Digital Commons Network^™

Information Mischief Under The Trump Administration, Nathan Cortez

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The Trump administration has used government information in more cynical ways than its predecessors. For example, it has removed certain information from the public domain, scrubbed certain terminology from government web sites, censored scientists, manipulated public data, and used “transparency” initiatives as a pretext for anti-regulatory policies, particularly environmental policy. This article attempts to tease out an emerging “information policy” for the Trump administration, explain how it departs from the information policies of predecessors, and evaluate the extent to which both legal and non-legal mechanisms might constrain executive discretion.

The Seeds Of Early Childhood, Joanna L. Grossman

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The trajectory of childhood is often shaped before childhood even begins. Pre-birth inequalities are not natural or inevitable. Rather, we create and cement policy choices that reduce access to adult healthcare, restrict accessible contraception, impede access to abortion, and deny prenatal care. Together, these choices mean that, in the United States, we maintain very high rates of unwanted pregnancy and increasingly high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, burdens that fall disproportionately on women of color and women of lower socioeconomic status. Equality demands that we address these disproportionate burdens.

Digital Health And Regulatory Experimentation At The Fda, Nathan Cortez

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

For well over a decade the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been told that its framework for regulating traditional medical devices is not modern or flexible enough to address increasingly novel digital health technologies. Very recently, however, the FDA introduced a series of digital health initiatives that represent important experiments in medical product regulation, departing from longstanding precedents applied to therapeutic products like drugs and devices. The FDA will experiment with shifting its scrutiny from the pre-market to the post-market phase, shifting the locus of regulation from products to firms, and shifting from centralized government review to decentralized …

Nutritional Beliefs And Practices Of Arabic Speaking Middle Eastern Mothers, Maissa Al-Bkerat

Open Access Dissertations

Childhood obesity is recognized as an important health problem in the United States. Researchers have identified culture and acculturation as major factors influencing obesity across several ethnic groups, although little is known about the historically invisible and vulnerable population of those identifying as Arabic speaking individuals from Middle Eastern countries. In Arabic culture, mothers are responsible for creating and maintaining a home environment that fosters healthy eating behaviors among family members including the children. It is assumed, therefore, that mothers in Arabic culture play an essential role in preventing childhood obesity.

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions …

Detection Of Ions And Small Molecule Toxicants In Aqueous Media Using New Colorimetric And Fluorimetric Methods, Teresa Louise Mako

Open Access Dissertations

Chapter 1 Abstract

Ultrasensitive Detection of Nitrite through Implementation of N-(1-Naphthyl)ethylenediamine-Grafted Cellulose into a Paper-Based Device

[Refer to PDF for graphical portion]

Reported herein is the immobilization of N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine on cellulose via an epichlorohydrin-based covalent attachment and the implementation of the functionalized cellulose into an ultrasensitive, paper-based device for nitrite detection. There is high demand for affordable, robust, sensitive, selective, and user-friendly detection methods for nitrite, a nutrient which is harmful at high concentrations in both marine environments and physiological systems. The reported functionalization procedure resulted in a 12.9-fold higher functionalization density than previously reported procedures using epichlorohydrin, …

Three Experimental Examinations Of Aspects Of Institutions Governing Natural Resource Use, Christopher Brozyna

Open Access Dissertations

Theory alone cannot accurately describe the characteristics of successful natural resource governance institutions. Laboratory economic experiments are needed to analyze the characteristics and validate theories in a controlled environment. Three such experiments on important, but frequently overlooked, aspects of institutions are reported: time allowed for decision-making, the strength of property rights, and how resource user groups impact each other. Chapter 1 analyzes how psychology can impact outcomes in institutions by forcing subjects to make decisions under time pressure, something not before analyzed in a dynamic Common Pool Resource management context. We find users under time pressure make decisions which reduce …

Managing Cyber Risks & Business Exposure In The Surface Transportation Ecosystem, Jacques R. Francoeur

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report focuses on Surface Transportation (ST), both fixed and route-based, and the growing threats to their information technology (IT) infrastructures. As an industry, ST seeks to optimize the movement of people and goods, while ensuring safety and resiliency and minimizing environmental impact. Cyber threats are a powerful medium for those with the political, social, and economic motivations and wherewithal to disrupt and destroy existing ST systems. The ultimate objective is to develop a new paradigm to define, describe, design, and deploy the most effective protection, at the lowest cost, in the shortest time within the limits of available resources. …

Law, Religion, And Secular Order, Zachary R. Calo

Scholarly Works

This article compares the law and religion jurisprudence of the US Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights across three legal areas: religious symbols and religion-state relations, individual religious freedom, and institutional religious freedom or freedom of the church. Particular focus is given to the manner in which this jurisprudence reveals the underlying structure and meaning of the secular. Although there continues to be significant jurisprudential diversity between these two courts and across these legal areas, there is also emerging a shared accounting of religion, secularity, and moral order in the late modern West.

