Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Towards A Critical Legal Tech Education: A Decolonial Approach, Diego H. Alcalá Laboy

Seattle University Law Review Online

The intersection of law, technology, and decolonial theory offers a critical framework for exposing and challenging power asymmetries embedded in both legal and technological systems. Drawing from his experience as a criminal defense attorney and legal academic, Diego H. Alcalá Laboy critiques how surveillance technologies, often framed as tools for justice, disproportionately harm marginalized communities. Grounded in Latin American decolonial theory, particularly the modernity/coloniality/decoloniality triad and the concept of pluriversality, he argues for reimagining legal scholarship and pedagogy to disrupt Eurocentric and universalist assumptions. Using a colonizer/colonized framework, he advocates for bottom-up knowledge creation that centers the voices of those …

Board # 271: Nsf Iuse 2315777: Training Engineering Students To Be Better Learners: A Course-Integrated Approach, Huihui Qi, C. Pilegard, Minju Kim, Saharnaz Baghdadchi, Curt Schurgers, Alex M. Phan, Marko Lubarda

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Learning is a lifelong process exercised within and beyond the classroom, and a vital skill in almost all technical professions. Engineers, in particular, are impacted by rapidly evolving technologies and practices that require continuous learning and adaptation long after their training and the initial transition into their professional careers. However, despite the critical role of learning in their academic success and profession, engineering students experience academically rigorous and challenging courses with minimal emphasis or conscious focus on learning strategies that power effective learning. Often-used learning strategies such as rereading, highlighting, repetition, and memorization are intuitive for many students, yet do …

The Critical Definitions For Measuring Homelessness: Implication For Homeless Policy Formulation From Developed Countries To Thailand, Surasak Wongsa

Journal of Demography

Homelessness phenomenon is facing in countries. In the past, the definition of homelessness was based on a materialistic mindset or the principle of objectivity, which viewed problems as tangible and visible objects. Looking at social problems based on objectivity leads to a definition of homelessness that includes only those who are sleeping on the streets and people living in government shelters by identifying the causal factors of homelessness at the individual level, especially mental illness, crime, and drug use. Defining homelessness objectively also involves counting methods that measure the characteristics of homelessness using street counts from the locations where homeless …

Efficient Difference-In-Differences And Event Study Estimators, Xiaohong Chen, Pedro H. C. Sant’Anna, Haitian Xie

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper investigates efficient Difference-in-Differences (DiD) and Event Study (ES) estimation using short panel data sets within the heterogeneous treatment effect framework, free from parametric functional form assumptions and allowing for variation in treatment timing. We provide an equivalent characterization of the DiD potential outcome model using sequential conditional moment restrictions on observables, which shows that the DiD identification assumptions typically imply nonparametric overidentification restrictions. We derive the semiparametric efficient influence function (EIF) in closed form for DiD and ES causal parameters under commonly imposed parallel trends assumptions. The EIF is automatically Neyman orthogonal and yields the smallest variance among …

Writing At The Speed Of Hype: Officers’ Post-Experimental Perceptions Of Ai Report Writing, Hunter M. Boehme, Ian T. Adams, Matt Barter, Irick A. Geary Jr., Kyle Mclean

Faculty Publications

Objective

This study examines patrol officer and supervisor perceptions of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to assist with officer report writing. We compare attitudes among patrol officers randomly assigned to use the AI tool against those who were not.

Methods

Following a randomized controlled trial within a single agency, we conducted a post-intervention survey of patrol officers and supervisors.

Results

Patrol officers expressed generally favorable perceptions toward AI-assisted report writing, though no significant differences emerged between treatment and control groups in perceived utility, speed improvement, or quality enhancement. Despite these non-significant differences, 48% of treated officers reported time savings. Supervisors …

Leveraging Genai For Biometric Voice Print Authentication, Erica Brooks, Lijo Jacob, Lani Lewis, Gaurav Mittal, Shivam Negi, Faizan Javed

