Digital Commons Network^™

Offshoring And Subordinate Financialization In Developing Countries, Logan Kuegel

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This study will investigate the relationship between global value chain integration and financialization in the Global South. It is intended for policy research committees in international organizations such as the United Nations (Commission on Trade and Development Special Committee on Cization), the International Monetary Fund (Development Committee), the World Trade Organization, and World Bank. The global production network represents the international division of production through intermediate offshoring, while financialization represents the entrance of traditionally nonfinancial actors (namely firms, governments/banks, and households) into the financial system.

Attempting to use a heterodox framework, this paper builds upon literature that synthesizes the two …

Bolstering Resistance To Misinformation Through K-12 Education, Allison Johnson

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Misinformation online and in news media is a problem because it degrades truth and hinders legitimate democratic discourse. As misinformation becomes more prevalent, we need to start finding ways to limit the extent of the problem. To do so, I recommend a policy solution based on inoculation theory. Inoculation theory, as the name suggests, uses the metaphor of a vaccine. When receiving the flu shot, we get a weakened dose of the virus, which in turn helps us to create antibodies and later be more effective at fighting the real flu. In this instance, people are exposed to weakened doses …

Child Welfare And The Opioid Crisis In The Bluegrass State, Irina Mohler

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This brief discusses the challenges facing Kentucky's child welfare system, particularly due to the opioid epidemic, childhood adversity, mental health needs, and limited social services. Kentucky has one of the highest child neglect rates and opioid dispensing rates in the nation. The state's child welfare system includes services like the Child and Family Services Plan, Independent Living Program, and Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team (START), but it faces issues such as high caseloads and data gaps. It aims to emphasizes the importance of providing the highest standard of care for children in Kentucky and seeking effective recommendations by examining similar …

Generative And Ai Authored Artworks And Copyright Law, Michael D. Murray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Generative art linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is an extremely popular genre of art in the NFT universe. Many of the most famous NFT projects—CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, World of Women, Azuki, Chromie Squiggles, Clone X, and Moonbirds, just to name a few—involve generative art. But there is a potential copyrightability problem with generative art:

Under current United States copyright law, many examples of generative art might be held to be uncopyrightable.

Why does generative art fail in the copyrightability analysis? As discussed below, it is because the work might lack a human author. And at present, the U.S. …

Copyright Transformative Fair Use After Andy Warhol Foundation For The Visual Arts, Inc. V. Goldsmith, Michael D. Murray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

On May 18, 2023, the United States Supreme Court entered its opinion in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith. The Court examined the work of the renowned artist Andy Warhol (Warhol), posthumously represented by his eponymously named foundation, who had incorporated a significant portion of the visual elements from Lynn Goldsmith’s photograph of the deceased rock star Prince without Goldsmith’s permission. In a 7-2 opinion, the Court held that Warhol’s use of the Goldsmith photograph was not “transformative” and thus did not constitute fair use of the photographer’s work. This article will explain and analyze …

Interbranch Equity, Jonathan Shaub

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In recent years, Congress has increasingly turned to the courts to challenge executive actions. In these suits, the executive branch has strenuously pressed several distinct doctrinal arguments that interbranch cases are nonjusticiable and must be dismissed. These arguments, though expressed in the relevant language of each individual justiciability doctrine, are all centered on a single fundamental point—the judiciary should not be involved in refereeing a dispute that is solely between the legislative and executive branches. The briefs and judicial opinions explicitly identify a coherent category of cases—interbranch cases. But these cases are treated haphazardly as a matter of doctrine. Within …

Opioid Lawsuits: Is There Any End In Sight?, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Numerous lawsuits have been filed since 2014 against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retail pharmacies by state and local governments and other plaintiffs. Unfortunately, although some settlements with some defendants have been negotiated, a comprehensive “global” resolution of the opioid controversy remains elusive. This article traces the history of opioid litigation and considers whether there is a better way to deal with such a massive problem.

