Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Coverage, Traits, And Geographic Distribution Of Online Surgeon Reviews: Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Analysis, Michael Geng, Carlos Riveros, Yash B. Shah, Sanjana Ranganathan, Kai Fok, Renil Sinu Titus, Vatsala Mundra, Eusebio Luna Velasquez, Dharam Kaushik, Allan S. Detsky, Angela Jerath, Benjamin N. Breyer, Yusuke Tsugawa, Christopher J. D. Wallis, Raj Satkunasivam

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

BACKGROUND: The use of online physician rating platforms has significantly increased and has been shown to influence physician selection. There are limited data on the use of these platforms for rating surgeons.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we sought to assess the geographic distribution of and patterns in rating scores of surgeons in the United States. Additionally, we examined rating volumes across different surgical specialties and the association between peer-nominated and patient-initiated ratings on online rating platforms in the United States.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study by identifying 201,154 surgeons in the United States via the National Plan and Provider …

Inequality And Well-Being, Sarah E. Boslaugh

Theses

Human well-being has been a topic of interest to philosophers at least since the time of Aristotle, and well-being has also been a core concern of social scientists since the birth of the discipline in the late 18^th century. Some theories of well-being include economic inequality as a factor, and multiple ways to measure this factor have been developed; as with well-being, there is no single best measure of economic inequality and the choice of which measure to use may be based on both theoretical and practical reasons. I argue that income inequality should always be included as a …

Spiral: Communicating Using Climate Change Information, Lauralynn Montefrio Corrales, Joyce Claire Lau, Tamanna Sahoo

SPIRaL Undergraduate Research Projects

Our study highlights the importance of information literacy, specifically utilizing information about climate change. This study used a qualitative research framework that examined Purdue students who are highly engaged in talking about climate change information with others. Participants were identified through a screening questionnaire designed to assess levels of engagement with climate change information; the questionnaire was then utilized to sample participants, identifying those who confidently identified as being very engaged with climate change information. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected participants to obtain a thorough perspective of their experiences and viewpoints. Within each of these interviews, open-ended questions inquired …

From Disaster To Decision: Spatial And Temporal Patterns In Disaster-Affected Voting, Jake L. Shaw

Dissertations

This dissertation examines how natural disasters shape electoral behavior in gubernatorial and presidential elections in the United States, with particular attention to geographic proximity, disaster severity, and partisan accountability. Using county-level gubernatorial and presidential election returns from 2016 to 2022, it analyzes the electoral effects of hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes through three frameworks: direct disaster impact, near-distance exposure, and disaster severity. Employing the difference-in-differences and fixed effects models across more than 31,000 county-year observations, the study finds that natural disasters can significantly reduce incumbent party vote share and voter turnout, particularly in gubernational elections. Results further demonstrate that electoral effects …

Suppressing Saints And Suffering Sinners: An Analysis Of Reductive Tropes Through The 2025 Film Sinners, Kaila Palmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Ryan Coogler’s 2025 horror film Sinners is set in a predominantly Black Mississippi community during the Jim Crow era and explores the vulnerability and hypervisibility of Black people. Vampires and Klansmen fixate on Black bodies, treating them as consumable and dispensable sources. Prior to its Amazon Prime debut and extended theatrical run, Sinners grossed over $300 million, signaling its cultural impact and contribution to reshaping representations of Black identity in cinema. As part of Coogler’s broader array of Black storytelling, the film disrupts entrenched stereotypes by emphasizing character depth rather than caricature.

This paper analyzes the characters Annie and the …

Discovering My Passion For Social Justice, Nev Hommel '26

Senior Presentation of Learning

After taking a tour of DePauw in the fall of 2021, I knew it was my school. However, I didn’t know how I could afford to attend. I scoured DePauw’s website for scholarships and found out about Bonner! I’m so grateful I took a leap of faith and applied. I was thrilled to find out I was accepted into the program! Upon arriving at DePauw for Bonner orientation, I immediately felt welcomed by Val and my fellow Bonners. Bonner has brought me an amazing community of friends and peers. Furthermore, the Bonner program introduced me to the world of social …

Building Community Through Communication: A Bonner Scholar's Journey In Health Equity And Its Impacts, Samrawit (Samri) Soloman '26

Senior Presentation of Learning

As a Global Health major on the pre-medical track, I focused my Bonner experiences on becoming a culturally conscious physician who advocates for community health justice. My Bonner journey lead me to realize that communication is the foundation of building community. It was only through the multidisciplinary opportunities across different areas of health that I developed a more comphrehensive understanding of health equity. My experiences and leadership developemnt in Bonner equipped me with the tools to recognize overlap among health organizations and to use my professional skills to form partnerships and promote health equity.

