Digital Commons Network^™

Critical Race Theory Bans And The Changing Canon: Cultural Appropriation In Narrative, Susan Ayres

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Thirty-five states have enacted critical race theory (CRT) bans at the level of elementary and secondary public education, and eleven states have extended these to the university level. One way to resist these attempts to repress a healthy democracy by whitewashing history is through a pedagogy of anti-racism, including literary works. The question of what that would look like involves questions of cultural appropriation, which occurs when one takes from another culture, such as a writer creating a narrative about a character outside of the writer’s cultural identity. This Article considers the story of Ota Benga, brought from the Congo …

"Race-Blind" Redistricting Algorithms, Kayla Swan

Duke Law Journal

Litigants increasingly use algorithmic evidence in redistricting cases, employing a collection of algorithmically generated plans to point out the outlier status of the state’s current plan. But with the Supreme Court’s declaration of a race-blind Equal Protection Clause in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the constitutionality of these methods as used in racial gerrymandering cases remains uncertain. Other scholars have examined the potential impacts of race blindness as an algorithmic constraint. This Note instead interrogates the practical possibility of race-blind redistricting algorithms and finds the promise of blindness illusory. Rather, requirements to limit racial inputs in redistricting algorithms …

Garden Space As Resettlement Tactic, Place-Making Through Urban Agroecological Flourishing Of Nepali Home Gardens In Syracuse, New York, Ryan Fitzgerald

Theses - ALL

For members of the Nepali community living in Syracuse, New York, gardening and other foodway practices, like communal food preparation, reaffirm a sense of communal belonging. To be able to cultivate, collect, and consume culturally relevant food allows members of the Syracuse Nepali community to maintain a connection to generational foodways that nourish their bodies and spirits. The notion of an “authentic” Nepali cuisine is not present, instead what is centered in home gardens and within communal food preparation spaces is the individual, reflexive capacity to garden and to cook. The Syracuse Nepali community has built the capacity to utilize …

The Process Becomes Part Of You: A Methodology For Analyzing Institutional Mediation And Programmatic Possibilities In Community Writing, Chad Seader

Dissertations - ALL

To guide antiracist curriculum reform in higher education and better support college writers from racially marginalized and traditionally underserved backgrounds, this dissertation emerged from a five-year ethnographic study of a slam and spoken-word poetry program housed in a DEI office at a large research university. Merging feminist ethnographic methods and sociolinguistic scalar theory, this study develops a methodology for analyzing how institutional influence affects how people engage with writing programs in curricular, co-curricular, and community contexts alike—even in spaces outside of formal institutional structures. The study finds that student writers use slam and spoken-word poetry to bridge the embodied knowledge …

Containment: Logistics, Environmental Conflict, And The Legal Geography Of Inland Ports, Jared Charles Whear

Dissertations - ALL

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain, people worldwide received a crash course in the importance of logistics when corporations like Amazon became a lifeline for many. Before this increased public attention, however, scholars in geography had shown logistics to be a highly political yet indispensable process in the operation of global capitalism. Much of this scholarship underscores how the logistics industry frequently operates at the expense of marginalized people, workers, and the environment. In this dissertation, I expand on this work by adding a legal geography and political ecology analysis—a legal political ecology approach—to examine the …

Critical Race Theory, Neoliberalism, And The Illiberal University, Rodney D. Coates

Journal of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies

No abstract provided.

Cultural Influences Of Leadership Curriculum: A Literature Analysis Between Western And Eastern Leadership Curriculum, Siyuan Chen, Zhi Yin, Tianshi Hao, Anshu Lal, Jesse Llamas, Michael Llamas

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

This literature review seeks to determine how Western and Eastern cultures influence leadership training and curriculum design. According to research, cultural differences may make it difficult to develop a universal leadership curriculum. Due to cultural variations, establishing a universal leadership curriculum might be difficult, and it is most ideal to create a leadership curriculum that fits a specific culture to maximize the efficiency of a leader. Cultural factors such as society structure and dispute resolution continue to influence the desired leadership curriculum and training in target regions. Western leadership has been impacted by growth mentality, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution, …

Sustainable Futures-Integrating Indigenous Perspectives Into An Environmental Assessment Framework: An Analysis Of The Mauri Model, Anna Bettini

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

The twin concepts of sustainable development and sustainability have been key points in new policies. Nonetheless, only the Western scientific perspective is typically considered, excluding other voices and leading to a very narrow vision of “sustainability”. The following article investigates the benefits to including indigenous knowledge and principles, considering their values rather than limitations and presents two specific case studies using the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework, a tool applied for environmental assessment, seen as a more cultural-friendly sustainable approach.

