Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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 …

Open Scholarly Information Systems: Status Quo, Challenges, Opportunities, Hannah Bast, Guillaume Cabanac, Paolo Manghi, Jian Wu, Marcel R. Ackermann

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Over the past 30 years, a rich ecosystem of scholarly information systems has developed that openly provide their services to the scientific community. These systems include aggregators of bibliographic metadata (e.g., DBLP, OpenCitations, OpenAIRE Graph, OpenAlex, ORKG, Semantic Scholar, CiteSeerX, and CORE); publication, data, and software repositories (e.g., Arxiv.org, Figshare, Zenodo, Software Heritage, and Dataverse); and PID authorities (e.g., ORCID, ROR, Crossref, and DataCite). This interdisciplinary Dagstuhl Seminar "Open Scholarly Information Systems: Status Quo, Challenges, Opportunities" (25381) was the first of its kind to bring together practitioners from this ecosystem, as well as researchers investigating related questions or relying on …

Susceptibility To High-Fidelity Misinformation: An Eye-Tracking Analysis, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Gavindya Jayawardena, Enkelejda Kasneci, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

With the rise of online misinformation and AI-generated text, understanding human perception of news truthfulness is critical. In this study, we examine visual attention and cognitive processing using eye-tracking measures as individuals read fake and real news articles sharing nearly identical structure and imagery, differing only in subtle textual changes. Using the public FakeNewsPerception dataset, we analyze advanced gaze measures, including scanpaths, AOI transitions, and luminance-corrected pupil measures, beyond basic gaze features, in relation to news truthfulness and perceived believability. Results show that, given the high fidelity of the fake news, readers exhibited comparable visual scanning patterns, attention allocation across …

Micro-Behavioral Analysis Of Online Shopping Patterns For Blind Users, Yash Prakash, Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Nithiya Venkatraman, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

While online shopping platforms provide convenience and autonomy to blind users, their non-visual interactions remain underexplored at a micro-behavioral level. Existing studies have primarily emphasized accessibility and usability challenges but have overlooked how fine-grained, screen reader-driven keystroke-level behaviors reflect users’ cognitive strategies. In this paper, we present the findings of a longitudinal study with 25 blind participants to examine their micro-behavioral patterns, using keyboard activity and screen reader logs on both familiar and unfamiliar e-commerce websites. We complemented this study with semi-structured interviews to contextualize the uncovered micro-behavioral patterns. Our results revealed patterns in how blind users draw upon cognitive …

Application Paths Of Semantic Modeling In Financial Fraud Detection And Risk Identification, Victor P. Gauthier, Daniel S. Wu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Financial fraud and risk pose significant threats to economic stability and individual well-being. Traditional detection methods often struggle to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated fraudulent schemes. Semantic modeling, which focuses on understanding the meaning and relationships within data, offers a promising avenue for enhancing fraud detection and risk identification. This review paper explores the application paths of semantic modeling in this domain. We begin with a historical overview of fraud detection techniques, highlighting the limitations of traditional approaches. Subsequently, we delve into core themes, including knowledge graph-based fraud detection and semantic rule-based inference for risk assessment. We then compare and …

Contextual Scaffolding And Self-Efficacy: Supporting Computer Skill Development Among Blind Learners In India, Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Yash Prakash, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Inclusive computer literacy education efforts, broadening the participation of blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals, have gained traction in recent years. Existing literature investigating these efforts primarily draws evidence from affluent Global North contexts, where accessibility resources and legal frameworks are relatively more mature. Little is known about the in-situ teaching and learning challenges faced by trainers and BVI students, respectively, in resource-constrained, multicultural Global South countries like India. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a four-month contextual inquiry at two computer training centers catering to 94 BVI students in India. We notably observed a rigid, experience-driven training environment …

