Digital Commons Network^™

The Hope Industrial Complex: Resisting Manufactured And False Hope With Critical Hope In Peace Education, Thailand's Refugee Context, Staci B. Martin, Hayso Thako, Rey Ty, Sudarat Tuntivivat, Rattanak Ly

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our Point of Departure (POD) argues that the type of hope fostered within the Karen refugee community in Thailand – manufactured, false, or critical – shapes the impact of peace-building and higher education efforts. Through a dialogue among a Karen scholar, his supervisor, and a migration researcher, we demonstrate that manufactured hope, often driven by external aid, sustains dependency and overlooks core conflicts. In contrast, false hope arises from the gap between student desires and institutional barriers, leading to unmet expectations. We aim to show that by applying critical hope, the pedagogical approach enables the Karen community to enhance its …

From Fit To At-Risk: Latent Profiles Of Health And Behavior Among First-Year Mexican American College Students, Soyoung Kwon, Shannon Shen, Jieming Chen, Soojin Yoo, Boram Lim, Sukho Lee

Health & Human Performance Faculty Publications

The first year of college is pivotal for establishing lifelong health habits, yet many Mexican American students experience challenges during this transition. Using data from 285 first-year students at three Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Texas, we performed latent profile analysis (LPA) to explore groups of behavioral and physical health indicators. Four profiles were identified: (1) Moderate Risk Behavior—healthy body composition but high intake of alcohol and fast-food; (2) Multidimensional High Risk—poor sleep, high body fat, and high substance use; (3) Health-Optimal Active—active lifestyle, low-risk behaviors, and good sleep quality; and (4) Physically Inactive but Lean —low activity with lean body composition …

Women And Magic In Medieval Romance: Genre, Intertextuality, And Power, By Jane Bonsall, Melissa Elmes

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

White Before Whiteness In The Late Middle Ages, By Wan-Chuan Kao, Thelma Trujillo

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Trade Policy Measures And Quality Infrastructure In The Ecowas: Investigating The Inclusiveness Of The Intra-Regional Agri-Food Trade, Olayinka Idowu Kareem, Christine Wieck

Journal of African Trade

The preponderance and heterogeneous trade policy measures and quality infrastructure deficiency impact agri-food trade inclusiveness in the ECOWAS. Moreover, the inappropriate activities of some border institutions such as harassment (especially for women), graft and different charges made trading along illegal trade corridors inevitable which thereby enhances the nefarious rent-seeking activities. Furthermore, the knowledge frontier in this area is extended with the exploration and exposition of the issue of trade-related quality infrastructure. Hence, this study determines the consequences of the trade policy measures and quality infrastructure on intra-regional agri-food trade inclusiveness in the ECOWAS with a consideration of the impact on …

Energy-Efficient Mixed-Criticality Multicore Systems, Fayyaz Ali, Saud Wasly, Amjad Ali, Shahid Iqbal, Asad Masood Khattak, Bashir Hayat, Shah Khalid

All Works

Balancing energy efficiency with stringent timing guarantees in real-time mixed-criticality systems (MCS) is a key challenge, especially in multicore architectures. This paper introduces a novel energy-aware scheduling framework that integrates dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) with a Decreasing-Criticality-Decreasing-Utilization (DCDU) allocation approach. The optimal operating frequencies are obtained at each criticality level; high-criticality tasks are assigned to cores at full operating frequency to maintain timing guarantees, while low-criticality tasks are allocated using worst-case execution times scaled to their optimal frequency. A fixed-priority response-time analysis is used for schedulability in low mode, high mode, and during mode changes. The extensive simulations …

Edge-Aware Ris-Assisted Dynamic Channel Allocation With Lightweight Llm Decision Agent For Interference Mitigation In Low-Altitude Remote Sensing Networks, Safiya Nasser Al-Jaradi, Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Nabeel Al-Qirim, Shayla Islam, Muhammad Attique Khan, Rashid A. Saeed, Hashim Elshafie, Bishwajeet Kumar Pandey, Khairul Akram Zainol Ariffin

All Works

Low-altitude remote sensing networks are increasingly important for applications, such as environmental monitoring, disaster response, infrastructure inspection, and real-time sensing services. However, when many sensing nodes share limited spectrum resources, severe cochannel interference can degrade communication reliability and delay sensing-data delivery. This challenge becomes more critical in edge-enabled deployments, where control decisions must be made under strict latency, memory, and computational constraints. To address this issue, this article proposes a large language model (LLM)-enhanced edge-aware lightweight reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-assisted dynamic channel allocation (EL-RIS-DCA) framework for interference mitigation in dense low-altitude remote sensing networks. The novelty of the proposed framework …

Lightweight Tinyml-Enhanced Task Offloading In Vanets For Next-Generation Intelligent Transportation Systems, Muhammad Ali, Tariq Qayyum, Asadullah Tariq, Zouheir Trabelsi, Irfan Ud Din, Shabir Ahmed

