2025 Graduate Student Publications

Trade-Offs in Sustainable Energy Transition: Institutions and Interests in Shaping Energy and Electricity Mixes

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:08:58 +0000

Trade-Offs in Sustainable Energy Transition: Institutions and Interests in Shaping Energy and Electricity Mixes Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 12:08

Trade-Offs in Sustainable Energy Transition: Institutions and Interests in Shaping Energy and Electricity Mixes

By: Hyodong Sohn

Abstract:

Trade-offs inherent in societal decisions about the sustainable energy transition are investigated using electricity mixes across various countries, including industrialized countries, all countries, and the states of the United States. From the array of potential drivers, this research project illuminates two key variables: those pertaining to institutions, including specific policies and a comprehensive pro-climate energy policy regime, and those related to interests, including the leverage of each coalition by electricity source types. By proposing a classification system that allows future researchers to assess trade-offs and synergies in sustainability beyond the traditional renewables and non-renewables dichotomy, this dissertation mainly suggests and employs a dynamic compositional approach that provides a new important angle to examine the trade-offs among energy sources in energy mixes.
By using compositional models, the findings of the dissertation demonstrate that institutions can serve as pivotal drivers of change on a general scale. They can facilitate a sustainable transition from other energy sources to intermittent renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy, in a fundamental manner, as evidenced by the observed relative increase. However, these influences do not always manifest in the same way, and it is important to consider the nuances of the relationship between institutions and sustainable trade-offs. This is because positive and negative feedback loops of the institutions in question—which shape relevant interests, the institution itself over time, and other institutions—may occur simultaneously. Additionally, the findings underscore the intricate and multidimensional nature of trade-offs between various viable options in energy mixes, suggesting a careful understanding to design more effective strategies for navigating the transition toward a sustainable energy future.
This dissertation contributes to the broader energy and sustainability fields by suggesting how the compositional approach can enrich the discussion related to energy transition in terms of climate change and sustainability. Moreover, it contributes to political science, political economy, and public policy studies by exploring the role of distributive politics and diverse institutions (through feedback processes) in shaping electricity mixes.

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FEMINIST SPATIAL POLITICS

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:05:11 +0000

FEMINIST SPATIAL POLITICS Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 12:05

FEMINIST SPATIAL POLITICS

By: Sarah Brown

Abstract:

In Feminist Spatial Politics, I offer an explicitly spatial analysis of feminist activism that contests material spaces–buildings, infrastructures, and city layouts– to theorize an answer to a deceptively straightforward question: Why should feminists think politically about material spaces? Framing freedom, feminism, and material spaces as dynamic processes that are intertwined with one another, I contend that a spatially-oriented feminist politics can facilitate the exercise of political freedom and renew feminist visions. I argue, first, that material spaces should be intentional subjects of feminist activism. Feminists have documented the ways in which buildings and infrastructure constrain women’s participation in social and political life, circumscribe their movements, limit their sense of agency, or otherwise uphold sexist oppression. I reveal that when feminist activists contest these spaces, they reconfigure them from oppressive structures to feminist tools, means through which feminists can advocate for social and political change. Second, I contend that a spatially-oriented feminist politics expresses and extends feminist freedom–the ongoing political practice to end sexist oppression through envisioning new social and political worlds and speaking and acting with others to work toward those visions. Spatial contestation develops the political capacities and skills necessary for the exercise of feminist freedom. I develop this argument through an analysis of select case studies representative of four modes of feminist spatial contestation: the Women’s Social and Political Union’s destruction of patriarchal spaces, debates about infrastructure reform such as women’s-only transportation, the political placemaking of a group of marginally-housed Black mothers, and feminist institution building. Through each case, I show that feminists exercise judgments about gendered spaces and feminist tactics, dialogue through disagreements, and act on feminist spatial visions, ultimately opening new avenues for political action and inspiring imaginative feminist visions for our future world. This dissertation provides a necessary intervention in feminist literature that conceives of spaces largely as oppressive structures that contribute to women’s unfreedom. Reorienting feminist thinking about spaces toward freedom, I argue that feminists should think politically about material spaces not because they have constrained us in the past, but because a spatially-oriented feminist politics can open new possibilities for feminist futures.

