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Delaware, Elizabeth Ford

Thin Blue Advantage: Police Exceptionalism and the Two-Tier System of Public Sector Collective Bargaining

Delaware law governing police and non-police bargaining is separated into two largely identical statutory schemes. Both statutes provide for interest arbitration and adopt “baseball arbitration” to expedite the arbitration process. Keeping with the goal of expedient dispute resolution, the state’s ULP process seems designed to facilitate settlement.

As a result of this ULP structure, there are few cases from Delaware’s PERB compared to other states. This may have to do with the fact that the myriad preliminary stages of ULP proceedings serve as “off-ramps” to encourage settlement and that the agency’s Executive Director (E.D.) has more power than non-Delaware analogs. …

Assessing The Past And Future Of Article Iii, Section 12 Of The South Dakota Constitution, Neil Fulton, Madison Gosch

South Dakota Law Review

The framers of South Dakota's Constitution feared corruption among public officials. This inspired them to implement structural checks on corruption in that organic document. One result of that effort was Article III, Section 12. That provision prohibited legislators from entering contracts authorized during their term. It further prohibited legislators from occupying other public offices during the legislative service or being appointed to offices created or given increased compensation during their term. The expansion of state government's reach over time and a recent reinterpretation of Article III, Section 12 raises the question of how well it aligns with current circumstances. This …

Table Of Contents, South Dakota Law Review

South Dakota Law Review

No abstract provided.

How South Dakota Can Criminalize Child Sexual Grooming, Jackson Marnette

South Dakota Law Review

In 2023, the South Dakota Legislature proposed and rejected Senate Bill 94, which would have criminalized child sexual grooming. South Dakota, like most states, lacks a law that effectively deters potential child sexual abusers from initiating the child sexual abuse process. Other states’ grooming laws have been challenged on constitutional grounds with differing results. This article considers the benefits of grooming laws, the pros and cons associated with other states’ passed legislation, and any issues with Senate Bill 94’s language. The article concludes with a legislative proposal based on child sexual grooming academic theory.

Understanding Rural Legal Deserts To Inform Public Policy: Identifying And Describing Lawyer Gaps In Non-Metropolitan Counties, David J. Peters, Emma Bartling, Emily Meyer

South Dakota Law Review

Rural legal deserts have become a growing topic of interest to legal scholars and social scientists in the U.S. However, current research is limited by measurement issues and by the lack of national-scale analyses. To address these limitations, we identify legal deserts by applying latent profile analysis to lawyer gap rates for N = 2,307 non-metropolitan counties in the U.S. Lawyer gap rates are calculated as local demand for lawyers minus the local supply, using employment in private practice law offices from the Census Bureau. Next, we statistically describe the spatial, demographic, economic, and social characteristics of legal deserts. We …

United States V. Sioux Nation Of Indians Revisited: Justice, Repair, And Land Return, Frank Pommersheim, Bryce Drapeaux

South Dakota Law Review

The amazing legal journey of this case begins in 1923 and ends with a Sioux Nation of Indians “victory” in the Supreme Court in 1980. Before reaching the Supreme Court, the case was litigated four different times before the Court of Claims because of the ineffective assistance of counsel and the necessity of a congressional statute to clear away the threatening ghost of res judicata. The historical backstory begins not in 1923, but with the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and the United States’ illegal taking of the sacred Black Hills in1877. And the case does not …

Cretaceous Calamity: Are Dinosaur Fossils Part Of The Surface Or Mineral Estate, And Why South Dakota Courts Should Adopt The Murray Test?, Cody Hodge

South Dakota Law Review

When dinosaur fossils are discovered, they often mystify the public by providing snapshots of a bygone age. However, the public is seldom exposed to the legal battles that occur behind the scenes regarding fossil ownership. Legal disputes over dinosaur fossils often occur after the mineral rights to a property have been severed from the rest of the property, often achieved via a mineral deed. At the time of severing the mineral from the surface estate, parties to a mineral deed rarely contemplate who should take ownership of dinosaur fossils should they be discovered. When complete specimens of rare species are …

