Digital Commons Network^™

A Method For Generating A Non-Manual Feature Model For Sign Language Processing, Robert G. Smith Dr, Markus Hofmann Dr

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While recent approaches to sign language processing have shifted to the domain of Machine Learning (ML), the treatment of Non-Manual Features (NMFs) remains an open question. The principal challenge facing this method is the comparatively small sign language corpora available for training machine learning models. This study produces a statistical model which may be used in future ML, rules-based, and hybrid-learning approaches for sign language processing tasks. In doing so, this research explores the emerging patterns of non-manual articulation concerning grammatical classes in Irish Sign Language (ISL). The experimental method applied here is a novel implementation of an association rules …

Deep Sea Nature-Based Solutions To Climate Change, Nathalie Hilmi, Michael Sutherland, Shekoofeh Farahmand, Gunnar Haraldsson, Erik Van Doorn, Ekkehard Ernst, Mary S. Wisz, Astrid Claudel Rusin, Laura G. Elsler, Lisa A. Levin

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The deep sea (below 200 m depth) is the largest carbon sink on Earth. It hosts abundant biodiversity that underpins the carbon cycle and provides provisioning, supporting, regulating and cultural ecosystem services. There is growing attention to climate-regulating ocean ecosystem services from the scientific, business and political sectors. In this essay we synthesize the unique biophysical, socioeconomic and governance characteristics of the deep sea to critically assess opportunities for deep-sea blue carbon to mitigate climate change. Deep-sea blue carbon consists of carbon fluxes and storage including carbon transferred from the atmosphere by the inorganic and organic carbon pumps to deep …

Tax Reporting As Regulation Of Digital Financial Markets, Young Ran (Christine) Kim

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FTX’s recent collapse highlights the overall instability that blockchain assets and digital financial markets face. While the use of blockchain technology and crypto assets is widely prevalent, the associated market is still largely unregulated, and the future of digital asset regulation is also unclear. The lack of clarity and regulation has led to public distrust and has called for more dedicated regulation of digital assets. Among those regulatory efforts, tax policy plays an important role. This Essay introduces comprehensive regulatory frameworks for blockchain-based assets that have been introduced globally and domestically, and it shows that tax reporting is the key …

Race Ethics: Colorblind Formalism And Color-Coded Pragmatism In Lawyer Regulation, Anthony V. Alfieri

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The recent, high-profile civil and criminal trials held in the aftermath of the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery murders, the Kyle Rittenhouse killings, and the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" Rally violence renew debate over race, representation, and ethics in the U.S. civil and criminal justice systems. For civil rights lawyers, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys, neither the progress of post-war civil rights movements and criminal justice reform campaigns nor the advance of Critical Race Theory and social movement scholarship have resolved the debate over the use of race in pretrial, trial, and appellate advocacy, and in the lawyering process more …

Ireland’S Response To Domestic, Sexual And Gender-Based Violence: An Interview With Orla O’Connor, Deirdre Kelly

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Orla O’Connor is the Director of the “National Women’s Council of Ireland” (NWCI), the leading national women’s membership organisation with over
190 member groups. She has held senior management roles in several non-governmental organisations for over 25 years. Time magazine recognised her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2019 for her role as Co-director of “Together for Yes”, the successful national civil society campaign that was influential in Ireland voting overwhelmingly in favour of removing the Eighth Amendment from the Constitution, a landmark referendum, which led to the legalisation of abortion in 2018. In addition to campaigning …

An Analysis Of The Impact And Efficacy Of An Online Mindfulness-Based Intervention As A Support For First-Year University Students, Wyndham Chalmers, Aiden Carthy, Maria Kenneally, Niamh Bruce, Colm Mcguinness, Philip Owende

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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many university courses transitioned to online delivery, therefore, educators and students faced new challenges associated with the delivery of modules and the provision of necessary student supports. Given the scale of this transition, it is likely that many universities will continue to teach remotely far beyond the reach of any pandemic specific restrictions. This study sought to explore the impact and efficacy of a five-week online mindfulness course to a cohort of first year university students (n = 25) at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. Results demonstrated that participation in the course …

Rethinking Resilience Using The R-Factor: Neurobiological Mechanisms Of Static And Dynamic Components Of Resilience Following Trauma, Sanne Van Rooij, Justin Santos, Cecilia A. Hinojosa, Timothy Ely, Nathaniel Harnett, Vishnu P. Murty, Lauren Lebois, Tanja Jovanovic, Stacey House, Robert A. Swor

