Digital Commons Network^™

Protect Trans Kids: A Call To Action, Suzi Goebel

SMU Law Review Forum

The last several years have seen an increasing number of attacks on marginalized groups in the United States, including people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Most recently, some state legislatures have focused their efforts on preventing transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care. Despite a virtually unanimous consensus on the importance and benefits of gender-affirming care, many conservative politicians have taken aim at vulnerable children, standing in the way of potentially life-saving treatment and accusing their families and doctors of child abuse. Laws preventing transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care are just one battle in the …

What Is This Place: Encountering The Body Of Christ In Prison And Church Through Sacrament And Ritual Musicking, Bryan Black

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Churches in the United States have faced institutional decline due in part to an unprecedented half-century of intense cultural shift and digital acceleration. Many leaders responded to this disorientation with technical fixes that have exacerbated divisiveness rather than addressing the underlying crisis of alienation and loneliness. Driven by fear of decline, communities of faith have forsaken their alterity of purpose and become lost in the marketplace as a “purveyor of religious goods and services” (George Hunsberger). This thesis considers the imagery of Huub Oosterhuis’s hymn “What Is This Place?” in theological dialogue with the Voices of Hope—a choir of female …

Singing Unity—Performing Ecumenism: Musicking And Ecumenical Prayer Through The Lens Of Performance Studies, David James Anderson

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

This thesis examines the foundational call to Christian unity, communal prayer for unity, and the practice of ecumenism through pastoral musicking and performing unity through the lens of performance studies. It asks the question: Can we sing and perform Christian unity? The ecumenical call is considered from ecumenical documents of both the Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions since the Second Vatican Council. Ecumenical worship is considered a performance of unity viewed through the lens of performance studies with scholarship from ritual, liturgical, and church music studies. Two distinct services of ecumenical prayer are considered as “performances of unity.” One service …

Using Graph Theory To Create A 3d Miniscaped, Non-Linear Level, Donghua Li

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how to use the Graph Theory and the Dominion Theory to design a three-dimensional (3D) non-linear, miniscaped level layout in a video game. Using these theories, the researcher aimed to aid players in navigating non-linear levels (which are notoriously difficult to traverse). Consequently, the researcher created a methodology outlining the best practices for constructing a level using Graph Theory and Dominion Theory. The researcher constructed a game level in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to explore the effectiveness of this methodology. Testers played the level and provided feedback regarding their experiences. The researcher analyzed this data …

Using Push And Pull Principles To Improve Non-Linear Level Navigation, Aiwen Zhang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the Player’s habits of navigation when they are in an open-world environment. It incorporates assumptions of best practices utilizing the Push and Pull level design theory that guides the Player in a free-flowing, exploratory environment and utilizes these practices in an open-world level in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Hollywoodlandia: Celebrity Women, Movie Culture, And American Public Womanhood, 1916-1950, Skye Cranney

History Theses and Dissertations

This project proposes to study the ways in which celebrity women’s behavior may have encouraged American women to challenge, but not necessarily subvert, traditional gender roles even as Hollywood publicity continued to emphasize the importance of those same roles in women’s lives. It does that by examining three sites where celebrity women prominently lived, worked, played, and volunteered between 1920 and 1950: the Hollywood Studio Club, a boarding house only for women in the entertainment industry, in Los Angeles; the Sun Valley Ski Resort, the first modern ski resort in the American West, in central Idaho; and the Hollywood Canteen, …

Transport Of Multi-Phase Multi-Component Fluids In The Shallow Subsurface Influenced By Soil And Surface Boundary Conditions: Experimental And Numerical Study With Application To Natural Gas Leakage, Navodi Jayarathne

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

With the increased use of Natural Gas (NG) as a source of fuel, underground leak-related events are increasingly reported, and some are fatal. Subsurface migration and development up to flammable limits are highly dependent on leak characteristics, soil, atmospheric variables, and other surface and subsurface structural complexities. Although few studies have characterized the transient behavior of leaked NG in the shallow subsurface, the underlying mechanisms and their interactions are not well understood, which prevents prediction of the impact of environmental and operating conditions on gas migration. The study conducted a series of field scale-controlled release experiments and numerical simulations to …

