Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Revisiting The Flutie Effect: The Impact Of Collegiate Athletics On College Choice, Robin Hardin, Michelle L. Childs, Win G-Y Koo

The COSMA Journal

This study revisits the Flutie Effect by examining factors that influence a student’s college choice which includes the role of athletics and its brand. The study assessed items related to academics, interpersonal influences, campus culture, and athletics through a survey of first-year students. An exploratory factor analysis produced a seven-factor model explaining 71.51% of the variance. The strongest factor was emotional and behavioral identification with university athletics, reflecting fandom, affiliation, and pride in athletic success. Athletics significantly influenced college choice, but their impact extends beyond athletic success to include broader dimensions of branding, fandom, and affiliation. For institutions seeking to …

The Employment Situation Of Veterans: July 2026, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

The July 2026 Employment Situation of Veterans report indicates that veteran unemployment increased slightly from 4.1% in June to 4.2% in July, while post-9/11 veteran unemployment improved marginally from 4.8% to 4.7%. Although overall veteran employment conditions remained relatively stable, notable differences emerged across demographic groups. Younger veterans (ages 18–24) experienced a significant decline in unemployment, while rates increased among veterans ages 45–54. Female veteran unemployment rose slightly but remained below that of nonveteran women. Sharp increases were reported among Black and Hispanic veterans, highlighting persistent disparities. Overall, the report reflects a generally resilient veteran labor market amid broader economic …

Functionality Risk Assessment And Risk-Based Management For Critical Infrastructure Systems, Anteneh Zewdu Deriba

Dissertations and Theses

Critical infrastructure systems such as transportation networks serve as the lifelines of modern society, supporting economic activity and ensuring access to critical services. Their disruption under extreme events can produce consequences extending far beyond physical damage to individual assets. In transportation networks for instance, failures of critical assets such as bridges and tunnels can reduce accessibility of communities, limit freight capabilities for commerce, and increase travel distance and travel time of road users. These consequences associated with the system functionality loss are tied not only to the physical vulnerability and failure of individual assets, but also to the system configuration …

Home Is Within Me, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"For someone accustomed to measuring days by what gets accomplished, there was something liberating about realizing that a day does not have to be productive to be meaningful."

“Lost In Transcription?”: A Case Study Of Using Ai And Humans-In The Loop To Create Captions And Transcripts For A Library Symposium, Eva Lu, Sonya Panangaden, Mark Weiler, Michael R. Clark

Library Publications

In many regions, academic libraries are increasingly expected to generate recorded content as part of their services and operations, such as hosting public or academic events. These recordings require quality captions and transcripts to address the needs of users with disabilities as required by human rights legislation. Unfortunately, auto-generated captions cannot be relied upon to provide error-free outputs. This paper presents a case study of how we used AI and involved 35 volunteers from across North America to create captions and transcripts for recordings of a 3-day virtual accessibility symposium. This initiative was put in place to ensure all attendees …

Automated Classification, Measurement, And Semantic Segmentation Of Open-Web Joists From Point Cloud Data, Justin Raymond Dworacek

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a BIM-oriented methodology for the automated classification, measurement, and segmentation of structural trusses from point cloud data. A real truss point cloud and a complementary synthetic dataset derived from CADBIM Revit families were used to develop and evaluate the workflow. Classification was performed using a rule-based Python algorithm based on principal component analysis, side-view feature extraction, and family-specific geometric decision logic, while a separate family-aware script was used to extract key truss dimensions. Semantic segmentation was evaluated using a PointTransformerV3 model to separate truss and non-truss points in mixed point cloud scenes. The results demonstrated strong performance …

Reluctant Revolutionaries: Andor, Fallout, And Narrating The Shifting Moral Economy Of Armed Politics In The United States, Cheng Xu

Government: Faculty Publications

This contribution to the special issue of the Forum argues that mainstream science fiction can be an important site for narrating a nascent change in the moral economy of armed politics in the United States. While firearm politics remain durably partisan, I show that a narrower but significant norm change is emerging: the boundary between ordinary gun ownership and politically charged preparedness has become more permeable, even as overt political violence remains broadly stigmatized. I develop this argument through an interpretive comparative reading of Disney’s Andor and Amazon’s Fallout as widely circulating cultural texts that register changing understandings of legitimacy, …

Corruption In The Service Of The Common Good: The Legitimation Of Traditional Practitioners In Cameroon, Victorine Oyane Ossah

Journal of Law and Public Policy

This article shows how health law and public policy, in seeking to regulate traditional medicine, without fully recognising it, paradoxically end up producing the very social conditions for the corruption that they are supposed to combat. The aim is to identify, based on the experience of traditional healers, the various factors that contribute to establishing corruption not as a moral choice, but as a pragmatic strategy for preserving their knowledge, resources, and place in the healthcare system. The analysis presented is based on a qualitative survey of 30 traditional medicine practitioners in Yaoundé and Douala between 2021 and 2026, in …