Assessing Government Transparency: An Analysis Of South Dakota's Open Records And Meetings Laws, Neil Fulton, Sarah Kammer, Patrick Garry

South Dakota Law Review

Government transparency is crucial for an effective and responsive democracy. The pursuit of such transparency underlies state open records and meetings laws. South Dakota’s open records law strives to open government records to the public. However, it also contains an array of exceptions that prevent the disclosure of certain records. When denied access to government records, the public possesses a statutory right of appeal. This article examines the workings of that appeal process. Open meetings laws also serve to give the public a role in government deliberations and to make those deliberations transparent. Those laws, including South Dakota’s law, provide …

Corruption, Constitutional Legislation, And State Legislative Processes: Lessons From A Comparative And Historical Approach To The Anti-Corruption Provisions In The Legislative Articles Of The Constitutions Of Montana And South Dakota, Kimberly Breedon

South Dakota Law Review

When admitted to the Union in 1889, Montana and South Dakota included two identical anti-corruption provisions in the legislative article of their respective constitutions. One of the measures prohibited bribery of public officials, and the other barred corrupt solicitation by them. These measures reflected a common concern about government corruption in the western territories during the late nineteenth century. Nearly a century later, both states attempted to amend the legislative articles of their constitutions to eliminate the bribery and corrupt solicitation clauses, without substituting similar provisions in their place. In Montana, voters approved the proposed revisions when they voted to …

The Office Of The South Dakota Senate President Pro Tempore, Lee Schoenbeck

South Dakota Law Review

The South Dakota Senate’s history, challenges, and processes, as carried out by the office of the President Pro Tempore, have never before been collected in one place. This article does that and is designed to be a guide for future legislators as they lead and strengthen the institution of the South Dakota Senate.

Mapping The South Dakota Legislature, John Mccullough

South Dakota Law Review

All state legislatures are unique. Each is rooted in a state’s political tradition and culture. A state legislature carries out its constitutional duties at a specific place— in a capital city and usually in a state capitol building. The setting of legislative activity is not simply a backdrop on a political stage, but rather, it is an integral component of a state’s political story. What makes the South Dakota Legislature’s story “one-of-a-kind” is the location at which it carries out its work. This article maps out that location, showing its distinctiveness among all state legislatures and providing a greater context …

Have Recent Legislative Changes In South Dakota Made Using The Initiated Measure Process More Difficult?, Cory Heidelberger, Teagan Mcnary, Reynold F. Nesiba

South Dakota Law Review

The right of the people to initiate and refer laws has been enshrined in South Dakota’s Constitution since 1898. In recent years, citizen advocates have used the initiated measure process to raise the minimum wage (2014), end payday lending (2016), and expand Medicaid (2022). In November 2020, Amendment A passed with 54% of the vote, legalizing recreational marijuana. However, after judicial review, this result was nullified. While these ballot measures were being organized and promoted, South Dakota’s Republican supermajority legislature and two Republican Governors enacted dozens of changes to the initiative and referendum process. Some of these measures, too, have …

Reevaluating South Dakota's Medical Malpractice Damages Cap, Zane Rankin

South Dakota Law Review

South Dakota Codified Law section 21-3-11 limits damages recoverable in medical malpractice actions. The cap limits non-economic damages to $500,000, regardless of the jury’s award. The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the cap in Knowles ex rel. Knowles v. United States (In re Certification of Questions of Law). This article argues this cap not only constrains the jury’s role in the judicial process but also impacts plaintiffs who suffer severe injuries and require compensation beyond economic losses. This article argues the cap does not align with fundamental principles of fairness and negatively affects both physicians and plaintiffs. …

