Digital Commons Network^™

Critical Race Theory And The Civic Education Debate: Why Race Should Be A Part Of The Curriculum, Reilly Scott

CMC Senior Theses

If we accept the purpose of civic education is to teach students how to be good citizens, I argue the way civic education currently exists and operates is failing to achieve this goal. Traditional and mechanical civics has been the norm in education for decades. This has failed to teach students how to be good citizens because it 1) often isolates students with non-dominant identities 2) it does not encourage the motivation nor skills needed for civic engagement after high school and 3) does not include race as part of the curriculum. I argue race needs to be included in …

Partisan Gerrymandering And The Right To Privacy, Ana Deckey

CMC Senior Theses

This paper argues that partisan gerrymanderers violate citizens’ right to privacy by using data containing sensitive information on citizens without a compelling state interest. It first details how partisan gerrymandering claims have been argued in Court in the past. Next, it discusses theories of the right to privacy, mainly exploring the tensions between James Madison’s writings on privacy and Warren and Brandeis’ famed The Right to Privacy. Then, I present originalist arguments for upholding the original meaning and principles of the right to privacy and the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments before walking through case law related to privacy and …

How Environmentalism, Nationalism, And Civil Rights Shape Corporate Social Responsibility In The Apparel Industry, Chloe Gubbay

CMC Senior Theses

Now more than ever, fashion has become a way of expressing political identity. The changing moral convictions of corporate leaders and the preferences of their consumers have led to the rise of three popular models of corporate social responsibility: Sustainability, American-Made, and Diversity and Inclusion. This thesis will first describe the history of these three models, and then it will report how fashion businesses have adopted each of the models today. It will further explore the extent to which some models are blended⁠—and why some blends are more popular than others. While some models go together because of our politics, …

Exploring The Generational Evolution Of Black-White Wage Inequality Across Geographic Regions Of The United States, Rachel Scharff-Hansen

CMC Senior Theses

Wages of black men trail those of their white counterparts despite decades of generational socio-political change. This paper examines the extent to which the black-white wage gap has evolved from individuals born in the Baby Boomer (births between 1956 and 1964) to the Millennial (births between 1977 and 1995) generation, an era assumed to reflect great shifts in anti-racist sentiments and opportunities in the late 20^th century. Despite presumed progressive attitudes developed in this time period, I find that the black-white wage differential of the labor market in its whole has worsened from black earnings lagging 28.1% behind white …

The Influence Of Political Party Affiliation And Park Accessibility On Covid-19 Case Incidence, Sascha Wolf-Sorokin

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the joint effect of political party affiliation and the urban landscape, as measured by access to parks, on case rates during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The 2016 and 2020 U.S. Presidential Election returns are used as a proxy for a county’s political party affiliation prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A county population’s spatial relationship to its parks encapsulates the green open space within an urban environment. The data set controls for features of the built environment, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics (race, gender, income, education), COVID-19 government regulations, and presidential election returns. Using …

A Hot Conflict Growing Ever Hotter: How Climate Change Provokes Instances Of Violence In South Sudan, Madison Menard

CMC Senior Theses

In South Sudan, people are not engaging in violent altercations because of climate change. People are not deciding to kill other people because the average temperature of the world has risen 1 degree celsius, or harming their neighbor because of irregular rain patterns. Alas the link from climate change to violence is not as direct as that. Rather, climate change has played a non-direct role in the South Sudanese conflict. Within the political marketplace it has subtly altered conditions which later spark or intensify outbreaks of violence. Climate change in this sense should be viewed as a stressor of sorts …

Crisis Response In The Global Supply Chain Of The Fashion Industry, Caitlyn Arce

CMC Senior Theses

The fast fashion industry has developed a supply chain that optimizes profits by manufacturing garments from developing countries at extremely low costs. With consumer preferences pressuring brands to produce new cheap trends and products at rapid speed, the brunt of the costs is placed in countries where managers, suppliers, and governments turn a blind eye for the sake of economic stability and development. In moments of crisis, key players have chosen to respond in ways that reflect their priorities and incentives. Brands have reflected in their decision-making the influence of consumer demand and sensitivity to media through the risk of …

