Winthrop University

No abstract available.

Abstract This paper explores labor market outcomes of undergraduate economics majors in the United States. Using 2014–2023 American Community Survey data on over four million individuals aged between 25 and 65 across all 50 states, we estimate the marginal effects of having three separate baccalaureate economics degrees—general, agricultural, and business—on wages and weeks worked per year. We find a positive and statistically significant effect of having an economics degree on earnings controlling for a large number of socioeconomic, individual, and state-level covariates. The evidence is most robust for general (non-business and non-agricultural) economics majors. We find little evidence that majoring in economics strongly affects the number of weeks worked per year or that occupational choice drives increased earnings, suggesting the estimated premium is driven primarily through wages rather than quantity supplied of labor or occupation type.

Abstract The dendroid stromatoporoid Amphipora was abundant and in some places dominated level bottom communities on carbonate shelves along the western edge of Euramerica in the Late Devonian. This study characterizes 18 Frasnian-aged Amphipora-rich intervals from five localities in eastern Nevada and western Utah through width of individual stems, density packing of stems, associated fauna, and orientation along bedding planes. Although these Amphipora were not preserved in life position only one of the measured intervals showed strongly significant preferred orientation of stems, supporting the interpretation that these deposits were not extensively reoriented by currents. Variable preservation, which commonly destroyed the internal structure of these fossils, prevented traditional species identification. However, we propose the presence of two morphospecies based on Gaussian mixture models using width of stem as a conservative character of species. Conspicuous accumulations of Amphipora varied in size of stems, associated fauna, and density of packing from bed to bed and locality to locality. The lack of evidence for reworking and physical overprinting suggests that these parautochthonous deposits represented variability of the original community structure and can be useful ecological indicators to better reconstruct stromatoporoid dominated ecosystems.

Depression is a known risk after trauma exposure, but the nature of the trauma plays a role in the risk. Traumas that involve interpersonal aggression tend to be associated with poorer mental health outcomes. Identifying factors that influence the relationship between event type and depression may aid in the identification of modifiable risk factors to improve mental health outcomes in survivors of interpersonal aggression. This study proposes that the link between traumas involving interpersonal violence and greater depression symptoms may be partially explained by greater maladaptive cognitions after experiences of interpersonal aggression compared to other types of trauma. Traumas involving interpersonal violence may contribute to more negative posttraumatic beliefs compared to traumas that do not involve interpersonal violence, thereby contributing to higher distress. The current study examined the relationships among trauma type, posttraumatic cognitions, and depression symptoms in a sample of 408 patients seeking mental health treatment after trauma exposure. Consistent with hypotheses, patients seeking treatment after a trauma involving interpersonal aggression had higher depression scores than patients seeking treatment after traumas that did not include interpersonal aggression. Further, posttraumatic cognitions partially mediated the relationship between event type and depression symptoms. These results suggest that identifying maladaptive thinking patterns may be especially important after experiences of interpersonal violence in the prevention and treatment of depression.

This study investigated the impact of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in law enforcement in 15 African countries. Utilizing Afrobarometer survey data, logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the relationship between police enforcement of pandemic protocols and citizens’ trust in the police, while accounting for various covariates related to COVID-19, police, neighborhood insecurity, and demographics. The findings reveal that police enforcement of COVID-19 measures had a small but significant positive influence on public trust, suggesting that citizens may have viewed these efforts as necessary and legitimate during the crisis. However, this positive impact was not uniform across all segments of society, with perceptions of police corruption, neighborhood insecurity, and certain demographic factors associated with lower trust levels. This study also highlights the complex interplay between pandemic knowledge, government response, and trust in the police, emphasizing the need for nuanced and transparent communication strategies during crises. Regional variations in trust levels across Africa underscore the importance of considering local contexts and histories when examining police-community dynamics. These findings have important implications for policy and practice, suggesting that efforts to build public trust must address systemic issues, such as corruption, community safety, and effective crisis communication, in addition to direct police actions. This study contributes to the understanding of the factors influencing public trust in the police during unprecedented circumstances and highlights the need for a multifaceted approach to maintaining positive police-community relations in the aftermath of major societal disruptions, such as COVID-19.