The Dynamic Response And Damage Evolution Of High-Strength Concrete, Mohamed Abbas

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

Concrete stands as the most extensively used construction material in both military and civil structural applications, attributed to its excellent durability and high impact resistance. Over the years, high-strength concrete (HSC) has evolved to withstand higher compressive strengths, making it a viable substitute for conventional concrete (CC) in many applications. Hence, HSC is commonly used for structures and structural elements that are exposed to extreme loading conditions such as hurricanes, wave impacts, ship-bridge collisions, explosions, earthquake loads, etc. The mechanical response of concrete subjected to dynamic loading conditions differs dramatically from its response under quasi-static conditions due to its inherent …

Due Process In Anti-Doping Proceedings Within The International Olympic Committee And Professional Tennis Associations, Katherine Jakeway

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

Today, professional athletes across the globe are subjected to rigorous drug testing in an attempt to eradicate the use of performance enhancing substances in sports. Many professional sports tours, including tennis, work closely with the International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency to monitor and address doping violations. Although anti-doping rules are important to the safety of professional athletes, the current enforcement of anti-doping rules creates due process concerns for athletes that test positive for banned substances. This article specifically argues that the strict scrutiny sanction which bans athletes from professional play for even an unknowing or accidental doping violation …

Mitigating Ai’S Harmful Effects In Developing Economies Through Contracting, A.B. Steinberg

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

The global economic community must establish a new organization that helps to create contracting parameters to ensure that AI does not crash economies, namely those in the developing world that are most at risk.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionize the global economy. While many debate the ramifications for developed economies, such as the United States, these effects will likely be increased productivity and the loss of jobs across the workforce. This comment argues that these effects will be even more profound in developing nations due to both AI in their direct economies and the downstream effects of automation. The possible …

Raining Hellfire: An Analysis On The Use Of White Phosphorus And Its International Regulation, Shaun Quirk

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

Chemical weapons, biological weapons, nuclear weapons, and substance-infused munitions are not new in the art of war. In fact, accounts of toxins and venoms date back to ancient times when bows and arrows were cutting-edge technology. But the existing frameworks regulating these weapons require immediate and more exacting scrutiny. In late 2023, Hamas reignited a generations-old conflict with Israel through a surprise attack. Shortly thereafter, global headlines reported Israel was deploying white phosphorus—a highly volatile substance—into Gaza. The potential devastation of white phosphorus is shocking, yet the existing legal frameworks governing its use are both ambiguous and overly lenient. This …

U.S. International Adoption Subsidies: Shining Light On The Dark History Of The Baby "Black Market", Rachel Briner

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

While international adoption is a beautiful concept in theory, it often leads to dark consequences. From its inception, human trafficking has enabled international adoptions. While the United States alone cannot dismantle the entire baby “black market” and the likely black market for children’s organs intertwined with it, the U.S. can remove its large contribution. By limiting the federal adoption subsidy to only domestic adoptions, the United States can ensure it only aids systems within its control and address the needs of its own children without homes more effectively. Many other authors have also noted various human trafficking and potential organ …

Protection From Warlords & Celebrities: How Anti-Slapp Legislation Is Making International Headway To Protect Free Speech, Olivia Augustat

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are increasingly being used by powerful individuals and entities to silence dissent and criticism, posing a significant threat to free speech globally. This misuse of legal systems undermines democratic principles by intimidating those who speak out on matters of public interest. My paper argues for the urgent need for effective Anti-SLAPP legislation, focusing on a comparative analysis of the U.S. and European Union (EU) approaches. While the U.S. has a fragmented but largely pro-defendant framework, the EU is moving toward an arguably vaguer but more unified, cross-border solution. This paper takes a unique approach …

South Asia/Oceania & India, Kavita Mohan, Aseem Chawla, Kriti Jaiswal, Tushar Rustgi, Jonathan Blank, Namrata Patodia Rastogi, Arshad Paku Khan, Ebaad Nawaz Khan, Arunabh Choudhary, Aditi Joshi, Rishabh Rela, Amit Gupta, Katherine Maddox Davis

