Digital Commons Network^™

Rethinking International Armed Conflict: Legal Challenges In The Age Of Hybrid Warfare, Oleksandr Havryshuk, Roman Hryshchenko

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The binary classification of armed conflicts under international humanitarian law (IHL) — distinguishing international armed conflicts (IACs) from non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) — was forged in the aftermath of World War II and increasingly fails to capture the realities of twenty-first century warfare. Hybrid tactics, cyber operations, the proliferation of private military companies (PMCs), the expanding role of non-state actors, and the near-disappearance of formal declarations of war have eroded the analytical utility of the existing framework, generating legal uncertainty and weakening protections for affected populations. This Article critically examines the conceptual foundations of IAC as set out in Common …

International Commitments Of Japan’S Prefectures With Foreign States: Empirical Patterns, Authority, And Legal Nature, Yuhei Matsuyama

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Under international law, sovereign states are the primary subjects of rights and obligations and possess the authority to conclude treaties. Domestic constitutions typically allocate foreign affairs powers to national governments. Nonetheless, subnational governments—including prefectures—regularly engage in international activities. In some federal systems, constituent units are expressly authorized by their constitutions to conclude international agreements. By contrast, the Constitution of Japan vests foreign affairs authority exclusively in the national executive and is silent on the authority of prefectural governments. This Article uncovers and analyzes approximately 180 previously unexamined international commitments concluded by Japanese prefectural governments with foreign states, identified through information …

The Law And Policy Of Gender Provisions In Multilateral And Regional Trade Governance, Maria Panezi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Trade is neither gender-neutral in its design nor in its outcomes. This Article offers a bird's-eye view of the law and policy of gender provisions in multilateral and regional trade governance, examines the conceptual boundaries of incorporating gender into trade policy, and evaluates legal and policy approaches that can make trade more responsive to the asymmetries that disproportionately affect women. Using Canada as a case study, the Article examines one of the most comprehensive national frameworks for mainstreaming gender in trade, including the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) methodology and the inclusion of dedicated gender and trade chapters in several …

Necessary Biosafety Precautions For Patented Gmos: Ramifications Of Inconsistent Parties Between The Cartagena Protocol And Trips Agreement, Lauren Clements

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Genetically Modified Organisms (“GMOs”) compose a class of potentially patentable biotechnology that are prominent in international markets. Developed countries like the United States, function as leading producers of these patented GMOs and therefore play a significant role in their development and transnational export. Minimum protections for these forms of biotechnology are outlined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”), which permits the patenting of GMOs that ultimately enter the stream of international commerce. Notwithstanding the potential risks GMOs present to the environment, public health, and the economy, the TRIPS Agreement fails to address any form …

Nanosecond Policies: Comparing Us And Chinese Approaches To High-Frequency Trading Regulation, Bilal Laghari

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

High frequency trading has transformed global financial markets, introducing both efficiency gains and significant regulatory concerns. This Note analyzes the divergent approaches of the United States and China in regulating high frequency trading, focusing on how each system addresses issues of market manipulation, information asymmetry, and systemic risk. It contends that the United States’ reliance on outdated and indirect regulatory mechanisms, such as Regulation NMS, has failed to keep pace with technological advancements. In contrast, China’s more recent and targeted regulatory framework provides clearer guidance and stronger oversight of high frequency trading practices. This Note concludes that a hybrid approach, …

Colliding Interests: Solving The Space Debris Crisis Through Us-China Cooperation, Grace E. Mannion

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As human activity in outer space accelerates, the accumulation of space debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) presents an increasingly urgent threat to global infrastructure, economic stability, and the future of space exploration. This Note examines the regulatory and geopolitical challenges underlying the space debris crisis, with particular attention to the fragmented nature of existing international legal frameworks. Current regimes, including the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention, establish broad principles of cooperation and liability but fail to meaningfully address the rapid growth of orbital debris driven by both state and commercial actors. Focusing on the United States and …

Next-Generation Dns Rpz For Automated Threat Intelligence, Risk-Aware Filtering, And User-Centric Security, Jinu S, Kishore V. Krishnan, Rajarshi Middya, Annasamy Bagubali