The Moral Regime Of Midwifery Continuity Of Carer Implementation In England, Aimee Louise Middlemiss, Susan Channon, Julia Sanders, Heather Strange, Rebecca Milton, Sara Kenyon, Tina Prendeville, Susan Barry, Aled Jones

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Since 2016, the National Health Service (NHS) in England has been aiming to implement midwifery continuity of carer (MCoC), a model of maternity care in which the same midwife or small group of midwives provides antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care for women, other birthing people and their babies. However, the implementation has faced significant difficulties. As part of a wider investigation into barriers to and facilitators of MCoC implementation, we carried out qualitative interviews with senior stakeholders involved in the implementation of MCoC at regional or national level in England. In this paper, we present an analysis of sociocultural values …

Unrestrained Voices: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis On Formerly Incarcerated Trans People’S Perceptions Of Safety During Incarceration, James Anthoney Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

Heightened risks of violence, discrimination, and insufficient institutional protections mark the experiences of incarcerated trans individuals. This qualitative thematic analysis investigated the perceptions of safety among formerly incarcerated trans people within U.S. correctional facilities. Using qualitative research methods, the study gathered firsthand accounts of physical and sexual assault, examined institutional responses to reported incidents, and assessed the effectiveness of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 in addressing the unique vulnerabilities of trans inmates. Data collection involved oral history transcript analysis, which was analyzed through thematic coding to identify patterns of institutional neglect, inadequate training of correctional staff, and systemic …

Do Courts Get It Right When Piercing The Corporate Veil? An Empirical Study, Franklin A. Gevurtz

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

This Article presents the results of a unique empirical study addressing whether courts achieve rational outcomes when piercing the corporate veil. The study examined a set of over 300 court decisions upholding piercing claims in the last almost four years. It asked whether the courts in these cases could rationally have found either deception of the creditors or improper removal of corporate assets (siphoning)—two grounds generally agreed to justify imposing liability upon the shareholders. The result was an affirmative answer in around three-quarters of the cases. This result provides an important response to the argument that piercing decisions are irrational …

Investigating Pronunciation Teaching Practices And Teachers’ Beliefs About Pronunciation Instruction In Efl/Esl Classrooms, Barry Moussa

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review aims to explore existing research on pronunciation teaching practices and teachers’ beliefs about pronunciation instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. To achieve this, I will first delve into teacher cognition research, intending to find current reported and actual practices surrounding pronunciation teaching. The importance of pronunciation instruction has been widely discussed and acknowledged by scholars in applied linguistics and teacher education programs. Various studies have identified pronunciation instruction as a key component for fostering effective oral communication skills in second language acquisition, specifically enhancing intelligibility (i.e., accuracy …

Analysis Of Cys294arg Mutation In Cs1 Associated With Periodontal Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Collagen Degradation, Elaine Vanterpool, Amy Aboki

Student Posters

C1s enzyme plays a crucial role in the immune system so that the body can fight infection and repair damaged tissues. However, if it is not working properly, it will do more harm than good. This is shown in the case of periodontal Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (pEDS), a rare genetic disorder whereby C1s breaks down collagen I, a protein that gives structure and strength to connective tissues. Severe gum disease, loose teeth and premature teeth is a result of this. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the pathogenicity of C1s mutations and association in pEDS.

Resources To Study The Isoforms Of The P53 Family Of Transcription Factors, Dana L. Woodstock

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The p53 family of transcription factors regulates diverse gene regulatory networks such as those involved in DNA damage repair, epidermal commitment, and neuronal development. As a result, dysfunction in these pathways lead to numerous human health conditions, including multiple types of cancer and craniofacial developmental disorders. Each family member regulates a distinct gene network leading to varied cellular and organismal phenotypes, but all are capable of regulating programmed cell death, likely due to considerable similarity between protein structure and binding sites in DNA. Analysis of these shared and distinct functions is complicated by each p53 family member gene (TP53, TP63, …

