Digital Commons Network^™

The First Amendment, Global Corporate Responsibility Standards, & The Quest For Online “Speech Nirvana”, Evelyn M. Aswad

UC Law Journal

With large and powerful social media companies operating as worldwide speech regulators, it is unsurprising that governments have attempted to not only regulate how these companies address platform speech but also pressure them to deliver preferred speech outcomes. In 2024, the Supreme Court decided two cases addressing both themes in the U.S. context. In Moody v. NetChoice, the Court explained how legislation regulating private platform curation of usergenerated content runs afoul of First Amendment protections. And, in Murthy v. Missouri, the Court appeared to erect significant hurdles to challenging alleged governmental coercion of such platforms. These cases have left many …

Freedom Of Expression In Next-Generation Computing, Brittan Heller

UC Law Journal

Extended reality (XR)—the integration of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies—creates immersive, embodied, and behaviorally integrated forms of communication that challenge traditional understandings of freedom of expression. While XR offers new opportunities for creativity, civic engagement, and cross-cultural participation, its immersive nature introduces risks of censorship, surveillance, biometric profiling, algorithmic manipulation, and inequitable access.

This Article situates XR within the framework of European human rights law. It begins by identifying the technical and psychological features that distinguish XR from conventional platforms, particularly presence, immersion, and embodiment, which transform speech into multisensory and interactive experiences. It then evaluates how existing legal …

Insurance Under Fire: Assessing How California’S Insurance Industry Is Tackling The Wildfire Crisis And What’S Next, Mackenzie Paskerian

UC Law Journal

California is currently facing an insurance crisis. The increased impact of climate change, including extreme droughts and wildfires, poses new risks to the insurance industry, especially when it comes to homeowner’s insurance. Insurance providers have limited their homeowner coverage, with many companies leaving the state entirely due to the undervaluation of climate risk in the policies they provide. A so-called “climate insurance bubble” is already beginning to burst. The state’s last-resort public insurance program, the FAIR Plan, has expanded rapidly to fill in for the lack of insurance providers in the state. But because FAIR Plan policies are expensive and …

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making For Sustainable Design: Stakeholder Prioritization And Methodological Comparison In Solar And E-Bike Applications, Swagath Madhu Gowda

All Theses

This thesis focuses on using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods to support sustainable product design by addressing the trade-offs between environmental, economic, and social goals. The research is presented through two studies that demonstrate how both subjective and objective decision-making approaches can guide sustainability evaluations.

The first study applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assess residential solar panels by incorporating stakeholder perspectives from sustainability experts, end users, and industry professionals. Using Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) data, this study identifies how different stakeholder groups prioritize sustainability criteria and applies Aggregation of Individual Priorities (AIP) to combine their judgments. A one-at-a-time …

Foreword: Casebooks And The Choices That Shape Constitutional Law, Sanford Levinson, Caroline Olsen

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This collection of essays is the product of a conversation between the two co-authors of this Introduction. It occurred toward the conclusion of a very illuminating Symposium at William & Mary Law School in March 2024 on Jack Balkin’s latest book, Memory and Authority, on the role that memory plays in our notions of law. Caroline was the incoming Editor-in-Chief of the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, which had sponsored the Symposium. Sandy was a participant in the Symposium. Jack is a very close friend with whom he has coauthored at least two dozen articles and …

Casebooks, Canons, And Constitutional Memory, Jack M. Balkin, Sanford Levinson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Casebooks on constitutional law take a lot of time and effort to prepare. What is the point of bothering to edit one? There are several possible reasons. First, you might want to make money from sales. For the vast majority of law professors, the financial return to the hours spent organizing and editing cases is simply not worth it. Second, you might be the sort of person who just likes to do things by yourself. If you are going through the bother of preparing your own materials, then why not publish them and possibly influence others as well? Most law …

What Is The Measure Of Success For A Constitutional Law Casebook?, Erwin Chemerinsky

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In this Essay, I want to address four topics: how I came to write my constitutional law casebook; my goals for my Constitutional Law class and how the book facilitates achieving them; the challenges in writing a constitutional law casebook; and thoughts about the future of constitutional law casebooks.

