Digital Commons Network^™

Evolution Of Execution: The Introduction Of Nitrogen Hypoxia In Death Penalty Methodology, And The Need For Statutory Scientific Review, Madeline Ostrander

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Shifting A "Gray Area Of Rape" To Black Letter Law: A Push Towards Uniformity In United States Stealthing Legislation, Allison Walkley

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Changing Landscape Of International Development: An Introduction, Pascaline Dupas, Pinelopi K. Goldberg, Rohini Pande

Discussion Papers

Since the late 1980s, extreme poverty has declined sharply, life expectancy and schooling have increased, and electoral democracy has expanded. However poverty reduction has slowed in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, amid intensifying conflict, fragility, climate risks, democratic backsliding, and the erosion of global trends—including trade integration and geopolitical stability—that once supported growth. These dynamics raise three interrelated questions: what barriers impede further progress; where will future growth in lower-income countries come from; and how can growth be broadly shared. Taking stock of 15 chapters forthcoming in Volume 6 of the Handbook of Development Economics, we discuss how …

Creation Of The 2-Way Cross Laminated Timber Subroutine For Computing Dynamic Analysis Parameters, Joseph Freitas

Architectural Engineering

This document will describe the inputs, methodology, and outputs for the CLT 2-way subroutine for cases with and without openings recently added to a proprietary structural analysis software. For the sake of simplicity, most of the discussion will be focused on cases without openings from here on out, as the verification process for a novel method for cases with openings is still in progress. The CLT 2-way module calculates multi-point resistance functions for panels without openings by automating the procedure outlined in an industry-standard structural design manual. The subroutine also finds the appropriate dynamic response factors, kinetic load multipliers, mass, …

Exploring The Impact Of A Culturally Adapted Parent-Directed Training Program For Latine Parents Of Children With Autism, Noe Ramos, Valerie Leija, Javier Cavazos Vela, Deyanira Bedolla Maldonado, Susana Perez

Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications

The purpose of this mixed methods study is to explore the impact of a culturally adapted parent-directed training program in the United States on 90 Latine parents' perceptions of their child's strengths and social functioning. In addition, the study aimed to investigate the impact of the program on Latine parents' stress and their empowerment to advocate for their children. Participants were 90 Latine parents who participated in a 10-session culturally adapted training program. Quantitative analyses of pre-post data on the Family-Outcome Survey-Revised Scale, the stress subscale of the DASS-21, and Quality of Play Questionnaire indicated statistically significant improvements. Estimates of …

Faith's Multiple Meanings: Does The Author Of Hebrews Use "Faith" In The Same Manner As It Is Used In The Rest Of The New Testament?, Wayne Brouwer

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Tempest-Tossed: 50 Years Later, Carl P. Fictorie

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Resting-State Eeg Spectral Activity In Children And Adolescents With Asd: Potential Correlations With Interoceptive Neocortical Areas, Stephanie J. Morris

Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition marked by impairments in social interaction, communication, repetitive behaviors, and differences in cognitive and emotional functioning. These challenges can significantly affect daily living, relationships, and long-term independence, often requiring lifelong support. Emerging research suggests that deficits in interoceptive processing—the ability to perceive internal bodily states—may contribute to ASD symptoms and represent a potential target for intervention.

This study aims to compare resting-state EEG (QEEG) activity between children and adolescents with ASD and neurotypical (TD) peers, and to explore the relationship between interoceptive processing and ASD diagnosis. Archival QEEG data from individuals aged …

Pornographic Deepfakes And Ugly Social Facts: The Costs Of A Normative Approach To Defamation, Kathleen Ross

Michigan Law Review

Around the world, women and girls are being victimized by pornographic deepfakes— alarmingly convincing, sexually exploitative images and videos generated using artificial intelligence (AI). Facing statutory gaps, victims may turn to traditional tort law claims to recover for the injuries inflicted by pornographic deepfakes. Defamation law, which protects against reputational injuries caused by false statements, is a particularly compelling arena for vindicating the interests invaded by a pornographic deepfake—interests which are, at their heart, social and reputational. Fortunately for deepfake victims, a pornographic deepfake will often satisfy defamation’s basic elements: A false and defamatory communication that concerns the victim and …

Courts Of Indian Offenses, Courts Of Indian Resistance, Alexandra Fay

Michigan Law Review

In the late nineteenth century, the Department of the Interior created the Courts of Indian Offenses with the express goal of eliminating elements of Native culture through the coercive power of criminal law. The courts stood on dubious constitutional grounds, were almost universally replaced by tribal courts in the twentieth century, and have been widely derided as crude assimilationist tools.