Making Sense Of “Commence” In The Clean Water Act’S Diligent Prosecution Bar, Isa Harrison

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Companies Over Countries: A More Pointed Approach To International Climate Treaties, Alex G. Woodward

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence And The Practice Of Law Part 1: Lawyers Must Be Professional And Responsible Supervisors Of Ai, Michael D. Murray

Law Faculty Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Paper Gowns, Cold Hands, Or Something Else? Black Women's Barriers To Gynecologic Screening, Nadia Ayesha Sesay

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Cervical cancer mortality burden is carried disproportionately by African American women. Early indicators of cervical cancer are identified through prevention screening, a procedure typically performed by a gynecologist. Ideally, the patient group with the most severe mortality would likewise be the group with the most robust communication exchange with their physician to prevent cervical cancer incidence. However, a slew of factors contributes to continued mortalities among Black women. This study uses semi-structured interviews (n=10) and the health belief model to examine one barrier to Black women’s prosocial behaviors regarding routine gynecologic care—awkwardness, which here is conceptualized as social anxiety. The …

Cold Calling In The Classroom: Exploring Student Perceptions Of Instructor Communication Using The Face Negotiation Theory, Cynthia Chinazo Nnagboro

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Using face negotiation theory (Ting-Toomey, 1988) as a theoretical framework, this dissertation sought to determine students’ perceptions of instructor communication during classroom discussions where instructors use cold calling tactics. According to FNT, students perceived that self-construal determines their face concern as either self, other/mutual face. Therefore, an instructor must determine the best facework strategies to prevent face loss during classroom discussions to maintain optimal student outcomes in communication satisfaction and motivation to participate. This was accomplished by using 8 hypothetical vignettes, a pilot test and an experiment that measured face threat, face support, student communication satisfaction and motivation, intention to …

The Influence Of Instructor Immediacy Beyond The Classroom: An Experimental Investigation Of Relational Messages During Office Hours, Adam Tristan

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation examines instructor relational messages during office hours. Office hours are one of the few pedological tools where instructors can engage with their students outside the classroom. Office hours, in general, are widely adopted at many US higher education institutions, yet the context is under-researched and, thus, worthy of exploration. According to rhetorical and relational goals theory (Mottet et al., 2006), some students prefer building relationships with their instructors; others prefer task-focused interactions. To acknowledge the students' relational needs while also addressing students’ academic concerns, instructors could employ instructor immediacy behaviors to achieve simultaneous goals. A 2 x 2 …

Identity And Perception Among Aspec Consumers Of Mass Media, Jericho Franke

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The portrayals of sex and romance, as well as asexuality and aromanticism, in mass media can have a profound impact on the way asexual and aromantic media consumers view relationships and their own identities, and affect the perception and treatment of the aspec community as a whole. This study uses mixed qualitative methods of online discourse analysis and participant interviews to examine the how mass media has shaped the self-perception and life experiences relating to sex and romance among aspec audience members.

‘It’S Like Flipping A Switch’: Understanding The Challenges, Expectations, And Identity Of High School Wrestlers, Aubree Herman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This study aims to understand the challenges and expectations of high school wrestlers, and how they are managing their social identities within the parameters of the sport. The rise of female wrestlers within the last decade and the hegemonic masculine roots of the sport show how imperative it is that research shed light into the unique experiences of high school wrestlers. Social identity theory was used as a theoretical framework and participants answered interview questions that discussed the three components of their social identity (i.e., cognitive, affective, and evaluative). They also identified challenges that they faced, the kind of expectations …

Leadership In Nonprofit Organizations: Best Practices For Volunteer Retention, Jennifer Lawrence

DSW Capstone Projects

While there is a significant amount of research focusing on organizational leadership in business and for-profit organizations, comparatively little data has been collected and studied to address the role of leadership in volunteer organizations. By closing this gap in research and providing context around leadership, nonprofit organizations can enhance leadership, culture and climate, and volunteer engagement and retention. Fewer Americans are engaging in volunteerism in their community than any other time in the past twenty years. The Systemic Literature Review will aid in recognizing and addressing this decline which is important as volunteer organizations provide needed services to people and …

Social Ties Across Audit Offices And Audit Quality, Wenyin Li

Theses and Dissertations--Accountancy

This dissertation explores the audit consequences of social ties across audit offices. Although recent studies have demonstrated the importance of auditors’ social ties in auditor performance, little is known about the role of social ties across audit offices in facilitating knowledge sharing within audit firms and their impact on audit quality. To fill this gap, this study employs the Facebook Social Connectedness Index to capture social ties across audit offices within the same audit firm. Drawing upon the organizational learning literature and social network literature, I predict and find that audit office-level social ties improve audit quality. In addition, the …

