Recent ucisose items

Investigating How Social and Physical Distance Impact Offender and Victim Mobility with Discrete Choice Modeling

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Objectives: This study assesses how physical and social distances influence locational choice decision-making across six crime types—burglary, larceny, vehicle theft, assault offense, robbery, and drug violations. It aims to identify how physical distance and social distance affect locational choices in offending and the exposure patterns underlying victimization, while comparing offender and victim mobility across different crime types. Methods: Employing a discrete choice modeling (DCM) framework, this analysis uses 341,804 police incident entries and 40,228 police arrest records from Dallas, covering 2014-06-01 to 2020-03-23. Data integrated from the 2010 Census and American Community Survey 5-year estimates are analyzed at the census block group level, controlling for features of target block groups. Results: Both offender and victim mobility exhibit clear distance decay patterns, with higher physical distances significantly reducing the likelihood of crime involvement in...

Questioning Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Lessons from Developmental Science on Forensic Interviewing

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Questioning Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Lessons from Developmental Science on Forensic Interviewing

Corrigendum to “Fingerprint evidence in exoneration cases” [Forensic Science International: Synergy 12 (2026) 100675]

Thu, 4 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2026.100675.].

Addition of pulsed electric field ablation to SBRT for lung tumors: effect on health-related quality of life

Wed, 3 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

INTRODUCTION: Treatment indications for oligometastatic/oligoprogressive lung tumors are growing. Safety and lack of detrimental effect on patients' quality of life are critical for novel local therapies. METHODS: We tested that the additive effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) ablation with lower-dose stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as a secondary endpoint in a prospective clinical trial. FACT-Lung Cancer Subscale (FACT-LCS) and FACT-General domain surveys were collected at screening, 3 months, and 12 months. Functional clinical data included forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO). RESULTS: Six patients with eight tumors were enrolled. Baseline well-being domain scores were: Physical 25.9 (Std Dev 2.3), Social 21.0 (Std Dev 6.9), Emotional 17.3 (Std Dev 4.7), Functional 21.2 (Std Dev 5.8), and LCS 19.4 (Std Dev 5.3). There were...

Advancing Understanding of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Folic Acid Supplementation via National Institutes of Health All of Us Data

Wed, 3 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Objective

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital anomalies caused by failure of neural tube closure during pregnancy and contribute to childhood morbidity and mortality. Folic acid supplementation reduces NTDs risk, yet adherence remains low, particularly among Hispanic women and non-Hispanic Black women. This study examines folic acid supplementation by race/ethnicity, nativity, and social determinants of health (SDOH).

Methods

Data came from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program (Registered Tier Dataset v7), a large, diverse biomedical dataset that includes underrepresented populations. Analyses were restricted to participants enrolled between May 2018-June 2022. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression models assessed for differences in folic acid supplementation, controlling for age, income, education, insurance, and pregnancy.

Results

Among pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age (18-49 years; N = 85,874),...

Language barriers and pain disparities in pediatric emergency settings: A call for action

Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Language barriers and pain disparities in pediatric emergency settings: A call for action

Unraveling the Self: A Scoping Review of Moral Injury and Professional Nursing Identity

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Moral injury increasingly describes the distress nurses experience when systemic constraints prevent them from practicing in alignment with their professional values. Moral injury has been theoretically presented as an injury to one’s identity. Professional identity in nursing is “a sense of oneself in relationship to others” which results in an individual “thinking, acting, and feeling like a nurse.” This scoping literature review explores contemporary understandings of nursing professional or moral identity and the association between moral injury and identity among nurses in the United States.

Genetic Variation and Stroke Recovery: The STRONG Study

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

BACKGROUND: Genetic association studies can reveal biology and treatment targets but have received limited attention for stroke recovery. STRONG (Stroke, Stress, Rehabilitation, and Genetics) was a prospective, longitudinal (1-year), genetic study in adults with stroke at 28 US stroke centers. The primary aim was to examine the association that candidate genetic variants have with (1) motor/functional outcomes and (2) stress-related outcomes. METHODS: For motor/functional end points, 3 candidate gene variants (ApoE ε4, BDNF [brain-derived neurotrophic factor], and a dopamine polygenic score) were analyzed for associations with change in grip strength (3 months-baseline), function (3-month Stroke Impact Scale-Activities of Daily Living), mood (3-month Patient Health Questionnaire-8), and cognition (12-month telephone-Montreal Cognitive Assessment). For stress-related outcomes, 7 variants (serotonin transporter gene-linked promoter region, ACE [angiotensin-converting enzyme], oxytocin...

Peer influence decay and behavioral diffusion in adolescent networks: A simulation approach.

Fri, 8 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How far does peer influence spread through social networks before dissipating? This study investigates the diffusion of smoking behavior in adolescent friendship networks using longitudinal data from two schools (n = 3154 students) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Using Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models, we simulate interventions targeting heavy smokers using various strategies (random, in-degree, eigenvector centrality) and coverage (10 to 100%). A new exponential decay model quantifies influence attenuation, revealing indirect peer influences, or spillover effects, up to three steps from targets. Targeting 10 to 30% of central individuals maximizes smoking reductions, but gains plateau beyond 40 to 50% owing to network saturation. In our analyses, the denser network exhibits broader diffusion and slower decay than the larger, sparser network. This decay metric optimizes intervention design across diverse network structures.

Climate resilience and collective action in Monrovia's coastal communities

Fri, 8 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Like many low-lying coastal nations, Liberia faces severe threats from sea level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding. These threats are particularly acute for residents of informal slum communities, who are relegated to high-hazard areas that lack basic infrastructure and are frequently overlooked by government officials. In addition, Liberia's limited national institutional capacity has left adaptation to coastal residents and other local stakeholders. This research examines how collective action shapes coastal climate adaptation strategies in two of the largest slum communities in Liberia, West Point and New Kru Town. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, this research investigates how residents experience and respond to coastal hazards, the role of government and civil society actors in supporting adaptation, and barriers to effective collective action. The study reveals disparities in government attention between the two communities, with New Kru Town receiving more infrastructural...