Nutritional Requirements And Effect Of Culture Conditions On The Performance Of The African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus): A Review, Sandra Langi, Sahya Maulu, Oliver J. Hasimuna, Veronica Kaleinasho Kapula, Martin Tjipute

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Aquaculture is crucial for global food and nutrition security due to the inability of wild harvests to meet increasing demand. Africa’s contribution to aquaculture is generally low, despite its potential for economic development, food security, and reduced unemployment. The study focuses on the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) a freshwater fish species that is widely farmed for food in Africa and other parts of the world. Proper nutrition is essential for the growth and development of the fish, and understanding their nutritional requirements is critical for producing healthy and high-quality fish. This review article provides an overview of the knowledge on …

Exploring Factors For Implementation Of Epas In Pediatric Subspecialty Fellowships: A Qualitative Study Of Program Directors., Angela S. Czaja, Richard B. Mink, Bruce E. Herman, Pnina Weiss, David A. Turner, Megan L. Curran, Diane E J Stafford, Angela Myers, Melissa L. Langhan

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To understand fellowship program directors' (FPDs) perspectives on facilitators and barriers to using entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in pediatric subspecialty training.

METHODS: We performed a qualitative study of FPDs, balancing subspecialty, program size, geographic region and current uses of EPAs. A study coordinator conducted 1-on-1 interviews using a semistructured approach to explore EPA use or nonuse and factors supporting or preventing their use. Investigators independently coded transcribed interviews using an inductive approach and the constant comparative method. Group discussion informed code structure development and refinement. Iterative data collection and analysis continued until theoretical sufficiency was achieved, yielding a thematic …

(Un)Learning Aesethetics: Pedagogy And The Perceptual Ecology Of Class Struggle, Derek R. Ford, Daniela Chaparro '21

Education Studies Faculty publications

Materialist approaches to aesthetics historicize our sensuous capacities, orientations, and objects by attending to their ongoing production. This article begins by articulating capital not as an “economic” system but as a broader perceptual ecology that produces particular correspondences between subjects and the world. In response to the clear limits of ideology critique we argue that not only is capitalist ideology reproduced educationally but that pedagogical challenges to capital need to generate experiences with alternative collective perceptual realities that exist in the present. In our current conjuncture, such experiences are political insofar as they help rejuvenate the belief in the possibility …

Perianth Evolution And Implications For Generic Delimitation In The Eucalypts (Myrtaceae), Including The Description Of The New Genus, Blakella, Michael D. Crisp, Bui Q. Minh, Bokyung Choi, Robert D. Edwards, James Hereward, Carsten Kulheim, Yen Po Lin, Karen Meusemann, Andrew H. Thornhill, Alicia Toon, Lyn G. Cook

Michigan Tech Publications

Eucalypts (Myrtaceae tribe Eucalypteae) are currently placed in seven genera. Traditionally, Eucalyptus was defined by its operculum, but when phylogenies placed Angophora, with free sepals and petals, as sister to the operculate bloodwood eucalypts, the latter were segregated into a new genus, Corymbia. Yet, generic delimitation in the tribe Eucalypteae remains uncertain. Here, we address these problems using phylogenetic analysis with the largest molecular data set to date. We captured 101 low-copy nuclear exons from 392 samples representing 266 species. Our phylogenetic analysis used maximum likelihood (IQtree) and multispecies coalescent (Astral). At two nodes critical to generic delimitation, we tested …

The Future Of Clovers In Forage Systems And As Cover Crops, J. H. Bouton, John R. Caradus

