Digital Commons Network^™

Outlawing Corporate Prosecution Deals When People Have Died, Peter Reilly

Faculty Scholarship

Two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashes, occurring less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, resulted in 346 deaths—possibly the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) used an alternative dispute resolution tool called a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to resolve criminal charges against Boeing and to immunize the company’s senior-level managers from prosecution. In the end, the company admitted to engaging in the criminal behavior, paid a monetary fine, and agreed to cooperate fully with the government—meaning there would be no courtroom trial, no formal adjudication of guilt, and no possibility of …

A Perfect Storm For Legal Education: Privatization, Polarization, And Pedagogy, Rachel F. Moran

Faculty Scholarship

Today, the legal profession faces new challenges to its integrity and legitimacy due to technological change, rising political polarization, and a stratified bar. In this Article, I first explore how technological innovations are undermining lawyers’ claims to a unique monopoly based on expert professionalism. These technologies are designed to transform routinized law practice in ways that improve efficiency. With little focus on attorneys’ obligations to serve the greater good, technology entrepreneurs emphasize practical advantages over traditional forms of representation. These proponents promise reduced costs and superior results through a single-minded commitment to market dynamics. Those promises in turn depend on …

Commissioners Shoot For The Moon, Citizens Land Among The Stars: The Supreme Court Of Georgia Affirms Citizen Referendum Power In Camden County V. Sweatt, J. Bailey Hotard

Mercer Law Review

Georgia citizens possess few direct democratic mechanisms to check the power of their local governments. One available tool is the referendum power proscribed by the Home Rule Provision of the Constitution of the State of Georgia. Under this provision, county and municipal citizens may petition their local governing authorities for referendum when a legislative decision is largely unpopular. Relying on originalism and textualism, the Supreme Court of Georgia interpreted the Home Rule Provision broadly in Camden County v. Sweatt, a decision than ran counter to a twenty-five-year precedent. This court’s recent interpretation of the Home Rule Provision allows citizens …

Developing A Geospatial Web Application For Transportation Geotechnical Asset Management, Ayoub Mohammadi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Spatial data has become an increasingly important tool in geotechnical engineering, allowing for managing and analyzing large amounts of spatial data. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing applications that can be accessed by geotechnical engineers from anywhere with an internet connection. This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in transportation earth structure management. It also highlights the potential benefits of these applications for geotechnical engineers, including open-source applications, database management, and user interface design. It identifies areas for future research and development. The research also discusses the various types …

Addressing Challenges Faced By Public Organizations: The Central Role Of Agility At The Federal Level During The Covid-19 Crisis, Shuktika Chatterjee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates the role of organizational agility in public organizations (such as the United States Federal Agencies) and demonstrates how agility works in public institutions. This study explores how organizational agility within public institutions can lead to successes and prevent failures stemming from underutilized agility, identifies the societal demographics impacted by these outcomes, and offers recommendations for effectively implementing agility to enhance efficiency and societal progress. Agility in sum, is adaptability and proactiveness. If developed and practiced by public organizations, this process can avert prominent institutional failings that impede the dispersal of services and resources that would promote social …

An Analysis Of The Impact And Effectiveness Of Human Trafficking State Laws And Policies In Missouri And Nebraska, Madeleine Mather

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to use another person for sex or labor. Human trafficking is a prevalent issue within the United States that is not talked about enough. This leads to a misrepresentation of facts about human trafficking that can lead to common myths related to human trafficking. It is each state’s responsibility to develop laws and policies that protect victims and prosecute offenders justly according to the crime. This research delves into an analysis of Missouri and Nebraska state statutes to determine their effectiveness and assess the level of awareness among residents of …

Mama Knows Best: Raffensperger V. Jackson Ushers In A New Framework For Professional Licensing Challenges And Recognizes A Right To Work For Lactation Providers Under The Georgia Constitution’S Due Process Clause, A. Tyler Kelly