CA1 20-40 Hz oscillatory dynamics reflect trial-specific information processing supporting nonspatial sequence memory

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract The hippocampus is known to play a critical role in processing information about temporal context. However, it remains unclear how hippocampal oscillations are involved, and how their functional organization is influenced by connectivity gradients. We examined local field potential activity in CA1 as rats performed a complex odor sequence memory task. We find that odor sequence processing epochs were characterized by increased power in the 4-8 Hz and 20-40 Hz range, with 20-40 Hz oscillations showing a power gradient increasing toward proximal CA1. Running epochs were characterized by increased power in the 8-12 Hz range and across higher frequency ranges (>24 Hz), with power gradients increasing toward proximal and distal CA1, respectively. Importantly, 20-40 Hz power increased with knowledge of the sequence and carried trial-type-specific information. These results suggest that 20-40 Hz oscillations are associated with trial-specific processing of nonspatial information...

Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Regulation: Multiethnic Differences in Reappraisal and Suppression

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Recent work found ethnic differences in the association between resting heart rate variability (HRV), an index of emotion regulation (ER) capacity, and ER difficulties. The present study examined whether this relationship exists among American adults from other marginalized ethnic backgrounds living in the United States, African American (AfAm) and Hispanic or Latino Americans (Hispanics), which remains unexplored in the literature. We addressed this gap by investigating whether self-reported ethnicity differentially moderated the relationship between log-transformed high-frequency HRV and ER, indexed by suppression and reappraisal. A total of 1,047 emerging adults (M_age = 19.7 years [1.7]) had complete ER and resting 10-min HRV data (82 AfAm [65% women], 183 Asians [52% women], 228 Hispanics [59% women], and 554 non-Hispanic White [NHW; 60% women]). HRV was highest among AfAm and Hispanics and lowest among Asian individuals. Linear regression, adjusting for...

Shaping HCI Research for Children's Care Ecosystem Involvement

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Recent HCI research emphasizes the importance of considering children’s care ecosystems in the design of technologies, extending the focus beyond families to include teachers, peers, therapists, and institutions. While this ecosystem perspective opens opportunities for more inclusive and collaborative technologies, it also introduces challenges such as recruitment, power dynamics, reconciling diverse perspectives, and complex ethical considerations. This CHI 2026 workshop builds on prior community efforts at IDC 2023, CHI 2024, and IDC 2025. Its primary focus is on children’s care ecosystems, but we also welcome researchers working with other populations who wish to apply an ecosystem lens. The workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss opportunities, challenges, and methods, and to collaboratively articulate a research agenda for care ecosystem-centered HCI. Participants will engage in mapping and synthesis activities that produce care ecosystem maps...

The cardiovascular conundrum in Non-Hispanic Black emerging adults: multiethnic differences in its association with emotion regulation strategies and socioeconomic status

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Previous studies have identified a pattern of jointly elevated sympathetic vasoconstriction (indexed by total peripheral resistance, TPR) and increased cardiac vagal tone (indexed by heart rate variability, HRV) in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) adults relative to non-Hispanic White (NHW) counterparts in the United States, referred to as the cardiovascular conundrum. Whether a similar pattern is observed in other minority ethnic groups, and the role of emotion regulation strategies and socioeconomic status (SES), remains unclear. This study examined ethnic differences in TPR and HRV in emerging adults with Asian (n = 183), NHB (n = 82), Hispanic/Latino (n = 228), and NHW (n = 554) backgrounds, and tested the moderating role of emotion regulation strategies (expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal) and SES. NHB adults showed higher resting TPR (suggesting greater vascular strain) and HRV compared to NHW counterparts and other minority...

Specific heart rate variability features in four ethnic groups of young adults residing in the United States: Association with socioeconomic status

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Previous research has demonstrated different associations between ethnicity and resting measures of heart rate variability (HRV), an important proxy of an organism's autonomic regulatory pathways, particularly between non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) adults in the United States. The current study aimed to extend the investigation of differences in HRV to four ethnic groups through a social lens, by examining the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the relation between ethnicity and HRV. Time- and frequency-domain indexes of HRV were collected during a 10-min period in 944 young adults (n = 175 Asian, n = 77 NHB, n = 208 Hispanic, n = 484 NHW). After adjusting for several covariates, NHB adults had higher resting values of high-frequency HRV compared to the other ethnic groups, specifically at mean and low estimates of SES. In NHB adults only, SES negatively correlated with HRV metrics. Also, Asian adults showed lower...

FamilyBloom: Examining Ecologies of Collaboration in Family-Centered Health Tracking

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Family health informatics tools can help support well-being with shared data tracking. Prior work typically focused on shared data review, but often in specific moments, like bedtime, or centered on caregiving of children or elderly members. To investigate how tracking can support mutual health collaboration between family members pervasively across daily contexts, we designed and deployed FamilyBloom, a glanceable smartwatch and home display system for mood and goal tracking. Twelve families with both neurotypical and ADHD members used FamilyBloom for three months on average. Our findings reveal how family-centered tracking created collaboration opportunities and tensions across multiple ecological systems: individual self-regulation, collaborations within family dynamics, involvement of care networks with varying trust levels, institutional school constraints and cultural stigma, and temporality of regular routines and crisis periods. We discuss an ecosystem-aware approach to...

Collaboration and Assistive Technology: Facilitating Joint Awareness for Noise Sensitivity

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Existing research has explored various methods to support people with noise sensitivity (PWNS), from desensitization therapies to technological solutions. However, there is a gap in systems that identify and monitor characteristics of noise sensitivity experiences to help PWNS and their companions better understand their condition and make informed management decisions. To fill this gap, we developed AudioBuddy, an app with sensing and tracking features designed to promote awareness between PWNS and their companions. We tested AudioBuddy as a technological probe over a two-week field deployment. Our results show that AudioBuddy can support awareness of how sounds and environments influence the psychophysiological states of PWNS, aiding in understanding noise sensitivity experiences. Nonetheless, technical limitations impacted the depth of awareness participants could attain. We discuss challenges and opportunities for future systems to facilitate awareness among PWNS and their...

