Digital Commons Network^™

Morocco’S Liquid Gold: The Actual And Potential Role Of International Ip Law In The Protection Of The Traditional Knowledge Of Argan Oil, Christen Smith

Student Scholarship

This paper examines the actual and potential role of international intellectual property law in the protection of the traditional knowledge associated with argan oil, a product linked to the cultural heritage of the indigenous people in Morocco and increasingly commercialized globally. The paper starts with a background on the argan forest and the cultural significance of the argan tree. Then, the traditional production method used to extract argan oil is discussed. The paper also covers the rise of women’s cooperatives and how the argan oil industry has economically transformed in recent decades. The next section identifies problems in protecting traditional …

Does The Form Of Conflict Termination Shape The Scale, Timing, And Selectivity Of External Refugee Return? Comparative Evidence From 30 Countries, And Three Selected Cases (Bosnia, Liberia, And Sri Lanka), Ibrahim Alkaseer

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This study investigates how the form of conflict termination can shape the scale, timing, and selectivity of refugee return. While civil war literature is exhaustive on how the form of conflict termination may influence post-war stability, there is little to no research on how it can impact refugee return. Using a dataset of thirty post-conflict cases and spatial analysis of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, and Liberia, the paper tests whether government victories, rebel victories, or negotiated settlements predict return patterns. Ordinary least squares and Cox hazard models reveal that termination type alone reveals little variation once the models are …

2026 Research Day Program, Lincoln Memorial University

Research Day

This program contains abstracts and presentation summaries from LMU's 2026 Annual Research Day conference.

Overcoming Challenges With Rural-Related Health Data: Lessons Learned From Published Studies, Casey P. Balio, Margaret M. Francisco, Nicole Galler, Olivia A. Sullivan, Kate E. Beatty, Michael E. Meit, Chyanne Morrison, Christiana Keinath, Stephanie M. Mathis

ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center Policy Briefs

No abstract provided.

Building Leadership Capacity In Rural Schools: A Regional University Partnership, Chelsea Feusner, Aprille Phillips, Po Hu, Michael Teahon

The Rural Educator

The roles of school building and district administrators in rural areas have expanded in the last decade. Expanded responsibilities are amplified in rural school districts where there are fewer administrators to assume a multiplicity of roles. Additionally, educator shortages make it increasingly challenging to recruit and retain school leaders. While larger school districts in metropolitan areas have developed ongoing professional development and support programs to help school leaders meet the ever shifting and complex expectations placed upon them, school administrators in relatively rural regions receive less support. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore leadership constructs believed to …

Disputing Geographies Of Sanctuaries: Legal Manifestations And Re-Imagined Practices In Adverse State Conditions For Migrants In Philadelphia County And Miami Dade County, Clara Ximena Villalba , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

Valuing Biodiversity Impact, Han Wei Koh

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Biodiversity loss has emerged as a systemic challenge with far-reaching implications for ecological stability, economic activity, and long-term financial resilience. Despite growing recognition of nature-related risks in finance, biodiversity remains far less developed than climate within investment analysis, particularly at the portfolio level. This dissertation addresses that gap by examining how biodiversity impacts can be measured, valued, and interpreted within an investment portfolio concentrated in resilient and essential sectors of the economy.

The study constructs a Global Essential Economic Systems Portfolio comprising 16 publicly traded companies operating across non-discretionary sectors, including agriculture, energy, materials, pharmaceuticals, utilities, infrastructure, telecommunications, and financial …

The Domestic Mirror: Tiktok V. Garland, Data Privacy, And Meaningful Free Expression, Olivia Sharp

Colorado Law Student Scholars

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Spatial Disparities On Transportation To Dialysis: A Quantitative And Gis Analysis, Haylee Kirschner

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Access to dialysis treatment is a major concern for the over 500,000 people who suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). There are many factors that may affect one's ability to access treatment, but one that affects almost every in-center dialysis patient is transportation. This study examines how various spatial disparities, such as population density, Medicare coverage, Medicaid usage, poverty, commute times, and vehicle ownership, affect missed and shortened treatments due to transportation. To examine the relationship between spatial disparities and transportation-impacted treatment adherence, a random sample of 400 clinics were emailed to participate in the study, with 113 agreeing …

