Digital Commons Network^™

The Intersection Between Child Marriage And Climate Change: An Example Of Malawi, Musu Bakoto Sawo

Journal of African Policy Studies

Child marriage affects 39,000 girls daily, totaling 650 million women married before age eighteen globally. While driven by poverty, tradition, and limited education, climate change is emerging as a significant new factor, particularly in developing nations such as Malawi, where 42% of girls marry before age eighteen. An estimated 1.5 million girls in Malawi are at risk due to climate-exacerbated food insecurity and displacement. This paper, using feminist theories of intersectionality, postcolonial feminism, and feminist political ecology, examines the complex link between climate change and child marriage in Malawi. It critiques existing international, regional, and domestic policies, highlighting their inadequacy …

Environmental And Social Values Are Important To All Utahns, But Conservative Utahns Are More Likely To Prioritize The Economy, Sarah E. Wilson, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

In the political landscape of modern America, few would disagree that people on either end of the political spectrum exhibit differences in priorities and values. Since the 1970s, polarization between left and right-leaning individuals and decision-makers regarding environmental matters has grown significantly.¹ For example, a 2023 Gallup Poll found that 78% of liberals favored prioritizing the environment over economic concerns, compared to just 20% of conservatives - representing the largest partisan gap since Gallup began including the question in their poll in 1984.²

Who Dominates The Coalition? Frame Salience And Public Support For Policy–Democracy Protest Coalitions Under Authoritarian Rule, Mai T. Truong

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

How does the public support a coalition in which pro-democracy advocates and policy-based protesters join forces in street protests? When policy-based and pro-democracy groups protest together, they create a collective action frame that includes a policy component and a democracy component. In this article, I develop the frame salience theory, arguing that support for a policy–democracy protest coalition depends on which component of the joint frame is perceived to be more dominant. I argue that in authoritarian regimes, the policy component typically dominates the coalition because it is more accessible and available to the public. This perception shifts public support …

Cv: Steven Nawara (Political Science), Steven Nawara

Political Science Department Faculty Curricula Vitae

No abstract provided.

"Some Of Them Went To Yale": Ambition, Legal Careers, And Nominations To The Federal Bench, Abigail Violet Hassett

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation theorizes and quantifies judicial ambition. Article III judges in the United States judiciary are nominated by a president, confirmed by the Senate, and may hold their seat for the remainder of their lifetime. This is a distinct process from other political actors, like congresspeople, presidents, elected judges, and local officials, who are beholden to voters. This dissertation posits that individuals who are high in judicial ambition should consciously choose career paths and interact in networks which will enable them to achieve their goal. After theorizing and quantifying ambition, the measure is replicated on an original dataset of 1300 …

Extractivism And Water Crisis In The Moroccan Draa Oasis: Global South Reflections On Responsibility And Resistance, Ahmed El Khatabi

Journal of Maya Heritage

Abstract. The Draa Oasis in southeastern Morocco is experiencing severe water scarcity, driven by climate change and intensified by the expansion of watermelon agribusiness and desert tourism. This article explores how external investors, empowered by national agricultural policies, have disrupted traditional water governance systems rooted in collective management. Through ethnographic fieldwork involving interviews, focus groups, and spatial mapping, the study examines the socio-environmental consequences of groundwater depletion and land commodification. It argues that investors fail to assume ethical accountability for the ecological degradation they cause, despite being aware of the oasis’s fragile ecosystem. Meanwhile, local communities and civil society actors …

A Call For Change: Supporting Children With Tourette Syndrome, Matt Reall

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Tourette Syndrome affects 1 in 100 U.S. children but remains widely misunderstood due to stigma, delayed diagnosis, and media misrepresentation. This neurological disorder is characterized by involuntary tics and often co-occurs with ADHD, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Children with Tourette Syndrome face disproportionate challenges in social, academic, and emotional settings—despite having average or above-average intelligence. One-third engage in self-harm, and suicide rates are four times the national average. Peer-education programs like the Tourette Association of America’s Youth Ambassador initiative have shown promise in reducing stigma, but unequal access and weak institutional support limit their impact. This paper calls for early …

Bench Strength: How Powerful Are Supreme Courts In Common Law Countries Really?, Nilesh Sinha