Not just two languages: Using variation in language experience to understand how cognitive resources shape syntactic processing.

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Individuals who learn and use two languages come to that experience in many different ways. Recent studies have shown that to understand bilingualism, it is necessary to characterize the variation in experience that continually shapes the use of the two languages. The current investigation explored the consequences of individual differences in cognitive resources for the processing of syntactic information in two groups of speakers. One group were adults learning Spanish and the other were heritage bilinguals with Spanish as the home language. Both groups were proficient speakers of English. We examined the effects of working memory and cognitive control on syntactic processing, measured by an elicited sentence imitation task. The findings revealed both common and distinct contributions of cognitive resources. Working memory predicted Spanish syntactic processing for second language learners but not for heritage speakers. In contrast, working memory predicted English syntactic...

Performative planning creates a values mismatch between wildfire plans and community needs.

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To mitigate the potential impacts of wildfire, communities across the United States are engaging in collaborative wildfire risk mitigation planning. Planning involves identifying a set of goals, developing management strategies to achieve those goals, and codifying the goals and strategies in a written document. A plan's goals and strategies are informed by values-the things plan authors and communities want to protect or enhance. Identifying and evaluating these values can give insight into whether a plan is meeting the needs of local wildfire risk and vulnerability, incorporating best practice from national policies, or simply reflecting broader cultural trends. This paper explores these tensions using the case of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs), which are local (neighborhood to multicounty) plans developed collaboratively by diverse wildfire-related stakeholders. Drawing on a combination of manual coding and computational text analysis, we first characterize the...

Prenatal attachment interventions: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

PurposeAmidst a rapidly growing worldwide literature on non-invasive interventions to optimize parent–child relationships prenatally, the effectiveness of prenatal attachment intervention remains uncertain due to methodologic restrictions of prior systematic reviews. The current systematic review was aimed at capturing the diversity of study designs, intervention targets and methods employed reflective of this burgeoning literature. We then employed meta-regression to evaluate the impact of expected heterogeneity on estimated intervention effects.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, PsychINFO, Trip database, and Google Scholar for empirical prenatal attachment intervention studies published through August 11, 2025, with titles and abstracts written in English. Articles with main texts written in other languages were translated prior to analysis (PROSPERO ID CRD42021241199).ResultsPrenatal attachment scores increased following intervention when examining all studies (p < ....

Preliminary evaluation of a relational savoring prevention program for mothers in Iran

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Relational savoring improves parents' well-being but has seldom been tested outside of the United States. In Iran, discussing parenting difficulties is taboo, and there is less emphasis on the experience of joy in motherhood. This cultural variation underscores the need to examine the effects of relational savoring, which focuses on heightening positive emotion in the context of parenthood. In this study conducted in Iran, mothers of children ages 5 and under (N = 100) were randomized into the experimental (4 weekly relational savoring sessions) or control group (no intervention). Participants were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up. Compared to control group mothers, relational savoring mothers had higher closeness to child and availability at post-test and 2-month follow-up. There were no differential impacts on parenting competence and sensitivity/responsiveness. This program can be effective in improving aspects of the mother-child relationship among...

Central American and Mexican Mothers and Youth Migration-Related Separations and Reunifications

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In pursuit of safety and better economic opportunities, some parents make the difficult decision to migrate to the United States, leaving their children behind in the care of a substitute caregiver. Since 2021, more than 400,000 unaccompanied immigrant youth have migrated to the United States to reunify with their parents. These reunifications are often precarious; attachment disruptions resulting from prolonged separation affect the psychological well-being of youth and parents. We collected and analyzed interviews from 16 mother–youth dyads from Mexico and Central America who experienced migration-related separations. Drawing on frameworks of attachment, ambiguous loss, and migratory grief, we used grounded theory methods, specifically Schatzman’s dimensional analysis, to uncover meanings, interactions, and outcomes that migrant youth experience during and after separation from their mother. Analyses revealed five key findings: (a) Family separation is not a discrete event;...

The highs and lows: Cannabis use and positive valence bipolar mood and emotion processes in emerging adults

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Growing work underscores the importance of understanding disturbances in positive valence or emotional processes in psychopathology. Despite evidence that substance use disorders, such as cannabis misuse, are associated with positive emotion processes, few studies have examined associations between cannabis use and clinically relevant disorders that centrally feature positive emotions (such as bipolar spectrum disorders) and associated positive emotion processes. The present study investigates associations between self-reported cannabis use and bipolar spectrum disorder (BSD) risk and mood severity, as well as three well-studied positive valence processes (i.e., positive emotion experience, reward responsiveness, and positive emotion valuation). Emerging adult college students who endorsed cannabis use (N = 968) were recruited from nine North American universities. Higher self-reported BSD risk was associated with greater cannabis-related interference with daily life,...

Understanding the Perspectives of Autistic Gamers through an Online Autistic Community and a Survey

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Autistic people often have an interest in and spend a substantial amount of time engaged with video games. Games can be supportive of their mental health and social needs and have been widely used for behavioral interventions among autistic people. However, the gaming experiences and preferences of autistic people themselves have not been thoroughly studied. To explore these experiences, we used a multi-method approach, analyzing game-related posts from a large autism-related subreddit and conducting a survey with 145 autistic people. The survey allowed us to further understand preferences around accessibility and sensory experiences, representation, and social experiences in communities that emerged in the Reddit posts. We found that games offering a sense of freedom, control, and creativity might be particularly appealing to autistic gamers. Discussions also emerged around what types of audio and visual sensory input were considered soothing and appropriate. Moreover, both the...

The effectiveness of participatory near-peer digital media literacy interventions

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The impacts of digital media literacy (DML) interventions are mixed, perhaps due to adult-driven curricula and misalignment with youth’s needs. We tested how student-led, developmentally-informed DML education could leverage youth’s expertise. Using Youth Participatory Action Research and near-peer mentoring, high school students (n = 31) designed and taught digital literacy interventions in two areas (1) digital communication (i.e. group-chats) and (2) persuasive design (e.g. features such as infinite scroll), resulting in significant increases in knowledge of digital communication conflict prevention and remediation strategies, along with identification and knowledge of persuasive design for 79 middle and 31 high school students. High schoolers also reported more feelings of agency and research knowledge. These findings indicate that making DML interventions developmentally aligned might be key for supporting youth in the digital age.

