Digital Commons Network^™

Usable Authentication: Are We There Yet?, Nathan Clarke, Steven Furnell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

With technology increasingly embedded in everyday life, the demand for secure and usable authentication methods has never been greater. Traditional password-based systems continue to dominate, despite well-known usability and security challenges. This paper explores the evolution of user authentication technologies, from secret knowledge and tokens to biometrics and emerging approaches such as Passkeys. It critically evaluates the extent to which usability has been achieved, identifying both successes—such as biometrics integrated into smartphones—and persistent issues, including inconsistent guidance, ecosystem dependence, and accessibility barriers. Drawing on academic and commercial developments, the discussion highlights the growing burden on users who must authenticate across …

Diagnosing Long-Term Divergence In Build Back Better Outcomes In Low- And Lower-Middle-Income Communities, E. A. Opabola, M. Baiguera, A. Raby, T. Rossetto, A. Pomonis, E. Meilianda, Y. Idris, S. Nurdin, K. Adams, D. J. Mcgovern, N. Acikgoz, H. Mistry, F. Marafini

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Low-income communities in disaster-prone regions face persistent challenges in translating post-disaster recovery investments into sustained resilience, as they navigate trade-offs among engineering objectives, policy constraints, and evolving socio-economic needs. Despite the widespread adoption of Build Back Better (BBB) principles, evidence on the long-term sustainability of outcomes remains limited, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income contexts. This study examines the sustainability of BBB outcomes in two Indonesian case studies: Banda Aceh (approximately 18 years after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami) and Central Sulawesi (approximately 4 years after the 2018 earthquake, liquefaction, and tsunami). Drawing on structured housing assessments, household surveys, semi-structured interviews, …

A Catecholamine-Independent Pathway Controlling Adaptive Adipocyte Lipolysis, Xiao Zhang, Sreejith S Panicker, Jordan M Bollinger, Anurag Majumdar, Rami Kheireddine, Lila F Dabill, Clara Kim, Brian Kleiboeker, Fengrui Zhang, Kristann L Magee, Adam Kepecs, Gretchen A Meyer, Irfan J Lodhi, Erica L Scheller, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Several adipose depots, including constitutive bone marrow adipose tissue, resist conventional lipolytic cues. However, under starvation, wasting or cachexia, the body eventually catabolizes stable adipocytes through unknown mechanisms. Here we developed a mouse model of brain-evoked depletion of all fat, including stable constitutive bone marrow adipose tissue, independent of food intake, to study this phenomenon. Genetic, surgical and chemical approaches demonstrated that catabolism of stable adipocytes required adipose triglyceride lipase-dependent lipolysis but was independent of local nerves, the sympathetic nervous system and catecholamines. Instead, concurrent hypoglycaemia and hypoinsulinaemia activated a potent catabolic state by suppressing lipid storage and increasing catecholamine-independent …

Superintendent Accountability In High Achieving School Districts: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study In The State Of Washington, Kristin Lind Jacobs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The primary goal of a school district is to promote and support student academic achievement. Superintendents of public school districts across the United States should therefore be held accountable for student performance within their districts. Establishing a successful public school district requires interconnected relationships among the superintendent, the school board, accountability structures, and evaluation processes.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how superintendent accountability, in regard to student achievement, was conducted and accomplished by school boards who believe they hold the superintendent accountable for student learning. This study focused on school boards governing high-achieving school …

Instructor Created Video: Differences In Perception Of Administrative Support In Respiratory Care, Brian Daniel Cayko

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: The recent proliferation of online education has highlighted the need to reduce transactional distance and increase the community of inquiry presence between the instructor and students and between students. This quantitative non-experimental study examined the differences in perception of administrative support for instructor-created video (ICV) between faculty and administrators within Commission on Accreditation of Respiratory Care (CoARC) higher education programs of Respiratory Care. Methodology: The Difference in Perception of Administrative Support (DPAS) survey was utilized to collect data from 93 valid participants through a snowball sampling method. Analysis was performed using an independent samples t test and Cohen's d …

