Digital Commons Network^™

Pros, Cons, And The Barriers To Implementing A Universal Healthcare System In The United States, Arpun Shah

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. Despite that, it also has worse health outcomes than that of several other countries. The United States is also the only wealthy/developed country without universal healthcare. Universal healthcare, also known as a single-payer healthcare system, refers to the concept that the government finances and governs healthcare for most, if not all residents of the country. The United States currently has a multi-payer system, which means that healthcare is financed through various sources such as the public and private sectors. Purpose: The purpose of this is …

From Compromise To Confrontation: The American Secretary Of State James F. Byrnes And His Attempts To Mitigate Disagreements With The Soviet Union As The Cold War Began, John Karl

Comparative Civilizations Review

James F. Byrnes as United States Secretary of State pursued a policy based on compromise with the Soviet Union during the first year following the end of the Second World War. He was determined to use his political skill for engineering compromise in order to bring about an agreement with the Soviet Union which would lead to an era of peace. While the crucial question facing American policymakers in the wake of World War II was the creation of a new world order, a most important part of this question was the future of American-Soviet relations, the two nations that …

Apotheosis Of The State And The Decline Of Civilization: A Systems Approach, Robert Bedeski

Comparative Civilizations Review

Humanity is undergoing a second Axial Age. The first, as described by Karl Jaspers, brought transcendence into the vision and self-understanding of humans and the world. The rise of secularism and “Death of God” is dissolving and fragmenting that transcendence — a vital subsystem of the civilization system. Economy, knowledge and government comprise three additional subsystems and have coalesced to form the modern sovereign state, diminishing the traditional place of religion, art and philosophy in civilizations. An example of a state lacking common institutions of transcendence was the Mongol empire. Ruling Russia for a quarter millennium, its state form was …

Collateral Effects Of Covid-19 Stay-At-Home Orders On Violence Against Women In The United States, January 2019 To December 2020, Patricia C. Lewis, Yuk F. Cheong, Nadine J. Kaslow, Kathryn M. Yount

Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: The necessary execution of non-pharmaceutical risk-mitigation (NPRM) strategies to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 has created an unprecedented natural experiment to ascertain whether pandemic-induced social-policy interventions may elevate collateral health risks. Here, we assess the efects on violence against women (VAW) of the duration of NPRM measures that were executed through jurisdictional-level orders in the United States. We expect that stay-at-home orders, by reducing mobility and disrupting non-coresident social ties, are associated with higher incident reporting of VAW.

Methods: We used aggregate data from the Murder Accountability Project from January 2019 through December 2020, to estimate count models examining …

Insiders/Outsiders In America: Students Capture Shifting Perspectives, Madelyn Ayers, Shanyn Furlong, Chris Wood, Leslie Bejaran Solorio, Shannon Chloe Cheng, Christopher Mendez-Lemus, George Faithful

Social Justice | Student Perspectives on Religious Nationalism

What the U.S. is and ought to be depends on who you ask, where they stand, and their personal story. In this volume’s essays, student authors built on their work in Dominican University of California’s 2024 “Religious Nationalism” course to capture some of the divergent possibilities, including shifts in their own perspectives.

Social Determinants Of Health Predict Readmission Following Covid-19 Hospitalization: A Health Information Exchange-Based Retrospective Cohort Study, Micaela N Sandoval, Jennifer L Mikhail, Melyssa K Fink, Guillermo A Tortolero, Tru Cao, Ryan Ramphul, Junaid Husain, Eric Boerwinkle

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: Since February 2020, over 104 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, or COVID-19, with over 8.5 million reported in the state of Texas. This study analyzed social determinants of health as predictors for readmission among COVID-19 patients in Southeast Texas, United States.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted investigating demographic and clinical risk factors for 30, 60, and 90-day readmission outcomes among adult patients with a COVID-19-associated inpatient hospitalization encounter within a regional health information exchange between February 1, 2020, to December 1, 2022.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In this cohort of 91,007 …

Us Adolescent Rest-Activity Patterns: Insights From Functional Principal Component Analysis (Nhanes 2011-2014), Chris Ho Ching Yeung, Jiachen Lu, Erica G Soltero, Cici Bauer, Qian Xiao

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal rest-activity patterns in adolescence are associated with worse health outcomes in adulthood. Understanding sociodemographic factors associated with rest-activity rhythms may help identify subgroups who may benefit from interventions. This study aimed to investigate the association of rest-activity rhythm with demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in adolescents.

