Digital Commons Network^™

Operational Responsibility In Ai Governance: A User-Centric Liability Framework, Zhengyang Chen

Faculty Publications

Who bears responsibility when artificial intelligence systems cause harm? This question has become central to AI ethics and governance. Most existing approaches focus on developers, yet this faces serious practical and theoretical problems. Drawing on tort law, agency law, and philosophy of technology, this paper argues that AI should be understood as an instrument whose outputs remain the responsibility of human operators rather than developers. We call this 'user-centric governance.' Placing accountability with deployers promotes public trust by creating clear lines of responsibility, a concern that governance approaches have often overlooked. It preserves democratic accountability by keeping human actors answerable …

Characteristics And Implementation Paths Of Goal For Building Energy Powerhouse, Liye Xiao, Jiaofeng Pan, Xiaojiong Wang, Deqiang Sun, Mingliang Qi, Jianlei Mo, Huimin Li, Ting Wang, Jie Yang, Jie Lin, Yuchao Wang, Haiting Chen

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

China is a major energy-consuming country, and ensuring effective energy supply is one of the core tasks for promoting national development and national rejuvenation. To guarantee national energy supply and energy security, and to vigorously develop and utilize clean and low-carbon energy, the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China clearly states: “We will thoroughly implement the new energy security strategy, accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient new energy system, and build a strong energy nation. We will promote the safe, reliable, and orderly replacement …

Understanding Federalism Through Its Impact On Disasters In The 21st Century, Jerome Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study is to understand federalism in the United States of America today. This study uses the impact of federalism in the United States on national disasters as a means to understand federalism in the U.S. The theory guiding this study is general systems theory, as presented by Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968), as it provides a framework for understanding how systems work and the foundation upon which this collective case study can determine how federalism operates in the current-day U.S. The central question for this study is: What has been the impact of federalism on …

Ecological Interest Theory Of “Lucid Waters And Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets” And Its Application In The Yellow River Basin, Guangqian Wang, Deyu Zhong

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

To address the core challenges of quantifying ecological value and converting it into economic gains, this study proposes a theoretical framework of ecological interest (EI) based on the principle that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”. Three fundamental origins of ecological interest are explained, including the temporal value discount, the spatial ecological compensation, and the civilizational occupation-compensation balance. These three dimensions establish the logical connection between ecological and economic values. Setting a 5% annual simple interest rate as the benchmark and adopting “Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains” green certificates as the standardized ecological assets for property rights delineation …

Seizing Strategic High Ground Of Space Computing Power: Global Competition Landscape And China’S Path, Yan Chen, Wenbin Song, Ping Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The deep integration of artificial intelligence and commercial aerospace is accelerating the transformation of space computing power from conceptual exploration to engineering verification, becoming a key direction for building an integrated space-air-ground information infrastructure. This study delves into its strategic value, global landscape, industrial chain bottlenecks, and advancement paths. The research reveals that the core value of space computing power does not lie in replacing ground data centers, but rather in focusing on network coverage blind spots, data transmission limitations, and high-timeliness scenarios, providing a new supply model of “in-orbit computing + space-ground collaboration”. Currently, the world has entered a …

Dialogue Between Mind And Algorithm: Deep Symbiosis Of Psychology And Artificial Intelligence, Xiaolan Fu, Zheng Yan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves from a supportive tool into a collaborative partner, the convergence of psychology and AI is gradually shifting from one-way application toward deep symbiosis. This study discusses the mutual empowerment resulting from their interaction, as well as the challenges they face and potential pathways to breakthroughs. On the one hand, psychology empowers AI by enhancing its human-like intelligence and social adaptability through cognitive modeling and ethical constraints; on the other hand, AI empowers psychology by leveraging multimodal data and algorithmic models to revolutionize psychological assessment and intervention methods. This deep symbiosis requires a clear-eyed acknowledgment of …

A Quantitative Study Examining The Impact Of Gender On Covenantal Empowerment And Mental Health Quality Of Life Among 911 Dispatchers, Michael Ryan Udriét

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative correlational study examined factors affecting the mental health quality of life (MHQoL) of 911 dispatchers in Greater Richmond, Virginia. Dispatchers frequently experience psychological strain due to exposure to traumatic calls, demanding workloads, and inconsistent organizational support. Leadership is a crucial factor in shaping well-being, yet the influence of covenantal empowerment (CE)—a model emphasizing mutual support, shared accountability, and relational trust—on dispatcher mental health remains underexplored. This study examined the relationship between CE and MHQoL, explored gender as a moderator, and considered additional demographic and work-related factors including age, years of experience, work shift, length of shift, marital status, …

