Digital Commons Network^™

Evolving Corporate Philanthropy, David I. Walker

Faculty Scholarship

With the rise of corporate ESG initiatives and public benefit corporations, corporate philanthropy is evolving from an emphasis on cash contributions (contributional philanthropy) to an emphasis on adjusting operations to advance the public good (operational philanthropy). All forms of corporate philanthropy are controversial, but this article evaluates the impact of this evolution on the relative benefits and concerns of corporate philanthropy, arguing that the shift in emphasis towards operational philanthropy increases the comparative advantage of corporate philanthropy, increases agency costs, both simplifies and complicates shareholder primacy concerns, and increases the difficulty of prescriptively regulating corporate philanthropy through the tax code …

Constitutional Disorder, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

This is a review essay inspired by two books: Yuval Levin's American Covenant (2024) and Erwin Chemerinsky's No Democracy Lasts Forever (2024). I make the following points. First, all treatments of the U.S. Constitution can be mapped on a continuum from the worshipful to the diagnostic. Second, Levin's account, which inclines toward the devotional, extols certain features deemed both originalist and virtuous: social unity over untidiness, consensus over dissent, fear and loathing of mass politics. Third, such accounts may not be sufficiently nimble to grapple with contemporary problems such as new forms of oligarchy or movement capture of traditional parties. …

Regulating Shipping Of Carbon Dioxide For Sequestration, Carolina Arlota, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

A number of facilities intended for permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide are being developed in the United States. Several will be located on or near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, making them easily accessible to ships. Meanwhile, in Europe there is substantial interest in capturing carbon dioxide from industrial operations, but currently inadequate sequestration facilities, and growing interest in shipping carbon dioxide for sequestration in the United States. This Article reviews the main U.S. federal laws applicable to transportation and geologic storage of carbon dioxide, including laws enacted to implement relevant international treaties. The Article also contextualizes its …

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 International Legal Framework Of Oceanic Shipping Of Carbon Dioxide For Permanent Storage, Carolina Arlota, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) as “a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial and energy-related sources is separated (captured), conditioned, compressed, and transported to a storage location for long-term isolation from the atmosphere.” Therefore, CCS encompasses a series of steps, at minimum: capturing carbon dioxide, its transportation to a storage site, and its injection into the subsurface for permanent storage. As such, CCS does not refer to any single activity or technology. This Article focuses on the transportation aspect of CCS and, more precisely, …

Taxing The Ten Percent, Alex Raskolnikov

Faculty Scholarship

The United States government is rapidly approaching the point when it will have no choice but to raise taxes. But whose taxes should go up, and why? The argument for higher taxes on the top one percent is well known. The case for higher taxes on the next nine percent is not. This Article makes that case.

Americans with incomes in the top ten percent but not the top one percent are not rich, but they are not middle class either—they are affluent. These affluent Americans have seen mostly tax cuts over the past three decades. Yet today, as progressive …

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 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 …

Mhongoose Discovery Of A Gas-Rich Low Surface Brightness Galaxy In The Dorado Group, Stacy Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We present the discovery of a low-mass, gas-rich low surface brightness galaxy in the Dorado group, at a distance of 17.7 Mpc. Combining deep MeerKAT 21-cm observations from the MeerKAT Hi Observations of Nearby Galactic Objects: Observing Southern Emitters (MHONGOOSE) survey with deep photometric images from the VST Early-type Galaxy Survey (VEGAS) we find a stellar and neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) gas mass of M∗ = 2:23 × 106M⊙ and MHI = 1:68 × 106 M⊙, respectively. This low surface brightness galaxy is the lowest-mass Hi detection found in a group beyond the local Universe (D ≳ 10 Mpc). …

Reply Brief For Plaintiff-Appellant Rocky Freeman, Madeline H. Meth

Faculty Scholarship

Because the Probation Office “dropped the ball,” JA199, false information remained in Rocky Freeman’s pre-sentence report for years. The Bureau of Prisons knew or should have known that it was relying on an inaccurate PSR. Yet, it failed to take any action to obtain correct information until Freeman discovered that BOP had been treating him as if he were a contract killer who had murdered two victims—effectively punishing him for acquitted conduct contrary to a court order. Instead of designating Freeman to the lowest-security-level facility for which he was qualified within 500 miles of his family, the United States sent …

How Do You Like Your Books, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

Do you ever wonder how it is that libraries can lend books repeatedly, while copyright owners (e.g., book authors) are granted the exclusive right to distribute their copyrighted works? Or how publishers make money selling books at retail prices when a person can resell books (or buy used books) for much less (hello Amazon Used Books for under a dollar!)? The reason is because of copyright’s “first sale” doctrine, 17 U.S.C. § 109, codifying the common law’s exhaustion principle, which says owners of lawfully made copies are allowed to dispose of those copies without regard to copyright law. In other …

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 …

Melanism In Polymorphic Terrestrial Snakes: A Meta-Analysis And Systematic Review, Ryan A. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Background and Aim: Colour polymorphic populations constitute excellent model systems for testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses, as alternate colourations are associated with differences in various biological, behavioural and life-history traits. Melanism is the most common and most obvious form of polymorphism. In reptiles in general (and snakes in particular), thermal melanism has been a popular hypothesis used to explain the appearance of black individuals. It suggests that a trade-off exists between superior thermoregulation and reduced protection through the loss of crypsis. Surprisingly, despite the growing body of literature available, to date, there are only two qualitative reviews on the evolutionary …

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 …

Fan Works And The Elusive Border Between Derivative And Transformative Uses, Aaron Schwabach

Faculty Scholarship

When Professor Schwabach began writing about fanfic and other fan works over a decade ago it was a niche topic, mostly of interest to fellow fans. It has since generated dozens of articles and a small but steadily increasing amount of litigation. In addition to several previous articles on the topic, Professor Schwabach has contributed a book (Fan Fiction and Copyright) and some book chapters to this ongoing discourse.

