Digital Commons Network^™

Horizontal Regulatory Barriers In International Trade: Evidence From Electric Plugs, Yuan Mei, Mingzhi (Jimmy) Xu

Research Collection School Of Economics

Domestic policies regulating the horizontal dimensions of product differentiation can impede international trade and have become a major concern in contemporary trade negotiations. We estimate trade frictions associated with incompatible designs of electric plugs, a well-known example of a horizontal regulatory barrier. Our findings indicate that fewer electronic devices are exported to destinations with incompatible electric plugs, and this effect operates through both the extensive margin and the intensive margin of exports. These results are further corroborated by an online survey of Chinese electronics exporters. Moreover, incompatible plugs are associated with lower average quality of exported electronic devices, suggesting that …

Mind The Hazard: Modeling And Interpreting Comfort With Personalized Sensing, Yufei Zhang, Matteo Favero, Patrick Chwalek, Sailin Zhong, Denis Lalanne, A. Joseph Paradiso, Clayton Miller, Andrew Sonta

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Recent advances in personalized sensing and comfort feedback have spurred the development of data-driven comfort models tailored to individual needs. However, because current models treat sequential comfort feedback independently, they are subject to unstable predictions and limited interpretability, hindering their deployment in building management. This study introduces a dynamic modeling framework that utilizes a Neural Ordinary Differential Equations-based Continuous-time Markov Chain to model the transitions in comfort states over time. Our modeling approach, developed through a field study utilizing smart glasses and mobile app feedback, tracks occupants' comfort transitions across daily activities and contexts. The results demonstrate that this model …

Interdisciplinary, Delphi-Driven Consensus Guidelines On The Use Of Intravenous Ketamine Infusions For Depressive Disorders From The American Society Of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, And Practitioners (Askp3), David S Mathai, Madeleine Cluck, Amna M Aslam, Erin Amato, Arsalan Azam, Michael Banov, Kathleen A Barrett, Carl J Bonnett, David Feifel, Nicolas Grundmann, H Samuel Ko, Rupert Mcshane, Sandhya Prashad, Tatiana Santini, Lowan H Stewart, Patrick Sullivan, Stefany D Wolfsohn, Jill O Robinson, Amy L Mcguire, L Alison Mcinnes

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Off-label use of intravenous ketamine (IVK) for depression is a widespread practice with limited regulation in the United States. There is an urgent need for current, evidence-informed treatment guidelines to facilitate patient safety, clinical decision-making, and care quality in real-world contexts.

Methods: The American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists and Practitioners (ASKP3) convened an interdisciplinary working committee tasked with creating guidelines for use of IVK for depression in outpatient settings. Guideline development followed a two-stage process: 1) a hybrid systematic and targeted evidence review and preliminary drafting by the committee, and 2) consensus refinement through a modified Delphi method …

The End Of Unmeasured Exploitation: How A.S.M., C.A.S., And S.I.A. Challenge Digital Attention Capitalism, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Digital attention capitalism generates value through the capture and monetization of human attention, yet it has historically lacked standardized mechanisms for measuring attention-related harm. This paper argues that the Attention Safeguard Models (A.S.M.), Cognitive Attentional Standards (C.A.S.), and Sociological Impact Assessment (S.I.A.) collectively challenge this system by introducing an integrated framework for classifying, measuring, and evaluating digital attention harm and its societal consequences. C.A.S. provides standardized measurement of digital attention harm, A.S.M. identifies and classifies patterns of attentional disruption and manipulation, and S.I.A. evaluates broader impacts on institutions, communities, civic engagement, education, social cohesion, and inequality. Together, these systems transform …

The Employment Situation Of Veterans: September 2026, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

The September 2026 veteran employment report shows that veteran unemployment increased slightly from 3.4% in August to 3.5% in September, while post-9/11 veteran unemployment rose from 3.5% to 4.1%. National labor market conditions remained relatively stable, with little change in overall employment and unemployment. The most significant concern was among younger veterans ages 18 to 24, whose unemployment rate increased sharply to 23.8%. Female veteran unemployment also rose substantially, reaching 6.1%, while male veteran unemployment declined to 3.0%. Unemployment rates varied across demographic groups, though many veteran populations continued to experience employment outcomes comparable to or better than nonveterans. Duration …