All Works

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) face resource constraints, high node mobility, and stringent latency requirements, especially in safety-critical applications such as collision avoidance, path planning, and emergency braking. Task offloading to nearby vehicles or Roadside Units (RSUs) mitigates local computational limits, but dynamic conditions, unreliable nodes, and rapid topology changes complicate dependable node selection. This paper proposes a Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML)-enhanced, credibility-based task offloading framework for real-time decision-making in vehicular networks. RSUs evaluate vehicle reliability through a three-component Credibility Assessment Module: a Task Assignment Component that distributes lightweight test tasks and filters unreliable nodes via TinyML inference; a Verification …

A Preliminary Exploratory Assessment Of Chatgpt To Generating Stride Data Flow Diagrams, Hassan Alsayegh, Mohamed El-Attar

All Works

Threat modeling is a core activity in security-by-design practices, enabling early identification of architectural weaknesses before system implementation. The drawings used during STRIDE analysis are typically Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs), referred to as “STRIDE diagrams” in this paper. STRIDE diagrams provide a visual approach for categorizing security threats; however, constructing accurate STRIDE diagrams require experience and is often time-consuming. Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, raise important questions about their suitability for supporting structured security modeling tasks. This study presents a preliminary exploratory assessment of ChatGPT’s ability to generate, analyse, and iteratively refine STRIDE diagrams from …

Integrative Machine Learning Of Genetic And Lifestyle Factors For Personalized Skin Health, Yassine Benachour, Lina Maloukh, Barbara Geusens

All Works

Objective: To develop an AI framework that combines genetic, phenotypic, and lifestyle data for profiling skin-health patterns and generating hypothesis-supporting summaries for potential decision support. Methods and procedures: A dataset of 5,254 individuals integrates six genes (FLG, AQP3, MMP-1, MMP-3, SOD2, GPX), six phenotype severities, and 20+ lifestyle factors. Mutation burden and interactions are tested by ANOVA. K-modes clustering identifies four interpretable dermatological profiles within the cohort and is embedded in leakage-free nested cross-validation (train-only selection; test labels from training centroids). Subtypes are predicted from genetics plus lifestyle using an XGBoost (XGB) classifier; explainability uses gain, permutation importance, and SHAP …

A Novel Bernstein Operational Matrix Approach For Tempered Fractional Differential Equations: Convergence And Stability Analysis, Jalal Al Hallak, Mohammed Alshbool, Ishak Hashim, Eddie Shahril Ismail, Shaher Momani

All Works

Tempered fractional differential equations (TFDEs) incorporate exponential decay into fractional operators to account for truncated memory and semi-long-range dependence in a variety of applications, including anomalous diffusion, viscoelasticity, transport phenomena, geophysical processes, and financial dynamics. In this work, a tempered fractional Bernstein method (TFBM) was proposed for the numerical solution of TFDEs involving Caputo-type derivatives. The proposed formulation combined a Bernstein polynomial approximation with an analytic representation of the Caputo–tempered fractional derivative through operational matrices. On this basis, two collocation-based variants were developed, namely, a Chebyshev-type method (TFBM-C) and a Legendre-type method (TFBM-L). For the linear setting, a convergence analysis …

Empirically Evaluating The Accessibility Of A Pon-Enable Feature Diagrams Notation By The Red-Green Colorblind Community, Mohamed El-Attar, Sarah Kohail, Rima Grati

All Works

In 2016, an enhanced version of a feature diagram notation developed using the Physics of Notations (PoN) framework was introduced. Empirical evidence demonstrated that this revised notation was more cognitively effective than the original. However, the new notation relies on color, specifically red, which poses accessibility challenges for individuals with red–green color vision deficiency, as they cannot perceive the notation as originally intended. Consequently, the cognitive effectiveness of a red–green–deficient (RGD) version of the new notation relative to the original notation remained unknown. Although the PoN framework specifies several principles that may be satisfied with or without the use of …

Leveraging Quantum Storage Mechanism For Digital Forensic Readiness Towards Smart City Security, Bashaer Aljeneibi, Richard Ikuesan

All Works

The increasing digitization of urban infrastructure has introduced advanced efficiency and connectivity in smart cities while exposing them to sophisticated cybersecurity threats. This study explores how Quantum Storage Mechanisms (QSM) can be integrated with digital forensic readiness systems to enhance smart city security and incident response. Through a simulated environment, the research evaluates the effectiveness of QSM against three critical cyberattack scenarios: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), sensor spoofing, and supply chain firmware attacks. The findings reveal that QSM-enabled systems outperform traditional cybersecurity tools by ensuring tamper-proof evidence collection, real-time threat detection, and secure long-term data retention. The study also …