SMU Data Science Review

This paper presents the development of a secure voice authentication system that delivers an inclusive solution for all users, including those with disabilities. Leveraging a Text-Dependent Active Verification process, the system combines a spoken passphrase with voice biometric coefficients and audio vector embeddings for reliable user verification. A vector database is used to efficiently store data and perform similarity retrieval. Initially, the system achieves a 71% spoof detection accuracy, ensuring that only genuine samples proceed to the embedding stage, where it attains a 55.21% accuracy in vector embedding and similarity retrieval. Furthermore, this approach paves the way for user-specific voice-controlled …

The Prevalence And Impact Of Discourse In Social Media Networks: The 2024 Presidential Election, Kyle Kuberski, Xavier R. Mojica, Gwonchan J. Yoon, Brad Klein, Bivin P. Sadler

SMU Data Science Review

Abstract. Social Media platforms serve as central hubs for global discourse, where political dialogue is widely shared and echoed. This exchange shapes civic participation and influences electoral outcomes, often with both intended and unintended consequences. In its inception, social media platforms served as message boards for the masses, yet manipulation and exploiting of systems via bot usage has made platforms susceptible to outside forces. Thus, false narratives and an artificial sense of consensus are endemically augmented. As for the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections, it is important to investigate the prevalence of evolved bot activity in both political and …

An Inquiry Into The Program Planning Orientations Of Community Engagement Administrators In Community-Academic Partnerships, Mary F. Price, Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija, Patti F. Clayton, Lori E. Kniffin, Robert G. Bringle, Haden M. Botkin

Leadership Faculty Publications

Planning is a ubiquitous dimension of service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) partnership practice. How SLCE administrators conceptualize, inhabit, and negotiate their roles as planners remains empirically under-investigated, however, as does when and why planners experience shifts in perspective that affect partnership quality and outcomes. We introduce the concept of planning orientations and report on a study in which SLCE administrators reflected on their desired and practiced planning orientations as they planned and implemented a partnership reflection process. Key findings illustrate the utility of intentional reflection on planning orientations for examining and enhancing community-academic partnership practice, including the recognition that the …

Why Real Impact Stories Of Forest-Dependent Communities Are Essential In Carbon Marketing, Andrew Mwape

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

As the global carbon market matures, the pressure on companies and project developers to prove the integrity and social value of their carbon offset initiatives has never been greater. At the heart of this growing scrutiny lies a key opportunity: to move beyond metrics and tell authentic, human-centered stories that reflect the real impact of carbon projects; especially those rooted in forest landscapes.

Unraveling The Relationship Between Sexual Shame And Father-Child Sex Communication, Hannah Mireya Brundage

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to understand the relationship between father’s sexual shame and children’s sexual shame. Parents play a role in shaping their children’s behaviors and perceptions in regard to sexuality. Most of this research analyzed data from the viewpoint of the mother, missing the potentially unique perspective and influence of fathers. Using longitudinal survey data from 361 fathers-adolescent dyads, I proposed to study the relations between father sexual shame and child sexual shame, and the possible mediating role of father-child sex communication. I predicted that quality of sex communication, including controlling and open communication, would mediate father sexual shame and …

The Effects Of Sleep Restriction And Time Of Day On Food-Specific Impulsivity, Approach-Avoidance Bias And Delay Discounting, Naomi Kakoschke, David L. Dickinson, Sean P. A. Drummond

ESI Publications

Background:

Insufficient sleep and circadian timing are both linked with obesity, primarily via unhealthy food choice, yet the cognitive mechanisms underpinning such relationships remain unclear.

Methods:

Across two studies, we implemented an ecologically valid within-subjects at-home protocol. Study 1 (n = 118) involved a within-subjects examination of how sleep restriction (SR) versus well-rested (WR) sleep levels affect choices in a food-based approach-avoidance task (AAT) and go–no/go (GNG) task, a food liking task, a food-choice task, a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and a monetary choice task. Study 2 (n = 119) involved examining choices in the same set of …

A Comprehensive Systematic Review Of Machine Learning Applications In Assessing Land Use/Cover Dynamics And Their Impact On Land Surface Temperatures, Rasool Vahid, Mohamed Aly