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Temperature Shocks and Health System Resilience: Evidence from the Supply Chain in Ghana

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:31:41 +0000

Temperature Shocks and Health System Resilience: Evidence from the Supply Chain in Ghana Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 11:31

Temperature Shocks and Health System Resilience: Evidence from the Supply Chain in Ghana

By: Aleksandr Michuda, Adriana Molina-Garzón, Karen Ortiz-Becerra

Abstract:

This paper examines how extreme temperatures affect the operational capacity of a national health system by tracking facility-level demand for medical inputs in Ghana. We leverage a high-frequency panel of on-demand aerial deliveries to more than 2,700 facilities and link each facility’s orders—volumes, emergency status, and product composition—to local monthly temperature exposure. Using a two-way fixed-effects approach, we show that heat spikes raise overall resupply demand and, importantly, increase the share of deliveries triggered by stockouts across all facility types. Mid-to high-tier facilities exhibit a contemporaneous rise in deliveries for critical patients. Productlevel patterns indicate that heat primarily drives up demand for storable consumables such as fluids, while categories not directly heat-sensitive (eg, family-planning supplies) remain flat. The total order counts tend to recede in the months after a heat shock, yet the stockout share persists—especially at higher-level facilities—consistent with inventories being drawn down by sustained caseloads and replenished via just-intime resupply. We further document that consecutive months of extreme heat amplify stockout rates. Taken together, these results provide system-wide, facility-level evidence that temperature shocks transmit quickly through the supply chain, and shed light on the operational vulnerabilities of health systems under climate stress and the need to strengthen supply chain resilience as an adaptation strategy.

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Stereotypes and scandals: Politician gender and public judgments about scandal in Mexico

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:07:08 +0000

Stereotypes and scandals: Politician gender and public judgments about scandal in Mexico Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 11:07

Stereotypes and scandals: Politician gender and public judgments about scandal in Mexico

By: Fernanda Quintanilla Domínguez, Rebecca Bell-Martin, Brett Ryan Bessen

Abstract:

This article examines how politician gender shapes voter judgments about political scandal in Mexico. We test the hypothesis that individuals discount or disbelieve scandals when their content contradicts gender stereotypes. In a survey experiment, we varied the type of scandal and the gender of politician facing misconduct allegations. Respondents were more favorable toward female politicians accused of stereotype-incongruent behaviors. Further, benevolent sexists—those who idealize women as uniquely pure—were especially likely to discount stereotype-incongruent scandals. These findings elucidate the role of gender stereotypes in shaping judgments about politicians’ fitness for office

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What’s woke? Ordinary Americans’ understandings of wokeness

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:42:16 +0000

What’s woke? Ordinary Americans’ understandings of wokeness Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:42

What’s woke? Ordinary Americans’ understandings of wokeness

By: Benjamin M VanDreew, Joseph B Phillips, B Kal Munis, Spencer Goidel

Abstract:

The term “woke” has evolved from its roots in the 1960s civil rights movement to a mainstream political term, most frequently used disparagingly by Republicans. Despite its frequent use, it’s unclear precisely what Americans perceive of as woke. This study investigates perceptions of woke using a conjoint survey experiment. Respondents in the conjoint are tasked with selecting the more woke list. The lists contain various attributes, identities, and policies that have, over the past few years, been branded as woke. Our findings indicate that there’s generally broad agreement among Democrats and Republicans about what is woke. However, Democratic respondents are more likely associate lower salience racially progressive and gender-progressive items as woke, while Republican respondents identify higher salience items clearly aligned with the Democratic Party as woke. Independents, as a whole, have much less consistent views, tracking more closely with Democrats when it comes to some considerations while more closely with Republicans on others.

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Red, Blue, and Going for Gold: Partisan Support for Olympic Host Bids

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:34:59 +0000

Red, Blue, and Going for Gold: Partisan Support for Olympic Host Bids Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:34

Red, Blue, and Going for Gold: Partisan Support for Olympic Host Bids

By: Samantha Register

Abstract:

Recent opposition to Olympic bids in American cities underscores some residents’ disapproval of their cities hosting mega-events. In this study, I test whether partisanship plays a role in residents’ support for a local Olympics bid using survey data from Houston, Texas in 2001 and Colorado statewide surveys from 2022 and 2023. I find that Republicans and conservatives were indeed less supportive of using public funds for the Houston 2012 bid. However, the Colorado 2022 survey indicates Republicans were more supportive of Denver entering a host bid. To test whether explicitly priming residents to consider public spending activates partisanship, respondents of the 2023 Colorado survey received one of two versions of the Olympics bid question, the second of which explicitly mentions spending public funds to win a bid. Results demonstrate that interacting partisanship with the public spending treatment indeed leads to less support for such projects, particularly among Republicans and independents.

