Digital Commons Network^™

The Intersection Of Nfts And Structured Finance, Christopher K. Odinet, Andrea Tosato

Faculty Scholarship

Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continue to invade financial markets. Whether through partnerships between financial institutions and tech firms or through in-house initiatives at some of the nation’s largest banks, blockchain-based products, services, and transactional structures are a major point of interest. In a recent work by Professor Steven Schwarcz, the growing NFT market is analyzed using the traditional tools of structured finance. Creating a new conceptual model called non-cash-flow monetizations, Professor Schwarcz reveals the risks to investors and markets, if the tokenization of non-traditional and largely illiquid assets proliferates. Having identified the potential harms, he offers …

The Common Law Inside Social Media, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Integrating Ai-Generative Tools In Web Design Education: Enhancing Student Aesthetic And Creative Copy Capabilities Using Image And Text-Based Ai Generators, Jason Lively, James Hutson, Elizabeth Melick

Faculty Scholarship

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to disrupt all levels of education. The recent advances in the generative capabilities of new chatbots, AI art generators, and large language models have upended the art and design development pipeline. At the same time, the focus has remained on the nature of creativity and the role of humans in the creative process, prompting calls to ban AI art, bring lawsuits over copyright infringement, and demand universal watermarks to identify AI-generative content. Regardless of the outcome of such litigation, AI has already radically altered the workflow for artists and designers. This case study aims to …

Enhancing Institutional Assessment And Reporting Through Conversational Technologies: Exploring The Potential Of Ai-Powered Tools And Natural Language Processing, James Hutson, Daniel Plate

Faculty Scholarship

This study explores the potential of conversational technologies, AI-powered tools, and natural language processing (NLP) in enhancing institutional assessment and reporting processes in higher education. The traditional approach to assessment often involves labor-intensive manual analysis of extensive data and documents, which burdens institutions. To address these challenges, AI-powered tools, such as ChatGPT, LangChain, Poe, Claude, and others, along with NLP techniques, are investigated in relationship to their ability to improve institutional assessment practices and output. By leveraging these advanced technologies, assessment officers and institutional effectiveness, researchers can engage in dynamic conversations with data, transforming spreadsheets and documents from static artifacts …

The Six Emotional Dimension (6de) Model: A Multidimensional Approach To Analyzing Human Emotions And Unlocking The Potential Of Emotionally Intelligent Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Via Large Language Models (Llm), Jay Ratican, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) research, particularly in training large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI's ChatGPT 3.5 and 4, hold significant potential for future applications in education, healthcare, and assisted living. Emotionally intelligent AI systems can provide personalized and adaptive educational experiences, enhancing engagement and educational outcomes. In healthcare, they can offer empathetic mental health support, augmenting existing resources. In assisted living, AI companions can provide emotional support, cognitive stimulation, and monitoring services, promoting independence and safety. However, ethical considerations and privacy safeguards are crucial to ensure responsible deployment. Integrating emotionally intelligent AI in these domains has …

Gamestopped: How Robinhood’S Gamestop Trading Halt Reveals The Complexities Of Retail Investor Protection, Neal Newman

Faculty Scholarship

Should brokers have the unfettered right to restrict investor trading? GameStop, a brick-and-mortar video game retailer, had been experiencing declining revenues since 2016. However, GameStop saw its share price climb almost 1000 percent in the span of a one- week period from January 21, 2021 to January 27, 2021 due to retail investors buying significant amounts of GameStop shares during that period. Melvin Capital, a hedge fund, ended up losing billions as they were betting that GameStop shares would lose value instead of increase—a practice referred to as short selling. On January 28, 2021, brokers inexplicably halted trading on GameStop …

The Public Stakes Of Consumer Law: The Environment, The Economy, Health, Disinformation, And Beyond, Rory Van Loo

Faculty Scholarship

This Article shows how consumer law, a field “derided as the law of small problems,”⁴ is more accurately viewed as important for addressing large-scale societal threats. It also offers a more integrated conceptual and institutional approach to consumer law so that the field can have a better chance of fulfilling its societal potential.

