University at Albany, State University of New York
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Emotional Intelligence and College-Aged Couples’ Relationship Satisfaction
Get PDFThis study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and romantic relationship satisfaction (RAS) among college-aged individuals. Drawing on established models of EI and prior research linking EI to interpersonal functioning, the study tested three hypotheses: (1) higher EI would be positively associated with greater relationship satisfaction, (2) individuals in female same-sex relationships would report higher satisfaction than those in heterosexual relationships, and (3) EI would mediate the relationship between relationship length and satisfaction. A sample of 72 undergraduate students in romantic relationships completed validated measures of emotional understanding, emotion management, regulation difficulties, and relationship satisfaction. Contrary to expectations, no significant correlation was found between overall EI and relationship satisfaction, nor were there significant gender differences in EI. The mediation model involving relationship length, EI, and satisfaction was not supported. Exploratory analyses revealed that individuals in mid-length relationships (5–10 months) exhibited higher EI, while those in longer relationships (11+ months) reported greater satisfaction, suggesting a non-linear, stage-specific relationship between EI and satisfaction. These findings highlight the complexity of emotional intelligence\u27s role in emerging adult relationships and underscore the need for longitudinal and dyadic research designs to better understand developmental and contextual influences. Implications for future research and interventions targeting emotional skill-building during critical relationship stages are discussed
Waveforms for Next Generation Non-stationary Channels
Get PDFWaveform design aims to achieve orthogonality among data signals/symbols across all available Degrees of Freedom (DoF) to avoid interference while transmitted over the channel. Precoding involves the decomposition of the channel matrix into orthogonal components for the purpose of constructing a precoding matrix that is then combined with the data signal to achieve orthogonality in the spatial dimension. On the other hand, modulation uses orthogonal carriers in a certain signal space to carry data symbols with minimal interference from other symbols. However, it is widely evident that next Generation (xG) wireless systems will experience very high mobility, density and time-varying multi-path propagation that will result in a highly non-stationarity of the channel states. Conventional precoding methods using SVD or QR decomposition, are unable to capture these joint spatio-temporal variations as those techniques treat the space-time-varying channel as separate independent spatial channel matrices and hence fail to achieve joint spatio-temporal orthogonality. Meanwhile, the carriers in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS) modulations are unable to maintain the orthogonality in the frequency and delay-Doppler domain respectively, due to the higher order physical variation like velocity (Doppler effect) or acceleration (time-varying Doppler effect). In this thesis, we derived a High Order Generalized Mercer\u27s Theorem (HOGMT) for the orthogonal decomposition of multi-dimensional non-stationary channels, where the decomposed eigenfunctions are able to completely characterize the stochastic behavior of the channel. Based on this novel decomposition method, we proposed a joint spatio-temporal precoding, HOGMT-Precoding, which achieves interference-free communication with Channel State Information known at the Transmitter (CSIT). Further, the precoded signal is able to directly reconstruct the data signal at the receiver without complementary steps such as post-coding, so as to reduce the computational complexity at the receiver. We show that the proposed precoding is still optimal when the channel degrades to stationary cases. Through the theoretical analysis of the evolution of modulation techniques, we proposed a generic modulation method that investigates orthogonal subcarriers in eigenspace using HOGMT, referred to as Multidimensional Eigenwave Multiplexing (MEM) modulation. The modulated symbols orthogonal in the eigenspace are able to maintain their orthogonality across all the DoF when transmitting through the channel, thereby mitigating interference in channels under the multi-dimensional variation. The implementation of HOGMT using linear algebra entails high computational complexity. To address this, we proposed an explainable Neural Network (NN) to implement HOGMT, significantly reducing the complexity of MEM. Furthermore, we introduced an adaptive NN architecture by integrating the Augmented Lagrange Method (ALM). The proposed decomposition, characterization, precoding, modulation, and NN methods collectively enable a practical, reliable, and robust communication system for xG non-stationary channels
Essays on Innovation and Labor Market Benefits
Get PDFThe first chapter examines the impact of bank failures on team-based innovation, focusing on the persistence of inventor teams under credit supply constraints. Using U.S. patent and FDIC data from 2000 to 2012, this paper presents three main findings. First, bank failures significantly reduce both the number of team patents and the number of inventors with collaborators. Second, negative banking shocks decrease the likelihood that inventor teams remain together for projects in subsequent periods. However, team-specific factors, including geographic proximity, prior collaboration experience, and smaller team sizes, mitigate the adverse effects of bank failures and help preserve the stability of co-authorship. The findings suggest that limited capital availability during bank failures can disrupt the continuity in teamwork, but the effects vary across inventor teams. This study offers important and timely policy insights into how credit supply disruptions influence joint production and the stability of teamwork in innovation processes.