Modeling Joint Visual Attention In Naturalistic Dyadic Interactions, Kuushini Thennakoon, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Bhanuka Mahanama, Vikas Ashok, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Joint visual attention (JVA) provides important insight into how individuals coordinate attention during social interaction. Egocentric eye tracking enables the study of JVA in natural, multi-user settings. This work presents a multi-stage framework to identify and analyze JVA using egocentric video and gaze data. The approach consists of three steps: spatiotemporal tube-based visual similarity, gaze-guided object detection, and attention pattern analysis using the ambient–focal coefficient K. Results show that object-focused collaborative activities exhibit high JVA, with object detection capturing higher joint attention than visual similarity, whereas conversation-based or independent activities show lower and more fragmented joint attention. Analysis of K …

China's Spy Network In America: A People's War Against An Open House: America Needs To Confront The Reality Of The New Cold War, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

The article discusses China's extensive espionage activities in the United States, framing it as part of a broader "people's war" strategy employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It highlights historical cases of espionage, such as those involving Qian Xuesen and Bo Jiang, to illustrate the ongoing threat posed by Chinese intelligence efforts, which leverage both state-sponsored and civilian participation. The article contrasts the CCP's ruthless approach to espionage with the U.S. legal system's more restrained response, emphasizing the asymmetry in their respective strategies. It concludes by urging the U.S. to recognize and confront the realities of this new Cold …

Taming The Wicked Problem: Transparency, Civic Apathy, And The Challenge Of Rebuilding Trust In Local Government, Austin N. Kaiser

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Since the 1960s, the United States has experienced a persistent decline in public trust in government. The Founders believed that government could only function with the consent of the governed, making this erosion of trust a significant concern for democratic legitimacy. In response, many scholars and practitioners have championed transparency as a pillar of sound governance and a potential remedy for rebuilding trust. However, the solution may not be as simple as improving openness. Public officials increasingly recognize that transparency alone may have limited or even unintended consequences, especially when public participation is low or administrative resources are strained.

This …

Exploring The Impact Of Identity-Based Bullying On Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among 6th-12th Grade Youth In Virginia, Camille N. Johnson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are a growing public health concern among youth. Bullying victimization is a robust risk factor for STBs and identity-based bullying (IBB) or bullying that occurs due to a person’s actual or perceived social-identity/identities that is ingrained in discrimination, prejudice, or bias, has been found to be more strongly associated with STBs compared to bullying that was unrelated to identity. The current study used data from the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions (N=399,493) to examine associations between general bullying, adult-perpetrated bullying, and IBB with depression and STBs among 6th-12th grade youth. This study …

Examining Social And Intrapersonal Factors Among Youth Crisis Line Volunteers, Sunday Hull

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Crisis lines provide a free crisis response service that is highly accessible to individuals who are at elevated risk of suicide and may not be otherwise connected with care. In order to best tailor crisis line interventions to youth populations, a number of youth-to-youth crisis lines invite youth callers to connect with trained youth volunteers. While prior research has examined adult crisis lines workers’ experience and well-being and identified key factors that predict positive and negative volunteering outcomes, far less is known about similar determinants of experience and well-being among adolescent volunteers on youth-to-youth crisis lines. The purpose of this …

Identifying Alcohol Intervention-Relevant Constructs For Greek Life: Examining Across Greek Membership And Gender Among College Students, Emily Susan Renzoni

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Among college populations, students who are members of social Greek life organizations (i.e., social fraternities and sororities) drink more and experience higher rates of negative alcohol-related consequences than their non-affiliated peers. Although there has been success of alcohol interventions in general college populations, research has shown that college drinking interventions that are delivered to students in Greek life are not efficacious in reducing alcohol consumption or related consequences. It is meaningful to investigate if the content commonly addressed in these interventions, although well-documented as being linked to drinking in the general college population, has the same associations for students who …

Observed Parenting, Parent-Child Aggression, And Intimate Partner Violence As Predictive Of Family Dysfunction, Paige Munshell