Resurrecting Natures With Charlotte Smith And Ebony G. Patterson, Leila Walker

Publications and Research

Recent scholarship on the botanically influenced poetry of the early Romantic period, particularly that of Charlotte Smith, has emphasized the genre’s formal engagement with the herbarium, treating botanical poetry as a non-extractive alternative to the violence of specimen collection. Yet such readings isolate the act of specimen collection and poetic return from the larger systems of extraction, translocation, and violence in which they participate. In this article, I read Smith’s Beachy Head alongside Ebony G. Patterson’s recent installation at the New York Botanical Garden, which artistically resurrected extinct species from herbarium specimens and “planted” them among living flora, in order …

Reclaiming The Listening Pastor: A Pastoral Introduction To Spiritual Direction And Its Implications For A Recovery Of Pastoral Identity, Formation, And Sustainability In The Pentecostal Tradition, Hannah E.R. Sims

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

American Pentecostalism has long been marked by spiritual vitality, yet its theology of pastoral identity remains comparatively underdeveloped. Pentecostal pastors are often recognized as Spirit-led leaders and compelling communicators, but many now find themselves functioning primarily as organizational executives or cultural personalities—roles shaped more by business strategy and therapeutic expectation than by historic practices of spiritual care. In this quiet shift, something sacred has thinned. Pastors frequently experience role confusion, spiritual fatigue, and a subtle distancing from the relational and formational heart of their vocation. This dissertation explores what has been diminished within Pentecostal pastoral identity and what might yet …

Digital Discipleship And Whole-Person Flourishing: A Mixed-Methods Study At Celebration Church, John W. Wyatt

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This study examines how digital participation influences whole-person flourishing within the context of Celebration Church, a contemporary American megachurch, addressing a critical gap in empirical research on digital discipleship and its theological implications. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, quantitative data from the Barna ChurchPulse survey compared in-person and online participants, while qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with leaders from eighteen American megachurches were analyzed thematically. Findings indicate that flourishing outcomes are largely comparable across digital and in-person cohorts, challenging assumptions that embodied participation is inherently superior for spiritual formation; however, statistically significant differences emerged in leadership involvement, serving, and engagement …

From Our Stories, To Our Streets (Osos), Jennifer Lopez

Student Publications

Youth traffic safety persists as a critical planning challenge and public health concern in New Mexico, where pedestrian fatality rates consistently rank among the highest in the United States (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NTSA, Governors Highway Safety Association, GHSA, 2023; Baca, 2025). Students (children), due to their daily interactions with roadways, whether when they walk, bike, ride transit, or drive/get driven to and from school, are among the most vulnerable groups within the transportation system (Ferenchak, N. Wesley, M., 2017. For many students in Albuquerque, the commute to or from school is one of the most dangerous parts of …

Perceived Barriers To Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems: Evidence From A Nebraska Producer Survey, Omid Tarashtwal

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Integrated crop-livestock systems offer agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits, yet reintegration has been slow across the Northern Great Plains despite sustained interest. Existing research has documented barriers to transition conceptually, but quantitative evidence on which barriers producers perceive as most important and which producer and operation characteristics are associated with stronger barrier perceptions remains limited. This thesis addresses that gap using data from the 2023 Nebraska Agriculture Operator Survey.

The analysis focuses on 241 Nebraska producers, including 179 crop-only and 62 livestock-only operations. Seven models are estimated, combining ordered logit estimation for single-item barriers with linear regression for averaged barrier …

News From Hope College, Volume 57.3: Spring 2026, Hope College

News from Hope College

No abstract provided.

Global Epidemiology Of Cephalopina Titillator Infestation In Camels: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis (1980–2025), Temesgen Mohammed, Aboma Zewude, Tsegaye Shamebo, Layaly Hamdan, Atef Oreiby, Hazim O. Khalifa, Gobena Ameni, Bojan Gajic

All Works

Background – Cephalopina titillator (C. titillator) is the causative agent of camel nasopharyngeal myiasis and is widespread in camel-rearing regions worldwide, causing impaired health, reduced productivity, and economic losses. However, despite the veterinary importance of C. titillator, global epidemiological evidence remains limited and fragmented, and no comprehensive synthesis of prevalence data across camel-rearing regions has previously been conducted. The objective of this review was to estimate the global pooled prevalence of C. titillator infestation in camels. In addition, subgroup analyses were made to assess the effect of camel species, geographic region, and study period on the pooled prevalence of C. …

