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This study describes the nature and extent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in philanthropic organizations and assesses the capacity and readiness of nonprofits in adopting AI for philanthropic use. Additionally, the study explores the nature and extent of perceived concerns, risks, and benefits of AI use in philanthropy and describes the current state of and need for ethical guidance. Specifically, 31 community foundation leaders and 11 nonprofit organization leaders in the United States completed an online survey. Results indicate that organizations report low readiness for AI integration as well as concerns about confidentiality and bias in the data upon which AIs are trained. Perceived benefits include increased productivity and improved communication with external stakeholders. Organizations also reported the need for ethical guidance with no single ethical approach favored to balance risks and benefits. Thus, a multi-ethical approach is recommended where organizations use different ethical approaches to balance risks and benefits according to specific potential harms. Ethical guidance, best practices, and recommendations for policy are examined.

This study utilizes two datasets obtained from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, a federally-sponsored initiative to monitor annual rates and characteristics of child maltreatment in the United States. Using a set of multinomial and negative binomial regressions, the paper seeks to examine service use among maltreated children with and without behavioral problems and emotional disturbance. The study also explores whether the service utilization gap widened among children with those conditions in 2021, during the pandemic, compared to 2018, pre-pandemic. Results demonstrated significant differences in the utilization of services among children with behavioral problems and emotional disturbance compared to those without. Children with behavioral problems were more likely to receive post-investigation, foster care, family preservation, mental health, and/or counseling services compared to children without the problems. Children with emotional disturbance were less likely to receive post-investigation and mental health and/or counseling services, compared to children without emotional disturbance. However, they were more likely foster care and family preservation, compared to children without emotional disturbance. The findings can inform policy makers, healthcare professionals and child welfare agencies in allocating resources effectively to meet the unique needs of children with behavioral problems and emotional disturbance.

Abstract Throughout American history, Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFRs) have faced systemic discrimination, often leading to their intentional exclusion from federal programs. This has contributed to a decline in the number of farms operated by SDFRs. Even though certain policies led to a gradual increase in their numbers, the average acreage of SDFR-owned farms has diminished over time. Recognizing the impact of racial disadvantages on the diminished participation of SDFRs, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has instituted programs specifically tailored for minority farmers, offering financial aid and outreach initiatives. However, persistent and emerging barriers continue to impede the participation of these farmers and ranchers in federal programs. These barriers include a lack of information, transparency, and outreach efforts. Although the USDA has introduced federal programs to address financial difficulties and provide financial assistance through grants and loans, these programs predominantly favor large, White producers, leaving small and socially disadvantaged farmers in distress. Given the ongoing obstacles to participation in federal programs and accessing capital, this exploratory study seeks to comprehend how small African American farmers and ranchers adapt to financial challenges and employ coping strategies. The study draws on data collected from 22 farmers and ranchers classified as SDFRs. Interviews reveal that some farmers now refrain from taking loans from federal or private organizations, relying on tools such as networking and the internet for information and as platforms to promote their farm businesses.

The importance of social bonds in supporting those in substance use recovery is illustrious through applications of social bonding theory. However, the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on these essential relationships has not been widely studied. The initial survey instrument studying social support, religious support, and substance use patterns before, during, and after COVID-19 was met with methodological difficulty in reaching the target population through email. This instrument was adapted into a semi-structured interview guide and methodology evolved to include participation either in-person or over Zoom. Through 14 in-depth interviews with people in substance use recovery programs, themes of isolation, peer support, and spirituality emerged. Despite the initial hypotheses of reduced social and religious support due to isolation, where isolation persisted, peer support and spirituality prevailed. Instead of turning inward upon pandemic-imposed seclusion, those in recovery tended to reach out, being met with an abundance of peer support and spiritual guidance, through virtual or modified in-person means. These findings speak to the importance of maintaining virtual accessibility for peer support services and spiritual engagements.

American teens have diverse experiences with sex education that may leave some inadequately prepared for navigating their sexuality as emerging adults. For those who seek higher education, college-level sex education classes could fill this void. Yet, there is a notable gender gap in enrollment in college-level sex education classes across the US, with men being reluctant to taking these courses. Thus, it is important to understand what barriers prevent men from taking these classes. This study explores the roles that masculine ideology plays in dissuading men from enrolling in college-level sex education courses. Interviews with 17 masculine-identified college students who had not enrolled in a sex education course indicated that men see these courses as feminized spaces that they should avoid. Although toxic masculinity was apparent in participants’ comments, they often distanced themselves from this ideology by either using genderblind language or attributing toxic ideology to other men. As such, efforts to recruit men into college-level sex education classes may benefit from the use of tactics that approach men as allies in educating “other” men about sexuality.