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis examines the extent of judicial power exercised by the top constitutional courts in common law countries, using judicial review as a proxy for this power. I analyze three apex constitutional courts—the supreme courts of the United States, India, and Canada—as they all engage in strong-form judicial review and have been referred to at different times by various scholars as “the most powerful court in the world.” To frame my analysis, I explore how these courts have evolved in power throughout their histories. I employ comparative historical analysis (CHA) and construct a typology that accounts for how these courts, …

Director, Military Cyber Institute, Joseph Schafer

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Throughput Of Ascon Compared With Popular Iot Encryption Algorithms, Mitchel R. Harvey (Ryan), Andrew M. Kaiser, Garrett W. Hoiness

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Anomaly Detection Of Network Layer Attacks Against Cyber Physical Systems Using Machine Learning And Deep Learning Techniques, James Alger, Michael Tu

Military Cyber Affairs

This research paper presents the analysis of using machine learning and deep learning algorithms on detecting anomalous network traffic in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Using a real PLC CPS-based system, normal and anomalous network traffic will be captured using Wireshark. The research analyzes a DDoS attack. The focus of the research is to identify the most effective feature combinations and evaluate them on ML and DL models. The emphasis is on enhancing detection strategies rather than exploiting device vulnerabilities. The detection of network attacks often involves handling a vast array of high-level features. Previous studies (Li & Chasaki, 2022) apply machine …

Characterizing Caldera’S Cyber Attack Emulation Capabilities, Caleb Chang, Matthew Cao, Kenyou Teoh, Ekzhin Ear, Shouhuai Xu

Military Cyber Affairs

Autonomous cyber attack emulation can aid cyber defenders to identify and remediate cyber risks. MITRE’s Caldera software is the state-of-the-practice for automated attack emulation. Yet, it has not been systematically analyzed, putting its performance and effectiveness into question. This paper systematically characterizes Caldera’s architecture, abilities and use cases, and assesses its strengths and weaknesses. It draws useful insights, such as: Caldera excels in stealthy access and execution tactics to pilfer data against Windows operating systems. It also discusses two directions for Caldera improvement: module-level automation and end-to-end attack emulation.

The Digital Battlefield: Safeguarding Military Drones Against Cyberattacks, Jason Ashong, Arun Venkitanarayanan, Benjamin Yankson

Military Cyber Affairs

The Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) is an advanced network of interconnected devices that significantly enhance military operations through real-time data exchange and situational awareness. While IoBT offers tactical advantages like improved surveillance, reconnaissance, and operational effectiveness, it also introduces substantial cybersecurity risks. Adversaries can exploit vulnerabilities within these networks, potentially compromising mission integrity and national security. This research examines the cybersecurity measures of commercial drone controllers and their correlation with military devices. It aims to enhance future vulnerability assessments with advanced tools and approaches to better secure critical military operations. The study highlights the need for robust security architectures …

Using Blockchain Technology To Help Secure America's Defense Critical Infrastructure, Vimal Buck, Aerin Krebs, Brynn Hillard, Jakob Gerha, Joseph Lutma, Srikar Maduposu, Ted Allen

Military Cyber Affairs

Critical water infrastructure in the United States faces increasing cybersecurity threats from state-sponsored actors, with potentially devastating consequences for national security, economic stability, and public health. (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 2025). This infrastructure supports defense critical assets and is actively being targeted by various state-sponsored hacking groups, which poses a major concern for civilians and military alike. K. Herath (personal communication, February 24, 2025) reported being aware of two attacks on Ohio water systems during his tenure as Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Water is essential to everyday life and defense and presents as a high-value …

Network And Multipath Traceroute Visualization, Cameron Makowski

Military Cyber Affairs

TraceCam introduces a new paradigm in network path analysis, leveraging GPU-accelerated WebGL visualization, advanced traceroute integrations, and AI-driven insights to transform complex routing data into actionable intelligence. Early prototypes have demonstrated significant improvements in performance, clarity, and multi-path discovery, overcoming traditional limitations in traceroute analysis. By incorporating retrieval-augmented language models and enriched metadata sources like IPinfo.io, TraceCam enables automated anomaly detection, contextual explanations, and rapid root-cause analysis, enhancing operational efficiency. The platform’s architecture ensures scalability and adaptability, supporting deeper investigations and real-time situational awareness. Future development will focus on clustering-based anomaly detection, expanded geographic visualizations, and enhanced AI-generated analysis to …