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Family systems theories contextualize violence as occurring across multiple levels of the family, yet much of the existing literature focuses on a single family member’s outcome (i.e., the child) and neglects to include data collected from fathers. This study examined the associations between indicators of functioning at the dyadic-level in the family system—observed parenting, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetration, and Parent-Child Aggression (PCA) risk—and later overall family dysfunction. Participants were 180 mothers and 144 of their male partners evaluated when their child was 18 months old and re-evaluated at 4 years old. Measures of observed parenting, IPV perpetration, and PCA …

Schema, Stigma, And The “We-Them” Divide: Perspectives On Ageism From Everyday Life To Healthcare, Temple D. West

English Theses & Dissertations

Ageism remains a pervasive and often underexamined form of discrimination, affecting older adults across both everyday and clinical contexts. This paper explores how cognitive schemas—mental frameworks that shape perception and experience—and stigma interact to reinforce a “we–them” divide between and older patients and healthcare providers, as well as between older and younger individuals in broader society. Through focus groups and listening to the voices of older patients, this study examines how assumptions of age-based decline are embedded in society and inform schemas of ageism. It considers how those schemas shape the spoiled identity of older people as a stigmatized group, …

Development Of A Handy Tool For The Selection Of Urban Stormwater Best Management Practices, Aaron T. Kenny

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The City of Norfolk, Virginia faces substantial stormwater management challenges due to shallow groundwater, tidal influence, dense urban development, and limited right-of-way. These constraints limit the applicability of many Best Management Practices (BMPs) and require the early identification of feasible practices before detailed hydrologic modeling. This thesis introduces a decision-support tool that quickly and systematically identifies and prioritizes BMPs that are both feasible and well-suited to Norfolk’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) program, streamlining early-stage selection and saving time and resources.

The tool implements a two-stage methodology. First, feasibility gates are applied using catalog attributes derived from the Virginia …

When Nonbinary Becomes Binary: Exploring Transnormativity Experiences Of Gender Diverse Individuals, Yusuf Barburoğlu

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Transnormativity is a within-group framework that positions trans and nonbinary (TNB) individuals in a hierarchy of legitimacy based on adherence to binary gender norms (Johnson, 2016). Nonbinary individuals, who comprise 38% of U.S. transgender adults, face unique challenges, including systemic invalidation, misgendering, and erasure both within and outside LGBTQIA+ communities (James et al., 2024; Matsuno et al., 2024). These experiences intersect with internalized stigma and rejection expectations, contributing to mental health disparities (Budge et al., 2014; Lefevor et al., 2019). This study explores how nonbinary individuals navigate, resist, and embody transnormative pressures, using Sarah Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology and Interpretative Phenomenological …

Reflections In The Mirror: An Examination Of Racially Congruent Mentoring Of Black Teacher Candidates In A Teacher Education Program, Mary Louise Gregory

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The high demand for Black educators in K-12 schools across the United States has caused several teacher training programs to rethink how they prepare Black teacher candidates for the teaching workforce (Andrews et al., 2019; Blazar, 2024; Milner & Howard, 2004). Improving teacher candidate training, especially for Black teacher candidates can boost K-12 Black teacher representation. Literature on Black teacher candidate’s experiences while being mentored identifies several challenges that include issues with implicit bias, microaggressions, stereotyping and other occurrences of racial discrimination (Daly et al., 2024; Hampton et al., 2008; Kardos & Johnson-Moore, 2010; Rodriguez et al., 2020). The process …

The Paradox Of Discipline: Equity, Standardization, And Black Student Outcomes In Public Schools, Latricia T. Davenport

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Despite efforts to address profound discipline disparities impacting Black students, the implementation of alternative disciplinary approaches like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Restorative Justice (RJ) has failed to eliminate significant disproportionality in school discipline. This study investigates how teachers navigate the challenges of disciplining Black students within a paradoxical school environment that juxtaposes equitable, human-centered methods with a historically rooted managerial paradigm emphasizing uniformity and zero tolerance. Drawing upon systemic racism and the concept of 'apprenticeship of observation,' this study explores how teachers' implicit biases about Black students are formed by long-held institutional norms and personal experiences. It …

