Maryland Shared Open Access Repository

MD-SOAR is a shared digital repository platform for twelve colleges and universities in Maryland. It is currently funded by the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Library Consortium (usmai.org) and other participating partner institutions. MD-SOAR is jointly governed by all participating libraries, who have agreed to share policies and practices that are necessary and appropriate for the shared platform. Within this broad framework, each library provides customized repository services and collections that meet local institutional needs. Please follow the links below to learn more about each library's repository services and collections.

 

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From embassy ties to Twitter links: Comparing offline and online diplomatic networks
(Wiley, 2019-02-20) Sevin, Efe; Manor, Ilan; Towson University. Department of Mass Communication
This article investigates how diplomatic networks move into a new digital media platform, namely Twitter, through the analytical lenses of networked diplomacy studies and mediatization. We employ the studies in the former field to argue for the need to study the entire network to evaluate diplomatic relations, rather than relying on bilateral relations alone. Mediatization is then introduced to argue that moving to a digital platform (i.e., digitization) is a process in which countries might end up enjoying different levels of technology adoption. We first use social network analysis to compare the sizes and structures of brick and mortar embassy networks and Twitter following–follower relationship networks among ministries and ministers of foreign affairs of 130 countries. We then present a theoretical explanation of digitization of diplomatic networks. Our findings suggest that the majority of countries still have a larger diplomatic presence offline compared to their Twitter network. However, the structures of offline and online networks are similar, showing that countries have diplomatic relations (whether brick and mortar embassies or Twitter links) with the same groups of countries. We conclude by presenting the variance of the digitization process among countries.
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Book review of Martin Battestin's A Henry Fielding companion
(American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. East Central, 2001) Hahn, H. George (Henry George), 1942-; Towson University. Department of English
A book review of a referential work providing information on the life and works of Henry Fielding.
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The politics of meaning and the city brand: The controversy over the branding of Ankara
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2012-07-27) Sevin, Efe; Hayden, Craig; Towson University. Department of Mass Communication
This article presents analysis of a period of public argumentation over the city logo of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. These arguments comprise a 17-year episode of controversy that reveals insights into the politics of meaning behind city’s brand. Ankara’s logo functions as a contested ‘collective representation’ of the city’s brand identity, and paved the way to further discussions on its history, cultural identity and politics by various internal stakeholders. The significance of this research is two-fold. First, the Ankara case contributes to existing studies of place branding and semiotics, by examining the contending positions that complicate Ankara’s historical identity and the range of stakeholders that make up the ‘managerial apparatus’ of brand meaning. Drawing on communication studies, ‘controversy’ provides an analytical vehicle to consider claims to brand ownership, legitimacy and authority by various stakeholders, as well as to demonstrate the potential of public argumentation to transform and shape the practice of place branding.
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Examining the US Withdrawl From Afghanistan Through the Lens of Ibn Khaldun and Carl von Clausewitz
(2022) Seymour, William; History
History is the ever-changing story of humanity which can be used to examine past mistakes to avoid making those mistakes again. Throughout human history, war and politics have gone hand in hand however when you look at the basis of these two it devolves into the question of power. Carl von Clausewitz said, "War is simply the continuation of political intercourse with the addition of other means." The U.S. has been in two different conflicts both of which started within the realm of politics and ended in the evacuation of troops with the United States as the clear loser. Is it possible to learn from the failures of history and to avoid them in the future? Indeed a 15th century thinker produced a theory quantifying the nature of politics and power to avoid failure. Ibn Khaldun was a philosopher and historian who many consider the father of sociology and other similar fields and produced the theory of Asabiyyah. His theory deals with the sovereignty gained from group cohesion based on the hardy warrior spirit set on political and military dominance. In 2001, Americans invaded Afghanistan however were forced to pull out in 2021 declaring it a failure. It is my contention that Ibn Khaldun's theory of Asabiyyah lies at the heart of both American and Soviet failures in Afghanistan and conversely the success of the local defense effort. Unlike the two world powers, the Pashtun in Afghanistan possessed the crucial element of Asabiyyah- Social solidarity with an emphasis on group consciousness, cohesiveness, and unity- to a degree unimaginable to the occupying forces. Both the US and Afghanistan have had major changes wrought on them by this interaction. The world has also been forever changed, whether for the better or the worse is yet to be seen. This paper will examine those changes through the lens of the two aforementioned scholars and explain the timeline of the US's invasion of Afghanistan.
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Mental Health and the ACA Medicaid Expansion
(2023) Shaeffer, Emily
The Medicaid expansion was passed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by 25 states in 2014, in 11 other states since, and not at all in 16 states/territories (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2023). The primary goal of the Medicaid expansion is to widen the eligibility of Medicaid to a greater number of low-income individuals. Research has been done on the effects of the Medicaid expansion on various health behaviors such as smoking or drinking as well as on mental health. However, the research that has been done on the effect of the Medicaid expansion on the mental health of individuals tends to contradict in their respective findings. It is extremely important to continue to research the effect of the Medicaid expansion on mental health in the long run since mental health is not easily or quickly changed. Thus, I studied the effects of the Medicaid expansion on the mental health of individuals by using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey for the years 2011 to 2021 (see more details about the BRFSS in the data section).