The Role Of Risk-Based Audit Quality In Enhancing Financial Control Efficiency And Mitigating Financial Corruption In Iraqi Banks In Light Of The Ippf 2024 Framework, Nadia Talib Salman

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

The study investigates the relationship between risk-based audit quality, financial oversight efficiency and financial corruption reduction in banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange in the years 2008–2025 by applying International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) 2024. A composite risk-based audit quality index was created which included auditor independence, auditor professional qualification, frequency of audit committee meetings, and auditor presence of a formal risk committee. Thirty three hundred annual reports were processed using AI-supported structured extraction with the Gemini API, resulting in an unbalanced final panel of 303 bank-year observations from 20 banks. Random Effects and some robustness and diagnostic tests …

Impact Of Digital Transformation On Earnings Quality: A Sample Of Commercial Banks Listed On The Iraq Stock Exchange (Isx), Ahmed Neamah Abed

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

This research will examine how digital transformation influences the quality of earnings of the commercial banks in the Iraqi Stock Exchange. The research problem is that there is no clear picture of what constitutes the relationship between investment in digital assets and the quality of earnings and there is debate on whether digital transformation helps in improving the quality of earnings or that it does not have a significant effect, especially in the new banking environment like Iraq.
The importance of the study is the fact that it presents direct quantitative data of this relationship through the quantifiable financial indicators. …

Indigenous Religion And Community Order: Crime Prevention Strategies Among Worshippers Of Igbe Orhe In Nigeria, Onoseme Fortune Afatakpa Dr

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

This ethnographic study examines crime prevention strategies within Igbe Orhe, an indigenous African religious tradition practiced in Delta State, Nigeria. While existing security studies primarily emphasize formal and direct approaches to crime prevention, this research foregrounds the less explored structural mechanisms embedded in cultural spirituality. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants, including the Uku Supreme (global leader), High Priests (Uku), High Priestess (Omote Uku), Chief Priests (Inori), Chief Priestesses (Ini Igbe), and Votary Singers (Akpine). Two focus group discussions were also conducted with female and youth members of selected …

Alternative Dispute Resolution And Legal Pluralism In Practice: Grassroots Mediation In The Akamba Counties Of Kenya, Victoria M. Time, Daniel K. Pryce

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

Abstract

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the process of employing a third party, outside of the state apparatus, to help resolve disputes between opposing parties, has been used on the African continent for hundreds of years. In Kenya, the focus of the current study, ADRs have included mediation, negotiation, and arbitration. To have a better understanding of why Kenyans are embracing mediation instead of the formal courts to resolve disputes, the study relies on the legal pluralism theoretical framework and the results of a study that employed two ethnographic techniques – interviews and participant observation – from three Kenyan counties: Makueni, …

Impact Of Employment Status And Housing Stability On Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence In Virginia, Samuel Deapeh Worgee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tuberculosis (TB) cases have resurged in Virginia, yet the structural determinants shaping treatment completion among socioeconomically marginalized populations remain unquantified locally, leaving public health programs without state-specific predictive evidence. Grounded in the World Health Organization's social determinants of health framework, this quantitative, ex post facto study examined how employment status, housing stability, and social risk factors predicted TB treatment completion. De-identified surveillance records for N = 898 adult TB cases reported from 2020 through 2024 were extracted from the Virginia Electronic Disease Surveillance System and analyzed using a multivariable binary logistic regression, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and radiographic severity …

Building Health Resilience Against The Threat Of “Jakarta Sinking”: A Scoping Review, Risky Kusuma Hartono, Dewi Shinta

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

In Jakarta, land subsidence amplifies flood risks—often described as the city “sinking”—which increases exposure to waterborne and vector-borne diseases, disrupts essential health services, and undermines health system resilience. This review examines how subsidence-induced flood amplification impacts health and its implications for system resilience. This study employs a literature review approach that combines narrative synthesis with scoping-oriented evidence mapping. Peer-reviewed articles in English or Indonesian (2015–2025) were searched across PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Portal Garuda using the following terms: flooding, Jakarta land subsidence, health impacts, and health system resilience. Data on hazards, populations, health outcomes, and resilience functions were …

