Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Black Existential–Spiritual Counseling: A Content Analysis, Miles Matise

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Black American existential–spiritual counseling integrates existential philosophy with the unique cultural, historical, and spiritual contexts of Black Americans to address their psychological and spiritual needs. Rooted in the lived experience of systemic oppression, alienation, and the quest for identity and freedom, this counseling approach emphasizes meaning-making, personal responsibility, and authentic living. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of spirituality and psychology, recognizing the importance of the Black church, music, and communal values in fostering resilience and empowerment. Drawing on existential themes, such as mortality, freedom, loneliness, and purpose, this approach supports clients in navigating sociocultural stressors and generational trauma through a spiritually …

Welcome To Our Charity Bazaar, Leslee Thorne-Murphy, Maggie Kopp

Faculty Publications

Catalog for the 2017-2018 exhibit at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, BYU Library. Charity bazaars were a product of a massive nineteenth-century philanthropic undertaking in the United Kingdom, as private citizens attempted to respond to the social ills created by a rapidly industrializing economy. Bazaars combined the entertainment value of a social gathering and the fun of a town fair, with the moral earnestness of philanthropic work. Typically organized by women, these bazaars offered handmade goods for sale, raising funds for numerous local and national charitable causes. The exhibit showcases the history and print culture of the charity bazaar, from …

"Celts In The Valley", William Lindsey Mcdonald

Research Articles

The Tennessee Valley of North Alabama retains linguistic and cultural influences from the languages of its inhabitants. Scot Irish inhabitants of Celtic origin produced a dialect that McDonald claims as a "Celtic character" through tracing common regional expressions back to their roots in the original Gaelic.

Archives As Activism: Using Cuny Archives To Examine And Analyze Social Change, Marci Littlefield

Open Educational Resources

Archives as Activism uses CUNY archival materials to help students examine the relationship between activism, social issues and social change. Students will analyze primary sources such as flyers, newsletters, photographs, student newspapers, and institutional documents and connect them to contemporary social issues. CUNY’s history of activism around, race, gender, educational access, women’s organizing and institutional power provides students with an opportunity to investigate questions about power, collective action, intersectionality and social change.

Uae Audiences' Reliance On Social Media As A Source Of Information On Complementary And Alternative Medicine: A Study Of Al Ain City Residents Based On Media System Dependency Theory, Abdul Rahman Al-Toum, Mohammed Al-Kaabi, Najoud Al-Mansouri, Ahmed Bin Ishaq, Amer Khaled Ahmad, Maram Manajrah

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study examined the extent to which UAE audiences rely on social media as a source of information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the resulting effects of this reliance. Grounded in Media System Dependency Theory, the study employed an audience survey using a questionnaire administered to a sample of (132) Emirati citizens in Al Ain. The findings revealed that the combined medium and high reliance reached (53%). Regarding the effects, cognitive effects recorded the highest arithmetic means, followed by affective and behavioral effects at comparable levels. Hypothesis testing showed no statistically significant differences in the degree of reliance …

Understanding The Political Profile Of Long Island’S Central American Electorate: A Case Study Of Long Island’S Majority-Latino Towns, Brett J. Patrick

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

As Salvadoran and Guatemalan migrants settled en masse across Long Island from the 1980s to the 2010s, seven Latino-majority towns emerged, each with distinct voting patterns that diverge from broader national Latino trends and from one another. This study examines how and why these Central American communities vote by integrating precinct-level election returns with the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey data. Using variables such as income, population density, education, citizenship status, and language, it identifies correlations between demographic conditions and partisan vote share. This approach reveals how socioeconomic factors shape political behavior within Salvadoran-American and Guatemalan-American enclaves in Nassau and …

Book Review: The Weight Of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage In The Sahara, Michael Margolius

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Edith Blais

Reviewed by Commander Michael Margolius, US Navy, professor, US Army War College, and former J3 of the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency

In his review of The Weight of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara, Michael Margolius views the ordeal faced by author Edith Blais through the lens of a personnel recovery agent. Blais and her boyfriend were kidnapped and held for 15 months by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin gunmen. Margolius points out the many small and practical things that helped Blais survive and how her story can help agencies learn from her experience to …

How Dance/Movement Therapy Can Cultivate Self-Compassion In Chinese Diaspora Adults: A Literature Review, Heng Hsiu Liu

Expressive Therapies Theses

Chinese diaspora adults navigate a psychological transition in mental health understanding, based on acculturation level; some are more somatically focused in their understanding, while others adopt Western mental health frameworks. While self-compassion can be a helpful transdiagnostic tool, Chinese diasporas still face barriers to current selfcompassion interventions such as the remaining stigma of "losing face" with their family and community, language barriers to emotional expression, and a cultural emphasis on self-criticism as a tool for moral improvement. Self-compassion cultivation is grounded in mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness, which collectively stimulate the soothing-affiliative affect regulation system. This review identifies Dance/Movement Therapy …