The second chapter studies the impacts of California’s 2004 paid family leave (CA-PFL) program on gender disparities in innovation. Using U.S. patent records from 1994 to 2019 and a difference-in-differences approach, we present four key findings. First, CA-PFL program increases the share of patents with female involvement but not the proportion of female inventors, indicating the program bridges the gender gap in patenting activity. Second, event studies show that the effects of CA-PFL expanded over time, consistent with limited early awareness and take-up. Third, the program is more effective for more experienced female inventors, and support their career continuity. Fourth, the program is more effective for private firms, where employer-provided leave benefits are typically less generous. Overall, the results highlight the role of state-mandated PFL program in advancing female representation in the innovation workforce.
The third chapter estimates the effect of CA-PFL program on young women’s leavetaking. Using the synthetic control method, this study finds that women of childbearing age are more likely to be on leave after the implementation of the policy
Three Essays on Addressing Conflicts and Consensus during Energy Transitions
Get PDFAddressing the current climate crisis becomes more urgent, but also controversial. This is because the move toward a renewable energy system tends to produce new winners and losers by generating disproportionate outcomes across different stakeholders. Given this context, more actors and organizations are engaged in the policymaking process of energy transitions while competing or cooperating to defend their interests and values. Therefore, it is pivotal to understand these dynamic interactions to achieve a just transition based upon energy justice. This research thus strives to respond to this research question: How can different coalitions and stakeholders reach consensus by mitigating tensions in the course of` energy transitions?
Although a growing body of public engagement studies addresses these dynamic interactions, there is still a gap between public engagement and energy justice scholarship. Specifically, public engagement studies tend to employ the limited notions of energy justice without considering their interconnections. Thus, they cannot fully capture emerging tensions and synergies among competing stakeholders drawing from the diverse notions of energy justice. In this tendency, many scholars have focused on describing a rather simplified interaction between public engagement and energy justice under the assumption of a bi-dimensional relationship between policymakers and uniform policy recipients. This, in turn, makes it harder to understand how to resolve tensions by reaching consensus among various stakeholders in order to facilitate a just transition based upon energy justice.
To address these challenges, this research includes two discourse coalition analyses based on the policymaking process of NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), in addition to a critical literature review on public engagement in energy transitions from the perspective of energy justice. The first paper combines discourse coalition analysis with the three core framing tasks to capture the shared assumptions across different coalitions. The second paper integrates discourse analysis with the interactive framework between procedural and distributional energy justice to show tensions within both energy justice concepts as well as how to resolve these tensions. The third paper connects public engagement studies with six core themes of energy justice to demonstrate tensions and synergies emerging in energy transitions.
This research, in turn, suggests more practical ways to reach consensus while mitigating tensions by: 1) Revealing how to create a transformative policy outcome (NY’s CLCPA) based on building shared assumptions rather than dominating over other coalitions, 2) Suggesting a more detailed way to attain synergy between procedural and distributional energy justice in a more practical context where different coalitions compete or cooperate 3) Identifying dynamic interactions among diverse energy justice concepts, which can be a conceptual basis for addressing crucial tensions emerging in public engagement during energy transitions.
