Digital Commons Network^™

Notes From The Editor, Jay Nathan

Journal of Global Awareness

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Jay Nathan

Journal of Global Awareness

No abstract provided.

The Kids Know What’S Up: Analyzing Student Poetry For Evidence Of Institutionalized Oppression, Sarah Straub

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This article explores institutionalized oppression faced by students today. It incorporates student-created poetry as evidence of marginalization, sexism, racism, and discrimination based on legal status. The kids know what’s up. They are acutely aware of the effects of these systems on their own lives. It is the responsibility of the educator to acknowledge this truth and act on it.

Increasing Youth Engagement In Community Heritage And Social Justice Through Implementation Of A Youth Participatory Empowerment Model, Jancarlos Wagner-Romero, Mary Gillis, Lindsay Clemens, Amanda J. Dworak Rowland, Curlinda Mitchell-Blacksheep, Melanie Canaday-Talley

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Youth in traditionally marginalized communities are often the target of policies and practices without the opportunity to provide input. This article highlights effective strategies to empower youth to become active participants in their communities. Using a Youth Participatory Empowerment Model (YPEM), youth participants from six demographically distinct communities engaged in YPEM-supported activities and strategies to identify and address a need within their community. To gain insight into successful strategies, qualitative data from pre and post implementation focus group interviews and observational field notes informed the conclusions. The participant youth represent tribal, undocumented, rural, suburban, and urban youth from underserved populations. …

Nappy, Loc’D Or Straight, It Still Gets Hate: A Collaborative Autoethnography Examining Black Hair In K-12 Education And Beyond, Maiya Turner, Janae Alexander-Bady, Virginia Redwine Johnson, Salandra Grice, Tyra Montour

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that Black hair discrimination has on Black girls in K-12 educational settings. Black hair has long been tied to Black girls and women’s cultural identities. However, Black girls often fall victim to discrimination based on their hair texture and style, which can often impact their relationship with their hair through adulthood. Utilizing collaborative autoethnography, we provide our hair experiences during our K-12 educational experiences and how this has impacted our current relationships with our hair. Additionally, within the findings, we identify three themes common among our experiences: dress codes as …

Equal For Whom?: An Analysis Of Multicultural Policies In Norway And The Us Through The Lens Of Immigrant Unemployment, Jodie Boisvert

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Norway and the United States boast diverse and equal societies. Both have attempted to implement multicultural policies to facilitate immigrants' integration into the host society. Engaging with the theories of racism, xenophobia, and multiculturalism, this paper analyzes the immigrant unemployment outcomes from Norway and the United States from 2015-2020 to identify patterns and anticipate causal relationships from these patterns. Standardized data from both countries show that immigrants from Global South countries have far worse employment outcomes than immigrants from Global North countries. The xenophobic and racist histories of both countries could explain this. This paper analyzes the multicultural policies of …

Bearing Witness To Native Stories: An Interview With Ahousaht First Nation’S Mark Atleo And Cowichan First Nation’S Adrian Sylvester, Henry Wang, Hannah Hou

Critical Humanities

Walter Fisher (1984) claims that humans are homo narrans, suggesting that not only is narrative the common act in which disparate groups of people engage, but that storytelling itself is a fundamental human undertaking. In this brief interview, we (Henry Wang and Hannah Huo) engage with the stories of two First Nations members, Mark Atleo and Adrian Sylvester, who are of the Ahousaht and Cowichan Tribes, respectively. An important component of storytelling is not just telling or conveying that story to another, but bearing witness to it (Wyles, O’Leary, and Tsantefski 2023). That is what we hope to do …

Estha And Trans Identity In The God Of Small Things, Clara Reid

Critical Humanities

Gender relationships in The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy change over the course of the book. In many ways, gender and caste are inseparable from one another in how they interact; it is Estha who bridges the gap between both. Whether consciously or subconsciously, he engages in this transgressive behavior in order to become his sister Rahel. This essay positions Estha as a trans woman longing for a becoming, and it is through his successful pursuit of Rahel in both a queer and psychoanalytic sense that he becomes a woman. This pursuit manifests through transgressive behavior, putting him …