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital anomalies that affect both the morbidity and mortality of infants worldwide. Inadequate levels of the vitamin folate in women during early pregnancy have been shown to be a risk factor for NTDs. Recent efforts to ensure adequate folate intake in mothers have been helpful in reducing but not eliminating NTDs. This dissertation examines additional risk factors for NTDs as possible focus areas for decreasing NTD occurrence. Chapter Two and Chapter Three are literature reviews conducted to explore select factors associated with an increased risk of NTDs and how these factors may affect folate availability for mothers. The seven risk factors implicated in NTD development include maternal obesity, hyperthermia, pregestational diabetes, MTHFR C677T variant, Hispanic race/ethnicity, twin pregnancy, and drugs affecting folate metabolism. In both literature reviews, these risk factors were evaluated using historical literature and three databases for the years 2016–2021. In the first review, evidence from meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and large studies linked these risk factors to NTDs, although some studies countered these findings. The second literature review evaluated whether these risk factors could affect folate levels in mothers. Lower serum or RBC folate levels were observed in women who were homozygous for the MTHFR C77T variant, and those with obesity, and women exposed to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Chapter Four is a research study of NTD cases occurring in South Carolina over a 28-year period (1992–2019). Using data from the South Carolina NTD Surveillance and Prevention Program, this study examined the occurrence of each of the seven risk factors in 515 isolated NTDs during the study period. Distribution of the risk factors in the three common NTD types (spina bifida, anencephaly, and encephalocele) and between the periods of pre-fortification and post-fortification were explored. Of the 515 isolated NTD cases, 57% had one or more of the seven risk factors studied. Continued research and focus on NTD risk factors may offer opportunities for NTD prevention.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the work ethic strength, dimensions, and correlates in young people in Albania. The review of the available research concluded that, regardless of the attention that youth-related topics have received in the last decade, there was a considerable gap in the understanding of the state and correlates of the work ethic in this group. Using the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile – Short Form, the work ethic strength and dimensions were explored in an Albanian sample of (N = 501) 18 to 24 years old, otherwise known as Generation Z. Data were collected via an instrument, published, and disseminated online through social media ads. The profile of participants was mainly urban and highly educated. The study found that work ethic of this sample of young Albanians was strong. Using as a conceptual framework the Bronfenbrenner’s systems theory, the association of microsystem correlates with work ethic was explored. Parental work ethic and support, the presence of a role model in the young person’s life, living in the rural areas and having completed secondary education, were significantly associated with the strength of youth work ethic. This study provides originality and value in filling in the gaps of knowledge around youth work ethic in Albania. It provides information on the relationship of work ethic with other factors and attempts to offer a predictive model of work ethic. The findings have theoretical and practical implications around programs addressing parental influence in young people, educational, human resources and management practices accommodating young people in the education system and the job market. The study discusses these implications as well as the limitations and future research directions of interest for the topic.

Return migration is the movement of people from host countries to their country of origin after spending a period of time abroad. The aim of this doctoral research is two-folded: Firstly, it aims to explore migration and return migration experiences of Albanian women in order to understand the difficulties experienced during and after migration and how they handled obstacles. Secondly, it analyzes how women migrants perceive successful reintegration. Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews of 19 Albanian women who returned to the city of Shkodra, the research seeks to answer the following questions: (1) Upon return, what are the perceptions of women migrants' experiences before, during, and after migration? and (2) What are perceptions of how reintegration might be improved? The answers offer a comprehensive understanding of return migration and reintegration factors based on their lived experiences. The outcomes in this qualitative study resulted from a constructivist grounded theoretical analysis. Sampling began as purposive and data analysis continued until saturation had been reached. Findings show that economic, social, and cultural difficulties in Albania and obscurity about the future influence reintegration. Implications for theoretical approaches to reintegration are offered. The research also evaluates the significant contributions return migrants make towards the future development of the city and concludes with recommendations for governmental and non-governmental structures to improve reintegration.

The United States has continuously faced an opioid epidemic that has resulted in a severe loss of human life. The coronavirus pandemic began in December 2019 and affected many aspects of daily life. One result of this pandemic was government financial aid in the form of stimulus checks that were directly deposited into peoples’ bank accounts. This study aims to understand better the impact stimulus checks had on opioid overdose rates within America by using content collected from Twitter to gauge public opinion. The sample consisted of a stratified random sample of 600 overall tweets that contained at least one relevant search keyword. Keywords were common drug terms. Content analysis was used to determine emerging themes within the tweets to better understand how people discussed opioids. Results showed that there was no discussion by Twitter users that involved stimulus checks in conjunction with opioids.

