Digital Commons Network^™

Reducing Consumer–Brand Incongruity Through Corporate Social Responsibility And Brand Trust: Exploring Negative Word-Of- Mouth (Nwom), Petek Tosun, Sandy Ipeker Cagliyor, Merve Yanar Gürce

Faculty Scholarship

Drawing upon consumer–brand disidentification theory and balance theory, this study examines symbolic and ideological incongruity in consumer–brand relationships through an original conceptual model shaped by negative past experiences, brand trust, perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR), and negative word-of- mouth (NWOM). A preliminary study was conducted to explore the dimensions of consumers' negative past experiences by topic detection. Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling was undertaken to analyze online consumer reviews (n = 6095) about a coffee chain brand. The dimensions detected in this preliminary study were included in the research model and further analyzed in the main study. The main …

Fail Fast, Fail Small: Designing Resilient Systems For The Future Of Software Engineering, Jill Willard, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The principles of "fail fast, fail small" have emerged as critical in modern software and system design. By planning for minor, manageable failures instead of catastrophic breakdowns, developers can ensure that systems degrade gracefully, maintaining functionality even when encountering issues. This article delves into strategies for designing resilient systems, beginning with the concept of slow degradation and distributed systems that prioritize core functions while allowing non-critical components to fail without significant user impact. The Netflix recommendation engine serves as a prime example of a system that continues to operate under failure conditions. Chaos engineering, a proactive methodology for stress-testing system …

Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, And Associated Traditional Knowledge, N.S. Gopalakrishnan, Srividhya Ragavan, Narendran Thiruthy

Faculty Scholarship

The recently concluded WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge mandates disclosure requirements in patent applications, thereby creating an obligation to attribute the use of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The WIPO member countries thus have an opportunity to modify their national patent laws, so that they can effectively control genetic resources and traditional knowledge. This article examines the choices that the biodiversity-rich countries have when designing their national legal systems to implement the treaty.

Neurological Foundations And Technological Interventions For Dyslexia: Advancements And Challenges, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Dyslexia, a complex neurological condition affecting reading and language processing, is intricately tied to variations in brain structure and function. This article explores the neurological underpinnings of dyslexia, emphasizing phonological, visual, and attention-related impairments. Furthermore, the analysis highlights various types of dyslexia—phonological, surface, rapid automatized naming, and visual—while addressing their neurological correlations. It also investigates the relationship between dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions, such as autism and ADHD, focusing on the neurological overlap and differences. To mitigate the challenges associated with dyslexia, advanced technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and eye-tracking are discussed for their diagnostic and intervention potential. These …

Speaking Collectively: The First Amendment, The Public Sector, And The Right To Bargain And Strike, Kate Andrias

Faculty Scholarship

How is it that the Supreme Court has not understood collective bargaining and strikes among public sector workers to fall within the First Amendment’s ambit? Public sector union activity involves expression, assembly, association, and petitioning. Workers’ ability to form unions and to engage in concerted action in support of their shared goals is an important part of democratic governance. Through unions, workers engage in active citizenship; through association with one another, they express their views collectively and engage the government and the public on issues of public concern. Indeed, in the context of protecting the putative speech rights of union …

The False Choice Between Digital Regulation And Innovation, Anu Bradford

Faculty Scholarship

This Article challenges the common view that more stringent regulation of the digital economy inevitably compromises innovation and undermines technological progress. This view, vigorously advocated by the tech industry, has shaped the public discourse in the United States, where the country’s thriving tech economy is often associated with a staunch commitment to free markets. U.S. lawmakers have also traditionally embraced this perspective, which explains their hesitancy to regulate the tech industry to date. The European Union has chosen another path, regulating the digital economy with stringent data privacy, antitrust, content moderation, and other digital regulations designed to shape the evolution …

The State Statutes Project, Neel Guha, Diego A. Zambrano

Faculty Scholarship

State statutes are having a moment in national debates. Partly fueled by polarization, state legislatures have pushed the boundaries on almost every important national question, from abortion and regulation of social media, all the way to police lawsuits and drug use. Take, for instance, the by now well-known example of Texas Senate Bill 8. To avoid Roe v. Wade, the Texas Legislature enacted a statute that allowed private parties (really, anyone) to sue abortion providers. The kicker was that the statute prohibited government enforcement in order to prevent Ex parte Young style challenges in federal court. Or take Montana’s attempt …

