Digital Commons Network^™

Investment Tax Credit Repeal, An Analysis Of The Transition Rules, Lynn M. Hogan

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Tax Clinic, Leon M. Nad

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Significant Recent Developments Concerning Estate Planning (Part Ii), Cases And Rulings On Life Insurance, Valuation, Administration Expenses And Claims Against The Estate, And Income Taxation Of Estates And Trusts, Byrle M. Abbin, David K. Carlson

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Vacation/Second Home, Tax Planning After The Tra, Cherie J. O'Neil, Clarence C. Rose

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Note: Antitrust Law In Professional Sports: How Major League Baseball Has Continued Being The Exception To The Rule, Joey Martinez

ConLawNOW

This Note argues that baseball should be put on the same playing field as other professional sports leagues. It explores the legal anomaly of baseball’s antitrust exemption and argues that either the Supreme Court or Congress should remove the exemption to subject Major League Baseball to federal antitrust laws to increase competition in professional baseball and improve conditions in the minor leagues. The article traces the history of baseball’s hundred-year-old antitrust exemption and details how the federal courts and Congress have treated it, including recent attempts by Congress to repeal baseball’s exemption. It then compares baseball to other professional and …

Evaluation For Non-Accidental Trauma (Nat) And Bleeding Disorders In Infants Referred To Pediatric Hematology, Abbey Elsbernd, Shannon Carpenter, Lyndsey Hultman, James Anderst

Research Showcase

Background:

The most common presentation for both pediatric non-accidental trauma (NAT) and bleeding disorders is bruising. In non-mobile infants with bruising, NAT evaluation is recommended.

Objectives/Goal:

We aimed to assess complete evaluation for NAT in patients < 9 months of age presenting with bruising and/or bleeding to our pediatric hematology clinic, and frequency of diagnosis of NAT.

Methods/Design:

A single center retrospective chart review was performed on children < 9 months at time of evaluation referred to pediatric hematology from 1/1/2016 to 12/31/2025. Patients were eligible if their visit included ICD-10 diagnosis codes for bleeding and/or bruising, ICD-10 codes for bleeding disorders, ICD-10 codes for non-accidental trauma, or visit reason listed as bleeding and/or bruising. Patients were excluded if asymptomatic but seen due to family history, for follow-up from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or newborn nursery, or if they were presenting for another clinical reason. Demographics, symptoms, family history of bleeding disorders, bleeding disorder and/or NAT evaluation performed, and diagnoses of bleeding disorders and/or NAT were collected. NAT evaluation was deemed complete if the following were obtained: head imaging (computed tomography), skeletal survey, aspartate aminotransferase level (AST), and alanine aminotransferase level (ALT).

Results:

100 patients were identified, with 26 included. Most were excluded due to being asymptomatic with known family history or presenting for follow-up from the newborn nursery or NICU. 11 patients (42.3%) were diagnosed with NAT, and 7 patients (26.9%) were diagnosed with a bleeding disorder. 1 patient was diagnosed with both a …

Accessibility In Digital Publications, Ana Bichanich, Emily Hills, Corey Parson, Michelle Wallen

The Piedmont Publishing Symposium

Presented at the 2026 Piedmont Publishing Symposium.

May 20-21, 2026

Wofford University

Considering Consent: What We Can Learn From Bdsm, Jennie Pless, Kate A. Morrissey Stahl, Madison Reeves

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Consent is a pivotal, defining feature of BDSM. As such, much can be learned by examining conceptualizations of consent among those who engage in BDSM. Using a mixed methods approach, this study explores how 92 BDSM practitioners conceptualize and practice consent. Participants defined consent as an ongoing, enthusiastic, and voluntary agreement. We examine how BDSM practitioners ensure consent, educate others about consent, and handle consent violations. Findings include strategies for consent education and sexual assault prevention. This study highlights the importance of greater awareness and understanding of BDSM and consent.

Purity Culture And Sexual Shame, Dr. Amanda Gray, Dr. Kat R. Klement

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

We investigated the relationship between Christian purity culture (PC) exposure/endorsement and sexual shame in 1,273 participants. Purity culture (PC) is a belief system predicated on sexual abstinence until heterosexual marriage and traditional gender roles. Correlational data showed that PC exposure was associated with higher sexual shame, particularly among women, and only among those who no longer endorsed PC. However, we did not find a causal relationship between PC exposure and sexual shame. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for countering sex-negative messages during adolescence to improve healthy sexual development and better health and relationship outcomes.

