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“Ite Missa Est”: How Can The Altar Alter Attitudes And Actions?, Ebenezer Akesseh

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper brings into focus the relationship between personal agency and so-

cial structure, demonstrating that what we celebrate on the altar forms within

us the proper dispositions that can help prevent the occurrence of corruption.

The first part examines corruption from a socio-cultural perspective and ex-

plains the incidence and effects of corruption. The second part discusses the

relationship between worship and the formation of actions and attitudes. It

highlights the need to embody the social implications of our celebrations. Using

responses from interviewees, the third part illustrates that the celebration of the

Eucharist shapes the commitments and conduct …

La Santa Muerte And The Characteristic Damage Of Canonization, Ellen Webber

Journal of Global Catholicism

Devotion to La Santa Muerte, a Mexican folk saint who personifies Death, has

been condemned by the Catholic Church for its affiliation with Mexican drug

cartels. This article challenges mainstream interpretations of La Santa Muerte

devotion using the theological framework of characteristic damage, as defined

by Lauren Winner and Paul J. Griffiths. This framework understands liturgy

as celebrated by sinners in a damaged world, and therefore necessarily damaged

itself. As much as liturgy and Christian practice form us for good, they also per-

petuate damage. I argue that the sins present in La Santa Muerte veneration are

an expression of …

Read, Evaluate, Cite: Using Chatgpt To Teach Primary Source Literacy, Victoria Jones

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

For the last three years, generative artificial intelligence and its uses have been a frequent topic of conversation. In education, many of us have wondered about the impact that generative AI will have on teaching and student learning. The present study considers the benefits and challenges of using generative AI tools in archival education to improve students’ primary source literacy skills. The focus of the research project is an assignment that uses ChatGPT to remove one of the challenges of developing primary source skills: historical writing. In doing so, the students were able to focus on practicing key archival research …

Resilient By Design: Reforming Medical Logistics To Support Global Operations, Michael Ackman, Jonathan Fowler

Joint Force Quarterly

History has shown that global medical supply chains can be easily disrupted by war, disaster and of course pandemics. As we plan for global military operations and shift our focus from Counter-insurgency Operations (COIN) to Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) we need to ensure our medical supply chains are flexible, resilient and adaptable. In the current state, our ability to leverage the medical supplies of our Allies and Partners is difficult to achieve in peacetime, and very uncertain in the face of global conflict. We need real and effective solutions today so that we can build and refine a resilient …

Disjointed Command And Air Domain Challenges In Alaska: The Case For A Single U.S. Combined/Joint Force Air Component Commander, Jeffrey W. Kempff

Joint Force Quarterly

The current command and control (C2) organizational structure over the air domain in Alaska is fragmented and doctrinally inconsistent, undermining homeland defense and reducing wartime lethality. Disjointed roles between the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)—particularly in the Alaska Theater of Operations (AKTO) and Alaska NORAD Region Area of Operations (ANR AO)—create gaps in unity of command and effort, especially within the air component. This article examines Alaska's fractured air domain organization and command relationships, illustrating operational ambiguity, duplicative efforts, and inconsistencies that delay decision-making. It proposes a focused, near-term solution: unify the …

Mission Over Bureaucracy: Special Operations Command’S Warrior-Driven Model For Defense Innovation, Robert D. Seader

Joint Force Quarterly

In an era of accelerating technological change, military organizations must rapidly develop and field new capabilities to maintain battlefield superiority. Traditional defense acquisition processes, optimized for peacetime oversight and risk avoidance, now take four times longer than in the 1950s, threatening to undermine military effectiveness against rapidly modernizing adversaries. This paper examines how the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has pioneered a fundamentally different acquisition approach that delivers new capabilities in months rather than the decades typical of conventional programs.

Through extensive interviews with senior acquisition leaders, this analysis identifies three core elements of USSOCOM’s success: a mission-centric culture …

Cyberspace Collaborative Awareness: A Model For Unity Of Effort In Homeland Defense, Mike Knapp, Sean Atkins, Matthew Mclaughlin

Joint Force Quarterly

The increasing frequency and severity of cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure continue to confound homeland defense efforts. Defending against state cyber campaigns that threaten the nation’s most critical systems requires a new awareness model that can enable unity of effort across public and private actors. Examining homeland defense awareness in other domains reveals principles and approaches that can inform the development of a collaborative awareness model in cyberspace. This new framework acknowledges the interconnectedness of government and commercial networks and the independent goals of each player in the domain. Doing so provides a viable path to achieving shared domain awareness …

Building The Mental Golden Dome: Arming The Joint Force For Defensive Cognitive Warfare, James Davitch

