Digital Commons Network^™

Two Ai Truths And A Lie, Woodrow Hartzog

Faculty Scholarship

Industry will take everything it can in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. We will get used to it. This will be done for our benefit. Two of these things are true and one of them is a lie. It is critical that lawmakers identify them correctly. In this Essay, I argue that no matter how AI systems develop, if lawmakers do not address the dynamics of dangerous extraction, harmful normalization, and adversarial self-dealing, then AI systems will likely be used to do more harm than good.

Given these inevitabilities, lawmakers will need to change their usual approach to regulating technology. …

Structural Sex Discrimination: Why Gynecology Patients Suffer Avoidable Injuries And What The Law Can Do About It, Christopher Robertson, Annabel Kupke, Louise P. King

Faculty Scholarship

The nearly four million Americans who undergo gynecological surgeries each year suffer avoidable lifelong, painful, and disabling injuries. This Article diagnoses the root cause in our legal framework for healthcare finance and identifies legal solutions.

America’s public-private system for reimbursing healthcare pays for procedures rather than outcomes, and it pays substantially more for work on male rather than female anatomies. This disparity is due to the federal government’s reliance on a secretive industry committee to set those rates, and the committee’s reliance on junk science surveys, allowing self-interested and gender-biased responses, contrary to objective measures.

As payors disvalue the bodies …

Children At Work, Parental Rights–And Rhetoric, Naomi Cahn, Maxine Eichner, Mary Ziegler

Faculty Publications

This Article examines the resurgence of child labor law rollbacks across the United States and argues that legislators and business‑aligned advocates increasingly deploy the rhetoric of “parental rights” to mask deregulatory efforts that primarily advance industry interests rather than children’s wellbeing or family autonomy. Tracing the historical tension among parental authority, state parens patriae power, and children’s welfare, the Article shows how contemporary invocations of parental rights—echoing arguments used a century ago to resist child labor reforms—operate as political cover for expanding hazardous work, extending hours, and reducing oversight in ways that endanger children and undermine their educational and economic …

New Tech, Old Problem: The Rise Of Virtual Rent-To-Own Agreements, Carrie Floyd

Faculty Publications

This Article examines how fintech has transformed the traditional rent-to-own (RTO) industry by enabling the rise of virtual rent-to-own agreements (“VirTOs”), which now extend high-cost RTO-style financing into services and unconventional products such as vehicle repairs, pet ownership, and medical devices. It explains how VirTOs differ from classic RTO arrangements by involving hidden online transactions between retailers and third‑party VirTO providers, making termination through return of the item—central to the legal status of RTOs—practically impossible. As a result, the Article argues that VirTOs function as disguised credit rather than true rentals, forming a legal fiction designed to evade consumer protection …

Masking Identity At Public Protests, Deborah R. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

This Article will explore these issues to assist those seeking to enact constitutionally valid mask policies. To situate today’s mask regulation challenges in the context of American history, Part I reviews events that led to enactment of anti-mask laws many years ago. Part II explains when the First Amendment protects the right to wear a mask in public and when such permission may be lawfully abridged. The section explains the importance of analyzing whether wearing a mask in public is sufficiently expressive to merit First Amendment protection. When it is, the next challenge is to identify the constitutional standard for …

Labor Law’S Impact On The Post-Dobbs Workplace, Jeffrey M. Hirsch

Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has left many workers, especially in states with restrictive abortion-related laws, in a precarious position. Labor laws and unions, however, provide one avenue for providing these workers with more protections. Unions can demand bargaining to protect or expand health care, leave, and other terms of employment that give workers with means to obtain abortion-related care. Unions can also provide members legal defense and other support if they face prosecutions. Additionally, both union and non-union workers who make up the vast majority of workers in states with restrictive laws may have labor law protection for discussing …

Medical Board Discipline Of Physicians For Spreading Medical Misinformation, Richard S. Saver

Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE False medical information disseminated dangerously during the COVID-19 pandemic, with certain physicians playing a surprisingly prominent role. Medical boards engendered widespread criticism for not imposing forceful sanctions, but considerable uncertainty remains about how the professional licensure system regulates physician-spread misinformation.

