Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Behavioral Responses To The Medicare Part D Coverage Gap And Its Closure, Selene Urbatsch

Theses and Dissertations

The author examines how exposure to the Medicare Part D coverage gap affects future prescription drug use and whether the closure of the gap under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) altered beneficiary behavior. Using 2007–2019 MEPS data, the analysis compares Part D enrollees to similarly aged, privately insured individuals, producing first-differences and difference-in-differences estimates. Before the ACA, exposure to the gap was associated with 4.9 fewer prescription fills relative to comparable non-Part D individuals. After the ACA, the effect fell to a reduction of 2.2 generic fills, with no significant decline in branded use. Sudden out-of-pocket cost increases prompted sharp …

The Economic Drivers Of Preferential Access, Kristie-Marie Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how economic theory can explain differences in preferential access across products. Preferential access is the difference between the preferential tariff and the most favored nation (MFN) tariff. This research applies the theory from Bagwell and Staiger (1990) and the empirical findings from Bown and Crowley (2013) to tariff, import flow, import demand, and export supply elasticity data, where Chile is the reporting country. The two-way fixed effects linear regression estimates how changes in import growth, the volatility of import growth, and the inverse sum of import demand and export supply elasticities affect preferential access. The estimates indicate …

Advertising To Children: A Content Analysis Of Ryan's World, Cora Denny

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Ryan’s World is a children's toy review YouTube channel with over 36 million followers and features kid YouTuber Ryan Kaji. A qualitative content analysis of the YouTube channel Ryan’s World was conducted to observe the rhetorical strategies the videos employ to sell Ryan’s World products, as well as how those strategies compare to traditional advertising. An analysis of twelve videos resulted in dominant themes of increasing brand familiarity and product performance of Ryan’s World products. These were accomplished through the use of traditional advertising rhetorical strategies such as product placement, special effects, appeals, and more. The study shows that the …

Dnp Final Report: Improving Adherence With Cms Sep-1 Sepsis Bundle In The Emergency Department, Emmanuel Bernards

DNP Final Reports

Adherence to the CMS SEP-1 Sepsis bundles is critical to sepsis management and leads to lower sepsis mortality, lower incidence of readmission, reduced length of hospital stay, and improved patient outcomes. This medical center has struggled to meet the required 71% adherence rate set by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare, representing the benchmark of acceptable care of sepsis patients. Therefore, the following PICOT question arises: among the hospitals’ ED physicians and nursing staff (P), how does a multimodal approach consisting of education, visual reminders, and audit and feedback (I) compared to a single approach (education) (C) affect adherence to …

A Pill Too Expensive: A Comprehensive Review For Exploring Medical Non-Adherence In The Age Of Rising Drug Prices, Vidhani Goel, Roberto Sagaribay

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Prevalence & Health Disparities:

• Medication non-adherence is a major public health issue.
• High prescription drug costs are a significant barrier.
• Affects chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and mental health disorders.

Potential Solutions:

• Patient assistance programs.
• Use of generic drugs.
• Policy reforms to reduce medication costs.

Future Directions & Solutions:

• Address research gaps in long-term outcomes.
• Explore broader policy interventions.
• Improve accessibility and awareness of assistance programs.

Contributing Factors:

• Leads to worse health outcomes.
• Increases hospitalizations and long-term healthcare costs.
• Affects vulnerable populations (i.e., elderly, uninsured, racial minorities)

I Will Not Accept This Rose: "The Bachelor(Ette)," Gender Stereotypes, And Self Perception, Rylie Vann

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Reality television is a cornerstone of modern-day TV programming, and typically features some element of competition, a makeover, or finding love. The Bachelor began airing in 2002, and the franchise that was built off the initial season continues to be a big name in romantically themed reality television. However, the show employs a variety of tactics during filming and while editing that presents a heteronormative view of contestants. The extent of this influence was explored using a mixed-method approach. A content analysis of several episodes from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette was conducted in order to determine how many instances …

The Mujahedeen E-Khalq Of Iran (Mek): Agents Of Democratic Revolution Or Cultic Oppression?, Molly Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the People’s Mujahideen of Iran (MEK), an Iranian oppositional group that has engaged in a decades-long effort to depose the Iranian government. The goal of this thesis has three parts. First, it examines if the MEK should be classified as a new religious movement/cult. It also addresses the implications of such status given the MEK’s claims that it functions as a democratic entity and that it can be trusted to govern Iran in democratic fashion. Secondly, it examines if Iranian disinformation has influenced the MEK’s reputation. Thirdly, it analyses how the MEK has been able to …

Shifting Alliances: Are Black People Increasingly Identifying As Republican?, Clamont C. Mack

Student Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates claims that Black Americans are increasingly aligning with the Republican Party. Drawing on theories of party identification and political realignment, I compare competing perspectives to determine appropriate indicators of realignment within the Black community. Using quantitative analysis across several datasets, I find a modest rise in Republican identification over the past decade, but a more pronounced decline in Democratic affiliation. These findings suggest not a realignment toward the Republican Party, but rather a dealignment from the Democratic Party. This challenges popular media narratives of realignment and instead points to growing political disengagement among Black Americans.

