Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Negotiating Quality: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of American Higher Education Policy, John A. Foisy

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This qualitative study examined how institutional quality is constructed, communicated, and negotiated through the accreditation process in U.S. higher education. Drawing on a multiple case study design, the research analyzed accreditation-related documents from eight institutions undergoing reaffirmation, including self-study reports, peer review team reports, Commission action letters, and institutional responses. The study was guided by three research questions: (a) What institutional signals of quality are evidenced in self-studies? (b) In what ways does the accreditation process represent a negotiation between accreditors and institutions? (c) What implied views of institutional quality emerge from accreditation discourse?

The study employed a multilayered analytical …

Show Me The Money: Candidate Attributes, Fundraising, And The Impact On Congressional Representation., Dhanya Nair

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

What explains women’s candidate emergence in congressional primaries? Does candidate education, experience, and background influence how voters donate to male and female candidates? Using an original dataset, I examine the circumstances under which women are more likely to enter a congressional primary.  This thesis accounts for the variation in candidate emergence across Congressional districts related to district partisanship, candidate quality and fundraising capacity.   The theory suggests that the persistent gap in representation is partly due to women self-selecting to run in districts that favor their candidacy.  Strategic entry serves as a buffer against perceived bias in fundraising and electability. Additionally, …

A Modular Virtual Reality Training Framework For Multi-Target Drone Defense, Susann Schleupner

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, have become a rapidly growing challenge in modern military operations. In particular, the increasing use of small, agile, and low-cost systems—such as first-person-view (FPV) drones and coordinated multi-drone deployments—places high cognitive demands on operators, requiring rapid target detection, prioritization, and decision-making under time pressure.

Existing training approaches either rely on costly and logistically constrained live exercises or focus primarily on isolated piloting and shooting tasks, without sufficiently addressing these cognitive demands. At the same time, advances in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) virtual reality (VR) hardware enable scalable, flexible, and repeatable training environments. …

Exploring Barriers And Facilitators Of Mental Health Treatment For Law Enforcement Officers: The Impact Of Police Occupational Culture, April Reed

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Prior research has explored the impact of police culture on mental health stigma among law enforcement, however, a deeper understanding about how different aspects of police culture may inhibit or facilitate mental health treatment utilization is needed to inform policy and practice. This dissertation explores the relationship between police culture and mental health using a qualitative research design. Twenty-five (n=25) law enforcement officers from a county sheriff’s office in Central Florida were interviewed and participant observations were conducted during a three-month period. The present study sought to address the following research questions: What are the experiences of the job and …

How Did Covid-19 Affect Volunteer And Donor Management For Human Services Agencies? What Are The Lessons For Future Response?, Nina Yon

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for human services agencies, disrupting the interdependent systems of volunteer engagement and donor support essential to nonprofit sustainability. This study integrates insights from literature, theory, and empirical analysis to examine how nonprofit organizations adapted their volunteer and donor management strategies during this prolonged crisis. Drawing on Contingency Theory and Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), the research explores how organizational structures and strategies evolved in response to shifting environmental conditions, health mandates, and resource constraints. Using a multiple-case qualitative design, data was collected from semi-structured interviews with 20 leaders representing five Central Florida human services agencies, …

State Climate Superfunds, Rachel Rothschild

Articles

The harmful effects of climate change have already arrived in cities and states across America, with disasters increasing markedly in recent years along with more gradual environmental changes like sea-level rise and drought. To protect populations and natural resources, significant funding will be necessary for preventative measures as well as disaster response.