Next Steps In Advancing Pediatric Care In Southern Nevada, The Lincy Institute

Lincy Institute Events

The Lincy Institute released new research evaluating the Southern Nevada pediatric care ecosystem. The report, "An Evaluation of Southern Nevada’s Pediatric Care Ecosystem," offers recommendations to develop a stronger and more coordinated pediatric care ecosystem before the stand-alone children’s hospital being developed by Intermountain Health opens in 2030 and identifies the components of an integrated statewide network to provide all of Nevada’s children with access to high-quality care. The event also featured panel discussions with pediatric care providers and policymakers.

Panel 1 - Pediatric Care Providers

Moderator — Tina Quigley, Project Facilitator, The Lincy Institute

Panelists — Lisa …

An Evaluation Of Southern Nevada’S Pediatric Care Ecosystem, David Damore, Tina Quigley, Nick Fiore

Policy Briefs and Reports

In 2024, The Lincy Institute and the Nevada Health and Bioscience Corporation released a report prepared by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach detailing the case for a stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada. Shortly thereafter, Intermountain Health announced it would build Nevada’s first such facility in Las Vegas, expected to open in 2030. To complement the hospital’s development, The Lincy Institute undertook an independent evaluation of the regional pediatric care landscape. The analysis draws on secondary data and discussions with advocates, health system administrators, practitioners, and providers. The report examines:

• Fiscal, resource, and workforce challenges underlying Nevada’s poor population-level pediatric …

Financial Stress Among Low- And Moderate-Income Latino Adults In California: The Role Of Price Pressures And Holiday Spending, Luisa Blanco, Philip Husband, Nataly Luna, Enrique Torres, Sara Weiss

School of Public Policy Working Papers

We examine financial stress among low- and moderate-income Latino adults in California during a period of elevated prices and the 2025 holiday season. Participants from the Mobile Financial Diary cohort (n = 69; 218 person-wave observations) completed four monthly surveys covering November 2025 through February 2026. We compare four measures of financial health, wellbeing, stress, and anxiety across income groups and analyze open-ended responses using the RADaR technique. Respondents below the sample median income had lower financial health and higher financial stress and anxiety, whereas perceived financial wellbeing did not differ significantly. Holiday stress was similar across groups, but lower-income …

Age Differences In Perceived Individual And Community Recovery After Tornadoes: Implications For Community-Centered Recovery Policy In An Aging Society, Sizhuo Chen, Zhen Cong

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

"This study examines perceived individual recovery and perceived community recovery among tornado survivors across three waves spanning four years. Using three-wave longitudinal survey data from survivors in Dallas, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama collected in 2021, 2022, and 2025, we estimate recovery trajectories using linear mixed-effects growth models. We link respondents to tract-level SVI 2020 component measures to examine whether tract-level social vulnerability contextualizes age differences in recovery perceptions. We ask: (1) How do perceived individual recovery and perceived community recovery change over time? (2) Do these trajectories differ by age group? (3) Do community social vulnerability measures contextualize …

Kosovo’S Strategic Missteps With International Law, Parker W. Remick, Robert Muharremi

Journal of Peace, Conflict, and Security Studies

This paper interrogates the principle of selective engagement with international law in the foreign policy of Kosovo, arguing that international law functions less as a neutral arbiter between states and more as a pliable instrument wielded in the pursuit of national objectives. Through a meticulous analysis of Kosovo’s post-2008 trajectory, the study unveils a pattern of selective engagement with international legal mechanisms highlighting both moments of strategic acumen and critical miscalculations. Despite possessing the legal attributes of statehood, Kosovo’s struggle for international legitimacy is hampered by a failure to fully exploit legal avenues, from multilateral treaty accession to litigation and …

Why Do Indonesians Travel Abroad For Medical Treatment? A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Lucky Sarjono Buranda, Aries Wahyuningsih, Steven Busby