A High-Tech Wreck: Hipaa Roadblocks To Texting Patients, Jonathan Fanaroff

Faculty Scholarship

Protecting the private and confidential information entrusted to health care professionals is a core principle dating back to the Hippocratic Oath. At the same time, effective health communication is essential to build trust and allow patients and families to understand and participate as true members of the team. Although it is not often discussed, there can be a tension between legal security regulations designed to protect confidentiality and the ability to effectively communicate with families. The main source of this tension in the United States is related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). At the dawn of …

Prazosin As An Adjuvant To Increase Effectiveness Of Duloxetine In A Rat Model Of Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy, Monica A. Wagner, Naji Ayyash

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: Duloxetine, the only American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) treatment recommended for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in cancer survivors, is not effective for 40% of survivors. This study examined the ability of a duloxetine-prazosin combination to prevent the development of allodynia and hyperalgesia in a rat model of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OPIN). Methods: Female (n = 24) and male (n = 41) rats were started on duloxetine (15 mg), prazosin (2 mg), or a duloxetine-prazosin combination one week prior to administration of the chemotherapy drug, oxaliplatin, and continued the duloxetine-prazosin combination for 32 days. Behavioral testing for mechanical allodynia …

The Intangible Divide: Why Do So Few Firms Invest In Innovation?, James Bessen, Xiupeng Wang

Faculty Scholarship

Investments in software, R&D, and advertising have grown rapidly, now approaching half of U.S. private nonresidential investment. Yet just a few hundred firms account for almost all this growth. Most firms, including many large ones, regularly invest little in capitalized software and R&D, and this "intangible divide" has surprisingly deepened as intangible prices have fallen relative to other assets. Using comprehensive US Census microdata, we document these patterns and explore a variety of factors associated with intangible investment. We find that firms invest significantly less in innovation-related intangibles when their rivals invest more. One firm's investment can obsolesce rivals' investments, …

Common Measures Of Vaccination Intention Generate Substantially Different Estimates That Can Reduce Predictive Validity, Jessica Fishman, K. Aleks Schaefer, Daniel Scheitrum, Christopher Robertson, Dolores Albarracin

Faculty Scholarship

Surveys often estimate vaccination intentions using dichotomous ("Yes"/"No") or trichotomous ("Yes," "Unsure," "No") response options presented in different orders. Do survey results depend on these variations? This controlled experiment randomized participants to dichotomous or trichotomous measures of vaccine intentions (with “Yes” and “No” options presented in different orders). Intentions were measured separately for COVID-19, its booster, and influenza vaccines. Among a sample of U.S. adults (N = 4,764), estimates of vaccine intention varied as much as 37.5 ± 17.4 percentage points as a function of the dichotomous or trichotomous response set. Among participants who had not received the COVID-19 vaccine, …

Contracting Hoop Dreams: Using Sports Law To Teach Transactional Practice, Cody Jacobs

Faculty Scholarship

One of the places I find the most joy in teaching legal writing is problem development—writing compelling factual scenarios that give students interesting legal issues to work through is rewarding and fun.  The best prompts will motivate students to really jump into their role representing their client and encourage them to think about the “big picture”—how the law ties into social, political, and economic structures in society at large.  Much has been written about the best ways to do this in the context of litigation assignments (briefs, memos, etc.), but there has been less discussion about problem creation in the …

Impact Of Body Mass Index And Vo2 Max On Symptoms, Physical Activity, And Physical Function In A Multinational Sample Of People With Hiv, Christine Horvat Davey, Deepesh Duwadi

Faculty Scholarship

People with HIV (PWH) are at increased risk for metabolic disorders affecting body mass index (BMI), chronic symptoms, and impaired physical function and capacity. Although physical activity improves health and well-being, PWH often do not meet activity recommendations necessary to achieve these benefits. Despite the known impact of symptoms, physical activity, and physical function on health, little is known about the relationships and interactions between these variables and BMI and maximum oxygen consumption during exercise (VO2 max) in a multinational population of PWH. We examined the relationship of BMI with PROMIS-29 measures, physical activity, strength, flexibility, and VO2 max in …