This Article examines the Courts of Indian Offenses to study how law and legal institutions operate as sites of colonial struggle. The Courts of Indian Offenses were formally created to criminalize Native culture. In practice, they were more complicated. Native …

Organizational Characteristics And Business Transformation: An Investigation On Corporate Transformation In The Construction Industry, Wei Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Draw on a structural decline in demand triggered by selective real estate industrial policies, this study explores how construction companies drive business transformation through organizational characteristics in environmental uncertainties. Extant research has largely focused on the independent impact of single organizational factors or capabilities on transformation, lacking a systematic exploration of the interactions between organizational characteristics and the external environment. Take a typical construction group as an example, this study adopts a mixed-methods approach, through interviews and questionnaires, to systematically examine the impact of organizational characteristics on business transformation. The key findings are: in environmental uncertainties, an organic organizational structure …

Cvj Torque Loss Dynamometer, Malaika Sriram, Coleman Brown, Zachary Norris, Logan Mast, Chris Mattis

Mechanical Engineering

This report details the design and results of a dynamometer testing rig built to measure torque losses in constant velocity joints (CVJs) for Cal Poly Racing's Baja SAE team. The rig spins a flywheel connected to articulable CVJs up to 800 RPM using a motor, then decouples it and measures the spin-down rate from 800 to 100 RPM to calculate angular acceleration and torque loss. The data collected from this dyno will be used to inform freewheel packaging for future Baja car development.

Foreword: Resisting Erasure: Libraries In Palestine And Palestine In Libraries, Emily Drabinski

Publications and Research

This foreword opens an anthology that explores research and experiences at the intersection of Palestine and libraries. Part one examines how Palestinian librarians, archivists, and individuals resist erasure by preserving Palestinian materials and narratives and by ensuring Palestinians’ access to library resources amidst recurring cycles of destruction and confiscation. Part two explores how librarians in the United States respond to pressure from right-wing and pro-Israel advocacy groups that are quick to label any effort to include Palestinians and their histories as antisemitic.

Cancerseg-Xa: Medical Histopathology Segmentation System Based On Xception Backbone And Attention Mechanisms, Alaa Youssef, Wessam H. El-Behaidy, Aliaa Youssif

Computer Science

Accurate segmentation of histopathological images is essential to support early diagnosis and effective treatment planning in cancer care. This study presents CancerSeg-XA, a deep learning-based histopathology segmentation system designed to deliver robust performance across diverse tissue types and imaging sources. Built upon the DeepLabV3+ framework, CancerSeg-XA incorporates architectural enhancements to strengthen feature representation and improve model stability. The system was evaluated on three widely recognized datasets—BCSS, PanNuke, and PUMA—each presenting distinct structural and clinical challenges. Across all datasets, CancerSeg-XA consistently outperformed the baseline DeepLabV3+ in terms of segmentation accuracy, recall, and F1-score. Specifically, it achieved accuracy improvements of 4.78%, 4.31%, …

Flexural Behavior Of Double-Layer Concrete Beams Composed Of Normal And Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete, Shaida Rasul Abdalrahman, Ayad Zaki Saber Agha

Polytechnic Journal

This investigation studies the flexural performance of double-layer reinforced concrete beams composed of ordinary concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). The study evaluates the effects of bottom layer thickness, shear span ratio (a/d) and straight steel fiber volume fraction on structural behavior. The study project comprises twenty reinforced concrete beams, all specimens had across-section size of (125 mm × 250 mm) and different length of (1300, 1740, 2180) mm. The specimens were simple support and strengthened with flexural reinforcement of (4Ø12mm) and transverse reinforcement employing (Ø10@110mm) bars as stirrups. The results demonstrate that the double-layer concrete configuration significantly improves …

The Social And Biological Frontiers Of Polio: Comparing Global Eradication Strategies, Srisai A. Turangi

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the divergent global strategies for poliomyelitis (polio) eradication, examining the historical and structural contexts of developed nations – the United States and United Kingdom – alongside the enduring challenges in endemic regions such as Nigeria and Pakistan. Biomedical innovations like the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) have helped bring the world to a state of almost complete global eradication, but progress is still uneven due to variations in funding, healthcare infrastructure, and the legacy of colonialism. Studies reveal how a framework where global health inequalities remained, allowed for resource-rich …

Program Management And Building Partner Capacity: A Tangled Thicket, Phil W. Reynolds

