The OAKTrust Digital Repository
The OAKTrust digital repository at Texas A&M is a digital service that collects, preserves, and distributes the scholarly output of the University. The repository facilitates open access scholarly communication while preserving the scholarly legacy of the Texas A&M community.
Recent Submissions
Impact of Library Collections on Faculty Teaching, Research, and Retention: A Mixed-Methods Study
(Association of College & Research Libraries, 2025-11) LeMire, Sarah; Bodenhamer, Shanna
In recent decades, college and university libraries have been called to demonstrate their impact on their institutions’ teaching and research missions. One way that libraries can demonstrate their impact is by evaluating how library collections can influence faculty recruitment and retention decisions. This study builds upon an existing study aimed at evaluating this impact. The authors apply a mixed-methods approach to an existing data set in order to identify differences in impact based upon faculty discipline and rank. The authors found that tenured faculty as well as faculty in the Arts and Humanities were significantly more likely to include the library as part of their recruitment and retention decision making.
Federal Liabilities: 2024 Update
(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-10) Jansen, Dennis W.; Rettenmaier, Andrew; Uddin, Thamina
The 2023 Financial Report of the United States Government identifies total federal liabilities of $42.9 trillion as of September 30, 2023, marking a 10% increase from 2022. The federal debt and interest payable of $26.4 trillion comprised 62% of these liabilities. Federal employees’ accrued benefits make up another 33%, and various other categories round out the remainder. However, current official liabilities exclude current retirees’ expected Social Security and Medicare benefits – an additional $36.5 trillion in liabilities. Together, the official liabilities plus current retirees’ accrued Social Security and Medicare benefits total $79.4 trillion, or 290.4% of GDP in 2023. This highlights the substantial fiscal challenge, as the total liabilities are nearly three times the size of the publicly held debt’s share of GDP.
U.S. Budget Woes
(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-10) Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali Ghosh
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest economic and budget projections from “An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034” are worrisome, to say the least. The CBO projects large and persistent federal government deficits through 2034, and with no end in sight. In the Fall 2024 issue of PERCspectives on Policy, Dennis Jansen and Somali Ghosh Sinha take a historical look at the debt held by the public as a percent of GDP from pre-World War II onwards, analyze how increased government spending during the Covid-19 pandemic differed from war-era deficits, and discuss the causes behind ever-increasing government outlays.
Designing Manufacturing Systems Under Energy Scarcity in Expeditionary Environments
(2024-09-12) Patterson, Albert; Vajipeyajula, Bhaskar
Mapping Energy Consumption for Powder Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing
(2024-09-12) Harmon, George; Kabir, Elnaz; Vajipeyajula, Bhaskar; Patterson, Albert