Asymmetric Opinion Formation Of Emotional Excitable Agents, Irene Ferri, Emanuele Cozzo, Aleix Nicolás-Olivé, Albert Díaz-Guilera, Luce Prignano

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

The bounded confidence model represents a widely adopted framework for modeling opinion dynamics wherein actors have a continuous-valued opinion and interact and approach their positions in the opinion space only if their opinions are within a specified confidence threshold. Here, we propose a novel framework where the confidence bound is determined by a decreasing function of their emotional arousal, an additional independent variable distinct from the opinion value. Additionally, our framework accounts for agents' ability to broadcast messages, with interactions influencing the timing of each other's message emissions. Our findings underscore the significant role of synchronization in shaping consensus formation. …

Comparative Study On Institutional Design And Scope Of Grounds Of Criminal Cases Review Between Indonesia And The United Kingdom, Rahman Syamsuddin, Muhammad Ikram Nur Fuady, Hasdiwanti Hasdiwanti, Hilmiah Hilmiah

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

This study examines to examine the comparative framework of criminal cases review between Indonesia and the United Kingdom (UK), focusing on the scope of grounds and institutional framework. Both jurisdictions recognize post-conviction review as an extraordinary legal remedy intended to prevent miscarriages of justice. Indonesia employs revision (PK –Peninjauan Kembali) as a restrictive system, similar to the Court of Appeal. The UK adopts a broader and more flexible model through Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The study used secondary data and literature reviews, with a comparative legal approach grounded in normative and institutional analysis, assessing the legal structures, procedural …

Cooperative Ue-Network Delivery Of Map Data For A Predicted Area Of Interest, Arunoday Bhattacharya, Andy (Jibing) Wang

Defensive Publications Series

A method is described for delivering map data to resource-constrained devices, such as smartwatches, operating on bandwidth-limited networks, for example, cellular or non-terrestrial networks. A user equipment (UE) can use sensors and contextual data to predict a user's trajectory and define an area of interest (AoI). The user equipment (UE) may send an area of interest (AoI) request, including its display characteristics, to a network. A network function can then fetch map data, perform server-side optimizations like tiling and layer selection, and computationally crop the data to a shape corresponding to the user equipment (UE) display before transmission. This approach …

Mobile User Interface With An Ergonomic, Bottom-Placed Primary Action And An Explicit, Non-Iconic Dismissal Control, Lin Chen, Yanhao Tan, Andrew Campbell, Onur Turna, Tom Woudenberg, Boriana Viljoen, Jaclyn Einis

Defensive Publications Series

A user interface for a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, can present promotional content in a bottom-sheet container to address potential user engagement issues. The interface may utilize a vertical stack of call to action buttons, placing a primary action at the bottom of the stack to improve ergonomics by being within an easily accessible thumb zone. A conventional x close icon may be omitted. In its place, a secondary dismissive button can use explicit, descriptive text, for example, "Stay on website," to articulate the action's consequence. This configuration of ergonomic placement and an explicit, non-iconic dismissal …

Agentic System For Long-Form Audio Generation Using Recursive Synthesis And Multi-Dimensional Profiling, Ismail Haritaoglu, Leonid Kuligin

Defensive Publications Series

The automated generation of long-form audio may present challenges related to vocal consistency and quality control efficiency. A computer-implemented agentic system, which could operate on a server or cloud computing platform, can be used to address such challenges through a recursive review-and-synthesis loop managed by a multi-agent framework. The system may create a multi-dimensional profile for each text segment, defining instructions for attributes such as style, context, and emotion. It can then generate multiple audio candidates from one or more synthesis providers, and an auto-rater agent may score and select candidates based on their alignment with the profile. Low-scoring segments …

Adaptive Evaluation Coverage Alignment For Ai Capabilities In Enterprise Platforms, Jithu Paulose, Ashly Joseph, David C White

Defensive Publications Series

Proposed herein is a system that includes a control plane that measures whether current artificial intelligence (AI) evaluation coverage in a platform still matches real production usage. The system can provide such features by capturing structured live usage, mapping both production interactions and benchmark items into a shared workflow-intent graph, identifying uncovered usage regions, and surfacing those gaps so teams can decide whether to add or remove benchmark coverage or add or remove guardrails. The technical distinction of the system proposed herein is not ordinary drift monitoring or release gating. Rather, the technical distinction is the continuous alignment of real-world …

Intelligent Network Remediation System With Adaptive Prescriptions, Rohit Bahl, Mrulay Sureshbhai Mistry, Ronnit Roy Burman, Hemang Lavana, David C White