The Implementation Of Sel-Based Interactive E-Modules To Enhance Mental Health Literacy, Muhammad Arif Budiman Sucipto, Mulyani Mulyani

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

The mental health crisis among Generation Alpha students is concerning, marked by stagnating life purpose and digital academic pressure. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of an interactive SEL-based E-Module in enhancing students' mental health literacy, offering an innovative solution responsive to the digital era. Employing a Classroom Action Research design integrated with ADDIE. Thirty-two tenth-grade students with low initial literacy scores (mean pre-test = 42.3) participated through purposive sampling. The two-cycle intervention utilized a digital module featuring Private Mode (encrypted emotional journal) and Emergency Button (direct link to counselors). Data were collected through literacy scales, observations, interviews, and …

Book Review: Arming East Asia: Deterring China In The Early Cold War, Richard H. Immerman

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Eric Setzekorn

Reviewed by Richard H. Immerman, emeritus professor of history, Temple University

Covering American policy toward Asia in the Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower administrations, Arming East Asia: Deterring China in the Early Cold War looks to “enhance the historical sensibilities of contemporary policymakers, thereby enabling them to make informed—and by implication, better—decisions as the United States again confronts an aggressive China in the twenty-first century,” according to the reviewer. It focuses on the years 1952–60, though offers no “surprises for informed readers.”

Copyright: ©2026 Richard H. Immerman

Book Review: Warfare In Peacetime: Proxies And State Powers, Scott Heal

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Christopher C. Harmon

Reviewed by Scott Heal (US Army)

Warfare in Peacetime: Proxies and State Powers defines proxy, lists the advantages and disadvantages of using proxies, and offers seven case studies, including the USSR and East Germany, the United States and the Nicaraguan Contras, and Iran and Hezbollah. The reviewer notes, “those studying limited warfare or the challenges in understanding and addressing gray-zone activities will find Harmon’s framework and analysis practical and informative.”

Book Review: Nexus: A Brief History Of Information Networks From The Stone Age To Ai, David R. Leard

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Yuval Noah Harari

Reviewed by Colonel Daniel R. Leard, US Army War College Fellow at Princeton University

Built on the ideas that stories are important and bind civilizations, which results in human societies working as information networks, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, by Yuval Noah Harari, is the third book exploring the evolution of humanity. Harari unpacks the idea that the networks people create have flaws and people tend to exploit these flaws to misuse power. Though the topic is heavy, the reviewer notes, Harari “presents deeply complex issues in …

Book Review: Death, Dominance, And State-Building: The Us In Iraq And The Future Of American Military Intervention, Connor Halliday

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Roger D. Petersen

Reviewed by Major Connor Halliday (US Army), instructor of international affairs at the United States Military Academy

Death, Dominance, and State-Building: The US in Iraq and the Future of American Military Intervention, by Roger D. Petersen, analyzes America’s strategy in Iraq over the last 20 years and offers lessons learned for future US military interactions and state-building ventures. Reviewer Connor Halliday notes, “Military practitioners, strategists, and scholars of civil wars and state-building will all find Petersen’s work insightful and thought-provoking. The book’s value lies not just in its analysis of Iraq, but in its broader lessons …

Medical Debt Among Low-Wage Workers In The United States: Reason To Worry And Reason To Hope, Mathieu Despard, Stephen Roll, Eva Stahl, Camila Salvagno

Center for Social Development Research

With one in five low-wage workers reporting medical or dental debt they cannot afford to pay, financial assistance programs (also known as charity care) are an important resource. Federal law requires nonprofit hospitals to offer such programs, but evidence suggests that workers experience administrative burdens in learning about and applying for the assistance. Drawing upon data from the Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility (WEIM) survey, this brief presents findings on associations between the characteristics of low-wage workers and their experiences with financial assistance programs. The brief also shares examples of how hospital policies and patients’ needs may not align, presenting …

From The Archives: Rediscovering The John Preston Papers, Isabella Sumner

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

The John Preston, MD Papers, the newest collection at the McGovern Historical Center, contain letters and institutional records documenting life at the Austin State Lunatic Asylum—now Austin State Hospital—during Dr. Preston's 36 years as superintendent. Materials include correspondence from patient's families, physicians, judges, sheriffs, and attorneys, along with budgets, patient records, and even menus for staff and patients. Together, they offer a window into mental health care in Texas during the early 20th century.

Read the full story and explore highlights from the collection on the McGovern Historical Center blog. 