Bridging Fiscal Sustainability And Health Equity: A Policy Analysis Of California’S Healthcare Coverage Safeguards, Guadalupe Castaneda Martinez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Without structural policy intervention, approximately 4.6 million Californians remain at risk of being uninsured by 2030, worsening racial and ethnic health disparities and hospital uncompensated care burdens. This policy analysis advocates for a hybrid universal coverage model combining sliding-scale subsidies (California Senate Bill 78) with full-scope Medi-Cal expansion for all income-eligible residents regardless of legal status (California Assembly Bill 133). The framework relies on existing funding mechanisms, including the Managed Care Organization tax and the Health Care Affordability Reserve Fund. Comparative analysis indicates that market-only subsidies leave severe equity gaps, whereas immediate single-payer transitions pose substantial fiscal and administrative risks. …

Information Resources Utilization, Organisational Culture And Motivation As Determinants Of Quality Service Delivery Of Researchers In Nigerian Institute For Trypanosomiasis Research, Kaduna State, Nigeria., Alegbeleye Gabriel Olubunmi, Ibrahim Awodi, Yemisi Tomilola Babalola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated the combined influence of information resources utilization, organizational culture, and motivation on quality service delivery in the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research (NITR), Kaduna State. The population comprised 206 researchers across the six research departments of NITR, and a total enumeration technique was employed to include all the researchers. Using a structured questionnaire, 172 valid responses were obtained representing an 83.5% response rate. Data were analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression statistics. Anchored on Uses and Gratification Theory of Information behavior, the Denison Organizational Culture Model, and Self-Determination Theory, the findings revealed that the independent variables jointly …

Understanding And Responding To Childhood Trauma In The Classroom, Kara L. Ganzer

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone explored childhood trauma as a significant public health and educational issue because of its widespread impact on children’s development, learning, behavior, and educational experiences. A review of the current literature was conducted to examine adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), the neurobiological and developmental effects of childhood trauma, its impact within educational settings, and the trauma-informed approaches for supporting students who have experienced adversity. The literature suggested that childhood trauma can disrupt brain development, executive functioning, emotional regulation, attention, memory, and stress-response systems, contributing to academic, behavioral, and social-emotional challenges within the classroom. Findings also highlighted the important role schools …

Mountain Development In Nepal: Settlements, Infrastructure, And Economic Transformation, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

As Nepal urbanizes, expands infrastructure, strengthens local governments, and explores deeper connectivity with India and China, climate change is increasing floods, landslides, heat, and water insecurity. Rapid internal migration, rising disaster risks, youth outmigration, and dependence on remittances are also revealing the limits of conventional urban development, especially in the mountainous region. The central challenge for Nepal is no longer just to accommodate growing towns and cities, but to build settlements that are safe, productive, environmentally resilient, and capable of sustaining long-term prosperity.

This paper argues that Nepal's urban future must be guided by a new development paradigm centered on …

Artificial Intelligence In Central Arkansas School Districts: A Phenomenological Study Of Practices, Polices, And Perceptions, Alana M. Graham

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved at a fast rate and has created both opportunities and challenges for public school districts. As AI technologies continue to emerge, limited research exists regarding how school districts in central Arkansas are integrating AI into instructional and administrative practices. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore district-level administrators’ perceptions and experiences regarding the integration of artificial intelligence in public school districts in central Arkansas. The study was guided by Diffusion of Innovations Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model, and examined current AI practices, policy development, perceived benefits and challenges, and barriers associated with …

Becoming A Therapist In A Foreign Land: Narratives Of International Trainee Clinicians Of Color In The U.S., Prathma Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation project is on the community of trainee clinicians of color, who have been consistently overlooked in the literature on mental health. This dissertation employed narrative analysis as a methodological framework to explore the experiences of international trainee clinicians of color as they navigated the complex landscape of mental health training in the United States. In an increasingly globalized world, the voices and perspectives of these individuals offered critical insights into the challenges, triumphs, and unique pathways that shaped their professional development. Much of the literature on diversity and inclusion tends to individualize the challenging experiences, …

Lessons From Tanzania’S Ujamaa For Smart Settlements In Nepal: Social Justice And Economic Development, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s constitutional commitment to a “socialism-oriented” state places social justice, equitable access to resources and housing, and protection of marginalized populations at the center of national development discourse. However, persistent landlessness, informal settlements, unemployment, youth outmigration, and unequal access to infrastructure reveal a significant gap between constitutional aspirations and socioeconomic realities.