At present, it is states and ordinary taxpayers who must shoulder the enormous costs and planning for climate adaptation. A number of state legislators, however, have recently proposed enacting new laws that would require the companies who have most profited from fossil fuel usage to assist in funding …

Hunter. Hunted. Human: Warfighters' Emotional Responses To Weapons In Tactical & Strategic Context, Simon Mace

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Human emotional responses to weapons have long been assumed to be relatively parsimonious, comprised predominately of aggression, anxiety, and fear responses. However, most research on this weapons effect has focused on civilians – who are notably more likely to be targeted by than to employ weapons. So, there is reason to speculate that emotional responses to weapons vary more than previously believed. This is significant for three reasons. First, positive emotional responses generate more desirable combat behaviors, specifically the willingness to engage adversaries. Second, negative emotional responses catalyze an unpredictable range of behaviors, many of which are tactically and operationally …

Nh Ece 2026 Policy Data Infographic, Harshita Sarup, Jess Carson, Tyrus Parker

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

The NH ECE 2026 Policy Data infographic provides easy access to data describing and explaining the early care and education landscape in New Hampshire. Learn about Granite Staters' need for child care, the high prices that families face, the low wages earned by child care workers and high operating costs of care, and the economic toll of an uneven supply for the state. The infographic also offers suggestions for building a better system.

Allocating Electricity, Alexandra Klass, Dave Owen

Articles

The U.S. electricity system is premised on the ideas that utilities have a duty to serve all customers in their service territories and that electricity supply should always meet demand. Until recently, there has been little reason to question these foundational premises. U.S. electricity demand has remained flat for over a decade, and during earlier periods of growth, new energy generation plants were relatively easy to build. Now, however, electricity experts predict massive load growth—most notably from data centers to power artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency—and building new power plants is no longer easy.

Major efforts are underway to increase electricity …

Exploring Youth Soccer Coach Recruitment Practices, Han-Earl Lim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative single-case study examined how a private-interest, nonprofit youth soccer club in the Midwestern United States recruits coaches, what coach qualities are prioritized in hiring, and how organizational and sociocultural conditions shape those practices. The study was guided by three research questions focused on (a) recruitment and early support processes, (b) hiring criteria and decision rationales, and (c) the organizational and sociocultural contexts influencing recruitment. Data were generated through five semi-structured interviews with four participants who were involved in recruitment practices (the Executive Director, the Assistant Director, and two full-time head coaches). Additional sources included an organizational mapping survey …

“Black Students Matter”: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Student Experiences At A Predominately White Institution In Appalachia During The Dual Pandemic Of Covid-19 And Systemic Anti-Black Racism, Toni Owens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the spread of COVID-19 escalated into a global pandemic in 2020, simultaneously, the nationwide media in the United States (U.S.) highlighted coverage of the country’s ongoing incidents of longstanding systemic anti-Black racism in America, another pandemic. In the Summer of 2020, a collective of Black students at West Virginia University (WVU) signed and publicly submitted a petition to the university’s leadership with a list of demands to address their needs as they were further exacerbated by the dual pandemic. This study is guided by the question, “What are the lived experiences of Black Students at West Virginia University during …

Building A Digital Altar For The Justice-Centered Torch-Bearers: The Role Of Digital Networks In Supporting Contemporary Racial Justice Activists Through Contemplative Practices, Renée L. Bradford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This mixed-methods study aimed to identify factors critical in building a digital support network employing contemplative practices to support activists engaging in racial justice work in the United States. The research question that guided this study was: What factors do racial justice activists regard as critical in building a digital support network employing contemplative practices? The study’s importance lies in addressing the evolving landscape of digital activism while honoring the spiritual and relational foundations that have historically sustained social justice movements, particularly as contemporary activists navigate new technological tools while seeking to maintain authentic connection and contemplative grounding. Key findings …

Public Perception Of Environmental Contamination And Its Implications For Fish And Community Health In West Bengal, India, Libia Hazra

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In West Bengal, India, the highest fish-consuming state in the country, fish are woven into everyday life, including ceremonies of birth and marriage, prayers offered during harvesting and the cultural memory of communities whose identities are inseparable from aquatic life. However, the rivers, wetlands, and ponds that sustain these fish-human relationships are increasingly threatened by environmental contamination resulting from industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, and inadequate environmental management. Understanding how communities perceive these environmental changes is essential for developing effective conservation and public health strategies.

In collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT) Kharagpur, India, and Michigan Technological University (USA), …

Enhancing Coastal Vulnerability Assessments And Policy Impacts On Socioeconomic And Environmental Equity In Michigan's Great Lakes Communities, Esther N. Acheampong

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Accelerating shoreline erosion, fluctuating lake levels, and climate-induced hazards are transforming the Great Lakes’ freshwater coasts, exposing the limitations of static and inequitable management frameworks. This dissertation investigates how Michigan’s coastal governance systems produce and manage vulnerability along the Lake Michigan shoreline by integrating geospatial modeling, institutional policy analysis, and environmental justice theory. It argues that both physical processes and institutional designs co-determine patterns of exposure, protection, and equity. The research begins by developing a refined Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) tailored for lacustrine environments, applying it to Muskegon County to assess how shoreline change, armoring, and seasonality influence localized risk. …

Applying Transfer Learning For Street-Scale Nuisance Flood Forecasting In Coastal-Urban Environments, Binata Roy, Jonathan L. Goodall, Diana Mcspadden, Chetan Kumar, Steven Goldenberg, Yidi Wang, Malachi Schram

Data Science Faculty Publications

An important challenge with Machine Learning (ML) is its transferability; that is, whether an ML model trained on one set of data can be applied to a second set of data without requiring full retraining of the model. Transfer Learning (TL) addresses this challenge by transferring knowledge learned in the source domain (the data it was trained on) to the target domain (a second set of data that is statistically different but related, which the model was not trained on). This study investigates the use of TL for street-scale nuisance flood forecasting by exploring whether an ML model trained for …

Examining Inclusive Computing Education For Blind Students In India, Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Yash Prakash, Md Javedul Ferdous, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The growing demand for computer professionals, driven by the expanding Information Technology industry, has led to numerous inclusive computing education efforts. These efforts have even included blind or visually-impaired (BVI) students, who are being increasingly encouraged to pursue education and a career in computing, despite the visually-oriented nature of the discipline. Extant literature has predominantly focused on identifying and addressing the accessibility barriers faced by BVI students to promote more inclusive learning environments. While few studies have also investigated the accessibility of computing education from the perspectives of BVI learners and instructors, these have been primarily situated in the Global …

Towards Supporting Real-Time Estimation Of Vehicle Fuel Consumption And Co2 Emissions In Smart City Applications, Abrar Alali, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

This paper evaluates a simplified physics-based energy demand model designed to estimate vehicle fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions—a critical tool for sustainable transportation planning and smart city applications. Unlike data-driven regression models that lack generalizability for user-defined conditions or complex physics-based approaches that rely on extensive, often proprietary data, the simplified model is distinguished by its minimal parameter requirements, depending primarily on a single, overarching powertrain efficiency value. A key contribution is the comprehensive empirical evaluation of the simplified model against official Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) test data across multiple driving cycles and vehicle types, providing a rigorous validation previously …

Biosecure-Llm Framework: Protecting Llms From Cyberbiosecurity Threats And The Case For Independent Ai Safety Governance, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Lucas Potter, Srdjan Lesaja, Sotirios Karathanasis, Mohammad Ghasemigol

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Large Language Models (LLMs) are becoming critical infrastructure in scientific, healthcare, and governmental contexts. As frontier AI laboratories increasingly partner with government agencies, a fundamental question arises: Who should control the safety and policy-enforcement layers that constrain model behavior? Current safety mechanisms (LLM guardrails) are typically designed for generic "harmlessness" and operate by detecting semantic patterns and refusing requests. However, they are inadequate governance instruments because they cannot implement auditable, domain-specific controls tied to external regulatory policy objects (e.g., control lists or rules governing personally identifying information). Even a perfectly aligned model is not able to express institution-specific policy without …

Cybersecurity Center For Offshore Wind Energy (Final Project Round), Sachin Shetty