Food pantry organizational features, nutrition environments, and partnerships: a community-engaged study in Southern California

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

BackgroundCharitable food organizations are critical community hubs for promoting food security and nutrition. Few studies have examined whether food pantry organizational features (e.g., setting and size) are associated with the use of health promotion strategies.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used a validated survey instrument (Nutrition Environment Food Pantry Assessment Tool+, NEFPAT+) in partnership with a southern California regional food bank to examine pantry consumer nutrition environments, including client choice models, marketing, and partnership/referral practices. Eligible pantries were: food bank partners, open at least 1/week for public distribution, and in high-poverty cities. We collected surveys from 27 of 35 eligible sites in 2024. We used descriptive statistics to summarize NEFPAT+ objective outcomes and conducted exploratory analyses to assess differences for specific objective results. Mann‒Whitney U tests and Kruskal‒Wallis tests were used to compare...

How Does the Business Environment Shape Mobility By Offenders and Mobile Targets?

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Given that much street crime concentrates near businesses, a question is how the business composition of census blocks, not just specific businesses, impacts the spatial mobility of offenders and victims. The study uses data from Dallas, TX, from 2014 to 2020. The results showed that crimes occur farther from the home for offenders than for victims. Furthermore, locations with more consumer-facing businesses are targeted more often by offenders, and the mix of these businesses is particularly attractive for offenders. Finally, the results also showed that the presence of more consumer-facing businesses in the surrounding 400 m buffer increased the likelihood of offenders targeting a location for crime, regardless of the features of the block itself.

Measuring the spatial scale of structural racism and discrimination: Consequences for estimated life expectancy

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the role of structural racism and discrimination is crucial for understanding persistent social disparities across many domains, but a key concern remains: how does it operate at different spatial scales, and does that affect how it should be measured? We explore both empirical and theoretical differences between structural racism measures at meso and macro scales in the United States. We construct two different measures of structural racism at the meso-level (that is, neighborhoods), one capturing absolute measures of neighborhood blight, the other relative indicators of Black-White inequality. We test four different scales of these meso-level measures, each defined by a buffer centered on a block with four different radii. We simultaneously measure relative racial inequality at the macro level (that is, the county). METHODS: We compared the relationship between structural racism measures on life expectancy at varying meso-scales. The structural racism...

Accounting for Feedback Effects in Neighbourhoods and Crime Research: How Much Does It Matter?

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract Whereas much ecology of crime research employs cross-sectional study designs, these studies assume that crime does not cause various neighbourhood measures to change over time. However, longitudinal research evidence suggests this is not a plausible assumption. The present study explores this question using neighbourhood data in US cities in Southern California covering over 6.7 million residents. Using data from two time points—2000 and 2010—instrumental variable models account for this endogeneity. The results demonstrate sharp differences between models that do or do not account for endogeneity: several measures yield completely reversed results from positive to negative or vice versa, some measures exhibit much stronger results, whereas others have much weaker, or nonsignificant, results. The findings highlight the importance of accounting for endogeneity in the US context, and that the differences are potentially not modest, but large enough that failing to account...

An Expert Guide to Planning Experimental Tasks For Evidence-Accumulation Modeling

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Evidence-accumulation models (EAMs) are powerful tools for making sense of human and animal decision-making behavior. EAMs have generated significant theoretical advances in psychology, behavioral economics, and cognitive neuroscience and are increasingly used as a measurement tool in clinical research and other applied settings. Obtaining valid and reliable inferences from EAMs depends on knowing how to establish a close match between model assumptions and features of the task/data to which the model is applied. However, this knowledge is rarely articulated in the EAM literature, leaving beginners to rely on the private advice of mentors and colleagues and inefficient trial-and-error learning. In this article, we provide practical guidance for designing tasks appropriate for EAMs, relating experimental manipulations to EAM parameters, planning appropriate sample sizes, and preparing data and conducting an EAM analysis. Our advice is based on prior methodological studies and the...

Perceptions of AI-Driven EdTech: Nationwide Survey and Focus Group Insights from Key End Users

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Schoolchildren in the United States are increasingly exposed to educational technologies (EdTech), many of which are or will be infused with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Despite this growing integration, there is limited understanding of the current perceptions and attitudes toward EdTech with AI among parents, teachers, and teens. To address this gap, we conducted a mixed-method study involving an A/B experiment through an online survey with 3,051 participants and complemented by focus group discussions with 80 participants. Providing a comprehensive snapshot of AI perception in education in 2024, our findings indicate that participants, particularly teachers, may hold more negative perceptions of our AI-powered EdTech mock-up compared to the one powered by human tutors. Based on these insights, we discuss the future of EdTech regarding the current perceptions. This research contributes to an empirical understanding of the perceptions and attitudes toward AI in K-12 education,...

Climate Risk, Governance, and Institutional Adaptation Challenges in Liberia

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sea-level rise, intensifying floods, and deforestation pose urgent risks to low-income coastal countries, yet climate adaptation remains constrained by governance and resource gaps. Despite Liberia’s prominence in global vulnerability rankings, little research has examined the country’s adaptation processes and barriers. This case study addresses that gap by analyzing Liberia’s environmental vulnerabilities and institutional responses. The study first describes key vulnerabilities, including coastal erosion, urban flooding, rainfall and temperature variation, deforestation, and waste management and pollution. It then reviews the main organizations and policy frameworks engaged in climate adaptation and mitigation across the country. The study shows that despite formal policy frameworks such as the National Adaptation Plan and REDD+ Strategy, climate action remains fragmented, underfunded, and politically marginalized. Findings reveal how governance gaps, including limited institutional...