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Middle East, Kelly Blount, Howard L. Stovall, Mamoun Aidoud, Tania Tossa, Hassan Radhi, Noor Radhi, Nicolas Bremer, Joseph Busa Arop, Seyed Mohsen Rowhani, Jeremy Benjamin, Elad Sharabi, Sam Habbas, Ibrahim Sattout, Fouad Debs, Michela Cocchi, Ravinder Singh, Mansoor Malik, Khalid Rehman, Frank Lucente, Yessine Ferah, Anne Bodley

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Mexico, Oliver Fernando Buenrostro Figueroa, Bárbara Ávalos García, Matías Medina Sánchez, Susan Burns, Eduardo Sánchez Madrigal, Luis Armendariz, Alan Zamarripa, Ana Sofía Villa Hernández, Enrique García

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

European Law, James Henry Bergeron, Serj Kiyasov, Matthew Soper, Konstantinos Tsimaras, Harry Stamelos, Valeria Camboni Miller, Willem Den Hertog

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Eurasia/Russia, Kimberly Reed, Elena Novikova, Ksenia Tarkhova, Anastasia Sidorenko, Diana Tsutieva, Timur Bondaryev, Oksana Karel, Daryna Hrebeniuk

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Central/East Asia And China, Jingbing Li, Yanling Zheng, Wesley Pang

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Canada, Jesse Goldman, Julia Webster, Jacob Mantle

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Africa, Stella Amanuel Araya, Joseph Arop, Victor Nsoh Azure, Reshma Baig, Twasiima Bigirwa, Anne Bodley, Nicolas Bremer, Michela Cocchi, D. Porpoise Evans, Sara Frazão, Angela Gallerizzo, Laverne Lewis Gaskins, Chileke Sakala, John Mukum Mbaku, Jenny Spencer Medina, Alexandra Meise, Luís Miranda, Beverly Mumbo, Connie Nawaigo, Ricardo Alves Silva, Tania Tossa, Marc Weitz

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

National Security Law, Geoffrey M. Goodale, Jonathan Meyer, Mario Mancuso, Lucille Hague, Matthew O'Hare, Faith Dibble, Bonnie H. Weinstein, Sergio L. Suarez, Christopher A. Vallandingham, Guy C. Quinlin

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Life Sciences & Health Law, Carly M. Toepke, Gerald P. Schneeweis, Andrew J. Bayne

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights, Shekinah Apedo, Daniel L. Appelman, Jaclyn Fortini Laing, Corinne Lewis, Tschika Mcbean, Constance Z. Wagner

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Art And Cultural Heritage, Nicole Y. Silver, Wendy J. Dickieson, Tess Davis, Patty Gerstenblith, Kevin P. Ray

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Animal Law, Frances Arricale, Daina Bray, Paula Cardoso, Matthew Collis, Giuliana D'Esopo, Erica Lyman, Jill Mariani, Omar Andrew Nimri, Megan O'Toole, Rajesh K. Reddy, Joan Schaffner, Fawn Schanz, Susan Schwartz, Malcolm Seheult

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Anti-Corruption, Ann Sultan, Nicole Gokcebay, Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile, Frank Fariello, Dmitri Lohvinski

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Tax, Sunita Doobay, Pamela A. Fuller, Henrique Lopes, Alexis Maguina, Robert J. Misey Jr., Luís Flávio Neto, Ricardo Rendón Pimentel, Eva Stadler

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Women's Interest Network, Dana Katz, Lisa Savitt, Hannah Alderks, Marie Elena Angulo, Melodie K. Arian, Michela Cocchi, Estefanía Díaz González, Haydee Dijkstal, Angela M. Gallerizzo, Dolly Hernandez, Kristina J. Holm, Elisa Kim, Christine Korper, Molly O'Casey, Sierra Paola, Sandhya Taneja, Leanna R. E. Torres

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity, Mark E. Wojcik

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.