Digital Commons Network^™

Concepts For The Use Of Knowledge-Based Engineering In Intralogistics System Planning: Dynamic Layouting, Alexander Ortner-Pichler, Christian Landschützer

17th IMHRC Proceedings (Trondheim, Norway-2025)

No abstract provided.

Machine Learning Approach For The Operation Of Puzzle-Based Storage Systems, Tal Raviv, Yossi Bukchin

17th IMHRC Proceedings (Trondheim, Norway-2025)

No abstract provided.

Proof-Of-Concept Implementation Of A Drone-Enabled Material Handling System In Manufacturing, Julio Jimenez-Sarda, Daniel F. Silva, Alice E. Smith

17th IMHRC Proceedings (Trondheim, Norway-2025)

No abstract provided.

Benched Judges, Anna Roberts

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance Speech, Sarah Haan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Export Diversification And Economic Growth In Sub-Saharan Africa: Could There Be A Mixed Relationship?, Jocelyne Urielle Bedime, Julien Brice Minkande, Honoré Bidiasse

Journal of African Trade

Based on the differences in export diversification between sub-regions, this research aims to determine the type of relationship that may exist between export diversification and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using data from 36 countries grouped according to their level of diversification, a panel ARDL model is estimated. The results show that for highly diversified sub-regions, the relationship between export diversification and economic growth is inverted U-shaped, while for concentrated sub-regions, the relationship is U-shaped. Highly diversified countries are advised to integrate further into the African continental free-trade zone, which, by lifting barriers and improving the regulatory framework, offers greater …

Urgent Expertise, Explored Together: A Scholarly Communication Peer-Mentoring Group, Alex Crowley, Lily Susman, Rosemary Farrell, Michael Kahn, Carrie Jedlicka, Eric Silberberg, Michelle Ehrenpreis, Marta Bladek, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

In Spring 2025, the authors participated in a structured peer-mentoring program designed to deepen their knowledge of scholarly communication topics and issues. In this article, based on our panel at the 2025 LACUNY Institute, we share our perspectives on the program and discuss how current events are making scholarly communication expertise more essential than ever.

Childhood Adversity, Stress Management, And Reactions To Sensitive Content: A Latent Profile Analysis Of Undergraduates, Jessica D. Cless, Carol A. Johnston, Briana S. Nelson Goff, Olivia K. Edwards

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Current rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in undergraduate students point to a need for evaluating the impact of these events on student well-being, particularly in the context of courses that contain sensitive and trauma-based content. The current latent profile analysis study included 94 students and sought to identify patterns of exposure to adversity, stress management, and self-reported experiences in a trauma-based undergraduate course. Profile results indicated three distinct groups, interpreted as low-ACE exposure, moderate-ACE exposure, and high-ACE exposure. Student perceptions of sensitive course content were generally favorable across groups, suggesting that despite varying levels of prior adversity and stress …

Hope For Louisiana’S Coast: From Catastrophic Loss To Transient Gain, Richard Condrey, Brian D. Marx, Frank Saforo, Rudy Bartels

Faculty Publications

Louisiana’s fifty-billion-dollar coastal restoration plan relies on selected interpretations of a small dataset of coastwide land measurements. In the 1990’s, the plan’s founders used a mathematically impossible interpretation of an improbable manipulation of the initial (1932-1990) dataset to justify their misconceptions regarding natural conditions; delta-switching; and a failing, 60-year restoration goal. In 2017, the dataset was updated to 2016 and used to suggest that land loss had slowed to -28 km2/yr (-1 football field/100 min) since 2010. We find that the dataset does not support this suggestion. Rather, we find the dataset supports our hypothesis that increasing precipitation in the …

The Bone Lady: Life As A Forensic Anthropologist: Book Review, Dakota Taylor

Nebraska Anthropologist

Review of The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist (2000) by M. H. Manhein.