Investigating The Impact Of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms On Freshwater Bivalves, Destiny Devlin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) threaten freshwater ecosystems by producing toxins that disrupt aquatic organism functions and pose risks to human health. This study investigated how exposure to toxin-producing cyanobacteria affects the behavior and toxin accumulation of Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) under controlled laboratory conditions. Asian clams were collected from a freshwater site in New Jersey, maintained in greenhouse bins, and fed either Microcystis novacekii (non-toxin-forming, control N=3) or Microcystis aeruginosa (toxin-forming, experimental N=3) at 100,000 cells/mL for 28 days. Weekly behavioral assays were conducted to track shell opening, burying, clustering, valve closure, foot extension, and time to first opening. Toxin …

Patient Characteristics, Growth Indices, And Treatment Outcomes Among Children With Feeding Difficulties, Amelia Kearney

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Pediatric feeding difficulties is an umbrella term that is used to describe children with a variety of problematic feeding behaviors and/or mealtime impairments that can impact age-appropriate food consumption, growth and the caregiver-child relationship. There is a lack of research from nutrition professionals regarding the nutrient intake, diet quality and growth outcomes among patients with pediatric feeding difficulties. Furthermore, changes in nutrient intakes during intensive outpatient treatment have not been formally assessed. PURPOSE: The purpose of Manuscript 1 was to describe the demographic profile, medical history, and baseline mealtime behaviors, usual diet, and diet quality of patients with feeding difficulties …

Per My Last Email: Analyzing Social & Emotional Cues In Digital Workplace Communication, Lauren Hunt

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

As virtual work arrangements expand and email becomes an increasingly central workplace communication tool, the function of virtual communication norms provide valuable insight into workplace email dynamics. This study draws from social information processing theory, expectancy violations theory, and channel expansion theory to model how behavioral and linguistic features associated with virtual communication norms shape email perceptions and downstream conflict. The present research examines key communication features from real workplace email threads. Specifically, I extracted response time, sentiment, and linguistic mimicry (e.g., text length, word use), using Natural Language Processing techniques. Data was collected from 461 participants, resulting in 245 …

The Influence Of Social Connectedness And Adverse Childhood Experiences: Understanding Motivation To Change In Early Substance Use Disorder Recovery, Adam M. Daniel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Substance use disorder is a significant issue facing society today. As the rate of individuals with substance use disorders continues to rise, so too does the need of the counseling profession to explore further the ways to best support this population. The purpose of this study was to explore two specific variables for their impact on motivation to change for individuals in early recovery: social connectedness and adverse childhood experiences. Grounded in the Process-Person-Context-Time model, this study focused on the ways in which an individual’s motivation to change in early sobriety relates to their sense of connectedness to their family …

Holistic Stormwater Management In The Bound Brook River Basin, New Jersey, Sana Mirza

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation presents a holistic framework for stormwater management in the Bound Brook River Basin, an urban watershed in central New Jersey that faces chronic nutrient enrichment and climate-driven hydrologic changes. The research integrates water-quality trend analysis, hydrologic modeling, and low-impact development (LID) optimization to assess current and projected watershed responses. By combining empirical monitoring data with downscaled climate simulations and spatial prioritization, the study utilizes a holistic approach for stormwater management planning. The first objective was to characterize nutrient dynamics and hydrologic transport pathways for nitrogen, phosphorus, and total suspended solids (TSS) from 2004 to 2019. Using bi-monthly monitoring …

An Integrated Approach To Groundwater Management In Northern New Jersey Watersheds, Toritseju Oyen

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Groundwater deterioration has emerged as a pressing global concern, with widespread observations of declining water quality in various regions. The predominant cause of this deterioration is attributed to anthropogenic activities, which are deeply intertwined with daily human practices that contaminate water resources. Over the decades, many forested and wetland areas have been converted mainly for increased urbanization and industrialization use in northern New Jersey. The region’s watershed, already characterized as a low-yield aquifer, is facing deterioration because of continuous change in land cover. Anthropogenic activities aimed at providing solutions to problems, such as food scarcity, icy roads during the winter …

Exploring Vocal Fatigue In Female Singers, Cory M. Pinto

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Vocal fatigue is a complex issue that may signal underlying vocal pathology or exist independently, especially among professional voice users such as singers, whose high vocal demands make them particularly susceptible. This dissertation investigates vocal fatigue in young adult female singers using both objective and subjective voice assessment measures during a novel vocal loading task. Key research questions addressed in this dissertation are as follows: (1) Which voice assessment measures demonstrate significant change over time in response to vocal loading? (2) which Participant Profile Characteristics most accurately predict changes in perceived vocal fatigue severity? (3) In what ways do symptom …

Applying History As Law: The Role Of Historical Facts In Implementing Constitutional Doctrine, Joseph Blocher, Brandon L. Garrett