How Many Copies Are Enough Revisited: Open Access Legal Scholarship In The Time Of Collection Budget Constraints, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

This article discusses the results of a study into the open access availability of law reviews, followed by a discussion of why open access has such a high rate of adoption among law reviews, especially in comparison to the journal literature in other disciplines.

“I Must Have Slipped Through The Cracks Somehow”: An Examination Of Coping With Perceived Impostorism And The Role Of Social Support, Richard G. Gardner, Jeffrey S. Bednar, Bryan W. Stewart, James B. Oldroyd, Joseph Moore

Faculty Publications

We use two studies to explore how individuals manage perceptions of impostorism as they train for their future careers. Drawing on interviews with 20 professionals in training, our qualitative analysis uncovered various tactics (both constructive and maladaptive) used by these individuals to cope with perceived impostorism. Among these tactics, seeking social support from individuals outside of their program peer group (e.g., professors, family, friends, and significant others) appeared to be more effective in dampening perceptions of impostorism than seeking support from peers within their program. We use Conservation of Resources Theory (COR) to develop testable hypotheses about this observed relationship …

Relationships And Ethics In The Land Use Game, Patricia E. Salkin, Thomas Brown, Aisha Scholes

Scholarly Works

Ethical considerations in the land use decision making process can be organized into a number of categories, including, first and foremost, the broad subject of conflicts of interest.1 Players in the land use game can find themselves in real or perceived conflicts situations based on personal financial interests resulting from investments, including businesses and real estate holdings (such as the location of their property vis-à-vis the location of the subject property before the Board), employment for themselves or members of their immediate family, and memberships in nonprofit organizations that may be either passive or active (e.g., simply dues paying member …

Conversion Therapy: A Brief Reflection On The History Of The Practice And Contemporary Regulatory Efforts, Tiffany C. Graham

Scholarly Works

This brief symposium essay offers a broad-stroke sketch of the history of conversion therapy, its current status as a locus of regulation, and some preliminary questions about the direction the law might take to protect individuals who elect or are forcibly subjected to the practice.

Contract Creep, Tal Kastner, Ethan J. Leib

Scholarly Works

Scholars and judges think they can address the multiple purposes and values of contract law by developing different doctrinal regimes for different transaction types. They think if we develop one track of contract doctrine for sophisticated parties and another for consumers, we can build a better world of contract: protecting private ordering for sophisticated parties and protecting consumers’ needs all at once. Given the growing enthusiasm for laying down these separate tracks and developing their infrastructures, this Article brings a necessary reality check to this endeavor by highlighting for scholars and judges how doctrine in contract law functions in fact: …

Operative Subsidiary And Municipal Authority: The Case Of Toronto's Ward Boundary Review, Alexandra Flynn

All Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes what the principle of subsidiarity means for municipalities, arguing in favour of “operative subsidiarity” in the design of provincial legislation. First, I outline the meaning and origins of subsidiarity, including critiques in the potential of its application. Second, I discuss the judicial treatment of municipal authority in Canada over the last twenty years. I advance that municipal authority as interpreted by the SCC has increasingly made room for municipalities as governments deserving of deference, unless the action breaches fairness or human rights. However, despite this judicial evolution, provinces have not drafted legislation with the principle of subsidiarity …

Punishment And Its Limits, Debra Parkes

All Faculty Publications

The nearly three decades in which Beverley McLachlin was a member of the Supreme Court, including as Chief Justice, witnessed a number of shifts in Canadian penal policy and in the reach and impact of criminal law. During the Harper decade (2006 to 2015) in which the federal Conservatives enjoyed a majority government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, criminal justice policy took a turn toward the punitive. The federal government tore a page out of the American legislative handbook and sought to “govern through crime”, albeit in a more restrained Canadian style.