Review Of Digging For The Disappeared: Forensic Science After Atrocity, Abigail Vaughn

Nebraska Anthropologist

Since the field's development, individuals and communities involved in and affected by international forensic investigations have been confronted with many political and ethical dilemmas. The book, Digging for the Disappeared: Forensic Science After Atrocity (2015), by Adam Rosenblatt, attempts to identify and articulate the various debates surrounding humanitarian forensic work. In doing so, the author focuses on four key areas; the purpose of such investigations, the stakeholders and expectations involved, and what may realistically be accomplished. While sympathetic to the perspective of forensic practitioners, Rosenblatt presents the positions of all parties in an unbiased manner, introducing the reader to …

A Workable Common Law Baseline For Regulatory Takings, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

Rights to use property are property rights. The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires governments to provide just compensation when they take property. In our constitutional republic, legislatures are competent to change the law, and legal changes sometimes alter private rights, including use rights. The Takings Clause does not forbid such legal changes. It only requires compensation for property rights taken as a result.

To give use rights the constitutional protection that the Takings Clause requires, courts need a baseline of rightful property use to show when a change in the law that adversely affects use rights amounts to …

Disenchanting Consent, Ruifeng Song

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Despite being criticized as a flawed mechanism for data protection, con- sent has witnessed a revival in the recent wave of state privacy statutes. One factor that contributed to the revival may be the widely held belief that con- sent constitutes the “cornerstone” of data privacy laws. This Article conducts a comparative historical survey to examine the validity of this belief. The findings are twofold. First, contrary to what many believe, consent has been playing a limited role in global data privacy laws. Second, consent is an inherently defective mechanism for data protection. Some of its problems have existed since …

It Is Our Flaws That Make Us Humane: How Technology Ruined Judicial Craft, Shai Dothan, Gregor Maučec

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

There is ample evidence that people are not completely rational. They suffer from a series of biases that limit their abilities to make the best decisions and to stick to them. Judges are a unique group of people. They go through many years of training that counter some of these biases, but not all of them. In fact, there is a whole field of research dedicated to predicting how judges, with their human flaws, are going to behave. But today, judges can use an increasing number of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with their craft, particularly with research and …

Regulation To Reinforce The Evidentiary-Science Base Of U.S. Medicine In The Age Of "Omics", Michael J. Malinowski

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

United States’ technology transfer law and policy (TTLP) integrates government, academia, and industry—a “triple-threat” research and development (R&D) methodology—and harnesses commercial incentives to stimulate market application of federal government-funded invention. TTLP, which has proven a potent catalyst for remarkably prolific biomedical R&D since Congress enacted its cornerstone legislation in 1980, is transforming U.S. medicine to molecular medicine—to personal genome medicine (PGM)—in real time. A genomics (gene function in the context of an organism’s entire genome, meaning its full set of genetic instructions) complement to the Human Genome Project (HGP) emerged in the 1990s. Genomics has given rise to a portfolio …

Top Ten Biotechnology Patent Cases Of 2024: Loper Bright, Federal Circuit Turmoil, Patent Term Adjustment, And Naturally Occurring Nucleic Acids, Kevin E. Noonan, Andrew W. Torrance

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

A pivotal year for biotechnology patent law, 2024 was marked by consequential court rulings and evolving legal frameworks. This article surveys the ten most significant judicial decisions impacting biotech patents, highlighting major themes and trends in policy, litigation, and regulation. Courts at all levels grappled with core patentability requirements in the life sciences, from the Supreme Court’s continued laissez-faire stance on subject-matter eligibility to the Federal Circuit’s stringent enforcement of disclosure sufficiency rules.

Evaluation Of Established Perennial Clover Living Mulch And Soil Management Effects On Weed Suppression, Soil Health, And Broccolini Production For The Northern Great Plains, Connor Ruen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vegetable cropping systems have long been reliant on the use of tillage to prepare favorable seedbeds and manage weed pressure. Tillage degrades soil structure, decreases water infiltration and leads to compaction. Due to recent droughts across the central United Stated, it is important for water conservation to improve infiltration and avoid run off and erosion. Changes in weather patterns not only influence drought conditions but bring heat waves that have made early and late planted cool season crops in the brassica family prone bolting, leading to unmarketable produce and economic losses for farmers. This 2023 and 2024 study was designed …

