Digital Commons Network^™

Dammed If You Do: Should The Government Be Liable For Hurricane Flooding And Other Natural Disasters?, Lior Jacob Strahilevitz

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

When hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters strike, government officials must make difficult decisions under time pressure and amidst uncertainty over how best to save lives and mitigate the resulting damage to private property. Sometimes landowners who do not second-guess the appropriateness of those decisions made in exigent circumstances nonetheless insist that the government should foot the bill for the resulting destruction. In a 2025 opinion (Ablan) and a 2022 decision (Milton), both involving flooding damage resulting from Hurricane Harvey, the Federal Circuit articulated an expansive vision of government liability under the Takings Clause that can be squared with neither …

Performing Within Performance: Gender Nonconformity In Drama, Eliana Lazzaro

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Trade Composition And Economic Growth In Vietnam: Evidence From Sectoral Bilateral Trade With The United States And China, Truc Hoang

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fantastical Fright In Life: An Anthology Of Autobiographical Comics, Anh Amy Nguyen

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Patterns Of Tick Abundance Along Trail Edges And Paths In A Restored Prairie Complex, Mackenzie Milbourn

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Settlement Patterns And Landscape Of Historical Sites In Oakwoods Metropark, Theodore Gryniewicz

Undergraduate Symposium

No abstract provided.

Collaboration In Acute Care: Enhancing Occupational Therapy Outcomes Through Canine Therapy Integration​, Deanna Hamke

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

The utilization of animal-assisted therapy has the potential to increase patient participation, motivation, and help simulate real-life experiences to promote a successful discharge from therapy services. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to: 1) expand collaboration between occupational therapists & canine therapy handlers through use of a communication platform and 2) to create a resource outlining in-session responsibilities to facilitate partnership between occupational therapists and canine therapy handlers. Occupational therapy treatment sessions were completed using canine therapy interventions targeting mobility, engagement, and emotional regulation. The final deliverables included multiple educational resources and a platform for communication. These deliverables …

The Great Lakes Social Studies Journal Volume 6, Issue 1 Full Issue, Linda Doornbos Dr., Michele S. Phillips

The Great Lakes Social Studies Journal

None

Rodcon, Program, 2026, University Of Northern Iowa. Rod Library.

RodCon Documents

Contents:

--- Welcome to RodCon
--- Locations
--- Events Schedule
--- What's That?: Event Descriptions
--- Additional Info
--- Vendors
--- Artist Alley
--- Thank You Sponsors

Cgas-Sting Dependent Type I Ifn Reduces Leptospira Interrogans Renal Colonization In Mice., Suman Gupta, James Matsunaga, Bridget Ratitong, Andrew Manion, Sana Ismaeel, Diogo G Valadares, A Phillip West, Nagaraj Kerur, Christian Stehlik, Andrea Dorfleutner, Jargalsaikhan Dagvadorj, Jenifer Coburn, Andrea J Wolf, Meghan A Morrissey, Suzanne L Cassel, David A Haake, Fayyaz S Sutterwala

Faculty Research 2026

Leptospira interrogans is the major causative agent of leptospirosis. Humans, canines and agricultural animals are susceptible to Leptospira species and can develop fulminant disease. Rodents serve as reservoir hosts in which the bacteria colonize the renal tubules and are excreted in the urine. The host immune response to Leptospira spp. remains poorly defined. We show that L. interrogans induces a robust type I interferon (IFN) response in human and murine macrophages that is dependent on the cytosolic dsDNA sensor Cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase (cGAS) and the Stimulator of IFN Genes (STING) signaling pathway. Further, we show that mice deficient in the …

Annual Report Of The Officers, Trustees, Boards, Committees And Agents For The Town Of Nottingham, New Hampshire For The Year Ending December 31, 2025, Nottingham Town Reports

Nottingham, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

The People, The Branches, And The Pearl Of Independence, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

What will be the fate of the independent agencies?  Since 1887, Congress has seen fit to address an array of contemporary issues by creating expert federal agencies, such as the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and others.  The principal officers of these agencies are appointed by the President on advice and consent of the Senate, serve limited staggered terms, are bipartisan in the sense that only a bare majority of the agency’s officers can be members of the same political party, and are “independent” in the sense that the officers are removable only …

Francestown, Nh, Annual Reports Of The Officials, Departments And Committees Of The Town Of Francestown For The Calendar Year Ending December 31, 2025, Francestown Town Representatives