Transboundary water conflicts, cooperation, and pathways forward

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Transboundary water conflicts, cooperation, and pathways forward

Organized After-School Activity and Adolescents’ Ethnic-Racial Identity: A Systematic Literature Review

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ethnic-racial identity is an important developmental outcome, particularly for adolescents of color. Understanding the contextual factors that support this outcome is important for promoting their overall positive development. Organized after-school activities offer a promising structural support for ethnic-racial identity development, yet little is known about the specific mechanisms within activities that support this process. This systematic literature review synthesizes empirical studies from 2000 and 2023 to examine how processes within organized after-school activities may facilitate adolescents’ ethnic-racial identity development. Furthermore, bridging our findings with existing theories, we propose a conceptual framework to guide future research on this topic. Following PRISMA guidelines, we identified 35 studies that met inclusion criteria. Synthesis of quantitative studies indicate that breadth and duration of participation in activities are positively associated with...

Achieving Transboundary Water Security Through Water Innovations: A Framework and Cases

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

ABSTRACT Alternative sources of freshwater, provided by various innovations, have long been available to countries facing acute water stress. We hypothesize that avoiding and/or resolving conflict with neighbors—caused by the uncertainty of continued access to shared surface water and groundwater sources—is another driver of innovation adoption. Furthermore, adoption of alternative freshwater sources may help alleviate transboundary disputes and, thus, hasten water supply independence among neighboring countries. We explore this thesis by examining the experience of Israel and Singapore, two countries that have pursued several innovations including desalination, wastewater reuse, and rainwater harvesting. They have also experienced conflicts with neighbors over water. After examining these nations' motives for adopting innovations, as well as the structure and operation of water innovation governance in each country, we examine the role these supply innovations have played in...

Who gets quality urban parks? A socioeconomic disparity analysis using user reviews and the opportunity algorithm in Los Angeles

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores urban park equity by leveraging user-generated content from Google Maps and applying the opportunity algorithm to assess disparities in park quality. We investigated whether perceived needs and satisfaction levels related to park features vary by neighborhood income level, racial composition, and park size. The opportunity algorithm identifies underserved and overserved features by comparing the relative importance and satisfaction scores. The results revealed that different park groups exhibited distinct underserved and overserved features. Safety concerns are underserved in low-income and minority neighborhoods. Conversely, amenities such as hiking and biking or natural features are often overserved in high-income or high-white areas. Furthermore, dog parks were viewed as overserved in low-white areas but underserved in high-white areas, reflecting a reversed pattern. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the opportunity algorithm approach in detecting...

Business environment ecology and crime: A robust test across 182 cities

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Studies assessing the question of how certain types of business establishments are related to the level of crime on blocks typically do not account for the general business context of those blocks. The present study extends one previous study that did so by using a large sample of blocks across 182 cities in the U.S. We assess whether measuring the general business context of blocks as three broad categories of businesses—consumer-facing businesses, blue-collar businesses, and white-collar businesses—along with the heterogeneity of consumer businesses on a block can explain where crime occurs. The study finds that these four measures explain much of the variation in crime due to businesses across blocks. Furthermore, whereas 12 specific types of businesses exhibit strong relationships with crime when not accounting for this business context, their relationships with crime greatly diminish, or completely evaporate, once accounting for the general business context. Finally, blocks...

Institutionalizing Bias: The Death Penalty, Federal Drug Prosecutions, and Mechanisms of Disparate Punishment

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Institutionalizing Bias: The Death Penalty, Federal Drug Prosecutions, and Mechanisms of Disparate Punishment

Trawling for minnows on the high seas: Criminal law's coercive capacities and the U.S. Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) was passed in 1986 by the U.S. Congress at the height of the American drug war frenzy, further empowering the U.S. government to arrest and prosecute suspected drug traffickers nearly anywhere in the world when transporting drugs by sea. In this article, we use a case study of MDLEA prosecutions in the District of Puerto Rico to identify and delineate five distinct characteristics of criminal law's coercive capacity: (1) jurisdictional capacity; (2) defendant pool capacity; (3) charging capacity; (4) evidentiary capacity; and (5) punishment capacity. While some aspects of the MDLEA are unique, many of these capacious features are inherent to contemporary U.S. criminal law more broadly. Using data from interviews with legal actors, we show how criminal law's capacities work together to ensure convictions and long prison sentences even in the face of formal legal roadblocks. We conclude by suggesting that without scaling back the capacity...

Neighborhoods and violent crime

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Violence-while a broader societal issue-requires the co-occurrence of two or more people in a specific place at a specific time. As such, a large body of literature has examined the spatial patterns of violence. Much of this work focuses on understanding why some neighborhoods have more violence than others. This chapter reviews the current body of literature that examines violence in neighborhoods, including work focused on how neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics, social capital, housing change and the built environment are related to various forms of neighborhood violence both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

Police talk in the jury room: the production of race-conscious reasonable doubt among racially diverse jury groups

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract A central goal of Critical Race Theory (CRT) is to deconstruct the “jurisprudence of color-blindness” that is infused with the language of equality while operating to maintain racial hierarchies. Color-blind ideology extends to the procedures governing criminal juries, ensuring they are disproportionately white while constraining diversity of perspectives, especially regarding policing issues. In this paper, we merge CRT insights about color-blindness and race-consciousness in the criminal jury context and in the Fourth Amendment law governing policing, to advance empirical socio-legal scholarship on race and jury decision-making. We analyze deliberations data from mock jury groups that decided on verdict in a federal drug conspiracy trial, focusing on how groups talked about law enforcement testimony. We find that negative discussions of the law enforcement testimony is associated with shifts toward acquittal, there are more skeptical discussions about this testimony...

Interrogating “scale” in strategic management-at-scale: lessons from collaborative governance

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract While the field of strategic planning and management has mostly focused on single organizations, a new strand of literature on “strategy management at scale” (SMAS) is exploring the way strategic management can address large-scale, cross-organizational, cross-level, often cross-boundary challenges. The appearance of this new strand has coincided with renewed emphasis on concepts such as public value governance, whole-of-government approaches, and mission-oriented innovation. This essay connects the nascent SMAS literature with longer-standing concepts from collaborative governance to better theorize what is meant by “at scale” in SMAS. We apply Ansell and Torfing’s scale framework, which pinpointed diverse ways in which collaborations could scale, to foundational SMAS literature. SMAS currently emphasizes jurisdictional and functional aspects of scale, with less attention to geographic or temporal considerations. We suggest ways that a more multi-dimensional understanding...