To Protect The Sky From Falling, Charles Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Using ceramic, found objects, metal and wood, my practice is a meditation and questioning of care, efficiency, repair, structure and place. Architectural elements of support rendered in clay are the initial point of entry to give a soft, lived-in quality to a built environment that is often devoid of the mark of the hand and body. Imprints of the hand are left, and the objects are often deformed in ways to subvert the perceived functionality. The focus on ceramics centers around a play with the binary of soft and hard and the external changes that create its transformation. The work …

The Influence Of Money In Politics, Aminata Dieng

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Money plays a powerful role in shaping political outcomes by significantly influencing who gets elected and which policies are prioritized. Campaign financing, which includes donations from individuals, corporations, and Political Action Committees (PACs), often determines a candidate's visibility, resources, and ability to compete effectively. Those with greater financial backing tend to dominate media coverage and reach more voters, which can tip the scales in elections.

Divided Attention With Long-Term Memory: Recollection And Familiarity For Musical Melodies, Gaia Steinberg, Jackson S. Pelzner, Rhiannon N. Soriano Smith

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Objective: Test whether the well-established effects of divided attention 1, 2. (DA) found with non-musical (i.e., verbal and pictorial) materials generalized to musical melodies.

Background: Few studies have used melodies to test recognition models (e.g., DPSD). Parks et al.2 showed stimulus complexity alters source memory reliance on recollection (R) and familiarity (F).

Method: Used a 2 (attention) x 2 (melody type) mixed design with an old-new recognition test to compare DA effects across well-known and novel melodies.

Experiment 1: Applied an n-back task to split participants’ attention; no significant DA effect was observed.

Experiment 2: Shortened melody length and added …

To What Extent Is Social Media A Tool For Political Mobilization?, Bridget Westrum

Political Science Theses and Capstones

This study looks at the potential impacts of social media advocacy on mobilizing the pubic. Drawing from the Pew Research Center’s 2018 American Trends Panel, I look at Americans’ views of technology, political involvement, and their perceptions of social media and online engagement. I found that younger respondents view social media as more important to their political engagements. I find a significant relationship between census region and perceived importance of social media on issue involvement, as well. Respondents from the southern United States who consider themselves to be "very liberal" report a greater influence of social media on their involvement …

The Role Of Immigration In Handling The Criminal Act Of Human Trafficking To Cambodia, Alqy Raya Syadani, Eko Daryanto, David Ronald Tairas

Jurnal Wacana Politik

Human trafficking is a transnational crime that requires comprehensive handling by various parties, including immigration authorities. This study aims to analyze the role of immigration in addressing human trafficking crimes, focusing on cases involving Indonesia as the country of origin and Cambodia as the destination. The research employs a juridical-empirical approach with a case study method, utilizing data from official documents, interviews with immigration officers, and policy analysis. The findings indicate that the Directorate General of Immigration plays a crucial role in prevention through border surveillance, travel document inspections, and collaboration with law enforcement agencies and international organizations. The challenges …

Joe Biden Victory In The 2020 United States Presidential Election: Literature Review, Amril Hanif Zaki

Jurnal Wacana Politik

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 US presidential election is worth watching. Also, who wins the US presidential election will influence US foreign and international policy. This research aims to examine the 2020 US Presidential Election, focusing on Joe Biden’s victory. The author uses Scopus sources, which are analyzed using VOS viewer, NVivo, SWOT, Literature Review, and political communication theory, resulting in the peak of Joe Biden’s research in Scopus in 2023 experiencing a decline. The author also finds the involvement of Russian researchers who analyze Joe Biden, where these two countries have been rivals for a …

Ethics Of Political Entrepreneurship During The Covid-19 Outbreak In Rural Indonesian Villages, Wawan Sobari

Jurnal Wacana Politik

This study explores the political entrepreneurship ethics of village heads in setting village development policies and the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study applies a qualitative methodology and observational analysis method with the interview as the main data-gathering technique, discovering musyawarah (deliberation), obedience to regulation, transparency and participation, empathy, priority scale, and Islamic teachings as the principles held by village heads in policy-making. The village heads also draw on musyawarah, obey regulations, and transparency and inclusiveness to avoid conflicts of interest in making policies. Meanwhile, the justification for policy-making is based on regulation and musyawarah. The results of the …

