Digital Commons Network^™

Culturally Relevant Music Remedies For At-Risk Students, José Valentino Ruiz-Resto, Chris Shelton

Faculty Publications

This article presents a comprehensive review of the existing literature on the impact of social media on mental health. With the rapid growth and widespread adoption of social media platforms, concerns regarding their potential influence on individuals' psychological well-being have emerged. Drawing from a diverse range of studies, this review explores the various dimensions through which social media can affect mental health, including self-esteem, body image, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and addictive behaviors. The findings reveal both positive and negative outcomes, highlighting the complex relationship between social media use and mental health. Additionally, this article discusses the underlying mechanisms and potential …

Understanding The Retrospective And Current Health Care Needs And Service Experiences Of Adult Survivors Of Minor Sex Trafficking, Amelia Wagner, Sarah Lockwood, Amy Farrell, Carlos Cuevas, Jennifer E. O'Brien, Rebecca Pfeffer, Jaclyn Kolnik, Alisa Lincoln

Faculty Publications

Minor sex trafficking is an urgent public health problem, but we lack data about how such experiences impact health and health care access. Utilizing data collected from in-depth interviews with 35 adult survivors of minor sex trafficking across the U.S. we explored the physical and psychological healthcare access and healthcare experiences of adult survivors of minor sex trafficking. Negative healthcare experiences before, during, and following sex trafficking foster a lack of trust and confidence in healthcare systems as adults. Recommendations are provided to help overcome barriers to meeting healthcare needs and improving health care experiences for survivors of minor sex …

Understanding The Retrospective And Current Health Care Needs And Service Experiences Of Adult Survivors Of Minor Sex Trafficking, Amelia Wagner, Sarah Lockwood, Amy Farrell, Carlos Cuevas, Jennifer E. O'Brien, Rebecca Pfeffer, Jaclyn Kolnik, Alisa Lincoln

Faculty Publications

Minor sex trafficking is an urgent public health problem, but we lack data about how such experiences impact health and health care access. Utilizing data collected from in-depth interviews with 35 adult survivors of minor sex trafficking across the U.S. we explored the physical and psychological healthcare access and healthcare experiences of adult survivors of minor sex trafficking. Negative healthcare experiences before, during, and following sex trafficking foster a lack of trust and confidence in healthcare systems as adults. Recommendations are provided to help overcome barriers to meeting healthcare needs and improving health care experiences for survivors of minor sex …

Psychometric Properties Of The Modified Parenting Attitudes Measure Among African American Adolescents In Public Housing, Melissa L. Villodas, Andrew Foell, Lisa C. Smith, Mansoo Yu, Henrika Mccoy, Yibin Yang, Ngozi V. Enelamah, Margaret Lombe, Von Nebbitt

Faculty Publications

Valid and reliable measurements reflecting how perceived maternal and paternal parenting practices are similar, different, complementary, or additive in studying youth outcomes are critical for building knowledge on supportive parenting practices for African American youth living in public housing. We examined the psychometric properties of the Parental Attitudes Measure (PAM) which focuses on youths’ attitudes on parenting practices. Data was collected from the perspective of 660 African American youth living in urban public housing across three cities in the northeast and mid-Atlantic region in the United States. Youth reported on their attitudes about maternal and paternal caregivers. Reliability was determined …

Psychometric Properties Of The Modified Parenting Attitudes Measure Among African American Adolescents In Public Housing, Melissa L. Villodas, Andrew Foell, Lisa C. Smith, Mansoo Yu, Henrika Mccoy, Yibin Yang, Ngozi V. Enelamah, Margaret Lombe, Von Nebbitt

Faculty Publications

Valid and reliable measurements reflecting how perceived maternal and paternal parenting practices are similar, different, complementary, or additive in studying youth outcomes are critical for building knowledge on supportive parenting practices for African American youth living in public housing. We examined the psychometric properties of the Parental Attitudes Measure (PAM) which focuses on youths’ attitudes on parenting practices. Data was collected from the perspective of 660 African American youth living in urban public housing across three cities in the northeast and mid-Atlantic region in the United States. Youth reported on their attitudes about maternal and paternal caregivers. Reliability was determined …