Part I of this Article outlines the importance of consumer law. It maps consumer law’s connections to some of the most pressing societal threats: climate change, public health, inequality, and disinformation. Part II focuses on consumer law’s place in the legal academy and government. Currently, important …

Mass E-Carceration: Electronic Monitoring As A Bail Condition, Sara Zampierin

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past decade, the immigration and criminal legal systems have increasingly relied on electronic monitoring as a bail condition; hundreds of thousands of people live under this monitoring on any given day. Decisionmakers purport to impose these conditions to release more individuals from detention and to maintain control over individuals they perceive to pose some risk of flight or to public safety. But the data do not show that electronic monitoring successfully mitigates these risks or that it leads to fewer individuals in detention. Electronic monitoring also comes with severe restrictions on individual liberty and leads to harmful effects …

A More Perfect Union For Whom?, Emmanuel Hiram Arnaud

Faculty Scholarship

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 Role Of Primary Care In Improving Population Health, Kurt C. Stange

Faculty Scholarship

In widely quoted ecological analyses, primary care is associated with population health. Not only with population health, but with health equity, health care quality, and lower health care expenditure - a pretty good definition of value. Yet, there is a paradox about primary care. Despite these desirable population‐level attributes, at the disease level at which we typically measure, incentivize, and organize the work of health care, when assessed with one‐disease‐at‐a‐time quality measures, primary care does not perform as well as care focused on a single disease. What is going on here? In caring for patients’ individual diseases, primary care appears …

Evaluation Of Novel Beverage Formulations For Hydration Enhancement In Humans, Grant M. Tinsley, Madelin R. Siedler, Christian Rodriguez, Patrick Harty, Matthew T. Stratton, Sarah J. White, Dale S. Keith, Jacob J. Green, Jake R. Boykin, Abegale D. Williams, Brielle Dehaven, Alexandra Brojanac, Ethan Tinoco

Faculty Scholarship

This study evaluated the influence of novel beverage formulations on bioimpedance- and urine-based hydration markers. Thirty young healthy adults (n=16 females, n=14 males; age: 23.2±3.7 years; BMI: 24.3±3.3 kg/m2 ) participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Participants completed three conditions with baseline bioimpedance, urine, and body mass assessments, followed by ingestion of one liter of a test beverage over a 30-minute period. The three beverages were: active hydration formulation in still (AFstill) or sparkling (AFspark) water and a still water control. The active formulations were identical in concentrations of alpha-cyclodextrin and complexing agents. Following beverage ingestion, bioimpedance assessments …

Preoperative Frailty And Adverse Outcomes Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery In Us Veterans, Salil V. Deo, Yakov Elgudin

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Contemporary guidelines emphasize the value of incorporating frailty into clinical decision-making regarding revascularization strategies for coronary artery disease. Yet, there are limited data describing the association between frailty and longer-term mortality among coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study (2016–2020, 40 VA medical centers) of US veterans nationwide that underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Frailty was quantified by the Veterans Administration Frailty Index (VA-FI), which applies the cumulative deficit method to render a proportion of 30 pertinent diagnosis codes. Patients were classified as non-frail (VA-FI ≤ 0.1), pre-frail (0.1 < VA-FI ≤ 0.2), or frail (VA-FI > 0.2). We used …

Unmet Needs With Antipsychotic Treatment In Schizophrenia And Bipolar I Disorder: Patient Perspectives From Qualitative Focus Groups, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar I disorder (BD-I) are chronic mental health disorders often treated with antipsychotic medications. This qualitative study sought to better understand disease burden and treatment experiences with oral antipsychotic medications in participants living with SZ or BD-I. Methods: Six 90-min focus groups were conducted with participants diagnosed with SZ or BD-I. Trained moderators facilitated discussions using a semistructured guide. Participants described symptoms, impacts of disease, and experiences with oral antipsychotic medications, whether favourable or unfavourable. Results: Among participants with SZ (n = 15; 3 groups, 5 per group), 53% were male and 33% were white, with …

A Haptoglobin (Hp) Structural Variant Alters The Effect Of Apoe Alleles On Alzheimer's Disease, Haimeng Bai, Penelope Benchek, Asha R. Kallianpur, Jonathan L. Haines, William S. Bush

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Haptoglobin (HP) is an antioxidant of apolipoprotein E (APOE), and previous reports have shown HP binds with APOE and amyloid beta (Aβ) to aid its clearance. A common structural variant of the HP gene distinguishes it into two alleles: HP1 and HP2. Methods: HP genotypes were imputed in 29 cohorts from the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium (N = 20,512). Associations between the HP polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk and age of onset through APOE interactions were investigated using regression models. Results: The HP polymorphism significantly impacts AD risk in European-descent individuals (and in meta-analysis with African-descent individuals) by …

Effects Of Uv Radiation On Natural And Synthetic Materials, Laura S. Bruckman

Faculty Scholarship

The deleterious effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation on construction materials, especially wood and plastics, and the consequent impacts on their useful lifetimes, are well documented in scientific literature. Any future increase in solar UV radiation and ambient temperature due to climate change will therefore shorten service lifetimes of materials, which will require higher levels of stabilisation or other interventions to maintain their lifetimes at the present levels. The implementation of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments on substances that deplete the ozone layer, controls the solar UV-B radiation received on Earth. This current quadrennial assessment provides a comprehensive update …