Tourism And Local Access On The Public Beaches Of Paros, Greece, Maria Kouidi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines how tourism development affects public beach access on the island of Paros, Greece. In recent years, Paros has experienced significant tourism growth, which has contributed to economic development while also placing pressure on natural resources, infrastructure, and coastal spaces. Beaches are protected as public goods under the Greek constitution; however, there are concerns regarding commercialization, overcrowding, and the illegal privatization of these public spaces. This thesis uses a qualitative research approach to explore how these changes are experienced and understood by different stakeholder groups. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted in Paros in July 2025. Participants …

Searching For Nooks And Crannies: Geometric And Mechanistic Perspectives On Transformer Language Model Interpretability, Anna Marbut

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable linguistic capabilities, but the internal mechanisms driving their performance and behavior remain poorly understood. This dissertation investigates the interpretability of transformer-based language models from two complementary perspectives: the geometric organization of model internals in encoder-only models, and the mechanisms underlying safety behavior in decoder-only generative models.

In Part I, we address the challenge of measuring geometric properties in high-dimensional latent spaces, proposing and evaluating alternative measures of data spread that improve upon commonly used metrics. We then apply these measures alongside quantization-based metrics to examine the relationship between latent space geometry and downstream …

The Birth Of Afghanistan: From Ancient Persia To A Modern-Day Multiethnic And Linguistic Country, Tyler A. Worm

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis offers a comprehensive historical analysis of the formation and evolution of Afghan identity from antiquity through the early medieval period, emphasizing the region’s role as a dynamic crossroads of civilizations. It traces the origins of Afghan populations to Indo-Iranian pastoralist migrations and examines the successive influence of major imperial formations, including the Median and Achaemenid Persian empires, the conquests of Alexander and the Seleucid period, and the rise of the Kushan, Parthian, and Sasanian states. Through this longue durée approach, the study demonstrates how Afghanistan’s geographic position facilitated continuous cultural interaction, economic exchange, and political contestation, producing a …

Pestilent Air, Contagious Evil: Infectious Disease In Early Modern Poland, Danielle Marie Airola

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The individuals buried in the cemetery of Czysty Square and the population of the vanished village of Gać lived and died during the early modern period in what is now modern-day Poland. Epidemics broke out repeatedly during this time, and the skeletal remains of several individuals buried in Czysty Square’s cemetery display pathological changes suggestive of infectious disease. These non-specific morphological changes created a need for DNA testing to search for pathogens associated with these lesions. In contrast, Gać’s population declined over time until the village’s abandonment. This has led to a hypothesis of an epidemic having contributed to the …

Promoting Hope And Resilience: Measuring The Psychological Effects Of An Undergraduate Climate Change Education Course, Clare Bridgett Maguire

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The psychological effects of climate change are increasing, which has led to an increase in advocacy to research these effects. Current literature has included a focus on categorizing and understanding the psychological impacts, creating psychometrically sound instruments to measure the effects, and education as a tool to enhance coping strategies. However, limited research exists on measuring the emotional outcomes for students who engage in climate change education at the post-graduate level.

This dissertation explores the effects of an undergraduate-level climate change course on participants’ experiences of eco-anxiety, ecological grief, resilience, and hope to better understand the psychological effects of climate …

Distributional Reinforcement Theory, Girardeau A. Spann

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

As Donald Trump’s assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) reveals, the concept of racial equality is sufficiently malleable that what used to be viewed as remedies for discrimination against racial minorities can now be recharacterized as reverse discrimination against the White majority. Such recharacterization is possible because the concept of equality itself lacks any stable meaning that exists independent of one’s normative preferences about race. In a democracy, normative disputes are properly resolved through the political process, unless there is some representation reinforcement defect that makes judicial intervention necessary to ensure compliance with our second order constitutional equality principle. …

Creation And The Republican Revival, William M. Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Gordon Wood's classic book Creation of the American Republic has long influenced legal thought and originalist scholarship in particular. It played a central role in the Republican Revival movement, an effort by leading scholars such as Cass Sunstein and Frank Michelman to recover a progressive originalism at the same time as conservative originalism was starting to shape constitutional jurisprudence. But, while the Republican Revival nominally relied on Wood, it misread central elements of his book - his concept of virtue and his belief that republicanism had largely been displaced at the time of the drafting of the Constitution.