Kindlin-2 Regulates The Oncogenic Activities Of Integrins And Tgf-Β In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Progression And Metastasis, Neelum Aziz Yousafzai, Lamyae El Khalki, Wei Wang, Khailid Sossey-Alaoui

Faculty Scholarship

Kindlin-2, an adapter protein, is dysregulated in various human cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), where it drives tumor progression and metastasis by influencing several cancer hallmarks. One well-established role of Kindlin-2 involves the regulation of integrin signaling, achieved by directly binding to the cytoplasmic tail of the integrin β subunit. In this study, we present novel insights into Kindlin-2’s involvement in stabilizing the β1-Integrin:TGF-β type 1 receptor (TβRI) complexes, acting as a physical bridge that links β1-Integrin to TβRI. Loss of Kindlin-2 results in the degradation of this protein complex, leading to the inhibition of downstream oncogenic pathways. We …

Carbon Isotope Budget Indicates Biological Disequilibrium Dominated Ocean Carbon Storage At The Last Glacial Maximum, Anne Willem Omta

Faculty Scholarship

Understanding the causes of the ~90 ppmv atmospheric CO2 swings between glacial and interglacial climates is an important open challenge in paleoclimate research. Although the regularity of the glacial-interglacial cycles hints at a single driving mechanism, Earth System models require many independent physical and biological processes to explain the full observed CO2 signal. Here we show that biologically sequestered carbon in the ocean can explain an atmospheric CO2 change of 75 ± 40 ppmv, based on a mass balance calculation using published carbon isotopic measurements. An analysis of the carbon isotopic signatures of different water masses indicates similar regenerated carbon …

Adaptive Worlds: Generative Ai In Game Design And Future Of Gaming, And Interactive Media, Jay Ratican, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Generative AI is revolutionizing the field of game design, introducing unprecedented adaptability and personalization in gameplay. The latest advancements in AI-driven engines enable real-time content creation, offering dynamic, player-driven experiences that diverge from traditional pre-programmed narratives. This shift marks a transition toward "choose your own adventure" formats, with an unlimited number of variations in levels, enemies, collectibles, and weaponry, tailored to each player's decisions. Google's GameNGen, for example, showcases AI's capacity to recreate classic games like DOOM, learning and generating gameplay in real time. These innovations are not restricted to gaming alone; they extend to edutainment, television, and film, where …

A 6-Month, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial Of Customized Adherence Enhancement Versus A Bipolar-Specific Educational Control In Poorly Adherent Adolescents And Young Adults Living With Bipolar Disorder, Jennifer B. Levin, Molly Mcvoy, Joy Yala, Jessica Black, Carla Conroy, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Few studies have addressed medication adherence in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with bipolar disorder (BD). This 6-month prospective randomized-controlled trial (RCT) tested customized adherence enhancement for adolescents and young adults (CAE-AYA), a behavioral intervention for AYAs versus enhanced treatment as usual (ETAU). Methods: Inclusion criteria were AYAs age 13–21 with BD type I or II with suboptimal adherence defined as missing ≥20% of medications. Assessments were conducted at Screening, Baseline, and weeks 8, 12 and 24. Primary outcome was past 7 day self-reported Tablets Routine Questionnaire (TRQ) validated by electronic pillbox monitoring (SimpleMed). Symptom measures included the Hamilton …

Physiological Role For S-Nitrosylation Of Ryr1 In Skeletal Muscle Function And Development, Qi-An Sun, Zachary W. Grimmett, Douglas T. Hess, Zhaoxia Qian, Ruchi Chaube, Nicholas M. Venetos, Bradley N. Plummer, Kenneth R. Laurita, Richard T. Premont, Jonathan S. Stamler