Quantifying Adversary Military Forces’ Susceptibility To Cognitive Attacks, Bonnie Rushing, Cole Nelson, Shouhuai Xu, Christofer “Raven” O’Keefe, Olga Karpoyan

Military Cyber Affairs

This paper introduces a method to quantify international populations’ susceptibility to cyber cognitive attacks using press freedom and media trust metrics. We present the Cognitive Influence Calculator, a tool that estimates susceptibility (𝑆) based on Press Freedom Scores (PFS) and media trust levels. Findings show that while authoritarian regimes are harder to reach, successful cognitive attacks have greater impacts due to higher trust in state-controlled narratives. Using U.S. wargaming data and international trust metrics, we compute susceptibility scores for the U.S., Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Results show an inverse relationship between PFS and media susceptibility, with local/allied …

Forward, Amy Hamilton

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Understanding Russia’S Cyber Policies, Strategies, And Doctrines, Bryan Hancock, Hanh Nguyen, Olga Karpoyan, Ekzhin Ear, Shouhuai Xu

Military Cyber Affairs

This study analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Russia’s cyber policies, strategies, and doctrines through a systematic set of attributes, leading to key insights: (i) Russia has proactively adapted its cyber policies, strategies, and doctrines to its evolving environment; (ii) Russia actively conducts cognitive warfare, but remains equally vulnerable to it; and (iii) Russia’s cyber posture faces significant challenges, including a limited technological base, shortage of skilled personnel, and restrictive approach to information control, all of which undermine the effectiveness of its strategies. These insights offer valuable implications for US Cyber Command and the Department of Defense.

Characterizing Cyberattacks Against Operational Technology Infrastructures Through The Lens Of Attack Flows, Sherman Kettner, Caleb Chang, Ekzhin Ear, Shouhuai Xu

Military Cyber Affairs

Operational Technology (OT) infrastructures play a critical role in modern society and economy. However, their increasing connectivity with public networks such as the Internet has made them vulnerable to cyberattacks, much like traditional Information Technology (IT) systems. In particular, cyberattacks against OT infrastructures remain relatively underexplored and little understood. In this paper, we aim to deepen our understanding of cyberattacks against OT infrastructures. For this purpose, we propose a methodology, including novel cybersecurity metrics to analyze the attack flows of these attacks in an end-to-end fashion, which allows us to draw useful insights. We demonstrate the utility of the methodology …

Algorithms Of Eversion: Contemporary States And Digital Sovereigns, James Libengood

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), and digitization have pushed digital sovereignty to the top of the governance agenda in the 21st century. This notion is expanded upon in this work through seven chapters encompassing theoretical underpinnings, methodological frameworks, and real-world case studies. It shows how multinational corporations dominate digital coloniality, and how the merge of physical and digital reality or eversion poses challenges. The study compares contrasting governance approaches, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), geared to ethical AI and data protection, versus BRICS nations’ stance on data localization …

نظريات المؤامرة في الثقافة السياسية العربية, Banan Salem Mohammad Alshdaifat

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدفت هذه الدراسة الموسومة بــ "نظريات المؤامرة في الثقافة السياسية العربية" إلى التعرف على مفهوم نظرية المؤامرة، وبيان مفهوم الثقافة السياسية العربية، والبحث في مدى انتشار وشيوع نظريات المؤامرة في الثقافة السياسية العربية من خلال استعراض شواهد تاريخية قديمة ومعاصرة على ذلك، مستندةً إلى الجمع بين مقولات المدارس الفلسفية التحليلية والتاريخ الثقافي والدراسات الثقافية التي عالجت نظريات المؤامرة. وقد تم التوصل إلى أن المدارس التي نظّرت للمؤامرة مختلفة ومتعددة، فمنها ما يرى نظريات المؤامرة كحقل بحثي دون وجود موقف أيديولوجي أو قيمي معها أو ضدها، ومنها ما يرى في نظريات المؤامرة أنها غير علمية، وأنها تمثل خطراً على القيم التعددية …

China’S Role In A Future Korean War, Jake Rinaldi

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that China’s intervention in a Korean conflict will hinge more on North Korea’s ability to hold territory than on bilateral ties. Rather than treat Chinese intervention as a yes-or-no proposition, this study models three scenarios—full intervention, sustained support, and limited support—based on North Korean resilience. Using Chinese-language sources and scenario-based analysis, it assesses how each model would shape key functional areas such as ISR, cyber, materiel, and force posture. The findings offer US defense planners a framework for anticipating variable People’s Liberation Army involvement in a future Korea contingency.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Cunning Commies, Dumb Democrats, And Exiled Germans: A Holistic Postmortem Of The 1948 Czechoslovak Coup D'État, Douglas Joys