Publications

This chapter explores how the U.S. Department of Defense plans and executes Building Partner Capacity projects in lower-middle and low-income partners. U.S. planners and practitioners rarely understand the effective pre-conditions that influence partner security apparatus and infrastructure. Consequently, security capabilities provided to the partner are rarely sustained and provide questionable security to the affected population. The U.S. Department of Defense uses a three-part approach to building security with partners: training and equipping, building institutional capacity, and monitoring and evaluating. U.S. security planners should manage all three parts concurrently to produce a security capability that the partner uses and sustains and …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teacher And Student Experience Within A Community Of Inquiry: Utilizing Wonder-Infused Pedagogy In An Elementary Outdoor Classroom, Andrew Gilbert, Steph N. Dean

Publications

This interpretive phenomenological study explores how wonder-infused pedagogy, enacted within an elementary outdoor classroom, supported the development of a community of inquiry. We position the community of inquiry as the overarching framework for cultivating social, cognitive, and teaching presence; wonder as the pedagogical driver; and outdoor learning as the authentic context for engaging in science practices. In response to schooling contexts that often privilege testing and individual achievement over collaborative inquiry, we examined an eight-week outdoor wonder project with third- through fifth-grade students. Data sources included group interviews, student journals, teacher reflections, and photographs. Students engaged in weekly wonder journaling …

Improving Equity Within The Holistic Admission Process Through Race-Neutral Holistic Review: A Before And After Cross-Sectional Study, Megan Eikenberry, Kylie Scott, Jaime González, Josh Subialka, Lacey Frankland, Patrice Ayala, Mark Kargela, Byron Russell

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Introduction: The US Physical therapist (PT) workforce lacks racial and ethnic diversity, which may contribute to health disparities. Holistic review (HR) admission methods may improve workforce diversity by evaluating applicants' academic metrics, experiences, and personal attributes. Holistic review processes must adapt following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting race-based admission criteria.

Review of literature: Holistic review criteria are program-specific and align with institutional and programmatic goals. While HR is shown to improve student body diversity, most PT education programs heavily emphasize academic metrics, which may disadvantage racial and ethnic minority (REM) applicants from acceptance. This study examines the racial and …

Strong Classrooms: Geodata Go-Along Training: A Challenge Grant Workshop (Report No. 13), R. Mckenna, L. Cheek, A. Cano, R. Zarger, L. Longworth, E. Barrientos, C. Baron, M. Trotz

Strong Coasts Collection

The Strong Coasts Strong Classrooms workshop training was a five-day, classroom- and field-based event designed to equip Belizean Natural Resources students with skills in interdisciplinary methodologies for field data collection. The workshop took place on the Placencia Peninsula, with classroom sessions hosted at the Seine Bight Multipurpose Center and fieldwork conducted in the villages of Riversdale, Seine Bight, and Placencia.

In total, there were 22 participants, including 16 students—6 from the University of Belize (UB), 9 from Independence Junior College (IJC), and 1 from Georgetown Technical High School. 3 teachers participated in the training (two from UB and one from …

Artificial Intelligence In Literacy Education, Megan V. Gierka, Timothy N. Odegard

Science of Reading

Artificial intelligence tools are entering K–12 literacy classrooms at an unprecedented rate, yet most have not undergone independent validation. This brief examines how educators can evaluate AI tools through the lens of cognitive science and instructional design. Drawing on the Expanded Instructional Hierarchy (Odegard & Gierka, 2025), we present a framework that links learning phases to the memory systems and cognitive processes that underlie literacy development.

How Teachers Can Apply Learning Theories To The Five Pillars Of The Science Of Reading, Jennifer Renn

Science of Reading

This brief provides an introduction to six learning theories and guidance on how they can be used to teach the pillars of the science of reading (SOR). Because SOR is rooted in a broad range of interdisciplinary research and covers several key competencies, classroom teachers may be overwhelmed and uncertain of how to best meet students’ needs. There is also a tendency to use instructional strategies and techniques that include student repetition and recognition of information. While these approaches can help students learn to read and write, teachers should consider using a range of learning theories to better align instruction …

Time-Dependent Amplification Of Growth Rates In A Plankton-Oxygen Model, Rapha Coutin

Master's Theses

Near-bottom hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen levels drop to a level that is harmful to marine biology, creating biological dead zones along the ocean floor. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the percentage of coastal, near-bottom, hypoxic water, with the average in 2021 nearly double that of the average from 2009 to 2018 and about twenty-eight times the average from 1950 to 1980. Recent literature has linked this increase in oceanic hypoxia to the increase in upwelling-favorable winds caused by climate change. Upwelling brings low-oxygen, nutrient-rich water up to the surface, leading to plankton blooms and mass consumption …

Light & Faith: March 2026, Taylor University

Light & Faith

No abstract provided.