Who Gets To Lead? Policy, Systemic Barriers, And Leadership Norms In Education, Kathryn A. Cirilli

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study investigated the underrepresentation of women and racially marginalized individuals in the superintendent position, the highest leadership position within K-12 public education. The superintendent position has been overwhelmingly represented by males, even though women were the majority of the teaching workforce. Grounded by institutional theory and viewed through a phenomenological lens, I examined how organizational norms, hiring practices, and access to mentorship contributed to and upheld systemic barriers to the superintendent position. Through exploring the interpreted lived experiences of current female superintendents across public school districts that reflected the national patterns, this research addressed the disparities in …

An Analysis Of Portuguese Colonial Representations Of Sinhalese Women, Chandra R. De Silva, Ramani Hettiarchchi

History Faculty Publications

The history of Sri Lanka until recently has been written mostly as the history of men in the country. This has been particularly true of the early modern period, for which existing records are mostly those of visiting colonizers who were mostly men, writing about their dealings with those in power or with those from whom they could gain profit. This article is an attempt to collect and analyze the admittedly limited data on how the Portuguese who gained political authority over parts of the coastal areas saw local women. It is limited to the women of the majority community …

Reading The Romance Reader: Booktok, Algorithmic Subjugation, And The Fight For Cultural Legitimacy, Emily Maranto Hill

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis examines the transformation of romance reader identity through the lens of BookTok, investigating how digital platforms grant cultural legitimacy while simultaneously subjugating community practices to algorithmic control. Romance readers historically developed emotional labor practices, counter-public formation strategies, and fan-driven meaning-making to resist decades of cultural marginalization. Through analysis of TikTok's platform attributes, user behaviors, and the viral Tillie Cole controversy, this study traces how BookTok converts these resistant practices into behavioral data optimized for engagement rather than authentic discourse. The research employs theoretical frameworks including Janice Radway's ethnographic analysis, Shoshana Zuboff's surveillance capitalism, Nick Srnicek's platform capitalism, and …

The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Digital Life: A Study Of Self- Disclosure And Work Environments, Mackenzie Michelle Skiff

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The digital age impacts individuals’ lives in many ways. One impact is how and where work is completed across many careers. The work-from-home strategy enables individuals to complete work that is not within a shared space, such as an office. With the absence of this shared space, communication practices within workplaces could be changing. Specifically, self-disclosure while working from home may differ from self-disclosure within the office or hybrid (both in office and remote) work environments. This thesis investigates whether there are differences in self-disclosure practices across three different types of contemporary work environments and offers a digital update to …

Chasing The Dream And Buying The Promise In A Conceptual Framework For Consumer Decision-Making, Casey H. Prentice

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The American dream is a concept that is echoed across our society, and while the data show Americans do not overwhelmingly believe in the dream, marketers continue to pair it and the issue of economic prosperity in their agendas. Through a novel framework that overlaps a deeply studied mass communication theory with a decision-making framework used in marketing, this paper demonstrates a new lens to understand how marketers identify strategies and tactics, build agendas, and make sales by touting the American dream. As separate entities, decision-making models and agenda setting theory are powerful, but together can create an environment that …

Crux: Exploring Imperialism And Resistance Through Role-Playing Games, Devon Gronka

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

This is a game about power. The game is a Role-Playing Game, or RPG. As with nearly all RPGs, the game presents the players with choices about how their characters will interact with each other and with the world around them, and these interactions are woven together to more or less form a plot. However, oftentimes in life there are no good choices available, and there is no win state outside of what we might determine for ourselves.