Francestown, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Town Of Bath, New Hampshire Annual Report Of The Town Officers Year Ending December 31, 2025, Bath Town Representatives

Bath, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Trouble In Paradise: Tracking Tropicalization On Mosquito Lagoon Oyster Reefs, Gabriel T. Silva, Maya Kurian, Katherine Manzelli, Kye Pollard, Johanne Hunt, Avarey Johnson, Kiara Cuevas-Gutierrez, Giavanna Harrington, Giles Cherkaoui, Anya Spara, Tai Powell, Jacob Mclean, Ryan Chin, Kriztian Milanes, Nicholas Groves, Michael Theobald, Justin Moya, Melissa Vance, Logan Chapman, Jordyn Delikat

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Climate change has caused average temperatures across the globe to increase and the frequency of freezing events in temperate climates to decrease, leading to tropical species moving polewards. This process, known as tropicalization, has been documented on the eastern coast of Florida as the tropical red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) encroaches into temperate communities once defined by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Mosquito Lagoon, located within the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) system, is one community that has experienced an increase of 198% in mangrove coverage on intertidal oyster reefs between 1984 and 2017. Although the frequency of freezes has decreased in …

Settlements Of Adhesion, Nicole Summers

University of Chicago Law Review

Eviction cases make up over a quarter of all cases filed in the federal and state civil courts and have enormous consequences for tenants, who are nearly always unrepresented by counsel. These cases overwhelmingly settle, yet settlement scholars have entirely overlooked eviction both empirically and theoretically. One of the core questions animating settlement scholarship—how do the parties negotiate settlement?— has never been asked or answered in the eviction context. This Article does so.

The Article presents results from the first empirical study of eviction settlement negotiations. The study involved rigorous analysis of an original dataset of over one thousand hand-coded …

Exploring The Effects Of Mindset And Mood On Cognitive Performance, Pamela Kplivi

Honors College Theses

Individual and situational factors such as mindset and mood can shape performance on creative problem solving tasks. This study examined the potential effects of mindset (growth vs. fixed) and mood (positive, neutral, negative) on performance. Performance was measured using a shortened 60-item version of the Compound Remote Associates Task (CRAT; Bowden & Jung- Beeman, 2003). 92 undergraduate students completed self report measures of mindset (ITIS; Dweck, 1999) and self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). Participants were randomly assigned to a video-based mood induction condition and completed a self-reported mood survey (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988). Manipulation checks confirmed the effectiveness of …

Till Death Does Us Part: An Analysis Of Influences And Ideas Behind The Exhibition, Milo F. Rippe

Honors College Theses

“Till Death Does Us Part,” is a ceramic work created by Milo Rippe in the fall of 2025. The installation includes fifteen faceless figures, ten organ-inspired plates, and one big central figure. Also featured are three homemade stains and two homemade glazes. The figures are hand-built from slabs, combined to form a single piece. The plates were also cut from slabs, and then hand-rolled rims were added to each shape with slip. Stains and glazes are made by methodically measuring out each ingredient on a triple-beam scale, combining all ingredients with water, and running the mixture through a strainer to …

Effects Of Dietary Perfluorobutane Sulfonate (Pfbs) On Adipose Tissue, Hannah Olofintuyi, Eric Gato

Honors College Theses

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemical substances used in a variety of industrial applications and consumer products. Perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) is often used as a replacement for the more harmful (Perfluoroalkyl sulfonate) PFAS chemicals that have been around longer. It is believed that PFBS does not remain in the body as long as other PFAS compounds; however, there is a rising concern that it has the potential to cause damage to human health. This study focused on understanding how dietary PFBS exposure affects metabolism-related processes in adipose tissues in rats. To accomplish study objectives, Sprague Dawley rats were exposed …

Characterization Of A Coastwide Sheepshead (Archosargus Probatocephalus) Fishery Reveals Increased Fishing Pressure During Spawning Activity In Texas, Ethan T. Getz, Catherine M. Eckert, Charles Downey Iii

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) have been characterized as one of the most vulnerable species to overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) based on their reproductive strategy of spawning in aggregations. Here, we analyzed fishery—independent and dependent data (1983—2023) collected by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to assess Sheepshead populations and describe the fishery in Texas. Gill net sampling was used to describe Sheepshead abundance and distribution, while creel survey data and commercial landings were used to determine spatial and temporal characteristics of the fishery and evaluate targeted fishing activity during the spawning season. Sheepshead encountered in gill …