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Resilience is a dynamic process of recovery after trauma, but in most studies it is conceptualized as the absence of specific psychopathology following trauma. Using the large emergency department AURORA study (n=1,865, 63% women), we took a longitudinal, dynamic and transdiagnostic approach to define a static resilience (r) factor, that could explain >50% of variance in mental wellbeing 6-months following trauma, and a dynamic r-factor, which represented recovery from initial symptoms. We assessed its neurobiological profile across threat, inhibition, and reward processes using fMRI collected 2-weeks post-trauma. Our neuroimaging results suggest that resilience is promoted by activation of higher-level cognitive …

Optical Characterisation Of Holographic Diffusers And Bangerter Foils For Treatment Of Amblyopia, Matthew Hellis, Suzanne Martin, Matthew Sheehan, Kevin Murphy

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Amblyopia is a significant issue for children worldwide, and current treatment methods have drawbacks that can hinder treatment effectiveness and/or patient experience. This study proposes a new treatment method using holographic diffusers while also comparing their optical characteristics to a current treatment method (Bangerter foils). Holographic diffusers were developed by optically patterning thin polymer layers on a micron scale. Two compositions of photopolymer (acrylamide and diacetone acrylamide based) are analysed herein. Characterisation shows that holographic diffusers of either composition can achieve a wide range of on-axis intensity reductions, allowing for precise and customisable treatment levels by altering recording exposure time …

The Examination Of Potato Starch Granules Under The Microscope, Roisin Burke

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No abstract provided.

(Some) Land Back...Sort Of: The Transfer Of Federal Public Lands To Indian Tribes Since 1970, Audrey Glendenning, Martin Nie, Monte Mills

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Federal public lands in the United States were carved from the territories of Native Nations and, in nearly every instance, required that the United States extinguish pre-existing aboriginal title. Following acquisition of these lands, the federal government pursued various strategies for them, including disposal to states and private parties, managing lands to allow for multiple uses, and conservation or protection. After over a century of such varied approaches, the modern public landscape is a complex milieu of public and private interests, laws and policies, and patchwork ownership patterns. This complexity depends on—and begins with—the history of Indigenous dispossession but subsequent …

Biopolymer-Based Sustainable Food Packaging Materials: Challenges, Solutions, And Applications, Kalpani Y. Perera, Amit Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

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Biopolymer-based packaging materials have become of greater interest to the world due to their biodegradability, renewability, and biocompatibility. In recent years, numerous biopolymers—such as starch, chitosan, carrageenan, polylactic acid, etc.—have been investigated for their potential application in food packaging. Reinforcement agents such as nanofillers and active agents improve the properties of the biopolymers, making them suitable for active and intelligent packaging. Some of the packaging materials, e.g., cellulose, starch, polylactic acid, and polybutylene adipate terephthalate, are currently used in the packaging industry. The trend of using biopolymers in the packaging industry has increased immensely; therefore, many legislations have been approved …

Book Review: Taxation In The Digital Economy: New Models In Asia And The Pacific, Edited By Nella Hendriyetty, Chris Evans, Chul Ju Kim, And Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, Sanyukta Chowdhury

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Book Review: Taxation in the Digital Economy: New Models in Asia and the Pacific, edited by Nella Hendriyetty, Chris Evans, Chul Ju Kim, and Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary

The Market-Essential Role Of Corporate Climate Disclosure, George S. Georgiev

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This Article focuses on capital market efficiency as an often-downplayed legal rationale for mandating corporate climate disclosure, and explores it alongside the notion of investor demand, which has assumed a prominent and, increasingly, contested role in debates on climate disclosure. Because market efficiency (encompassing both securities price accuracy and overall capital market allocative efficiency) is generally unobservable, many commentators have instead emphasized the highly visible investor demand for climate-related disclosure as evidenced by shareholder proposals, voting behavior, stewardship policies, and public statements. Unfortunately, investor demand can be disputed, sometimes fairly but most often unfairly, because investor preferences are heterogeneous, dynamic, …

A Arte Das Metáforas Científicas, Susan Haack

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No abstract provided.

Creating An Emulsion From Onions, Roisin Burke

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No abstract provided.

