People generally struggle with making good decisions for their well-being (Hershfield, 2019; Hershfield & Bartels, 2018). One reason for this might be that people struggle with connecting to their future selves. Prior research suggests that future self-connectedness predicts better decisions. This study examined if feeling more positive or negative helps people connect more to their future self and if this, in turn, helps people make better decisions. Participants read a scenario in which they are presented with two decisions, one having a short-term benefit/long-term cost and the other having a short-term cost/long-term benefit. Either neutral affect framing, positive affect framing, or negative affect framing was emphasized in the scenario depending on the condition. Our study did not find that positive affect framing and negative affect framing enhanced future self-connectedness. Neither did we find that positive affect framing and negative affect framing influenced decision-making.

The popularity of feminism is growing. Every day more people claim to be feminist and work is done to end the control of patriarchy. Feminism though, because of its different waves and isolated recognition in the media, the actual goals seem unclear to males in particular; it is predicted that this increase in popularity in conjunction with the lack of clarity contributes to the development of toxic masculinity. “Feminism” is defined by bell hooks as a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression and “toxic masculinity” is a specific model of manhood, geared toward dominance and control and fear of the opposite. To understand the relationship between the two, the documentaries The Mask You Live In and Miss Representation were reviewed as well as books by bell hooks and C.J. Pascoe. Popular culture articles contributed to contemporary views at the public level. Using the knowledge gained from the literature, further research was done through one-on-one interviews with males age 18 to 32. Much of the literature does support toxic masculinity being encouraged and reinforced in varying ways including through the lack of acceptance of femininity and society’s strict gender roles. The interviews were inconclusive in defining a direct relationship between feminism promoting the development of toxic masculinity.

American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) is a non-profit logistics aid firm that provides supply chain assistance to non-profit organizations in times of crisis. It acts somewhat as a non-profit 3PL, connecting nonprofits seeking humanitarian aid goods, materials handling equipment, warehousing, logistics transportation, and expertise to an outstanding network of partner companies and organizations who help to deliver on their requests. In June of 2020, our team began an internship to identify and implement key process improvements for ALAN’s internal and external processes. This thesis is a summary of our findings, our solutions proposal, and their applicability to other non-profit organizations.

Chronic or recurrent pain in childhood is a common and costly health problem, and increases the likelihood of experiencing chronic pain in adulthood. Existing evidence suggests that internalizing symptoms are a risk factor for the development of chronic pain in children and adults. Findings from a small body of research also points to a flattened diurnal cortisol profile, alone and in combination with internalizing symptoms, as a risk factor for future chronic pain among adults. The present study aimed to evaluate whether internalizing, a flattened diurnal cortisol profile, and their combination prospectively predict chronic pain in middle childhood. It was hypothesized that: 1) both internalizing and a flattened diurnal cortisol profile at age 8 would independently predict acquisition of chronic pain at age 9, controlling for age 8 pain; and 2) the combination of high internalizing and a flattened diurnal cortisol rhythm would predict greater risk of increased pain over time. Multilevel models of longitudinal data collected from a sample of 748 twin children revealed that internalizing symptoms and a flattened cortisol slope independently acted as prospective risk factors for increased chronic pain in childhood one year later. However, the interaction between internalizing and diurnal cortisol did not predict future increases in pain. Exploratory analyses evaluating symptoms of overanxiousness demonstrated that the interaction between overanxiousness and a flattened cortisol profile emerged as a marginally significant predictor of future pain. The current findings point to the role of psychological and physiological risk factors for the development of chronic pediatric pain, and may help to identify early targets for prevention efforts.