METHODS: Using cross-sectional data from the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014 adolescents (N = 1814), this study derived rest-activity profiles from 7-day 24-hour accelerometer data using functional principal component analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between participant characteristics and rest-activity profiles. Weekday and weekend …

Gender Bias In Cultural Tightness Across The 50 U.S. States And Its Links To Gender Inequality In Leadership And Innovation, Xin Qin, Roy Y. J. Chua, Ling Tan, Wanlu Li, Chen Chen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Cultural tightness theory, which holds that “tight” cultures have rigid norms and sanctions, provides unique insights into cultural variations. However, current theorizing has not analyzed gender differences in cultural tightness. Addressing this gap, this research shows that women are more constrained than men by norms within the same society. By recruiting 15,425 respondents, we mapped state-level gender bias in cultural tightness across the United States. Variability in gender bias in cultural tightness was associated with state-level socio-political factors (religion and political ideology) and gender-related threats. Gender bias in cultural tightness was positively associated with state-level gender inequality in (business and …

The Correlation Between Traumatic Brain Injury And Incarceration Among Adult Males In The United States, Shadi Shams

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The United States has one of the largest growing prison populations in the world. A large amount of social and economic resources go towards the cost and maintenance of correctional facilities each year. Additionally, the current correctional programs are insufficient in assisting inmates with getting back to society; especially those with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who often remain undiagnosed and are usually treated unfairly in the prison system instead of receiving the appropriate help. Prior scholarly work has shown that patients in the post-TBI stage are more likely to enter the judicial system. In the recent population-based cohort study, the …

Gestational Diabetes Among The South Asian Diaspora In The United States Of America: A Scoping Review, Anudeep Deevi, Mariam Sharobeem, Gabrianna Andrews, Rahul Ubrani, Venkateswar Venkataraman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Aim: The scoping review was conducted to review the current knowledge base regarding gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among South Asians in the United States. In addition, the review was meant to identify any gaps in knowledge, specifically about the current care received by South Asians as well as the associated adverse health outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus was conducted. Key words ""gestational diabetes South Asians in the United States" were used as search terms. Search was restricted to U.S. articles published on or after 01/01/2013 with key words. Articles were screened by …

Climate Change Skepticism: Who And Why?, Mia Huyen Truong

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Despite persistent scientific consensus urging immediate action, political polarization, and skepticism have hindered effective climate change mitigation, especially in the United States. This paper explores the factors influencing climate change attitudes among different groups, focusing on right-wing affiliates and Christian believers. Drawing on the Anti-Reflexivity Thesis (McCright and Dunlap, 2001-2010) and Information Processing Theory (Wood & Vedlitz, 2007), we investigate the effects of individual characteristics, including partisan ideology, party identification, educational attainment, and Christian faith. Using Wave 7 (2021) of the Chapman Survey of American Fears Survey, a nationwide sample of different fears among U.S. adults, this study aims to …

Seeing Beneath The Surface: Using Critical Race Theory To Uncover Racial Inequities In The U.S. Public School System, Lauren Harkins

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

Many policies and practices perpetuate racial inequities and stereotypes, harming and neglecting the young people in American schools. This paper uses Critical Race Theory as a lens or framework to understand the circumstances in which educational inequities are exacerbated and what systemic barriers and beliefs maintain them.

Plasma Metabolites Associated With Cognitive Function Across Race/Ethnicities Affirming The Importance Of Healthy Nutrition, Einat Granot-Hershkovitz, Shan He, Jan Bressler, Bing Yu, Wassim Tarraf, Casey M Rebholz, Jianwen Cai, Queenie Chan, Tanya P Garcia, Thomas Mosley, Bruce S Kristal, Charles Decarli, Myriam Fornage, Guo-Chong Chen, Qibin Qi, Robert Kaplan, Hector M González, Tamar Sofer

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: We studied the replication and generalization of previously identified metabolites potentially associated with global cognitive function in multiple race/ethnicities and assessed the contribution of diet to these associations.

METHODS: We tested metabolite-cognitive function associations in U.S.A. Hispanic/Latino adults (n = 2222) from the Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) and in European (n = 1365) and African (n = 478) Americans from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study. We applied Mendelian Randomization (MR) analyses to assess causal associations between the metabolites and cognitive function and between Mediterranean diet and cognitive function.