Connection And Competition: Navigating The U.S.-China Race To 5g, Hannah Reilly

CMC Senior Theses

By improving the speed and reliability of the transfer of data, 5G technology has the potential to produce a fourth technological revolution over the next few decades. Its infrastructure will enable advanced technology that will generate massive economic growth and bolster military power. 5G technology will also create new vulnerabilities that introduce new security concerns. The nation with the most control over its 5G networks and the networks of other countries will gain the ability to protect itself from the cyberattacks or espionage of countries with malicious intent. A fierce competition has erupted between the United States and China, each …

Blue Dog Blues: The Fall Of The Blue Dog Democrats In The 2010 Midterms And The Future Of Swing District Representation In A Nationalized Congress, Henry Schulz

CMC Senior Theses

Nationalization has defined American politics in recent years as voters increasingly view state and local government through their national party loyalties. The 2010 midterm elections were intensely nationalized: Hundreds of races for the United States House of Representatives focused on President Barack Obama’s agenda instead of local issues. After election night, Republicans gained 63 seats in the US House, giving them their largest majority since the 1940s. One of the political victims of the election were members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of centrist, fiscally conservative Democrats in Congress. Over half of the Blue Dogs lost re-election, including …

A Pivotal New Approach To Groundwater Quality Assessment, M. L. Cherry, T. Gilmore, T. Messer, Y. Li, J. Westrop

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Agricultural Production And Property Rights With The Use Of Dicamba Herbicides, Terence J. Centner

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The production of food and fiber by our nation’s farmers is often dependent on using herbicides to control weed growth that can reduce crop yields. After several decades of herbicide usage, some weed species developed resistance to glyphosate and were decreasing yields. Seed and pesticide manufacturers responded to weed resistance by developing genetically engineered soybean and cotton seeds and specially formulated over-the-top (OTT) dicamba products. Commencing in 2017, OTT dicamba products were used to successfully kill glyphosate-resistant weeds. However, dicamba is a volatile herbicide, and applications of the new OTT products were accompanied by spray drift and volatilization that injured …

Transforming The Culture Of Youth Justice In The Wake Of Youth Prison Closures, Jessica K. Heldman

Lewis & Clark Law Review

In 2019, the Governor of California vowed to fundamentally transform the state’s youth justice system. The legislature endorsed this commitment by enacting SB 823, which began a phased closure of state-run youth prisons in 2021. California is not the first state—nor will it be the last—to close facilities in light of decreased youth crime and greater awareness of the harms associated with incarceration. Although a welcomed development, the closure of youth prisons should not be viewed as the culmination of reform; rather, it is only the beginning. To achieve far more impactful change, state and local jurisdictions must confront the …

Sacrificing The Salmon: A Legal History Of The Decline Of Columbia Basin Salmon (Full Text Part 2 Of 2), Michael Blumm

Books & Contributions to Books

Salmon remain the cultural and economic soul of the Pacific Northwest, a species whose very life cycle largely defines the region. At the center of the salmon region lies the Columbia River, which once supported the world's largest salmon runs and which now is home to the world's largest interconnected hydroelectric system. These massive federal and non-federal dams have devastated Columbia Basin salmon runs, some of which are now extinct, others are on life-support.

This book tells the story of the decline of the Columbia Basin salmon in the 20th century. But it begins earlier, with the signing of mid-19th …

The Expanding Universe Of Bilateral Labor Agreements, Adam Chilton, Bartosz Woda

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

In the seventy-five years since the end of World War II, pairs of countries have entered into over a thousand bilateral labor agreements (BLAs) to regulate the cross-border flow of workers. These agreements have received little public or academic attention. This is likely, in part, because there is limited data or easily available information on BLAs. This Article hopes to change that by introducing three new resources: (1) a dataset documenting the formation of over 1,200 BLAs; (2) a corpus including the texts of over 800 BLAs; and (3) a dataset coding whether over 500 BLAs mention twenty topics that …

Review Of Daniel Farber, Inequality And Regulation: Designing Rules To Address Race, Poverty, And Environmental Law, David A. Weisbach

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

Dan Farber’s wide-ranging article, Inequality and Regulation, makes two core arguments. First, Farber argues that using a uniform value of statistical life (VSL) in cost-benefit analysis is justified not only as a pragmatic compromise but also as a matter of first principles. In particular, he argues that a uniform VSL can be based on a theory of equality that he calls harm egalitarianism, which holds that individuals have equal entitlements to protection against harm. Second, Farber, looking for ways to address environmental justice concerns through regulations, argues that “a heightened focus on differences in exposure and vulnerability [in the cost-benefit …

