Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Federal Funding Opportunities For Veterans Research, Chetna Chianese, Katherine Mcdonald, Tessa Livingston, Mcallister & Quinn

Voices of Service Symposium

Veterans and military-connected populations face distinct health challenges-including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, military environmental exposures, and substance use disorders-that require dedicated research attention. Multiple federal agencies fund research on these topics through a range of mechanisms. This poster provides a landscape overview of current and anticipated funding opportunities to help university-based researchers identify sponsored funding pathways for Veterans' health research.

Predicting Request Resolution In Coordinated Care Networks For Military-Affiliated Populations, Zachary Bridgewater, Joshua-Paul Miles, Catherine Annis, Julia Carboni, Gilly Cantor, Michelle Shumate

Voices of Service Symposium

Coordinated care is an interorganizational network approach to care that connects individuals to diverse services (e.g., housing, income assistance, job support, social and spiritual support, etc.) via human navigators and shared referral platforms. This approach has become prevalent in the military-connected sphere to help service members, veterans, and their families (SMVF) access care. Yet, prior research suggests variation in the resolution of coordinated care referrals"”25% for one United Way 211 (Boyum et al., 2016), and 66% and 88% for two Unite Us networks (Drake et al., 2024; White et al., 2025). This research explores why some referrals resolve while others …

Statewide Coordinated Care For New Mexican Veterans: Viability Assessment & Community Design, Nosa Akol, Zachary Bridgewater, Vincent Delsignore, Emily Graham, Mary Rachel Keville

Voices of Service Symposium

Veterans in New Mexico navigate a fragmented system of support, marked by rural access barriers, limited coordination among providers, and inconsistent pathways to care. To address these longstanding challenges, the New Mexico State Legislature engaged the IVMF to assess readiness for and design a roadmap to a statewide coordinated care network aimed at serving veterans and their families.

Over 2022-2023, the IVMF evaluated the state's readiness for such a network by mapping service providers, assessing collaboration practices, and analyzing demographic and rurality factors. Our team engaged 41 nonprofit and government organizations to understand community needs, current coordination, and perspectives on …

Strength In Partnership: Advancing Veteran Resilience Through The Orp-Va Vital Collaboration, Ken Marfilius, Ron Novack, Dwayne Murray, Margo Lance, Daijon Richards

Voices of Service Symposium

"Strength in Partnership: Advancing Veteran Resilience through the ORP-VA Vital Collaboration": demonstrates how meaningful collaboration transforms ideas into action and creates pathways for lasting community impact. This initiative connects the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs Resiliency Program (ORP) with the VA's Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) Program to advance the health, academic success, and overall well-being of student veterans. Through this collaboration, student veterans gain direct access to VA healthcare, mental health counseling, and transition support, integrated into their campus experience. This partnership bridges federal and university systems and ensures that veterans receive holistic care that addresses the …

Syracuse Veterans Field Guide: The Homefront Edition, Amanda Keeler, Seth M. Owens, Elizabeth Kubala, Ken Marfilius

Voices of Service Symposium

Social services are available to veterans in the Syracuse area, yet locating and accessing help can remain challenging-particularly when needs span multiple systems and eligibility requirements are unclear. The goal of this project was to create a brief, pocket-sized resource guide that can be distributed to area veterans and used quickly "in the moment": to identify actionable supports.

The guide organizes services into 12 categories: accessing veterans' benefits; mental and physical healthcare; education benefits; financial services; housing; nutritional support; legal services; documentation resources; technology access; and peer support. Within each category, the guide provides a curated, limited set of local …

The First Dedicated Va Benefits Attorney For Syracuse University Veterans, Andrew M. Patterson, Elizabeth Kubala

Voices of Service Symposium

In 2025, Andrew M. Patterson became the first university-based Veterans Benefits Attorney in the U.S., a role established through the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic at Syracuse University College of Law. Andrew is an Army combat Veteran and former Massachusetts State Police Trooper who provides free legal services to the Syracuse University veteran community "” students, faculty, and staff. His practice covers the full spectrum of VA claims, including disability compensation, education benefits (GI Bill, VR&E, Yellow Ribbon), healthcare enrollment, and discharge upgrades. The initiative integrates clinical legal education with institutional support to reduce barriers and improve …

Va Medical Center Collaboration With Coordinated Care Networks: Barriers And Benefits, Gilly Cantor, Zachary Bridgewater, Kimberly A. Hochstedler Webb, Kritee Gujral, Todd H. Wagner, Leslie R.M. Hausmann

Voices of Service Symposium

AmericaServes is a network approach for coordinating care among health and human service organizations to address the needs of the military-connected population. The IVMF and researchers with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) partnered on two studies to explore the extent to which Veteran Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) participate in AmericaServes and the benefits of collaboration for veterans.