Center for Secure and Intelligent Critical Systems (CSICS) Publications

This project establishes a Cybersecurity Center for Offshore Wind Energy with the objective of designing and operating a cyber-physical testbed for wind energy farms (WEFs) that enables comprehensive cybersecurity research. The testbed incorporates a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system connected to turbine models via industrial-grade programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and remote terminal units (RTUs). It supports side-channel data acquisition, implementation and analysis of various cyberattack scenarios, and development of attack detection, mitigation, and best-practice guidance tailored to wind energy systems. During the project, the team expanded the number and fidelity of mathematical turbine models (MTMs), integrated these models …

Improving Evacuation Effectiveness On Cruise And Large Passenger Ships : An Analysis Of Human Factors, Safety Culture, And Behavioral Dynamics, Antonios Andreadakis

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

Maritime trade has long constituted a central pillar of economic development, supporting global commerce and cultural exchange. Nevertheless, the maritime environment is inherently hazardous and therefore the protection of human life has consistently constituted and will continue to remain a central priority (Casson, 1995). An instrumental turning point in maritime safety occurred after the sinking of Titanic in 1912, which prompted in 1914 an International Conference dedicated to the protection of human life at sea; which ultimately led to the adoption of the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) (Dalaklis, 2017). This Convention introduced internationally imposed safety …

Workshop Outcomes Report: 2nd International Workshop On Seismic Resilience Of Arctic Infrastructure And Social Systems, Majid Ghayoomi, Daniela Morganti

Faculty Publications

The report provides an overview of the second international workshop on Seismic Resilience of Arctic Infrastructure and Social Systems. The report discusses agenda, workshop activities, interdisciplinary working groups, and results. It ends with several strategic questions and investigation plans that were developed as part of the workshop activities.

Motivational Factors Influencing Military Service: A Structural Equation Model Of Rotc Students And Service Members’ Motivation-Confidence To Serve, Brian J. Vansingel

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Amid declining college enrollment across the United States, academic institutions with United States Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs must consider underrecruited populations, such as military-bound young adults, in their recruiting strategies. To support this effort, this study examined the motivational factors associated with individuals’ decisions to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. This study utilized a quantitative, correlational research design with a survey comprising multiple sections: sociodemographic variables, items across six motivational factors for military service, and a Motivation-Confidence to Serve scale. The study used data from a convenience sample of 709 respondents, including college military science students …

Discord Is Still A Chord: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Discourse Networks, Brokerage, And The Fiscal Consequences Of Fracking Policy In The Delaware River Basin, In Hae Noh

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Beneath the policy debates of many environmental controversies lies a dynamic network of actors making claims, forming coalitions, and contesting policy discourses. Drawing on theories of discourse coalitions, discourse networks, network brokerage, and public finance, and using the Delaware River Basin hydraulic fracturing debate as a case study, this dissertation examines how discourse coalitions evolve, how discourse brokers shape coalition dynamics, and whether resulting policy decisions produce meaningful fiscal consequences. The first paper investigates how discourse coalitions shifted across three periods of the Delaware River Basin fracking debate, using a mix of methods integrating discourse network analysis, computational text analysis, …

Assessing The Possibilities And Speculations Of Blended Teaching-Learning (Btl) Based On The Online Teaching-Learning (Otl) Experience During Covid-19 In Bangladesh, Nazmun Chaitee

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This research paper investigates the potential and viability of implementing Blended Teaching Learning (BTL) in Bangladesh, drawing on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 Online Teaching Learning (OTL) practice experiences. The study specifically focuses on examining the advantages and challenges encountered by teachers and students in online classes during the pandemic. Through a mixed-methods approach, including questionnaire surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs), data was collected from secondary-level teachers and students in Bangladesh. The findings highlight the dedicated efforts made by educators and students in embracing and adapting to online education during the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, the study identifies …

Rethinking Dfw In Gateway Mathematics: Preserved, Disrupted, And Dissipated Momentum Pathways To Student Retention, John Alan Nunnery, Charles Mathies