The game is a social experiment. While playing a game, a player takes in information in a very different manner than when …

Aiding And Abetting Scientific Integrity In U.S. Federal Government Agencies, Keeley Townsend

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Science can play a critical role in supporting sound public administration and policy decisions. However, the value that science provides to government decision-making is contingent on a government’s scientific integrity standards and the degree to which employees adhere to those standards when conducting, managing, using, or communicating about science. Within the U.S. federal government, scientific integrity standards have historically been defined and applied inconsistently, at times resulting in harmful government actions.

Since at least 2000, the U.S. Congress and several executive administrations have taken steps to strengthen scientific integrity in government operations. One recent step included requiring all federal government …

Exploring Bonding Through Outdoor Recreation In Foster Care Utilizing Attachment Theory, Casandra L. Barnes

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

As of 2024, there are over 328,000 children in foster care in the United States (AFCARS, 2024), many of whom experience disrupted attachments and trauma that hinder their ability to form healthy relationships. Drawing from attachment theory, this study explores how outdoor recreational activities can facilitate bonding between foster parents and their foster children. Using a mixed method approach this explorative research project consisted of two phases: a pilot study at the Virginia zoo involving foster families participating in a cooperative outdoor activity and completing post event surveys, and semi-structured interviews with foster parents to examine lived experiences of bonding …

Bridging The Gap Between Counselor Education And Trauma Treatment In Practice: A Phenomenology Of Trauma-Specialized Counselors, Ariel Hutcheon

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Trauma impacts the life experiences of a sizable portion of the population. Given that so many clients bring trauma into counseling, even when not the presenting issue, knowledge of trauma’s impact and proficiency with trauma treatment are essential topics in counselor education. This study gave voice to counselors in the field to share what they have found effective from working with clients with trauma. The researcher used a phenomenological approach and interviewed six self-identified trauma-specialized counselors who have practiced for five years or longer. The data was explicated, and four major themes were identified. The first theme was Inadequate Training: …

Un-Tempering The Tempered Radical: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Female Superintendents In Neoliberal Education Systems, Melanie Fitzgerald Daniel

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The persistent and severe underrepresentation of Black women in K-12 educational leadership (just 1.4% of superintendencies) is a critical manifestation of Epistemic Injustice (Fricker, 2007) and the Architecture of Hostility. Dominant managerial paradigms in education structurally suppress the voices and devalue the expertise of Black women, leading to both testimonial injustice (credibility deficits) and hermeneutical injustice (misinterpretation of experience). This context forces them to pursue advancement within systems fundamentally structured to exclude them. This phenomenological study utilizes a nested theoretical framework, comprising Neoliberalism (macro-context), Epistemic Injustice (meso-critique), and Tempered Radicalism (Meyerson & Scully, 1995; Ngunjiri, 2012) (micro-agency), to illuminate the …

Unraveling The Links Between Substance Use And Academic Motivation In Higher Education, Melissa Lynn Goins

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) posits that the quality of students’ motivation regulation (i.e., autonomous versus controlled) shapes both learning and health behavior, yet few studies have examined the relations among motivation regulation, alcohol and cannabis use, and achievement. In this study, I surveyed 459 undergraduates at a mid-sized public university in the southeastern United States. Participants completed the Academic Motivation Scale-College version 28 to assess autonomous and controlled motivation regulation, a typical-week alcohol grid, a seven-day cannabis grid, and self-reported grade point average (GPA). Results indicated that autonomous academic motivation was uniquely related to GPA; however, neither motivation variable related to …

The Role Women Play As Facilitators And Barriers In The Career Trajectory Of Female Leaders, Anna Marie Smith

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

As gender diversity in the American workplace increases, the complexities surrounding the challenges faced by women continue to evolve. In recent years, this shift has led to an increase in women entering the workforce in record numbers, providing them with opportunities for successful careers, particularly with respect to leadership, all while balancing work and family life. However, despite the significant gains women have made in the employment arena, they continue to lag behind their male counterparts when it comes to leadership opportunities. While research is abundant on the characteristics of female leaders, what motivates them, and how they compare to …