Smart City Pula, Bj Fletcher, Saša Drezgić, Molly Schnoke

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of A Filial Therapy Program On Gifted Children’S Self-Regulation And Academic Perseverance, Helin Yarcel, Fuat Tanhan

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a 10-session filial therapy program delivered to mothers on gifted children’s self-regulation and academic perseverance. Participants were 45 gifted students attending a Science and Art Center (Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi [BİLSEM]) in Eastern Türkiye and their mothers, who were randomly assigned to an experimental, placebo, or control group. Self-regulation and academic perseverance scales were administered as pre-test, post-test, and 6-week follow-up measures. Given the sample size, data were analyzed with non-parametric tests, including the Kruskal–Wallis H, Friedman, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and Mann–Whitney U tests. Results showed improvements in self-regulation …

Leveraging A Model Of Intergroup Competencies: A Reflexive Tool For Developing Diversity Leadership In Higher Education, Arig Al Shaibah

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Despite, or perhaps precisely because of, the current partisan pushback against equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts in Western higher education institutions, universities may be well served to renovate their approaches to leadership diversity development to build greater capacity for advancing mission-critical inclusion excellence priorities. This article describes a promising educational intervention that has broad applicability to more meaningfully develop leadership proficiencies that better enable the advancement of EDI goals in higher education. While individual diversity leadership development programming is a micro-level intervention, it could prove beneficial—though insufficient on its own—as a prerequisite for macro-level equity and inclusion policymaking and …

Metro Monitor 2026: Las Vegas And Reno, Nevada, Kevin Yang, Lara Karaalp, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents economic growth performance indicators in the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV and Reno, NV metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), using data provided by the Brookings Institution’s Metro Monitor 2023  and 2026. The Metro Monitor explores five indicators of economic performance over ten year periods: the 2023 report provides data measuring the period from 2011 to 2021, while the 2026 report provides data measuring the period from 2014 to 2024. The Metro Monitor reports data on growth, prosperity, economic inclusion, racial inclusion, and geographic inclusion across 196 MSAs in the U.S.

Shu World Review- September 14th 2026, Diplolab, Seton Hall University

SHU World Review

No abstract provided.

God's Not Neutral: Narrative Tropes, Spiritual Warfare, And The Construction Of Evangelical Political Identity In American Christian Fiction, Evelyn L. Mccullough

Dissertations and Theses

Evangelical Christian fiction has reached tens of millions of readers and viewers during the most sustained period of evangelical political mobilization in American history, yet its narrative construction remains largely unexamined. This study asks how recurrent tropes in this genre build the attitudinal and emotional preconditions for political engagement. Combining systematic qualitative content analysis of eight texts spanning four decades (1986–2024) with Critical Discourse Analysis grounded in van Dijk's sociocognitive framework, it traces how storytelling devices connect theological belief to political behavior. The analysis reveals a single organizing logic: the corpus holds one regressive heroic disposition constant while making it …

Eliciting Information About Teacher Applicants Using Open-Ended Questions, Joseph Aguilar-Bohorquez, Dan Goldhaber, Cyrus Grout, Elton Mykerezi, Prayash Pathak, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Employers commonly use open-ended questions in hiring, but usually responses aren’t recorded, and knowledge about the usefulness of such responses is limited. This study investigates properties of written responses to open-ended questions collected over many years via an application tracking platform that school districts use to hire teachers. We develop a scalable process to discover topics within the corpus of responses to each question and then to classify each response with respect to the topics while preserving interpretability and transparency. It adapts a traditional qualitative topic modeling approach, Inductive Thematic Analysis, to best combine the strengths of researcher judgment and …

Mentorship As A Catalyst For Change Readiness: A Qualitative Study Of How Effective Mentoring Mitigates Burnout And Turnover During Organizational Transformation, Jeffery M. Camp

Journal of Online Mentoring

This qualitative study examined how effective mentorship mitigates burnout and attenuates turnover intention during organizational change, foregrounding the perspectives of experienced mentors. Drawing on Biggs’s presage–process–product (PPP) model, data were collected through semi-structured interviews (n = 12) and two focus group discussions (n = 6 each), engaging 18 unique mentors employed in organizations with 1,000 or more employees. Thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase protocol yielded four themes: (1) mentorship as strategic facilitation of organizational change; (2) mentorship as provision of emotional and psychological support; (3) empowering mentees through relationship-building; and (4) applying adaptive and reflective strategies. …

Identification Of At-Risk Rail Network Segments And Development Of Fragility-Based Resilience Metrics, Haizhong Wang, Brian M. Staes, Benyamin Ghoreishi