Complicit Nullification: The Illegitimate (Abrogation) Of School Religious Liberty Precedent, Amanda Harmon Cooley

Cardozo Law Review

Louisiana has enacted legislation that mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. This statutory mandate directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s extant precedent in Stone v. Graham. Legislators in Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky have also indicated plans to introduce similar unconstitutional legislation, defying the Supreme Court’s interpretations of the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses. Similarly, Texas and Florida now permit public school chaplains or Bible-based public school curricula, which violates the Court’s longstanding prohibitions on such actions, as established in its 1948 ruling in Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education …

After Grants Pass: The Case For Recentering The Criminal Legal System And Its Constitutional Constraints, Scout Katovich

William & Mary Law Review

In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit cities from punishing unhoused people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go. While the holding was legally narrow, the Court’s rhetoric framed criminalization as sound policy rather than punishment, obscuring the criminal legal system implications at the heart of the case. Cities responded not to the narrow holding but to the rhetorical message: In the year following the decision, they enacted hundreds of new laws criminalizing homelessness and dramatically intensified enforcement.

This Article argues for the recentering of …

Sidewalk Living, Michael C. Pollack

William & Mary Law Review

In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit a city from enforcing a criminal ban on encampments on public property such as parks and sidewalks. But even if municipalities are now permitted to use tactics such as policing, encampment clearing, arrests, and imprisonment, these are not the right ways to address the problems of public homelessness.

Instead, homelessness must be understood as one of many conflicts over limited public space. At its best, vibrant sidewalk life enhances communities and local economies. But at its worst, every use of these …

Developing Collaborative Care At The Intersection Of Maternal Health And Substance Use Disorders: A Case Study On Building Community Through Shared Virtual Learning, Kimberly Persson, Susy Hawes, Sam Leiper

All Materials

This report documents the activities conducted as part of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model (MOMM) implementation in New Hampshire. The activities detailed within are the result of partnerships between The Elliot Hospital, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and the University of New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice. All efforts were made possible thanks to funding provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Exposure To Suaahara Ii Interventions And Knowledge Of Maternal And Child Nutrition And Health Among Mothers, Grandmothers, And Male Household Heads: An Association Study In Nepal, Shalini Suresh, Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Deependra K. Thapa, Ramesh P. Adhikari, Subir K. Kole, Femila Sapkota, Manisha Laxmi Shrestha, Kristine Garn, Pooja Rana Pandey, Indra Kshetri, Dipak Sharma, Kenda Cunningham

Faculty Publications

Suaahara was a USAID-funded multi-sectoral integrated nutrition program that aimed to improve the nutritional status of children under the age of five and their mothers in Nepal. The program included multiple interventions targeted to mothers and children, as well as other caregivers. Caregiver knowledge of optimal nutrition and health practices among household members is an important driver of healthy child and maternal nutrition behaviors. This study investigates the associations between exposure to Suaahara interventions and knowledge of maternal and child nutrition and health practices among mothers (n =, grandmothers (n =, and male household heads (n =. Linear and logistic …

Apoe And Plasma Ad Biomarkers: The Role Of Genetic Ancestry In Hispanics/Latinos, Caitlin Cheung, Natasha Z Anita, Paola Filigrana, Myriam Fornage, Kevin A Gonzalez, Linda C Gallo, Carmen R Isasi, Robert C Kaplan, Xihao Li, Freddie Márquez, Humberto Parada, Krista M Perreira, Alberto R Ramos, Tatjana Rundek, Wassim Tarraf, Fernando D Testai, Charles Decarli, Hector M González, Tamar Sofer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) alleles are well-established genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their effects on AD biomarkers (amyloid beta [Aβ]42/40, phosphorylated tau [p-tau]181, neurofilament light chain [NfL], and glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]) may vary across populations due to ancestry-, age-, and sex-related differences. We hypothesized that these effects vary across Hispanic/Latino background groups with distinct ancestral admixture.

Methods: We analyzed ε2 and ε4 allele associations with AD biomarkers using survey-weighted linear regression models, adjusting for demographic covariates. Secondary analyses examined genetic analysis group- and ancestry-specific effects.

Results: ε4 was associated with lower Aβ42/40 and higher p-tau181and …