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Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism Digitally: Trialing a New Gender-Based Approach Among Gamers

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:13:40 +0000

Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism Digitally: Trialing a New Gender-Based Approach Among Gamers Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:13

Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism Digitally: Trialing a New Gender-Based Approach Among Gamers

By: Galen Lamphere-Englund, Mike Wilson, Jessica White, Claudia Wallner, Rachel Kowert, Nitchakarn Kaewbuadee, Petra Regeni, Alex Bradley Newhouse

Abstract:

The rise of online gaming as a dominant social and entertainment space has increasingly attracted attention as a potential vector for radicalization to violent extremism. However, given the challenges of completely eradicating harmful content from these vast community spaces, we also need to focus on strengthening the resilience of individuals active there. To effectively build that resilience, we must first define and understand the current state of resilience among gamers, then identify the factors that contribute to it. This article seeks to do that by building upon the mostly offline-focused Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism framework to explore its applicability in the digital environment and specifically within the highly gendered parameters of gaming spaces and experiences. This article builds upon the wider data collection and findings of a project exploring socialization in gaming spaces with a nexus to radicalization through a gender lens.

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Digital games as cultural assets of influence

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:12:13 +0000

Digital games as cultural assets of influence Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:12

Digital games as cultural assets of influence

By: Rachel Kowert, Alex Newhouse

Abstract:

This chapter delves into the vulnerabilities of digital gaming spaces as platforms for the spread of extremist ideologies and recruitment. It argues that games, through their unique blend of social interaction, gamer culture, and game content, present a distinct risk for radicalization that requires particular attention. The chapter outlines how digital games serve as powerful venues for cultural and social influence, enabling the propagation of extremist views by bad actors under the guise of entertainment and community. The social dynamics within games, including the rapid formation of close relationships and identity fusion among players, are highlighted as key factors that can facilitate extremist indoctrination. Moreover, the chapter discusses how the gaming industry's current moderation approaches and lack of transparency exacerbate these issues, allowing extremist messages to proliferate with little resistance...

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Extremist Identity Creation Through Performative Infighting on Steam

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:10:39 +0000

Extremist Identity Creation Through Performative Infighting on Steam Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:10

Extremist Identity Creation Through Performative Infighting on Steam

By: Alex Bradley Newhouse, Rachel Kowert

Abstract:

The video game marketplace Steam has long hosted a lively social network for the purpose of connecting game players and game developers. Over the past 5 years, however, neo-fascist and neo-Nazi communities have begun using Steam's community features to build large-scale socialization and identity creation networks. These networks, while insular, involve large numbers of Steam groups and users, who share hateful and violent content with one another. In addition, these same users frequently spread extreme messages on more public-facing content, including in game reviews and game forums. Using open-source data and scaled social network analysis, we show that the far-right ecosystem on Steam possesses characteristics of collective radicalization and mobilization. This poses both an immediate danger to gamers and game developers who rely on Steam and also a longer-term risk to social safety.

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How Do Environments Shape the Presence and Degree of Interpersonal Political Interactions?

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:19:27 +0000

How Do Environments Shape the Presence and Degree of Interpersonal Political Interactions? Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 09:19

How Do Environments Shape the Presence and Degree of Interpersonal Political Interactions?

By: Stone Neilon, Anand E. Sokhey, Matthew T. Pietryka

Abstract:

We investigate how two types of environments shape interpersonal political interactions: demographic environments and built environments.
We find relationships between the demographic (partisan) environment effects and both core and acquaintance network composition.
Individuals residing in counties with more Democrats (Republicans) name more Democrats (Republicans) in their core networks, as well as in their acquaintance networks.
We find little support that the built environment – at least as measured – predicts patterns of interpersonal political interaction.

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