Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Can I Get A Witness? The Ethical Dimensions Of Family Presence In Patient Suffering, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Trevor M Bibler, Holland Kaplan, Adam Omelianchuk, Joanna Smolenski

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

For patients who are suffering, the bedside presence of a family member can provide comfort, and many people hold that there is moral value in being present with a conscious, suffering patient. Yet what is the moral significance of the absence of family members when a patient is minimally conscious or unconscious and not aware of their absence? Clinicians are often troubled when family members and surrogate decision-makers who are able to spend a significant amount of time at an unconscious, seriously ill patient's bedside do not do so. Clinicians feel frustrated that they must bear the burden of witnessing …

Access To Digital Health Technologies: Personalized Framework And Global Perspectives, Sanjiv M Narayan, Mina K Chung, Demilade Adedinsewo, Luisa C C Brant, Leslie L Davis, David Duncker, Jennifer L Hall, Janet K Han, Carolyn S P Lam, Eldrin Lewis, Joseph Loscalzo, Manlio F Márquez, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Fatima Rodriguez, Prashanthan Sanders, Emma Svennberg, Kenneth Stein, Mintu Turakhia, Clyde Yancy, Antonis A Armoundas

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The emergence and rapid adoption of digital health technologies (DHT) present unprecedented opportunities to democratize and reduce disparities in health care by monitoring health and disease at the point of care in all patients. However, limited access to DHT is becoming a major obstacle to realizing these goals. Access to DHT is influenced not only by well-recognized social determinants of health, but also by digital determinants of health, such as digital literacy and the need for broad access to digital infrastructure, as well as commercial and economic factors. Addressing these challenges and designing unbiased systems of care are essential to …

Clinicians’ Views On A Patient Decision Aid For Deep Brain Stimulation In Parkinson’S Disease, Hillary S King, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Benjamin H Levi, Sol De Jesus, Harini Sarva, Laura Y Cabrera

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Introduction: For people with Parkinson's disease (PD), deciding whether to pursue deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become increasingly complex. Evidence suggests current approaches to collaborative decision-making may fall short of accepted standards. Thus, a decision support intervention, such as a patient decision aid (PtDA) may be warranted. PtDAs have been shown to improve patients' knowledge, expectations, and participation in decision-making for other, similar healthcare decisions. We therefore sought to assess neurologists' awareness of, and experience using, PtDAs, and to solicit their opinions on the ideal features of a PtDA for PD patients considering DBS.

Methods: Sixteen United States-based neurology clinicians …

Nato's Evolution And European Security Dynamics, Chick Edmond

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has transformed dramatically since the end of the Cold War. As a collective defense alliance, it was primarily focused on defending itself against the Soviet Union. NATO is now focused on addressing multiple types of threats: traditional, hybrid, and non-traditional. This study uses a qualitative methodological approach that includes a systematic content review of NATO’s Strategic Concepts from to 1991–2022; NATO Summit Communiques; NATO Defense Planning Guidance and Elite Speeches. This allows us to analyse the causes and effects of NATO’s transformation over time. Our results suggest that because of Russia’s actions as a …

Strategic Mineral Competition And Democratic Governance In Africa, Chick Edmund

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

African countries have become focal points of a new round of competition among global powers to access key minerals required for an emerging green transition, as well as for advanced digital infrastructure and modern weaponry. In addition to their relatively high level of reserves of such minerals, which include cobalt, lithium, graphite and several types of rare earths, Africa is also home to many of the world’s most important deposits. These mineral riches present, however, a contradictory situation: on one hand, they represent the critical resources needed to achieve a low-carbon future; but on the other hand, these same resources …

Development Of The Simultaneous Alcohol And Cannabis Use Expectancy Questionnaire (Sac-Eq), Shane D. Marohnic

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Background: Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (SAC/SAM), defined as using alcohol and cannabis at the same time so that their effects overlap, has been identified as a hazardous form of polysubstance use. Expectancies are a causal mechanism and can be changed with predictable reductions in substance use and associated consequences, yet only one measure has been developed to assess expectancies related to SAC. Due to limitations of the existing measure, this study sought to create a more comprehensive SAC expectancy scale. Method: Three phases of participants (Phase 1, N = 493; Phase 2, n = 4; Phase 3, n …