Factor In Fear: Interference Competition In Polymorphic Spadefoot Toad Tadpoles And Its Potential Role In Disruptive Selection, Ryan A. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Disruptive selection arises when extreme phenotypes have a fitness advantage compared to more-intermediate phenotypes. Theory and evidence suggest that intraspecific resource competition is a key driver of disruptive selection. However, while competition can be indirect (exploitative) or direct (interference), the role of interference competition in disruptive selection has not been tested, and most models of disruptive selection assume exploitative competition. We experimentally investigated whether the type of competition affects the outcome of competitive interactions using a system where disruptive selection is common: Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata). Spea tadpoles develop into alternative resource-use phenotypes: carnivores, which consume fairy shrimp and …

Cold Gas Disks In Main-Sequence Galaxies At Cosmic Noon: Low Turbulence, Flat Rotation Curves, And Disk-Halo Degeneracy, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We study the dynamics of cold molecular gas in two main-sequence galaxies at cosmic noon (zC-488879 at z ≃ 1.47 and zC-400569 at z ≃ 2.24) using new high-resolution ALMA observations of multiple 12CO transitions. For zC-400569 we also reanalyze high-quality Hα data from the SINS/zC-SINF survey. We find that (1) both galaxies have regularly rotating CO disks and their rotation curves are flat out to ∼8 kpc contrary to previous results pointing to outer declines in the rotation speed Vrot; (2) the intrinsic velocity dispersions are low (σCO ≲ 15 km s-1 for CO and σHα ≲ 37 km …

Utilizing Neurodiverse Workplace Strategies To Support The Growing Population Of Long Covid Cases In A Neuroinclusive Workplace: A Paradigm Shift For Neuroacquired Employees, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the emergence of long COVID, a condition in which patients report persistent symptoms after recovering from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. A review conducted by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) suggests that long COVID may actually consist of four different syndromes: post-intensive care syndrome, post-viral fatigue syndrome, and long-term COVID syndrome. The absence of a clear definition for this condition may lead to under-recognition and under-treatment of the symptoms experienced by those affected. Moreover, existing programs designed for neuro diverse individuals may be adapted to support the growing neuro acquired population. Communication strategies, such …

Less Is More?: Accountability For White-Collar Offenses Through An Abolitionist Framework, Pedro Gerson

Faculty Scholarship

White-collar crime is underenforced: not enough cases are brought, not many convictions are secured, and when they are, those who were convicted usually benefit from leniency not seen in other kinds of criminal wrongdoing. Calls for accountability center on strengthening the traditional tools of criminal law enforcement to reach actors that have so far eluded criminal liability. These responses, however, risk further entrenching the systems that have led the United States to mass incarceration and its many real and tangible harms. In this Article, I question whether an abolitionist framework is possible for white-collar crime. First, I argue that given …

Using A “Bystander Bounty” To Encourage The Reporting Of Workplace Sexual Harassment, Jessica K. Fink

Faculty Scholarship

Sexual harassment has become a fact of the modern workplace – something that society laments and regrets, but that rarely shocks the conscience when it comes to light. In fact, both the least and most surprising aspect about workplace sexual harassment is the number of individuals who are aware of it occurring: For every Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Louis CK, there have been countless observers who knew about their depravity and who did nothing to stop their behavior. In this way, one obvious approach for reducing harassment at work seems clearly to involve mobilizing these bystanders – encouraging those …

Civil Procedure Update 2023, Julio C. Romero, Verónica C. Gonzales

Faculty Scholarship

This presentation aims to 1) review recent amendments to the state and federal rules of civil procedure; 2) help you understand the impact of recent federal and state published opinions interpreting and applying the rules of civil procedure; and 3) assess your understanding of the updates.

Climate Services: The Business Of Physical Risk, Madison Condon

Faculty Scholarship

A growing number of investors, insurers, financial services providers, and nonprofits rely on information about localized physical climate risks, like floods, hurricanes, and wildfires. The outcomes of these risk projections have significant consequences in the economy, including allocating investment capital, impacting housing prices and demographic shifts, and prioritizing adaptation infrastructure projects. The climate risk information available to individual citizens and municipalities, however, is limited and expensive to access. Further, many providers of climate services use black box models that make overseeing the scientific rigor of their methodologies impossible— a concern given scientific critiques that many may be obfuscating the uncertainty …