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Clovers (Trifolium spp.) are the most widely used genera of legumes in forage systems, although only a limited number of the hundreds of perennial and annual species are commercially available. The number of varieties available within each of the main commercial species can be high and demonstrates past breeding achievements. Success relates to any clover’s ability to persist in mixtures with other forage species, across a range of soil types, management systems, and climates, while providing animal nutrition and biologically fixed nitrogen benefits. Uses range from traditional pasture mixtures with grasses to inclusion in multi-species mixtures, and as cover …

Modelling Leucaena Biomass Under Rainfed Production Systems Of Semiarid Regions, M. J. D. Cândido, J. L. G. Santos, A. C. R. Cavalcante, S. R. Maranhão, M. A. Santos, J. M. Osorio Leyton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The climatic variability of semiarid regions is the main source of uncertainties associated with forage and animal production, indicating a need for tools that accurately estimate forage production in order to construct a forage budgeting plan for livestock. This study simulated the biomass of Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) using the PHYGROW model in four locations located in Brazilian Semiarid. The work was carried out based on field data collected from 2019 to 2021. After sowing in 2018, leucaena was harvested when it reached 200 cm and to a target residual height of 70 cm. The biomass (fresh matter) was …

“Now, What’S One Story I Wanted To Tell You?”: Oral History Exhibition Archives At The Chicago History Museum At The Turn Of The 21st Century, Arianne Nguyen

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

Starting in the 1970s, American history museums have undergone a shift away from seeing themselves collections-focused historical societies acting as “temples to the past.” In the face of broader political challenges—civil rights, increasingly multicultural urban audiences, and the “culture wars” of the 1980s, public historians have sought to reclaim their institutions’ relevance by seeking to share their authority and mission with those “publics” they serve.

While secondary literature on public history has generally agreed that museums pulled off this shift—and museums themselves have touted successful exhibits and outreach—this essay uses a specific case study to complicate the narrative. The Chicago …

The Black American Revolution: The American Revolution As Experienced By African Americans, Amy Kurian

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper focuses on how the American Revolution mobilized the enslaved and free black population in a way that constitutes a "Black American Revolution." In particular, the enslaved population engaged in multiple efforts for freedom, ranging from fighting in the Revolutionary War to writing petitions to state legislatures. First, I present how the "slavery metaphor" propagated by white Loyalists indicates the inherent differences in how the white and black populations experienced the Revolution. There is an overall discussion of the various methods the enslaved used in their attempts to gain freedom: military service, slave petitions, freedom suits, and escape. I …

The Illusion Of Public Space: Enforcement Of Anti-Camping Ordinances Against Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, Peer Marie Oppenheimer

University of Chicago Legal Forum

In response to the growing homelessness problem, many state and local governments have developed anti-camping ordinances that criminalize the act of sleeping on public property. Anti-camping laws can devastate individuals experiencing homelessness, especially when alternative resources, such as shelters, are not easily accessible. This Comment addresses the extent to which municipalities may enforce anti-camping ordinances against individuals experiencing homelessness who have no alternative to sleeping in public without violating the Eighth Amendment. As municipal regulation and judicial interpretation narrow the scope of permissible use of publicly owned areas, this raises the question of to what extent, and to whom, public …

Deploying Trustworthy Ai In The Courtroom: Lessons From Examining Algorithm Bias In Redistricting Ai, Wendy K. Tam Cho, Bruce E. Cain

University of Chicago Legal Forum

Deploying trustworthy AI is an increasingly pressing and common concern. In a court of law, the challenges are exacerbated by the confluence of a general lack of expertise in the judiciary and the rapid speed of technological advancement. We discuss the obstacles to trustworthy AI in the courtroom through a discussion that focuses on the legal landscape surrounding electoral redistricting. We focus on two particular issues, data bias and a lack of domain knowledge, and discuss how they may lead to problematic legal decisions. We conclude with a discussion of the separate but complementary roles of technology and human deliberation. …

The Gravity Of Legal Diffusion, Anu Bradford, Adam Chilton, Katerina Linos

University of Chicago Legal Forum

A persistent empirical finding is that bilateral trade between two countries is proportional to the size of their economies and inversely proportional to their geographic distance. We hypothesize that a similar pattern is likely to hold for the diffusion of laws. We specifically argue that countries’ propensity to update their laws to converge with the leading regulator in a given policy area is likely to be proportional to the size of their economies and inversely proportional to their geographic distance. We then empirically test this theory in the area of antitrust and assess countries’ convergence to the world’s leading antitrust …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Cellulose Microfibril-Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol Biodegradable Composites, Fatemeh Mahdiyeh-Boroujeni, Gabriella Fioravanti, Ronald Kander