Breaking The Spatial Justice Emergency Cycle: The Role Of Foresight Planning, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the critical need to integrate prospective planning into territorial development processes for achieving spatial justice and sustainable urban futures. It highlights the limitations of a reactive approach to urban governance, particularly prevalent in Latin America, where weak institutions and unstable political systems often hinder long-term perspectives. The research emphasizes the importance of strategic foresight as a complementary tool to traditional planning practices. Territorial foresight facilitates the exploration of complex future scenarios, fostering collaborative learning and a shared vision among stakeholders. The study proposes a shift towards a proactive, foresight-driven approach that can help break the vicious cycle …

Exploring Pathways Toward Open-Hardware Ecosystems To Safeguard Genetic Resources For Biomedical Research Communities Using Aquatic Model Species, Yue Liu, Jack C. Koch, Lucía Arregui, Allyssa Oune, Sarah Bodenstein, Maria T. Gutierrez-Wing, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Development of reliable germplasm repositories is critical for preservation of genetic resources of aquatic species, which are widely utilized to support biomedical innovation by providing a foundational source for naturally occurring variation and development of new variants through genetic manipulations. A significant barrier in repository development is the lack of cryopreservation capability and reproducibility across the research community, posing great risks of losing advances developed from billions of dollars of research investment. The emergence of open scientific hardware has fueled a new movement across biomedical research communities. With the increasing accessibility of consumer-level fabrication technologies, such as three-dimensional printers, open …

Adaptive Apparel For People With Disabilities: A Systematic Literature Review And Future Research Agenda, Md. Rafiqul Islam Rana M.S.,Ph.D, Kerri Mcbee-Black, Ishtehar Sharif Swazan

Faculty Publications

This systematic literature review examines research on adaptive apparel for people with disabilities (PWDs), an underrepresented consumer group. Using the scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol and the theories, contexts, characteristics, and methods (TCCM) framework, 51 articles from three academic databases were analyzed based on specific keywords and inclusion/exclusion criteria. The review highlighted advancements addressing the needs of PWD consumers, such as innovative designs, user-centered methodologies, and inclusive marketing. However, there remain gaps in areas like disability types, methodologies, cultural factors, and societal barriers. The implications of this research underscore the urgent need for the apparel …

Constitutional Rights And Remedial Consistency, Katherine Mims Crocker

Faculty Publications

When the Supreme Court declined definitively to block Texas’s S.B. 8, which effectively eliminated pre-enforcement federal remedies for what was then a plainly unconstitutional restriction on abortion rights, a prominent criticism was that the majority would have never tolerated the similar treatment of preferred legal protections—like gun rights. This refrain reemerged when California enacted a copycat regime for firearms regulation. This theme sounds in the deep-rooted idea that judge-made law should adhere to generality and neutrality values requiring doctrines to derive justification from controlling a meaningful class of cases ascertained by objective legal criteria.

This Article is about consistency, and …

Judges Should Be Discerning Consensus, Not Evaluating Scientific Expertise, David S. Caudill, Harry Collins, Robert Evans

Faculty Publications

One of the most constructive critiques of the Daubert admissibility regime is Professor Edward Cheng’s recent proposal for a new Consensus Rule in the Federal Rules of Evidence. Rejecting the notion that judges and juries have the capacity to evaluate scientific expertise, Cheng’s proposal would eliminate Daubert hearings—and judicial gatekeeping concerning expert testimony—and require judges and juries, in their verdicts, to follow consensus in the relevant scientific community. Significantly, Cheng argues that judges and juries would have an easier time identifying consensus than they have in deciding between experts who disagree.

We find Cheng’s emphasis on consensus compelling, and …

Colectivo Moriviví: Reconfiguring The Puerto Rican Nation Through Feminist Art Activism, Tania Carrasquillo Hernandez

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes national identity construction in Puerto Rico in terms of gender dynamics and how contemporary artistic production has questioned patriarchal constructions within the nation. I argue that by voicing the narratives of Puerto Rican communities in the public sphere, Colectivo Moriviví validates the active participation and contribution of women, Afro-descendant minorities, and LGTBQ+ groups within the national body, forcing the national discourse to re-envision its purpose, values, and mission

Universal Design For Learning (Udl)- Strategies For Engaging Rural Youth Co-Researchers With Informal Stem Learning, Amanda Bastoni, Jayson Seaman, Andrew D. Coppens, Cindy Hartman, Kate Moscouver, Courtnie Lachaine