Smallholder Farmers' Willingness To Pay For The Farmbetter Mobile App-Based Agricultural Extension: Evidence From A Bdm Experiment In Tanzania And Burkina Faso, Cool Dady Mangole, Kelvin Mulungu, Christian Kamala Kaghoma, Maurice Tschopp, Menale Kassie

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Financial contributions from farmers are increasingly acknowledged as a sustainable mechanism for funding extension services. However, the literature on willingness to pay (WTP) for digital agricultural extension is limited. Conducting a thorough assessment of WTP for digital extension is critical for designing effective pricing policies and ensuring financial sustainability. This study examines the WTP for a novel digital extension platform named farmbetter, leveraging primary data collected in Tanzania and Burkina Faso. The Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) experiment was used to elicit the amount farmers are willing to pay. We applied the Lasso machine learning to predict the relevant drivers of WTP and …

First Record Of Arrhenophagus Chionaspidis Aurivillius (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) Parasitizing White Mango Scale In Kenya: Its Potential Distribution And Prospects In Biocontrol, Francis Obala, Abdelmutalab G.A. Azrag, Rehemah Gwokyalya, Shepard Ndlela, Ingo Grass, Georg Petschenka, Sunday Ekesi, Samira A. Mohamed

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The white mango scale, Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), is one of the most destructive pests of mango worldwide. Its current management in most of the invaded areas largely depends on the intensive use of chemical insecticides. Biological control using parasitoids represents one of the most effective and environmentally sustainable management options. However, in Kenya, one of Africa's leading mango-producing countries, no effective parasitoid species associated with A. tubercularis had previously been recorded. This study aimed to identify encyrtid parasitoids associated with A. tubercularis in Kenya, and to assess how bioclimatic factors influence their occurrence and habitat suitability. Mango leaves …

Oligonychus Trichardti (Acari: Tetranychidae) Associated With Urochloa Grasses In Kenya: An Integrative Taxonomic Approach, Paula Espitia-Buitrago, Claudia Perea, Lavender A. Odhiambo, Rosa N. Jauregui, Frank Chidawanyika

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Spider mites represent a significant constraint to improved forage grass adoption in East Africa, particularly affecting Urochloa cultivars that are crucial for addressing the region’s 40% livestock feed gap. This study employed an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological and molecular analyses to identify a spider mite species infesting Urochloa interspecific grasses in Kenya. A colony of 80 spider mites was established from symptomatic Urochloa hybrid cv. Cayman plants collected from Mbita Point, Kenya, showing characteristic foliar chlorosis and necrotic spots. Morphological examination of 46 slide-mounted specimens using Hoyer’s medium revealed consistent morphotypical features characteristic of Oligonychus (Reckiella) trichardti Meyer, 1974. …

Influence Of Farming Systems (Organic Vs. Conventional) With Crop Rotation And Intercropping On Weed Seedbank In Central Kenya, Obadiah Mwangi, Monicah Mucheru-Muna, Edward Karanja, Michael Kinyua, Peter Bolo, Dominic Mutambu, Martha Musyoka, Edwin Mwangi, Felix Matheri, Nancy Mwende, Tanga Chrysanthus, Noah Adamtey, David Bautze, Unternährer Anouk, Milka Kiboi, Anne Muriuki, Hottensiah Wambui, Job Kihara

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Weed seedbanks are a key driver of long-term weed pressure and are strongly shaped by farming systems, crop rotation, and intercropping. This study evaluated the influence of organic (ORG) and conventional (CONV) farming systems, each managed under high (113–145 kg N·ha⁻¹, 60–83 kg P·ha⁻¹) and low (31–45 kg N·ha⁻¹ and 13–27 kg P·ha⁻¹) fertilization levels, on weed seedbank density, composition, dominance, and diversity in two long-term trials (established in 2007) at Chuka and Thika in the Central Highlands of Kenya. From 2017 to 2019, across six cropping seasons under a three-year rotation, soil …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Hard Coastal Protection Structures For Long-Term Erosion Mitigation, Case Study: Eastern Rosetta Shoreline, Nile Delta, Egypt, Basma Sayed, Ayman Sabry Koraim, Tarek Hemdan Nassrallah, Ahmed Abouelfetouh Abdelaziz, Nada Mansour, Fahmy Salah Fahmy Abdelhaleem