OBJECTIVE To compare the level of professional discipline of physicians for spreading medical misinformation relative to discipline for other offenses.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study analyzed and coded publicly reported medical board disciplinary actions in the 5 most populous US states. The analysis included data from January 1, 2020, through May 30, 2023, for California, Florida, New …

Multibillion-Dollar Tax Questions, James Alm, Jay A. Soled, Kathleen Delaney Thomas

Faculty Publications

Tax compliance in the United States historically hovers in the 80 percent range, costing the nation approximately half a trillion dollars annually in uncollected tax revenue. To foster greater tax compliance, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should employ whatever tools are at its disposal. Standard deterrence theory argues that increasing the audit rate and imposing stiffer penalties would foster greater tax compliance. There are political headwinds, however, that strongly suggest that these approaches are not currently viable. Instead, there is a low-cost method that could yield greater tax compliance. Drawing on recent and compelling social science research, the IRS should …

Data Controllers As Data Fiduciaries: Theory, Definitions & Burdens Of Proof, Noelle Wilson, Amanda Reid

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Understanding Our Digital Fingerprints: Metadata, Competency, And The Future Practice Of Law, Stacey Lane Rowland

Faculty Publications

Metadata, often referred to as “data about data,” plays a crucial role in the digital world. It encompasses embedded information within electronic documents that reveals details about their creation, modification, and transmission. In legal proceedings, metadata can be both helpful and controversial, as it can expose sensitive information and potentially support or refute claims of fabricated evidence. With the widespread use of smartphones and other electronic devices, individuals generate vast amounts of personal data, including metadata, that can provide detailed insights into their lives.

This Article explores the significance of metadata in various contexts, such as digital photographs, and highlights …

Crypto Failure In The Shadows, Kara J. Bruce

Faculty Publications

This Article examines the tension between bankruptcy law’s strong transparency norms and the extensive sealing of records in major cryptocurrency bankruptcy cases following the 2022–2023 “crypto winter.” Through analysis of cases including FTX, Celsius, Voyager, and BlockFi, the Article shows how crypto debtors have secured broad protective orders shielding creditor identities and internal documents. It argues that these secrecy practices depart from bankruptcy’s traditional information‑forcing function, inhibiting oversight and creditor participation. While valid privacy concerns exist, courts have too readily accepted expansive sealing without rigorous evidentiary support. The Article proposes a normative framework for evaluating sealing requests under §107, emphasizing …

The Best Laid Plans: Case Studies Of The Loss Of Four Early (1996-2003) Digital Humanities Websites, Drew E. Vandecreek

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

This study examines factors contributing to the loss of four grant funded, free use digital humanities websites funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities' Education Development and Demonstration Program, 1996-2003: Decision Point! at Auburn University, Hawthorne in Salem at North Shore Community College (Danvers, MA), the New Deal Network at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (Hyde Park, NY), and River Web at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The evidence shows that website loss did not occur suddenly. In all four cases, organizations that accepted program funds to create online materials ultimately failed to develop or continue procedures …

Us Hospices’ Approach To Racial/ Ethnic Minority Inclusion: A Qualitative Study, M. Courtney Hughes, Erin Vernon, Monica Kowalczyk, Marlon Basco-Rodillas

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Objective: To examine hospices’ approaches to improving the current racial/ethnic hospice utilisation disparity.

Methods: During June and July 2020, we conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 22 hospice leaders from across the USA. The interviews focused on inclusive strategy approaches. We analysed the data using qualitative methods.

Results: Multiple themes emerged about racial/ ethnic minority inclusion strategies: (1) hospices tailor strategies to the local communities they serve; (2) improvement involves addressing social determinants of health that extend beyond end-of-life care; (3) costs of strategies are not a primary concern and the benefits are worth the costs; and (4) hospices want to …

Investigating The Impact Of Leaderboards, Badges, And Ebucks On High School English Language Learners’ Cognitive Engagement, Self-Efficacy And Intrinsic Motivation Toward Reading In English, Omar J. Almamoori

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This study examines the impact of gamification elements, in particular leaderboards, badges, and eBucks, on the cognitive engagement (CE), intrinsic motivation (IM), and self-efficacy (SE) of English Language Learners (ELLs) at a high school in the Southeastern United States. The investigation, conducted during optional weekly readings, utilizes a mixed methods design to investigate the effects of gamification on ELLs' learning experiences. Through pre-post surveys and semi-structured interviews, data was collected to assess the gamified intervention's impact. Utilizing a one-way covariate analysis (ANCOVA) in IBM SPSS Statistics (version 29), the study evaluates the effect of gamification while controlling for grade, gender, …

Enrollment Management Leadership Response To System Changes: Case Study, Christopher R. Jensen

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

While the impact of government funding for institutions of higher education has been researched extensively, little research looks at the impact of students as a funding source. This is important because students are one of the greatest contributors to higher education budgets. Within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, there has been a decline in high school graduates as well as state funding since the Great Recession in 2008.

This study uses systems theory as a theoretical framework to help understand the dynamic relationship between the external environment and institutions of higher education, as well as frame how leadership at regional institutions …

Answering The Call Of Late Registration, Brooke Justice

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The topic of late registration in higher education is a term that must be clearly defined to properly compare and contrast academic success metrics. A standard definition for late registration has yet to be agreed upon. For the purposes of this mixed methods action research study, late registration is enrollment in a course 10 days preceding the beginning of the course.