Faculty Publications

This article describes methods and findings from a study focused on youth living in rural communities in northern New Hampshire who struggle with accessing STEM learning opportunities for reasons including economic underinvestment and geographical isolation. These challenges also negatively impact researchers hoping to learn how rural youth benefit from informal STEM learning experiences, which contribute to low-project participation and retention rates. As in other amenity-rich rural areas, the communities in this study are promoting outdoor recreation as a vehicle for economic development. We wanted to understand if outdoor recreation activities tied to economic growth initiatives — activities which youth have …

Escalating Uncertainties Require Institutional Transformation To Support Epistemological Pluralism, Jennifer F. Brewer, Holly M. Hapke

Faculty Publications

As marine conservation challenges intensify with accelerating anthropogenic change, informing public deliberation about difficult trade-offs requires commitment to epistemological pluralism. Robust integration of social sciences can improve the realism of policy debates by explicating a range of potential social-ecological outcomes. Funders have long incentivized interdisciplinarity, yet progress is insufficient and embedded in a political economy of knowledge production. Failure to substantively address inequities can stymie collaboration. Institutional expectations for promotion and tenure rarely recognize the extent to which deep engagement transforms epistemological norms and scholarly outputs. Several organizations and programs offer relevant experience and resources. Senior scholars can use their …

Escalating Uncertainties Require Institutional Transformation To Support Epistemological Pluralism, Jennifer F. Brewer, Holly M. Hapke

Faculty Publications

As marine conservation challenges intensify with accelerating anthropogenic change, informing public deliberation about difficult trade-offs requires commitment to epistemological pluralism. Robust integration of social sciences can improve the realism of policy debates by explicating a range of potential social-ecological outcomes. Funders have long incentivized interdisciplinarity, yet progress is insufficient and embedded in a political economy of knowledge production. Failure to substantively address inequities can stymie collaboration. Institutional expectations for promotion and tenure rarely recognize the extent to which deep engagement transforms epistemological norms and scholarly outputs. Several organizations and programs offer relevant experience and resources. Senior scholars can use their …

Gendered Perceptions And Socio-Economic And Spatial Determinants Of Fear Of Crime: An Empirical Analysis In Szczecin, Poland, Natalia Sypion, Arkadiusz Kołodziej, Michael Leitner, Marek Dutkowski

Faculty Publications

The study of the fear of crime phenomenon provides a socially and politically important research question. Many studies show that gender differentiates the fear of crime, which is why we examine this phenomenon in a spatial perspective. The female versus male perspective of feelings of safety in residential areas were significantly different. The research was carried out using the CAWI technique in the city of Szczecin, in Poland (n=346). The research also examined which factors influenced the fear of crime the most: darkness, socio-economic characteristics, type of violations, number of registered crimes, or the assessment of police work. The research …

Impaired, In Pairs, Cristina Carmody Tilley

Faculty Publications

Rape, like many other one-on-one aggressions, can be treated as both a crime and a tort. But neither body of law responds effectively to these aggressions. Criminal rape prosecution is notoriously difficult, and civil rape suits are notoriously rare. Today, as private law theorists have begun to study tort’s potential to drive social justice on issues of race, gender, and class, it is an ideal time to reassess the terms of civil liability for intimate injury. Culture has long limited “real rape” to premeditated, stranger-on-stranger, aggression. Consequently, tort has long categorized what this Essay terms “non-collaborative sex” as an intentional …

The Mediating Effect Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Heuristic Techniques And Cognitive Biases On Investment Decision-Making, Williams Kwasi Peprah, Christopher Ampadu Kwakwah-Oppong, Francis Osei-Kuffour, Lenny Leorina Evinita

Faculty Publications

US investors’ behavioral finance and investment decision-making approach became a concern during the COVID-19 pandemic era as the capital market crashed. The study used mediation analysis to explain how or why the COVID-19 pandemic intervened in the causal association of behavioral finance concepts of heuristic techniques and cognitive biases on their investment decision-making. This causal research design study was based on 500 snowball-sampled US investors who answered self-constructed, validated, and reliability-tested Likert-scale quantitative variables measured through a first-party data collection approach. The results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic was a specific moderate to partial significant mediator on the low positive …

Hybrid Interpersonal Violence In Latin America: Causes And Patterns, Abigail Weitzman, Mónica Caudillo, Eldad J. Levy

