Our amazing SSU faculty continue to publish great research every month. Check out some of the latest publications.
Bouvet, Florence, and Puspa Delima Amri. “From Margins to Headlines: Analyzing the Determinants of Increased Media Focus on Income Inequality.” Social Science Quarterly., vol. 106, no. 3, 2025.
Abstract: This study examines the determinants of media coverage on income inequality across nine OECD countries from 1980 to 2021, aiming to understand its increased salience after the Global Financial Crisis despite minimal changes in actual inequality trends. Using a novel dataset of over 400 million newspaper articles, we analyze the media coverage volume and tone, examining their relationships with economic fundamentals and extra-economic factors. Our results show that economic fundamentals account for less than half of the variation in coverage, while the rise of populism and Piketty's book publication coincided with increased attention. The media focused more on market income inequality, potentially skewing public perception. The findings highlight the significant role of extra-economic factors in shaping inequality coverage, emphasizing the need for political leaders to communicate economic successes more effectively given media tendencies to focus on negative developments.
Burke, Megan, and Martina Ferrari. “Disobedient Anonymity and the Politics of Protesting Violence against Women.” Feminist Theory., vol. 26, no. 2, 2025, pp. 468–85.
Abstract: This article accounts for a particular kind of politicised anonymity, namely ‘disobedient anonymity’, that operates as a liberatory response to the longue durée of gender violence. We examine the street performance Un violador en tu camino created by the Chilean feminist theatre collective LASTESIS, to show how disobedient anonymity is an embodied and collective disruption of colonial subjectification and state-sanctioned gender violence. Building on the insights of the Argentinian decolonial feminist scholar Rita Segato's analysis of high-intensity patriarchy as well as discussions of perverse anonymity in critical phenomenology, we examine how disobedient anonymity operates in Un violador as an embodied practice that makes possible a decolonising, feminist liberatory public. We argue that through the deployment of disobedient anonymity, Un violador re-territorialises and re-temporalises colonial fields of sens. In doing so, it institutes a new form of political subjectivity that upends colonial logics.
Martin, Claire Emilie, et al. “Luck of the Draw: Gambling, Marriage, and the Labor Economy in Clorinda Matto de Turner’s Herencia.” The Palgrave Handbook of Transnational Women’s Writing in the Long Nineteenth Century, Springer International Publishing :, 2024, pp. 305–21.
Abstract: Clorinda Matto de Turner has been studied as an important naturalist writer. However, her use of economic topics deserves more attention. Herencia exposes her anxieties surrounding women’s limited work options, economic risk, and Peru’s rapid modernization and financial upheavals after the War of the Pacific. It communicates the dangers of economic deals taking place in spaces that excluded women and the risks of valuing appearances and social climbing over practical financial decisions. Matto de Turner employs symbolic plot devices such as business plans, the lottery and the casino to consider financial decisions by her characters, offering somewhat conflicting messages about economic dangers, luck, and money. This study surveys the economically risky activities to reveal their relationship to women’s lack of financial power and work opportunities in Peru.
Wu, W., Castronovo, F., Luo, Y., Liang, A., Gomez, F., Kassis, S., Wolcott, A. “Faculty Learning Community (FLC) as a Structured Intervention to Prepare Higher Education STEM Faculty for Classroom Integration of Extended Reality (XR).” Computers & Education: X Reality, vol. 6, 2025.
Abstract: Numerous factors may have contributed to the slow diffusion of XR in higher education STEM classrooms. This research underscores the role of faculty as change agents for innovation and a key success factor for effective XR integration in STEM education. Focusing on faculty professional development, this research study aims to examine peer-led academic communities of practice known as Faculty Learning Community (FLC) as a structured intervention to foster faculty's acceptance, exploration, and hands-on experiment with teaching with XR across STEM disciplines. By evaluating the impacts of participating in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded XR Faculty Learning Community (XR-FLC), this research studied two cohorts of twenty STEM faculty and their lived experience in the XR-FLC to understand their developed aptitude and perspectives toward meaningful and intentional classroom integration of XR through guided course redesign and tryouts. Multiple streams of quantitative and qualitative evaluation data were collected via formative and summative surveys and semi-structured interviews in focus groups. Thematic analyses were conducted to gain insights into how and to what extent the XR-FLC achieved its intended objectives. The research results revealed multifaceted barriers faculty typically encountered when integrating XR and suggested potential pathways to navigate them. Overall, the XR-FLC experience fostered faculty's growth in technological, content, and pedagogical knowledge, while enhancing their proficiency and confidence in the intentional use of XR in STEM classrooms.