Review of registration data at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College uncovered a disparity between student academic performance of those who registered on time and those who registered late. The institution’s heightened focus on academic performance reflects the performance-based …

Shaping College Habitus: An Exploration Of The Effect Of The Social/Spatial Construction Of First-Year Classes On The Habitus Of Low-Income, Working-Class Rural Students, Joshua R. Mcconnell Parsons

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Low-income, working-class (LI/WC) students entering spaces of higher education often face completely new social and cultural fields that do not match their prior experiences, requiring them to construct new conceptualizations of their habitus within those spaces—the way they internalize and interact with the world. However, a dearth of research exists on how these students’ conceptualizations of the social and physical spaces that make up their actual classroom and academic experiences play a role in how they come to form their new identities or habitus. This in-depth qualitative analysis of students’ habitus formation leverages Doreen Massey’s theoretical framework of critical spatiality …

The Psychosocial Aspects Of Rest, Morgan Findley

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Past research in sport sciences has focused primarily on “rest” from a physical perspective, while giving limited focus to the psychosocial perspective (Eccles & Riley, 2014; Eccles et al., 2022). One major development on psychosocial rest emerged with the pioneering model introduced by Eccles and Kazmier (2019); however, further research is needed to test this proposed model with other sport/performance populations. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the model's generalizability and investigate the perceived frequency of psychosocial rest by athletes throughout their season. To accomplish this, 67 female university athletes completed an online survey comprised of questions representative of the …

An Investigation Of Body Image And Eating Behaviors In Former Ncaa Heptathletes, Claire Bailey

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Research consistently supports associations between body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating pathologies in collegiate athletes (e.g., Reel & Voelker, 2012; Sundgot-Borgen, 1994). More specifically, female NCAA athletes report feeling torn between peak performance body composition and body fat levels fitting ideal feminine standards (Beckner & Record, 2016; Carson et al., 2020). Examining track and field, most event groups hold a lean-promoting perspective. However, heptathletes warrant further investigation due to the multifaceted and contradictory nature of events. Specifically, heptathletes encounter complex pressures training for a wide range of physical demands, which can create confusion in expected body types (Heazlewood et al., …

Poc@Fwcd: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Black@ Instagram In K-12 Independent Schools, Chaka Cummings

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The summer of 2020 saw many aspects of American society deal with the racial reckoning that arose in the wake of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. Their murders sparked outrage, protests, and calls for action and change in the United States through a critical examination of race relations across numerous facets of society. Structures such as educational institutions were called to perform this critical examination much in the same way that cities and industries were. A catalyst in the calls for change came from students through their utilization of social media platforms.

This study is …

De Aquí, Y De Allá: Education, Culture, And Identity Development Of Transnational Latinas, Elizabeth Harris-Medina

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

De Aquí, y De Allá: Education, Culture, and Identity Development of Transnational Latinas This ethnographic case study examines the experiences of three transnational Latina women, descendants of families from Degollado, Jalisco, Mexico, exploring how their migration history and educational backgrounds influence their life trajectories. Focusing on these three women, the study aims to better understand their challenges and inform the development of resources to support their success in the U.S. education system. Using ethnographic interviews and Ecological Systems Theory, the research highlights how places and social systems shape views and life paths, offering insights into how best to support these …

Data In Higher Education: Exploring The Collection, Interpretation, And Utilization Of Information For Institutional Decision-Making Around Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion, Terri Berkley

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study investigates how higher education institutions in the Appalachian region collect, assess, and utilize data to inform diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and broader institutional transformations. It focuses on understanding how data influences policy reforms, operational practices, and cultural shifts within these institutions. Through a mixed-methods approach—comprising surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups—the study examines the perspectives of key stakeholders, including DEI administrators, non-DEI administrators, and executive-level leaders.

The research identifies how institutional roles and positionality shape stakeholders' engagement with data and their ability to implement DEI-informed strategies. Key findings highlight discrepancies in data access, interpretation, and application, …

Increasing Expectations For Entry: Analyzing Changes In Labor Market Entry-Level Education Requirements Over Time With Potential Implications For Credential Or Degree Inflation And Returns-To-Education, William Nicholas Grinstead

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The dissertation asks the following question: Have occupations increased academic degree requirements over time?

The literature review provides background on the origin and criticisms of the concept of a “knowledge economy.” It addresses economic “signaling theory” and sociologic “credentialism.”