COVID-19 created many disruptions in the field of education as teachers and administrators navigated the many changing protocols affecting learning environments and pedagogy over the past two years. This thesis examines secondary teachers’ perceptions of managing these protocols through their lived experiences while teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic through the 2020-2021 school years. Previous research has shown a teacher’s sense of self-efficacy is related to both learning situations and teacher performance. However, research exploring the impact COVID-19 has had on teachers and their learning environments is limited. This qualitative exploratory study fills the gap by investigating situational factors in learning environments that influenced participants’ sense of teaching-efficacy during the pandemic. The data were collected through nine semi-structured interviews with secondary teachers at a public middle school. Findings show that participants perceived workplace satisfaction and increased teaching-efficacy as dependent on emotional and material administrative support systems. Furthermore, these findings illustrate that successful management of instructional pedagogy and learning outcomes during hybrid learning are influenced by social structures and accountability dynamics within their school. Implications of this study are discussed in relation to: (a) the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on teaching-efficacy and (b) practical and social efforts to advance the understanding of teacher burnout and attrition rates.

Throughout history, the relationship of humans with nature evolved with culture. Climate change calls for a cultural shift in how we relate to nature and fellow humans, pointing to the need to rethink most human activities. Youth are frequently seen as agents of change. However, the widespread understanding that youth environmental engagement is necessary and brings more sustainable outcomes has almost no supporting empirical evidence. Research is needed to reveal whether youth environmental engagement is related to climate policies and ecological consequences and how this engagement varies across cultures. Based on data from over 300,000 15-year-olds from 40 countries across the world, this dissertation analyzes youth environmental engagement (measured as environmental knowledge, global agency, and pro-environmental behavior, data from Program for International Student Assessment [PISA]) to examine: (a) how it differs across cultures (assessed by the World Values Survey), and (b) how it corresponds to environmental degradation (measured by the Environmental Performance and Climate Change Performance Indices [EPI and CCPI]). A quantitative analysis of four international surveys suggests that youth environmental engagement differs across the eight cultural areas and is strongly in tune with the culture and environmental protection. Higher environmental knowledge is strongly linked to higher postmaterialist values, while higher pro-environmental behaviors is linked with lower environmental protection. Finally, global agency was strongly related to CCPI but not to EPI, suggesting that young people develop a higher sense of global agency in cultural areas, where governments do less to protect the environment. This study offers new insights into the associations among youth environmental engagement, culture, and environmental performance. It further supports the growing call for cross-cultural research to understand the primary factors influencing individuals’ and societies’ environmental attitudes and behaviors. The findings of this dissertation have numerous practical implications. Preparing young people to respond to environmental degradation is a long‐term investment. As the youth of today grow into adulthood, they can lead societal changes conducive to sustainable development. Policymakers worldwide need to rely on existing support to address the climate crisis and push ahead with transformational change.

There is a robust literature that documents the importance of youth civic engagement, both at the individual and societal levels. Moreover, young people's civic activism is vital for strengthening democracy in developing and transitional countries, such as Kosovo. Despite the abundant literature at the global level, mainly in Western countries, there is a lack of research on the level and dynamics of young people's civic engagement in developing countries, especially in the Western Balkans. Although there has been progress in recent years, youth civic activism remains understudied in the region. Using data from the Kosovo Youth Study 2018/2019, this study examined psychological, social and political correlates of civic engagement among young people in Kosovo who are aged 14-29 years old. Youth civic engagement was measured using two outcomes, volunteering and political engagement. First, the study examined if gender, age groups, residency, and socioeconomic status predicted youth civic engagement. Next, both logistic and linear regression were used to test youth civic engagement predictors (concern about societal issues, youth optimism, social trust, internal and external political efficacy). Bivariate analyses tested the individual associations of each predictor with the two outcomes. Then, multivariate analyses were used to test the unique associations between each predictor and the two respective outcomes when controlling for the other predictors. Lastly, mediation analysis was used to investigate if trust in national institutions acted as a mediator in the association between young people’s generalized trust and their level of civic engagement. All models included covariates for age groups, gender, residency, and socioeconomic status. Results showed demographic variables to be significant correlates for political engagement. However, for volunteering, only residency was significant. Concerns about societal issues, social trust, interest in politics, and belief that young people’s interests are well represented in national politics were significant predictors of both volunteering and political engagement. Intention to vote was only significant to volunteering, whereas optimism about the country’s future and discussion of politics with family and acquaintances were significant predictors of political engagement only. The multivariate analysis yielded similar results. Lastly, mediation analysis showed a direct effect of social trust on trust in institutions and volunteering, but no indirect effect was observed. In the political engagement model, the direct effect of social trust on political engagement was significant. Similarly, the indirect effect of trust in institutions in social trust and political engagement was significant. The results of this study support some prior research showing that youth civic engagement is associated with certain demographic characteristics, and that concern about societal issues (prosocial values), optimism, social trust, internal and external political efficacy are correlated to different forms of civic engagement. The results of this study could help policymakers and youth programme designers to tailor programs that consider and address underlying issues related to the lack of civic engagement among youth. Keywords: youth civic engagement, correlates, youth optimism, concern about societal issues, trust, political efficacy