Human-Centered Governance Of Climate Resilience: Integrating Sustainability, Equity, And Mental Health, Chelcee A. Pangerl

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how sustainability and resilience are defined, implemented, and experienced across three levels of climate governance: household perception, community experience, and federal policy. Climate resilience is often evaluated through infrastructure performance, emissions targets, restoration timelines, and preparedness systems, yet these measures do not fully capture how residents experience uncertainty, support, equity, and mental health. To address this gap, the dissertation develops and applies the Integrated Policy Framework for Sustainability and Resilience (IPFSR). IPFSR organizes six domains into three functional categories: policy outcomes, human-centered dimensions, and implementation mechanisms. Sustainability and operational/physical resilience are treated as policy outcomes; mental health …

I, Cock-A-Doodle-Do: Reclaiming Masculinity Through Queer Joy And Humorous Self-Exploration, Nelson J. Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

I examine the contemporary norms of masculinity. My research wrestles with ultimately unresolvable stereotypes and imagery influencing current masculine behavior. I unearth queer potential through the physicality and behavior of the stereotypical “man’s man”. I infuse my own queer identity into my studio practice with an emphasis on humor and joy to subvert traditional models of male performance. This process drives self-exploration that allows me to personally respond, react, be directed, and redirected by the interactions between queerness and masculinity. Masculine and queer representations across various media, such as film, music, and television, historically and continuously inform restrictive cultural norms. …

Contested Air: Politics, Prejudice, And Radio Broadcasting In New York State, 1925-1928, Sebastian Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis examines the intersection between radio broadcasting as the "new media" of the 1920s and American political culture of the period, using New York Governor and 1928 Democratic presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith as a case study. Smith entered 1925 as a political lone wolf and left the year as a triumphant victor set to take the presidency. Building on the work of Smithian scholars, this thesis illuminates how Smith’s radio use remained central to this political transformation. Smith found in radio an apt space to bypass Republican opposition and mobilize the body politic through direct engagement, which, in …

Emotional Support Friends: Creating Social Impact Through Art And Polite Humor, Kenyari Gil Rosario

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis aims to provide new imagery to the conversation of mental health and neurodivergence. It does this through forms of soft sculpture, digital paintings, marker drawings, and community murals. Inspired by the practices of Keith Haring, iconographic characters are used to portray common struggles and coping habits of mental conditions in an endearing light. With the goal of social impact, this project is affiliated with the non-profit organization Providing Autism Links and Support (P.A.L.S). This partnership has given the community an opportunity to share their compassion through art and donations and uses art as a means of social impact …

Centered A Story Of Family And Compassion In The Face Of Parkinson's Disease, Savannah Hill

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Centered is a three-dimensional (3D) animated short film that explores the topic of parental illness and how families must respond with compassion and adaptability when loved ones face mental or physical challenges. The story is inspired by the director’s own experience with her father’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease when she was in high school. The main characters, a father and daughter, must navigate the father’s changing needs after his diagnosis by prioritizing their connection and adapting to his new physical challenges. In the film, they do this through the creation of pottery. The imperfect, handmade design style of the film …

Essays On Network Resilience: Enhancing Network Resilience Through Network Governance Structure, Process, Environment, And Leadership, Hanvit Kim

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As disasters become more complex, their impacts often cascade across interdependent systems, creating failures that extend beyond any single organization or sector. Because such crises cut across organizational and sectoral boundaries, effective response depends not only on the capacity of individual organizations but also on the resilience of interorganizational networks. Yet despite the growing importance of networked coordination in disaster response, the concept of network resilience remains underdeveloped in the literature, with limited consensus on its definition, measurement, and determinants. This dissertation addresses that gap by systematically examining what network resilience is, how it can be conceptualized and assessed, and …

Do Emerging Social Media Platforms Shape The Gender Gap In Surveillance Political Knowledge?, Saskia Papsova