Environmental Dynamics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In a world experiencing rapid urbanization, the phenomenon of land surface temperature (LST) variation has invited substantial attention due to its profound impact on the environment and human well-being. Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) within urban areas significantly influence the dynamics of LST and are a major driver of urban eco-environmental change. The complex connections between LULC dynamics, LST, and climate change are investigated in this systematic review, with a focus on the combined effects of these variables and the use of Machine Learning (ML) techniques. The data in this study, based on peer-reviewed publications from the …

Cultural And Linguistic Adaptation Of An Autism Parent Mediated Intervention For Spanish Speaking Latinos, Ana C. Ramirez, María Cecilia Montenegro, Bianca T. Villalobos, Nazaret Fresno, Gabriel González Núñez, Rocio Calderon, Susana Perez Kantor, Miriam Mares, Miriam Ortiz, Geohanna Noel, Cecilia Montiel-Nava

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The Caregiver Skills Training (CST) was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve access to evidence-based services for children with developmental concerns from low-income backgrounds. While the CST program has undergone four significant revisions to increase feasibility of implementation and has been adapted and implemented in more than 30 countries, currently the Spanish version is outdated and has never been implemented in the U.S. This study aimed to culturally and linguistically adapt the Spanish-version of the CST for a predominantly Spanish-speaking Latino-populated region in the United States. The present study followed a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach …

Evaluating Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Salsa Dancing Skills To Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder And/Or Intellectual Disabilities, Joshua I. Nieves

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has demonstrated behavioral skills training (BST) to be an effective teaching procedure for acquisition of a variety of skills among both neurotypical and neurodiverse individuals across different ages. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of BST for enhancing sports performance when training neurotypical children and adults. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of BST for enhancing sports performance, and specifically dance performance, among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual disabilities (ID). Dance is a recreational activity that can serve as a form of physical activity for children and adults. Salsa is a Latin style …

Sensory Integration Processes Characterize Concussed Athletes With Balance Deficits, Bhagyashree Singh, Ingo Helmich

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Impaired postural control constitutes a major symptom after mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI/sport-related concussions (SRC)). In order to uphold cognition and behavior during pathological situations, individuals may be characterized by neuronal upregulation. Because postural control necessitates the integration of sensory information within somatosensory (/parietal) cortices, we investigated the hypothesis that athletes with ongoing symptoms after SRC are characterized by increased brain activation within these areas in order to compensate for postural deficits. Sixty-six athletes (27 ± 13 years; 50 men, 16 women) participated in the study. Twenty-two concussed athletes reported high post-concussion symptoms (PCS; symptomatic group), and 22 concussed athletes …

Psychology 32: Human Growth And Development Syllabus, Joanna M. Agnello

Open Educational Resources

This Open Educational Resources (OER) syllabus for an introductory Developmental Psychology course offers a no-cost, adaptable framework for exploring human development across the lifespan. The course is structured chronologically, from prenatal development through late adulthood, integrating cognitive, emotional, and sociocultural perspectives. This OER syllabus aims to foster student-centered learning, critical thinking, community building and real-world applications of developmental concepts. All content is openly licensed.

Untangling The Threads Of Hope: A Qualitative Media Analysis Of Discourse Relating To Futures For Sickle Cell Disease, Amanda R. Malerba

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited blood disorder worldwide, with a disproportionate burden on people of African ancestry. Life with this illness is characterized by chronic physical pain, overlapping health conditions, and often early death. In the United States, the physical symptoms of the disease are frequently compounded by experiences of racial inequality and oppression embedded in the medical system that contribute to detrimental outcomes. Because of the complex biocultural web of factors contributing to the suffering of people with SCD, much of the anthropological scholarship surrounding this illness prioritizes deconstructing systems of power, oppression, and inequality. …

Impact Of Perceived Stress And Trait Resilience On Mental Health Outcomes Related To Traumatic Stress Exposure, Ken Safley

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Traumatic stress exposure is common and associated with a range of adverse psychological outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These effects are cumulative, with increased exposure linked to greater psychological distress. However, there is considerable variability in how individuals respond to trauma, suggesting the influence of cognitive and dispositional factors. Cognitive models of PTSD highlight the role of stressor appraisals in the development of psychopathology, while individual differences in protective factors, such as trait resilience, may buffer these effects. The present study investigated whether perceived stress mediates the relationship between trauma exposure and psychological outcomes, and whether …

Getting It Right: Common Alma Mistakes And How To Fix Them, Kristen Fredericksen

Publications and Research

In this session, we will explore common issues faced by Alma users and offer practical solutions to address them. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the inner workings of Alma and leave equipped with the knowledge to optimize their Alma experience. This presentation is tailored for librarians, system administrators, and anyone seeking to enhance their proficiency with the Alma library management system.