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The Domain Name System (DNS) remains a critical attack vector exploited by adversaries for command-and-control (C2) communication, data exfiltration, and phishing campaigns. DNS Response Policy Zones (RPZ) have emerged as an effective defense mechanism by enabling the redirection or blocking of queries to malicious domains. However, current RPZ implementations encounter significant challenges related to scalability, adaptability, and user awareness, often resulting in static policies, delayed updates, and a high incidence of false positives. To address these limitations, this paper proposes an enhanced RPZ framework that integrates adaptive threat intelligence, machine learning-driven dynamic policy updates, and user-context-aware security controls. The proposed …

First Peer Review Course Portfolio: Management 101: Introduction To Business, Shawntell Kroese

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Management 101: Introduction to Business is a foundational undergraduate course serving approximately 1,500 students annually across four sections. The course introduces students to management, marketing, accounting, economics, finance, supply chain management, and strategy through a highly experiential learning model. A signature component of the course is the Business Battle, a “real-life” consulting challenge where students solve authentic business problems presented by a Company (this year it was MotoAmerica). The course combines large-scale instruction with a peer coaching model, active learning exercises, recitations, industry speakers, and team-based projects. This portfolio examines course design, instructional methods, student learning outcomes, and future opportunities …

Auricular Point Acupressure Self-Management (Apa-Sm) Program For Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Among Rural Populations: A Protocol For A Pragmatic, Randomized Controlled Trial, Jennifer Kawi, Jane Bolin, Hulin Wu, Jungkyung Min, Rupsikha Bora, Sarah Pace, Idara N Akpan, Alee Lockman, Tonychris Nnaka

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is a leading cause of incurred personal healthcare costs and disability in the USA. It disproportionately affects rural populations, who are more likely to be uninsured, lack access to a regular healthcare provider and experience a higher prevalence of CMP. As a result of reduced access to non-pharmacological care, there is greater reliance on opioids. The Auricular Point Acupressure - Self-Management (APA-SM) program is a simple, needleless, evidence-based therapy that empowers individuals to self-manage their pain. Preliminary studies, including a recent UG3 pilot testing, demonstrated feasibility, safety and significant improvements in pain and function. Guided …

Why Communicating Minimum Drawdown Elevations For Lake Powell And Lake Mead Can Mitigate Risks Of Volatile Colorado River Flow., Brittany Fager, David Rosenberg, Erik Porse

Reports

There is consensus across Reclamation’s hydrologic ensembles that volatile Colorado River flow will continue, including annual drops of 6 million acre-feet of natural flow above Lake Powell. This volatility poses risk that water managers cannot respond fast enough with the consequence that Lake Powell and Lake Mead drawdown so they no longer fulfill their Congressionally legislated purposes: deliver water, generate hydropower, protect native fish, or sustain infrastructure. In this post we suggest four reservoir operational strategies to reduce all those risks: (1) Identify Catastrophic Elevations where we lose the ability to operate reservoirs for one or more legislated purposes, (2) …

Redefining The Norms: An Interdisciplinary Perspective On Language Testing In Multilinguals With Acquired And Progressive Neurogenic Disorders, Alessa Hausmann, Adolfo M. García, Ana Sofia Costa, Arpita Bose, Boon Lead Tee, Claudia Rivera-Fernandez, Eduardo Europa, Gitit Kavé, Jee Eun Sung, Maira Okada De Oliveira, Mandy Wigdorowitz, Maria Garraffa, Maria Teresa Carthery-Goulart, Michael J. Kleiman, Naama Friedmann, Samir Diouny, Sanne Franzen, Sofia Toniolo, Stephanie Grasso, Thomas H. Bak

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Accurate language assessment is essential in clinical and research contexts. However, most assessment tools and questionnaires have been developed within monolingual frameworks, overlooking the particularities of the vast multilingual population and, thus, often leading to misdiagnosis and inequitable care. Here, we examine the limitations of monolingual-centric approaches to language testing in multilinguals with acquired and progressive neurogenic disorders and explore the implications of multilingualism across linguistic, cognitive, neural, clinical, and sociocultural domains. We also address the need for technological innovation and theoretical refinement to better accommodate linguistic diversity in healthcare. Ultimately, we advocate for a nuanced, equitable, and culturally sensitive …

Invisible Nations: Self-Determination As A Legal Shield For The World’S Last Isolated Peoples, Paige Schacher