Faculty Publications

In this review, we argue that to understand patterns and causes of violence in contemporary Latin America, we must explicitly consider when violence takes on interpersonal qualities. We begin by reviewing prominent definitions and measurements of interpersonal violence. We then detail the proliferation of interlocking sources of regional insecurity, including gender-based violence, gangs, narcotrafficking, vigilantism, and political corruption. Throughout this description, we highlight when and how each source of insecurity can become interpersonal. Next, we outline mutually reinforcing macro and micro conditions underlying interpersonal violence in its many hybrid forms. To conclude, we call for more multifaceted conceptualizations of interpersonal …

New Calabi–Yau Manifolds From Genetic Algorithms, Per Berglund, Yang-Hui He, Elli Heyes, Edward Hirst, Vishnu Jejjala, Andre Lukas

Faculty Publications

Calabi–Yau manifolds can be obtained as hypersurfaces in toric varieties built from reflexive polytopes. We generate reflexive polytopes in various dimensions using a genetic algorithm. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate that our algorithm reproduces the full set of reflexive polytopes in two and three dimensions, and in four dimensions with a small number of vertices and points. Motivated by this result, we construct five-dimensional reflexive polytopes with the lowest number of vertices and points. By calculating the normal form of the polytopes, we establish that many of these are not in existing datasets and therefore give rise to …

The Precarious Art Of Classifying Facts, Allison Orr Larsen

Faculty Publications

In their terrific new article, Fact Stripping, Joseph Blocher and Brandon Garrett bring formidable expertise from their respective fields to tackle the inscrutable puzzle of appellate fact review.

[...]

In this short reply I will add to Blocher and Garrett’s illuminating work by exploring a foundational confusion their article exposes. I will first explain why classifying facts as either suitable for trial or not is a very fraught endeavor; I will then argue that this difficulty allows for significant manipulation and the risk of unprincipled application. Finally, I will nod to prior work and forecast future work where I …

Indigenous Peoples And Local Communities Report Ongoing And Widespread Climate Change Impacts On Local Social-Ecological Systems, Victoria Sharakhmatova, Victoria Reyes-García, David García-Del-Amo, Santiago Álvarez-Fernández, Petra Benyei, Laura Calvet-Mir, André B. Junqueira, Vanesse Labeyrie, Xiaoyue Li, Sara Miñarro, Vincent Porcher, Anna Porcuna-Ferrer, Anna Schlingmann, Christoph Schunko, Ramin Soleymani, Adrien Tofighi-Niaki, Mariam Abazeri, Emmanuel M.N.A.N. Attoh, Ayansina Ayanlade, Julia Vieira Da Cunha Ávila, Daniel Babai, Rodrigo C. Bulamah, Joao Campos-Silva, Rosario Carmona, Julián Caviedes, Rumbidzayi Chakauya, Mouna Chambon, Zhuo Chen, Fasco Chengula, Esther Conde, Aida Cuní-Sanchez

Faculty Publications

The effects of climate change depend on specific local circumstances, posing a challenge for worldwide research to comprehensively encompass the diverse impacts on various local social-ecological systems. Here we use a place-specific but cross-culturally comparable protocol to document climate change indicators and impacts as locally experienced and analyze their distribution. We collected first-hand data in 48 sites inhabited by Indigenous Peoples and local communities and covering all climate zones and nature-dependent livelihoods. We documented 1,661 site-agreed reports of change corresponding to 369 indicators. Reports of change vary according to climate zone and livelihood activity. We provide compelling evidence that climate …

Cancel Culture And Censorship Effects Before And After The Introduction Of Social Media, Joseph A. Custer

Faculty Publications

Some people today view free speech as a threat to emotional safety and well-being. Cancel culture attempts to silence authors who express “unapproved” opinions by removing access to their works, publicly shaming them, and making attempts to destroy their livelihood. Cancel culture has been increasing, particularly on social media.