Joint Force Quarterly

Modern conflict increasingly hinges on mental strength, yet current military thinking lacks a clear defense for the mind. This article introduces a vital new concept: protecting military personnel from an adversary's attempts to distort their perceptions, disorient their judgment, and degrade their decision-making. Building on established research into behavioral psychology, the essay integrates this defense into existing military functions, proposing practical steps. It offers a precise explanation of this protective strategy, suggests pre-deployment exercises for joint personnel, and outlines ways to measure effectiveness even under pressure. A detailed, multi-year plan describes how to update joint doctrine, create training programs, and …

Determining Operational Objectives, Milan Vego

Joint Force Quarterly

Full knowledge and understanding of the true meaning of operational objectives are the main prerequisites for sound planning and execution of major operations A major operations (on land, at sea, in the air) is aimed at accomplishing a single operational objective. They can be conducted predominantly by a single service or two or more services. A campaign in a high-intensity conventional war consists of a series of related major/joint operations (on land, in the air, at sea) plus numerous tactical actions aimed to achieve a single military- or theater-strategic objective. Yet despite their importance, relatively little attention is …

From Data To Victory: The Race For Analytic Superiority In Warfare, Robert Grossman, Emily Goldman

Joint Force Quarterly

Artificial intelligence technologies have reached a tipping point after decades of development. They are diffusing widely across defense and national security applications. Twenty-first century warfighters rely on analytic models in all systems, at all echelons, and in all domains. As more powerful models built on ever larger data sets become ubiquitous, militaries are in a new competition to deploy artificial intelligence. Operational art must embrace “analytic superiority.” This is the operational advantage from collecting and ingesting data, building robust models and computing infrastructure, deploying the models into operational systems, and denying adversaries' ability to do the same

This article explains …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 120, 3rd Quarter 2026, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

Joint Force Quarterly 120, 3rd Quarter 2026, focuses on contemporary defense strategy, joint warfighting, professional military education, operational innovation, and military sustainment. The issue opens with Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge A. Colby’s discussion of the logic underlying the 2026 National Defense Strategy and an executive summary reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the future of jointness. Forum articles address analytic superiority in warfare, the development of operational objectives, and new evidence concerning the Lavelle Affair. Contributions on joint professional military education explore defensive cognitive warfare, strategist development, and cyberspace collaboration for homeland defense. …

It's Your Voice: Why Not Use It?, Tyler Tran

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Tyler is an Accounting and Finance major from Stoughton, MA. Tyler felt a personal connection to the topic of his essay as he “has always been conscious of my voice in previous writing assignments, but it wasn’t until English 101 and 102 that I purposefully used my own voice in my essays.” This made Tyler want to explore the topic of “self-censorship” of students when writing. He admits that “undergoing the writing process in a remote setting was very new, but I think it helped emphasize the importance of really writing with my own voice.” While writing this essay, Tyler …

Using A Narrative Approach To Cater To Multilingual Student Writers, Hadassa Sossou

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Hadassa is a Biochemistry major from Brockton, MA. She is multilingual but does not consider herself a “multilingual student” since her primary language is English. She speaks four languages and is now learning Japanese. This semester, Hadassa met and befriended many international and ESL students at the university. She states that “after I met them, I realized that they had a lot of struggles with writing in the classroom that I never considered. So, during my research for this essay, I wanted to learn more about what could cause difficulty and how that could be resolved.” Hadassa also has learned …

Paradise Found? Orality In The Composition Process, Alexander Quadros

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Alex is an undecided major from Chelmsford, MA, who is interested in International Relations, English, and Economics. Alex said this topic “thoroughly piqued my curiosity” and he “wondered whether my recurrent frustrations with procrastination of writing assignments was a symptom of ‘thinker’s block,’ or rather the usual culprit of ‘writer’s block.’ This distinction became important to him as he realized “utilizing orality could spur the composition process.” Alex is a very family-oriented person and is passionate about helping others. His ideal day would be hiking with friends while listening to the Rolling Stones and then playing basketball all night long. …

The Repurposing Of Biased Literature For Moral Development, Hannah Ortiz

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Hannah Ortiz is an English major with a Professional & New Media Writing concentration, and is from Hartford, Connecticut. Because she is studying reading and writing, Hannah feels that the censorship of literature is an important topic. Hannah says “I love reading and I believe that people, especially children, should be able to read books that teach us about the world.” She states that we do not have to agree with every book we read, but that “literature can present different perspectives that can educate us about messages we don’t agree with.” Hannah believes that biased literature has been some …

The Battle Of Science And The Public: How To Make Scientific Writing Friendly, Maggie Buyuk

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Maggie Buyuk is a Nursing major from Bolton, MA. She wanted to focus her essay on the scientific discourse community because she feels as though it is often unapproachable: “As a nursing major, I know that I want information to be easily accessible for both myself and my patients. Unfortunately, the scientific rhetoric is not publically friendly because of the jargon and format of the scientific paper standard.” Maggie believes that there is a middle ground where the scientific community and the public can meet in order to better understand each other. This essay is special to her because, as …

2021 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

No abstract provided.