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report presents a multi-hazard risk and resilience assessment of the U.S. rail network. The research identifies at-risk rail segments exposed to flash flooding, riverine flooding, extreme heat, and landslides using historical hazard records, federal accident and incident data, and meteorological datasets spanning 2000–2024. Flood exposure is mapped nationally by linking storm records to rail alignments and estimating the frequency and intensity of events at the segment level. For extreme heat, a fragility analysis of 153 documented thermal buckling derailments reveals that a significant share of failures occurred under relatively mild environmental conditions, pointing to infrastructure and maintenance factors rather …

“I Was Not Wonder Woman And Required Help”: Black, Latina, And White Women’S Recovery From The Covid-19 Pandemic, J. Mitchell Vaterlaus, Colton Pierce, Harry Foster, Alison Brennan, Nicole Wanago

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected women, particularly women of color, yet less is known about their recovery experiences following the end of the public health emergency. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic among Black, Latina, and White women in the United States. Participants (N = 133) completed a survey that included a self-reported recovery measure and open-ended questions regarding their recovery experiences. A chi-square analysis indicated a significant association between race/ethnicity and recovery status, with Latina women more likely to report ongoing recovery than Black and White women. Codebook thematic analysis identified four themes: (1) …

Benefits And Costs For Chattanooga Residents Of Incorporating Training Into Economic Development Strategies, Timothy J. Bartik, Iryna V. Lendel, Sevrin Williams

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

This report evaluates the benefit-cost tradeoffs of adding a workforce training component to Chattanooga's economic development incentive packages, using the Bartik Benefit-Cost Model of Business Incentives. Focusing on hypothetical projects across seven industries, the analysis compares the present value of training costs against resulting gains in residents' per capita income over a 20-year horizon. Findings show that training, layered onto existing PILOT-based tax incentives, delivers benefits more than 25 times its costs—driven by training's greater cost-effectiveness in inducing business location decisions and its stronger tendency to direct new jobs toward local residents. While training is not self-financing from a city …

Parental Perceptions Of Censorship In Utah: Working Paper, Rachel L. Wadham, Dallyn Edmunds

Faculty Publications

The rapid rise of book challenges and removals in U.S. school libraries has increasingly been justified through appeals to parental rights, yet relatively little research has explored what parents themselves believe about censorship and book removal. This exploratory qualitative study examined Utah parents’ perceptions of censorship in school libraries, the kinds of content they believe should be restricted, and the reasoning underlying those beliefs. Using a grounded theory-informed thematic analysis approach, data were collected through a survey of 319 Utah parents with children enrolled in public schools. The survey combined closed-ended and open-ended questions, allowing participants to articulate their views …

“Perceived Usefulness And The Role Of Electronic Libraries In Supporting E-Learning (2010–2025): A Systematic Review Of Empirical Studies, Comfort Oluwapelumi Egunyemi (Cln), Ifeoluwa Adenike Ayoola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Electronic libraries have become essential tools in supporting e-learning by providing users with timely and flexible access to digital academic resources. This study examined the perceived usefulness and role of electronic libraries in supporting e-learning, particularly within Nigerian universities.

The study adopted a systematic literature review methodology in which relevant empirical and scholarly studies were purposively selected and critically analysed. Findings revealed that students perceive electronic libraries as useful for accessing course materials, conducting research, completing assignments, and promoting independent learning. The review further showed that electronic libraries contribute significantly to knowledge organization, information accessibility, and flexible learning environments …

Analysis Of Tiktok Content Marketing Strategy In Building Brand Awarness For Sana Tour Trekking Tour, Sechan Shamic

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

The paradigm shift in tourist behavior post-COVID-19 has altered market preferences from mass tourism toward a more personalized and quality-oriented special interest tourism, such as outdoor trekking. This phenomenon compels micro-enterprises like Sana Tour to transition their marketing strategies into the digital ecosystem to build brand awareness. This study aims to analyze the organic content packaging formulas on the @sanatourtrekkingbogor TikTok account, map the customer journey path using the 5A Customer Journey framework, and identify the supporting and inhibiting factors of content effectiveness. The research approach employed is qualitative descriptive utilizing Robert Kozinets' Netnography model. Data were gathered through in-depth …

Digital Mindset Efficacy For Human-Ai Career Readiness, Frank Lin, Conrad Shayo

Communications of the IIMA

This article develops digital mindset efficacy as a key capability for human-AI career readiness. It argues that success in AI-shaped workplaces requires not only technical tool use but also the confidence and capacity to learn with, evaluate, collaborate with, and responsibly govern digital and AI systems. Drawing on digital mindset, digital intelligence, AI proficiency, self-efficacy, and life-skills literature, the article proposes a theory-based model linking digital mindset efficacy to AI proficiency and life skills through mastery experience, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and affective regulation. It illustrates the model through a General Education course, Leadership for Global Challenges: Exploring the Digital …