Faculty Scholarship

Excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle myofibers depends upon Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum through the ryanodine receptor/Ca2+-release channel RyR1. The RyR1 contains ∼100 Cys thiols of which ∼30 comprise an allosteric network subject to posttranslational modification by S-nitrosylation, S-palmitoylation and S-oxidation. However, the role and function of these modifications is not understood. Although aberrant S-nitrosylation of multiple unidentified sites has been associated with dystrophic diseases, malignant hyperthermia and other myopathic syndromes, S-nitrosylation in physiological situations is reportedly specific to a single (1 of ∼100) Cys in RyR1, Cys3636 in a manner gated by pO2. Using mice expressing a form …

Navigating Life: Neuroscience And Inclusive Design In Wayfinding Systems, Stephanie Jost, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Wayfinding, as conceptualized by Lynch, has transformed from traditional navigation methods reliant on visual cues and landmarks to modern systems that integrate digital technologies and neuroscience. This study addresses the need for accessible and consistent wayfinding systems that accommodate diverse user abilities, particularly in complex environments such as public transit, hospitals, and large institutions. Current systems often lack coordination, clear signage, and comprehensive coverage, leading to navigation challenges. Through a multi-method approach, including literature review and case study analysis, this research evaluates best practices for inclusive wayfinding. Key findings emphasize the importance of consistent visual design, strategic sign placement, and …

Satirical Deepfakes, Surreal Dreamscapes & Nostalgic Pixels: The Rapid Evolution And Cultural Commentary Of Ai-Aesthetics, Andrew Smith, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The rapid evolution of visual aesthetics driven by AI, shared globally through the internet and social media, has dramatically accelerated what once took centuries to develop. This article explores the unique visual tropes emerging from AI-generated content, characterized by surreal, uncanny, and often unsettling imagery. Examples range from the Dor Brothers' stylized narrative videos to horrifying depictions of transformations, such as people morphing into motorcycles. The article contextualizes this aesthetic within historical developments in creative experimentation, drawing parallels with David Bowie's unconventional approach to sound creation in the 1970s. It also considers how AI-driven art, free from copyright constraints in …

Ai Satire And Digital Dystopia: The Dor Brothers Crafting Imperfection And Political Commentary In Contemporary Video Art, James Hutson, Andrew Smith

Faculty Scholarship

The Dor Brothers' AI-generated video content exemplifies an inflection point in digital creativity, where technological limitations are repurposed as aesthetic tools. Drawing on recent interviews with Yonatan Dor, this article explores the innovative techniques of the brothers, such as masking visual imperfections with retro filters and embracing the unpredictability of AI outputs. Through generating numerous clips and meticulously editing selections, they create a unique aesthetic that juxtaposes surrealism with a gritty realism, often reminiscent of early CCTV or VHS footage. Their work not only transcends the typical "morphing face" trope of AI videos but also engages in satire, using deepfake-like …

Contemplating Existence: Ai And The Meaning Of Life, Emily Barnes, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) with existential philosophy, examining how AI technologies influence human conceptualizations of purpose and meaning. Despite rapid advancements in AI, the domain's implications for existential thought remain underexplored. By integrating interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology, philosophy, and AI ethics, this study elucidates how AI can shape, challenge, or enhance our understanding of life's purpose. It investigates theoretical frameworks and practical implementations of AI engaging in existential questions, analyzing both the capabilities and limitations of AI systems such as ChatGPT in simulating human existential thought. The ethical implications of AI's role in existential inquiries …

Enhancing History Education With Google Notebooklm: Case Study Of Mary Easton Sibley’S Diary For Multimedia Content And Podcast Creation, Paul Huffman, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores new features of Google’s NotebookLM, an AI-powered tool designed for advanced document analysis and educational content generation. Tested on the 92-page transcribed diary of Mary Easton Sibley, the founder of Lindenwood University, NotebookLM effectively generated FAQs, a study guide, a table of contents, a briefing document, and an audio overview in podcast format. By transforming static historical documents into dynamic learning materials, the document-based AI model provides a user-friendly interface for educators and students, especially those without experience in audio editing or podcasting. While successful in creating study guides and audio formats, the tool faced challenges in …

Administrative Arrest Warrants: Armed Encounters Outside The Judicial Process, Meg Penrose