Students from all over the world who study in the United States contribute to the economy, participate in scientific and technical research, foster a diverse campus environment, enrich the learning environment with cultural perspectives, and help prepare domestic students for global careers, which often lead to long-term business relationships. However, in the United States, higher education institutions are facing ever-increasing challenges in enrolling international students. In the past three years, many universities faced difficulties in increasing or maintaining international student enrollment, forcing colleges and universities to search for the most effective ways to attract international students with limited resources. This is particularly true for those Master’s colleges and universities with limited marketing funding for international student enrollment. By conducting surveys and interviews at two universities, the study examined university administrators’ perceptions of university-related strategies of international student enrollment, the most influential factors in international student college choice based on student perceptions, and the degree to which student and administrator perceptions converge and diverge in relation to enrollment strategies and student college choice. This study is expected to provide a tool and knowledge for university policy makers and administrators to adjust appropriate recruiting strategies under limited budget in order to optimize resource outputs.

Private enterprise, sex tourism, international adoption, and soldier recruitment have all been industries that benefit from the coercion or trade of human beings. Although international development organizations and government agencies have been particularly focused on preventing human rights violations, the Protestant Christian community also has been poised with a vested interest around the globe. Unfortunately, data are lacking about faith-based efforts in the anti-trafficking space. This research looks at faith-based organizations’ anti-trafficking operations in Thailand particular, as it has been traditionally known as a nation with unique immigration challenges and extensive migration patterns. This qualitative study is based on open-ended interviews with 7 stakeholders in Thailand, all of whom were employed by anti-trafficking organizations associated with a Christian faith. The interviews provided a great variety of rich data surrounding informants’ lived experiences and lessons learned on the field, with 27 themes originally emerging from the data. These themes were condensed into 8 major themes that built the framework for this study. First, each respondent spoke in depth about the intersection of their faith and justice-oriented work. Practitioners shared how their personal faith journeys were impacted by working among a marginalized population in a Buddhist culture, revealing the deeply intimate experience it is for one to engage with God. The majority of interviews reflected that it was impossible for individuals to separate their faith from their work, however they all expressed that their personal faith should not be used to further manipulate or exploit persons healing from abuse. In this lies the strategic tension of faith-based organizations (FBOs), as they share the same goals as secular anti-trafficking organizations but approach their work from different core motivations. This study also addresses specific lessons practitioners shared from their experience on the field. Participants were asked to share some wisdom to someone beginning in their line of work, and they discussed the complexities of human trafficking, the importance of employing best practices in smaller organizations, and the advantages to working collaboratively with and in accountability to the greater anti-trafficking network in country. Interviewees also shared their ethical concerns surrounding storytelling and fundraising, calling for greater authenticity and more humility from foreigners working in cross-cultural contexts. This study informs a number of sectors as it relates to international work, and recommendations are provided for churches and donors, the Thai government, FBOs, and individuals engaging in anti-trafficking work. The data from the research interviews have implications for the broader Protestant church, as the financial, social, emotional, and spiritual resources of FBOs are interconnected between sponsoring churches to the direct relationships with trafficking survivors. It is believed this study will better serve these survivors by informing the individuals who are aiding their recovery along the resource supply chain.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to assess the readiness of a Department of Emergency Medicine (ED) to respond to human trafficking (HT), using an adapted Transtheoretical Model’s Stage of Change Model as a guide. Content analysis allowed for an assessment of 13 system-wide policies and procedures and 25 hours of on-site observations of patient data collection processes and clinical practices during intake, triage, and the medical screening evaluation at three ED sites. Thematic analysis identified five readiness themes based on semi-structured interviews with 22 healthcare personnel from four ED sties. Results indicated that system-wide policies and procedures and patient data collection processes were at the precontemplative level of change across ED sites, meaning low levels of readiness to respond to HT. Clinical practice findings showed participants used their knowledge and expertise with other vulnerable patient populations to raise concerns about possible trafficked individuals seeking medical care, placing clinical practices at the contemplative level of change. Based on findings, recommendations to increase the ED’s readiness to respond to HT included: mandating HT training for all ED personnel to enhance awareness, incorporating HT into current policies and procedures for vulnerable patient populations as well as creating a HT protocol that addresses a procedural work flow, enhancing patient data collection to include HT warning signs, identifying a consistent area to record suspicions in patients’ medical records, and making community referral information readily available for staff. Future research with other EDs can apply the adapted TTM framework to determine the efficacy of this assessment model to assess HT readiness.