Mercer Law Review

“State constitutionalism . . . is . . . vital yet underdeveloped[.]” The right to pursue one’s chosen profession free from unreasonable government interference is inherent in the Georgia Constitution’s Due Process Clause, and a recognition of such economic liberty reappears throughout the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Georgia. With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, the federal government delegated to the states the responsibility of navigating new policy which led insurance companies to reimburse a host of medical services from licensed professionals. At the time of the ACA’s passage, Georgia faced …

Wrong Or (Fundamental) Right?: Substantive Due Process And The Right To Exclude, Jack May

Washington Law Review

Substantive due process provides heightened protection from government interference with enumerated constitutional rights and unenumerated—but nevertheless “fundamental”—rights. To date, the United States Supreme Court has never recognized any property right as a fundamental right for substantive due process purposes. But in Yim v. City of Seattle, a case recently decided by the Ninth Circuit, landlords and tenant screening companies argued that the right to exclude from one’s property should be a fundamental right. Yim involved a challenge to Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, which, among other things, prohibits landlords and tenant screening companies from inquiring about or considering a …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Fall 2023, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Lindenwood Magazine, Fall 2023, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Magazine (2017- )

Lindenwood University news magazine.

Annual Report 2022-2023, Tennessee. Bureau Of Investigation

Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Associations Between Mental Health Outcomes And Childhood Trauma And Experiences Of Violence During The First Shelter-In-Place For Covid-19 Among Sexual Minority Men Living In Texas, 2020, Sonam Deki

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased mental health issues, disproportionately affecting men who have sex with men (MSM). The relationship between mental health and experiences of trauma and violence are understudied in this population. Purpose: To assess if rates of childhood trauma and COVID-19-related violence are higher for those with depression and anxiety than those without such experiences among cisgender sexual minority men in Texas. Methods: This secondary data analysis is among the cisgender sexual minority men in the COVID-19 and You Survey Study in Texas during the first shelter-in-place order. Descriptive statistics and bivariate associations between trauma and experiences …

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2022/2023, Tennessee. Department Of Safety & Homeland Security.

Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Police And Cross-Cultural Psychology: The Impact Of Human Values On Violence, Claudio V. Torres, Sharon Glazer

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Researchers of police psychology must be well-acquainted with police work and culture both nationally and organizationally. However, most studies developed in police psychology do not fully account for the national context within which a study was done. In this article review, we discuss two social phenomena commonly studied by police psychologists: aggression and violence. Taking primarily a cross-national approach, we focus on the predictive role of individual values on aggression and violence. Schwartz’s (1992) values theory, at the individual level of analysis, was chosen due to its importance to cross-cultural psychology, as well as its implications on well-being (e.g., Sagiv …

Security Analysis Of Holystone Drones: Examining Attack Vectors And Data Extraction Techniques, Sandesh Ambadas More

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the surge in popularity of small-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), especially Holy Stone models, has raised significant security concerns. This study examines specific Holy Stone drone models, including the HS 175D, HS 430, HS 360S, and HS720, focusing on sub-250g drones exempt from FAA registration and those requiring registration and Remote ID. Despite advancements in drone technology, our research reveals persistent vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors for illicit purposes, posing a substantial security risk. Our comprehensive analysis involved simulated attacks in identifying and exploiting these vulnerabilities, leading to the successful acquisition of flight logs, …

Characterization Of Human Mobility From Cellular Data, Zaid Matloub

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates human mobility patterns using crowd-sourced cellular network data from different Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States, spanning the Houston, New York-Newark, NJ City, and 13 other significant MSAs. By focusing on prominent spatial mobility parameters highlighted in existing literature, the study unveils consistent findings regarding the predictability of human mobility across diverse time scales and geographic regions. The research underscores the significance of selecting appropriate sampling thresholds based on the mobility parameters being examined, the size of the dataset, and available computational resources. Through a meticulous analysis, it emerges that while values such as mean …

Converging Human Intelligence With Ai Systems To Advance Flood Evacuation Decision Making, Rishav Karanjit