Hierarchical Bloom Filter Tree (Hbft): Scalable Geospatial Metadata Indexing For Bigdata Systems, Mrudula Patteparapu

Master's Projects

Big Data infrastructure growth has produced overwhelming metadata volumes which create extensive problems for spatial indexing and both system scalability and database queries. Traditional solutions consisting of R-trees and conventional Bloom filters manage to provide either range query support or approximate membership testing, yet they face performance issues when used at large-scale metadata management. This research proposes Hierarchical Bloom Filter Tree (HBFT) as an improved framework that integrates hierarchical spatial partitioning with partitioned, scalable, cuckoo, and striped Bloom filter variants based on existing studies in hierarchical and probabilistic indexing. The complete evaluation process shows that HBFT outperforms PostGIS (an industry-standard …

Edurag: Improving Ai Teaching Assistants With Retrieval-Augmented Generation, Geethika Vadlamudi

Master's Projects

This paper is based on the emerging need for AI-driven teaching assistants to deliver personalized, effective, and responsive educational assistance. Earlier proposals for educational technology such as rule-based systems and adaptive learning platforms have been limited by the lack of flexibility, domain accuracy, and slow, non-interactive support. With the launch of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3, GPT-4, they have demonstrated that they can generate the kind of human-responsive text. When it comes to more substantive education matters, though, such models suffer from domain accuracy, in addition to whether accurate information can be imparted. And that is where the aspect …

Large Language Models For Bacterial Genomic Analysis, Manvendra Chavan

Master's Projects

Identification of bacterial gene sequences with agricultural applications has the potential to transform agricultural biotechnology. These genes can be used in environmentally friendly pest control strategies. One such use case is identifying genes with potential insecticidal properties. With an increasing number of genomic information and decreasing numbers of available annotated sequences, finding new insecticidal genes has become more challenging.The traditional methods relying on sequence alignment and annotated databases are not effective in detecting functionally relevant genes lacking close homology to known cases. This project investigates the data-driven classification of genes by sequence modeling. This research is focused on learning DNA …

Collaborative Governance In Practice: Evaluating Intergovernmental Relations Through The Santa Clara County Healthy Cities Initiative, Astrid J. Robles

Master's Projects

In the United States, intergovernmental relations (IGR) is rooted in the principles of American federalism, which focuses on the constitutional power dynamics between national, state, and local governments. While federalism outlines the structural framework, IGR specifically focuses on how federal, state, and local governments interact administratively, financially, and politically within the federal system. Beginning in the 1960’s, governments across the U.S. began to rely on non-governmental and private sector organizations for program implementation (Boyd & Fauntroy, 2000). This shift gave rise to the concept of collaborative governance, which expanded the scope of IGR by incorporating traditionally excluded groups from the …

Providing Healthcare Access For The African Population Using An International Care Coordination System: A Case Study Of Nigeria And Ghana, Aminat B. Nwaonumah

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Healthcare access is a major population health challenge among underserved populations in many parts of the world, and the situation in Africa is no exception. Foreign aid, a significant component of healthcare financing in Africa, has played a crucial role in mitigating communicable diseases. However, there is a lacuna in care for non-communicable diseases, such as chronic illnesses, especially among the elderly. This study explored an innovative approach to expanding healthcare access in Nigeria and Ghana through care coordination sponsored by migrant family members residing in the United States. Beyond foreign aid, this research elucidates how the International Care …

Pulsed Arc Additive Manufacturing Of A Functionally Graded Er2209 Duplex Stainless Steel And Hsla-100 Structure: Morphology, Characterization, And Mechanical Performance, Stevens G. Hill Jr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Wire arc additive manufacturing is a process well suited to the efficient production of large structures. Duplex stainless steel exhibits high corrosion resistance and good strength which can be highly beneficial for industrial use. However, its use is limited due to its cost and complexity in controlling microstructure to achieve desired properties. In many cases, it can be highly beneficial to manufacture a component which uses specialty steel grades such as duplex stainless steel only where necessary, and utilizes more affordable, commonly available steels for reinforcement or bulk structural support. A functionally graded material satisfies these requirements by providing a …