RESULTS: Six metabolites were consistently associated …

Living Below The Line: Economic Insecurity And Older Americans, Insecurity In The States, 2022, Jan Mutchler, Yan-Jhu Su, Nidya Velasco Roldan

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

New estimates from the 2022 Elder Index^TM suggest that nearly half of older adults living alone, and one out of five older couples, lack the financial resources required to pay for basic needs. We compared household incomes for adults age 65 and above living in one- and two-person households to the 2022 Elder Index for each state to calculate Economic Insecurity Rates (EIRs), the percentage of independent adults age 65 or older with annual incomes that do not support economic security. The EIRs allow a better understanding of how many and which older adults are experiencing economic insecurity. National …

Family Caregiving Of The Elderly In The U.S. And Nepal, Barsha Kharel

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In an aging society, family caregiving is becoming an increasingly important topic. Elderly adults often rely on their family members as the primary source of support as they age. This paper presents a systematic literature review of family caregiving practices for the elderly in the U.S. and Nepal. The aim is to explore the differences and similarities between the two countries in terms of family caregiving practices for the elderly. The review includes five initial literature sources and identifies two common themes: first, both societies consider family as the main source of support for the elderly, and secondly, elderly people …

Employment Experiences Of Nigerian Immigrant Women In The United States And Canada, Maryam A. Oguntola

Student Theses

African immigrants come to the United States and Canada for a better life; most come for the sake of job opportunities and professional advancement. Nigerian immigrant women are one of these groups of African immigrants. While it is likely that they experienced discrimination in the workforce in Nigeria, research has shown that African immigrants, African immigrant women, and Nigerian immigrant women, in particular, experience more discrimination in their host countries. Researchers have also shown that these groups may experience discrimination based on national origin, race, gender, educational background, and sometimes even religion. However, there is a gap in the research …

Food Safety Attitudes, Behaviors, And Hygiene Measures Among Predominantly Low-Income Parents In Houston, Texas, Christina K Carstens, Joelle K Salazar, Shreela V Sharma, Wenyaw Chan, Charles Darkoh

Journal Articles

ABSTRACT: Foodborne infections in the United States affect racial-ethnic minority and low-income populations at higher rates than the general population. to identify the prevalence of food safety behaviors and demographic characteristics associated with food handling practices among a susceptible, high-risk population, a cross-sectional survey was administered to 106 parents with children enrolled at two elementary schools serving predominantly low-income families in Houston, Texas. Relationships between demographic characteristics and food safety behavioral outcomes were examined using cross-tabulations and Fisher's exact test. Most respondents were female (93.4%), Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican American (94.9%), and had no previous food handling employment experience (75.0%). …

Language Proficiency And Use Of Interpreters/Translators In Fieldwork: A Survey Of Us-Based Anthropologists And Sociologists, Katarzyna Sepielak, Dawid Wladyka, William Yaworsky

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The proficiency in vernacular has long been a methodological ethos pervasive among field researchers and—despite new dynamics of fieldwork—still overshadows discussions related to collaboration with translators and interpreters, which are either marginalized or hidden within the category of a ‘research assistant’. The purpose of this study is to take a step beyond anecdotal evidence and explore trends in language proficiency and use of translation services among US based field researchers who had conducted international or domestic studies in an area where a language other than English was present. We conducted the largest-to-date survey on the subject and analyzed 913 responses …

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In The Refusal Of Surgical Treatment In Women 40 Years And Older With Breast Cancer In The Usa Between 2010 And 2017, Pierre Fwelo, Zenab I Yusuf, Abigail Adjei, Gabriel Huynh, Xianglin L Du

Journal Articles

PURPOSE: Although surgical resection is the main modality of treatment for breast cancer, some patients elect to refuse the recommended surgery. We assessed racial and ethnic differences in women 40 years and older who received or refused to receive surgical treatment for breast cancer in the USA and whether racial disparities in mortality were affected by their differences in the prevalence of refusal for surgical treatment.

METHODS: We studied 277,127 women with breast cancer using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data and performed multivariable logistic regressions to investigate the association between surgery status of breast cancer and race/ethnicity. …

Better Care For Older Hispanics: Identifying Priorities And Harmonizing Care, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Mary Tinetti, Lee A Jennings, Rebeca Wong, Jennifer Arney, Aanand D Naik

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Where The Rainbow Ends: The Hidden Humanitarian Crisis For Members Of The Lgbtqia+ Community In International Business, John R. Krendel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Before pursuing an international career, members of the LGBTQIA+ community must be aware of the hardship that may be exacerbated by living and working abroad. This study addresses the trends in laws, including employment and anti-discrimination laws, that provide and restrict certain rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community in eight countries. These nations, both progressive and discriminatory, include the United States, England, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Eight LGBTQIA+ business professionals spoke on their experiences living and working in each of these countries and provided advice to members of the community wishing to pursue an international …

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Depression In Hispanic Vs. Non-Hispanic Populations In South Jersey, Rana Cheikhali, Daniel Casal

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Americans and the world as a whole. It has especially taken a toll on mental health. Studies show that the incidence of depression in the United States was three times greater during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times. One specific community in the United States that has been greatly affected by the pandemic is the Hispanic American community. Many Americans across the country have received federal surveys that aim to determine the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. Results revealed that the Hispanic population had the greatest rise in mental illness, with 40% …