Consequently, this research identifies tensions and synergies among competing coalitions based on various notions of energy justice concepts. This better understanding of dynamic interactions among different stakeholders and diverse energy justice concepts, in turn, contributes to addressing various conflicts by informing policymakers of how and where to intervene to achieve a just transition with fewer conflicts in a timely manner
Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis of Single-Case Experimental Design Data: A Comparison of Bayesian and Restricted Maximum Likelihood Estimation
Get PDFTwo-stage individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis can be used to synthesize intervention effects from single-case experimental design (SCED) studies with multilevel modeling. However, various challenges exist at both stages, including standardizing the intervention effect size, accounting for autocorrelation, and estimating the between-study and between-case variances. While both restricted maximum likelihood estimation (REML) and Bayesian estimation can be used to estimate model parameters, REML has been more commonly applied despite the potential advantages offered by Bayesian methods. Moreover, no methodological studies have focused on Bayesian estimation in the context of meta-analysis of SCED studies, let alone when IPD meta-analysis (often recommended for SCED studies) is applied. To fill this gap, this dissertation examined the performance of Bayesian estimation for IPD meta-analysis of SCED data using the two-stage approach, in comparison with REML estimation. In particular, the dissertation includes two large-scale Current Monte Carlo simulation studies aimed at examining and comparing various statistical properties, including relative bias, mean squared error, relative standard error, coverage proportion of the 95% confidence/credible interval (CP95), statistical power, and Type Ⅰ error rate, for estimating key parameters at Stage 1 and/or Stage 2. Specifically, in Study 1, the statistical properties were tested for estimating (1) the standardization factors (i.e., white noise standard deviation or residual standard deviation), (2) the autocorrelation parameter, and (3) the case-specific standardized intervention effect size. Those estimates are completed at Stage 1 of the two-stage IPD meta-analysis, which often serves as a preprocessing step before synthesizing case-specific effect sizes at Stage 2 for an overall intervention effect. The major aim of Study 1 is to compare the performance of Bayesian and REML estimation at Stage 1 and to identify promising conditions where unbiased estimates of the case-specific standardized intervention effect and its corresponding standard errors can be obtained. In Study 2, the same statistical properties examined in Study 1 were tested for estimating (1) the overall intervention effect, (2) the between-study variance of the intervention effect, and (3) the between-case variance of the intervention effect in the context of the full two-stage analysis. The results of Study 1 indicate that using white noise standard deviation is preferable compared to residual standard deviation when autocorrelation is present, regardless of the estimation procedure. In terms of estimating autocorrelation and the standardized intervention effect, neither Bayesian nor REML estimation consistently outperformed across all examined statistical properties. Additionally, neither estimation method consistently demonstrated acceptable performance across all statistical properties. However, an important finding for estimation at Stage 1 is that when at least 20 measurement occasions are included for each case and when the autocorrelations are expected to be nonnegative and moderate (between 0 and .5), Bayesian estimation with noninformative priors for autocorrelation is recommended, as it can yield unbiased estimates of both the standardized intervention effect and its standard error. According to the results of Study 2, both Bayesian estimation, regardless of the priors used, and REML estimation tended to result in unbiased overall intervention effect estimates and satisfactory power for estimating the intervention effect across all conditions. Among the other statistical properties examined, the Type Ⅰ error for estimating the intervention effect was always too small compared to .05, regardless of the conditions and the estimation procedure. As for the estimation of between-study and between-case variances, greater challenges were found, particularly in terms of statistical power for estimating between-study variance, as well as CP95 for estimating between-case variance. Overall, Bayesian estimation, especially when a weakly informative prior with more information was applied, produced unbiased or less biased estimates of the variances and yielded acceptable or nearly acceptable CP95 values under a broader range of conditions compared to REML estimation. Among the other statistical properties examined, contradictory patterns were observed in the estimates of standard errors: Bayesian estimates of the standard errors of between-study variance were consistently positively biased, whereas REML estimates of the standard errors of between-case variance were mostly negatively biased. Based on the results, specific recommendations are provided for applied researchers interested in assessing standardized case-specific effect sizes and/or synthesizing those effect sizes using a two-stage IPD meta-analysis with either Bayesian or REML estimation. Limitations and ideas for future research are discussed
Applying the Ecological Model of Medical Encounters to Understand Patient-Centered Communication for Older Korean Migrants in the U.S.