First, we conducted a convergent parallel mixed-methods pilot study. We interviewed staff from 7 AmericaServes coordination centers and VAMCs in those locations. We then categorized VAMC participation into levels of intensity and complexity, and identified barriers and facilitators to participation. We found that …

Va Wholehealth Approaches To Treatment Of Ptsd, Mackenna Murphy, Justin Hirschberg, Emily Rabinowitz, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented the Veterans Health Administration Whole Health model as a system-wide transformation toward personalized, proactive, and patient-driven care. Whole Health emphasizes the integration of conventional medical treatment with complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches, including mindfulness, yoga, meditation, tai chi, acupuncture, health coaching, and peer support. Given the high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and substance use disorders among veterans, Whole Health programming may offer a non-stigmatizing and holistic pathway to mental health support.

Exploring The Use Of Touch In Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Alexis Pungitore

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review explores how touch influences the dance/movement therapy (DMT) process. As touch in DMT appears underexplored, the review draws extensively on related fields to inform DMT practice regarding touch. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and professional codes of ethics, it synthesizes theoretical and empirical findings on the regulatory and relational functions of touch, including co-regulation, attachment, interoception, and connectedness. Ethical considerations, particularly informed consent, boundaries, power dynamics, trauma- informed care, and cultural responsiveness, are emphasized. Findings from the collected data suggest that intentional, consensual, and clinically attuned touch can support emotional regulation and relational growth, while underscoring the need …

Narrative Strategies In Presidential Environmental Policymaking: An Examination Of The Executive Impacts Of Presidential Narratives, Gorgin Mansourian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine how U.S. presidents employ narrative strategies to shape environmental policymaking through both rhetorical and institutional mechanisms. Specifically, I investigate how Presidents Donald J. Trump and Joseph R. Biden constructed, communicated, and institutionalized environmental narratives during their first terms, highlighting the relationship between presidential narratives and executive orders. Using the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) and Richard Neustadt’s Presidential Power Theory (PPT), this study conceptualizes presidential narratives as both rhetorical tools and instruments of persuasion within institutional contexts. This synthesis advances the NPF by highlighting the role of institutional positions on narrative credibility, by emphasizing the roles …

Otolith Stable Isotopes And Maaori Archaeology: Marine Paleoclimate Data For Northern Aotearoa New Zealand, Reno Nims, Caitlin Smith, Matthew Campbell

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Marine paleoclimate records for the last 1,000 years are scarce in the southwest Pacific, limiting our understanding of complex environmental changes that may have affected Ma ori seascapes and fisheries. We seek to begin filling this knowledge gap by studying stable oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotopes in archaeological and modern otoliths from ta mure (Australasian snapper, Chrysophrys auratus), which provide information about water temperature, salinity, and fish diet and metabolism. Our results show that fourteenth and fifteenth century ta mure otoliths recorded environmental conditions that are comparable to twentieth century temperatures, with some evidence for anomalously warmer seas and/or …

Promoting Participation In Adults With Intellectual Disabilities (Id) Through Inclusive Theatre Education And A Professional Theatre Partnership, Lila R. Clark

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Intellectual Disabilities (ID) are characterized by a deficit in intellectual and adaptive function that affects between 1% and 3% of the general population (Patel et al., 2020). As young people age out of the school system between 18 and 21 years of age, opportunities for meaningful participation in their community drop drastically (Codd & Hewitt, 2020). This lack of opportunity can lead to decreased overall mental health and quality of life, possibly explaining why adults with ID are disproportionately affected by mental illness when compared to their typically developing peers (Hall, 2017; Pinals et al., 2022). The purpose of this …

Suena Como Nosotros: A Spanish-English Storybook For Growing Voices, Stephanie Czajka

Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this project is to address the lack of speech therapy resources available to bilingual Spanish-English-speaking children between the ages of four to six. It will target common speech and language difficulties observed in children during the critical language development period, between the ages of four and six. This book will provide an accessible, culturally relevant speech therapy resource that can be used in the comfort of the home. Through the creation of this book, equity in healthcare access will be promoted, and bilingual pride and identity will be supported. The objectives of this project include designing and …

Military And Veterans Law Society, Rebecca J. Lee, Elizabeth Kubala

Voices of Service Symposium

The Military and Veterans Law Society (MVLS) is a student organization at Syracuse University College of Law dedicated to providing legal support, community outreach, and policy research for the local veteran population. A flagship event, 'Cuse Vet Fest, drew over fifty Central New York veterans and offered free services including VA Healthcare enrollment, benefits claims, VA ID cards, and estate planning documents prepared by attorneys from Bond, Schoeneck & King. MVLS also partners annually with Tully Rinckey and Price Chopper/Market 32 to distribute over 100 free turkeys to local veterans each Thanksgiving. Additional highlights include co-hosting the Second National Military …