Cultivating Community Through Service And Leadership, Alberto Zamora Martinez '26

Senior Presentation of Learning

Introduced to the Bonner Program after committing to DePauw University Encouraged to apply by older brother, Eduardo (DePauw Class of 2021, former Bonner Scholar) Committed all four years to service at Asbury Towers Supported residents’ well-being in a retirement community focused on care, respect, and collaboration Helped create volunteer opportunities for Bonner Scholars and other DePauw students Developed a strong passion for public service and strengthened my long-term commitment to helping others

A Journey With A Map, Ruben Munoz '26

Senior Presentation of Learning

My Journey through Bonner has been an interesting one. I personally have struggled to find a permanent spot throughout my four years in the Bonner Program. I have bounced between service sites, serving at places such as The Humane Society, TZ after-school program, Women's Center, Family Support Services, Crounded, among other sítes and opportunities. Although it has been a struggle, every site has come with its own lessons and motivations. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to be a Bonner Seholar and have the journey that I have had.

Living In Service: Mia's Bonner Journey, Mia Martin-Fuller '26

Senior Presentation of Learning

During my time, I have been allowed to learn a lot about myself and the communities I have had the privilege of serving. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that I do not always have the answer, and that's okay. Going into areas where individuals may think or act differently than I do, I have found it is most useful to approach with a humble attitude and an open mind.

Trading Precarities: How Bangladeshi Freelancers Leverage The Digital Economy Amid Local Insecurity And Ai Disruption, Naim Bin Hasan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This study examines how Bangladeshi freelancers use digital platform work to cope with precarious local labor markets and how this strategy both mitigates and reproduces insecurity. In this form of work, freelancers compete for short-term, skill-based remote jobs posted by global clients. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews and virtual ethnography, this study challenges dominant Western understandings of the precariat that assume workers fall from stable employment into insecure work. Instead, the findings show that many freelancers enter platform labor strategically as a way out of already unstable and limited local opportunities. While freelancing carries a promise of foreign income, flexibility, …

The "Quiet Professionals": Oral Histories Of The United States Special Forces Veterans Of The Global War On Terror, Chase Rumbley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis examines how United States Army Special Forces veterans of the Global War on Terror narrate the identity of the "Quiet Professional" across training, deployment, and post-service life. Drawing on oral history interviews with four retired Green Berets, as well as archival and material culture analysis, the study approaches Special Forces as a distinctive military institution shaped by narrative, institutional formation, and war. It argues that Special Forces ethos is not a fixed warrior identity, but a lived and contested achievement produced through rites of passage, embodied hardship, informal legitimacy, and collective memory. Participants describe becoming Special Forces as …

The Effects Of Dietary Protein Manipulation On Operant Demand, Brianna R. Lilly

LSU Master's Theses

Previous work with dietary protein restriction in rodents has demonstrated that rodents fed a low protein diet exhibit physiological effects such as lower rates of weight gain and increased levels of circulating fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Dietary protein restriction also produces behavioral effects. Compared to rodents that are not protein-restricted, rodents that are protein-restricted exhibit increased food intake and higher preference for a protein vs. carbohydrate solution. Additionally, protein-restricted rodents will respond at higher levels for a protein reinforcer than non-restricted rodents. The current study assessed the effect of dietary protein restriction on operant protein demand during and after …

From Slides To Chatbots: Ontology-Driven Pedagogical Knowledge Graphs, Zhenghao Xu, Boyang Wu, Aishani Sakalabhaktula, Anya Chauhan

Information Studies Undergraduate Works

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) combined with Large Language Models (LLM) is increasingly used to develop conversational educational chatbots. However, general-purpose LLMs, even when augmented with standard RAG pipelines, lack the structural grounding needed for educational contexts and may produce responses that exceed course scope, misinterpret student queries, or generate hallucinated content. To address these limitations, we propose a system that integrates Knowledge Graphs (KGs), RAG, and LLMs to build a reliable, explainable, and personalized learning assistant. By grounding responses in a well-defined KG, our system keeps answers aligned with lecture content while reducing hallucination. The graph structure provides inherent explainability, and …

Drainage Proximity And Sinkhole Occurrence In Sivrihisar (Central Turkey): A Comparative Analysis Of Linear, Poisson, And Negative Binomial Regression Models, Bilge Bingül, Emrah Pekkan, Resul Çömert

International Journal of Speleology

This study investigates the relationship between sinkhole occurrence and distance to drainage in the Sivrihisar region (Central Turkey) and evaluates the suitability of different regression approaches for modeling clustered count data in karst terrains. A comprehensive inventory of 104 sinkholes developed within the Neogene lacustrine limestones of the Akpınar Formation was compiled using official records, remote sensing analyses, and detailed field surveys. Sinkhole occurrences were analyzed relative to a drainage network derived from a high-resolution Digital Surface Model and grouped by proximity to drainage lines. Linear Regression (LM), Poisson Regression (PR), and Negative Binomial Regression (NBR) models were comparatively applied …