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Abstract

Research shows that men consistently score higher than women on standard political knowledge measures, but as Americans increasingly obtain political information through social media, it is unclear whether different platforms affect this gender gap. This study investigates whether social media platforms shape the gender gap in surveillance political knowledge—knowledge of current political facts and contested claims circulating in the contemporary information environment, and which platforms have the biggest impact. Using data from the ANES 2020 Social Media Study, I estimate weighted OLS regression models testing whether platform-specific usage is associated with surveillance political knowledge and whether these associations differ …

Modeling Hazard Perception Learning In Novice Drivers With Autism: A Multimodal Simulation-Based Study, Erik J. Sand

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Young drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often demonstrate difficulties with road-surveillance behaviors such as scanning ahead, monitoring mirrors, and identifying emerging hazards. These challenges can increase crash risk, particularly for adolescents with limited driving experience. This study explored whether a simple, video-game–based hazard-training program could improve hazard detection performance, visual scanning, and self-regulation in this population. Five participants aged 15–18 years, each identified by a parent as having ASD and possessing either a learner’s permit or no license, completed sequential Baseline, three Treatment, and Withdrawal phases using the SpeedLimit driving simulation. The study employed a single-case experimental design with …

Rhetoric Of Opportunity: An Analysis Of Gullah Geechee Histories Through The Lens Of Counterstory, Xaria Arthur

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Counterstory as a method/ology has been used in a variety of disciplines to share experiences of individuals and communities whose voices have been historically silenced or suppressed. Utilizing this methodological framework, my study shares the stories of six Gullah Geechee descendants with ancestral roots in the unincorporated community of Nesmith in Williamsburg County, SC. Treating these minoritized and individual stories as experiential knowledge, I trace the counterstories as topoi to introduce and develop the theoretical concept that I call the rhetoric of opportunity, which refers to memories or stories that have come to motivate individuals toward or away from …

Essays On Politics And Ideology In Asset Management, Madison Borrelli

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how political influence and ideology shape the investment and governance decisions of institutional investors. My first essay studies the effects of political interference on public pension plan asset allocation. Plans facing investment restrictions shift away from low-cost traditional assets toward higher-fee, lower-performing alternative assets. While politicians advocating these restrictions receive increased media attention, state economies do not benefit. These findings underscore how political incentives create agency problems that adversely affect investment decisions and outcomes.

The second essay examines whether differences in political ideology between asset managers and investors give rise to conflicts of interest. Mutual fund institutions …

Do Fair Schedules Matter? Work-Home Conflict And Justice In Emergency Medicine, Maresca J. Brand

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Emergency physicians work in a high-demand environment requiring irregular, around-the-clock schedules, which can contribute to elevated work-home conflict and burnout. While previous research has focused on objective schedule characteristics such as length of shift or time of day worked, less attention has been given to how emergency physicians perceive the fairness of the scheduling process itself. Drawing on Work-Home Resources Theory and Personal Resource Allocation Theory, this study examines whether perceptions of schedule justice influence work-home conflict via schedule satisfaction. I propose that perceived fairness in schedule creation functions as a contextual resource that shapes whether a schedule is experienced …

Examining Team Leader Visual Dynamics And Team Performance In Pediatric Emergency Simulations, Annamarie Brosnihan

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Pediatric medical emergencies are dynamic, high-intensity clinical situations that demand coordinated interdisciplinary actions for optimal patient outcomes. Effective teamwork and leadership are critical, especially during the preparatory phase. Here, team leaders define task goals, assign individual roles, and maintain situational awareness. This phase directs attention, organizes team dynamics, and ensures medical interventions are deployed properly. Medical simulations provide a unique opportunity to capture dynamic leadership behaviors in a controlled low-stakes environment using multimodal data, such as eye tracking, to gain insight into team leader cognitive processes (i.e., attention allocation and information processing). Prior research suggests that leaders who visually attend …