The methodology relies on a trend analysis using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook and the occupations’ Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and its predecessor the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). In order to address whether occupations have increased academic degree requirements over time, this dissertation will compare entry-level education requirements for BLS SOC occupations that today are …

Correlates Of Transactional Sex Among Black Men And Women Who Misuse Opioids, Shemeka Thorpe, Paige Orphé, Gabriella Pitcher, Kendall Mccleod, Natalie Malone, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Kinesiology and Health Promotion Faculty Publications

The rise in opioid misuse coincides with increased sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV incidence. Transactional sex is an under-researched phenomenon among Black Americans who misuse opioids, and may increase their risk of STI or HIV transmission. Given the disproportionate impact of the opioid epidemic on Black Americans and the risks associated with opioid misuse, the current study aims to investigate sociostructural factors, history of violence, and sexual risk factors associated with transactional sex among Black men and women. A sample of n = 375 Black adult Kentuckians reporting opioid misuse completed a survey including transactional sex, sociostructural, violence history, …

Exploring Elementary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy And Propensity For Teaching Stem, Ashley Wilkirson

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

The following research is conducted in the interest in exploring self-efficacy (or the lack of) in pre- and in-service elementary school teachers when it comes to teaching STEM. In order to explore the issue of self-efficacy for STEM in elementary schools, it comes to defining what STEM education is and what self-efficacy is. These definitions guide research collected in building these future and current teachers’ self-efficacy, with factors ranging from resources available, pre-service training, professional development, content area knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, perceptions of teaching STEM, and opportunities to collaborate with other teachers were listed as some of the reasons. These …

Incorporating Uas Traffic Management Into Wildland Firefighting Operations: Initial Findings Of Subject Matter Expert Interviews, Deborah L. Bakowski, Lynne Martin, Gil Dustin, Chris Mariano

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UASs) are being utilized throughout the disaster and emergency response domain, including in wildland firefighting operations. While UASs can offer safety benefits in comparison to crewed aircraft, such as removing the human pilot from the vehicle so that they are not exposed to the same risks and the ability to operate in low-visibility conditions, they are not without tradeoffs. For example, it can be challenging for UAS pilots (UASPs) to build situation awareness of the airspace in which their UAS is operating. In order to address some of the challenges associated with using UASs and provide greater …

Impact Of Ai In Product Lifecycle, Atmesh Tiwari, Minnie H. Patel

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Industries are evolving more rapidly in today's time than ever before, human needs and lifestyle are constantly adapting and changing as technology is becoming an irreplaceable part of their lives. In today's world Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a groundbreaking force replacing conventional ways with new innovative processes. Product development in this era of artificial intelligence is going under major transformations. A review of papers and research shows that the role of Artificial intelligence in product management is going to increase with time. This paper dwells through the tasks, roles, and perspectives of the product lifecycle stages, along with …

Navigating Enterprise Constraints: Building A Hybrid Multi-Modal Mobile Intelligent App, Ketan Malempati, Akshat Gupta, Kaikai Liu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted various industries to explore how it can enhance their businesses and improve customer experiences. However, the practical deployment of AI services faces challenges due to internal infrastructure limitations, data policies, and network restrictions. In this paper, we present our current project - a solution designed to empower mental health centers with AI tools while adhering to stringent data and network constraints. Our approach involves deploying AI services and data within internal enterprise networks, while the customer-facing mobile app resides in the public cloud. We introduce a custom AI agent system that monitors …

Rapid Simulation Framework For Superconducting Qubit Readout System Inverse Design And Optimization, Albert Lu, Hiu Yung Wong

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Qubit readout is one of the most important operations in quantum computers. In superconducting quantum computers, the success of readout depends on many parameters and is difficult to optimize due to the high dimensionality of the problem. In this work, a rapid simulation framework that comprises an analytical model, a neural network (NN), and optimizers using the NN as a surrogate model is proposed. The analytical model is calibrated to the experimental result and allows rapid simulations to generate enough data to train NNs. Single and multi-objective optimizations are performed. It is shown that a better solution can be found …

Resume Content Generation Using Llama 2 With Adapters, Navaneeth Sai Nidadavolu, William B. Andreopoulos

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a novel approach to enhancing the Llama language model for generating customized resumes tailored to domain-specific job descriptions. Unlike traditional methods that rely heavily on extensive fine-tuning, we implement scalable adapter modules to minimize parameter adjustments. This approach preserves the model's inherent ability to generate coherent and contextually appropriate language across diverse tasks, ensuring that its general linguistic capabilities remain intact. Additionally, we employ a prompting strategy to dynamically create a diverse and comprehensive dataset, ensuring high relevance to various job roles. Using a dataset of 10,000 job descriptions and resumes, our approach resulted in a 20% …