Agency And Identity Crisis In Diasporic Experience: A Study Of Dinaw Mengestu’S The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Phatik Prasad Poudyal

Critical Humanities

This paper examines agency and identity crisis in Dinaw Mengestu’s The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, focusing on protagonist Sepha Stephanos' diasporic experience as an Ethiopian refugee in the United States. Against the backdrop of trauma and socio-economic vulnerability, Sepha's struggle to navigate a new cultural landscape reveals the complexities of diasporic identity formation. Through a theoretical lens encompassing concepts of agency and identity discourse, the study analyzes Sepha's inability to exert agency in shaping his destiny, as influenced by his diasporic status and past trauma. Drawing on scholars such as William H. Sewel and Stuart Hall, the paper explores …

Masculinity In Nepali Diaspora Stories, Asmita Bista

Critical Humanities

This article analyzes the construction of masculinity in the anthology Paradesahkaa Kathaa (Stories of a Foreign Country). The stories “Amerikan Pasaport” (American Passport), “Pijjaa Delibharee” (Pizza Delivery), “Diportesana” (Deportation), and “Deshabhaktta” (A Patriot) depict the struggles of male characters in the host country, America. The main aspect of their struggle is maintaining the image of a successful man, as they consider failure to be effeminate. As immigrants, they are doubly burdened because these male characters must construct their identity through their actions. On the one hand, they feel pressured to build a personality that aligns with the attributes …

Homelessness And Uncertain Belonging Of The Bhutanese Nepali Diaspora, Ramji Timalsina

Critical Humanities

Bhutanese Nepali Diaspora is a classic example of Nepali transnational community. Started centuries ago, it was massively developed in the 19^th and 20^th centuries before it was dispersed in the 21^st century. Living in Bhutan as an agricultural and free-of-cost-labour community for the Bhutanese regime, they always believed that Nepali culture, language and king were their own. When Bhutan brought the ‘one culture, one nation’ policy in the 1980s, about a hundred thousand Bhutanese Nepalis were expelled and they returned to Nepal with the belief that Nepal as their ancestor’s land would accept them. But, as the …

Damn The Dams: Framing ‘Schizophrenic’ Discourses Of The Hindu Right, Nandita Ghosh

Critical Humanities

This article examines the concept of schizophrenia as a cultural metaphor in order to analyze the Hindu Right’s contradictory language-framing politics within the public domain, particularly in relation to building mega dams on rivers Narmada and Bhagirathi. In so doing, it intends to examine the nature of the public domain itself that enables such framing politics within the context of late 20^th-early-21^st-century global capital. Language battles in the public domain have intensified during this period, especially through various forms of digital media. In India, the various groups that form the Hindu Right have often mixed the …

Functionalism, Algorithms And The Pursuit Of A Theory Of Mind For Artificial Intelligence, Victor Mureithi

Critical Humanities

Abstract.

The advancement of computing technology has given rise to an interesting thesis: the human brain can be studied and understood as operating on the principles of a digital computer. The claim later became a more substantial thesis: the Mind is a computer since the Mind is actualized in the brain. The recent success of large language models (LLMs) such as Bard (produced by Google), GPT3, ChatGPT (also known as GPT3.5, produced by OpenAI-Microsoft), and LLaMA (produced byMeta) has brought greater attention and focus to the discussion of human versus machine intelligence. The result has been a pursuit of a …

Introduction: Regular Issue, Vol Iii Issue I, Critical Humanities

Critical Humanities

Welcome to Volume III, Issue I of Critical Humanities

Exploring Blockchain Technology: Applications And Insights Across Multiple Fields, Zarella Valentina Burbano Vallejo, Edgar Dario Obando Paredes

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

Blockchain is a digital recording technology where each block contains encrypted data linked to previous blocks, forming an immutable and transparent sequence. This review systematically analyzes the applications and evolution of blockchain technology across multiple sectors from 2021–2023. peer-reviewed articles focused on key areas such as finance, healthcare, energy, and supply chain management. The findings highlight blockchain's transformative potential, including its ability to enhance security through encryption and decentralization, improve trust and data integrity, and eliminate intermediaries, enabling faster transactions and cost reduction. However, challenges such as scalability issues, high energy consumption in cryptocurrency mining, privacy concerns due to the …

Empowering Schools: Suicide Prevention Education For School Nurses, Navjot K. Singh

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Introduction: Suicide among adolescents and youth is such a serious issue that immediate, appropriate interventions are needed to reduce rates of suicide ideation and suicide mortality. The increasing rate of suicide among this population profoundly affects families, friends, and the community. Identifying and implementing appropriate interventions in schools could identify individuals who are suffering from mental illness and support suicide prevention.