The time …

The Civil Justice Business, J. Maria Glover

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Our civil justice system rests on certain foundational commitments: to make rights real for those the law protects, regardless of their station; to hold wrongdoers accountable, no matter their power; and to deter misconduct in a landscape that depends, above all, on private enforcement for the regulation of wrongdoing. We put great faith in these values.

Civil justice, for all its lofty goals, is also a business. Attorneys and liability insurers have long had their own economic stakes in litigation, under their own professional and regulatory norms. But now, a new litigation finance industry has arisen: outside investors provide equity …

Rethinking Legal Models For Aligning U.S.-African Trade And The Afcfta, Katrin Kuhlmann

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The U.S.-African trade relationship has become increasingly volatile and conditional, with significant implications for supply chains, trade corridors, and regional and global markets. This relationship has historically been based on a unilateral, preferential legal approach through a trade preference programme – the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – under which individual countries petition for eligibility to receive duty-free treatment. AGOA expired in September 2025 in the midst of U.S. tariffs, but in early 2026 the programme was retroactively reauthorised through December 2026, with further application subject to “modernisation” and alignment with the “America First” policy. While many see reauthorisation …

Voluntary Legal Obligations: From Contract To Cohabitation, Gregory Klass

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although cohabitants often live together in ways indistinguishable from those who are married, the law treats them differently than it does spouses. In Toward a Private Law of Intimates’ Obligations, Emily Stolzenberg asks why, identifies the need for reform, and brings the law of cohabitation into conversation with recent work in private law theory. This Response builds on Stolzenberg’s excellent article to think more about the different types of obligations involved in contract, marriage and cohabitation. Although the moral and legal obligations attaching to these relationships are all voluntary, they exhibit different degrees of choice-dependence, and choice figures into …

Nanoparticle Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel And Nivolumab For Pd-1 Inhibitor-Refractory Recurrent Or Metastatic Head And Neck Squamous-Cell Carcinoma, Douglas Adkins, Jessica C Ley, Christine Auberle, Brendan Knapp, Jesse Zaretsky, Jingxia Liu, Peter Oppelt

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Standard therapy for PD-1 inhibitor-refractory recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (RM-HNSCC) has limited activity. Drugs bound to albumin selectively target cancer cells with upregulated macropinocytosis, a process driven by constitutively hyper-activated EGFR/RAS/PIK3CA signaling, which is common in HNSCC. Nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel is active in PD-1 inhibitor-naïve RM-HNSCC and alters immune cells to potentially prime tumor response and reverse resistance to PD-1 inhibitors.

METHODS: In a single-arm phase 2 trial, patients with PD-1 inhibitor-refractory RM-HNSCC received nab-paclitaxel and nivolumab given in 28-day cycles. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR), using RECIST1.1. Key secondary endpoints were …

Development Of Colonic Polyposis In A Woman With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Treated With Dasatinib, Guido Pelaez, Behram Suha Yildiz, Mert Candan, Mohammad Ismail, Francesca Vacca, Marianna B Ruzinova, Samuel Ballentine, Kathleen Byrnes, Armin Ghobadi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a hematopoietic malignancy driven by constitutive tyrosine kinase activity. Dasatinib, a second-generation (2G) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), is a preferred treatment due to its superior, durable, and rapid response rates. While dasatinib has known gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, colonic polyposis is a rare complication, not well described in the literature.

CASE PRESENTATION: Upon routine colonoscopy, a 66-year-old woman with chronic-phase CML was incidentally discovered to have asymptomatic colonic polyposis after 11 months of dasatinib therapy. Histopathology revealed reactive inflammatory changes without evidence of dysplasia or neoplasia. The polyposis resolved completely after cessation of dasatinib. …

Evaluating Artificial Intelligence Large Language Mocdels In Dental Education: A Cross-Sectional Survey On Usage, Perceptions, And Integration At A U.S. Dental Scho, Celine Sheng, Camie Mcfarland, Nikola Angelov, Sridhar V K Eswaran, Richard Halpin, Jennifer Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education presents opportunities and challenges for dental education. This study explores the use of Large Language Model (LLM) based AI tools, including ChatGPT and Grammarly AI, among faculty and students at the UTHealth School of Dentistry in Houston (UTSDH). This research assessed usage patterns, perceived benefits and concerns, and AI training demand.