Defensive Publications Series

An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven self-adapting remediation system is proposed herein. The proposed system can facilitate iterative, validated remediation with real-time state adaptation, as well as learning-enhanced prescription ranking under multi-dimensional constraints and intent-centric, standards-based multi-modal translation. Thus, the proposed system represents a fundamental advancement in network remediation technology by combining AI-driven intelligence with deterministic safety validation through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) framework. The integration of Large Language Model (LLM)-based command generation, risk-aware planning, adaptive configuration intelligence, and MCP-based validation creates a novel solution that addresses the critical limitations of traditional network remediation approaches while providing robust safety guarantees through …

A Generative Framework For Evaluating And Optimizing Geographic Experimentation Methodologies, Sam Bailey, Wincy Liu

Defensive Publications Series

A generative framework with supporting code library evaluates and optimizes disparate geo-experimentation methodologies on a finite sample of historical data. The evaluation process utilizes a multivariate moving block bootstrapping algorithm that generates synthetic histories while preserving cross-sectional dependencies to augment data in order to run hundreds of simulations prior to experiment launch. By simulating experiments across various generated datasets, the framework estimates the statistical validity, bias, and sensitivity of different experimental designs allowing users to compare outcomes from analysis methods (e.g. time-based-regression vs. synthetic controls) and runtime parameters. This approach provides a consistent basis for optimizing experimental designs across a …

Pathogenic Oral Microbiota Abundance Is Associated With Reduced Bite Force In Patients With Periodontitis, Yi-Fan Wu

Articles in Press

No abstract provided.

Staff Education On Nonpharmacological Sleep Hygiene Strategies, Miranda Akateh Morfaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Recovering Persuasion In A Post-Truth Classroom, Lydia James

Masters Theses

Modern composition pedagogy embraces pluralism and expressivism that in turn reduces persuasion to mere self-expression or genre performance rather than disciplined inquiry. This thesis argues that the historical shift in composition’s values has created a civic gap. Within this gap, students adopt either powerful or reluctant attitudes due to the lack of ethical responsibility attached to their agency. Surveying the negligence of classical definitions of persuasion in modern models, this research traces the collapse of ethical deliberation through the movements of expressivism, pluralism, and postmodern skepticism. While these movements intended to avoid the rigid dogma that existed over time, they …

Fanning The Flames: Incorporating Faith Into Fantasy, Rachel E. Noonan

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the integration of Christian themes into fantasy literature through critical analysis and original creative work. The critical component traces the tradition of Christian fantasy from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene to C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, arguing that faith achieves its greatest literary impact when woven organically into character and world-building rather than imposed upon the narrative. Contemporary novels by Shannon Dittemore and Chuck Black illustrate the dangers of didacticism and shallow characterization. The creative manuscript, Fanning the Flames, applies these principles through Kian Sai, a young conscript navigating an authoritarian military …

Modern Visual Solutions For Established Brands: Making Graphic Design Accessible To Legacy Businesses, Emma R. Shanton

Masters Theses

Legacy businesses, often family-owned shops or companies that have been around for decades, have real history and loyal customers, but many look old-fashioned and struggle to attract new people today. Outdated logos, hard-to-read designs, and the habit of using ready-made templates or AI-generated images lead to branding that feels generic, turns customers away, excludes people with disabilities, and can even cause legal trouble.

This study asks a simple question: How can small, long-running businesses update their look in a way that is affordable, easy for everyone to use, legally safe, and still feels true to their story, without high costs, …

Societal Sickness: An Exploration Of The Racially Biased Stereotypes Found Within American Historical Fiction Novels, Josephine Robbins

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the complicated nature of stereotypes in American historical fiction, particularly around black oppression and the Civil Rights Movement. The artist statement explores the personal and literary influences that led me to explore and further research this topic. The critical paper explores how historical fiction novels over the last few centuries have used black suffering as a vehicle to promote white moral development, causing a rise in the white savior character archetype. Finally, the creative manuscript, The White Washing, is a novel that develops African American characters morally and gives them a central role in their own story, …

Cinematic Biblical Translation: An Introduction To Narratological Screenwriting Through Genesis 38, Wesley Newman

Masters Theses

CBT draws from three areas of study: screenplay analysis, biblical narratology/narrative criticism, and screenplay adaptation to evaluate specific Hebrew narratives into a screenplay. Biblical narratology offers insight into the literary structure and narrative logic of ancient Hebrew storytelling, while contemporary screenwriting explains how narrative functions within modern audiovisual media. The marrying of these two fields creates a new methodology for translating biblical narratives into a form that remains faithful to the text while also being engaging on screen. This allows me to establish the guidelines necessary for crafting an accurate and compelling screenplay translation while also laying the foundation for …