Framing Emirati Womanhood: Heritage, Modernity, And Soft Power In Tourism Discourse, Valerie Priscilla Goby

All Works

This paper examines how Emirati womanhood is framed within the tourism discourse of the United Arab Emirates, analysing how gendered representation operates as both a cultural and political instrument in nation branding. Drawing on framing theory and informed by feminist perspectives on tourism and media representation, this study explores the visual and textual portrayal of women on official online platforms, including Visit Dubai, Visit Abu Dhabi, Emirates Airlines, and the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth. These materials constitute a state-sanctioned narrative of national identity that integrates cultural heritage with modernity. Through qualitative framing analysis, four recurrent interpretive frames were …

Dairy Cows And Doughnut Holes: The Class Politics Of Municipal Boundaries And Logistics Land Use In Inland Southern California, Anthony Rumbos-Perez , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

Trade Liberalization Under Safta And Bimstec: Evidence From A Cge-Gtap Case Study Of A Small Open Economy, Gita Bhushal, Pankaj Lal

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Regional trade liberalization via preferential agreements increasingly shapes economic outcomes in small open economies embedded in overlapping regional frameworks. This study evaluates the short-run economy-wide effects of tariff and non-tariff measure (NTM) reforms under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model calibrated to the GTAP 10 database. Gravity-based estimates of ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) of NTMs are integrated into the CGE framework, enabling explicit modeling of regulatory barriers alongside tariff reductions. Policy simulations examine scenarios involving a 90 percent tariff …

Interventions For Reducing Barriers To Future Employment Success In First-Generation College Students., Kellie M. Burke

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

First-generation college students (FGCS) comprise a significant and diverse segment of the U.S. undergraduate population, yet they remain disproportionately vulnerable to barriers that impede both academic achievement and career advancement. These challenges, rooted in intersecting factors (e.g., race & gender), are amplified by institutional structures that inadequately address the realities faced by FGCS. Despite the proliferation of career development programs, internship participation, and subsequent employment, among FGCS remains notably low, revealing persistent gaps in support, access, and program efficacy.

This qualitative study evaluates the Rising Leaders Program, an agency-driven intervention designed to promote career readiness for FGCS at Kentucky universities …

Capital Flows And The Global Collateral Cycle, Ana Fostel, John Geanakoplos, Gregory Phelan

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Cross-country disparities in collateral technologies alone can account for large capital flows among mature economies, and allow the most advanced country to run a permanent trade deficit. When the collateral technology advantage is in creating negative beta (super safe) financial assets backed by positive beta assets, a Global Collateral Cycle emerges, with pro-cyclical gross and net flows and increased global asset price volatility. The supply of super safe assets is necessarily curtailed in downturns, providing a complementary (supply) channel to the flight to safety (demand) channel for explaining why US safe asset prices rise during crises.

An Artist’S Playground: Building Bridges Between Children’S Education And Their Knowledge Of Art Through Multi-Modal Learning, Alice J. Cauchi

Theses

Not all museums welcome children as part of their main audience with open arms. Research suggests that experiencing museums as a child supports classroom learning and development, but only when the museums engage young children properly. This paper explores how incorporating multi-modal interactives into art museums can effectively engage children, ages 4 to 8, and build a foundation that supports lifelong learning. Drawing on ideas from early-childhood education, museum visitor-engagement studies, and interactivity sciences, this project results in a framework that guides art museums on how they can overlap play, interactives, and content to incorporate this age group effectively to …

The Myth Of Credit Card Competition, Benjamin Dinovelli

Vanderbilt Law Review

You pay an invisible tax every time you swipe your credit card to pay—whether to buy groceries, grab a coffee, or access transportation. Credit card companies charge merchants to process your transaction, who in turn increase their own prices. These swipe fees are both extractive—higher than the cost of service and the fees in most other countries—and regressive—placing more of the cost burden on lower-income consumers and smaller merchants. Such outcomes are typically associated with firms having material market power. Yet, this market has competition: Consumers choose various cards offered by multiple card issuers, including banks and networks like American …

Temporary Protected Status Populations In Massachusetts In 2026, Phillip Granberry, Iván Espinoza-Madrigal

Gastón Institute Publications

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is one of the best expressions of U.S. humanitarian protection and relief. It recognizes a basic truth: people should not be deported to danger.

May this report help build a stronger Commonwealth for all by advancing more thoughtful policymaking and stronger interventions that recognize the deep connections among immigration, community, and economic life.