Gin, W. “Classificatory versus Transformative Data Regimes: Towards a Positive Right to Data Production and Analysis.” Handbook on Governance and Data Science., Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2025, pp. 316–31.
Abstract: Data is produced, analyzed, and used in two ways. Data regime 1 classifies and sorts subjects into groups, often for the purpose of economizing resources. Data regime 2 aims to experiment and transform individual subjects, allowing subjects to transcend those classifications. In the contemporary era of big data analytics, the majority of data analytics corresponds to data regime 1, though there have been sporadic attempts to move to data regime 2 in different areas. The predominance of data regime 1 in contemporary social formations creates two kinds of inequality. There is an overall epistemological inequality in that the ways of thinking associated with classifying and economizing predominate over experimenting and transforming. There is also a distributive inequality, in that only some privileged actors and entities can successfully engage in the iterative experimentation of data regime 2, while others are stuck primarily being the "objects" of the classificatory schemes of data regime 1. From this perspective, the chapter concludes that there is a positive right to the production of data to allow more individuals access to the benefits of data regime 2.
Anand, Bhaskar, et al. “Recent Advances in Metal-Organic Frameworks for Real-World Application toward Adsorptive Capturing of Gaseous Aromatic Volatile Organic Compounds in Air.” Coordination Chemistry Reviews., vol. 539, 2025.
Abtract: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials with a high degree of tunability in terms of chemical functionality and morphology (e.g., pore size). Because of such advantageous properties, MOFs are recognized as effective adsorbents against diverse pollutants including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, as the use of MOFs has generally been confined to lab bench-top small-scale studies, their real-world applications can encounter various operational challenges (e.g., flow constriction, performance impairment due to humidity, framework collapse, secondary pollution, low regenerability, exorbitant upfront cost, and limited scalability). To help overcome these issues, this review focuses on the scalability of MOF-based adsorbent in relation to their physicochemical properties (relative to the “gold standard” BPL AC as a commercial activated carbon produced by Calgon Carbon) along with their performance evaluation toward nonpolar aromatic VOCs (e.g., the sorption partition coefficient [PC] at specific inlet partial pressure [for air purification <0.1 Pa]). This review is thus expected to offer a better understanding of the synthesis, modification, and functionalization of MOFs to realize their upscaled application for large-scale air purification systems.
Kelly, Allison, et al. “Using Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) to Measure Forest Canopy Cover and Individual Tree Height Metrics in Northern California Forests.” Forests., vol. 16, no. 4, 2025.
Abstract: Quantifying forest structure to assess changing wildfire risk factors is critical as vulnerable areas require mitigation, management, and resource allocation strategies. Remote sensing offers the opportunity to accurately measure forest attributes without time-intensive field inventory campaigns. Here, we quantified forest canopy cover and individual tree metrics across 44 plots (20 m × 20 m) in oak woodlands and mixed-conifer forests in Northern California using structure-from-motion (SfM) 3D point clouds derived from unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) multispectral imagery. In addition, we compared UAS–SfM estimates with those derived using similar methods applied to Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) 3D point clouds as well as traditional ground-based measurements. Canopy cover estimates were similar across remote sensing (ALS, UAS-SfM) and ground-based approaches (r2 = 0.79, RMSE = 16.49%). Compared to ground-based approaches, UAS-SfM point clouds allowed for correct detection of 68% of trees and estimated tree heights were significantly correlated (r2 = 0.69, RMSE = 5.1 m). UAS-SfM was not able to estimate canopy base height due to its inability to penetrate dense canopies in these forests. Since canopy cover and individual tree heights were accurately estimated at the plot-scale in this unique bioregion with diverse topography and complex species composition, we recommend UAS-SfM as a viable approach and affordable solution to estimate these critical forest parameters for predictive wildfire modeling.
Yoon, Soo‐Yeon, and Hyunjoon Park. “Gender‐Role Attitudes and Marriage Desires Among Never‐Married Adults in South Korea.” Journal of Marriage and the Family., 2025.