Psychological Distress, Hazardous Duty, And Alcohol Risk Among Student Veterans, Anna Lupardo, Emily Rabinowitz, Victoria E. Carlin, Dezarie Moskal, Stephen A. Maisto, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

Introduction: Military service and college environments are each associated with higher alcohol risk. Psychological distress is consistently linked to alcohol risk, and hazardous duty exposure is associated with both greater distress and problematic alcohol use. However, it remains unclear whether hazardous duty influences the relationship between psychological distress and alcohol risk among student service members. Clarifying this relationship is critical to informing targeted prevention and support efforts for veterans in higher education. Method: Participants included 3,258 current and former service members who responded to the American College Health Association 2023-2025 National College Health Assessment IIIb. Participants completed measures on alcohol …

Development Of The Veteran & Military Learning Scholars Program (Su-Vmlsp): An Immersive, Experiential Learning Community For Veteran & Military-Connected Students, Emily Rabinowitz, Dezarie Moskal, Ken Marfilius, Dessa Bergen-Cico, Stephen A. Maisto, Joseph W. Ditre

Voices of Service Symposium

Introduction: The Syracuse University Veteran & Military Learning Scholars Program (SU-VMLSP) is an immersive, cohort-based initiative designed to expand access to veteran and military studies through experiential learning, structured mentorship, and community engagement. A collaborative effort of the Center for Health Behavior Research & Innovation and the IVMF Veteran & Military Behavioral Health Collaborative, SU-VMLSP supports and engages student veterans, military-connected students, and students with academic or professional interests in veteran and military populations. Methods: The program is structured around three core pillars: interactive seminars, immersive research engagement, and community-centered cohort development. Scholars participate in discussion-based seminars focused on veteran …

Beyond Displacement: Ai-Related Job Loss And Time To Re-Employment, Megan E. Williams, Eric Dahlin

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study examines whether workers who lose jobs to AI experience longer unemployment than those displaced for other reasons. Using OLS regression with demographic and occupational controls, results show that, on average, AI-displaced workers find new employment slightly faster. Although these differences are not statistically significant, they suggest AI-related job loss may not uniquely affect reemployment.

Babies And Borders: Political Determinants Of Population Policies In The European Union, Lauren A. Mchenry

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This research examines the political conditions under which pronatalist policy and restrictive immigration policy are implemented. Using the Nationalism Populism Database and World Population Review data, I classify different countries based on levels of populism and nationalism and determine countries’ levels of immigration restriction and pronatalism. I use a Most Similar Systems Design case study to compare the different policy outcomes of Spain and Italy. I find that populism is predictive of immigration restriction, while nationalism is predictive of pronatalist policy.

The Death Penalty & State Executions In The Mountain West, 1976 - 2024, Mia Tschan, Sydney Mitchell, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Dre Boyd-Weatherly, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet presents 1976-2024 data on the death penalty and state executions in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) report, “State Execution Rates,” includes data on the 36 states that have conducted state executions and the 38 states, federal government, and military institutions that imposed the death penalty between 1976 and 2024. This fact sheet focuses on cumulative executions, executions per capita, and executions per death sentence in each Mountain West state.

Where Do Policy Demanders Come From? Protestants And Party Formation In The Antebellum Period, John W. Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

The early 1830s were years of intense religious fervor, when well-organized moral reform movements seemed destined to remake the political landscape. Curiously, however, the party system that emerged from this period was premised on the exclusion of moral issues from party politics. How did the early Jacksonian Democrats and Whigs manage to construct an essentially amoral party system during a decade marked by large-scale moral reform movements? And why did the resulting system unravel in the mid-1850s? Answering these questions requires shifting the focus from party activists and elected officials to organized religion. Specifically, I show that the nation's largest …

Workforce Dynamics In Michigan’S Upper Peninsula: Trends, Shocks, And Projections Through 2030, Iryna V. Lendel, Chloe Wieber, Sevrin Williams, Gerrit Anderson, Lee Adams

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

This report examines the economic and workforce dynamics of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) through 2030, highlighting the region’s ongoing transition during population decline, workforce aging, and structural labor shortages. Despite these pressures, the U.P.’s labor force remains relatively stable due to increased participation among older workers, partially offsetting declines in prime-age cohorts. The region’s economy is highly specialized, with strong concentrations in extraction, construction, and production industries—sectors that offer high wages but are vulnerable to cyclical economic downturns.

Using a combination of demographic analysis, occupational data, and industry projections, the study identifies significant skill overlap across key industries, suggesting potential …

Navigating Help In Stem: How Seeking And Receiving Help Shapes Women’S Self Perceptions And Memory, Samantha A. Mckinney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prior research suggests that help-seeking is a social process shaped by interpersonal context, yet less is known about how help type and partner characteristics influence self-related outcomes in STEM settings. The present research examined how autonomy-oriented and dependency-oriented help, partner gender, and the alignment between requested and received help relate to women’s state self-esteem, STEM self-concept, affect, and recognition sensitivity. Across two studies, participants completed a STEM task and interacted with a simulated partner who provided help.