Alzheimer Disease Biomarkers and Subjective Cognitive Decline Among Hispanic and/or Latino Adults

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Importance: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be an early indicator of Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD), yet its association with plasma biomarkers remains unclear among middle-aged and older adults (aged 50-86 years). Objective: To examine associations between plasma biomarkers of amyloid, tau, neuroaxonal damage, and glial activation with SCD in a heterogeneous cohort of Hispanic and/or Latino adults. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used survey-weighted data from the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging, an ancillary study of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Participants were aged 50 to 86 years and resided in 4 major US cities. Data were collected from 2016 to 2018 and analyzed between December 2024 and June 2025. Exposure: Plasma biomarkers included amyloid-beta (Aβ42/40), phosphorylated tau-181 (ptau-181), neurofilament light chain (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), quantified...

Introduction: Strategy and Success in the Nuclear Disarmament Movement

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Visible injustice and dangerous and provocative policies are sometimes met with large and powerful social movements that sometimes generate favorable policy responses. But, more frequently, recognized dangers or injustices do not generate mass responses. Figuring out how to recognize a meaningful opportunity for mass concern and how to put a consequential movement together have long occupied activist organizers and scholars. Of course, effective organizing entails elements of direct outreach, convincing citizens that something’s wrong, that it could be different, and that their efforts might matter. But the effectiveness of the pitch and the appeal of the proposal are mightily affected by the context. Organizing is likely to be more effective when the importance of a problem and authorities’ inadequate responses are clear. Recognition of a problem is a start to a much longer and more difficult project of building a social movement.

AudioBuddy: Demonstrating a Wearable and Mobile System Approach for Noise Sensitivity Awareness

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This demo proposes a novel and practical application called AudioBuddy that uses sensing and tracking technology to facilitate awareness of physiological, psychological, and environmental indicators of potential noise sensitivity experiences. Existing research on noise sensitivity has proposed various approaches for supporting people's experiences, ranging from desensitization therapies to technological systems. However, there is a lack of systems that identify and track characteristics that may indicate the onset of noise sensitivity experiences so that people with noise sensitivity can take preventative actions before reaching stressed states and needing to self-regulate. AudioBuddy is a multi-device application that addresses this aim by leveraging the sensing capabilities of smartwatches for health monitoring, facilitating awareness and information sharing for community support, and presenting users with strategies for managing and regulating noise sensitivity experiences.

Tipping Point for Advanced Capitalism: Class, Class Consciousness and Activism in the ''Knowledge Economy,''

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tipping Point for Advanced Capitalism: Class, Class Consciousness and Activism in the ''Knowledge Economy,''

How to Save the World: Learning from Citizen Engagement on Nuclear Weapons

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Approaching the task of generating a new citizen’s movement for restraint on nuclear weapons, the article reviews the history and influence of previous movements against nuclear weapons, noting that urgent policy issues do not, by themselves, generate citizen engagement. Considering prior movements, the article notes that the Scientists Campaign, the Ban the Bomb Movement, the Campaign against Anti-Ballistic Missiles, and the Nuclear Freeze, all engaged citizen activists by pointing to policy problems and offering overly simple remedies that captured public attention. Those movements included dramatic resistance actions, including civil disobedience, and more conventional institutional efforts. Partly in response to movements, authorities moderated rhetoric and policies to reduce a public sense of urgency. Subsequent movements must address contemporary policy problems and offer easily understandable potential responses and embrace a diversity of political tactics.

Tipping Point for Advanced Capitalism: Class, Class Consciousness and Activism in the “Knowledge Economy,”

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tipping Point for Advanced Capitalism: Class, Class Consciousness and Activism in the “Knowledge Economy,”

The history of an idea: The misinformation effect

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract When people are exposed to misleading information after an event has occurred, they frequently fall sway to its influence and report the misinformation as their own memory. This phenomenon, known as The Misinformation Effect, has been intensively studied for half a century. Here, we report on where the idea came from and what aspects of the phenomenon have been explored by scientists over this period of time. These explorations have addressed many questions, such as (1) What are the conditions under which people are more or less susceptible to misinformation? (2) Are there certain types of people who are especially susceptible to misinformation? (3) Can warnings about misinformation reduce its influence? and (4) Just how far can you go in terms of planting false ideas into people's minds? We also review work that examines the interplay between modern technology and misinformation. The Misinformation Effect teaches us about the malleability of memory, but it also has important...

Sentenced to Shame: Moral Injury Exposure in Former Lifers

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

OBJECTIVE: A significant increase in the release of individuals who served life sentences (i.e., lifers) in California has created the opportunity to study aspects of their psychological wellness for the first time. Moral injury may be a particularly relevant factor to consider in this population but has not been previously studied. This study is the first to explore the concept of moral injury within a currently or formerly incarcerated population. METHOD: Former lifers currently in reentry in California (N = 41) completed a survey that measured their moral injury exposure (MIE), MIE-related guilt, MIE-related shame, MIE-related rumination, religiosity, attempts at making amends, and flourishing. RESULTS: As expected, a high rate of lifetime MIEs was endorsed (97.6%). Events linked to life sentence crimes (75.6%) and time in prison (56.1%) were very common. Lower levels of MIE-related shame (r = -.58, p < .01) and higher levels of religiosity (r...

Engendering Hate Crime Policy: Gender, the "Dilemma of Difference," and the Creation of Legal Subjects

Fri, 9 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nearly six years after two women were bound and gagged and had their throats slit while camping and hiking in Shenandoah National Park, U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft held a historic nationally televised press conferenceon April 11, 2002 to announce that the U.S. Justice Department invoked the federal hate crimes statute for the first time to charge the alleged murderer with hate crime. In announcing the indictment, Ashcroft spoke at length about his meeting with the parents of the victims and about the lives and characters of the young women: two Midwesterners who migrated to New England, met and became lovers, and shared the love of science and the outdoors. Justifying the invocation of federal hate crime law, which carries with it enhanced penalties, Ashcroft said, “Criminal acts of hate run counter to what is best in America, our belief in equality and freedom. The Department of Justice will aggressively investigate, prosecute, and punish criminal acts of violence...