Hmgb2 Regulates The Differentiation And Stemness Of Exhausted Cd8+ T Cells During Chronic Viral Infection And Cancer, Emily N. Neubert, Julia M. Derogatis, Sloan A. Lewis, Karla M. Viramontes, Pedro Ortega, Monique L. Henriquez, Rémi Buisson, Ilhem Messaoudi, Roberto Tinoco

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Chronic infections and cancers evade the host immune system through mechanisms that induce T cell exhaustion. The heterogeneity within the exhausted CD8⁺ T cell pool has revealed the importance of stem-like progenitor (Tpex) and terminal (Tex) exhausted T cells, although the mechanisms underlying their development are not fully known. Here we report High Mobility Group Box 2 (HMGB2) protein expression is upregulated and sustained in exhausted CD8⁺ T cells, and HMGB2 expression is critical for their differentiation. Through epigenetic and transcriptional programming, we identify HMGB2 as a cell-intrinsic regulator of the differentiation and maintenance of Tpex cells during …

Enabling Dapps Data Exchange With Hardware-Assisted Secure Oracle Network, Yue Li

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Decentralized applications (dApps), enabled by the blockchain and smart contract technology, are known for allowing distrustful parties to execute business logic without relying on a central authority. Compared to regular applications, dApps offer a wide range of benefits, including security by design, trustless transactions, and resistance to censorship. However, dApps need to access real-world data to achieve their full potential, relying on the data oracles. Oracles act as bridges between blockchains and the outside world, providing essential data to the smart contracts that power dApps. A significant challenge in integrating oracles into the dApp ecosystem is the Oracle Problem …

2+1 Roadway Design Guidance Update, Jeff Jasper, Jeff Wolfe, Robin Baskette, Paul Ross, Chris Van Dyke

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The frequency and severity of crashes on rural two-lane roadways have increased in the US relative to other road types. This trend can be explained by the growing number of vehicles, higher speeds, narrow shoulders, and vehicle mixes. One solution for improving traffic flow and safety outcomes on rural two-lane roadways is to adopt a 2+1 design, which confers the benefits of four-lane highways but at a lower cost. Transportation agencies throughout Europe — and increasingly the US — have seen good results from 2+1 layouts. Crash data from Sweden, Germany, Finland, and Denmark reveal better safety outcomes following the …

Campylobacter Vaccination Reduces Diarrheal Disease And Infant Growth Stunting Among Rhesus Macaques, Sara M. Hendrickson, Archana Thomas, Hans-Peter Raué, Kamm Prongay, Andrew J. Haertel, Nicholas S. Rhoades, Jacob F. Slifka, Lina Gao, Benjamin K. Quintel, Ian J. Amanna, Ilhem Messaoudi, Mark K. Slifka

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Campylobacter-associated enteric disease is estimated to be responsible for more than 160 million cases of gastroenteritis each year and is linked to growth stunting of infants living under conditions of poor sanitation and hygiene. Here, we examine naturally occurring Campylobacter-associated diarrhea among rhesus macaques as a model to determine if vaccination could reduce severe diarrheal disease and infant growth stunting. Compared to unvaccinated controls, there are no Campylobacter diarrhea-associated deaths observed among vaccinated infant macaques and all-cause diarrhea-associated infant mortality is decreased by 76% (P = 0.03). By 9 months of age, there is a 1.3 cm increase in dorsal …

Three Essays On Consumption Taxation In Indonesia, Partomuan Transparenter Juniult

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Consumption taxes play a major role in revenue generation for many developing countries. They are also used to encourage or discourage certain consumption behaviors. However, the administrative aspects of implementing these taxes can create challenges for the tax authorities, and lead to distortions in taxpayer behavior. To overcome these challenges, efforts have been made to simplify policies and utilize technology to improve administration and compliance. My dissertation aims to provide empirical evidence on the effects of three consumption or commodity tax policy reforms in Indonesia. The dissertation consists of three essays as follows.

In my first essay, titled “The effect …

Giving Retakes Their Best Chance To Improve Learning., Thomas Data Guskey

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Assessment retakes can improve student learning if educators clear up a few misconceptions and avoid common missteps.