Confronting The Sexual Assault Of Teenage Girls: The Mistake Of Age Defence In Canadian Sexual Assault Law, Isabel Grant, Janine Benedet

All Faculty Publications

Teenage girls experience high rates of sexual assault. The Criminal Code permits the Crown to substitute proof of young age for proof of non-consent for sexual assault and related offences applicable to young complainants. This paper focuses on the defence of mistaken belief in age. It provides a defence where the accused honestly believed that the complainant was at or above the age of consent and where the accused took all reasonable steps to ascertain her age. A review of the cases considering the defence indicates that it is often applied incorrectly, where the accused does not have any belief …

Transnational Law As Unseen Law, Natasha Affolder

All Faculty Publications

Part of the continuing allure of Philip Jessup’s account of transnational law, published in 1956, lies in its promise of capturing something beyond the easily visible bodies of public and private international law. Attempts to name and to frame this unseen law continue to this day. This chapter, part of a collection commemorating the 60^th anniversary of the publication of Transnational Law, examines the intellectual holding pen created by Jessup for other rules and sources of law, his “larger storehouse of rules”. While this initiative was firmly aimed at expanding the view of law to see beyond the …

Regulating Systemic Risk In Canada, Anita Anand, Maziar Peihani

All Faculty Publications

This chapter is a contribution to an interdisciplinary book that drew on some of the world's leading experts on financial stability and regulation to examine and critique the progress made since 2008 in addressing systemic risk. The chapter contends that Canadian regulators’ ability to address systemic risk is limited by the structure of the regime, built on a sector-by-sector model, without any one institution responsible for comprehensively regulating the financial system. We also posit the proposal to establish a macroprudential regulator to monitor the financial system as a whole, as advocated by academic literature and international forums, is unlikely …

Assessing Interaction Of Black Racial Identity And Perceived Neighborhood Factors On Educational Utility, Clifton A. Berwise

Open Access Dissertations

Previous research findings have indicated that there continues to be an increased need to assess the impact of neighborhood and community factors on educational outcomes for Black Americans. When investigating neighborhood factors for this population, two understudied variables are perceptions of trust in neighborhood police and collective socialization, particularly in examining their impact on academic outcomes. Furthermore, it is unclear how Black racial identity interacts with the effects of these perceived neighborhood factors on educational outcomes. The present study attempted to add to the literature by exploring how the interaction of racial identity and perceived neighborhood factors impact how Black …

Team Medical Decision Making: Available Research And Future Directions, Brian E. Tapscott

Open Access Dissertations

As part of the shift toward team-based care, many clinical decisions are now made by intra- and interprofessional teams. Team medical decision making is a recommended practice that is believed to reduce error and improve clinical judgment. However, surprisingly few studies have examined the accuracy of team decisions and little is known about the efficacy of various team strategies. Consequently, practice guidelines are lacking. To address the paucity of research, this dissertation addresses possible starting points for future studies based on research to date and current practices. Accordingly, Manuscript I will discuss team research from various fields with an emphasis …

Health Information Campaigns And Genetically Modified Food Labels In The Seafood Market, Michael Joseph Weir

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation I investigate consumer responses to two forms of information provision in the seafood market: health information campaigns and genetically modified food labels. Using data from a seafood auction experiment, I explore sources of heterogeneity among auction participants and their responses to health information in the context of current United States Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services policy goals using a mixed effects finite mixture model. My second and third chapters explore the potential effect of the forthcoming National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard on demand for genetically modified seafood. Considering the new labeling standard and the …

Exploring The Incredible 5-Point Scale: Impact On Target Behaviors In Preschool, Beth A. Mcbride Pinheiro

Open Access Dissertations

In the following experimental study, a multiple-probe, single subject design (SSD) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Incredible 5-Point Scale (Buron & Curtis, 2012) as an intervention tool for a preschool aged child with developmental delays (DD). The scale, originally designed for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but found through noted experiences to have positive effects for individuals with other disabilities as well, is a teaching tool that aids teachers, therapists, and families in encouraging positive social and behavioral development in individuals (Buron & Curtis, 2012). While not an identified evidence-based practice (EBP) itself, the Incredible 5- …

Welcome To The Club: An Archival Inquiry Into The Dewey Laboratory School As Rhetorical Education, Krysten Manke

Open Access Dissertations

This project contributes to scholarship extending the traditional scope of rhetorical education. Specifically, this dissertation recovers educational practices and ideas from records documenting the early years of the University of Chicago’s Laboratory School, an experimental elementary school founded and directed by the American pragmatist John Dewey. Researchers have employed John Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy to gain insights into progressive, student-centered composition and rhetoric instruction. However, the field has neglected Dewey’s actual pedagogy as a source for insights into rhetorical education. Using archival analysis methods, this dissertation recovers educational practices from the Laboratory School that were not recognized as rhetorical during their …