In Study 1 (N = 215), participants received the type of help they requested, allowing for an examination of how help type and …

Law School News: Rwu Day Of Law And Justice Showcases Powerful Combinations At The Statehouse 4-9-2026, Jordan J. Phelan

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Canary In The Coalmines: Narratives And Actions Of Moving Through Florida Hostile Spaces, Beryl White-Bing

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

In today’s charged political climate, Florida has become ground zero for anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies and rhetoric. This panel brings together Florida-based academics and practitioners who are navigating increasingly hostile social and institutional landscapes across education, immigration policy, and media literacy.

What does it mean to live, teach, and work under policies that actively undermine equity and inclusion? How do sociologists and practitioners sustain their work and identities in environments where their scholarship and advocacy are framed as controversial—or even illegal?

Through narrative and reflection, panelists share personal and professional experiences that reveal the everyday realities of conducting …

A Data Model For Coordinated Care, Zachary Bridgewater, Maggie Southwick, Billie Jo Lenning, Mary Rachel Keville, Gilly Cantor

Voices of Service Symposium

Coordinated care is a service delivery paradigm that connects health and human service organizations via a shared referral platform managed by care navigators (i.e., coordinators). Referral technologies have proliferated to support this work, but the absence of data collection standards has produced a technology environment where platforms compete on not only their designs and features but on their underlying data models too. Understandably, these distinct data models arise from varying funder and customer pressures. The result, however, is a fragmented data landscape where users and creators of different platforms have different views of the issues faced by communities.

To address …

Ethics And Interventions In Substance Abuse Treatment For Military Service Members, Ken Marfilius, Allyson Donovan

Voices of Service Symposium

Substance use disorders (SUDs) among military service members and veterans remain critically underdiagnosed. Ethical barriers such as stigma and fear of career repercussions contribute heavily to this gap in treatment-seeking behavior. Culturally informed, evidence-based interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, are essential to addressing SUDs within this population in an ethically grounded manner.

Hazardous Alcohol Use And Chronic Pain Co-Occurrence And Comorbidity Rates: A National Study Of Veterans Affairs Primary Care Patients, Dezarie Moskal, Jacob L. Scharer, Jennifer S. Funderburk, Joseph W. Ditre, Gregory P. Beehler

Voices of Service Symposium

Hazardous alcohol use (HAU) and chronic pain are each common among U.S. veterans and are associated with poorer health outcomes when they co-occur. Primary care plays a central role in the identification and management of both conditions. However, national estimates of their co-occurrence and related comorbidity burden are limited. Accordingly, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of HAU and chronic pain and compared comorbidity patterns in a national Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care sample.

This national retrospective VA electronic health record study included 3,900,633 veterans aged 18+ seen in primary care between July 2022 and December 2023. HAU was …

Medication Nonadherence And Social Participation For African American Adults With Low Vision, Shakeda Mcghee, Mary Jan Greer Phd, Otr, Jaimee Fielder

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

The concept of this capstone is to analyze how quality of life (social participation, health management) is affected in adults ages 18-55 with low vision/blindness with conditions to include diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and cataracts.

Integrating Zotero With Your Writing: From Research To Publication – Hslic Workshop Apr 2026, Evelyn Wang

HSLIC Faculty and Staff Instructional Resources

This HSLIC workshop presentation provides a practical, step‑by‑step guide to integrating Zotero into the research and writing workflow. Topics include installing and configuring Zotero and the Zotero Connector, collecting references from databases and web pages, organizing items with collections, subcollections, tags, and PDF attachments, inserting citations and generating bibliographies in Microsoft Word and Google Docs, managing and annotating PDFs, handling title case versus sentence case, detecting and merging duplicate records, and using advanced features such as Zotero sync, group libraries, collaboration tools, custom citation styles, and ZoteroBib.

Considerations For Statewide Coordination Of Veteran Services In New York, Zachary Bridgewater, Mary Rachel Keville, Vincent Delsignore, Gilly Cantor

Voices of Service Symposium

New York State (NYS)'s large military-connected population has faced challenges in accessing the plethora of post-service resources available from federal, state, and community agencies. A 2021 IVMF and Maxwell School landscape analysis of county veteran service officers found veterans navigating a fragmented system of care, unequal access to resources based on rurality, high demand for certain services, geographic funding inequities, and inconsistent service coordination. The report recommended a statewide, integrated system with a single entry point that harnesses existing resources, close gaps, and ensure access for all veterans across the state.

To advance this goal and other efforts enhancing coordinated …