There are many different constitutional law casebooks on the market because there are countless different ways of teaching the subject. There is no right way or best way to teach this or any other subject in the law school curriculum. I am describing my approach to teaching a subject that is …

Overruled Cases As A Tool For Inculcating Legal Realism, Michael C. Dorf

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The changes wrought by Dobbs and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) are hardly the only examples of momentous changes to constitutional law in the last few years. Doctrines involving the religion clauses of the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the scope of the president’s removal power, and much more have been changing rapidly since Amy Coney Barrett replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the fall of 2020, thereby solidifying a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court. I imagine that the strengthening of the major questions doctrine, the overruling of Chevron deference to federal administrative …

Show And Tell: Writing Constitutional Law Casebooks When The Law Doesn't Matter, William D. Araiza

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Writing a constitutional law casebook today presents significant challenges. One reason among several stands out: law matters less—indeed, sometimes very little—to those charged with interpreting our constitutional law and implementing our constitutional system.

This Essay examines this challenge and explains how my contribution to the constitutional casebook genre attempts to answer it. It argues that the current moment requires instructors, and the books they use, to “show”—that is, to demonstrate to their students both the handiwork of those interpreters and implementers and alternative pathways. Sometimes, however, practical considerations preclude such showing. In those situations, “telling” may be required. But regardless …

Intellectual Integrity, Collaboration, And The Market, Mark Tushnet

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

My reflections are those of someone who co-edited/co-authored two casebooks that were commercially and intellectually successful and one that was intellectually but not commercially successful. I start with the assumption that people decide to do a casebook because they find that existing materials don’t do some things they think ought to be done in the course (and do some things that aren’t really necessary for teaching purposes). That is, doing a casebook is at the outset an intellectual project.

Executing that project runs up against some constraints almost immediately. A simple one is that you might well think that you …

What Belongs In A Constitutional Law Casebook?, Ernest A. Young

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Essay argues that constitutional law cannot (and should not) be an autonomous subject within the legal curriculum. This argument echoes a long-standing debate about whether law itself is an autonomous scholarly discipline. The answer to that question is surely, as Allan Farnsworth put it, “sometimes YES and sometimes NO.” But this Essay does not focus on law’s autonomy from other disciplines, such as political science, psychology, or economics. Rather, I consider the extent to which constitutional law should overlap with other legal subjects, such as legal history, administrative law, or statutory interpretation. My conclusion is that, at least in …

South Dakota Newcomers Survey Report, Weiwei Zhang, Kara Harders

Center for Rural Vitality and Community Well-being Project Reports

Project Overview:
 While more populous states typically attract larger numerical influxes from other states and abroad, South Dakota has nevertheless experienced growth in immigrants, both from other states and internationally. In 2024, South Dakota State University Extension launched a state-wide Newcomer Survey to gain a better understanding of the newcomer population. Following prior work in Minnesota and Montana, the South Dakota Newcomers Survey was developed to collect data about the motivations that drive people to move to South Dakota, what they enjoy once moved, what they want more or less of, and ultimately what makes them want to, or not …

Asking Nicely: Americans’ Perception Of Jordanian Arabic Speakers’ Politeness When Making Requests In English, David Henen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how Arabic-speaking Jordanian male graduate students at an American university in Mississippi employ request directness strategies and modifications as polite devices in oral English, and how American native speakers perceive these requests. Drawing on Brown and Levinson’s (1987) Politeness Theory and the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project taxonomy (Blum-Kulka et al., 1989a, 1989b), this study employed a mixed-methods design to examine request production and perception. Data were collected from six American English native speakers from Mississippi and six Arabic-speaking Jordanian international students, all at the same university, through six discourse completion tasks, six role-plays, and semi-structured interviews. …

The Nature Of Nasal Discharge In Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Using Patient-Reported Outcomes, Ethan M. Kallenberger, Asher T. Ripp, Shaun A. Nguyen, Erin Briggs, Alexander N. Duffy, Isabella V. Schafer, Jess C. Mace, Timothy L. Smith, Zachary M. Soler, Rodney J. Schlosser

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to answer the question "What is the most common and severe type of nasal discharge in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) at baseline as measured by patient-reported outcomes?".

METHODOLOGY: Two independent reviewers evaluated studies for inclusion, extracted data from included studies, and performed critical appraisal of studies. Data on the four Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT22) discharge questions, demographic, and comorbidity data was collected. Meta-analysis of single means and proportions was performed for demographic, comorbidity, severity, and prevalence data.