Dna Damage, Repair And Mutational Spectrum, Ke Bian

Open Access Dissertations

The integrity and stability of DNA is essential to life since it stores genetic information in every living cell. Chemicals from the environment will assault DNA to form various types of DNA damage, ranging from small covalent crosslinks between neighboring DNA bases as seen in cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, to big bulky adducts derived from benzo[a]pyrene. This resultant damage will lead to replication block and mutation if remain unrepaired and will eventually cause cancer or other genetic diseases. The work presented in this dissertation has illustrated the important role of the AlkB family DNA repair enzymes in cancer and Wilson’s Disease. …

Laser-Assisted Transdermal Drug Delivery And Vaccination, Prateek Kakar

Open Access Dissertations

Oral drug delivery has been the major route of drug delivery due to the ease of drug administration and patient compliance. Transdermal drug delivery is highly attractive for alternative drug delivery and yet faces significant challenges, largely due to the barrier function of the Stratum Corneum (SC) layer of the skin. Different chemical and physical methods have been explored to disrupt the SC layer to facilitate transdermal drug delivery. However, those methods only received limited successes due to the low efficiency in SC disruption or the potential safety risks.

Ablative fractional laser (AFL) emerged in the last 2 decades as …

Could Stated Political Affiliation Influence A Candidate's Perceived Appropriateness To Attend Graduate School? An Audit Study, Nicholas Zambrotta

Open Access Dissertations

Bias and stereotypes, even in the professional realms are ubiquitous and are unfortunately an inescapable fact of life in society. Psychologists study bias and discrimination in order to more fully understand when it arises, as well as what can be done to confront it. Bias and discrimination researchers have demonstrated that women, racial/ethic minorities, members of the LBGTQ community, as well as other marginalized groups continue to suffer from the effects of discrimination. However, recent investigations have indicated that discrimination based on an individual’s stated political affiliation may also exist. Other researchers point out that political affiliation bias and discrimination …

Development And Characterization Of Nanomaterials For Pulmonary Drug Delivery Applications, Elisa A. Torrico Guzman

Open Access Dissertations

Chronic pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer and cystic fibrosis represent significant global health concerns because of their resulting high mortality and low life expectancy. Pulmonary drug delivery has demonstrated advantages over other delivery routes due to the ability to use lower concentrations of drug, reduction in systemic toxicity, and offering better targeting to the area of disease. Effective application of dry powder therapeutics requires the optimization of particle deposition in the lungs and avoidance of physiologic defense mechanisms such as mucosal entrapment, mucociliary clearance, and macrophage engulfment. Evaluation of aerosol pulmonary therapeutic parameters demands accurate in vitro models that …

Polypharmacy In Cancer Patients: Health-Related Quality Of Life, Expenditures, And Adverse Events, Zachary R. Babcock

Open Access Dissertations

Polypharmacy (PP), often defined as the use of five or more medications, is highly prevalent in patients with cancer. As the quantity of medications for treating cancer and comorbid conditions in patients with cancer become more numerous and diverse, it is important to understand the various ways in which patient health and economic outcomes may be adversely affected by prescribed medications. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate three distinct associations between PP and the lives of patients living with cancer by estimating how PP (1) affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL), (2) is associated with healthcare expenditures, and …

Are Domestic Abusers Terrorists: Rhetoric, Reality, And Asylum Law, Natalie Nanasi

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The terms terrorism and terrorist are highly charged but all too often imprecisely utilized in legal, media, and political arenas. The terminology has even entered the field of intimate partner violence, where the phrases terrorism in the home or intimate terrorism have been used to describe domestic abuse. This language has proliferated not only due to identified commonalities between intimate partner abuse and terroristic behaviors but also because of the rhetorical impact of the words in highlighting the gravity of domestic violence. However, expanding the legal framework of terrorism into new areas has potentially serious and far-reaching consequences. It is …

Examining Motivational Interviewing Addressing Adolescent Substance Use During Psychiatric Hospitalization, Danielle Hill

Open Access Dissertations

Adolescent suicide is a serious public health issue, given that it is the second most common cause of death among individuals aged 10 to 24 years in the United States. Substance use is among the major risk factors for continued adolescent suicidal behavior and having a substance use disorder (SUD), has been identified as a risk factor for adolescents being readmitted to acute psychiatric care. However, adolescents often do not receive treatment that adequately addresses substance use in the same setting. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether or not adding a Brief Motivational Interviewing intervention (BMI …