Aim: The purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine the literature on suicide prevention interventions for young adolescents and teenagers aged 12-17 years old and identify the best, evidence-based practices for the school setting. The aim …

A Statewide Geographic Information System (Gis) As A Predictive Tool For Locating Deeply Buried Archeological Deposits In Nebraska: Phase Iii-The Sandhills Region, Anthony L. Layzell, Rolfe D. Mandel, John Swigart, David T. Williams

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This project developed a GIS to assist with the identification of deeply buried cultural deposits in alluvial settings across the Sandhills region of Nebraska. Soil survey data, previous geoarchaeological investigations, landform position, and other information was used to rank the potential of any stream valley setting as low, low-moderate, moderate-high, or high potential to contain buried cultural deposits. While the presence of buried soils does not necessarily translate to presence of buried archeological sites, the potential for such sites is far greater in buried soils. The GIS can be used by NDOT and other agencies with statutory historic preservation obligations, …

Community College Faculty Use Of Universal Design For Learning (Udl): A Participatory Action Research Dissertation Study, Marjorie Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

This participatory action research (PAR) dissertation study investigates the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles by community college faculty in first-year writing courses to support students with learning disabilities at a New Jersey community college. Through a collaborative approach involving faculty as active participants, the study explores how UDL guidelines are integrated into writing assignments for ENG 101 and ENG 102. Through iterative cycles of planning, action, observation, and reflection, the research explores how faculty implement UDL guidelines to enhance accessibility and inclusivity in their writing assignments. Data collection methods include focus group interviews, document analysis, and the …

Editorial: Artificial Intelligence For Smart Health: Learning, Simulation, And Optimization, Bing Yao, Nathan Gaw, Hyo Kyung Lee

Faculty Publications

With rapid developments in medical sensing and imaging, we now live in an era of data explosion in which large amounts of data are readily available in clinical environments. The fast-growing biomedical and healthcare data provide unprecedented opportunities for data-driven scientific knowledge discovery and clinical decision support. Our Research Topic aims to catalyze synergies among biomedical informatics, machine learning, computer simulation, operations research, systems engineering, and other related fields with three specific goals: (1) develop cutting-edge data-driven models to accelerate scientific knowledge discovery in biomedicine using healthcare data collected from laboratory systems, imaging systems, and medical and sensing devices; (2) …

Bryan Range V. Attorney General United States

2024 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Editorial: Infrastructure Maintenance And Monitoring For Sustainable Cities, Yonas Kassa, Saeed Eftekhar Azam, Deepak Khazanchi, Brian Ricks

Faculty Publications

As cities continue to grow and evolve, maintaining and monitoring their infrastructure becomes an 2 increasingly challenging problem, requiring multidisciplinary approaches. This problem is as critical for 3 developing countries that are rapidly building their infrastructure (Gurara et al., 2018Ede et al., 2019) 4 as it is for already developed countries with aging infrastructure (Van Breugel, 2017). Researchers have 14 Such developments can also be integrated into digital twinning-a technology approach that creates 15 virtual replicas of physical infrastructure elements, systems, and cities-that offers a dynamic framework 16 for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance through data integration and simulation. The …

Landscapes Of Learning: How Nonprofits Are Bridging Educational Divides, Erica Jensen

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Lack Of Women In Federal Level Politics In The United States, Ellie E. Romans Draper

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

This paper explores the enduring underrepresentation of women in U.S. federal politics, analyzing historical exclusions and contemporary challenges. It identifies that, despite women constituting 50.5% of the population, they held only 28% of Congressional seats in 2023. The study assesses barriers such as the scarcity of female role models, inadequate support, and entrenched societal expectations that discourage political participation. Key findings suggest that these factors not only restrict women's entry and progression in politics but also affect democratic integrity and policy inclusivity. It highlights the organization She Should Run, which encourages women from diverse backgrounds to pursue political office, providing …