Assessing The Impact Of High-Fidelity Simulation Experiences On Student Confidence In A Controlled Academic Environment, Jillian K. Pindar, Peyton Belton, Madison Griffin, Abbi Hancock, Lucero Limones, Kristi Self, Elizabeth K. Schmidt

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

A quasi-experimental one group pretest-posttest design was utilized with 19 first-and-second-year doctoral occupational therapy students at a university in Tennessee to evaluate confidence, performance, benefits, challenges, and recommendations from an acute care simulation experience. Student confidence was evaluated using a researcher-developed survey immediately before and after a high-fidelity simulation using a pre-programmed mannequin and standardized script. A performance assessment evaluated students' skills during the simulation. The post-test survey included open-ended questions on perceived benefits, challenges and recommendations. Overall, students demonstrated increased confidence in vital sign monitoring and modification (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate), medical equipment identification, and safe patient …

Perceptions Of Occupational Therapy Student Fieldwork Readiness In The Acute Care Setting, Jackie Dusing, Lisa Borrero, Elizabeth Horrall Stith, Kristina Watkins

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy student readiness for Level II fieldwork is necessary for preparing novice clinicians and is challenging to assess, as it requires applying didactic knowledge in real-world clinical settings. There is currently a gap in the literature regarding student perceptions of their readiness for Level II fieldwork, especially in the acute care setting. The aim of this qualitative study is to better understand Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) students’ perceptions of readiness for Level II fieldwork in an acute care setting. This basic interpretive qualitative research study utilized a purposeful sampling with students completing their Level II fieldwork in various …

Keynote Address: The Future Of Constitutional Interpretation, Madiba K. Dennie

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The American constitutional order is in a state of flux, caused in part by the Supreme Court and its embrace of originalism. The originalist ideology contends that the Constitution has one true historically discoverable meaning, and interpreters must understand the document today the same way the public purportedly understood it when it was enacted. While its advocates insist that originalism promotes objectivity and democratic legitimacy, closer examination reveals that it is little more than a political tool designed to entrench 18th-century power hierarchies by transforming some of the nation’s lowest historical shortcomings into its highest legal standards. The author argues …

Originalism, The Second Amendment, And The Vibe Of The Constitution, Allen Rostron

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Constitutional law often comes down to how judges feel about the vibes of the Constitution’s text, structure, and history. This has always been true, but in the past, courts had more leeway to be honest about this. With a majority of the Supreme Court embracing an originalist approach to constitutional interpretation, the opportunity for candor has been lost. Judges now pretend that history and tradition supply the answers to difficult constitutional questions, even when they must rely on tenuous inferences from the historical record. This Essay examines major cases from the past where the Supreme Court acknowledged that it was …

Chemerinsky’S Lament: Insurrection, Secession, And The End Of American Democracy, Anders Walker

Saint Louis University Law Journal

In his latest book, No Democracy Lasts Forever, Erwin Chemerinsky laments the decline of democracy in America. Citing problems like the Electoral College, the Senate, and partisan gerrymandering, Chemerinsky posits that the United States Constitution itself is to blame. If we do not amend it in radical ways, he argues, then America is likely to break apart as prosperous, populous states like California no longer find it in their interest to preserve the union. Though riveting, Chemerinsky’s account fails to acknowledge that the Constitution’s undemocratic features have long served to preserve the union, and may well continue to do …

Impact Of A Virtual Support Program On Student Success In Neuroscience And Neuroanatomy Courses: Opportunities And Challenges, Abbigail Kubiak, Sue A. Sisto, Janice Tona

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

We investigated the outcomes of a novel neuroscience and neuroanatomy support program (NSP) developed and implemented in the pre-professional phase of an accredited Bachelor of Science/ Master of Science occupational therapy (OT) program. This research demonstrates the potential of targeted small group tutoring as an effective means to promote student success and retention. Modeled after Response to Intervention programs, we used a three-tiered approach to support student success. All students received standard lecture content (Tier 1). Students who desired extra help attended an optional recitation (Tier 2) and students who received a score of 70% or lower on one or …

Culturally Sensitive Mentorship In Occupational Therapy Education, Janet Njelesani, Shanteria Watson, Amanda Gahlot, Ayesha Ahmed, Grace Kim