This article examines lessons Nepal can draw from Tanzania’s experience with Ujamaa, the African socialist development model initiated by President Nyerere in 1967. Using comparative policy analysis, published research, official documents, and exploratory field observations from selected Tanzanian locations, including the capital and villages in the Iringa Region, the …

Shock-Absorption Capacity In Menaap: A Regional Diagnostic Using The Policy Space Index, Alexei Kireyev

Arab Economic and Business Journal

This paper assesses the short-term shock-absorption capacity of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP) using the Policy Space Index (PSI). The PSI integrates fiscal, monetary, and reserve indicators and adjusts them for institutional constraints to measure nominal and effective shock-absorption capacity. The key finding is that MENAAP effective policy space averaged about 11 percent of GDP in 2024, roughly half the global average and heavily concentrated in oil exporters. The constraints lie in MENAAP's institutional arrangements and insufficient fiscal discipline. Easing them requires fiscal consolidation alongside structural reforms to address the institutional bottlenecks.

From Militarization To Military Enforcement: The U.S. Armed Forces And Immigration Control In The Second Trump Administration, Kit Johnson

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Deportation After Death By Incarceration: A Right To Redemption, Jennifer Lee Koh, Tin Nguyen

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Wip: Developing A Generative Ai Autoethnography Assistant, Jyoti Suhag, Jennifer Drewyor, Kathryn Bugbee, Michelle Jarvie-Eggart, Lynn Albers, Leo Ureel

Michigan Tech Publications

Background: Generative AI (genAI) is transforming educational research, offering new possi-bilities for conducting interviews while local sandboxing minimizes data privacy risks and hallucinations. Purpose: This work-in-progress presents the AI Autoethnography Assistant, a project investigating how large language models (LLMs) can support autoethnographic interview design and execution. Approach: Using prompt engineering grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Anal-ysis, paraphrasing techniques, and structured follow-up questions, we developed protocols that incorporate po-sitionality and prompt reflection on origin stories and pivotal life moments. Outcomes: Conversations conclude at the user’s discretion, with the AI generating a thematic summary. We tested refined prompts across four platforms (Gemini, Claude, …

Cultivating Young Naturalists: Developing A Junior Master Naturalist 4-H Special Interest Club In Cook County, Il, Matthew M. Stinson

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

This capstone researches the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Junior Master Naturalist (JMN) 4-H Special Interest (SPIN) Club, a pilot environmental education program for high-school students in South Suburban Cook County, Illinois. Through a partnership among University of Illinois Extension – Serving Cook County, the Forest Preserves of Cook County, and the Friends of the Forest Preserves, JMN addressed two goals: increasing 4-H participation and engagement among high-school aged youth and encouraging high-school aged participation in local forest preserves spaces. Grounded in research on positive youth development, 4-H youth development, and environmental education, the program provided hands-on, place-based learning …

Sing Lustily And With Good Courage: Reinventing Methodist Hymns In The Context Of The Indonesian Methodist Church, Budi Taniwan

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The majority of Methodist churches continue to uphold the legacy of hymn singing, a practice highly esteemed by early Methodists. John and Charles Wesley employed hymns alongside sermons as a means of teaching Methodist theology, shaping Christian discipleship, and forming Methodist identity. However, in contemporary times, Indonesian Methodist churches recite fewer doctrinal hymns. Inadequate early translations, the absence of authentically Indonesian Methodist hymns, and the emergence of contemporary Christian music have contributed to this decline. Changes in liturgy, worship culture, and technology have also transformed the way congregations learn and sing their faith. This study explores the historical and theological …

What, Exactly, Is Surveillance Pricing?, Kaylina Stroud

McNair Summer Research Program

Surveillance pricing is a method of price discrimination in which firms use personal data to set individualized prices. While this practice is often criticized on grounds of privacy, unfairness, or exploitation, these objections do not fully explain what is morally objectionable about surveillance pricing. This paper examines surveillance pricing through the lenses of price discrimination, market competition, efficiency, exploitation, and deception. I argue that surveillance pricing is not inherently unethical merely because it results in different consumers paying different prices for the same product. Nor is it necessarily objectionable when it promotes mutually beneficial exchanges and efficient market outcomes. The …

What Makes Implicit Bias Training Effective? An Examination Of Training Program Interventions And K-12 Educator Experiences, Kyleigh K. Mcaloon

McNair Summer Research Program

Differences in disciplinary referrals based on race have led many to argue that bias may influence disciplinary decisions. Implicit bias (IB) training is designed to address such disparities by raising awareness of biases that may impact assessment of behavior and disciplinary decisions. In recent years, many have questioned the validity of IB as a construct and also the potential impact of training. Some scholars argue that these programs fail to produce meaningful behavioral change and may unintentionally reinforce or increase bias. The aim of the present study was to investigate how individuals receive and respond to such training. Sixteen K-12 …