Cultivating Agrobiodiversity In The U.S.: Barriers And Bridges At Multiple Scales, Kaitlyn A. Spangler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The diversity of crops grown in the United States (U.S.) is declining, causing agricultural landscapes to become more and more simplified. This trend is concerning for the loss of important plant, insect, and animal species, as well as the pollution and degradation of our environment. Through three separate but related studies, this dissertation addresses the need to increase the diversity of these agricultural landscapes in the U.S., particularly through diversifying the type and number of crops grown. The first study uses multiple, openly accessible datasets related to agricultural land use and policies to document and visualize change over recent decades. …

Factors Associated With Racial Differences In Health Care Access, Memory Manda

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using data from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), this study examined racial group differences in health care access, including measures for usual place of sick or preventative care and delayed or forgone care and the mechanisms that explain those differences. This study integrated the Fundamental Cause Theory and Anderson’s Behavioral model to understand the causal mechanism responsible for racial disparities in health care access. Results showed that Hispanics were more likely to have no usual place for sick or preventative care and more likely to delay care than other racial groups. Blacks were more likely to use other …

Childhood Food Insecurity In The United States, Bethany Tsiaras

Community Engagement Student Work

Childhood food insecurity in the United States is caused by a variety of barriers that lead to negative health outcomes for children. The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted food insecurity for children. Policies and programs aimed at combating food insecurity have the potential to better serve the community with updates and changes.

From An Ambivert's Perspective: The Relationships Between Personality Types, Attachment Styles, And Behavioral Tendencies Of Introverts And Extroverts, Andrew Chang

Senior Theses

Over the years, there has been continuous discussion around the idea that extroverts dominate the business workplace over introverts and vice versa. However, depending on the work setting and skillsets needed, it is imperative to realize how certain business practices, personality styles, and relationship approaches are different in every scenario. For this research thesis, the goal was to compare the personality and attachment styles of students who study in two different cultural environments, seeing if there were any apparent relationships between the two variables and student behavioral tendencies. Previous studies have shown that personality, behaviors, and attachment levels can predict …

Prediction Of Bystander Intervention Behavior In A Sexual Assault Situation: The Role Of Religiosity, Empathy, And Gratitude, John D. Foubert, Mwarumba Mwavita, Kelva Hunger, Wei-Kang Kao, Pam Pittman-Adkins

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Bystander intervention in potential sexual assault situations is a common method of helping to address sexual violence on college campuses. Although numerous variables have been shown to mediate bystander intervention behavior, the pool of potential correlates is limited. The present study used regression analysis to determine the relationship between bystander behavior and three predictors: religiosity, gratitude, and victim empathy. Consistent with prior research, both religiosity and gratitude significantly predicted bystander behavior. Contrary to prior research, the relationship between victim empathy and bystander behavior was negative. Findings are discussed relating to potential bystander intervention programs, and future research, particularly on gratitude, …

Unraveling The Geographies Of The U.S. Public Education System: An Analysis Of Scale, Segregation, And Hegemony, Olivia Ildefonso

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Other than one or two studies that focus on specific state-wide systems of public education, there has been no accounting for how the U.S. public education system came about in relation to space and scale. My dissertation research seeks to fill in this gap. Through focusing on the development of public education in the North and the South, I provide a foundation for understanding the grounded and contested processes of scale production that largely determined the U.S. public education system’s design and function.

In each of the seven chapters, I detail how fights over the structure and purpose of public …

The Blind Spots Of Sociotechnical Imaginaries: Covid-19 Scepticism In Brazil, The United Kingdom And The United States, Renan Gonçalves Leonel Da Silva, Larry Au

Publications and Research

During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, experts and policymakers mobilised various slogans to compel the public to help defeat COVID-19. By comparing Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States, this study shows how dominant sociotechnical imaginaries tied to the slogans were mobilised. We argue that the blind spots of these dominant sociotechnical imaginaries contributed to subversive sociotechnical imaginaries and made room for COVID-19 scepticism. In Brazil, calls to ‘take care of yourself’ contributed to a sceptical stance that individualised responsibility. In the United Kingdom, calls to ‘protect the NHS’ contributed to sceptical accusations of whataboutism …

Factors Associated With Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Among Newly Resettled Refugees In The United States, Edson Chipalo, Zainab Suntai, Simon Mwima

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States, SNAP was made available to refugees in 1977, and most refugees rely heavily on SNAP to sustain themselves before becoming self-reliant. Knowledge of sociodemographic factors and chronic debilitating conditions related to receiving SNAP benefits among refugees is limited. This study aimed to examine sociodemographic factors and chronic debilitating conditions associated with receiving SNAP benefits among refugees resettled in the United States. This study used a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample (n=6,100) of the refugees who entered the U.S. between 2013 and 2017. The data were obtained from the 2018 Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR) from participants aged …