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment examines the legal and ethical considerations of self-determination as applied to the world’s last uncontacted tribes—indigenous communities that live isolated from mainstream society. While the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) established a foundational framework for uncontacted tribes’ right to self-determination, its implementation in practice faces jurisdictional, ethical, and legal issues. By examining international and domestic legal instruments, case studies from India and Brazil, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in indigenous land monitoring, this Comment argues that domestic and international bodies must collaborate to enforce more tailored protections to guard the autonomy …

Faculty Perceptions Of Lgbtq+ Students In Higher Education, Serena Gramling, Laura E. Barrow, Stacy Mikel, Mark J. Sciuchetti Dr., Falynn Turley

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: Limited faculty understanding of LGBTQ+ student experiences may contribute to exclusionary campus climates and discriminatory practices. This study examined faculty perceptions to identify ways to improve support for LGBTQ+ students and promote inclusive environments.

Method: A descriptive quantitative design was used to examine faculty perceptions of LGBTQ+ students and differences across geographic regions. 142 participants completed the 20-item instrument.

Results: Although regional differences in acceptance were observed, geographic location did not significantly predict faculty attitudes. Faculty acceptance played a key moderating role in the relationship between awareness and engagement in inclusive practices. Findings indicated that faculty attitudes alone are …

Home Is Not Always Where The Heart Is: Examining The Inadequacy Of Legal Measures In The Deportation Of American Intercountry Adoptees, Katie X. Kaessinger, Esq.

San Diego International Law Journal

Despite entering the United States legally as children through intercountry adoption, thousands of American adoptees face deportation as adults because their parents failed to finalize their citizenship. Many of these adoptees have no meaningful linguistic, cultural, or familiar ties to their birth countries, and most have lived in the United States practically their entire lives. This Article explores the legal implications regarding the deportation of intercountry adoptees. More specifically, this Article argues that the deportation of intercountry adoptees reflects a grave systemic failure that violates international human rights law, rather than a mere shortcoming of domestic immigration policy.

Consulting various …

Film, Television, And Artificial Intelligence: Ensuring The Role Of Screenwriters In Anticipation Of Generative Artificial Intelligence’S Increasing Capabilities, Rachel Johnson

San Diego International Law Journal

Artificial Intelligence (AI) currently is one of most critical topics discussed across industries. AI technology, such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), looms over people employed in creative fields who view it as a threat to their livelihoods. Legislative and judicial law must grapple with the complex legal issues GAI poses. In the entertainment realm, employees in professions such as Hollywood’s film industry have found ways to secure their present and near future against AI-encroachment.

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), a labor union covering the screenwriters of television and film, coordinated the second longest labor strike in Hollywood’s …

Unlocking Green Innovation: Navigating Trade Secret Law In The Quest For Sustainable Solutions, Jacob Wright

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment explores the tension between trade secret protections and the global demand for climate-related technologies, arguing that a more balanced approach is necessary to align intellectual property law with the public interest. By examining the limits of existing legal frameworks, such as the DTSA, this analysis will highlight how these laws prioritize proprietary interests over environmental needs. It will also propose regulatory strategies that could help bridge this gap, such as expanding compulsory licensing frameworks, implementing public-private partnerships, and introducing public interest exceptions specifically tailored to clean energy technologies. Ultimately, this comment aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation …

User Interaction, Service Effectiveness And Digital Resource Utilization In Private University Libraries Telangana State: An Empirical Study, Chandra Chary Sreeramoj, Sadik Batcha Dr. M.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study is to observe the operational design, cognizance levels, complications faced and complete fulfillment of users regarding numerical resources in designated private university libraries in the state of Telangana. The study predominantly emphasizes on graduates, postgraduates, research scholars, and faculty members of Malla Reddy University and S.R. University. The study adopted quantitative descriptive design, and data were collected by means of a Google Form survey, resulting in 1796 legal valid responses. The examination included descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests and ANOVA to classify variances across different user groupings. The outcomes reveal that most respondents are mindful of …

The Method Of Periodic Averaging Applied To Reduced Coupled Mode Theory Models For Fiber Laser Amplifiers, Rebecca Nicole Bryant

Dissertations and Theses

Fiber laser amplifier (FLA) models are often implemented without rigorous mathematical justification or thorough numerical validation. Without a proper theoretical basis for assumptions and approximations, or a technical analysis of model performance, there is significant uncertainty about the limitations of any given reduced model and its suitability for an application. This research aims to address the lack of comprehensive assessment of FLA models by directly comparing distinct models and recommending a mathematical alternative to replace heuristic model-reduction techniques. The work in this dissertation is divided into two projects: a comparative study that uses existing FLA models to assess the validity …