The Collective: Elevating Care For Children Through Collaboration, Cameron Outlaw

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

A Child’s Hope Foundation fosters connection in the orphan care space through The Collective, an association composed of NGOs, care providers, and government agencies. The focus of The Collective is to eliminate isolation in orphan care by connecting everyone in the space to the support they need. A Child’s Hope Foundation fulfills these needs through connecting caregivers to needed resources, building partnerships with governments and nonprofit agencies, and supporting family placement for children.

Enhancing Data-Driven Decisions By Improving Nonprofit Transparency And Collaboration: A Study Of The Accessibility Of Nonprofit Data In The Global Landscape, Angie Holzer, Beverli Dewalt, Louis Ye

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

This paper addresses the pressing need for enhanced transparency of nonprofit data to improve nonprofit collaboration, emphasizing the development of a global nonprofit database. Globally, there is a lack of transparency and accessibility to nonprofit data, which reduces the ability to make better decisions 1) between nonprofits as they work to collaborate and improve outcomes, 2) with nonprofit resource providers (foundations, volunteers, donors, company CSR programs, governments, grantees, etc.) when making decisions about who to support, and 3) with nonprofits as they attempt to reach those who need their services. By analyzing 34 nonprofit databases from the European Union, the …

Fabrication And Characterisation Of A Flexible Thermoelectric Generator Using Pani/Graphite/Bismuth Telluride Composites, P. A. Yoshitha, Manasa R. Shankar, A. N. Prabhu, Ramakrishna Nayak

Open Access archive

Unique thermoelectric properties of low-cost, widely available conducting polymers and multi-layered graphite structures have motivated the development of flexible thermoelectric generators using screen printing for low-temperature applications. Composites of polyaniline and graphite in different ratios with one weight percentage of bismuth telluride were prepared to fabricate flexible thermoelectric generators. The performance of the devices showed that the addition of graphite to polyaniline reduced the band gap energy from 2.90 to 1.33 eV, which was further reduced to 1.05 eV upon the addition of bismuth telluride. Adding graphite and bismuth telluride to polyaniline increased carrier mobility from 0.12 to 0.41 cm …

Table Of Contents

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Bench Stacking And Biases: The Icj’S Partial Decision In Yugoslavia V. Nato Members In Comparative Perspective, Jeffrey S. Bachman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Since the Genocide Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, eight cases have been brought to the ICJ by invoking Article IX of the Genocide Convention as a basis of the Court’s jurisdiction. Only two cases have reached their conclusion based on the merits of the case, with others decided during preliminary proceedings, while still others remain ongoing. There have been numerous studies of ICJ impartiality, with particular focus on judges’ voting records, using large amounts of data to discern any trends and biases. This article is the first attempt to comparatively analyze ICJ genocide cases using an …

Reviving The Genocide Convention’S Preventive Purpose, Yonah Diamond, John Packer

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The contemporary discourse on genocide is dominated by international criminal law, designed to punish individuals after the fact. This article proposes a legal framework derived from Public International Law and the Genocide Convention’s original purpose to prevent genocide. We clarify the conceptual and practical differences between individual criminal responsibility for the crime of genocide and State responsibility for breaches of the Genocide Convention, including distinct standards of proof and indicia of intent. We propose correctives to prevailing errors. We argue for a more appropriate and flexible standard of proof for State breaches of the Genocide Convention. We further outline a …

Rethinking The Application Of Formal And Informal Justice Responses To Conflict Related Sexual Violence In Uganda, Josephine Ndagire

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Nearly sixteen (16) years since the "Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities Between the Government of the Republic of Uganda and Lord’s Resistance Army/Movement" (Juba Peace Agreement), accountability mechanisms envisaged therein have hardly provided meaningful redress, if at all, to victims of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The peace negotiations took place shortly after the ICC issued arrest warrants for top commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who insisted on being tried at home. In a bid to balance the demands of peace and justice, a local accountability mechanism was agreed. The mechanism would work parallel to traditional justice mechanisms in …