The Bite Model And Multi-Level Marketing: How Monat Propagates, Lilly D. Cheung

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study aims to understand how MONAT Global Corp, a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company, utilizes rhetoric that aligns with Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of Authoritarian Control. Hassan is a cult expert and cult survivor whose work primarily explains undue influence and thought control with BITE representing Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control. The MLM MONAT is a haircare brand that operates through a recruitment-and-sales-based hierarchy, in which sellers sign up and work under one another in a layered marketing structure. To meet quotas and maintain ranks, representatives will use rhetorical strategies to recruit new sellers beneath them in their ‘downline’ …

Reliability Of Staged Maximal Aerobic Capacity Protocol Using A Combined Upper- And Lower-Body Air-Braked Ergometer, Jack J. Livingston

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) is widely recognized as the preeminent measure of aerobic capacity and is typically assessed using graded exercise testing (GXT). This study examined the test–retest reliability of VO₂peak and associated physiological responses during a staged GXT performed on a combined upper- and lower-body air-braked ergometer. Fifteen recreationally active adults (9 males, 6 females; age: 26.9 ± 7.2 years; body mass: 75.1 ± 11.0 kg) completed one familiarization session and two trials separated by ≥72 hours. Participants performed a staged GXT (40 RPM start, +3 RPM every 3 min to exhaustion) on a combined upper- and lower-body air-braked …

Detecting Error In Ai-Generated Text: The Effects Of Authorship And Word Presentation Speed, Gabriela Flores Cruz

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The increased us of artificial intelligent (AI) chatbots powered by Generative Pre-trained Transformers has raised concerns about users’ ability to detect errors of AI-generated text. This dissertation examined how readers identify inconsistencies in AI-generated expository passages using the inconsistency detection paradigm from comprehension monitoring research. Across two experiments, it investigated whether perceived authorship and word presentation speed influenced inconsistency detection. Experiment 1 used a 3 (author: human, AI, no author) × 2 (inconsistency type: internal, external) between-subjects design. Perceived authorship did not significantly affect hit rates, sensitivity, or response bias. Exploratory analyses indicated that reading comprehension and working memory predicted …

Cracking The Code Of Ai Autonomy: Examining The Role Of Challenge And Hindrance Appraisals And Ai Literacy In Task Satisfaction, Rujuta Parekar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

AI is constantly evolving and being rapidly integrated into the workplace. Limited research has examined how this integration is affecting employee outcomes, and particularly the impacts of whether employees are expected or mandated to use AI for their work. The present study utilized the challenge-hindrance framework to examine the effect of autonomy in using AI on task satisfaction through challenge and hindrance appraisal among working adults. Since the ability to understand and use AI can influence how individuals perceive it, the moderating effect of AI literacy on the hypothesized research model is also examined. A multi-wave research design was used …

Perspectives Of Poetry: Peering Into Poetry And Aphasia, Kristian M. Perez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

People with aphasia often experience significant barriers to communication, emotional expression, and participation in meaningful life activities following stroke or neurological injury. Although poetry and creative expression have been explored in broader therapeutic contexts, limited research has examined how people with aphasia perceive poetry. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of people with aphasia regarding definitions of poetry, level of interest in poetry and the factors influencing said interest. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults with aphasia recruited through convenience sampling. Participants responded to questions before and after exposure to the poem Trust by Mark …

“I Call For The Resurgence And Reclamation Of Our Indigenous Ways”: Institutional Landscapes, Resistance, And The Experiences Of Mmir Advocates, Sara Tehrani

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island experience disproportionately high rates of violence and homicide compared to other racial groups. Rooted in coloniality and sustained by Western institutions, this epidemic is recognized as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis. In response, Indigenous women have mobilized the MMIR Movement to raise awareness and advocate for institutional change. Although scholarship on MMIR has expanded, limited research has explored the experiences of MMIR advocates. This study interrogates the institutional landscapes that shape MMIR advocacy and explores the resistance strategies advocates employ to address the crisis. Using reflexive thematic analysis, this study examines semi-structured …

Symmetry, Presumptions, And The Judges Design, Murat C. Mungan

Faculty Scholarship

An instrumental variables approach called ‘the judges design’ used frequently in social sciences relies on an assumption called ‘average monotonicity’. This assumption pertains to how different judges’ (or other classifiers’) decision making processes relate to each other. Violations of it are hard to detect, which raises the importance of it being supported by a plausible theory. Decisions of judges who solve Bayesian decision problems violate average monotonicity as long as the signals they process are symmetric and they do not possess strong presumptions. This result is extended to cases where judge presumptions are symmetrically distributed and may include strong presumptions. …