Bitseat: Reimagining The Financing For Airliners Using Nonfungible Tokens (Blockchain Technology), Edwin S. Ongola

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

This essay describes how blockchain technology, particularly nonfungible tokens, can be used to raise funding for airliners. The essay begins with a brief overview on the costs, categories, and acquisition methods of airliners. After that, the essay introduces concepts on blockchain technology, tokens, and smart contracts. The essay then touches on how nonfungible tokens can be used to facilitate fractional ownership of airliners. From there, the essay discusses Bitseat, a conceptual nonfungible token for fractional ownership of airliners, covering its overall design, appeal, marketplace alternatives, and challenges. Finally, in the discussion, the essay summarizes the overall concept and outlines its …

Improving Security Policy Validation In Distributed Systems Using Attack Graph Simulations, Zaid J. Al-Araji, Balqees Talal Hasan, Fahad Ahmed Shaban, Ali Khairi Al-Toohafi, Hussein M. Farhood, Alaa Al-Dabbagh, Omar Nazar Hamdoon

Al-Bahir

Validation of security policies in distributed systems is difficult because rules are heterogeneous, interact in non-obvious ways, and static checks often overlook multi-stage attacker chains. We offer a unified framework to translate real policies, and in parallel give visibility into policy-aware attack graphs (PAAGs), then we evaluate them using deterministic as well as probabilistic simulations, with Monte Carlo (MC) included. The policies are naturally embedded in the construction; firewall semantics deny or remove exploit edges, RBAC limits privilege transitions, and IDS/IPS lower the success likelihood of edges, so the resulting graph reflects both the vulnerability surface and the enforcement posture. …

The Nine-Block Pyramid: A Structural Framework For Cultivating An Ai Adoption Mindset Culture At Enterprise Scale, Ahmad Masri

Communications of the IIMA

Enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is nearly universal in name but shallow in practice: a large majority of organizations now use AI in at least one business function, yet only a small minority have scaled it enterprise-wide, and leadership commitment rather than technology is repeatedly cited as the binding constraint. This conceptual paper argues that AI adoption is fundamentally a mindset-culture problem, not a tooling problem, and proposes a nine-block pyramid as a practical framework describing a sequencing heuristic, anchored in established organizational-behavior theory, for the cultural conditions an enterprise should build to sustain an AI adoption mindset: (1) Enterprise …

Green Assisted Synthesis Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: The Influence Of Plant Extract Type (Eucalyptus, Lemon, And Sidr), Ikram R. Abdal-Razaq, Farhad M. Othman, Alaa A. Abdul-Hamead

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

In recent years, a greener sustained approach has attracted significant attention, particularly that employs environmentally friendly nanomaterials by utilizing natural extracts. Despite the growing number of literature studies on the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using different plants, comparisons between extracts to assess their effect on physical and chemical properties under identical preparation conditions are almost limited. Therefore, this study aims investigate an emerging field of nanotechnology focused on creating cost-effective, environmentally friendly zinc oxide nanoparticles using various leaf extracts (Eucalyptus, Lemon, and Sidr) as reducing and stabilizing agents, with zinc chloride as the precursor. The impact of the active …

Experimental Investigation Of A Time–Delayed Multi Spark Blumlein Excitation System For Performance Enhancement Of A Tea Nitrogen Laser, Farah Jawad Kadhum, Raid A Ismail, Alwan M. Alwan, Ali H. Attallah, Doaa Sulaiman

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

This paper presents a multistage electrical configuration for excitation within a nanosecond transversely excited atmospheric nitrogen (TEA-N₂) laser, with variations including a one-stage Blumlein circuit (1SBC),a three-stage Blumlein circuit (3SBC), and a five-stage Blumlein circuit (5SBC). The circuit features several discharge loops controlled by spark gaps and is intended to produce great performance through a low-inductance discharge geometry. A two-electrode spark gap is temporarily changed to cause the laser channel to collapse at the maximum overvoltage. The design enables gas discharge and nitrogen molecule excitation at lower voltages, with each configuration producing a varied peak output power depending …

Thermo-Hydraulic Performance Enhancement Of Heat Sinks Using Twisted Naca 0021 Airfoil Pin Fins: A Numerical Study, Ismail H. Omran, Khaled M. Chahrour

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

The thermo-hydraulic performance of heat sinks is strongly influenced by pin-fin geometry; however, systematic evaluation of twisted NACA 0021 airfoil pin fins as an alternative to conventional cylindrical configurations remains limited. The current study involved numerical investigations using ANSYS Fluent 2023 in analyzing a heat sink with twisted NACA 0021 airfoil pin fins subjected to turbulent forced convection. The traditional design with cylindrical pin-fin heat sinks was used as the baseline geometry, and varying degrees of twist ranging from 0° to 60° were studied over a range of inlet velocity from 6.5 to 12 m/s (Re = 3.8 × 10 …