In Defense Of Chapter 11 For Mass Torts, Anthony J. Casey, Joshua C. Macey

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

This Essay argues that bankruptcy proceedings are well-suited to resolving mass tort claims. Mass tort cases create a collective action problem that encourages claimants who are worried about available recoveries to race to the courthouse to collect ahead of others. This race can destroy going concern value and lead to the dismemberment of valuable firms. Coordination among them is difficult as each claimant seeks to maximize its own recoveries. These are the very collective action and hold-out problems that bankruptcy proceedings are designed to solve. As such, bankruptcy proceedings are appropriate means of resolving mass torts as long as they …

Nonparty Interests In Contract Law, Omri Ben-Shahar, David A. Hoffman, Cathy Hwang

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

Contract law has one overarching goal: to advance the legitimate interests of the contracting parties. For the most part, scholars, judges, and parties embrace this party primacy norm, recognizing only a few exceptions, such as mandatory rules that bar enforcement of agreements that harm others. This Article describes a distinct species of previously unnoticed contract law rules that advance nonparty interests, which it calls “nonparty defaults.

In doing so, this Article makes three contributions to the contract law literature. First, it identifies nonparty defaults as a judicial technique. It shows how courts deviate from the party primary norm with surprising …

Efficacy Of Dexmedetomidine As An Opioid Sparing Adjunct To Regional Anesthesia For Shoulder Surgery, Matthew Austin

Nurse Anesthesia MSNA Student Capstones

Regional anesthetics are often the preferred route for patients who are having orthopedic shoulder procedures (Rai & Bhutia, 2017). Traditionally, plain local anesthetics, like bupivacaine or ropivacaine, are used as the local anesthetic of choice because of their fast onset and relatively predictable duration of action. However, several different additives have been trialed to prolong the duration or improve the density of regional blocks. When looking at additives to regional anesthetic techniques, side effects and duration of the block can be unpredictable and unpleasant. For example, additives like fentanyl, morphine, and dexamethasone have been trialed in regional techniques and have …

Do The Benefits Of Sugammadex Outweigh Its Higher Cost Compared To Neostigmine?, Ashley Mcdonald

Nurse Anesthesia MSNA Student Capstones

Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are frequently utilized in anesthetic practice to relax the vocal cords in preparation for endotracheal intubation and to facilitate optimal operating conditions for various surgical procedures. Residual muscle paralysis in the postoperative period is a serious consequence of NMBAs that can lead to severe consequences including airway obstruction, hypoxia, reintubation, aspiration, and pneumonia. Neuromuscular blockade (NMB) is overcome either by spontaneous recovery or, in most cases, with the use of a reversal agent. Two of the most common reversal agents are neostigmine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, and sugammadex, a modified gamma-cyclodextrin. Of the two medications, sugammadex is …

The Impact Of Dexmedetomidine Use In Patients Over The Age Of 60 Undergoing General Anesthesia On Postoperative Delirium Incidence, Elaina Branco

Nurse Anesthesia MSNA Student Capstones

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) and postoperative delirium (POD) are of concern in the elderly population undergoing an anesthetic due to increased mortality and decreased quality of life that can ensue. Sui et al. (2021) reported a 15-50% incidence of POD in elderly surgical patients. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective, alpha-2 agonist with sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic properties that mimics a sleep-like state and causes bradycardia and hypotension but not respiratory depression. Dexmedetomidine has neuroprotective properties, including anti-apoptosis and anti-inflammation (Wu et al., 2019). A current review of the literature revealed that dexmedetomidine use can decrease POD incidence in the aged …

Comparing Intravenous And Inhalation Anesthetics For Intraoperative Anesthesia In Adult Patients With An Acute Traumatic Brain Injury, Natasha K. Moody

Nurse Anesthesia MSNA Student Capstones

As research and science has progressed to further analyze the effects of anesthetics on cerebral physiology, the margin of safety for each anesthetic is reassessed to enhance patient outcomes and recovery. The purpose of this review is to strategically examine and provide updated information on the impact of specific anesthetics administered during the intraoperative period as it applies to patients with acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). In efforts to preserve the cerebral physiology of the patient, current research has identified benefits of administering intravenous over inhalation anesthetics to reduce secondary injuries that have been linked to chronic TBI, morbidity, and …