Protecting Free Speech And Promoting Civility: The Dueling Responsibilities Of American Colleges And Universities, Tara N. Parsons

International Journal on Responsibility

Freedom House estimates that 75% of the world’s population lives in countries that experienced a democratic decline in 2020. Even in long established democracies, liberal democratic values have been shaken. As democracy requires an enlightened citizenry cultivated by a college education, many American universities and colleges adopt civic instruction and engagement as a core responsibility and mission. However, growing anti-intellectualism has drawn increased scrutiny and suspicion towards the programming, curriculum, and core values of universities. Powerful political figures regularly accuse universities of stifling conservative voices and discouraging free speech. The tension between free speech and civic dialogue requires a reframing …

Understanding The Underutilization Of The Campus Recreation Facility: A Mixed-Methods Examination Of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, Social Physique Anxiety, Sense Of Community, And Physical Environment Barriers, Caden M. Pfingsten

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

General Abstract

Understanding the Underutilization of the Campus Recreation Facility:

A Mixed-Methods Examination of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction,

Social Physique Anxiety, Sense of Community, and Physical Environment Barriers

Caden Miles Pfingsten

Department of Health and Human Performance, Fort Hays State University

May 2026

General Abstract

This study investigated why students at a mid-sized Midwestern public university elect to pay for off-campus commercial gym memberships rather than use the on-campus Campus Recreation Facility (CRF), which is available at no additional direct cost. A cross-sectional quantitative survey (N = 169) was administered to students across six fitness facility groups. Validated and researcher-adapted …

Pages Of Despair: Economic Policy Uncertainty And Mental Health, Kori Massner

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Policy uncertainty threatens access to affordable medical care, yet few studies have examined how it shapes what people search for online. This study examines whether economic policy uncertainty predicts mental health information-seeking behavior by analyzing daily Wikipedia pageviews from July 2015 to April 2026 using a time series model. Results show that as economic policy uncertainty increases, there is an increase in pageviews on Wikipedia for suicide related information. When there is an increase in those searching for information on pages about depression and pages about anxiety, there is also an increase in pageviews on Wikipedia for suicide related information. …

Developing Strategies For Pce Outreach, Mariah Blankenbaker, Gordon Carlson, Daniel Adesoji, Levi Eck

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

In collaboration with Professional and Continuing Education (PCE), we produced projects to automate their internal tasks, as well as to promote their services. By taking advantage of software techniques, we bridged live-action footage with 2D and 3D computer visuals for promotional material. In addition, we researched the capabilities of creating a custom Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) and trained it to analyze and interact with thousands of industry datapoints.

Barriers And Motivators To Participation In Intramural Sports At Fort Hays State University, Tereus Henry, Dillon Provost, Judson Wiltfong, Samuel Spencer, Taylor Falk, Justin L. Montney

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Introduction: Intramural sports programs play an important role in promoting physical activity, social connection, and overall well-being among college students; however, participation rates on many campuses remain lower than desired. The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing student participation in intramural sports at Fort Hays State University and to identify strategies that may enhance engagement.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized to collect data from currently enrolled students taking at least six credit hours. Participants were recruited through university communication channels, including course announcements and social media, and completed an online questionnaire assessing perceived barriers …

Community Cultivation: Building Community Health, Growth, And Sustainability Through A Community Garden, Lauren J. Franks

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

The Community Cultivation program is a grant proposal project that explores how a community garden can improve access to healthy food in rural areas, with a focus on Hays, Kansas. Guided by the question of how community-based food initiatives can reduce nutrition-related disparities, this project responds to the HaysMed Community Health Needs Assessment, which identifies nutrition and access to fresh produce as critical concerns for Ellis County. The program offers a sustainable, community-centered approach that increases the availability of fresh produce while building individual gardening and cooking skills. With an emphasis on food-insecure and low-income individuals, the Community Cultivation Garden …

Immigration And Policy: Who Influences Who?, Madison May Albers

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This project examines how public opinion on immigration changes in response to the framing of major immigration policies in the United States. The study is grounded in Policy feedback theory, which argues that shifts in public opinion reflect the dominant frames of policy. The independent variable is the framing of the legislation, measured by presidential State of the Union addresses, and the dependent variable is the public's sentiments on immigration, measured by the media's portrayal. Utilizing a qualitative comparative historical design, the project analyzes the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, DACA in 2012, the Trump travel …

An Evaluation Of The Anomie Theory In The Criminal Justice System, Emma K. Schneider

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Anomie Theory is a sub-theory of social structure theory and focuses on someone's sense of normlessness when society is ever-changing, and a person of low economic status lacks social ties or a way to legitimately obtain the goals of social norms, resulting in resorting to aggravation and anger. Émile Durkheim originated the idea and went on to give a new way to observe and study crime. The criminal justice system implements this through federal aid and help after imprisonment, but there is still a lot that can be done to progress this theory. This occurs in everyday life, and it …

Cross-Cultural Differences In Academic Pressure, Anxiety, And Sleep Quality Among High-Achieving Students In The United States And South Korea, Yumi Choi, Brett Zollinger, Jisook Park

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This study examines cross-cultural differences in academic pressure, anxiety, and sleep quality among high-achieving students in the United States and South Korea. As academic success becomes increasingly competitive in both countries, students often face significant psychological and physiological challenges. This research investigates how differing educational systems and cultural expectations influence levels of academic pressure and their subsequent impact on anxiety and sleep quality.