Definition And Characteristic Features Of A ‘Cultural Flashpoint’: A Case Study Of Exploring Masculinities, A Controversial Gender And Education Programme In Ireland, Joan Hanafin, Paul Conway, Cormac O Beaglaoich, Jack Hanafin

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The concept ‘cultural flashpoint’ (CF) has not been fully defined or described. The authors test this concept through the prism of a controversial gender-focused Irish school programme, Exploring Masculinities (EM). Adopting an instrumental case study methodology, they use media content analysis to develop a temporal trajectory of the CF, describe its shape, explicit and implied contentious themes, and its process. They identify characteristic features of a cultural flashpoint: (i) a focal issue, event and/or object; (ii) conflict; (iii) bounded time period; (iv) the involvement of exo- and multi-sectoral individuals and groups; (v) randomness, opaqueness and conflation among its expressions; and …

Considerations For Scaling A Social Enterprise: Key Factors And Elements, Clodagh O'Reilly, Lucia Walsh, Ziene Mottiar

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The number of social enterprises has grown exponentially in recent times. International research regarding how social enterprises scale is starting to emerge and is becoming an area of increased focus. Due to their hybridity, social enterprises experience unique scaling challenges, and research has started to examine these experiences. This theoretical paper reviews existing literature on social enterprise scaling and, based on this, proposes a conceptual model for understanding the interdependent factors and elements social enterprises must navigate when scaling. The proposed conceptual model will provide a base for further empirical research. When validated, it will also provide a practical tool …

Rethinking Party Autonomy In Trust Law, Stewart E. Sterk

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The article critiques the current approach to party autonomy in trust law, particularly the freedom granted by the Second Restatement of Conflict of Laws for settlors to choose the governing law for their trusts. The author argues that this freedom, rooted in historically uniform trust laws, is now outdated due to the diversification of state trust laws, especially regarding issues like perpetual trusts and asset protection. The analysis advocates for a more restrictive approach to party autonomy, prioritizing the settlor's domicile and home state policies to prevent manipulation and ensure fairness, particularly for third parties affected by trust arrangements.

A More Perfect Union For Whom?, Emmanuel Hiram Arnaud

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Amending the federal Constitution has been instrumental in creating and developing the North American constitutional project. The difficult process embedded in Article V has been used by “The People” to expand rights and democracy, fix procedural deficiencies, and even overturn Supreme Court precedent. Yet, it is no secret that the amendment process has fallen to the wayside and that a constitutional amendment in our present age of extreme political polarization feels impossible.

Our nation’s history suggests otherwise. In John F. Kowal and Wilfred U. Codrington III’s exciting and inspirational new book, they explain that interest in constitutional amendments has coincided …

The State Of Accessibility In Blackboard: Survey And User Reviews Case Study, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer, Wajdi Aljedaani, Stephanie Ludi, Mohammed Alkahtani, Marcelo M. Eler, Marouane Kessentini, Ali Ouni

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Context: Nowadays, mobile applications (or apps) have become vital in our daily life, particularly within education. Many institutions increasingly rely on mobile apps to provide access to all their students. However, many education mobile apps remain inaccessible to users with disabilities who need to utilize accessibility features like talkback or screen reader features. Accessibility features have to be considered in mobile apps to foster equity and inclusion in the educational environment allowing to use of such apps without limitations. Gaps in the accessibility to educational systems persist.

Objective: In this paper, we focus on the accessibility of the Blackboard mobile …

Responses To Many Anti-Aging Interventions Are Sexually Dimorphic., Andrzej Bartke, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup

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There is increasing appreciation that sex differences are not limited to reproductive organs or traits related to reproduction and that sex is an important biological variable in most characteristics of a living organism. The biological process of aging and aging-related traits are no exception and exhibit numerous, often major, sex differences. This article explores one aspect of these differences, namely sex differences in the responses to anti-aging interventions. Aging can be slowed down and/or postponed by a variety of environmental ("lifestyle"), genetic or pharmacological interventions. Although many, particularly older studies utilized only one sex of experimental animals, there is considerable …

Responses To Many Anti-Aging Interventions Are Sexually Dimorphic., Andrzej Bartke, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup

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There is increasing appreciation that sex differences are not limited to reproductive organs or traits related to reproduction and that sex is an important biological variable in most characteristics of a living organism. The biological process of aging and aging-related traits are no exception and exhibit numerous, often major, sex differences. This article explores one aspect of these differences, namely sex differences in the responses to anti-aging interventions. Aging can be slowed down and/or postponed by a variety of environmental ("lifestyle"), genetic or pharmacological interventions. Although many, particularly older studies utilized only one sex of experimental animals, there is considerable …

Novel Block Grid Analysis (Bga) Based Algorithm For Use In Determining Coefficients Of Similarities Between Uv Fluorescent Spectra, Kevin N. Mellon Dr, Noel Carey Mr