Aid And Assist Cases In Multnomah County: An Exploration Of Ors 161.370, Savannah Jurasek

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) are highly overrepresented in jails. In Oregon, these individuals can be eligible for what is referred to as the aid and assist process (ORS 161.370) which is designed to facilitate restorative care in efforts to ensure that vulnerable individuals can rationally participate in their criminal proceedings. However, continuous escalation in aid and assist orders (109.3% between 2011-2025) has led to strain on the Oregon State Hospital, the primary care facility for this population. As a consequence, defendants with SMI are spending unnecessary time in custody, despite hospitalization admission guidelines governed by previously decided case …

Shifting Perspectives In Mathematics: Examining Preservice Elementary Teachers' Evolving Conceptions Of Mathematics, Identity, And Social Inequality Through Course Design, Autumn Thu Pham

Dissertations and Theses

Mathematics is often viewed, taught, and learned as an abstract, stand-alone subject, with an emphasis on procedures that are frequently disconnected from learners' lived experiences. Within this framing, limited attention is given to students' affect and identities in relation to mathematics. As a result, opportunities to engage with mathematics as a social, sociopolitical, and empowering tool remain rare. These patterns highlight an important implication for teacher education programs: when mathematics is framed primarily as abstract and procedural, preservice elementary teachers (PTs) may enter the profession lacking strong conceptual understanding, pedagogical flexibility, and the social and political awareness needed to effectively …

Structured Telehealth Community Health Worker-Clinician Feedback And Diabetes Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Elizabeth M Vaughan, Xiaoying Yu, Amber B Amspoker, Aanand D Naik, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Craig A Johnston, Christi M Ballantyne, Salim S Virani, H Shelton Brown, Kristina Mena, Laura R Porterfield

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Importance: Community health workers (CHWs) improve chronic disease management in underserved populations, but scalable integration strategies are limited.

Objective: To evaluate whether a multidimensional intervention incorporating telementored CHWs and a structured participant-CHW-clinician feedback loop can improve diabetes outcomes.

Design, setting, and participants: This 12-month randomized clinical trial was conducted at 3 institutionally and geographically diverse community clinics in Texas between September 1, 2023, and April 30, 2025, and included low-income, uninsured White Hispanic adults with type 2 diabetes identified through clinic databases. Data were analyzed between May 1 and July 31, 2025.

Intervention: Individuals were randomized 1:1 to the intervention …

Situating Stormwater Infrastructure Through Collaborative Design: Insights From A University-Community Partnership, Serena A. Echols

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater ponds help address flooding and partially mitigate nutrient pollution while sometimes serving as a central landscape element in community parks. In underserved urban communities, however, stormwater ponds are sometimes neglected and underutilized, leading to public health and environmental justice challenges. Our research in Tampa, Florida, seeks to develop pathways for residents and other stakeholders to collaboratively co-design infrastructure interventions and pondscape redevelopment for neglected stormwater ponds. Drawing on ethnographic and participatory methods as well as environmental assessment and modeling, we are working with residents of one pond community on cleanup and redevelopment strategies. Results reveal that balancing local and …

Assessment Of The Status Of Open Access Publications In Central Universities Of India: A Review Of Literature, Gulam Jilani, Swapna Banerjee

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Unrestricted access to research outputs and increased exposure and distribution of academic information are two benefits of Open Access (OA) publication, which has emerged as a revolutionary method to scholarly communication. With an emphasis on its economic models, international and Indian publishing trends, institutional activities, regulations, and researcher attitudes, this study explores the literature on open access publishing. The paper examines many OA models, such as gold, green, hybrid, bronze, and diamond access, emphasizing their benefits, drawbacks, and implications for the fair distribution of information. The expansion of open access publication in India and throughout the world is also covered, …

Programmable Error Severity Setting And Firmware Status Reporting For Testing Accelerator Platforms, N/A, N/A

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method are described for a statistical testing and analysis framework configured for computational accelerators. The framework facilitates programmable error severity settings, firmware status reporting, and configuration percentage rollouts. Techniques include using a management controller to append firmware versions to error logs, employing error mask maps provided by a user-space driver to mask firmware-level errors, and utilizing configurable error severity levels to manage how exceptions are handled without stopping active machine learning workloads. Keywords: computational accelerator, firmware testing, error masking, configuration rollout, automated analytics.