Building Capacity And Inspiring Change: The Impact Of Louisiana’S Ucedd Across The Lifespan, Alicia Kowitz, Constance Alphonse, Phil Wilson, Maria Blanco

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Human Development Center (HDC), as the state’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), serves as a catalyst for inclusive systems change through interdisciplinary training, community engagement, and evidence-based service delivery. This manuscript highlights the breadth and impact of HDC’s initiatives across early childhood, education, transition, and community inclusion. Through programs such as Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood, PAYCheck, and LEND, HDC builds capacity among professionals, empowers individuals with disabilities and their families, and strengthens systems to be more responsive and equitable. The stories and outcomes shared illustrate how intentional, collaborative efforts …

Building Cultural Wealth: A Look Into The 40x40 Council’S Rise East Plan, Camille L. Batiste

Master's Theses

This research began as an effort to understand how community-based organizations in neighborhoods that have experienced generational economic disinvestment address the financial and cultural wealth gap in their communities. With the 40x40 Council and its work in East Oakland serving as the case study, it is evident how this organization mobilizes to reverse the impact of cultural erasure and wealth exclusion, helping Black residents not just live, but thrive. With an enriched understanding of how the 40x40 Council frames its approach, implements its vision, and develops its longevity, the Rise East Plan utilizes an alternative wealth-building strategy that centers community, …

Balancing Civil Liberties And Civil Rights, Adam Opp

Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy: Briefs and Commentaries

The Framers stressed the importance of civil liberties when drafting the United States Constitution to guarantee the freedoms of individuals. However, for decades, there has been an increased focus on civil rights to protect individuals from discrimination and ensure their equality under the law. The question becomes how civil liberties and civil rights intersect, and whether this intersection is always positive, or if advocating for civil rights can come at the expense of civil liberties. This paper will discuss civil liberties and civil rights, examine how policy processes impact civil rights, and address concerns about the grave consequences for the …

A Just Reimagining Of The Loss & Damage Fund, Sarah Cheung

Master in Public Policy Theses

The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), established at COP28 in 2023, represents a historic diplomatic breakthrough in multilateral climate finance, yet its design reflects the compromises necessary to secure political agreement rather than a just institutional architecture. This thesis evaluates the FRLD and two prominent reform proposals—the Bridgetown Initiative 3.0 and Esther Duflo's Grand Bargain—against a novel framework that provides a more precise way to evaluate the “justness” of different arrangements. This framework encompasses three dimensions: compensatory, distributive, and procedural justice. A dimension of justice is achieved in a two-fold manner; first, through rhetorical commitments in founding …

Silicon Rivalry: Understanding The U.S.-China Ai Competition In Southeast Asia, Daniel Christopher Kent

Master in Public Policy Theses

In the rising global strategic competition between China and the United States, artificial intelligence (AI) has taken on a special significance given its potentially transformative impact upon economics and security. Yet while the dialogue around the “AI race” is typically centered on foundational model capability enhancement, application in security contexts, and chip design and manufacturing, there is much less attention paid to its impact on geopolitics. In particular, AI diplomacy—the work of a state to spread its model of AI governance, evangelize its AI companies, and develop critical AI interdependencies and linkages around the world—is far less studied. Nowhere is …

Beyond The Ban: Chhaupadi Abolition And The Governance Of Menstrual Autonomy In Western Nepal, Nikita Paudel

Master in Public Policy Theses

This thesis examines how two decades of efforts to abolish chhaupadi have shaped the everyday conditions under which women and girls experience menstruation in western Nepal. Chhaupadi, commonly understood as menstrual seclusion, has been addressed through Supreme Court directives, national policy, criminal law, municipal implementation instruments, hut demolition campaigns, public health programming, and rights-based advocacy. Yet the practice has persisted, adapted, and in some cases moved into less visible spaces. Rather than treating this as a simple gap between law and practice, this thesis asks how abolition efforts themselves have become part of the regulatory regime through which menstruation is …

Incorporating Principles And Wisdom From Hospital Chaplaincy And Pastoral Ministry To Create A Ministry Model To Address Social Isolation And Loneliness In Black Churches, Albert A. Kemp

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

To address the growing and widespread epidemic of social isolation and loneliness, with special focus on Black churches, this dissertation developed a program with the following areas of application: 1) how healthcare trained chaplains can coordinate with churches to positively impact individuals identified as lonely and socially isolated with better social and physical health, 2) how principles of chaplaincy and pastoral care can mitigate and intervene competently when such people are identified, and 3) how the project’s model can be organized, taught, and incorporated into existing arenas of church ministry.