Ai Slop In The Generative Ai Era: Uncovering Hidden Costs For Information Quality, Trust, And Human-Centered Systems, Blenda G. Mutuma

Communications of the IIMA

The rapid proliferation of generative AI tools has fundamentally altered the volume, velocity, and perceived quality of information produced across academic and professional settings (Bommasani et al., 2021; Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence [HAI], 2025). Yet this expansion has introduced a critical and underexamined threat to sustainable information ecosystems: what this paper formally terms AI slop ; defined as AI-generated content that achieves surface-level plausibility while offering limited substantive value, accuracy, or contextual depth. At scale, AI slop degrades information quality and erodes institutional trust (Bender et al., 2021; Weidinger et al., 2021). More critically, it generates what this …

Ai-Assisted Software Development And The Change Of Organizational Rhythms, Jarl Tuxen, Morten Boesen, Sarah O'Neill

Communications of the IIMA

Based on a qualitative study of a Danish NGO collaborating with an AI-enabled software vendor, this paper examines how the speed of AI-assisted software development challenges established organizational rhythms of evaluation and governance. The preliminary analysis suggests that AI-assisted development not only accelerates software production but also destabilizes established mechanisms for evaluation, responsibility allocation, and legimitization in software development projects.

Saas As The Backbone Of Digital Transformation: How Ai Turned Cloud Software Into Intelligent Enterprise Infrastructure, Amar Fejzić

Communications of the IIMA

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has become one of the most consequential infrastructures of digital transformation because it lowers the cost, time, and complexity of adopting enterprise capabilities. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative and conversational AI, is changing SaaS from a delivery model into an intelligent operating layer that automates workflows, personalizes customer interactions, and supports data-driven decisions. This paper develops a conceptual synthesis of academic literature and public organizational cases to examine how SaaS shaped digital transformation and how AI is reshaping SaaS itself. The analysis shows that SaaS enables scalable experimentation, faster deployment, and modular integration, while …

Integration Of Freshness Monitoring And Active Packaging Technologies For Aquatic Products, Maria Ali, Abdul Waheed Ghanghro, Bheem Raj Serani, Mahrukh Zakir

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Aquatic products are nutritionally valuable but highly perishable, with quality loss driven by microbial spoilage, biochemical changes, including total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethylamine (TMA) and histamine, and physicochemical deterioration, including lipid oxidation, gas production and texture loss. Conventional packaging slows these processes but does not report real-time freshness. This review analyzes how active packaging (antimicrobial, antioxidant, enzyme-inhibiting, and oxygen-scavenging systems, including bio- and nanocomposites) can be combined with freshness monitoring technologies (colorimetric/pH indicators, gas sensors, biosensors, and digital tools such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and Internet of Things (IoT) systems) specifically for fish, shrimp, and mollusks. We first …

The Design Of G-Board Gamification : Chess Boards ., Djamila Hassan Djibril Professor

Defensive Publications Series

With the emergence of a novel concept of gamification in g-board games, we aim to investigate the creative design and execution of G-Board, a gamified platform designed to boost user involvement and educational results. By incorporating game elements such as points, badges, leader boards, and challenges into the conventional or productivity sphere, G-Board aspires to inspire users through both intrinsic and extrinsic incentives. In response to alterations in game design or transformations in the gaming industry triggered by shifts in user engagement, we opted to craft a fresh approach and concept for games. The aim of this new design is …

System And Method For Local Venue User-Generated Content Registration, Affinity-Sensed Curation, And Revenue-Shared Broadcast Pickup, Eric Zavesky

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method for local venue user-generated content registration, affinity-sensed curation, and revenue-shared broadcast pickup is disclosed. Patrons of local establishments capture video clips and upload them through verified paths establishing authorship and venue proximity. A registration service verifies authorship, assigns persistent content identifiers, and embeds venue provenance directly into clip files. An edge-processed, aggregate, non-biometric affinity sensor array measures audience engagement during display, generating affinity scores that inform curation and distribution decisions. A hierarchical governance engine applies positive and negative content filters with strict negative-override priority across per-clip, per-patron, and per-keyword vectors, supporting genre-aligned filter relaxation for special …

Privacy-Preserving Web3 Recovery, Panagiotis Chatzigiannis, Adithya Bhat, Duc Le, Mohammad Mohsen Minaei Bidgoli

Defensive Publications Series

A computer generates a hash value based on a commitment data. The computer signs the hash value using a private key to form a signature. The computer posts the hash value and the signature to a blockchain. The computer provides the commitment data to a receiver device. After a predetermined amount of time the commitment data is posted to the blockchain. A smart contract verifies the hash value using the commitment data.