All Theses

The powers that artificial intelligence (AI) has developed are astounding, with recent success in integrating into a human cognitive workflow. AI will attain its full potential only if, as part of its intelligence, it also actively teams up with humans to co-create solutions. Combining AI simulation with human understanding and strategic abilities through data convergence may optimize the process and provide a capacity akin to "teaming intelligence." This thesis will introduce the concepts of Human AI Convergence (HAC) capabilities for flood evacuation decision-making. The concept introduced in this thesis is the first step toward the HAC concept in weather disaster …

Neuroimaging And Free Will: A Partial Test Of Devine's “Director’S Cut” Theory Of Jury Decision Making, Madison Baczuk

Undergraduate Honors Theses

New evidence has emerged over the last few decades that demonstrates that the brains of some criminal offenders are structurally and functionally different from non-offenders. This evidence suggests that some people may not have the physical brain structure and functioning – often due to factors beyond their control – to make thoughtful, empathetic, and rational decisions. Therefore, some have questioned whether such individuals should be held to the same degree of culpability (responsibility) as those without brain damage, deficiency, or dysfunction. Additionally, this neurological evidence has been shown to influence jury decision-making as a mitigating factor. The present study aims …

A Comparison Between A Terrorist Leader And A Lone-Wolf Operative In Bangladesh, Fatema Islam

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The article compares the biography and terrorist portrait of two terrorists of Bangladesh: Mufti Abdul Hannan, a pioneer leader of the prominent terrorist organization Huji-B, and a lone wolf operative named Faizul Hasan. The study reveals the existence of the multifaceted dynamics of the leader (Mufti) and lone wolf (Faizul) encompassing organizational affiliation, operational independence, radicalization processes, motivations, objectives, and the scale of their operations. The study also finds that the pattern of operation of a terrorist leader (Mufti) and the lone wolf terrorist (Faizul) differed significantly in terms of planning, execution, and level of organizational support. While the terrorist …

Security Challenges And The Survival Of Democracy In Nigeria: An Assessment Of Niger East Senatorial District, Niger State, Yahuza Danjuma Izom

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The study assessed security challenges in relation to survival of democracy in Nigeria with focus on Niger East Senatorial District. The methodology adopted for the study is descriptive research. The population of the study was drawn from nine local government areas that constituted the district with a population of 1,513,469 (NPC, 2006). Sample size of 380 was used and the sampling technique was simple random sampling technique. Questionnaire was used as the research instrument which was well structured in two parts. Part (A) is the biodata of the respondent and part (B) was on the subject matter of the research …

Learning About Street Harassment On Transit: A Survey Instrument For Transit Agencies, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Jon Canapary, Carol Anne Caroll, Tam J. Guy, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study was conducted in accordance with California Senate Bill 1161 (2022), legislation that directed the Mineta Transportation Institute to develop a reliable, easy-to-use survey instrument for collecting information from public transit passengers about the extent, location, and characteristics of any street harassment they experience. Although the legislation is focused on large California transit agencies, the study findings are equally relevant to smaller agencies and agencies outside the state. To develop the recommended questionnaire, we reviewed literature about street harassment, analyzed transit passenger surveys to explore the questions asked about safety and harassment, received feedback on iterative drafts of the …

Transformer-Based Multi-Task Learning For Crisis Actionability Extraction, Yuhao Zhang, Siaw Ling Lo, Phyo Yi Win Myint

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Social media has become a valuable information source for crisis informatics. While various methods were proposed to extract relevant information during a crisis, their adoption by field practitioners remains low. In recent fieldwork, actionable information was identified as the primary information need for crisis responders and a key component in bridging the significant gap in existing crisis management tools. In this paper, we proposed a Crisis Actionability Extraction System for filtering, classification, phrase extraction, severity estimation, localization, and aggregation of actionable information altogether. We examined the effectiveness of transformer-based LSTM-CRF architecture in Twitter-related sequence tagging tasks and simultaneously extracted actionable …

Perceptions Of Inspire: Training For Idaho Alternatively Certified Cte Teachers, Scott Straub, John Cannon, Carol Billing