Methods: A piloted, cross-sectional survey was administered via email. The survey included Likert-scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. Respondents provided demographics and rated their LLM-based AI tools for use and perceptions in educational, clinical, and research contexts. Data was analyzed …

Amyloidoma Of The Palate, Philip Bacigalupo D.D.S., Nora Odingo B.D.S., D.M.D., M.P.H.

The New York State Dental Journal

There have been 17 reported cases of isolated amyloid deposition (amyloidoma) of the hard palate (Table 1). We present an 18th case, with a review of the literature on amyloidosis. Systemic conditions, such as multiple myeloma, must be ruled out when amyloid deposition is present. However, localized amyloidoma of the palate is rare, and there are few cases reported in the literature.

N Y State Dent J January 2026

The New York State Dental Journal

In the January 2026 issue, the reader will find the following feature articles:

• No Need to Travel the Road to Licensure Renewal Alone
• IPS Subperiosteal Implant for the Maxilla and Mandible
• Amyloidoma of the Palate
• Titanium Hypersensitivity as Possible Cause of Dental Implant Failures

This issue includes regular columns with regional news impacting the New York membership including editorial and perspectives columns, legal, association activities, component news, continuing education opportunities, and classifieds.

N Y State Dent J June 2026

The New York State Dental Journal

In the June/July 2026 issue, the reader will find the following feature articles:

• HIV Screenings in Dental Settings: Feasibility, Challenges and Opportunities
• Oral Myeloid Sarcoma
• Generational Differences in Dentistry and Dental Practice

This issue includes regular columns with regional news impacting the New York membership including editorial and perspectives columns, legal, association activities, component news, continuing education opportunities, and classifieds.

Commercial Determinants Of Health Revisited: Integrating Business Scholarship For Greater Public Health Impact, Junghoon Park, Bryan W. Husted

Management Faculty Works

In her influential 2020 review in Globalization and Health, Mialon synthesizes the commercial determinants of health (CDOH) literature and underscores how commercial actors are connected to public health through the institutional environments in which they operate. Much of this research conceptualizes firms as institutionally embedded but relatively homogeneous actors, emphasizing external practices such as the production and promotion of harmful commodities, lobbying, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. While recent CDOH scholarship has begun to recognize the importance of organizational-level factors, few studies analyze the internal processes through which corporate conduct with public health consequences emerges. We argue that integrating insights …

Insect Farming Innovations: A Pathway To Self-Reliance In Agrifood Systems In Africa, Zewdu Abro, Menale Kassie, Dennis Beesigamukama, Shaphan Yong Chia, Ermias Engida Legesse, Subramanian Sevgan, Julius Ecuru, Chrysantus M. Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Insect farming as an innovative approach to transforming agrifood systems

Insect farming has emerged as a transformative and sustainable approach to addressing the interconnected challenges of food insecurity, environmental degradation, and economic vulnerability in Africa’s agrifood systems. By converting organic waste into high-value products (protein-rich feed, frass fertilizers, and bioactive compounds), insect farming offers an efficient circular economy solution that bridges nutrition, livelihoods, and ecological resilience (Lalander et al. 2025; Mei et al. 2024; Barragán-Fonseca et al. 2022; Xia et al. 2021; Van Huis 2020; Barragán-Fonseca et al. 2017; Van Huis and Oonincx 2017; Yi et al. 2014). Almost all …

Was The Early U.S. Tax Treaty Program A One-Man Show?, Wei Cui

All Faculty Publications

This article examines the origins of the U.S. tax treaty program from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. Drawing on congressional records and previously unexamined Treasury and State Department archives, it argues that the program was shaped to an extraordinary degree by a single Bureau of Internal Revenue official, Eldon P. King. Far from merely administering treaty policy, King effectively created and directed it: he developed legal justifications for treaty negotiations, selected negotiating partners, led negotiations, managed relations with the State Department, and helped secure Senate acceptance of the resulting agreements. The article shows how King transformed the limited treaty-related …