Alzheimers Imaging Consortium.

Tue, 6 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background

Plasma ptau-217 is a promising biomarker for detecting Alzheimers pathology. However, previous studies show no or weak correlations between plasma ptau-217 and tau-PET in cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals. This is possibly due to limitations in the mean SUVR-based ROI analysis, which lacks sensitivity to subtle, focal individual differences in early-stage tau aggregation. We utilized a supra-threshold voxel-based approach to re-examine the relationship between plasma ptau-217 and early-stage tau aggregation in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) as a function of amyloid-beta (Aβ) status in CU older adults.

Methods

We analyzed 142 CU older adults (95 Aβ-/47 Aβ+) from ADNI with plasma ptau-217 (Janssen assay) and 18F-Flortaucipir-PET data. SUVR thresholds (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) were applied to tau-PET data to calculate the percentage of suprathreshold voxels in entorhinal cortex (EC), parahippocampal gyrus (PHC), amygdala (Amyg), and fusiform gyrus (FUS)...

Alzheimers Imaging Consortium.

Tue, 6 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background

Tau pathology may contribute to the disruption of white matter (WM) integrity in Alzheimers disease (AD). While previous work has shown global disruption to WM tracts, the specific spatial locations along the impacted tracts with disrupted integrity have yet to be identified. Tractometry is a method that utilizes diffusion MRI tractography to quantify spatial WM integrity by placing equidistant nodes along the length of WM tracts. We assessed WM integrity along the spatial extent of medial temporal lobe (MTL) WM tracts to determine tau pathology or cognitive impairment is associated with spatially specific patterns of WM integrity in older adults across the AD continuum.

Method

A total of 159 older adults from ADNI3 (101 cognitively normal and 58 cognitively impaired [MCI/AD) underwent tau-PET (18F-Flortaucipir) and multishell diffusion MRI. Fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of WM integrity, was calculated for each unilateral MTL tract (inferior longitudinal...

Alzheimers Imaging Consortium.

Tue, 6 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background

There is disrupted functional connectivity (FC) of the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN) in adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). DMN FC is also particularly sensitive to disruption in Alzheimers disease (AD). However, there is limited research investigating if OSA affects FC in Down syndrome (DS), despite the prevalence of both OSA and AD pathology within this population. We examined if DMN and FPN FC are also disrupted in older adults with DS and OSA, and whether this is dependent on concurrent cognitive impairment due to AD.

Method

Seventy-five participants from the Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium - Down syndrome (ABC-DS) study (age 49.93+6.6) underwent resting-state functional MRI. For our seed-based connectivity approach, data were harmonized and processed using the CONN Toolbox with the default MNI preprocessing pipeline. FC strength was calculated (1) between regions-of-interest (ROIs) within each network (within-network...

The Evaluation of a Mind/Body Intervention to Reduce Psychological Distress and Perceived Stress in College Students

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The authors examined the effect of a 6-week mind/body intervention on college students' psychological distress, anxiety, and perception of stress. One hundred twenty-eight students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 63) or a waitlist control group (n = 65). The experimental group received 6 90-minute group-training sessions in the relaxation response and cognitive behavioral skills. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale were used to assess the students' psychological state before and after the intervention. Ninety students (70% of the initial sample) completed the postassessment measure. Significantly greater reductions in psychological distress, state anxiety, and perceived stress were found in the experimental group. This brief mind/body training may be useful as a preventive intervention for college students, according to the authors, who called for further research to determine whether...

Barriers to Effective Flood Risk Management in India: A Case of 2021 Chiplun Flooding

Wed, 3 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The post-disaster period is often marked by discussions about the causes of the event and solutions to manage risk. From a policy-making perspective, disasters can act as focusing events, garnering the attention of the public and elites and creating a window of opportunity for policy change to reduce disaster risk. Narratives that circulate post-disaster are one of the crucial factors that influence the government’s decisions to respond to them. This study examines the narratives surrounding flood risk in Chiplun, Maharashtra, after the 2021 flooding by integrating the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) with the Pressure and Release Framework (PAR). Our innovative framework reveals how narratives in a post-disaster policy window direct attention to certain dimensions of risk while overlooking others and its implications for flood risk reduction. Analysis of media coverage, government reports, and stakeholder interviews revealed three dominant narratives surrounding flood risk: 1)...

Shifting Neighborhoods, Changing Crime: How Urban Context Shapes Outcomes

Wed, 3 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study advances research on neighborhood change and crime by examining how key structural characteristics relate to changes in violent crime across diverse urban contexts. Utilizing longitudinal data from 2010 to 2018 in twelve U.S. cities, the analysis applies latent trajectory modeling to test three dynamic patterns: monotonic, asymmetric, and perturbation. Results indicate an asymmetric relationship between disadvantage and violent crime, particularly in large cities. Similarly, residential instability exhibits an asymmetric association with violent crime in stagnant and large cities. Changes in racial/ethnic heterogeneity are generally linked to reductions in violent crime in stagnant and large cities, while in small or growing cities, the relationship is asymmetric. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of how structural conditions shape violence.

Neighborhoods and Homicide Egohoods as a Solution to Methodological Challenges

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Neighborhoods and Homicide Egohoods as a Solution to Methodological Challenges

Beyond Individual Accommodations: The Collaborative Practices of ADHD Students in Post-Secondary Education

Wed, 5 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects millions of individuals worldwide, significantly impacting their academic, social, and professional lives. ADHD students in higher education have faced difficulties with time management, organization, focus, and emotional regulation, which impact their academic performance. Through an analysis of discussions within a Reddit community for ADHD university students, we found that accommodations and general study strategies are often inadequate for them. Instead, they develop and share collaborative, community-based strategies to support their academic success, which include (1) participating in diverse forms of co-presence or body doubling for accountability and focus while studying; (2) engaging in active collaborative support with social partners to manage emotions and distractions, and (3) leveraging community-based support for remembering deadlines, staying accountable, and fostering a sense of belonging. We conclude with...