The Phenomenon Of Political Voluntarism In General Elections: Between Democracy, Political Participation, And Political Parties, Arlan Siddha, Dadan Kurnia, Lukman Munawar Fauzi

Jurnal Wacana Politik

This study examines the phenomenon of political voluntarism in the 2024 General Elections in Indonesia, focusing on its role in shaping voter engagement, democratic participation, and political mobilization. The presence of political voluntarism is considered crucial in advocating ideas, values, aspirations, and has an impact on vote acquisition due to its broader nature in reaching various voter segments. There are three pairs of candidates in the 2024 General Elections, each with political volunteers engaging in various activities to support the candidates, such as “Desak Anies,” “Slepet Imin,” “Joget Gemoy,” “Demok(e)asi,” and “Tabrak Prof!”. The research methodology employs a descriptive qualitative …

"Social Media Is Imperfect, But It's The Best We Have": Understanding And Addressing Sexual Health Information Seeking Challenges Among Young Adults, Alexander N. Vera

MUSC Conference Presentations

Objective:

Young adults in South Carolina face increasing challenges when seeking accurate sexual health information due to limitations in traditional and authoritative sexual health education and healthcare access. This paper investigates the future of libraries and health science librarians by exploring how young adults use social media platforms to seek sexual health information. It identifies the primary barriers young adults face and investigates opportunities for developing innovative digital health literacy resources.

Methods:

This study employed a dual-method qualitative approach, utilizing 90-minute semi-structured interviews and digital walkthroughs with 20 young adults aged 18-25 from across South Carolina. The interviews explored participants' …

Women’S Mud Cloth Skirt (Bogolanfini), Abigail Jane Westhead

Department of Anthropology

The Bogolafini mud cloth is made by and for the Bamana people. This mud cloth is made to be a woman's skirt. It shows through art of the many patterns, the Bamana culture, history, folklore, values, and everyday life of the Bamana People

Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission Comment Tool For Proposed Changes To Bear Hunting Regulations, Amy Donley, Jacquelyn Reiss, Alexandria Mcclarty, Elise Lorenzo

Institute for Social and Behavioral Science (ISBS)

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Ability Of The Norepinephrine-Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor Nomifensine To Reverse The Effort-Related Effects Of Tetrabenazine In Female Rats, Vivien Daytree

Honors Scholar Theses

Anergia, lassitude, and psychomotor retardation are core symptoms of motivational dysfunction that often accompany Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). While selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors effectively alleviate mood and anxiety symptoms, they remain relatively ineffective at alleviating motivational deficits. Compounds that elevate extracellular dopamine (DA) have shown promise in addressing these symptoms. Bupropion, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), increases DA and is effective at attenuating motivational symptoms in patients. Another NDRI, nomifensine, has demonstrated potential antidepressant properties in preclinical research. Effort-based choice tasks, such as the FR5/chow choice task, serve as animal models for studying motivational dysfunction. Rats choose between exerting effort …

How Individual Differences In Cue Weighting Influence The Link Between Memory And Speech In Noise Perception, Ava Buckmir, Anne Marie Crinnion, Emily Myers

Honors Scholar Theses

Listening to speech is challenging, particularly when there is background noise or ambiguities in the speech signal. Numerous factors impact our ability to understand speech, including age, cognitive processes, and contextual information. But how do we account for these challenges? The types of cues we use may aid us in perceiving ambiguities in speech. Some individuals may rely on semantic cues (higher-level cues), such as how words relate to each other, or they may rely on acoustic-phonetic cues (lower-level cues), such as the durational information in the speech signal itself. But why do individuals differ in the types of cues …

Home On The Road: Nomad Place Identities In The Vanlife Movement, Megan Twomey

Geography Honors Projects

Living in a van in America is often viewed negatively by wider society, indicating the vandweller is homeless and is living in a van as a form of survival. Yet, in recent years living in a van has become aspiration and desirable as more people discover vanlife as a means of escape from mainstream society to travel and enjoy nature all while posting on social media. The movement first gained traction in 2011 when Foster Huntington shared the first #vanlife post on Instagram, since then it has exploded in popularity creating a countercultural movement of mobile Americans living by their …

Digital Representation Of Women Politicians In Indonesia: Youth Perspectives And Self-Portrayal On Social Media, Riri Kusumarani, Darmawati Majid, Anne Parlina, Ari Cahyo Nugroho