Energy Expenditure And Availability In Active Individuals With Physical Disabilities, Scott Richmond, Amanda Bayer, Chad Kerksick, Heather Pennington, Petey Mumford, Annie Alameda

Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of low energy availability (LEA) in a population of active individuals with physical disabilities. Healthy, active males and females with a physical disability (n=13; Mean±SD; Age: 26.4±6.5 years; Height: 143.4±59.6 cm; Body mass: 57.5±27.3 kg; Fat-free mass: 41±20.8 kg;) were recruited to participate in this study. Participants were expected to track their exercise energy expenditure (EEE) and energy intake (EI) over the course of five days using portable wrist and chest-strap heart rate monitors. Body composition assessment completed via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and resting energy expenditure (REE) performed via …

Generative Ai And Algorithmic Art: Disrupting The Framing Of Meaning And Rethinking The Subject- Object Dilemma, James Hutson, Morgan Harper-Nichols

Faculty Scholarship

In the revision of treatments of contemporary art in the 21st century, art historians are recognizing 2022 as the dawn of the age of creative artificial intelligence (AI). The emergence of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion in late 2022 immediately disrupted the established practices of the art world, leading to debates about the validity of "AI Art" and the emergence of a new market for NFTs. However, fears regarding the "death of the artist" are unwarranted when considering the historical adoption of new technologies by artists, such as photography. The role of the artist will undoubtedly transform, …

Understanding Dark Patterns In Home Iot Devices, Monica Kowalczyk, Johanna Gunawan, David Choffnes, Daniel J. Dubois, Woodrow Hartzog, Christo Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are ubiquitous, but little attention has been paid to how they may incorporate dark patterns despite consumer protections and privacy concerns arising from their unique access to intimate spaces and always-on capabilities. This paper conducts a systematic investigation of dark patterns in 57 popular, diverse smart home devices. We update manual interaction and annotation methods for the IoT context, then analyze dark pattern frequency across device types, manufacturers, and interaction modalities. We find that dark patterns are pervasive in IoT experiences, but manifest in diverse ways across device traits. Speakers, doorbells, and camera devices contain the most …

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

Faculty Scholarship

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.

Beyond More Accurate Algorithms: Takeaways From Mccleskey Revisited, Ngozi Okidegbe

Faculty Scholarship

McCleskey v. Kemp¹ operates as a barrier to using the Equal Protection Clause to achieve racial justice in criminal administration.² By restricting the use of statistical evidence in equal protection challenges, McCleskey stifled the power of the discriminatory intent doctrine to combat the colorblind racism emanating from facially neutral criminal law statutes and governmental actions.³ But what if McCleskey had been decided differently? Given that Washington v. Davis⁴ held that the challenged law or governmental action had to be “traced to a discriminatory racial purpose,”⁵ could McCleskey have articulated an approach to equal protection doctrine …

The Long Shadow Of Inevitable Disclosure, Stacey Dogan, Felicity Slater

Faculty Scholarship

A growing body of evidence has highlighted the human and economic costs associated with contractual restrictions on employee mobility. News accounts describe abusive use of non-compete clauses to prevent low wage workers from seeking better options. Economists, meanwhile, have demonstrated that innovation and economic dynamism may suffer when employers can easily prevent their employees from changing jobs. While state legislatures have attempted to address these concerns by restricting employers' use of non-compete agreements, the Federal Trade Commission recently announced a plan to prohibit them altogether. As policymakers focus attention on contractual limits on employment mobility, however, a more insidious threat …

Foreword: Finding Balance In The Fight Against Gun Violence, Michael Ulrich

Faculty Scholarship

The United States is distinct among high-income countries for its problem with gun violence, with Americans 25 times more likely to be killed by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries.¹ Suicides make up a majority of annual gun deaths — though that gap is closing as homicides are on the rise — and the U.S. accounts for 35% of global firearm suicides despite making up only 4% of the world’s population.² More concerning, gun deaths are only getting worse. In 2021, firearm fatalities approached 50,000, the highest we have seen in at least 40 years.^{3 …}

Clickable Polymer Scaffolds Enable Ce Recovery With Peptide Ligands, Jacob D. Hostert, Maura R. Sepesy, Christine E. Duval, Julie N. Renner

Faculty Scholarship

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a vital part of many technologies with particular importance to the renewable energy sector and there is a pressing need for environmentally friendly and sustainable processes to recover and recycle them from waste streams. Functionalized polymer scaffolds are a promising means to recover REEs due to the ability to engineer both transport properties of the porous material and specificity for target ions. In this work, REE adsorbing polymer scaffolds were synthesized by first introducing poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (GMA) brushes onto porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) surface through activator generated electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (AGET ATRP). …