Values conflicts, burnout, and moral injury among U.S. nurses: A scoping review

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Occupational burnout and moral injury are related, but distinct, processes with operational and relational drivers. This scoping literature review examines one key relational driver of burnout and moral injury: values conflicts between nurses and their organizational leadership. This review included a five-database search, which produced 346 citations for full-text review. Preliminary results have identified 11 relevant citations: 8 journal articles, 2 journal-published expert opinions, and 1 qualitative dissertation study. All references examined some aspect of leadership in relation to burnout and discussed values conflicts; only one investigated moral injury in relation to leadership structures and values conflicts. Six sources explicitly found that perceived differences in values between administrators and clinicians may contribute to burnout. One article discussed the betrayal of nurses' moral values by leadership in connection with moral injury. Implications suggest a potential...

Occupational moral injury in healthcare: A concept analysis

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This project seeks to: (1) better understand the concept of occupational moral injury (MI) as it relates to moral distress (MD) and burnout (BO), and (2) improve the understanding of occupational MI in healthcare settings, such that healthcare systems may better develop strategies for MI assessment, prevention, and mitigation. Based on Walker and Avant's (2019) methodology, this concept analysis of occupational MI in healthcare describes the antecedents, defining attributes, and consequences of MI in relation to MD and to the oft associated phenomenon of BO. Our findings reveal a highly interconnected network of related concepts that can intensify each other and that are not mutually exclusive. MI, MD, and BO have shared antecedents and overlapping consequences that can render their delineation challenging. MI, MD, and BO in healthcare contexts all share the attribute of capturing experiences of clinician distress with varying sources, intensity, and chronicity. MI and MD introduce...

'It's a spectrum': Exploring Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness in Software Development Processes and Tools

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The recent surge of research on software developer mental health challenges highlights the importance and urgency of studying solutions to support developer wellbeing. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) offers a valuable framework for exploring wellbeing at work, emphasizing the need to satisfy three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This paper presents an interview study with 31 software developers in the United States that uses SDT as a guide, exploring how these three needs are perceived and influenced in the work of software developers. We identify specific factors and processes at work and work tools and designs that impact developers' psychological needs and satisfaction. Results from our study can help design targeted solutions to satisfy developers psychological needs, which indirectly support developer wellbeing. This paper highlights the necessity of healthy work cultures in software development and presents design considerations for creating tools...

"As an Autistic Person Myself:" The Bias Paradox Around Autism in LLMs

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, used by over 200 million people monthly, are increasingly applied in disability contexts, including autism research. However, there has been limited exploration of the potential biases these models hold about autistic people. To explore what biases ChatGPT demonstrates about autistic people, we prompted GPT-3.5 to create three personas, choose one to be autistic, and explain its reasoning for this choice and any suggested changes to the persona description. Our quantitative analysis of the chosen personas indicates that gender and profession influenced GPT's choices. Additionally, our qualitative analysis revealed ChatGPT's tendency to highlight the importance of representation while simultaneously perpetuating mostly negative biases about autistic people, illustrating a "bias paradox,"a concept adapted from feminist studies. By applying this concept to LLMs, we provide a lens through which researchers might identify, understand, and...

REDRAWING OUR URBAN WATERS: Merging design, law, and policy in advancing distributed water systems

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Decentralized (or distributed) urban water systems managed at the local level can create, especially when created using a multidisciplinary approach, mutually reinforcing benefits for sustainability and equity, including (1) highly integrated systems for wastewater, stormwater, ground and surface water, and drinking water; (2) more resilient systems with greater adaptive capacity; (3) increased levels of ecological responsiveness; (4) more cost-effective and lower footprint infrastructure; (5) engagement with design in infrastructure development; and most importantly (6) promotion of community interests and advancement of equity goals. As demonstrated in specific case examples, urban water systems can be a laboratory for equitable and sustainable approaches when meaningful relationships between multiple disciplines are recognized and actively deployed. These approaches allow designers, communities, and policy makers to bridge the gap between policy and design, create space where...

Can Citizen Science Promote Flood Risk Communication?

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article explores the challenges facing citizen science as a means of joining the efforts of scientists and flood-risk affected stakeholders in motivating citizen involvement in identifying and mitigating flood risks. While citizen science harbors many advantages, including a penchant for collaborative research and the ability to motivate those affected by floods to work with scientists in elucidating and averting risk, it is not without challenges in its implementation. These include ensuring that scientists are willing to share authority with amateur citizen scientists, providing forums that encourage debate, and encouraging equal voice in developing flood risk mitigation strategies. We assess these challenges by noting the limited application of citizen science to flood-relevant problems in existing research and recommend future research in this area to meaningfully incorporate a “re-imagined” citizen science process that is based on the participatory theoretical framework....

Informing the Design of Mobile and Wearable Technology for Noise Sensitivity

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Research on understanding and supporting the experiences of people with noise sensitivity (PWNS) and their challenges is limited within HCI. Therefore, we build on prior work to understand the challenges they consider and what technological solutions they create to support them. Through eight participatory design workshops involving PWNS and their carers, we considered their needs and challenges and how technology can be designed to support their well-being. Results indicate that wearable and mobile technology can facilitate awareness of sensory triggers and impacts on their well-being. Further, enabling both self and collaborative regulation is also necessary, especially as end users seek independence or interdependence with those around them to manage their experiences. We identified three tensions for designing technology to support PWNS and their sensory experiences.

To live and drink in Los Angeles

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Many cities rely on not just traditional delivery systems for potable water, but also standard economic models for valuing those systems. Both must be questioned to ensure future water security in drought-challenged urban regions.

Water and climate: Recognize anthropogenic drought

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

California's current extreme drought must be a lesson for managing water in a warmer, more densely populated world, say Amir AghaKouchak and colleagues.

Rap on Trial: A Legal Guide for Attorneys, 2nd