Jurnal Wacana Politik

Less than 25% of seats in Indonesia’s House of Representatives are held by women politicians. While studies have explored the topic of women in Indonesian politics, this article adopts a unique approach by examining the use of social media as a political marketing tool by women politicians in Indonesia during the 2024 pre-presidential election period. Key questions include how women politicians are portrayed on social media, how they portray themselves, and how Indonesian youths perceive them. Possible mismatches between portrayals are also considered. This study specifically analyzes and maps the characteristics of social media posts from 36 women politicians across …

Actualizing Bandung Spirit In The Contemporary World: The Study Of Indonesia And East African Countries Relations, Mansur Juned, Mohamad Hery Saripudin

Jurnal Wacana Politik

The Bandung Conference 1955 is an essential foundation of Indonesia and Eastern African nations under the scope of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Nairobi, Kenya. Yet, contemporary trends in trade, investment, and diplomatic engagement indicate that revitalizing this spirit requires new approaches amid a global economy driven by pragmatic interests.Therefore, this paper studies how the Bandung Conference spirit of solidarity is exercised in the contemporary Indonesia and Eastern Africa nations relations especially in terms of economy and politics. The paper uses the perspective international cooperation theory in scope of the global political economy which emphasizes that there …

Implementation Of The Electronic Parking System Policy In Bandung: Response To Public Demand, Nizar Adhari, Budiman Rusli, Ramadhan Pancasilawan

Jurnal Wacana Politik

Implementation Implementation of Electronic Parking System Policy in Bandung: Response to Public Demand This study examines the application of strategic planning in managing the electronic parking system in Bandung, focusing on the influence of local political dynamics on policy implementation. A qualitative approach and case study method were used to analyze strategic planning and political dynamics in the context of the electronic parking system. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews and field observations, while secondary data was sourced from media documentation and previous research.The findings reveal that the strategic planning of the electronic parking system aims to improve urban …

Political Communication And Digital Media Strategy General Election Supervisory Board Of Karimun District In The 2024 Legislative & Presidential General Elections, Khairunnisa Khairunnisa, Catur Nugroho

Jurnal Wacana Politik

Elections are one of the most important democratic processes in Indonesia. This study examines the political communication carried out by the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) Karimun Regency in the legislative and presidential elections of 2024, with a special focus on political communication strategies through digital media. This research uses a qualitative approach with a constructivist paradigm, collecting data through in-depth interviews and document analysis. The descriptive analysis method was used to analyze related literature. This research identifies problems to ensure elections are fair, transparent, and free from manipulation or violations. The analysis includes communication and situation analysis, including cooperation with …

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework For Prosperity (Ipef) And Asean Centrality: Asean’S Role In Enhancing The Achievement Of Political Economic Cooperation, Unsaini Sabrina Taqfir

Jurnal Wacana Politik

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays a strategic role as a regional organization in Southeast Asia in maintaining stability within the Indo-Pacific region. Through the adoption of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), ASEAN aims to uphold the principles of centrality, inclusivity, and complementarity. However, the participation of several ASEAN member states in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) introduces new dynamics regarding ASEAN’s centrality, particularly amidst the geopolitical rivalry between the Unites States (US) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This study analyzes ASEAN’s role in strengthening its centrality amidst member states’ participation in …

Private Military Contractors: Assessing Their Impact On U.S. Military Effectiveness And Ethical Standards, Otabek Akromov

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Background & Objectives:

• Scale of outsourcing: >180,000.00 troops
• Major providers: Blackwater and DynCorp •
• Research focus: magnitude of impact

Unseen And Underserved: A Narrative Review Of Binge Eating And Binge-Eating Disorder In Black Women, Vidhani Goel, Roberto Sagaribay, Kavya Gururaj, Laksh Ghai, Akriti Kapoor

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Prevalence & Health Disparities:

Black women engage in binge eating at similar or higher rates than White women. Lower diagnosis and treatment in black women.

Barriers to Treatment:

Limited access to mental health resources. Implicit bias in clinical settings. Lack of culturally tailored interventions.

Future Directions & Solutions:

Need for inclusive clinical research. Culturally responsive treatment models. Policy reforms to improve healthcare accessibility.

Contributing Factors:

Racial stress, trauma, and socioeconomic constraints. Food insecurity, stigma, and healthcare disparities.

Banking On Black: Black Banking And Financial Institutions In Historic Westside, Las Vegas, Drewmel Darby

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Guiding Questions and Topic Interest:

• What happened to the attempts to establish a black-owned bank on the Westside? Why did they fail?

• In what ways did the black community engage with financial institutions?

• How did black Las Vegans view their fiscal autonomy post-integration of Las Vegas in the 1960s?

• How does understanding the community’s history with banking better our understanding of it’s condition in the present?