Get PDFPatient-Centered Communication (PCC) is defined as an approach that places patients at the center of communication with healthcare providers. PCC has been recognized as a strategy to address disparities experienced by minority populations. However, despite its associations with positive health outcomes and ethical significance, there has been a paucity of research on PCC in minority populations such as older Korean migrants in the U.S. Understanding PCC within this group may contribute to improving healthcare communication tailored to their needs. This dissertation aimed to (1) explore the expectations of PCC in primary care settings among older Korean migrants in the U.S., (2) adapt an existing PCC scale originally developed for cancer care, and (3) test the ecological model of medical encounters using the adapted PCC scale in primary care settings. This dissertation employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches, including interviews and surveys with samples recruited through community-based organizations (CBOs). In the qualitative phase, 21 semi-structured interviews with older Korean migrants in the U.S. revealed that certain aspects of PCC, such as non-verbal behaviors, providers’ self-disclosure, social, financial, and cultural circumstances, were absent in the existing PCC scale. Based on qualitative findings, the existing scale on PCC in cancer care was translated into Korean and adapted to primary care. In the quantitative phase, a survey was conducted with 229 participants recruited through CBOs. The adapted PCC scale was used to test the hypothesized model of PCC that includes ecological factors in the interpersonal, organizational, and cultural contexts. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that interpersonal and organizational factors, such as provider’s cultural competence, organizational health literacy, and organizational cultural competence, contributed to explaining variances in PCC, even after controlling for demographics, while cultural factors, such as ethnic and language concordance, were not significant predictors of PCC. The results highlighted the importance of organizational training and policies that enhance health literacy and cultural competence to support PCC in this population group. This dissertation contributes to advancing knowledge of patient-provider communication for racially and ethnically minoritized patients as well as to diversifying and expanding research on PCC through scale adaptation to a new care context and a new target population
Exploring Identity and Belonging through Housing Pathways: Resettlement Experiences of Female Ukrainian Refugees
Get PDFBackground: This dissertation examines the resettlement experiences of female Ukrainian refugees in Germany following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, which displaced over 8.5 million Ukrainians, including 1.2 million to Germany by April 2024. Focusing on Munich, the study explores the interplay of housing pathways, identity, and belonging, emphasizing gendered challenges faced by women, particularly single mothers and caregivers, navigating trauma, systemic barriers, and cultural adaptation. Organized into three articles, this work employs a social justice lens to address structural barriers, such as discriminatory housing markets, economic exclusion, and limited access to resources, which disproportionately impact marginalized women, promoting inclusive integration policies. Feminist migration theory complements this lens by highlighting women’s agency and gendered constraints, deepening the analysis of fair and just resettlement. The first article, a scoping review, integrates diverse literature on place, identity, and mental health to map key trends and reveal critical research gaps. The second analyzes housing pathways and integration, while the third examines evolving perceptions of belonging and resilience within varied housing contexts.
Methods: The study employs a mixed-methods approach to provide a comprehensive analysis of the resettlement experiences of female Ukrainian refugees. The first article conducts a scoping review, guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework, systematically searching PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Sociological Abstracts using keywords such as “Ukrainian refugees,” “mental health,” “place attachment,” and “identity.” The review included 22 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources (e.g., policy briefs, NGO reports) published after February 2022, examining qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies to map trends and research gaps without requiring rigorous quality assessments, which is suitable for the emergent literature on this crisis. Articles Two and Three draw on semi-structured interviews conducted in 2024 with 33 Ukrainian women in Munich, purposively sampled for diversity in age and family status, and conducted in English with Russian translation support from a bilingual research assistant. A semi-structured interview guide was followed, incorporating open-ended and scaled questions, to explore sensitive topics such as housing pathways, belonging, and well-being. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA software, applying Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis to identify patterns in housing pathways, identity negotiation, and belonging, ensuring trustworthiness through iterative coding and validation.
Findings: The scoping review (Article 1) revealed that housing significantly influences the interplay between identity, place, and mental health among Ukrainian refugees. Stable housing, such as private apartments, fosters resilience and a sense of belonging by providing safety, autonomy, and opportunities for cultural preservation and community connection, thereby supporting identity formation. Precarious settings like refugee camps exacerbate psychological distress, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety, disrupting the sense of place and identity. A key gap is the limited research on diverse subgroups, such as adolescents, ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ refugees. Article 2 identified four housing pathways: social network-driven (e.g., leveraging Ukrainian community connections through social media), locally assisted (e.g., volunteer support), market-based (e.g., navigating rentals amid discrimination), and institutional/constrained (e.g., government shelters lacking privacy). Success depended on language proficiency, education, and social connections, but was hindered by high rents and landlord biases. Article 3 highlighted resilience through cultural preservation (e.g., hosting Ukrainian events), the tensions in balancing heritage and integration, autonomy via stable housing, and the exacerbation of trauma in unstable settings. Feminist migration theory highlights women’s agency in navigating these pathways and tensions, despite the gendered barriers they face. The most significant finding is that stable housing is pivotal for fostering resilience, a sense of belonging, and mental health, serving as a foundation for integration and identity negotiation.
