculty Publications

From COVID-19 to climate change, immigration to health insurance, firearms control to electoral reform: state politicians have sought to address all these hot-button issues by joining forces with other states. The U.S. Constitution, however, forbids states to “enter into any Agreement or Compact” with each other “without the Consent of Congress,” a requirement that proponents of much interstate action, especially around controversial topics, would hope to circumvent.

The Supreme Court lets them do just that. By interpreting “any Agreement or Compact” so narrowly that it is difficult to see what besides otherwise unlawful coordination qualifies, the Court has essentially read …

Russia's Roulette: Sanctions, Strange Contracts & Sovereign Default, Lev E. Breydo

Faculty Publications

This Article is the first comprehensive, multi-disciplinary analysis of Russia’s sovereign debt and the consequences of a potential default.

[...]

This Article introduces a Russian debt taxonomy divided into four distinctive categories. Starting with relatively standard terms in late-1990s vintage bonds, over time and as a close function of geo-political developments, the contracts grew unusual—bordering towards lawless.

[...]

The rest of this Article is organized in four parts. Part II provides critical background regarding Russia’s sovereign debt and details key legal provisions likely implicated in the event of a default. Part III discusses how, due to the complex interplay between …

Near-Universal Marriage, Early Childbearing, And Low Fertility: India’S Alternative Fertility Transition, Narae Park, Sangita Vyas, Kathleen Broussard, Dean Spears

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVETo compare fertility in India to both low-to-middle-income and high-income countries (LMICs and HICs) and describe the patterns that have accompanied India’s transition to low fertility.

METHODS We use data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the United Nations (UN), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to observe factors associated with fertility decline in 36 Indian states and 76 countries.

RESULTS Although fertility in India has declined to levels similar to HICs, women’s entry into marriage and initiation of childbearing are more in line with patterns found in LMICs. The vast majority of women in …

Residential Segregation And County-Level Covid-19 Booster Coverage In The Deep South: Surveillance Report And Ecological Study, Chengbo Zeng, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Zhenlong Li, Xiaowen Sun, Huan Ning, Xueying Yang, Sharon Weissman, Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background: COVID-19 had a greater impact in the Deep South compared with other regions in the United States. While vaccination remains a top priority for all eligible individuals, data regarding the progress of booster coverage in the Deep South and how the coverage varies by county and age are sparse. Despite existing evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations at the individual level, there is an urgent need for evidence at the population level. Such information could highlight vulnerable communities and guide future health care policy-making and resource allocation.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate county-level COVID-19 booster coverage …

Using Geospatial Social Media Data For Infectious Disease Studies: A Systematic Review, Fengrui Jing, Zhenlong Li, Shan Qiao Ph.D., Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Geospatial social media (GSM) data has been increasingly used in public health due to its rich, timely, and accessible spatial information, particularly in infectious disease research. This review synthesized 86 research articles that use GSM data in infectious diseases published between December 2013 and March 2022. These articles cover 12 infectious disease types ranging from respiratory infectious diseases to sexually transmitted diseases with spatial levels varying from the neighborhood, county, state, and country. We categorized these studies into three major infectious disease research domains: surveillance, explanation, and prediction. With the assistance of advanced computing, statistical and spatial methods, GSM data …

Ecologic Analysis Of Antimicrobial Use In South Carolina Hospitals During 2020–2022, Pamela Bailey, Shujie Chen, Majdi N. Al-Hasan, Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Jiajia Zhang Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background:

Factors influencing excessive antimicrobial utilization in hospitalized patients remain poorly understood, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

In this retrospective cohort, we compared administrative data regarding antimicrobial prescriptions in hospitalized patients in South Carolina from March 2020 through September 2022. The study examined variables associated with antimicrobial use across demographics, COVID status, and length of stay, among other variables.

Results:

Significant relationships were seen with antimicrobial use in COVID-19 positive patients (OR 2.00, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.9–2.1), young adults (OR 1.08, 95% CI: 0.99–1.12, COVID-19 positive Blacks and Hispanics (OR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.11, OR 1.05, 95% CI: …

Food Insufficiency, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Status, And 9-Year Trajectory Of Cognitive Function In Older Adults: The Longitudinal National Health And Aging Trends Study, 2012–2020, Muzi Na, Nan Dou, Monique J. Brown Ph.D., Mph, Lenis P. Chen-Edinboro, Loretta R. Anderson, Alexandra Wennberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Perspectives On Food Safety Of Vendors And Consumers Translate Into Food-Choice Behaviors In 6 African And Asian Countries, Sejla Isanovic, Shilpa V. Constantinides, Edward A. Frongillo Ph.D., Shiva Bhandari, Sharraf Samin, Emma Kenney, Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, Stella Nordhagen, Michelle Holdsworth, Paula Dominguez-Salas, Ramya Ambikapathi, Amos Laar, Crystal L. Patil, Bharati Kulkarni, Salome A. Bukachi, Mariah Ngutu, Christine E. Blake Ph.D., Rd

Faculty Publications

Background: Consumption of unsafe foods increases morbidity and mortality and is currently an issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Policy actions to ensure food safety are dominated by mitigation of biological and chemical hazards through supply-side risk management, lessening the degree to which consumer perspectives of food safety are considered. Objectives: This study aimed to provide an in-depth understanding, from vendor and consumer perspectives, of how food-safety concerns of consumers translate into their subsequent food-choice behaviors in 6 diverse low- and middle-income countries. Methods: Six Drivers of Food Choice projects (2016–2022) provided transcripts from 17 focus group discussions and …

Are We Essential, Or Sacrificial? The Effects Of Felt Public Gratitude On Essential Worker Recovery Activities During Covid-19, Hee Young Kim, Sijun Kim, Taeya M. Howell, Sarah P. Doyle, Nathan C. Pettit, Michael Bizzarro

Faculty Publications

COVID-19 has been characterized by unprecedented levels of public gratitude to some, but not all, essential workers. In this research, we integrate insights from the stigmatized occupations and gratitude literature to build theory on the positive and negative relationships between such displays of public gratitude and essential workers’ recovery activities. We argue that felt public gratitude positively relates to adaptive recovery activities (e.g., exercise) and negatively relates to maladaptive recovery activities (e.g., overdrinking). We further explain how felt public gratitude impacts (mal)adaptive recovery activities through (a) felt invisibility and (b) negative/positive affect. We find support for our predictions in a …