Sense Of Immortality As A Death Anxiety Buffer: An Investigation Through Awe, Sabrina J. Eisenberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the emotion awe as protective against mortality salience by fulfilling sense of immortality – a proposed need created by mortality salience. Mortality salience has been shown to increase cultural worldview defense, which sometimes has detrimental social effects. This study aimed to test if inducing feelings of awe would reduce the need to rely on cultural worldview defense in response to mortality salience. The pilot study (N = 239) found evidence for a relationship between awe and sense of immortality. The primary study (N = 167) tested a main effect of mortality salience on cultural worldview defense (H1) …

Strengthening Connections: A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining The Impact Of A Supervisor Support Intervention On Loneliness And Military Couple Relationships, Cynthia D. Mohr, Annamarie S. O'Neill, Jacquelyn M. Brady, Todd E. Bodner, Tori L. Crain, Leslie B. Hammer

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social connection has been declining across the general population (i.e., the “loneliness epidemic”), though some groups, including military personnel, are experiencing particularly high rates. This has led to calls for a multilevel national strategy, including workplaces, to build social connection (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023). To answer this call, the present study draws on the wise intervention approach (Walton, 2014), multidimensional model of social connection (Holt-Lunstad, 2022), and models of the bidirectional relationship between sleep health and relationship functioning (Gordon et al., 2017; Troxel et al., 2007), to deliver a workplace intervention that builds social connection for military employees and their …

An Application Of A Positive Psychology Intervention To Promote The Well-Being Of Children With Cancer, Jenna Barnes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The psychological impact of pediatric cancer and cancer treatment is not well understood. Although there is evidence to suggest that pediatric cancer may negatively impact youth’s mental health and psychological functioning, other research suggests that the mental health of children with cancer is similar to that of healthy peers. Traditional psychological interventions have been used to reduce symptoms of psychopathology among children with cancer. However, less is known about the subjective well-being of children with cancer and evidence-based, positive psychology interventions to promote the subjective well-being of this population. Thus, this study sought to address this gap in the literature …

Relation Between Executive Functions, Ruminative Thinking Style, And Internalizing Symptoms In Neurodivergent Individuals., John Strom

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Introduction: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) are among the most common psychological disorders occurring in childhood (Bishop, 2010; Scandurra et al., 2019), and are commonly associated with a host of psychological challenges including deficits in executive functioning (Craig et al., 2016; Demetriou et al., 2019) as well as comorbid internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety (Katzman et al., 2017; Kirsch et al., 2020; Simonoff et al., 2008). Research has suggested that executive function deficits may contribute to symptoms of depression and anxiety and that this relation may be mediated by ruminative thinking styles (Snyder et al., 2019; von Hippel et al., …

Invisible Intersections: Race, Adhd, And The Role Of Disciplinary Actions In Academic Outcomes, Miles Feller

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Race is a marginalized identity linked to significant achievement gaps for Black and Latino students in the USA (de Bray et al., 2019). These students experience higher rates of exclusionary school discipline (ESD) than White and Asian peers (Aud et al., 2010; de Bray et al., 2019), with suspensions correlating to lower academic performance (Del Toro & Wang, 2022; Wang et al., 2023; Owens & Hinshaw, 2016). Additionally, developmental disabilities like ADHD intersect with these issues; despite narrowing racial disparities in diagnoses (Cénat et al., 2022; Fairman et al., 2020), access to treatment remains uneven (Baglivio et al., 2017; Coker …

The Impact Of Blood-Based Biomarkers And Disease-Modifying Medications On Anticipated Reactions Of Learning Alzheimer Disease Risk Information, Matthew Charles Picchiello