When this subject was new each article had to begin with a lengthy explanation of what fanfic is, why fictional characters are or are not protected by copyright, how parody and …

Preferences For Attributes Of Oral Antipsychotic Treatments: Results From A Discrete-Choice Experiment In Respondents With Schizophrenia Or Bipolar I Disorder, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Antipsychotic medications are effective treatments for schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar I disorder (BD-I), but when presented with different treatment options, there are tradeoffs that individuals make between clinical improvement and adverse effects. As new options become available, understanding the attributes of antipsychotic medications that are valued and the tradeoffs that individuals consider when choosing among them is important. Methods: A discrete-choice experiment (DCE) was administered online to elicit preferences across 5 attributes of oral antipsychotics: treatment efficacy (i.e., improvement in symptom severity), weight gain over 6 months, sexual dysfunction, sedation, and akathisia. Eligible respondents were aged 18–64 years with …

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 …

Prostate-Specific Antigen Testing Patterns And Prostate Cancer Stage At Diagnosis In Older Ohio Cancer Patients, Sajan N. Patel, Long Vu, Holly E. Hartman, Weichuan Dong, Siran M. Koroukian, Johnie Rose

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) screening recommendations do not support prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for older men. Such screening often occurs, however. It is, therefore, important to understand how frequently and among which subgroups screening occurs, and the extent of distant stage PCa diagnoses among screened older men. Methods: Using the 2014–2016 linked Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System (OCISS) and Medicare administrative database, we identified men 68 and older diagnosed with PCa and categorized their PSA testing in the three years preceding diagnosis as screening or diagnostic. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify correlates of screening PSA and to …

People-Powered Gen Ai: Collaborating With Generative Ai For Civic Engagement, Sarah Williams, Sara Beery, Chris Conley, Michael Lawrence Evans, Santiago Garces, Eric Gordon, Nigel Jacob, Eden Medina

Faculty Scholarship

Cities globally have begun experimenting with using generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) for civic engagement. Civic engagement is essential to a well-functioning government and involves the various interactions between the public and the city to share information and make decisions. Using Gen AI for civic engagement holds much potential, including the deployment of chatbots, language translation, synthesis of complex and technical documents, visioning and co-creation of design ideas, data visualization, and simulation and scenario planning. However, with these opportunities comes numerous concerns for the accuracy of results, algorithmic bias, private sector involvement, digital equity, and environmental costs. Our review of …

Neurovascular Shifts, Sensory Sensitivity, And Pmdd In Autistic Women: Exploring Blood Flow Redirection, Mood Dysregulation, And Pain Tolerance During Menstruation, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the relationship between Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), neurovascular dynamics, and sensory sensitivities in autistic women during menstruation. The redirection of blood flow to the uterus during the menstrual cycle has been found to exacerbate cerebral perfusion deficits in neurodivergent individuals, particularly in the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), which contributes to the mood dysregulation and emotional instability characteristic of PMDD. Autistic women, who often exhibit heightened sensory sensitivities, experience intensified discomfort during menstruation, as sensory overload and altered pain perception compound the emotional challenges of PMDD. These findings emphasize the need for neurodivergent-friendly menstrual products that mitigate both physical …

Celebrate Constitution And Citizenship Day Every Day, Not Just Sept. 17th, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

Learning - and teaching - about the Constitution is not easy, but it is important. It was written so long ago by some powerful men that many of us cannot easily relate to. But they conceived of a living, breathing document whose intentions would guide future generations. Today we will begin to explore why it is important to strive to make the Constitution seem real and applicable to our lives. The Constitution provides guidelines for how government should work. And it provides for the basic individual rights and freedoms we enjoy in the United States.

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 …

Impact Of Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) Infections On Mental Health Diagnoses In Youth With Chronic Illness, Molly Mcvoy, Rina Hung, Irina Bransteter, David W. Miller, Jeffrey A. Dusek, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Stressors from the COVID-19 pandemic and limited availability of mental health care services have negatively impacted youth mental health in a significant way. In the first year of the pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by roughly 25% in pediatric populations. While the general trend is clear, this research aimed to explore the added mental health burden of acute COVID-19 on pediatric patients with chronic conditions and describe the differences in mental health outcomes between pediatric patients with 2 common chronic conditions (asthma and diabetes) to better understand specific factors that may increase susceptibility to mental health …

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 …

Bridging Disciplines With Ai-Powered Coding: Empowering Non-Stem Students To Build Advanced Apis In The Humanities, Daniel Plate, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The integration of AI-powered coding assistants, such as Cursor AI, GitHub Copilot, and Replit’s Ghostwriter AI, represents a transformative shift in programming education, particularly for non-STEM students. These tools democratize coding by enabling natural language code generation, intelligent error correction, and context-aware assistance within familiar coding environments. This article explores how these technologies empower educators across disciplines to introduce basic and advanced coding concepts to humanities students, a demographic traditionally underserved in programming education. By leveraging AI, instructors can teach non-STEM students the foundational principles of coding and guide them through the development of sophisticated projects, such as building APIs …

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 …