Investigating The Role And Expression Of Aquaporin 10 Paralogs In Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), Esosa Omoregie

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Aquaporins (AQPs) are integral membrane proteins that facilitate the selective transport of water and small solutes across cell membranes, playing essential roles in maintaining osmotic balance in vertebrates. Among them, aquaglyceroporins such as AQP10 are capable of transporting water, glycerol, and urea, contributing to osmoregulatory and metabolic processes. This study investigated the expression, localization, and potential physiological roles of two AQP10 paralogs, AQP10C1 and AQP10C2, in the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), a marine elasmobranch that maintains osmotic equilibrium through urea retention and ion regulation. Using RT-PCR, quantitative PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry the study identified tissue-specific expression patterns of …

Measurement Method And Applications Of Transfer Function In Rf Desensitization Problem, Xiangrui Su

Doctoral Dissertations

Radio frequency (RF) desensitization issues comprise two components: noise radiation sources and the transfer function from noise sources to the victim antenna. RFI is a critical challenge in modern electronic systems, particularly in densely packed environments. This work presents a comprehensive study of RFI, addressing key aspects through three novel contributions. First, a transfer function measurement method is developed for compact metallic enclosures. This method provides a precise characterization of the electromagnetic (EM) environment within confined spaces, enabling accurate identification of interference pathways. Second, an EM emission management analysis framework is proposed, leveraging transfer functions to quantify and mitigate interference …

The Structure, Properties And Dissolution Behaviors Of Phosphate Glasses, Han Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

The poor chemical durability remains a critical challenge for the application of phosphate glasses. This study investigates the compositional influences on the structure, properties and chemical durability of Li2O-ZnO-P₂O₅ glasses. Their structural characteristics were analyzed utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The incorporation of (Li2O+ZnO) in LZeq glasses depolymerizes the phosphate network. In LZ40P and LZ45P glasses, Li⁺ initially replaces Zn²⁺ associated with non-bridging oxygens (NBOs) in Q² tetrahedra. Once the substitution in Q² is complete, further Li⁺ incorporation leads to the replacement of Zn²⁺ in Q^{1 …}

Design And Synthesis Of Organocatalyts For Efficient Decontamination Of Organophosphate-Based Nerve Agents And Pesticides, Emmanuel Kingsley Darkwah

Doctoral Dissertations

Exposure to organophosphate-based nerve agents and pesticides poses significant health and security threats to civilians, soldiers, and first responders. Despite extensive efforts to develop chemical detoxification agents for use in topical applications on exposed skin surfaces and for intravenous injections, there remains an unmet need for effective, non-hazardous decontaminating agents. The current state-of-the-art decontaminating agent, Dekon-139 (2,3-butanedione oxime, potassium salt), exhibits adverse effects when applied to the skin.

In this study, we designed and synthesized pharmaceutically relevant aminoguanidine-derived aldimines that are relatively non-toxic and substantially more effective at decontaminating nerve agents and pesticides compared to existing agents, and they act …

Novel Nano-Formulations Based On Flash Nanoprecipitation For Ocular Drug Delivery, Lin Qi

Doctoral Dissertations

Effective ocular drug delivery has always been a challenge for clinical and research. Although many nanotechnology-based formulations have been developed and showed great potential in ocular drug delivery, this is far from enough to meet clinical requirements. These studies aimed at the design and synthesis of novel nanoparticles using multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM) to improve ocular drug delivery efficiency. The first project involves packaging two different anti-glaucoma drugs, brimonidine (BM) and betaxolol (BX), into solid drug nanoparticles (SDNs) by MIVM, which can achieve both functions, reducing aqueous humor production and promoting aqueous humor efflux. The studies demonstrate that the SDNs …