Baylor University

Spatially Varying Climate Importance in United States Agricultural Insurance Claim Severity

Climate relationships with agricultural insurance claims are unlikely to be spatially uniform because crops, hazards, and insurance experience vary geographically. To identify geographic variation in climate predictors of claim severity, we fit six geographically weighted random...

Coupled-Channel Spectral Theory for a Non-Separable Geometry: Normal Modes and Two-Boundary Response in the Rotating AdS-Teo Wormhole

We investigate scalar perturbations of a rotating asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS)-Teo traversable wormhole with a controlled non-separable angular deformation. The geometry retains a regular wormhole throat and the required AdS asymptotics, while an explicit quadrupolar defor...

Automation Defect Detection Using High Resolution Ultrasound in Honeycomb Sandwich Panels

Abstract This study presents an automated ultrasonic inspection method for detecting and quantifying interface defects in honeycomb composite laminate sandwich panels. Using immersion-based pulse-echo ultrasonic testing with full RF-waveform capture, ultrasonic data was acquired...

What Is (Your) Methodology? Making Sense of Methodology’s Multiplicity in Qualitative Inquiry

Qualitative research is multiply multiple. Because of this, researchers must navigate many possibilities in designing, doing, and defending a qualitative study. While these navigations can be challenging for all qualitative inquirers, they may be especially so for graduate studen...

A Hierarchy of Value in the Adoption of Radical Service Innovations: Evidence From Wellness Hospitality

This article investigates the operational challenges of launching radical service innovations (RSI) in the hospitality industry. While RSI is a primary driver of competitive advantage, the operations management literature has largely focused on incremental innovations. We address...

Prenatal Water Fluoride Exposure and Children’s Behavioral Problems

Importance Although fluoride exposure at high levels during the perinatal period has been associated with socioemotional problems among children, there is limited evidence regarding potential associations at lower levels of fluoride exposure, particularly in the US. Objective To...

Recovering the precolonial population structure of Khoe-San descendant populations

San populations from Botswana and Namibia retain exceptional linguistic, cultural and genetic diversity, but few Khoisan-speaking groups remain south of the Kalahari Desert. However, historically, far southern Africa was home to many San and Khoekhoe groups. Popular opinion often...

Hybrid SERS Platforms for Enhanced Biochemical Sensing

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique for label-free, ultrasensitive biochemical detection, offering broad potential for biomedical, environmental monitoring, and defense applications. However, conventional noble-metal SERS substrates remain...

Recognition of two potential warming events in the Paleocene terrestrial record of North America and associated mammalian responses

Abstract Numerous early Cenozoic transient warming events (“hyperthermals”) have been recognized in the marine record but few have been located in fossiliferous terrestrial strata. Locating warming events is critical for understanding how terrestrial animals and plants responded...

Effects of the ekpyrotic mechanism on inflationary phase in loop quantum cosmologies

Abstract In bouncing cosmological models – whether classical or quantum – the big bang singularity is replaced by a regular bounce. A well-known challenge is controlling the growth of shear during the contracting phase, as the shear scales as $$a^{-6}$$ a - 6 toward the bounce, w...

Tunable Polariton Canalization in Natural Van Der Waals Oxide

ABSTRACT Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPPs) are coupled oscillations of anisotropic lattice vibrations and electromagnetic fields that confine the latter to the nanoscale, enabling novel nano‐polaritonic devices. While HPPs have been identified in multiple layered materials, ach...

A comparative “report card” wellbeing assessment of 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study

When evaluating how countries are faring, there is a widespread tendency to rely on single metrics or indices, whether objective (e.g., GDP) or subjective (e.g., life evaluation). However, flourishing is multidimensional, and societies invariably do better in some ways and less s...

Delineating Urban Growth Boundary Using Remote Sensing and Cellular Automata–Neural Network (CA-ANN) Model: A Case Study of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Rapid and unplanned urbanization in Dhaka is reshaping land use, intensifying peripheral expansion, and increasing pressure on urban and ecological resources. Understanding these growth dynamics is essential for effective urban growth boundary delineation and sustainable planning...

Advancing phosphorus foliar fertilization with nano-hydroxyapatite: mechanisms and agricultural relevance

<title>Abstract</title> Phosphorus (P) use in agriculture remains inefficient and poses long-term environmental concerns. We investigate the uptake, redistribution, and efficacy of foliar-applied nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp) in P-deficient barley (Hordeum vulgare), aiming to clarif...

Grade inflation? Overconfident and underprepared the state of ethics training in US communication firms

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the state of ethics training in US communication firms. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted with 257 US employees working for communication firms to assess the effectiveness of their ethics training programs a...

Searching for the elusive “A” horizon in buried paleosols

ABSTRACT Presence of an A horizon in paleosols is important for taxonomic classification, interpreting pedogenic processes, and reconstructing paleoenvironments. However, identifying the A horizon in buried contexts is challenging because of potential erosion during burial and po...

Examining the Temporal Associations Between Religious Motivations and Meaning in Life: A Self‐Determination Perspective

OBJECTIVE: Self-Determination Theory posits that the internalization of motivations for behaviors is essential for cultivating a sense of meaning in life (MIL). Psychology of religion scholars also postulate that the internalization of religious motivations for behaviors is neces...

Dual-Mode MOSCAPSilicon Microring Resonator for Energy-EfficientAnalog Optical Computing

Abstract Silicon microring resonators have established themselves as key building blocks for optical neural networks (ONNs); however, achieving low-voltage operation remains a critical challenge for scalable photonic hardware. Here, we demonstrate a subvolt silicon microring reso...

Flux-Driven Order–Disorder Polymorphs of KagomeSmFe6Ge6

Abstract While polymorphism in kagome-derived intermetallics offers a powerful route to controlling structure–property relationships, it still remains poorly explored for many rare-earth members due to synthetic constraints. Here, we report the discovery and controlled growth of...