Faculty Scholarship

This Article considers three related questions. First, is a person “seized” under the Fourth Amendment when law enforcement restricts a person’s movements in their home and limits their ability to leave or go about their business? Second, does the answer to this seizure inquiry turn on the person’s citizenship status? And third, how do lawyers ensure that courts discard bad law? This last question is not a qualitative assessment— with good and bad law being tied to one’s legal ideology. Rather, certain legal holdings, dating back over half a century, have been whittled away if not entirely eroded. When this …

Technoculture And Language Models In Archaeology: Reconstructing And Preserving Cultural Narratives Through Digital Humanities, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Technoculture, which examines the intersection of culture and technology, has increasingly permeated archaeological practice, transforming both scholarly research and public engagement [1-3]. The introduction of digital tools such as virtual reality (VR), geographic information systems (GIS), and large language models (LLMs) has democratized access to archaeological knowledge, enabling communities to engage more actively with their cultural heritage [4-6]. This short article explores the mutual influence of technocultural studies and AI technologies on archaeology, with a focus on the preservation and reconstruction of cultural narratives through digital means.

The first aspect of this intersection lies in how technocultural tools are creating …

Going "Beyond" Mere Transformation: Warhol And Reconciliation Of The Derivative Work Right And Fair Use, Shyamkrishna Balganesh, Peter S. Menell

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith is a watershed moment in the story of copyright jurisprudence. At its broadest, the decision articulates a unified vision — one that had been dormant in the lower court fair use jurisprudence — about the role of copyright and the manner in which to make sense of its effort to balance exclusivity with its myriad limitations. This Essay focuses on how the Court reconciled the working of the statute’s derivative work right with the breadth and reach of the “transformative use” version of the fair …

The Surprising Survival – So Far – Of The Corporate Contribution Ban, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court invalidated the longstanding ban on the expenditure of corporate funds in federal election campaigns. In so doing, the Court dismissed outright an argument that had long been the foundation for the restriction of corporate money in election campaigns — that, due to the “substantial aggregations of wealth amassed by the special advantages which go with the corporate form[,]” corporate money poses a distinct threat to the integrity of democracy. Instead, viewing corporations as essentially “associations of citizens,” Citizens United determined that “the First Amendment does not permit Congress to …

The National Security Exception At The Wto: Should It Just Be A Matter Of When Members Can Avail Of It? What About How?, Mona Pinchis-Paulsen, Kamal Saggi, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

The GATT security exceptions were practically in hibernation until recently. The recent WTO disputes panel activity concerning such exceptions is characterized by a standard of review that places the accent on ‘when’ action should be taken and not so much on ‘what’ action should be taken. We see two problems with this construction. First, the ‘when’ might be a function of privileged information that those possessing it might be unwilling to divulge in a transparent manner. Second, national security is an amorphous concept, and unless we disaggregate it, it is impossible to pronounce the appropriateness of measures adopted to pursue …

Developing Empathetic Ai: Exploring The Potential Of Artificial Intelligence To Understand And Simulate Family Dynamics And Cultural Identity, Emily Barnes, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted various domains. Yet, the exploration of AI's potential to develop a deep understanding of family culture and identity remains underexplored. This study introduces the concept of "a love of grandma and apple pie" to symbolize the potential of various AI to internalize and appreciate familial relationships, cultural traditions, and personal identity. The proposed study would investigate how an advanced deep learning model, trained on diverse unstructured datasets—including multimedia data from 100 families-could learn and reflect human-like emotions, values, and cultural understanding. Utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for visual data processing …

Major Questions, Common Sense?, Kevin Tobia, Daniel E. Walters, Brian Slocum

Faculty Scholarship

The Major Questions Doctrine (“MQD”) is the newest textualist interpretive canon, and it has driven consequential Supreme Court decisions concerning vaccine mandates, environmental regulation, and student loan relief. But the new MQD is a canon in search of legitimization. Critics allege that the MQD displaces the Court’s conventional textual analysis with judicial policymaking. Textualists have now responded that the MQD is a linguistic canon, consistent with textualism. Justice Barrett recently argued in Biden v. Nebraska that the MQD is grounded in ordinary people’s understanding of language and law, and scholarship contends that the MQD reflects ordinary people’s understanding of textual …