ANALYZING THE TRENDS OF GOVERNMENT SHARE OF HEALTH BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This paper investigates whether the COVID-19 pandemic functioned as a critical juncture that led to lasting institutional change in government health investment. Using an original comparative framework, the analysis explores changes in health financing across ten OECD countries classified by Reibling et al.\u27s five-type typology of healthcare systems. We assess shifts in public, private, and government health expenditure before, during, and after the pandemic, using both descriptive and visual data. Our findings suggest that while nearly all countries increased government and public shares of health spending during the pandemic, the persistence of these changes varied by system type, GDP level, and institutional configurations of authority, responsibility, and accountability. High-income countries with strong accountability mechanisms, such as Canada and Denmark, maintained increased health investment post-crisis. In contrast, countries like Hungary and Slovenia reverted to pre-pandemic patterns, often due to weak public demand or financial constraints. Type 3 and 4 systems demonstrated greater resistance to structural change, while type 5 systems, despite private-sector dominance, saw notable increases in public investment. Our results underscore how institutional design and fiscal capacity jointly determine whether crisis-induced shifts in policy become entrenched or merely temporary, providing insight into the conditions for durable health system reform

Stability Analysis and Extension of a Discrete-Time Dynamical System for Scaffolded Learning

Van Geert and Steenbeek [16] proposed a coupled, delayed, discrete-time deterministic dynamical system to model scaffolded learning. We provide a detailed analysis of their model, whose global dynamics are complicated by the presence of intersecting lines of non-isolated, nonhyperbolic fixed points. We also interpret some of the trajectories in the system that have interesting dynamics in the context of the teacher-student interactions, and propose an extension to the model that simultaneously collapses the lines of fixed points to single, isolated points and is easily interpreted. These results provide the foundation for guiding the collection and integration of experimental data to apply the model to inform the teaching and learning process

Impact of Communication Disability on Student Engagement

Student engagement supports learning, development, and persistence, but students with communication disabilities may struggle due to inadequate accommodations. Their engagement strategies remain under-researched. This study aims to understand whether the engagement strategies employed by students with communication disabilities (CD) vary from those in the general population (GP) in navigating the college campus environment. Data from the 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement Administration, which included students with CD (n = 367) and GP (n = 125,955), were analyzed to examine differences across four constructs of Student Engagement. Significant differences with small effect sizes were found in Student-Faculty Interaction, Quality of Interaction, and Collaborative Learning. No significant difference was found in Discussions with Diverse Others. There is a need for targeted support to enhance the college experience of students with CD.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2025/1194/thumbnail.jp

An exploration of the impact of educational background on basic science and life sciences librarians

This study sought to investigate the influence of a science educational background on librarian interactions with basic and life sciences programs. Through semi-structured interviews with 14 librarians, the study identified several key themes: understanding and enjoying science is beneficial; previous experience influences librarians’ approaches; relationships are important; defining success is challenging; and collaborating with other campus units is unusual. Results suggest a science undergraduate or graduate degree and previous science-related work experience enhance librarians’ comfort and communication with scientists and highlight a lack of professional continuing education related to researcher workflows

The Relationship Between Social Media, Nutrition, and Coping Mechanisms in College Students

Social media influences the health of young adults in various ways, including its effects on nutritional choices and coping mechanisms during stressful situations. This study aimed to explore the relationship between social media use and negative eating behaviors, including disordered eating and unhealthy food consumption. Using an anonymous survey distributed throughout the Binghamton University campus, 805 total responses were gathered from participants aged 18 years or older. The survey included basic demographic questions and questions on social media use and nutrition. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze data in SPSS version 28.0. The results show a positive statistical correlation between disordered eating and consumption of unhealthy sugary and fast foods. There was also a positive correlation between disordered eating behaviors, and fear of weight gain were positively correlated with being uninterested in hobbies or other activities due to social media usage. This research highlights how social media directly influences disordered eating and coping mechanisms, ultimately impacting nutritional habits.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2025/1153/thumbnail.jp

INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN HEALTHCARE AS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE CRITICAL JUNCTURE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This introduction to the 2025 capstone symposium lays the conceptual groundwork for a new approach to analyzing institutional change in healthcare systems triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Departing from conventional legal-institutional perspectives, it extends the decision space framework developed by Bossert (1998) to capture both formal authority and the de-facto responsibilities exercised by public and non-public actors. By disaggregating health responsibilities across levels of government and sectors—public, private, and hybrid—and operationalizing these as quantifiable indicators over time, the framework allows for real-time and comparative assessment of institutional transformation. The pandemic is treated as a critical juncture that exposed and reconfigured political responsibility and authority. The framework emphasizes that institutional change stems not only from legal reform but also from strategic shifts in authority behavior, shaped by public expectations and observed policy actions. The introduction previews the five chapters that follow, each offering an empirically grounded analysis of institutional stability, adaptation, or transformation in national healthcare systems. Together, they suggest that the COVID-19 crisis catalyzed uneven but potentially lasting changes in health governance, dependent on prior institutional configurations and strategic political responses

Dewlap Color Variation and Male Visual Grasp Response Across Populations in a Neotropical Lizard

The sensory drive hypothesis proposes that signals evolve to be most effective in their respective environment, and that the receiver’s sensory systems in that environment should evolve to match those signals. Differences in sexual signals and sensory systems in adjacent habitats may operate as isolating mechanisms. Male Anolis lizards have brightly colored dewlaps that they use for communication. Anolis aquaticus, a Costa Rican species that exhibits intraspecific variation, was studied as populations’ dewlaps vary in redness or yellowness. It is hypothesized that this variation is shaped by sensory drive and facilitates species isolation in A. aquaticus. Visual modeling was used to simulate anole vision, model dewlap conspicuousness to A. aquaticus, conduct visual grasp response (VGR) trials, and employ ddRADSeq genotyping. It was found that “yellow-ness” of a dewlap varies among populations and larger males respond to yellow stimuli more than smaller males. However, preliminary VGR results currently do not support the sensory drive facilitating isolation hypothesis.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2025/1174/thumbnail.jp

Variation in Antarctic Circumpolar Current Intensification throughout Late Pleistocene Glacial-Interglacial Cycles

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an integral part of the global climate and oceanic circulatory system. Previous works have documented evidence that the ACC’s intensity has enhanced and diminished on glacial-interglacial time scales. However, there are conflicting findings between ocean basins. These results suggest regional or localized effects on the intensity of this important global oceanic circulatory front. In this work, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data from a sediment core collected in the Southeastern Indian Ocean near the ACC is used to reconstruct the intensity of the ACC across glacial-interglacial cycles. Preliminary results reveal asynchronous behavior in heavy elemental values at the study site throughout glacial-interglacial time scales and a clear pattern was unable to be determined. As such, additional analysis will be conducted on the current XRF data set and compared with published South Indian Ocean data to attempt to disentangle the initial observations.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2025/1034/thumbnail.jp

Effects of Caffeine and Marijuana Consumption on Academic Performance

College students often rely on stimulants to stay focused, while others use marijuana for stress relief. This study explores commonly used substances that influence academic performance, exposing potential drawbacks. A total of 238 young adults (18-29) and 11 mature adults (30+) completed an anonymous online survey administered through Google Forms and distributed via multiple social media platforms. The survey included basic questions about demographics, academic standing, and caffeine and marijuana consumption. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 28.0 and Pearson\u27s Correlation Coefficient. Results showed a negative correlation between individuals who consumed caffeine frequently and GPA (p\u3c0.05) and individuals who consumed cannabis more frequently and GPA (p\u3c0.05). Substance use impacts academic performance potentially through the modulation of neurochemistry.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2025/1042/thumbnail.jp

In Situ Synthesis of PbS Shell on CsPbBr3 QD for Enhanced Stability and Photoluminescence

Halide perovskite quantum dots (HPQDs) have attracted considerable attention for optoelectronic applications due to their outstanding optical properties, including high photoluminescent quantum yield (PLQY), tunable band gap, high absorption coefficients, etc. However, their practical implementation is limited by poor stability under ambient conditions such as moisture, heat, and light. To overcome these challenges, surface passivation and shelling engineering have emerged as effective strategies to enhance HPQD stability by encapsulating their surface with a protective material. Conventional shelling techniques, however, often face limitations related to lattice mismatch and interfacial incompatibility. In this study, we report the successful synthesis of PbS@CsPbBr3 (shell@core) QDs via an in situ shelling process employing an activated sulfur precursor. This approach enables low-temperature shell growth which mitigates the thermal degradation of the CsPbBr3 QDs core. The resulting PbS@CsPbBr3 QDs exhibit enhanced PLQY and stability, while retaining their intrinsic spectral properties. Additionally, we systematically examined the influence of shelling stoichiometry and temperature on the structural and optical properties of the PbS@CsPbBr3 QDs. This work not only presents a robust strategy for stabilizing HPQDs but also offers valuable insights into the rational design of surface passivation methods