Practical Reason In The Portfolio Economy: Accept: Amend, Or Abandon, The Flsa?, Kevin Frazier

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Developing Scenario-Based Strategies For Health, Climate, And Environmental Preparedness: The One Health, One Earth Approach, Azar M Abadi, Kyle D Brumfield, Moiz Usmani, Gemma Jiang, T C Chakraborty, Yuzhou Wang, Zhijie Zhou, Cenlin He, Minghao Qiu, Jennifer D Stowell, Douglas Fritz, Sunil Kumar, Qiang Guo, Ying Xiong, Georgia Destouni, Qian Xiao, Xindi C Hu, Kelvin C Fong, Yun Hang, John Nielsen-Gammon, Rima Habre, Jennifer R Bratburd, Christopher W Tessum, Antarpreet Jutla, Rita R Colwell, Gabriel M Filippelli, Thanh H Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Climate change amplifies many threats to human health. Despite advances in understanding climate change dynamics and impacts, there remains a critical gap in translating scientific knowledge into equitable, and community‐driven health interventions. The inaugural One Earth, One Health workshop sought to explore this gap through human‐centered design exercises involving interdisciplinary researchers from climate and Earth sciences, engineering, epidemiology, microbiology, and environmental health. Although participants did not co‐develop solutions with affected communities, they used stakeholder role‐playing to guide ideation and lay groundwork for actionable plans. Through these methods, participants identified community needs and proposed prototype solutions to alleviate health threats …

The All-Payer Claims Database After The Gobeille Supreme Court Decision: Assessing The Impact On Fatal Opioid-Related Overdose Research, Jack Cordes, Cici Bauer, Dana Bernson, Marc R Larochelle, Wenjun Li, Jiahao Cao, Olaf Dammann, Thomas J Stopka

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To determine the consequences of the Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Supreme Court decision on the representativeness of the Massachusetts all-payer claims database (APCD). The loss of individuals captured in the APCD may vary demographically, geographically, and in the capture of fatal opioid-related overdose (OOD).

Data sources and study setting: We used 2013-2021 data from the Massachusetts Public Health Data Warehouse (PHD), which links person-level APCD records to other datasets. The APCD includes commercially-insured health claims mandatorily reported pre-Gobeille. Post-Gobeille, reporting from self-insured plans, a subset of commercially-insured plans, became voluntary.

Study design: In a repeated cross-sectional design, we compared …

Is It Credit?, Jim Hawkins

William & Mary Law Review

Earned wage access companies advance money to workers based on wages they have already earned but have not yet been paid. Then, one of three things happens to reimburse the earned wage access provider: (1) the worker’s employer sends the provider money directly, (2) the provider withdraws money from the worker’s bank account on payday, or (3) nothing. The last of these is the most interesting. If the earned wage access provider does not receive the funds from the worker’s employer or bank account, the worker just walks away. Even more remarkable, many providers do not charge any mandatory fees …

Precision Or Invasion? Mapping The Personalization Paradox, Shyamala N. Chalakudi, Gnana Bharathy

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

AI-driven personalization has transformed consumer engagement, yet existing research offers no systematic way to determine when personalization shifts from helpful to intrusive. Current research and models explain privacy concerns or expectancy violations but do not measure the point at which personalization triggers user discomfort, creating the personalization paradox. This study introduces the Discomfort Threshold Assessment & Measurement (DTAM) framework, a conceptual model that identifies and evaluates this threshold by integrating Dual Process Theory, Expectation Violation Theory, and Privacy Calculus Theory. DTAM distinguishes between affective discomfort reactance and cognitive discomfort reactance and outlines how these constructs could, in future empirical studies, …

Getting Across That Stage: Identifying And Addressing Barriers To Degree Completion For Undergraduates At A Selective Four-Year Institution, Karen G. Afre

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Selective institutions, like Dartmouth College, offer students extensive academic opportunities and institutional support. Despite large endowments and strong alumni networks that provide holistic support for students, selective institutions still experience student drop-out and extended time-to-degree. For Dartmouth undergraduate students who matriculated in Fall 2018, the six‑year graduation rate was 96%, while only 75% graduated within four years. This gap indicates that 25% of students took longer than four years to complete their degrees and 4% had not graduated within six years. 

This thesis examines barriers to college completion at selective institutions to inform retention efforts and institutional initiatives. I use …