Waterfront Ecologies: Coastal Resilience And Urbanization In Cali-Baja Region, Agniya Seliuzhytskaya

McNair Summer Research Program

This research contributes to “Waterfront Ecologies,” a binational initiative addressing urbanization and climate change along the San Diego-Tijuana coastal area and watershed systems. By examining the threshold between land and water, this paper investigates the impacts of sea-level rise, coastal erosion, watershed contamination, and rapid urban development. The study employs a case-study methodology focused on coastal conditions within the Cali-Baja region. Through this framework, it reviews planning history, environmental reports, and past precedent studies. Methodologically, the project produces analytical drawings and comprehensive base maps that synthesize regional environmental systems, urban patterns, topography, hydrology, and infrastructure.

Preliminary findings reveal that post-colonial …

“No Te Metas, Eso Es De Hombres”: How Gendered Barriers Shape Women’S Income And Success In Rural Mexico’S Livestock Sector, Sofia Gaeta Garcia

McNair Summer Research Program

Women play a significant role in Mexico’s livestock sector, contributing to production, breeding, animal care, and local market activity. However, their labor is often overlooked and undervalued. Women’s work is often treated as “help” rather than recognized as real labor. The calls for “No te metas, eso es de hombres” and “La mujer ayuda, el hombre decide” reflect the gendered ideas this project examines. This research argues that financial, structural, and cultural barriers limit women’s participation in rural Mexico’s livestock industry by restricting their access to income, resources, decision-making power, and financial independence. Using a qualitative research design, this project …

"Help Me Live It The Way You Do": Grounding Singaporean Responses To The Rorschach Situation, Casey Y. Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary research on the Rorschach and culture is striking for the latter’s disappearance as a variable of significance (Meyer et al., 2015; Meyer et al., 2007; Mihura et al., 2013; Viglione & Hilsenroth, 2001). This erasure is chronicled and reproduced in the narratives of universal objectivity, of extensive international meta-analyses, of replications, of standardized norms (Ritzler, 2004; Smith et al., 2018; Smith et al., 2020; Weiner, 2004). A different story emerges, however, when we ask, how has culture disappeared? The proposed study is a multimethod qualitative analysis of Singaporean responses to the Rorschach, aimed at generating sensitive yet critical discourses …

Repairing Workplace Trust: A Process-Based Classroom Exercise For Management Education, Luke A. Langlinais Ph.D.

Posters

Trust is essential in every workplace, but conflicts, mistakes, and broken promises are inevitable. This project develops an experiential classroom exercise in which students diagnose workplace trust violations, examine the perspectives and emotions of both parties, and practice selecting and communicating evidence-based reparative actions. The exercise translates organizational behavior research into a practical learning experience that develops not only managerial competence but also the character, empathy, and relational wisdom needed to build healthy organizations and promote human flourishing.

I gratefully acknowledge peer review feedback on this project, and I am accountable for writing of this product without generative AI and …

Exploring Licensed Clinical Social Workers’ Past Trauma And Current Practice: A Strengths-Based Perspective, Michael E. Conner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of licensed clinical social workers to examine how they manage, reinterpret, and integrate their childhood trauma into their professional clinical identities. Adverse childhood experiences among clinicians are often framed through a risk-based lens of burnout and impairment, leaving social work leaders without empirical models to support post-traumatic growth and workforce retention. The purpose of this study was to examine how clinicians leverage past adversity to inform contemporary practice. A basic qualitative design was used, with semistructured interviews conducted with 11 participants. Participant narratives were examined through the dual lenses of shattered assumptions theory …

Book Review - Innovative Pedagogical Practices In Sport Management Education, Mitchell Mcsweeney

Global Sport Business Journal

This review examines Innovative Pedagogical Practices in Sport Management Education, an edited collection that provides a comprehensive resource for enhancing teaching, curriculum design, and student learning in sport management. Organized across seven thematic sections, the book integrates theory with practical classroom applications, covering topics such as active learning, experiential education, diversity and inclusion, critical pedagogy, digital technologies, leadership, and emerging trends. The review highlights the collection's emphasis on actionable teaching strategies, reflective practice, and future-oriented innovation. 

The Person As Foundation Of Responsibility: The Insufficiency Of Rights-Based Human Development Approaches, Jaclyn Berg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Building on the plethora of research that demonstrates the way rights language has been more useful for those with wealth and power to further expand capitalist markets, this text extends that criticism to human development programs and institutions. While they claim to be directed towards addressing global issues of poverty and hunger as well as climate crises, they continue to treat the symptoms without accurately diagnosing the disease. Approaches to development that rely on rights without questioning the way rights have been influenced by neoliberal capitalists or without questioning the capitalist global economic system will never be able to achieve …