Data were collected from high-achieving high school students in both countries using standardized measures, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Comparative analyses were conducted to identify differences in perceived …

Behaviorally-Anchored Team Member Feedback In Undergraduate Learning: Linking Verbal Communication To Ai-Detected Emotional Expressions, Ryan Will, Brent J. Goertzen, Magdalene Moy, Jace Hesford

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This study examines how undergraduate team members’ verbal communication behaviors are associated with the emotional expressions of their teammates during student project team interactions. Drawing on data from a semester-long, team-based undergraduate course, three key team meetings were video-recorded across the team life cycle. Verbal communication was analyzed using a systematic content analysis with an a priori codebook capturing emotionally relevant behaviors such as optimism, empathy, building bonds, developing others, service orientation, and task-focused communication. Nonverbal emotional expressions were assessed using AI-based facial expression analysis grounded in Facial Action Coding System research, generating average emotion scores for each team member. …

Validating Llm-Assisted Coding Of Student Leadership Teams For Formative Feedback, Jace Hesford, Magdalene Moy, Ryan Will, Brent Goertzen

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Leadership education scholarship increasingly calls for direct assessment of leadership behaviors rather than reliance on proxy measures (Banks et al., 2023). This poster reports a validation study situated in a project-based leadership course at a midsized university. While teams meet regularly throughout the semester-long project, three meetings are digitally recorded, transcribed and analyzed to provide students with objective feedback based on the content of their communication. Team meetings are coded using an a priori framework grounded in emotional intelligence (Salovey & Mayer, 1990; Lee & Wong, 2017), with codes reflecting self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, social awareness, and relational management as enacted …

From Books To Justice: Public Libraries Strengthening Legal Access Across Kansas, Lauren J. Franks, Ziwei Qi

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Legal self-help centers across Kansas allow access to legal information for self-represented litigants in civil court cases. However, there is a lack of these centers in rural areas. In areas where this resource does not exist, libraries, which already serve as a trusted community-centered hub, can help provide legal information and resources. This project aims to identify best practices in increasing access to legal information and survey key staff including self-help center staff, court staff such as court clerks and judges, and librarians, to help inform our integration of legal self-help services into public libraries. By executing a short anonymous …

Exploring The Stress-Strain Relationship Of Lightweight Concrete To Enhance The Lifecycle Performance Of Transportation Highways And Bridges, Fariborz M. Tehrani

Mineta Transportation Institute

Concrete is the primary construction material of bridges, roads, and other transportation infrastructure across the United States, but conventional normal-weight concrete (NWC) is heavy, prone to cracking, and expensive to maintain over time. This study examines the mechanical properties, durability, and lifecycle performance of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWC) and internally cured concrete (ICC) as alternatives in transportation infrastructure applications. Through laboratory testing, computer modeling, and lifecycle analysis, the research evaluates how these materials perform in terms of strength, flexibility, durability, cost, and environmental impact. The results show that LWC and ICC can meet required strength levels while being lighter and …

The Role Of Dna Exoneration In The Bloodsworth Case, John T. Brasfield

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

In the Kirk Bloodsworth case, a man was falsely convicted for the rape and murder of Dawn Hamilton. He spent eight years in prison after being convicted through witness testimony, where he learned about DNA profiling. After submitting a request to check his DNA against the DNA left at the scene, he was exonerated. Later, the DNA left at the scene was checked against a database and got a hit on a convicted rapist who had been charged shortly after Mr. Bloodsworth. If there had been the same access to DNA technology during the trial or if they had listened …

False Confessions Of A Teenage Boy: The Case Of Brian Boles And Charles Collins, Rebekah Bottner

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

On February 8, 1994, James Reid was found dead in his apartment in New York. In the days following the murder, detectives spoke to several people who lived in the building, looking for potential leads or suspects, including 17-year-old Brain Boles. Boles was initially released from questioning after he signed a statement confirming his alibi and that barely knew Reid. A month later, Boles was arrested for a separate assault and robbery. For this crime, Boles confessed, but he was then subjected to an intense and lengthy interrogation for the murder of James Reid. Eventually, Boles also confessed to the …