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study examines how disaggregated first-year mathematics outcomes, including failure, low-passing grades, course withdrawal, and no attempt at a credit-bearing mathematics course, are associated with second-year retention at a large, diverse, urban public university. The study extends academic momentum theory by positing and operationalizing preserved (marginal passing), disrupted (failure or withdrawal), and dissipated (non-enrollment) as qualitatively distinct momentum states rather than a single condition. Using a segmented binary logistic regression model with more than 26,000 first-time, full-time students across ten entry cohorts (2012–2021), we estimate differences in retention by mathematics outcome, course type, and cohort context. Results show a pronounced …

Antecedents Of Emergency Services’ Street Level Bureaucrats’ (Slbs) Delivery Of Public Value: An Exploratory Study, Yvonne Brunetto, Ben Farr-Wharton, Aglae Hernandez Grande, Fleur Sharafizad, Matthew Richman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Street Level Organisations (SLOs) determine the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) in their workplaces and we examine pathways from SLBs’ PSC and Public Service Motivation (PSM) to discretionary power, work stress, wellbeing and the subsequent delivery of public value. The structural equation modelling results from 195 Australian police, fire, ambulance, and emergency services workers indicate that PSC had a more significant role in explaining SLBs’ delivery of public value compared with PSM. The implication is that SLOs’ management must ensure psychosocially safe and supportive workplaces conducive to building SLBs’ wellbeing, because that is the pathway for delivering public value.

Human Rights Education For Children And Youth On Human Rights And Digital Technologies, Diane A. Desierto, Faisal Yamil Meneses, Notre Dame Global Human Rights Clinic

Journal Articles

AI Generated Summary

This document outlines the importance of human rights education for children and youth, particularly in relation to digital technologies, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, inclusive, and accessible educational frameworks.

Stakeholder Perceptions Of West Virginia’S Artificial Food Dye Ban In K–12 School Meals: Initial Year Of 2025-2026, Leah Michelle Rogers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

OBJECTIVES: Artificial food dyes (AFD+) are an increasing policy concern in the U.S., particularly in children’s foods. West Virginia’s House Bill 2354, the first statewide AFD+ ban implemented in K-12 schools, restricts seven AFD+ in state-funded meals. Little is known about how AFD+ bans are perceived or implemented. This study examined how the ban functioned within school food systems and the barriers and facilitators experienced by school stakeholders within the initial year of implementation during the 2025-2026 school year.

METHODS: A cross-sectional, observational mixed-methods study was conducted among implementers, enforcers, and receivers of the policy. A survey tool …

From Sparks To Insights: An Aggregate Analysis On Arson And Explosive Data Reporting Published By The Atf (2014-2024), Zahra A. Khan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This thesis provides an aggregate assessment of arson and explosives incidents reported by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco, from 2014 to 2024. This thesis is written to highlight trends, investigative outcomes, and evolving patterns of criminal activity. Analysis of the data reveals notable shifts in incident frequencies, data distributions, and case resolution rates. This suggests both emerging technologies and changing operational dynamics that have affected long-term trends in arson and explosive incidents. Variations in incident types and investigative outcomes underscore the interplay between law enforcement priorities, resource allocation, and reporting practices over the ten-year period. The study also …

Building Fiscal Resilience And Enhancing Social Equity In Disaster Mitigation At The Local Level, Hyoeun Kim

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

As climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent and severe, local governments face growing pressure to manage disaster-related fiscal shocks. Although disaster mitigation and preparedness are widely recognized as cost-effective strategies for reducing future losses, local governments often lack the financial, political, and technical capacity to invest in them. Despite the importance of pre-disaster investment, mitigation and preparedness efforts continue to lag at the local level, and concerns remain that federal mitigation funding is not distributed equitably across communities. This has important implications for both equity and resilience because unequal access to mitigation resources can reinforce existing vulnerability to future natural …