School of Design and Engineering Papers

The pursuit of an environmentally sustainable manufacturing process requires the substitution of less damaging and recyclable solutions for harmful reagents. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of using cellulose microfibrils synthesized via different hydrolysis reactions as reinforcing agents in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at varying concentrations. The investigation explores the morphology, thermal properties, and chemical behavior of the cellulose particles. The cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) produced using citric acid exhibited the highest yield and aspect ratio. Notably, particles from organic acids demonstrated greater thermal stability, with oxalic acid-derived particles displaying the maximum thermal degradation temperature. Subsequently, cast films of PVA reinforced …

Death, Dreaming, And Diaspora: Achieving Orientation Through Afro-Spirituality, Liz Johnston, Jaime Elizabeth Johnston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Enslavement, colonization, and the systems that uphold racial injustice were and still are a series of new, unfathomable, and challenging experiences that prompt individuals within the diaspora to seek orientation. How does a human cope with centuries of attempts at the systematic destruction of their humanity, culture, and identity? How can they reclaim that identity, especially when so much of it seems lost? I address these questions by utilizing texts from the expansive body of work regarding ethnographic-historical-religious studies on Afro-spiritual practices to better analyze instances in literature in the ongoing practice of diasporic orientation. In this project, I argue …

Ai Meets Ai: Chatgpt As A Pedagogical Tool To Teach American Indian History, Jeffrey Washburn, Jennifer Monroe Mccutchen

Critical Humanities

Our paper illustrates how we used Artificial Intelligence to teach the tools of ethnohistory and highlight American Indian voices in our classrooms. It overviews our integration of ChatGPT in both survey and upper-level history courses at two different institutions: a small liberal arts college in the Midwest and a regional-comprehensive university in Texas. Though it acknowledges the benefits and pitfalls of using ChatGPT to teach Native American history, this article emphasizes the pedagogical value of large language models (LLMs) for student engagement and analytical thinking through a variety of critical review, peer review, and group annotation assessments; this included analyses …

Thriving In College: International, First-Generation, And Transfer Students, Hannah Webb, Nikita Kulkarni, Dustin Grabsch

SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research

Underrepresented-student groups experience unique challenges throughout their college experience, the impacts of which can be assessed by measuring students’ levels of thriving. The purpose of this study was to understand the thriving of underrepresented college students—first-generation, international, and transfer students, specifically. To understand this, we sought to measure students’ thriving levels and determine the experiences contributing to or detracting from their perception of thriving. This study utilized a sequential exploratory design using the established 72-item thriving quotient survey to measure students’ overall thriving levels. In addition, the study utilized a qualitative content analysis on an open-ended question asking participants to …

Microplastic Transport And Deposition In A Beach-Dune System (Saunton Sands-Braunton Burrows, Southwest England), Rachael J. Anderson, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Although microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous contaminants that have been extensively studied in the marine setting, there remain gaps in our understanding of their transport and fate in the coastal zone. In this study, MPs isolated from surface sediments sampled from a large beach-dune complex in southwest England have been quantified and characterised. Concentrations above a detectable size limit of 30 to 50 μm ranged from about 40 to 560 MP kg−1 dry weight but, despite local sources of plastics such as an estuary and seasonal tourism, there were no significant differences in median concentrations between different orthogonal foreshore transects and …

Spatial Analyses On Pre-Earthquake Ionospheric Anomalies And Magnetic Storms Observed By China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite In August 2018, Jann-Yeng Tiger Liu, Xuhui Shen, Fu-Yuan Chang, Yuh-Ing Chen, Yang-Yi Sun, Chieh‑Hung Chen, Sergey Pulinets, Katsumi Hattori, Dimitar Ouzounov, Valerio Tramutoli, Michel Parrot, Wei-Sheng Chen, Cheng-Yan Liu, Fei Zhang, Dapeng Liu, Xue-Min Zhang, Rui Yan, Qiao Wang