The 2026 World Cup, In Trump’S Shadow, Richard Holtzman

History, Literature, and the Arts Faculty Journal Articles

This essay examines President Donald Trump’s rhetorical interventions in the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is inspired by Eduardo Galeano’s Soccer in Sun and Shadow, which interprets football as a mirror reflecting broader political, cultural, and economic realities. My analysis explores how Trump commandeered the World Cup through spectacle, transforming it into a stage for symbolically demonstrating his power and indulging his ego. The president’s rhetorical behavior is explored and critiqued through three case studies and a final vignette: (1) the establishment of a White House World Cup Task Force, (2) the president’s threats to relocate …

Strategic Decoupling: How Great Power Competition Reshapes Domestic Economic Policy In The United States And China, Chick Edmond

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Objectives:
The core idea of this research is that states react to great-power competitions using institutionally dependent paths: the U.S. uses regulatory tools such as export controls, investment screening, and targeted subsidies based on its fragmented, legally mediated-governance structure; whereas, China uses state-driven tools such as central planning directives, State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) mandates, and Policy Bank lending driven by its hierarchical Party-State structure

Methods:
This research utilizes a qualitative comparative case study model to compare how the U.S. and China have developed different forms of domestic economic policy in reaction to competing interests of being a global superpower. A comparative …

Affordable Course Content And Open Education Resources For Undergraduate Courses Teaching Fundamentals Of Wireless Communications And Networking, Dimitrie C. Popescu, Otilia Popescu

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Wireless communication systems and networks along with the services they provide have become an essential component of the modern 21st century society, fueling job growth in the wireless industry and increasing the need for engineers specialized in wireless communication systems. As a consequence, over the past two decades, undergraduate courses teaching fundamentals of wireless communication systems and networks have become common in electrical and computer engineering and technology programs. At the same time, the number of textbooks dedicated to wireless systems and networks published by mainstream publishers has also grown, with availability in various formats and offerings and a significant …

Statewide Corridor Evacuation Response And Re-Entry Behaviors In Florida During Hurricane Irma, Xin Wang, Yuan Zhu, Hong Yang, Kun Xie

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Hurricane Irma stands as one of the most destructive tropical storms to make landfall in the United States, particularly impacting the State of Florida, where it prompted the largest evacuation in history with approximately 7 million residents. The profound consequences of mass evacuation underscore the critical need to understand travel behaviors during hurricane evacuation and the recovery process. This research analyzes statewide evacuation and re-entry patterns, leveraging diverse datasets, including TTMS data from main corridors and GIS data. A statewide corridor-based empirical analysis framework is constructed to characterize evacuation and re-entry response patterns using sensor-based traffic observations. The results show …

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation And Physical Activity Associate With Extracellular Vesicle Size And Cargo In A Community-Based Cohort Of Women, Yvonne Baumer, Elizabeth M. Aquino Peterson, Matthew R. Bavuso, Noel Miller, Cristhian A. Gutierrez-Huerta, Nithya P. Vijayakumar, Sam J. Neally, Kaveri Curlin, Valerie M. Mitchell, Billy S. Collins, Neelam R. Redekar, Subrata Paul, Anca D. Dobrian, Tiffany M. Powell-Wiley

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

African American (AA) women face disproportionate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk due to adverse social determinants of health (SDoH), including lower socioeconomic status (SES). Physical activity (PA) and plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) modulate CVD risk, but their relationships with SDoH remain unclear. This study examines associations between SDoH, PA, and plasma EVs in a Washington, DC-based cohort of at-risk AA women. Participants (N = 24, Age: 57 ± 12, BMI: 35 ± 6, ASCVD: 9 ± 5) joined the Step It Up Community-Engaged, Digital Health Physical Activity Intervention pilot study. EVs were isolated from fasting plasma samples. Multivariable regression, adjusted for …