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

More than one million Indonesian citizens travel abroad for medical treatment each year, generating financial transactions exceeding IDR 180 trillion (USD 11.5 billion). This study aimed to explore the reasons why Indonesians seek medical treatment overseas. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed using in-depth interviews with Indonesian citizens who had received or were currently receiving medical treatment outside Indonesia. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through coding to identify themes, subthemes, and related properties. Interviews were conducted with 18 participants from three major Indonesian cities (Makassar, Surabaya, and Batam), as well as individuals receiving treatment in Singapore and Malaysia. …

Graduate Medical Education (Gme) In The Mountain West, 2025, Mia Tschan, Phillip Seo, Kerima Awol, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on graduate medical education (GME) capacity and physician retention across five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Data are reported on the number of Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) granting institutions, teaching hospitals, residents in training, Medicare-supported GME slots, residents training in slots not supported by Medicare direct GME (DGME), and the percentage of physicians trained in each Mountain West state. The data are derived from the 2025 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) report, “State-by-State Data on Graduate Medical Education,” which includes graduate medical education data …

Regulating Religious Coexistence : The Intricacies Of Interfaith Cooperation In Coastal Kenya, Erik Meinema

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Regulating Religious Coexistence offers a compelling ethnographic analysis of how Muslims, Christians, and practitioners of indigenous African religions negotiate coexistence in Kenya’s coastal region. The book conceptualizes religious diversity as a dynamic field shaped by multiple partly intersecting and partly conflicting models of interaction. These include the political secularism promoted by the Kenyan state and civil society organizations focused on interfaith harmony, forms of competition between religious groups, and pluralistic practices in which individuals draw on multiple traditions to meet spiritual needs.

Through a close examination of civil society initiatives funded by Western donors to foster peacebuilding and to counter …

Sustainable Development Of National Park Communities In China: Conditions, Challenges, And Implementation Paths, Baorong Huang, Xuetian Hu, Ling Tang, Zhi Wang, Zhi Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Promoting the sustainable development of communities in national parks is essential to the high-quality construction of the world’s largest national park system in China. Drawing on systematic social surveys of communities within national parks and candidate areas, this study outlines the key characteristics of these communities and analyzes their current development status, challenges, and constraints. It proposes a fivefold approach to advancing sustainability. Namely, (1) conceptually, by establishing a theoretical and cognitive framework for human–nature coexistence and overcoming antagonistic perceptions between parks and communities; (2) strategically, by fostering model villages and green development zones led by communities; (3) institutionally, by …

Strength Of No-Cash Bail Policies And Jail Population Outcomes: A Quantitative Study, Charles Lincoln Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study assessed the impact of no-cash bail reforms on local jail populations in various U.S. states. The no-cash bail policies, also known as "cashless bail," are criminal justice reforms that reduce or eliminate the need for defendants to pay money to secure release from jail while awaiting trial. The goal is to base pretrial detention on safety risks, not financial status. These systems use non-monetary conditions to ensure court appearances instead of wealth-based detention. This study aimed to address a critical gap in scholarly understanding of statewide implementation policies carried out at the local level. The data were …

Book Review: The Weight Of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage In The Sahara, Michael Margolius

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Edith Blais

Reviewed by Commander Michael Margolius, US Navy, professor, US Army War College, and former J3 of the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency

In his review of The Weight of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara, Michael Margolius views the ordeal faced by author Edith Blais through the lens of a personnel recovery agent. Blais and her boyfriend were kidnapped and held for 15 months by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin gunmen. Margolius points out the many small and practical things that helped Blais survive and how her story can help agencies learn from her experience to …

Book Review: Warfare In Peacetime: Proxies And State Powers, Scott Heal

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Christopher C. Harmon

Reviewed by Scott Heal (US Army)

Warfare in Peacetime: Proxies and State Powers defines proxy, lists the advantages and disadvantages of using proxies, and offers seven case studies, including the USSR and East Germany, the United States and the Nicaraguan Contras, and Iran and Hezbollah. The reviewer notes, “those studying limited warfare or the challenges in understanding and addressing gray-zone activities will find Harmon’s framework and analysis practical and informative.”