College Athletes As Defendants In Rape Trials: The Impact On Legal Decision-Making, Sophia Salyers

Lewis Honors College Thesis Collection

The issue of rape continues to be of concern in the United States. Rape is defined as any unwanted or forcible penetration without consent (United States Department of Justice, 2017). More specifically, rape can include sexual violence tactics such as force, threats, manipulation, or coercion (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2022). The magnitude of the issue of rape has been demonstrated, with adult rape data showing that on average, 319,950 people over the age of 12 were raped or sexually assaulted in the United States annually in 2020 (Morgan, 2021). Furthermore, every sixty-eight seconds an American is raped (Morgan). Finally, …

Retention Strategies Among Those On Community Supervision In The South: Lessons Learned During The Covid-19 Pandemic., Breana J. Uhrig Castonguay, Katherine Lemasters, Chris Corsi, Evan J. Batty, Taylor J. Krajewski, Madelene Travis, Craig Waleed, Carrie B. Oser, Kathryn M. Nowotny, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein

Sociology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Cohort studies must implement effective retention strategies to produce internally valid and generalizable results. Ensuring all study participants are retained, particularly those involved in the criminal legal system, ensures study findings and future interventions will be relevant to this group, who are often lost to follow-up: critical to achieving health equity. Our objective was to characterize retention strategies and describe overall retention among an 18-month longitudinal cohort study of persons on community supervision prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: We implemented various retention strategy best-practices (e.g., multiple forms of locator information, training study staff on rapport building, …

Migrant-Activist Evidentiary Practices In The Aegean Sea, Beatrice A. Abbott

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This project examines digital maps and images made by migrants and activists traversing or helping others to traverse the Greek-Turkish maritime border in 2015 and early 2016, when over a million people arrived to European shores, mostly by way of the Aegean Sea. These maps were made using applications such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, Maps.me, and WhatsApp and circulated on public Facebook groups and pages. Through a visual analysis of these digital artifacts, I look at how they can be read to witness and contest deadly border geographies produced through migratory policies and practices of deterrence. Further, I argue …

Real-Time Surveillance Of The Drug Epidemic: An Assessment And Comparative Visualization Of Substance Abuse In The Commonwealth Of Kentucky, Julia Van Hosen

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

The purpose of this study was to implement and examine a new surveillance system for Kentucky State Police’s forensics unit to track trends of illicit drugs and drug trafficking, and to see if the implementation of this new system was associated with a decrease in overall drug counts over a period of five months. An extensive review of the literature showed that the drug epidemic in the United States continues to worsen, with public health and law enforcement institutions leading the fight in attempting to end the epidemic, but little evidence showing these two joining forces to work together.

Results …

Moving Toward And Accessing Adult-Oriented Rehabilitation Therapy Services For Adults With Lifelong Disabilities: A Tale Of Three Studies, Catherine Gohrband

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

The aim of this dissertation was to explore how adults with a Lifelong Disability (LLD) access and experience rehabilitation therapy services across their lives. Many LLD diagnoses such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida are considered non-progressive; however, there are common challenges that occur as people with LLD become adults, including increased pain, fatigue, and functional loss. Literature addressing the needs of people with LLD to access adult-oriented medical providers has focused primarily on medical transitions, which have described the processes for pediatric patients moving to adult-oriented settings from pediatric settings. Few studies have addressed the rehabilitation therapy needs of …

Developing Ecologically Valid Clinical Tools For Persons With Tbi: Understanding The Role And Impact Of Distractions, Deanna Pinnow

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

There is a critical need for the development of ecologically valid clinical tools to assess real-life cognitive functioning in persons impacted by traumatic brain injury (TBI). Chronic cognitive impairments that are exacerbated by distractions are one of the core factors contributing to poor home and community re-integration post injury. Simulation-based digital platforms (i.e., virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality) have become potential solutions for eliciting real-world cognitive performance in clinical settings. Yet, there is a paucity of research investigating the role and impact of distractions on cognition. As a result, there is no clear framework of measuring distractions to …

Internalized Homonegativity And The Mental Health Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals: An Integrative Treatment Approach, David Kearby

DSW Capstone Projects

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (LGBI) have a higher rate of mental health disorders than the general population. The mental health disparities experienced by LGBI are positively correlated with higher internalized homonegativity (IH) levels, which impacts their functioning at the unconscious, cognitive, and interpersonal levels. Thus, effective interventions targeting the mental health of LGBI must consider IH's intrapsychic, cognitive, and interpersonal nature. An integrative psychotherapy approach addressing the mental health and IH of LGBI is needed to address the intrapsychic, cognitive, and interpersonal factors at play.

Product one of this capstone is a systematic literature review that identified psychotherapeutic interventions …