Predictive Hardware State Mitigation Using Telemetry And Feedback, Mohsen Heidarinejad, Farid Kenarangi, Arpit Mittal, Amin Khajeh

Defensive Publications Series

Varying computational tasks introduce thermal and power dependencies within modern computing devices. Static threshold policies might not fully capture cumulative operational stress, potentially causing over-throttling or delayed hardware responses. A closed-loop machine learning framework is disclosed that dynamically evaluates multidimensional telemetry data to compute a predictive risk score. A feature selector extracts direct measurements, system activity indicators, temporal features, and health indicators. Based on the calculated risk score, an arbitrator dynamically applies mitigation actions (e.g., scaling component voltage and frequency states). A model corrector operates during hardware idle periods to iteratively refine predictive modeling using observed performance metrics. The disclosed …

Cross-Layer Detection, Quarantine, And Safe Reclamation Of Stale Communication State In Ai Fabrics, Pradeep Bhagya Govindraj

Defensive Publications Series

Artificial intelligence (AI) fabrics for distributed training and inference often retain stale communication state after a job, worker, endpoint, or session has failed, completed, or stopped making progress. This stale state can waste resources, preserve bad path choices, and reduce accelerator utilization. Proposed herein are techniques to facilitate lifecycle-aware management of communication state in AI fabrics. The proposed techniques use cross-layer telemetry to classify communication state as active, dormant, degraded, or orphaned, then safely quarantine and reclaim only the state that is truly invalid. Unlike generic telemetry analytics or rerouting, the proposed techniques add workload-aware validation, post-remediation verification, and rollback …

Fusing Uwb Spatial Data And Imu Orientation For Deterministic Device Targeting, Nikita Agarwal

Defensive Publications Series

Systems for routing interactive content, for example, from a primary display to a specific user's device in a multi-user environment, can present challenges in identifying the intended recipient. This disclosure describes systems and methods that can combine spatial data with orientation data to help ascertain user intent. For example, spatial positioning of devices may be determined using ultra-wideband (UWB) radio signals, while an inertial measurement unit in a handheld control device (e.g., a remote control, smartphone, or wearable device) can track its orientation. By fusing these data streams, a directional vector can be projected from the control device. A target …

The Hybrid Path Architecture For Live Application Telemetry And Control, Stephen Norum, Christopher Burns, Leila Al-Muhtasib

Defensive Publications Series

Standard tools for analyzing software often slow down the programs they are testing and create data logjams, making it hard to catch fast-moving glitches. This system solves that problem by splitting communication into different "paths." It creates a high-speed lane for data to flow directly from the app to a dashboard, skipping the usual middleman tools that cause delays. Developers can also add new diagnostic tools to an app while it is already running without needing to change the code or restart it. This allows for real-time monitoring and fixing of apps with much less impact on their performance.

Minimizing The Gap Between Church And Disability In Churches Of Christ, Paris Freeman

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Church members with intellectual and developmental disabilities often experience disconnection from their churches. This qualitative study examined this disconnect in three suburban Church of Christ congregations within the North Texas area. Using an ethnographic approach, data was collected through interviews with ministry leaders, participatory observation, and a literature review. The analysis of the data, in conjunction with family systems theory, was utilized to construct a model for disability ministry which validates personhood and promotes awareness of self and others. The impact of the church growth movement on disability was also examined, but no definitive correlation could be determined. Further research …

Identifying Active Layer Dynamics Across Geomorphic Landforms In Longyeardalen, Central Svalbard, Madeline Kim Koelbel

Earth Sciences Undergraduate Senior Theses

The thermal state of the active layer and analysis of meteorological conditions provides a greater understanding of where active layer detachment slides can occur. This study provides an overview of the active layer ground thermal regime for 2024 and 2025 in Longyeardalen, Svalbard, where the largest settlement in Svalbard, Longyearbyen is located. Ground temperature data was extracted from 8 boreholes in Longyeardalen and meteorological data was extracted from one weather station in central Longyeardalen. Overall, the ALT thickness and the thawing period increased from 2024 to 2025 while the thaw rate remained the same or decreased. The zero-curtain effect was …