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The role played by the post-WWII expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia in catalyzing the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état has been underexplored in favor of the traditional narrative of an East-West clash between Czechoslovak democratic and communist parties backed by the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. Scholarship on the expulsion and the coup has on occasion brought up connections between the two events, albeit briefly and only as a small part of larger examinations of one of the two. The Eastern and Western forces at play in Czechoslovakia were undoubtedly key factors in the coup’s outcome: the end of …

How The U.S. Can Protect Taiwan In The 21st Century, Zachary Surmacz

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

What U.S. policy would deescalate cross-strait tensions, while maintaining Taiwan’s security? This article is supported by the information and perspectives received from 12, one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with a variety of thought leaders in Taiwan. The goal of this proposal is to provide policymakers in the United States with a path for protecting Taiwan, while responsibly managing the U.S.-China relationship. The paper begins with a short background of the complex policy problem facing Taiwan and a review of the current official U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity." The article then provides an evaluation of the U.S. policy by comparing its stated goals …

How Far-Right Populism Harms Ethnic Minorities’ Health: The Case Of The United States, Dina Rosenberg

Working Papers Series

Public health is a political issue, and the health of ethnic minorities is a key component of it. We argue that far-right populism, whether grassroots or elitist, harms the health of immigrants and minorities. Anti-minority attitudes and policies—such as health chauvinism promoted by far-right populists—along with hate rhetoric and ensuing personal and institutional discrimination create a climate of hostility that negatively affects health outcomes in underprivileged communities. We hypothesize that immigrants and ethnic minorities living in such a climate are more likely to experience health problems and underutilize healthcare. To test this, we leverage the significant variation between U.S. states …

Political Sociology, Talha C. Issevenler

Open Educational Resources

This open-access textbook on political sociology introduces and problematizes the classical categories and parameters of the field. It explores the main approaches to the state and governance, while conceptualizing a turn toward network power. Specific chapters address political spacetime, violence, secrecy, social movements, politicization, interdisciplinarity, media, biopolitics, and event-analysis. Multimedia pedagogical exercises accompany the conceptual exposition.

The Long Arm Of The Law: The Far-Reaching Effects Of The Carceral State On Families, Madison Squiers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates the extended consequences of mass incarceration in the United States, focusing on the social, economic, and psychological impacts on the nuclear families of incarcerated individuals. Through a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024, this study highlights how female partners and children of imprisoned men face significant hardships, including emotional trauma, financial instability, and social stigma. These burdens are most acutely experienced by low-income families and communities of color, reflecting broader patterns of structural inequality. The findings underscore how punitive criminal justice policies—especially mandatory minimum sentencing and the War on Drugs—have created ripple …

Global Constructions Of Gender, Sexuality, And Migration: An Analysis Of Five Immigrant Memoirs, Grace Halvorson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone analyzes five memoirs by LGBTQ+ migrants—Jose Antonio Vargas, Edafe Okporo, Staceyann Chin, Danny Ramadan, and Samra Habib—to explore how governments weaponize gender and sexual orientation to construct national identity and exert control over both citizens and migrants. Their diverse migration experiences highlight how “gender border control” operates across families, communities, and national government systems, reinforcing heteronormative structures that regulate queer identities. My analysis of their memoirs reveals how both formal tools, such as immigration policies, and informal tools, such as social exclusion, make individuals outside heteronormative identity categories susceptible to state and societal violence. These personal narratives shed …

Investigating Terrorist Use Of Improvised Explosive Devices In The United States: Evidence From Us Federal Court Cases, 2009 – 2024, Angie Benda, Austin C. Doctor

Political Science Faculty Publications

Terrorist use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remains a persistent and evolving threat within the United States. Until now, few data collection and analysis efforts have focused on the systematic capture of terrorist bombing plots and attacks. Filling this evidence gap, this research note presents and analyses an original dataset of US federal charges associated with terrorism-related IED incidents in the United States observed from 2009 through 2024. The data features 110 related cases, the analysis of which indicates a sample peak in the use of IEDs in terrorist incidents occurred in 2024. Incidents are not siloed to a specific …