Metro Monitor 2026: Las Vegas And Reno, Nevada, Kevin Yang, Lara Karaalp, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents economic growth performance indicators in the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV and Reno, NV metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), using data provided by the Brookings Institution’s Metro Monitor 2023  and 2026. The Metro Monitor explores five indicators of economic performance over ten year periods: the 2023 report provides data measuring the period from 2011 to 2021, while the 2026 report provides data measuring the period from 2014 to 2024. The Metro Monitor reports data on growth, prosperity, economic inclusion, racial inclusion, and geographic inclusion across 196 MSAs in the U.S.

Training For Victory: U.S. Special Forces Advisory Operations From El Salvador To Afghanistan, Tobias Bernard Switzer

Joint Force Quarterly

Tobias Bernard Switzer reviews Frank K. Sobchak’s Training for Victory: U.S. Special Forces Advisory Operations from El Salvador to Afghanistan, a comparative study of efforts to build host-nation special operations forces in El Salvador, Colombia, the Philippines, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Sobchak evaluates five factors that may influence advisory outcomes: consistency in advisor pairing, language proficiency, partner-to-advisor ratios, authority to organize host-nation units, and combat advising. He finds that advisors’ ability to organize partner forces is most strongly associated with combat effectiveness, while language proficiency is less decisive than commonly assumed. Switzer interprets these factors as measures of two broader …

Determining Operational Objectives, Milan Vego

Joint Force Quarterly

Full knowledge and understanding of the true meaning of operational objectives are the main prerequisites for sound planning and execution of major operations A major operations (on land, at sea, in the air) is aimed at accomplishing a single operational objective. They can be conducted predominantly by a single service or two or more services. A campaign in a high-intensity conventional war consists of a series of related major/joint operations (on land, in the air, at sea) plus numerous tactical actions aimed to achieve a single military- or theater-strategic objective. Yet despite their importance, relatively little attention is …

Child Care Deserts In Mountain West Congressional Districts, 2024, Cason Noll, Yash Kalla, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents data on child care deserts across 28 congressional districts in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah as of 2024. The percentage of young children residing in a child care desert and the urban, suburban, or rural designation of each congressional district are included. The Center for American Progress (CAP) report, ‘America’s Child Care Crisis Leaves Many Families Without Access to Licensed Care,’ includes data on all 435 U.S. congressional districts.

The Role Of Financial Decision-Making Methods In Achieving Financial Performance, Kifah Sami Hussein

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

This research provides a comprehensive study of the role of financial decision-making methods in improving the financial performance of organizations, focusing on the strategic importance of various financial tools in supporting the process. The study aims to explore how the quality of financial decisions affects key performance indicators of organizations, highlighting the positive relationship between effective financial decision-making and achieving optimal financial results. The research also addresses the various factors that influence the effectiveness of financial decisions, including analytical tools, predictive models, and high-quality accounting information.
The research methodology relies on integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in a comprehensive manner, …

The Role Of Financial Inclusion In The Quality Of Financial Decisions: A Descriptive And Analytical Study Of A Sample Of Startups In Iraq, Inam Abass Hamidi

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

This research examines the role of financial inclusion in improving the quality of financial decisions for individuals and institutions in emerging and developing economies. The research focuses on how the availability of accessible formal financial services enhances the ability to make informed and rational financial decisions. The scope of the study includes examining the relationship between access to formal financial services and positive financial behavior, as the literature shows that individuals with higher levels of financial inclusion are more likely to engage in positive financial behaviors such as regular saving and responsible investing (Musa et al., 2025).  The research aims …

“As The Developing Situation Warrants”: U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Considered Through The 1994 Gerry Adams Visa Debate, Olivia T. Sullivan

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This thesis analyzes the 1994 U.S. decision to grant Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams a visa and what it reveals about American counterterrorism policy in the immediate post–Cold War period. Long suspected of senior involvement in the Provisional Irish Republican Army during the Troubles (1968–1998), Adams had previously been denied entry under terrorism-related immigration provisions. His case became a flashpoint inside the U.S. government: officials debated whether diplomatic opportunity, domestic political incentives, and momentum toward peace in Northern Ireland warranted a departure from the prior “no concessions” posture toward IRA-linked figures. Situating the controversy within U.S. terrorism discourse from the …