The Effect Of Clonidine On Hyperbaric Bupivacaine And Opioid In Cesarean Section Women Under Spinal Anesthesia, Novisi Abba

Nurse Anesthesia MSNA Student Capstones

Pain is undoubtedly one of the most undesirable outcomes associated with cesarean section in parturients. The most effective post-cesarean section pain relief option should prioritize maternal, fetal, and neonatal safety, with minimal to no medication transfer to the fetus and neonate. In obstetric anesthesia, neuraxial approaches, with the inclusion of adjuncts like clonidine for pain management may provide some additional benefits. Consequently, obstetric anesthesia practitioners have increasingly used intrathecal clonidine to alleviate post-cesarean section pain. This manuscript examines whether intrathecal clonidine, when combined with hyperbaric bupivacaine and/or opioids (fentanyl and/or preservative-free morphine), has a sustained analgesic effect in parturients following …

Molecular Detection Of Novel Anaplasma Sp. And Zoonotic Hemopathogens In Livestock And Their Hematophagous Biting Keds (Genus Hippobosca) From Laisamis, Northern Kenya, Daniel M. Mwaki, Kevin O. Kidambasi, Johnson Kinyua, Kenneth Ogila, Collins Kigen, Dennis Getange, Jandouwe Villinger, Daniel K. Masiga, Mark Carrington, Joel L. Bargul

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Livestock are key sources of livelihood among pastoral communities. Livestock productivity is chiefly constrained by pests and diseases. Due to inadequate disease surveillance in northern Kenya, little is known about pathogens circulating within livestock and the role of livestock-associated biting keds (genus Hippobosca) in disease transmission. We aimed to identify the prevalence of selected hemopathogens in livestock and their associated blood-feeding keds. Methods: We randomly collected 389 blood samples from goats (245), sheep (108), and donkeys (36), as well as 235 keds from both goats and sheep (116), donkeys (11), and dogs (108) in Laisamis, Marsabit County, northern Kenya. …

Spontaneous Parthenogenesis In The Parasitoid Wasp Cotesia Typhae: Low Frequency Anomaly Or Evolving Process?, Claire Capdevielle Dulac, Romain Benoist, Sarah Paquet, Paul André Calatayud, Julius Obonyo, Laure Kaiser, Florence Mougel

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Hymenopterans are haplodiploids and unlike most other Arthropods they do not pos-sess sexual chromosomes. Sex determination typically happens via the ploidy of individ-uals: haploids become males and diploids become females. Arrhenotoky is believed to be the ancestral reproduction mode in Hymenopterans, with haploid males produced parthenogenetically, and diploid females produced sexually. However, a number of transitions towards thelytoky (diploid females produced parthenogenetically) have appeared in Hymenopterans, and in most cases populations or species are either totally arrhenotok-ous or totally thelytokous. Here we present the case of Cotesia typhae (Fernandez-Triana), a Braconidae that produces parthenogenetic females at a low frequency. The …

Nitrogen Use Efficiency Trends For Sustainable Crop Productivity In Lake Victoria Basin: Smallholder Farmers' Perspectives On Nitrogen Cycling, Winnie Ntinyari, Joseph Gweyi-Onyango, Mekonnen Giweta, Benson Mochoge, James Mutegi, Generose Nziguheba, Cargele Masso

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) is one of the established metrics for benchmarking management of Nitrogen (N) in various systems. Numerous approaches to calculateNUEexist, making it difficult to compare the performances of systems depending on the methodology used. This study adopted the conceptualized framework by European Union Nitrogen Expert Panel (EUNEP) to calculateNUE values for cereal crops to determine future trends for the first time in the Lake Victoria region. Data were collected through in-person interviews among maize and rice smallholder farmers within the Lake Victoria region. Atotal of 293 observations were recorded. Collected data on yield andNfertilizer were used to …

Survival Rate, Blood Feeding Habits And Sibling Species Composition Of Aedes Simpsoni Complex: Implications For Arbovirus Transmission Risk In East Africa, Winnie W. Kamau, Rosemary Sang, Edwin O. Ogola, Gilbert Rotich, Caroline Getugi, Sheila B. Agha, Nelson Menza, Baldwyn Torto, David P. Tchouassi