Dropping The Veil: How An Investigation Into One Asylum Office Reveals Systemic Failures Within The U.S. Affirmative Asylum System, Anna R. Welch, Sara P. Cressey

Faculty Publications

The eleven asylum offices scattered throughout the United States make life-or-death decisions every year in tens of thousands of asylum cases. Yet, little is known about the internal workings of U.S. asylum offices where the informal, non-adjudicative framework for deciding asylum claims takes place behind closed doors. Our three-year study into the Boston Asylum Office is the first ever comprehensive empirical study into the inner workings of an asylum office in the United States. This Article takes a deeper dive into our study’s various findings to highlight systemic failures that are likely pervasive throughout the U.S. affirmative asylum system. We …

Caring For The Caregivers: Reimagining Institutional Recognition Of Caregiving Work After The Covid Care Crisis, Shruti Rana

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic washed over the already uneven landscape of legal academia with an unrelenting force, hitting the most vulnerable most harshly while leaving others bobbing or churning in the waves, loosening the tethers to the social and institutional structures that had previously supported them. Some of the most devastating losses were unsurprising and indeed played out as had long been feared or predicted in times of crisis. Other harms played out in entirely new ways, creating new scars and obstacles. As we survey the changes brought across this landscape in the pandemic's wake, several emerging themes deserve further scrutiny …

Just Consumer Financial Protection: Prevention Or Cure, Andrea Boyack

Faculty Publications

This article examines the relationship between two complementary and related consumer financial protection approaches: regulatory oversight of financing terms (ex ante protection) and bankruptcy discharge of consumer debts (ex post protection). Although often conceptualized as distinct areas of law, consumer financial regulation and consumer bankruptcy are two sides of the same coin and function together to treat the harms of financial distress. This article seeks to explore the relationship and tensions between these various approaches by juxtaposing consumer debtor-creditor law attitudes and legal developments in continental Europe (primarily France and Germany) with those in the United States. After …

Top Ten Ways To Improve Your Mediation Skills, John Lande

Faculty Publications

This article uses Real Practice Systems (RPS) theory to identify things that mediators can do to improve their mediation skills. This begins by mediators recognizing that they have a complex mediation practice system if they mediate regularly. The article includes links to a short video and articles to help mediators understand their unique systems. Using these insights, mediators can complete a self-assessment questionnaire and take advantage of the RPS Menu of Mediation Checklists to tailor their own checklists to fit their practices. Mediators can continuously improve by participating in ongoing educational practice groups.

Local Social Capital, Disaster Housing Damage, And Mental Health: Insights From Hurricane Harvey, Ethan J. Raker, Kevin T. Smiley

Faculty Publications

Community-level social capital has been theorized to shape mental health, particularly in disaster contexts, but methodological complexities hamper prior studies. Pairing zip-code-level data on social capital from Opportunity Insights with repeated cross-sectional health survey data before and after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, we examine how local social capital moderated the mental health consequences of disaster housing damage. We first document null associations between local social capital and residents’ mental health before the disaster. Next, we fit models predicting psychological distress and poor mental health days, revealing that local levels of economic connectedness and rates of volunteering offset adverse mental …

Promoting Equity And Addressing Concerns In Teaching And Learning With Artificial Intelligence, Jennifer Garcia Ramos, Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy

Faculty Publications

This perspective article focuses on the exploration and advocacy of approaches to be considered in designing equitable learning experiences for students’ use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and technology through the Universal Design for Learning Framework (UDL) exemplifying chemistry examples that can be applied to any course in STEM. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are causing disruptions within learning in higher education and is also casting a spotlight on systemic inequities particularly affecting minoritized groups broadly and in STEM fields. Particularly, the emergence of AI has focused on inequities toward minoritized students in academic and professional …

The African Light Source: History, Context And Future, Simon H. Connell, Kathleen Dollman, Gihan Kamel, Sameen A. Khan, Edward Mitchell, Sekazi K. Mtingwa, Marcus C. Newton, Prosper Ngabonziza, Emmanuel Nji, Lawrence Norris, Michele Zema

Faculty Publications

The African Light Source (AfLS) project is now almost eight years old. This article assesses the history, current context and future of the project. There is by now considerable momentum in building the user community, including deep training, facilitating access to current facilities, growing the scientific output, scientific networks and growing the local laboratory-scale research infrastructure. The Conceptual Design Report for the AfLS is in its final editing stages. This document specifies the socio-economic and scientific rationales and the technical aspects amongst others. The AfLS is supported by many national and Pan-African scientific professional bodies and voluntary associates across many …

Afterword: Moses And The Modern Germans: The Lawgiver In A Philhellenic Age, Suzanne Marchand

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.