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES), with a sun-synchronous orbit at 507 km altitude, was launched on 2 February 2018 to investigate pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies (PEIAs) and ionospheric space weather. The CSES probes manifest longitudinal features of four-peak plasma density and three plasma depletions in the equatorial/low-latitudes as well as mid-latitude troughs. CSES plasma and the total electron content (TEC) of the global ionosphere map (GIM) are used to study PEIAs associated with a destructive M7.0 earthquake and its followed M6.5 and M6.3/M6.9 earthquakes in Lombok, Indonesia, on 5, 17, and 19 August 2018, respectively, as well as to examine ionospheric …

Warmth Of The Welcome: Immigration And Local Housing Returns, Xun Bian, N. Edward Coulson, Xiaojin Sun

Hunt Institute Working Paper Series

We study the effect of immigration on home values in the U.S. Applying a county-level instrument for immigration, we find that immigration increases local house price appreciation and decreases its within-county spatial dispersion. Our estimates suggest that, on average, a one percentage point in- crease in the immigrant share of the local population raises house price appreciation by approximately 7 percent and reduces the dispersion of housing return within a county by about 1.5 percentage points. We also show that such effects are strikingly heterogeneous across counties and appear to be deter- mined by local culture. Using several proxies for …

Digitalizations Revolutionary Effect On Education And Career Development, Akshat Jain, Mohammed Wamique Hisam, Imran Azad, Amir Ahmad Dar, Mehak Malhotra, Mohammad Shahfaraz Khan

Information Sciences Letters

The digital revolution has greatly impacted education, making it more accessible and convenient. Online learning has democratized education, providing learners with a vast range of knowledge. This study examines the advantages of online learning in terms of academic and career growth, considering the influence of location (rural/urban). The research methodology includes statistical analysis and a survey of 110 students in India. The results show that earning certificates online significantly affects both educational and career growth. The study also finds that the impact of online learning is consistent across rural and urban areas. Finally, this paper emphasizes the transformative potential of …

Knowledge Management Systems: Empowering Motivation And Satisfaction In Higher Education Institutions, S. A. Alwaely, M. F. Alshammari, A. Abusalma, R. A. S. Al-Derabseh, A. A. H. Al_ Ruheel, S. R. Darawsheh

Information Sciences Letters

In order to better understand knowledge management methods, this study will look into the link between knowledge management enablers and performance outcomes in Saudi Arabian and Jordanian higher education institutions, with a focus on public universities in the Emirates. Three particular state institutions faculty members made up the studys population. The samples were chosen by simple random sampling. The study included 150 questions, all of which were helpful for achieving the studys goal and yielding a100% response rate. Regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the hypotheses and Cornbrashs alpha was employed to assess the datas dependability. The findings showed that …

The Impact Of Political Variables On The Ottoman-European Hegemonic Conflict In The Mediterranean Before The Battle Of Lepanto In 1571 Ce, A. J. Khasawneh, Abdellatif A. Meshref, K. E. Al-Sarhan

Information Sciences Letters

The political variables that contributed to the development of hostilities between European states and the Ottoman Empire in the region will be examined in the paper The Impact of Political Variables on the Ottoman- European Hegemonic Conflict in the Mediterranean before the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 CE". The paper examines how these elements affected the state-state struggle and concentrates on the time leading up to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 CE. The study will go into the alliances and diplomatic ties between states that contributed to the conflicts escalation as well as other political and military factors. The …

Fishing Communities And Public Participation In Federal Decisionmaking: A Case Study Of Community Opposition To The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project, Stephanie Showalter Otts

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

In debates surrounding coastal restoration projects, the word “community” is heard frequently. Coastal restoration projects have the potential to affect a wide range of communities, both those which are place-based as well as communities of practice that are not geographically bound. However, the lack of a single, accepted definition of community can lead to faulty assumptions about who is being represented in policy debates which can undermine efforts to build consensus and support for coastal restoration efforts. This Article presents a case study of community conflicts and public participation surrounding a large, controversial coastal restoration project in Louisiana—the Mid-Barataria Sediment …