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Mentorship provides crucial support and guidance for students, significantly influencing their academic and professional success. Mentorship experiences can vary considerably, with students from historically underrepresented groups facing racism, discrimination, and a lack of opportunities in their professional development. Despite the recognized need for culturally sensitive mentorship, there is a lack of literature within occupational therapy that focuses on the mentoring experiences of students from historically underrepresented groups. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring occupational therapy students’ mentoring needs and experiences to inform the future development of culturally sensitive mentoring programs. Utilizing a cross-sectional survey, the study collected …

Felons In Possession: Rejecting The Third Circuit And Its Application Of Bruen, Morgan Schmidt

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision striking down a New York public carry law has triggered widespread legal challenges to gun regulations across the United States. Among the most contested statutes is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the federal felon-in-possession law, a crucial tool for the Department of Justice in restricting firearm access. Recent rulings from the Third and Eighth Circuits have resulted in a legal split regarding the constitutionality of this provision, raising uncertainty about its future enforceability. This note examines the historical and legal foundations of § 922(g)(1), the implications of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen …

Drawing On The Christian Tradition As A Source For The Renewal Of Labor Law Theory, Alvin Velazquez

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Does the Christian tradition have anything to offer to legal theorists exploring the renewal of labor law from its ossified framework? This Essay argues that the Christian tradition has much to offer. There are streams within the Christian intellectual tradition that offer a third way between a “naked public square” of legal thought that refuses to look at religion as a source of ideas for constructing law and Christian nationalism. Schools of theological inquiry within the Christian tradition such as the Theology of the Social Gospel, Catholic Social Teaching, and Liberation Theology draw on the “Sermon on the Mount” for …

Muslim American Workers, Faith And Labor Organizing, Chaumtoli Huq

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the U.S. Muslim-Americans are racially, ethnically and theologically diverse and are a politically engaged constituency. It is a community experiencing immense economic insecurity alongside political vulnerability due to discrimination, which make them inclined to labor organizing. Despite these demographic changes, the U.S. labor movement is not addressing this growing faith-based community. In this article, I discuss three examples of successful labor organizing interventions led by Muslim-American workers or where Muslim-Americans were actively engaged which have resulted in positive gains for all workers. They are: (1) New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) Post …

Kill ‘Em With Lies: The False Narrative Of The American Execution Laboratory, Danica Howell

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The Supreme Court’s narrative regarding capital punishment, in keeping with the laboratories of democracy theory, boasts the consistent development of more humane methods of execution. Contrary to the Court’s narrative, however, states are not driven by the desire to create humane execution; they are merely striving to keep state-sanctioned killing alive. Examination reveals that execution methods are adopted on best guess and are retained without post-adoption verification of their effectiveness, humanity or painlessness. As abolitionist ideals close in on capital punishment, legislative shortcuts, willful ignorance, and secrecy allow new methods to propagate. As those tactics begin to fail, states resort …

The Value Of A Statistical Life: From Skin In The Game To Vision Zero, Michael C. Duff

Saint Louis University Law Journal

This essay discusses justice issues surrounding occupational safety and health and assesses the ethical legitimacy of regulatory cost benefit analysis when the costs in question involve the risks and realization of workplace injury and fatalities. The current “value of a statistical life” for legal-regulatory purposes is 13.1 million dollars. Economists claim that this figure does not “really” represent an attempt to value any particular life. But the obvious purpose of even calculating the number is to provide a statistical justification for saying “no” to rules requiring safer work.

The moral-ethical dilemma of work related injury and death remains a central …

Integration Of Mediation Skills As Required By The Nextgen Bar Exam, Christine Rollins

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (“NCBE”) developed the NextGen Bar Exam to more actively test a broad range of foundational lawyering skills. The timing of the rollout will take several years with the final adoption date in 2028. The formatting of the questions will change, and the “Integrated Questions Set,” where examinees answer a series of questions about a given scenario, seems to be the hallmark of innovation. The NextGen Bar Exam will also include a performance task where examinees will draft a memorandum, legal brief, letter, or similar document. Faculty striving to adapt to the new assessment requirements …