The purpose of the project was to create a ministry …

Boundaries Of Inequality: The Political Economy Of Redlining And Modern Mortgage Credit, Kyle Guo

Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

This paper investigates the legacy of historical redlining on contemporary access to mortgage credit across three distinct urban policy environments: Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Manhattan. I find that while historical redlining is associated with a statistically significant negative effect on mortgage approval rates, the magnitude of this direct effect is relatively small. In comparison, applicant race, particularly for Black applicants, is a stronger predictor of mortgage approval rates across cities and models. This study utilizes 1930s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) residential security maps and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from 2007 to 2017, and uses ordinary least squares (OLS) …

Behind The Scores: How Federal Education Legislation Influenced Dayton Public Schools’ Special Education System For Students Of Color, Simran Kaur

Aurora

This paper analyzes the district special education system of Dayton Public Schools’ through federal legislation requirements and state-reported data to evaluate access, implementation, and equity. Findings show that while the district meets several procedural requirements at federal levels, students with disabilities (especially Black students) face limited access to general education environments, family engagement, and disability identification at a local level. Risk ratios reveal subjective disability categories, which is contributing to the district’s low Achievement Gap Closing rate through the state-wide report card.

Welcome Tilly Norwood: Forecasting Hollywood’S Ai Policy Futures, Samuel P. Rooker

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

In late 2025, weekly trade publication Variety Magazine reported on the announcement of a new acting talent in Hollywood: Tilly Norwood. Norwood is an industry outsider and the pet project of Eline Van der Velden, who unveiled the actress’ existence to the world at the Zurich Film Festival. The announcement quickly gained media coverage while Van der Velden has since faced cyclical backlash from Hollywood trade unions, which does not seem entirely without reason. Tilly Norwood is a digital persona, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) program, designed by Van der Velden’s novel AI talent studio, Xicoia, to become the next …

“There Was Nothing Left To Give”: Experiences Of Compassion Fatigue Among Former In-Patient Psychiatric Clinicians, Katie Ladner

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

Compassion Fatigue (CF) is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure to stressful or traumatic experiences, specifically among healthcare workers, and it negatively impacts their ability to provide care to their patients and perform their jobs effectively (Singh et al., 2020). The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the lived experiences of compassion fatigue in mental health clinicians who previously worked in in-patient psychiatric hospitals and their subsequent resignations. This phenomenological research explored participants' understanding and descriptions of their CF experiences in their roles within psychiatric hospitals and how CF contributed to their leaving …

A Research-Informed Wellness Guide For Creating A Culture Of Educator Wellness And Retention In Schools, Anthony L. Herbert

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher attrition in high-poverty K–12 schools continues to undermine instructional continuity, organizational stability, and educational equity. While compensation and accountability pressures contribute to turnover, emerging research identifies workload intensity, emotional exhaustion, and the absence of systemic wellness supports as central drivers of burnout and departure decisions. The purpose of this capstone project is to develop a research-informed wellness guide designed to assist site-based leaders in embedding educator wellness within school systems as a strategic approach to improving teacher retention. This study addresses the question: What leadership strategies and school-level practices does the research recommend for creating supportive, wellness-centered environments in …

Understanding How Teachers Define And Employ Civics Education In Non-Elective Social Studies Classrooms, Joseph Kyle

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study explored the perceptions of civics and civic education held by secondary school teachers of non-elective social studies classes in four schools within the same school district. Using a qualitative approach, this study examined how veteran teachers understood and defined civics, the ways in which they employed civics education in their teaching methodology and daily lessons, and the challenges or obstacles they perceived, if any, incorporating lessons reflecting a progressive experimentalist methodology. The study was undertaken in response to popular and governmental rhetoric reflecting a lack of civil discourse and alleging a lack of civics in public education, as …

Constructing Imperial Connectivity: State Infrastructure Projects And The Imperial Gaze In Bengal Presidency, 1849-1856, Richard William Bradley Gaspers Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The construction of roads, canals, and supporting infrastructure in British India connected urban environs of power to interior peripheral spaces. The conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 saw the East India Company stand alone as the paramount power over the Indian subcontinent. A century of conquest gave way to a century of internal management. This shifted the state’s ‘gaze’ inward. Public infrastructure construction skyrocketed after 1849, transforming the role of the colonial state as it built roads, canals, bridges, courthouses, police stations, and jails on an unprecedented scale. This thesis will explore how these physical constructs bolstered connectivity, …