Conclusion: This dissertation demonstrates that stable housing is crucial for fostering resilience, a sense of belonging, and mental health among female Ukrainian refugees, laying the foundation for place-making and identity negotiation. Housing instability restricts access to employment and education, and deepens social exclusion, particularly for single mothers and older women facing childcare constraints and digital exclusion. The findings speak to the importance of gender-sensitive, trauma-informed policies, including subsidized housing for female-led households, language programs with childcare, and anti-discrimination measures to counter market biases. Community-driven initiatives, such as Ukrainian cultural hubs and peer-led support groups, can enhance cultural continuity and social capital, reducing isolation. Grounded in transnationalism, intersectionality, and feminist migration theories, the study contributes to social welfare scholarship by positioning housing as a human right and a determinant of equitable integration. Future research could include longitudinal studies to track long-term outcomes, comparative analyses of urban and rural settings, and participatory methods such as photovoice to amplify diverse voices, especially those of LGBTQ+ refugees, Roma, and unaccompanied minors, to inform the development of inclusive policies within a global displacement context
The Modern Gothic: Examining Humanity’s Relationship with Technology in Black Mirror’s Be Right Back
Get PDFThe Gothic genre, since its beginning, has been a reflection to society\u27s fears and anxieties towards cultural and technological shifts. This thesis critically examines how Netflix\u27s Black Mirror episode Be Right Back continues the Gothic tradition by reflecting contemporary fears of humanity\u27s complex relationship with technology. Through an analysis of the traditional Gothic elements: haunting and death, the supernatural, and the uncanny-- Black Mirror is placed in the Gothic genre identifying fears of artificial intelligence and human identity. The episode\u27s portrayal of an AI surrogate for a dead boyfriend, the episode is a cautionary tale about the limitations of technology in replicating the complexities of the human experience, love, and grief. Ultimately, this thesis contends that the Gothic\u27s continued relevance lies in its ability to interrogate societal fears, and Black Mirror exemplifies this tradition by asking a fundamental question: what truly makes us human
Allen v. Milligan and Predicting Louisiana v. Callais
Get PDFIn its 2021 docket, the United States Supreme Court would take on the case Allen v. Milligan from the Eleventh Circuit in the United States Court of Appeals. This case surrounded the new Congressional map that Alabama had drawn following the 2020 Census, which would be in effect from the 2022 House of Representatives Elections until 2030. In this map, a single majority-minority district was drawn of the seven total, despite nearly 1 in 3 Alabamians belonging to a racial minority. Voters and several organizations would challenge this new Congressional map on the grounds of it violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits “voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language groups identified in Section 4 of the Act.” (United States Dept. of Justice, “Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act”, 2023). Prior to the decision in Allen v. Milligan, Alabama and many other southern states would often do the bare minimum regarding the creation of majority-minority congressional districts. For the entirety of Alabama’s post-1964 congressional history, the state had drawn a single majority-minority Congressional district. Many other states, such as Louisiana and South Carolina, would also draw single majority-minority districts, despite their population balances being slightly more diverse than Alabama. Additionally, since 1992 Alabama’s congressional map contained a near-unchanging district configuration, with a single minority-packed district that included black neighborhoods of 2 Birmingham, Montgomery, and rural “black belt” counties (Lewis et. al, “U.S. Congressional District Shapefiles”, 2025)
The Monsters Are Due on Hillside Avenue: Paul Robeson and the Racialization of the Peekskill Riots of 1949
Get PDFOn August 27, 1949, a burning cross pierced the night sky in the quiet hills of Westchester County. As Howard Fast later recounted in Peekskill USA: There was a moment of silent cessation, and one of the men leaped up on the truck and cried, \u27A cross is burning!\u27 We could only see the glare, but the symbolic meaning was not lost upon us. In the sweet land the movement had been rounded out; the burning cross, the symbol of all that is rotten and evil in our land had blessed us. Our night was complete and we could do well to kneel before the new patriots.1 The Peekskill Riots were a powder keg of racial and political violence, ignited around a concert organized for Paul Robeson, a renowned Black performer, civil rights activist, and accused “communist.” Originally scheduled for August 27, 1949, the event was to take place at Lakeland Acres, ironically located in Cortlandt just outside Peekskill, New York, and was intended to raise funds for the Harlem chapter of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC). This left-leaning legal defense group supported Black defendants in highly racialized trials in the 1940s and early 1950s across both the South and North. But the concert never happened. It was met by hostile demonstrations from residents and pro-American veterans who hurled rocks, burned effigies, and invoked racist and anticommunist rhetoric. Organizers rescheduled the concert for September 4 at a nearby venue, the Hollow Brook Golf Course in Cortlandt Manor, New York. This time, the concert grounds, heavily guarded by trade unionists and volunteers, added more rage to an already deadly concoction. Thus, violence escalated. As attendees left, they were ambushed in their cars by mobs lining the roads, while police and local officials largely stood by