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This paper presents a novel computational process used for determining matching coefficients for optical spectra either in real time or from a database. This simple algorithmic method is capable of outputting a set of coefficients relating to comparative matching datapoints and to a weighted similarity ratio between spectra whilst still maintaining high computational efficiency due to the minimization of floating-point calculations. The process works as effectively on signal data during real time processing or on images of spectra which may be stored in a database. A subset of the algorithm has already been used very effectively in an embedded mobile …

Fatty Acid, Carotenoid And Fat-Soluble Vitamin Composition Of Multispecies Swards Grown In Ireland—Implications For A Sustainable Feed In Dairy Farming, Samuel Rapisarda, Graham O'Neill, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

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Although traditional ryegrass pastures are still commonly used, they require intense management and input and do not perform well during the summer months. Multispecies systems have been recognised as more sustainable, needing less fertiliser and being tolerant to drought and heat. While data on monoculture system fat composition exist, information for multispecies is scarce. The present study compared the fatty acid (FA), carotenoid and fat-soluble composition of a multispecies system (consisting of perennial ryegrass, timothy, white clover, red clover, chicory and plantain) (MULTI) with two other conventional grazing systems (monoculture perennial ryegrass (PRG) and a binary mixture of perennial ryegrass …

The Replication Crisis And Ip Law: A Novel Policy Tool For Open Science, Or Cohen Sasson, Ofer Tur‐Sinai

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In recent years, the scientific community has faced a considerable problem the replication crisis. Replication is the process of verifying scientific findings by repeating a published study. It is considered a cornerstone of the scientific enterprise, contributing to the credibility of research findings. Over the past two decades, however, replication has become increasingly difficult; in fact, in some disciplines the non-replicability rate is over 50%. A major factor accounting for this is diminished access to research materials required for replication (replication materials). This problem is particularly acute in computational studies, where the code, software documentation, datasets, and other information are …

"Communities That Care": Incorporating Socially Engaged Artistic Practices Into Clinical Legal Education, Bernard P. Perlmutter, Xavier Cortada

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This Article, co-authored by a law school clinician and an artist and lawyer, explores collaborations between the artist, a child advocacy clinic, and its clients (children in state foster care) in building a community that empowers clients by giving them voice through both traditional legal advocacy and non-traditional forms of socially engaged artistic expression. The Article aims to address some of the challenges and benefits of clinics creating alliances with artists and community-based arts organizations as part of their teaching and advocacy missions. We describe and provide examples of the practice of law as a creative exercise and argue that …

The Ties That Bind Us: An Empirical, Clinical, And Constitutional Argument Against Terminating Parental Rights, Vivek S. Sankaran, Christopher Church

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This Article explores the unnecessary termination of a child's relationship with their parent from an empirical, clinical, and constitutional lens. Part I explores administrative data related to TPR, which like many child protection metrics, resembles nothing short of a wild west of practices and policies relating to how often and how fast child protection systems terminate parental rights. These data also reveal how TPR can unnecessarily delay legal permanency for children, particularly those children who are living with extended family, and how a State pursuing TPR can drain its own scarce resources, a system perpetually decrying insufficient resources. Part II …

Who Owns Data? Constitutional Division In Cyberspace, Dongsheng Zang

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Privacy emerged as a concern as soon as the internet became commercial. In early 1995, Lawrence Lessig warned that the internet, though giving us extraordinary potential, was “not designed to protect individuals against this extraordinary potential for others to abuse.” The same technology can “destroy the very essence of what now defines individuality.” Lessig urged that “a constitutional balance will have to be drawn between these increasingly important interests in privacy, and the competing interest in collective security.” Lessig envisioned that creating property rights in data would help individuals by giving them control of their data. As utopian as property …

Jury-Related Errors In Copyright, Zahr K. Said

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Copyright law is surprisingly hard. Copyright does not do what laypeople think it does, nor do its terms mean what laypeople expect. Copyright also possesses systemic indeterminacy about what it protects and the extent of that protection. For laypeople, copyright law is decidedly “user-unfriendly.” Nonetheless, copyright law reserves for lay jurors its most-litigated, most difficult, and most consequential question at trial: whether works are “substantially similar” and thus infringing.

Many have criticized this allocation because in the context of copyright law, juries effectively have the power to expand or contract owners’ rights with little oversight or correction. But blaming the …

Dual Sovereignty In The U.S. Territories, Emmanuel Hiram Arnaud

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This Essay examines the emergence and application of the “ultimate source” test and sheds light on the dual sovereign doctrine’s patently colonial framework, particularly highlighting the paternalistic relationship it has produced between federal and territorial prosecutorial authorities.