From Christology To Ontology: A Diachronic And Exegetical Evaluation Of A Maximalist Sacramental Interpretation Of John 6:51–58, Andrew R. Johnson

Masters Theses

John 6:51–58 occupies a central place in the debate regarding the ontological nature of the Eucharist, frequently serving as a primary scriptural warrant for sacramental realism such as articulated by the Council of Trent as it concerns the dogma of transubstantiation within the Roman Catholic tradition. This thesis conducts both an evaluation of historical reception and a critical exegetical analysis to determine whether the Evangelist’s primary intent was to establish sacramental doctrine in this passage or to further develop already pervasive Johannine soteriological and christological themes.

Methodologically, this study bridges the gap between historical reception and synchronic exegesis. The first …

Avoiding Pandora’S Box: Why Federal Nondiscrimination Statutes Do Not Prohibit Health Insurance Coverage Exclusions Of Sex-Rejecting Procedures, Rachel N. Morrison

Catholic University Law Review

There is increasing litigation over whether employer-provided health insurance and state Medicaid plans can exclude coverage of procedures for “gender transitions.” Plaintiffs claim that gender-transition coverage exclusions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and federal nondiscrimination statutes. While Fourteenth Amendment claims should be foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s holding in Geduldig v. Aiello, nondiscrimination claims require a separate analysis.

This article shows the proper analysis for whether coverage exclusions of transition procedures violate federal nondiscrimination statutes. Looking to the history of coverage exclusion claims, Part I traces sex and pregnancy discrimination claims challenging coverage exclusions of …

Linguistic And Cultural Analysis Of Divine Command In 1 Samuel 15: Implications For Biblical Interpretation, Timothy Arnell Dunn

Masters Theses

This thesis argues that ḥērem in 1 Samuel 15 is not a relic of ancient warfare but a sacred act of covenantal devotion that reveals the tension between divine holiness, human obedience, and Israel’s identity as a people set apart for YHWH. Through historical, philological, narrative, and canonical analysis, the study demonstrates that ḥērem functions as a ritualized declaration of divine sovereignty in which destruction becomes consecration and obedience becomes worship. Saul’s partial compliance is therefore not strategic misjudgment but a rupture in covenant fidelity that exposes the costliness of holiness and the danger of selective obedience. Yet the canon …

The Effects Of Phonetic Knowledge And Bilingualism On The Acquisition Of Non-Native Consonant Clusters, Kylie Wakley

Theses and Dissertations

Speech motor learning involves the production of new sounds or sound sequences. This study investigated how explicit phonetic knowledge and bilingualism affect how individuals acquire sound sequences that do not occur in English, or non-native consonant clusters. Sixty adults with typical speech, aged between 18 and 27 years, participated in the experiment. The researcher recruited participants into four groups based on their phonetic background (experienced or not) and language background (monolingual, bilingual). The participants produced stop-stop and fricative-nasal clusters in the initial position of nonsense words across six practice blocks. The duration of each cluster was measured, which in English …

“Being Comrades And Friends”: Friendship Networks Of Activists In College, Lance Paul L. Sunga

Sociology Undergraduate Senior Theses

Friendship is often thought of as a byproduct of activism. People naturally get close and form bonds as they become involved and participate in collective action with others. While scholars have focused on how social networks influence mobilization, there has been a lack of research on the other direction of this relationship, the already commonly held assumption. Using the case of student networks at a liberal arts college, this leads to the following questions: “To what extent do variations in social movement mobilization explain patterns and outcomes of friendship network types? How does activism impact a respondent’s understanding of friendship …

Return To Nicu Follow-Up: A Multiple Factor Analysis, Jenna Saviano

ETD Collection

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) follow-up programs are critical for monitoring the developmental outcomes of preterm and medically fragile infants. If deemed necessary, these programs may also provide referrals to various intervention modalities; however, loss to continued follow-up remains a concern in pediatric health care. To increase the understanding of how infants can be retained in medical and developmental follow-up programs, this study examined socio-demographic, caregiver, medical, and attendance-related predictors of loss to follow-up among infants enrolled in the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Neonatal Comprehensive Care Program (NCCP). The sample included 193 preterm infants who received neurodevelopmental follow-up between 2021 …