Addressing Sexual Health For Older Veterans By Healthcare Providers: A Mixed Method Study, Andrew James White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Older adults remain sexually active, yet sexual health is frequently under-discussed in healthcare settings, particularly within veteran populations. Sexual health is essential to overall quality of life, and prior studies have shown that older patients value these conversations. However, veterans often face unique factors such as military-related trauma, including military combat exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to compounded stigma from these topics in regards to open discussions about sensitive health issues to their healthcare providers. This study is significant in its potential to uncover systemic, cultural, and interpersonal influences that shape these dynamics, with a particular emphasis …

Bodies Under Command: A Feminist-Foucauldian Narrative Analysis Of Institutional And Cultural Betrayal In Military Sexual Misconduct, Chelsea Wheeler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The military continues to experience alarming rates of sexual aggression, reaching epidemic levels. While all people can experience sexual aggression, women, compared to men, are more likely to experience this, despite women making up only 17 percent of the military. Throughout history, the military has demonstrated several instances of reactive attempts at combating the concerns of sexual aggression; however, these attempts have not been successful. From a feminist-Foucauldian lens, this dissertation research explores narratives of service members to gain a more in-depth understanding of the systemic dynamics that contribute to institutional and cultural betrayal in sexual victimization experiences. Additionally, this …

The Making Of An Extremist: How Do We Become Someone Else’S Nightmare?, María Paula Morales

The Confluence

This article explores how ordinary people can be pulled into extremist movements and what psychological forces drive that process. It looks at three perspectives: social identity theory, which explains how group belonging shapes behavior, identity development, which shows how people searching for meaning may find it in extremist causes; and social neuroscience, which connects radicalization to brain activity linked to fear, loyalty, and moral judgement. Together, these approaches show that radicalization is not simply about ideology but about identity, emotion, and belonging. By understanding these dynamics, we can find better ways to prevent extremism and promote healthier, more inclusive communities.

Lgbtqia+ Inclusion In K-12 Education: A Systematized Review Of U.S. South Atlantic Region Educational Policy, Benjamin Little

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

LGBTQIA+ students experience disproportionate rates of discrimination, bullying, and mental health challenges within their educational settings, while educational policies shaping school climate vary considerably across jurisdictions. The purpose of this systematized review was to identify trends in the structure and implementation of LGBTQIA+ inclusion policies across K-12 state-level public education systems within the U.S. South Atlantic region and to examine how these policies addressed the needs of transgender youth and LGBTQIA+ students of color. This review synthesized publicly available state education documents, legislative materials, and nonprofit policy reports using a systematized review methodology guided by PRISMA principles and qualitative theme …

Local And Indigenous Knowledge, Innovation, And Sustainable Development: Creating Sustainable Futures Amidst Crisis Conditions At The Community Level, Carlos Andrés Arias

Dissertations and Theses

In 1987, the Brundtland Commission's Our Common Future (1987) made clear the need to reject longstanding development processes and focus on sustainable development. The Commission stressed that actual sustainable development integrates three elements: social development, economic development, and environmental protection. Though developed nations have achieved economic growth through conventional and extractive development practices, these practices have intensified natural disasters driven by climate change, increased food insecurity, and deepened poverty. This has acutely impacted Indigenous and local communities, many of whom face crisis conditions, such as war, terrorism, civil disorder, and their aftermath. Even so, many of these communities successfully implement …

Discussing Barriers And Solutions To Address Student Accommodation And Support Services, Anna K. Garst

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Accommodation and support services are essential for fostering academic achievement and positive well-being among college students with disabilities, yet many students delay or avoid seeking support. The present study used an explanatory mixed-methods design to examine disability and mental health service utilization among college students with disabilities, while also exploring the prevalence and intersecting experiences of basic needs insecurity. Quantitative survey data were collected from 275 students with diagnosed disabilities at a large public Mid-Atlantic university. Results indicated that perceived lack of need for support was the most frequently reported reason for not using services, followed by self-stigma, lack of …

Building A Comprehensive Insider Threat Defense Program, Alan Saquella

Publications

Organizations today face a growing and evolving threat that often originates not from an outside hacker or criminal organization, but from within their own workforce, vendor networks, and trusted partnerships. Insider threats continue to represent one of the most difficult risks to identify, prevent, and mitigate because insiders already possess something external adversaries spend enormous resources trying to obtain: trust, access, and legitimacy.

For decades, many organizations relied heavily on pre-employment criminal history checks and reference verification as their primary safeguard against insider misconduct. While these tools remain important foundational elements of any hiring and risk management program, they are …

Upjohn Regional Economic Outlook, Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2026, Iryna V. Lendel, Chloe Wieber, Sevrin Williams, Gerrit Anderson, Lee Adams, Emily Petz

Reports

No abstract provided.

Law Enforcement Policies, Training, And Developmental Disability Encounters Involving Autism, Tariya Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.