Alternative English Language Development Scheduling In High School: Long-Term English Learners’ Attitudes And Perceived Control, Kira Rashada

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined whether an alternative English Language Development (ELD) scheduling model influenced ninth-grade Long-Term English Learners’ (LTELs) attitudes toward school and perceived control at a California high school operating on a block schedule. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), the study explored how differing ELD scheduling models may shape students’ experiences related to autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Specifically, the study compared ninth-grade LTEL students who participated in a traditional 90-minute ELD course during the 2023-24 school year with students who participated in an alternative scheduling model during the 2024-25 school year in which designated …

Words That Heal Or Harm: A Narrative Review On Language Use In Nursing Care.", R. Sudha, A.S. Neya

Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Predicting Smes’ Credit Risk Using Artificial Intelligence Applications: Evidence From The Uk Smes, Fatima Badi

Plymouth Business School Theses

Financial distress is a state in which businesses struggle to pay their debts, whichfrequently results in bankruptcy or company failure. Small and medium-sizedenterprises are an essential part of economies, making substantial contributions toproductivity growth, innovation and employment. Evaluating financial health iscrucial to preventing possible hardship, reducing systemic risks and ensuring long-term stability because of its significant contribution to national and internationaleconomies.Bankruptcy prediction models play a critical role as early warning systems that enablefirms, lenders and policymakers to identify financial distress at an early stage and takecorrective action before failure becomes inevitable. These warning indicators mayresult from internal issues, such as …

In Trust We Trust: Role Of Trust In Business Negotiations In The Context Of Switzerland As A High-Trust Country, Aksana Babich

Plymouth Business School Theses

The present research examines the role of trust in business negotiations in the context of Switzerland, a high-trust country. Using a qualitative, practitioner-oriented design grounded in template analysis, the research draws on semi-structured interviews with thirty professionals from diverse sectors of the economy of the canton of Geneva. Switzerland’s high-trust environment provides an empirical context in which trust mechanisms are particularly visible and operational.The research advances conceptual, empirical and methodological knowledge of trust in negotiations. Conceptually, it clarifies the meaning of trust, demonstrating that trust is not a one-dimensional construct centred on risk and vulnerability, but a multifaceted moral value …

Integrated Seismic And Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis Of The Abu Madi Formation, Baltim Field, Nile Delta, Egypt, Nouran Mostafa Eissa, Mostafa Toni, Alhussein Adham Basheer, Amr Talaat, Amir Ismail

Trends in advanced sciences and technology

Despite the economic significance of the Messinian Abu Madi Formation as a primary gas reservoir target in the Nile Delta Basin, a high-resolution, field-scale integration of seismic sequence stratigraphy with quantitative petrophysical characterization remains lacking for the Baltim area. This study addresses this gap by presenting an integrated seismic sequence stratigraphic and petrophysical analysis of the Upper Miocene Abu Madi Formation within the prolific Baltim gas fields, offshore Nile Delta, Egypt. The objectives are to characterize its depositional architecture, delineate reservoir distribution, and assess hydrocarbon potential. The workflow synthesizes well log data from five key wells with a grid of …

Does Digital Innovation Matter For Hospital Efficiency? Evidence From U.S. Hospitals, C. Christopher Lee, Shihui Fan, Jung Young Lee, David W. Hwang

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Purpose – This study examines the impact of digital innovation on hospital performance, providing evidence to guide healthcare administrators and policymakers in making informed decisions regarding digital investment.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Using data from the 2020 American Hospital Association (AHA) U.S. Hospital Survey and the 2019 AHA Information Technology Survey, we empirically analyze the relationship between five dimensions of digital innovation—automation, cybersecurity, telehealth, health information exchange (HIE), and IT spending—and three efficiency indicators: occupancy rate, capacity productivity, and manpower productivity.

Findings – The results show that digital innovation has varying effects on hospital efficiency. Automation is positively associated with capacity and …