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Coastal erosion threatens densely populated shorelines worldwide. At the Rosetta Promontory (Nile Delta), shoreline retreat has accelerated since the construction of the Aswan High Dam due to reduced fluvial sediment supply. This case study numerically evaluates shoreline response to six hard-protection scenarios along the eastern promontory, combining groins and detached breakwaters, over a 20-year forecast (2022–2042). Offshore wave conditions were transformed to nearshore hydrodynamics using MIKE21 Spectral Wave, and long-term shoreline evolution was simulated with DHI-LITPACK. The numerical models were forced using a 40-year wave dataset derived from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis. Results indicate that the configuration with eight detached …

Existential Intelligence: A Survey Across The Ages--As Well As My Ages, Howard Gardner

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

Written in response to Branton Shearer’s (2026) paper on existential intelligence and existential reasoning, this paper argues that due to the lack of evidence of neural specialization and a developmental trajectory, pondering existential questions is best understood as philosophical thinking, rather than a distinct intelligence. The paper reflects on the status of existential thinking within the author’s framework for multiple intelligences. It traces the criteria originally used to identify the author’s seven intelligences, the later admission of naturalist intelligence, and the provisional consideration of pedagogical and existential intelligences. The paper explains why the labels “spiritual” and “religious” intelligence have been …

Existential Reasoning Within The Framework Of Multiple Intelligences, C. Branton Shearer

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This article investigates the concept and construct validity of the proposed existential intelligence (Gardner, 1999). Thinking about fundamental existential issues such as death and the meaning of life is a valued human cognitive activity, but does this qualify as a distinct form of intelligence with coherence, structural integrity, measurability, and independence according to Gardner’s criteria? A more accurate framing for this construct may be existential reasoning—a type of cognition that seems likely to be a precursor to, subcomponent of, or parallel with the construct of wisdom. Data from the Scale for Existential Thinking (Allan & Shearer, 2012) are reviewed. …

Maslow’S Hammer: The Problem Of Scientism And The Philosophy Of Science In Maslow’S Later Work, Richard Grego

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This paper examines how Abraham Maslow’s concern with the pervasive intellectual and cultural influence of scientism shaped his philosophy of science and anticipated contemporary discourse on the nature of scientism. Although he never articulated a thorough, formal, or systematic philosophy of science, Maslow’s conception of science’s nature and scope is evident through the course of his work, and it was shaped by his concern with the emerging influence of scientism. The prominent intellectual status science has enjoyed since the Enlightenment has made scientism a powerful influence on postmodern intellectual and popular culture that is currently the subject of a wide …

Sustainable Control Of Pests And Striga Weed Through Intensified Push-Pull Technology And Frass-Based Soil Amendments, Evanson R. Omuse, Honest Machekano, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Dennis Beesigamukama, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Samwel O. Ogaji, Sevgan Subramanian, Frank Chidawanyika

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Crop productivity under African smallholder farming systems is faced by numerous challenges, including insect pests, weeds, low soil fertility, and climate change. Sustainable intensification, such as push-pull (PP) technology and vegetable-integrated push-pull (VIPP) technology, coupled with soil organic amendments such as black soldier fly frass fertilizer (BSFFF), can address these agricultural constraints. We investigated the individual and synergistic effects of cropping systems comprising two crops [maize (DK777 variety) and cowpea (KVU27 variety)] and agroecological strategies (PP, VIPP and BSFFF) on the management of pests and Striga weeds and crop productivity in three different geographical areas. Diversified cropping systems (PP and …

Intensified Push-Pull Technology Enhances Above-Ground Arthropod Assemblages And Ecological Balance, Evanson R. Omuse, Honest Machekano, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Bonoukpoe M. Sokame, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Johnson O. Nyasani, Sevgan Subramanian, Frank Chidawanyika

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Agroecological intensification aims to increase farm productivity, reduce dependency on external inputs, and enhance biodiversity conservation. However, the contribution of recent sustainable agricultural practices to arthropod assemblages and their ecosystem services remains underexplored. Through a 2-year multilocation trial, we investigated the response of above-ground arthropod assemblages and their ecological functions in cowpea and maize grown under monocropping systems and diversified systems (pure and intensified push-pull technologies). Using three sampling methods (visual observations, pitfall traps, sticky traps), a total of 65, 307 arthropod specimens were collected. The most dominant arthropod taxa were Hemiptera (true bugs; 47%), followed by Thysanoptera (thrips; 17%), …