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Supreme Court has long relied on historical evidence in constitutional cases, but recent years have seen a major change in how it does so: not only to interpret the meaning of constitutional text, but to establish doctrinal tests that call for historical evidence to be used in the application of those tests going forward. Broadly speaking, originalism has moved from the realm of legal interpretation to that of law declaration and then to law application. This transformation in the legal significance of history raises important questions for originalism as a practice of constitutional adjudication, not simply a theory …

Ai And Courts: An International Human Rights Perspective, Veronika Fikfak, Laurence R. Helfer

Faculty Scholarship

International human rights courts and treaty bodies are increasingly turning to automated decision-making (ADM) technologies to expedite and improve their review of individual complaints. These tribunals have yet to consider many of the legal, normative, and practical issues raised by the use of different types of automation technologies for these purposes. This chapter offers an initial assessment of the benefits and challenges of introducing ADM into international human rights adjudication. We weigh up the benefits of introducing these tools to improve international human rights adjudication – which include greater speed and efficiency in processing and sorting cases, identifying patterns in …

Uncertain Enforcement And Standing To Sue, Ernest A. Young

Faculty Scholarship

Plaintiffs with strong claims that a law is unconstitutional may yet fail to establish standing when the law is rarely enforced. Other statutes, like Texas’s unusual abortion law, may render challenges difficult by delegating enforcement to private parties who are difficult to identify in advance. Both problems arise from the assumption that the law shapes behavior only through sanctions imposed in enforcement proceedings. This view is mistaken, both jurisprudentially and empirically. Worse, it requires courts to ask two unanswerable questions: How likely is enforcement? And how likely does Article III require it to be? It also asks standing doctrine to …

Should Judicial Opinions Be Read Like Statutes?, Margaret H. Lemos

Faculty Scholarship

Should judicial opinions be interpreted with an eye to their purpose, context, or the intent of their authors, or should interpreters focus on the ordinary meaning of the text? Opinions present the same sorts of interpretive puzzles as other legal texts, and yet they have been omitted from the debates over interpretive methodology that dominate the fields of constitutional and statutory interpretation. The omission is no accident: the Supreme Court has stated repeatedly—and with increasing frequency in recent years—that judicial opinions are not to be read like statutes. Yet neither courts nor commentators have explained why the principles that ground …

The Eighth Amendment And Prison Staff-To-Sentenced Prisoner Sexual Violence, Matthew Lyskawa

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, I provide the first comprehensive account of lower federal courts’ Eighth Amendment prison conditions jurisprudence regarding prison staff-to-sentenced prisoner sexual violence. I show that lower federal courts are systematically misunderstanding and misapplying Supreme Court case law in this context. The result is that sexually victimized prisoners must meet extremely burdensome doctrinal standards unique to sexual violence claims. Lower federal courts would faithfully follow Supreme Court precedent if they applied the excessive force standard to sexual assault claims and the conditions of confinement standard to sexual harassment claims. However, a faithful application of Supreme Court case law does …

Confession Contamination And Dna Exonerations, 1989-2025, Brandon L. Garrett

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Llm-Assisted Legal Propositions Identification From Party Arguments In The U.S. Supreme Court Briefs, Heng Zheng, Alex Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Merits briefs are central to U.S. litigation, serving as the primary means for parties to present arguments and persuade judges. Legal propositions in these merits briefs are the atomic units of arguments, whose relationships evolve throughout litigation and inform court decisions and precedent. Large language models (LLMs) have been applied to legal document review, but there is limited evidence on their ability to identify legal propositions in merits briefs. Given the labor-intensive nature of the task, we evaluate a human-AI collaborative approach to identifying legal propositions in the U.S. Supreme Court merits briefs, in which legal annotators review and revise …

Cumulative Burdens On Second Amendment Rights, Joseph Blocher, Hayley Lawrence

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Oompa 2025.08: A First Cut Of The Toolkit For Object-Oriented Modeling For Planning And Acting, Mark Roberts, David H. Chan, Dana S. Nau, Jamie C. Macbeth

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

OOMPA is a partially implemented Python 3.13+ toolkit for modeling hierarchical planning domains as annotated Python classes, without writing a separate PDDL or HDDL domain file. State properties, actions, and hierarchical methods attach to domain classes via decorator syntax; OOMPA projects the resulting model into a flat dictionary of dictionaries, like the Pyhop family of planners. We describe OOMPA’s motivation and architecture as we demonstrate its use in a restaurant planning domain. There are many unrealized features, so we end with a discussion of limitations and future work.

Rethinking Behavior - Winter 2026, Midwest Symposium For Leadership In Behavior Disorders

ReThinking Behavior Magazine

A magazine for professionals serving children and youth with behavioral needs.

Winter 2026, Volume 9, Issue 2