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Aedes simpsoni complex has a wide distribution in Africa and comprises at least three described sub-species including the yellow fever virus (YFV) vector Ae. bromeliae. To date, the distribution and relative contributions of the sub-species and/or subpopulations including bionomic characteristics in relation to YF transmission dynamics remain poorly studied. In this study conducted in two areas with divergent ecosystems: peri-urban (coastal Rabai) and rural (Rift Valley Kerio Valley) in Kenya, survival rate was estimated by parity in Ae. simpsoni s.l. mosquitoes sampled using CO2-baited BG Sentinel traps. We then applied PCR targeting the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), region …

Potential Of Entomocomposting Toward Soil Pathogen Suppression, Dennis Beesigamukama, María Gómez-Brandón, Chrysantus Mbi Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Waste accumulation and microbial pollution are key environmental challenges in most developing countries. Land filling, the commonest waste disposal method, is not sustainable due to land scarcity and point source pollution. Thus, a large fraction of organic wastes is not properly disposed, yet the conventional methods of waste recycling are less effective. The degradation of waste using insect life stages (entomocomposting) has emerged as a novel tool that is fast, affordable, and sustainable in recycling organic wastes with maximum pathogen suppression. This bioconversion process also generates an organic fertilizer with potential to enhance soil remediation and provide additional benefits on …

The Combat Project: Controlling And Progressively Minimizing The Burden Of Vector-Borne Animal Trypanosomosis In Africa, Alain Boulangé, Veerle Lejon, David Berthier, Sophie Thévenon, Geoffrey Gimonneau, Marc Desquesnes, Samuel Abah, Prudenciène Agboho, Kalinga Chilongo, Tsegaye Gebre, Assane Gueye Fall, Dramane Kaba, Stefan Magez, Daniel Masiga, Enock Matovu, Aldjibert Moukhtar, Luis Neves, Pamela A. Olet, Soumaïla Pagabeleguem, William Shereni, Brice Sorli, Moeti O. Taioe, María Teresa Tejedor Junco, Rehab Yagi, Philippe Solano, Giuliano Cecchi

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Vector-borne diseases affecting livestock have serious impacts in Africa. Trypanosomosis is caused by parasites transmitted by tsetse flies and other blood-sucking Diptera. The animal form of the disease is a scourge for African livestock keepers, is already present in Latin America and Asia, and has the potential to spread further. A human form of the disease also exists, known as human African trypanosomosis or sleeping sickness. Controlling and progressively minimizing the burden of animal trypanosomosis (COMBAT) is a four-year research and innovation project funded by the European Commission, whose ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of animal trypanosomosis (AT) …

Intensity Of Adoption Of Integrated Pest Management Practices In Rwanda: A Fractional Logit Approach, Vincent Gadamba Misango, Jonathan Makau Nzuma, Patrick Irungu, Menale Kassie

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The push-pull technology (PPT) is considered as an alternative integrated pest management strategy for the control of fall armyworm and stemborer, among smallholder maize farmers in sub-Sahara African to conventional pesticides. However, the extent of PPT use in Rwanda where the technology was introduced in 2017 remains largely unexplored. This paper employed a fractional logit model to assess the factors influencing the intensity of adoption of PPT among smallholder maize farmers in Gatsibo and Nyagatare districts of Rwanda using survey data obtained from 194 PPT adopter households selected using a cluster sampling technique. While only 5 percent of smallholder farmers …

The Potential Economic Benefits Of Insect-Based Feed In Uganda, Zewdu Abro, Ibrahim Macharia, Kelvin Mulungu, Sevgan Subramanian, Chrysantus Mbi Tanga, Menale Kassie

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Black soldier fly farming is gaining traction globally as a strategy for recycling organic waste into high-quality proteins and fat for feed and organic fertilizer for crop production. The support of governments in East Africa to integrate insect meal in livestock feed has opened opportunities for commercializing insect products. Understanding the potential value of Black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) is paramount to inform policies and practices to promote insect farming and insect-based feed for livestock production. This paper uses the economic surplus method to generate evidence on the potential socioeconomic impact of replacing conventional soybean and fish meal protein …