Abstract: Complementing existing economic and structural explanations of trends toward later and less marriage in Korea, this study focuses on the part played by gender-role attitudes in shaping never-married adults' marriage desires, which, in turn, are likely to affect their marriage behavior. Background: The persistent characteristic of marriage in Korea as a package requiring multiple family roles and obligations may conflict with the changing gender-role attitudes that have been facilitated by women's educational expansion and labor force participation. This inconsistency may impact never-married adults' desire to marry. Method: We analyzed data from a recent online survey that asked unmarried Korean men and women aged 25–49 about their desires for marriage and attitudes toward gender roles. Using factor analysis and ordered logit regression, we examined the association between gender-role attitudes and marriage desires among never-married adults. Results: Factor analysis identified two distinct dimensions underlying gender-role attitudes among never-married Korean adults: (1) attitudes toward the primacy of the breadwinner role for men and (2) attitudes toward the incongruency of work and family for women. We found that gender-role attitudes were significantly associated with marriage desires for women but not for men. Conclusion: The stronger relevance of gender-role attitudes for women's marriage desires is consistent with the salience of the marriage package for Korean women. We discuss the implications of our findings for the continued decline in marriage rates in Korea.
Chen, C. C. JJ, et al. “Impact of Adapted and Inclusive University Soccer on Mental Health in Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.” Sport Sciences for Health., 2025.
Abstract: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are also at high risk of co-occurring mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety disorders, cognitive deficits). Exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety and may also promote executive functions. Twelve young adults with IDD from a post-secondary transition program at the University participated in a 15-week adapted soccer course alongside typically developing (TD) partners. In addition, two young adults with IDD formed a control group that was not included in further data analysis due to the small sample size. Self-ratings of perceived exercise outcomes, anxiety levels, and three executive tasks (e.g., the Corsi block, reaction time, and mental rotation tasks) were obtained at the pre- and post-tests. The results indicated the observational improvements in the perceived positive outcomes, the simple reaction time task performance, and the Mental Rotation Task accuracy after soccer training. The benefits of perceived exercise benefits, faster information processing speed, and spatial ability can be attributed to their soccer practice with partners twice a week throughout the semester. With a medium to large effect size, a larger sample, additional physiological measures, and comparison group, including TD peers, could help further validate the mental health benefits of adapted and inclusive soccer programs for individuals with IDD. Lastly, the implications of these findings are explored.
Aziz, Khalid, et al. “Recent Advances in Nanomaterial-Based Adsorbents for Removal of Pharmaceutical Pollutants from Wastewater.” Materials Horizons., 2025.
Abstract: To cope with the environmental risks posed by pharmaceutical waste, adsorption is considered a viable option due to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. This review explores the opportunities and challenges involved in applying nanomaterial-based adsorbents in their metallic, non-metallic, and hybrid forms for removal of common pharmaceuticals (e.g., antibiotics, beta-blockers, analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, endocrine disrupters, and anticancer drugs) from water. To improve the selectivity and scalability of diverse adsorbents against such targets, the adsorption capacity and partition coefficient (PC) of each adsorbent are evaluated. Among the reported materials, magnetic nitrogen-doped carbon displays the highest adsorption capacity (1563.7 mg g−1) for common targets such as ciprofloxacin, while carbon nanotube-SiO2-Al2O3 has the highest PC (1425 mg g−1 μM−1) for estradiol. Despite the advances in adsorption technologies, their commercial applications are yet limited by several defects such as low efficiency, high costs, and poor scalability. This review examines current strategies for addressing pharmaceutical contamination and outlines potential directions for future research.
Diaz, Laura M, et al. “Transforming the University into a Public Good for Environmental Justice Action: Our Experience from a Decolonial and Latinx Community-Academic Partnership.” Environmental Justice, 2025.
Abstract: Academic-led environmental justice (EJ) research has a colonial past and present. This includes the direct harms and injuries it has caused historically oppressed groups and the helicopter research that uses communities for academic capital. We re-imagine community-academic EJ research and action that integrates a decolonial praxis. It should leverage the expertise and tools of each partner to respond to issues of importance for frontline EJ communities. This involves a collaborative development of questions, a collaborative development of a process for obtaining answers, and a collaborative design of actions taken by its members. Our approach is rooted in Paolo Freire’s popular education and the concepts of guerrilla pedagogy, which we extend outside of the university to how community-academic partnerships should function. This praxis includes a critical analysis of funding structures and university incentives in EJ community-academic partnered research. We draw insights from our Latinx community-academic partnership between the Educator Collective for Environmental Justice, the Latinx youth partners of the North Bay Organizing Project, and the Hispanic-serving Sonoma State University. We argue that if we institute a shift in values that align with a decolonial and liberatory approach to this work, this will support more community-driven EJ efforts that will build power between the academic institutions and communities most burdened and impacted by environmental injustice. Finally, we provide a set of recommendations for academic EJ teams, funders, and universities working toward a more liberated practice that is driven by the community and supported by the academic partner.