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the Alzheimer disease (AD) field has seen significant advancements, including the development of blood-based biomarker (BBBM) tests for risk assessment and the approval of new disease-modifying therapies. These innovations are rapidly reshaping the landscape of clinical care. However, public understanding and attitudes toward these developments remain unclear. To address this gap, the present study used a vignette-based, cross-sectional survey grounded in the Health Belief Model (HBM) to examine older adults’ awareness, knowledge, and anticipated reactions to BBBM testing and novel AD treatments. A nationally representative sample of 450 adults (aged 55+) in terms of race, ethnicity, and …

An Autistic “Linguatype”? Neologisms, New Words, And New Insights, Emily Zane, Rhiannon Luyster

Emerson Authors, Researchers, & Creators

In this commentary, we present new ideas about autistic neologisms. This essay has two primary goals. First, we argue that an autistic predilection to form neologisms generates intriguing new hypotheses about language in autism, including the possibility that a tendency to use neologisms could be a featural element of an autistic “linguatype” (as in “phenotype”). Second, we suggest that the study of neologism meaning, form, and use can yield insights about a specific speaker and about autistic language, generally. To support both aims, we present the largest collection to date of autistic neologisms. We supply an initial framework for considering …

Mapping Responsible Workflows For Geospatial Data Science: Developing The I-Guide Data Ethics Toolkit, Peter T. Darch, Kyra M. Abrams, Ivan Y M Kong

I-GUIDE Forum

AI workflows in geospatial data science offer significant societal benefits but raise ethical, transparency, and reproducibility challenges. Current ethical frameworks and tools are often hard to integrate into daily research practice. This paper introduces the I-GUIDE Data Ethics Toolkit (DET), a lightweight suite designed for users of the NSF-funded Institute for Geospatial Understanding through an Integrative Discovery Environment (I-GUIDE). Based on a longitudinal mixed-methods study, including surveys, interviews, and observations, we identified five design priorities: usability, anticipatory planning, distributed responsibility, comprehensive coverage, and policy compliance. We integrated existing AI and data research lifecycles into an eight-stage I-GUIDE Research Lifecycle, serving …

Evaluating The Evaluation Matrices: Integrating Spatial Assessment In Geospatial Ai Model Training And Evaluation, Fangzheng Lyu

I-GUIDE Forum

This paper examines the limitations of current evaluation metrics in GeoAI. Through two case studies on deep learning models—a building detection classification problem and a remote sensing image fusion regression problem—this paper demonstrates how traditional statistical evaluation matrices alone can be misleading in geospatial problems. The findings indicate that traditional metrics (e.g., RMSE, MAE) used in current GeoAI models can have difficulty capturing the spatial dimensions inherent to geospatial problems. This paper suggests that the model evaluation process in GeoAI should move beyond traditional evaluation matrices by integrating spatial thinking throughout the modeling pipeline—not only incorporating spatial accuracy in model …

Expanding Access To Cybergis-Compute Through Support For Heterogeneous Workflows, Alexander C. Michels, Ian Zhang, Anand Padmanabhan, John Speaks, Rebecca Vandewalle, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

CyberGIS-Compute is a geospatial middleware tool designed to lower technical barriers to High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources. It provides end-users with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for submitting models to HPC and allows model developers to contribute their workflows by adding a manifest to their repositories. However, the simplification of the user interface and streamlining of model contribution have unintentionally limited the scope of models that could be run on CyberGIS-Compute. In this paper, we discuss recent developments to the CyberGIS-Compute project that are aimed at supporting a wider variety of workflows including performance enhancements, supporting additional configuration options for jobs, …

“What’S Good For The Goose Just Might Be Good For The Gander”: A Proposal For Self-Study Of Practice (S-Sp) Methodology In Apa Research, Tomás Alyward

International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity and International Symposium on Physical Activity and Visual Impairment and Deafblindness

Introduction Self-study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practice (S-STTEP) has been applied in higher education settings for more than forty years (Russell, 2022). (McPhail, 2012). In particular, the application of this research methodology in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) has significantly enhanced the professional development (PD) of academics in this domain (Lunenberg et al., 2020). It has also increased the scholarly outputs associated with PD in this field (McPhail, 2012). While professional formation in APA and APE is closely aligned with PETE, this research method has not featured in APA publications.

Methodology: A case study in APA teaching practice was …