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

This study aimed to assess the level of preparedness of alternatively licensed teachers who completed the Idaho CTE InSpIRE Educate program. A survey was distributed to 67 program completers, and the data were analyzed using statistical tools. The research found that participants believed InSpIRE provided adequate training to meet the Idaho requirements for new CTE teachers, indicating a perception of preparedness and self-efficacy. Higher self-efficacy was associated with participation in the program. However, the study also revealed room for improvement in the training, aligning with previous research that emphasized the unique needs of CTE teachers. Further research was recommended to …

The Federal Government's Role In Local Policing, Farhang Heydari, Barry Friedman, Rachel Harmon

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

For far too long, the federal government has failed to exercise its constitutional authority to mitigate the harms imposed by local policing. Absent federal intervention, though, some harmful aspects of policing will not be addressed effectively, or at all. States and localities often lack the necessary capacity and expertise to change policing, and many states and localities lack the will. This Article argues for federal intervention and describes what that intervention should look like.

The Article begins by describing three paradigmatic areas of local policing that require federal intervention to create real change: excessive use offorce, racial discrimination, and the …

Sentencing In An Era Of Plea Bargains, Jeffrey Bellin, Jeenia I. Turner

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The literature offers inconsistent answers to a question that is foundational to criminal law: Who imposes sentences? Traditional narratives place sentencing responsibility in the hands of the judge. Yet, in a country where 95% of criminal convictions come from guilty pleas (not trials), modern American scholars center prosecutors who control plea terms as the deciders of punishment. This Article highlights and seeks to resolve the tension between these conflicting narratives by charting the pathways by which sentences are determined in a system dominated by plea bargains. After reviewing the empirical literature on sentence variation, examining state and federal plea-bargaining rules …

The Curious Tension Between Fish And Game Conservation Officers And The Fourth Amendment, Thomas White

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Based on principles of federalism, states as well as the federal government address the powers and duties of fish and wildlife conservation officers (hereafter referred to generally as “conservation officers”) in a variety of ways, a significant number of which appear to have Fourth Amendment ramifications. Many states require their conservation officers to have probable cause, with or without a search warrant, to engage in search activity. Since this is the standard employed for reviewing the reasonableness of the actions of ordinary law enforcement officers, these states’ legal requirements for searching hunters and anglers do not implicate Fourth Amendment concerns. …

Sentencing In An Era Of Plea Bargains, Jeffrey Bellin, Jenia I. Turner

Faculty Publications

The literature offers inconsistent answers to a question that is foundational to criminal law: Who imposes sentences? Traditional narratives place sentencing responsibility in the hands of the judge. Yet, in a country where 95% of criminal convictions come from guilty pleas (not trials), modern American scholars center prosecutors—who control plea terms—as the deciders of punishment. This Article highlights and seeks to resolve the tension between these conflicting narratives by charting the pathways by which sentences are determined in a system dominated by plea bargains.

After reviewing the empirical literature on sentence variation, examining state and federal plea-bargaining rules and doctrines, …

Who Owns Children’S Dna?, Nila Bala

Michigan Law Review

In recent years, DNA has become increasingly easy to collect, test, and sequence, making it far more accessible to law enforcement. While legal scholars have examined this phenomenon generally, this Article examines the control and use of children’s DNA, asking who ultimately owns children’s DNA. I explore two common ways parents—currently considered “owners” of children’s DNA— might turn over children’s DNA to law enforcement: (1) “consensual” searches and (2) direct-to-consumer testing. My fundamental thesis is that parental consent is an insufficient safeguard to protect a child’s DNA from law enforcement. At present, the law leaves parents in complete control of …

Administrative Browbeating And Insurance Markets, George A. Mocsary

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Controls On Sediment Connectivity In Fluvial Networks Impacted By Wildfire Across Utah, Alec Arditti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Flooding and sedimentation caused by wildfire are among the greatest threats to watersheds, fish populations and reservoirs in the western US. Burned landscapes are at risk for increased runoff and erosion and have the potential to transport sediment that may put downstream resources at risk. The ability of the channel to transport sediment downstream, known as the connectivity, is important for determining where impacts may occur. Sediment bottlenecks are locations within the watershed where local conditions produce a persistent decrease in downstream connectivity of sediment, resulting in increased sediment deposition and potentially a substantial modification of the local channel and …