RESULTS: A total of 53 studies (n = 6584) were included for analysis. Postnasal …

Exploring The Relationship Between Exercise, Social Support, And Mental Health, Emma Anderson

Honors Theses

This study explored the relationship between exercise, social support, and mental health in college students. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress are prevalent among college students. The two components that are experimented with for their potential in decreasing the effects of negative mental health are exercise and social support. This project executed a cross-sectional design by surveying three groups of college students: cycle class participants, independent exercisers, and non-active students. The recruitment process for the three groups of participants were key in measuring the physical activity levels. The participants were individually asked if they completed a specific …

Relationships Among Institutional Betrayal, Adverse Healthcare Experiences, And College Student Health, Saba Mustafa

Honors Theses

Institutional betrayal is defined as the trauma experienced by an individual who feels that their trust in the ability of an institution to keep the individual safe is broken. Healthcare-related institutional betrayal has primarily been explored among working adults, individuals with chronic conditions, and individuals from racially diverse backgrounds. However, healthcare-related institutional betrayal has seldom been explored in college student samples, who may have different healthcare needs compared to other patient populations. The present study explored college students’ experiences with institutional betrayal due to negative healthcare experiences. Survey data were gathered from 157 college students. Measures included healthcare provider trust, …

Hand Injuries In Boulderers Across Various Settings, Experience And Skill Levels., Cole E. Olinger

Honors Theses

Survey-based research was performed to identify risk factors and prevention tactics for finger injuries in boulderers. An IRB-approved survey was distributed and taken by 228 respondents, whose data was analyzed. Risk factors for finger injury were found to include years of experience and skill level. Results indicated stronger, more experienced boulderers were more likely to report history of finger injury than weaker, less experienced boulderers. Findings suggest boulderers may avoid injury by manipulating their grip type in specific ways.

The Impact Of Minor Amputation On Occurrence Of Major Amputation In Patients With Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Nivan Wadhawan, Naohiro Shibuya, Daniel C. Jupiter

School of Podiatric Medicine Publications

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) may lead to lower extremity amputation (LEA). Although minor LEAs (at or distal to the ankle) can carry a higher risk of perioperative complications compared to major LEAs (proximal to the ankle), they can increase patient independence and quality of life. This study aims to elucidate the impact of minor LEA on the time between DFU occurrence and major LEA to help determine the safer and more efficacious LEA choice for a given clinical situation. Data from 4,199 DFU patients from the TriNetX research platform were utilized. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression were conducted to evaluate …

Youth Program Fy2025 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

A School Climate Needs Assessment completed by 57 administrators evaluated both overall school climate and the key components that contribute to it. Administrators revealed low satisfaction with overall school climate (25%) and with students’ SEL skills (19%), and most considered these areas important to improve (77% and 79%) and expressed a desire for support (60% and 53%). Similar patterns emerged for academic performance (28% satisfied; 86% considered improvement important; 44% desired support), disciplinary actions (19%; 54%; 49%), and conflict levels—student-student (21%; 79%; 60%) and student-teacher (26%; 49%; 47%). Across these domains, a substantial proportion of respondents—often …

Influence Of Produced Water Runoff On Surface Water: A Statistical Analysis Of Water Quality In Petronilla Creek, Joshua Sierra

Water Resources Science and Technology Theses and Graduate Research Reports (Archived)

This case study research investigates the potential influence of produced water (PW), a byproduct of oil and gas (O&G) activities, on surface water quality. The study involved two sites along Petronila creek, located in Nueces County, with historical oil and gas presence. Data from nearby monitoring stations containing various water quality parameters typically associated with produced water, including total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4), and specific conductance was used to perform a statistical analysis of spatial and temporal trends. Spatial comparisons were made between both sites and upstream, tributary, and downstream roles to test for variances in water …

Evaluating Nutrient Uptake Efficiency Of Texas Native Plants In Simulated Constructed Wetland Systems, Angelica Canizalez

Water Resources Science and Technology Theses and Graduate Research Reports (Archived)

Nutrient enrichment from wastewater effluent and runoff is a major driver of eutrophication in freshwater systems, increasing the need for effective and ecologically beneficial treatment strategies. Constructed wetlands (CWs) offer a nature-based solution for reducing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) while simultaneously supporting habitat and biodiversity. However, most CW research has focused on traditional species such as cattails and bulrushes, with limited quantitative data on the performance of Texas native plants. This study evaluated the nutrient uptake potential and stress tolerance of two Texas native species—buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)—in simulated, recirculating wetland systems.

Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Identity Statuses And Critical Consciousness Among Latine Adolescents, Kristia A. Wantchekon, Esther Burson, Olga Kornienko, Norma J. Perez-­ Brena, Maciel M. Hernández, M. Dalal Safa, Thao Ha

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Ethnic-­racial identity (ERI) development reflects the processes through which adolescents learn about their ethnic-­ racial background (i.e., exploration) and develop clarity about what it means to them (i.e., resolution). Research on ERI has been critiqued for not examining connections between ERI and broader social beliefs, such as critical consciousness (i.e., individuals' level of reflection about social oppression, motivation to take action against it, and the extent to which they take such action). When examining connections to ERI, research underscores the importance of considering individuals' patterns of exploration and resolution in tandem (i.e., ERI status) rather than analyzing them in isolation. …

Investigating Nutrient Management & The Impacts Of Nitrogen On Blackberries Across Arkansas And The Southeast, Amanda Michelle Lay-Walters

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current blackberry (Rubus subgenus Rubus) research on nutrient needs, monitoring practices, and dynamics in the United States has primarily been conducted on cultivars popularly grown in the Pacific Northwest. Thus, regional research is required to understand the needs of blackberry cultivars grown in the southeastern U.S., with southeastern U.S. production practices. In 2022 and 2023, 12 cultivars of blackberry, across seven states, were leaf tissue sampled across multiple phenological stages for nutrient analysis. In Clarksville, AR from 2022 to 2024, six rates of N were applied to established ‘Ouachita’ blackberry plants. During the trial, plant yield, post-harvest fruit quality, fruit …

Optimal Network Maintenance And Restoration: Applications And Algorithms, Nayan Chakrabarty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we consider three types of network optimization problems. In Chapter 1, we consider a network maintenance problem which focuses on time-based redeployment of multi-class nodes for reliable wireless sensor network coverage. Whereas previous research on time-based node redeployment assumes nodes are identical with respect to time to failure, we use multiple classes of sensor nodes to represent a scenario where nodes’ times to failure are dependent on positioning in the network. We propose a partial survival signature (PSS) approach for estimating area coverage reliability under a given time-based redeployment policy, where the PSS is estimated by Monte …

Public Perceptions Of Sexual And Dating Violence: How Attitudes On Sexual Education, Pornography, And Masculinity Relate To Rape Myth Acceptance, Bailey Lane Saldana

Dissertations

Rape myths are false beliefs that explain sexual violence, and uphold current beliefs on sexual violence (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999). These myths can be learned and reinforced through a variety of sources, including formal school-based sexual education programs, pornography consumption, and peers. Through two studies, sexual education and rape myth were examined. In the first study, an exploratory content analysis of state sexual education guidelines was completed to better understand what information and guidance is provided by states to those providing sexual education. In the second study, a sample of 420 U.S. adults completed a factorial survey experiment wherein …

Assessing The Impact Of Social Network On Cyber-Argumentation, Bhargav Krishna Thota

Dissertations

Argumentation is one of the basic activities people perform in our society. People often spend a lot of time arguing about social, cultural, economic, financial, political, and other issues. Existing cyber-argumentation platforms facilitate large-scale discussions among participants and play an important role in the analysis of collective opinions and collective decision-making. However, they do not provide social networking capabilities and are not designed to be used in social networking environments. Social networks in argumentation platforms can reveal the patterns, shifts, and true relationships between the users in a discourse that influence the collective decision-making process, outlier opinions and so on. …

Evaluating Psychosocial Stressors And Mental Well-Being Of Construction Professionals From The Management Standpoint: An Exploratory Study, Md Tauhidul Karim

Masters Theses

Construction professionals face persistent workplace stressors that undermine their mental well-being outcomes. Despite progress in general job-related stressors, social and interpersonal aspects of psychosocial stressors traditionally remain underexplored in the construction management research. The present study examines how social and interpersonal factors influence construction workers’ mental well-being and how management’s awareness, responsiveness, and strategic roles evolved in the transition of the COVID-19 pandemic at the organizational level. An integrative mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a systematic literature review, a bibliometric analysis, and an exploratory case study to capture the current landscape of mental well-being and management standpoints in the US …

"Gross Normality" And "Marked Deviation": A Qualitative Study Of Disability Theory In Three Periods Of Sociological Literature, Kelsey Sullivan

Masters Theses

In the 20th century, three theoretical perspectives concurrently dominated sociological discussions of disability. Functionalism and Talcott Parsons argued for a pathologized framework in the form of a “sick role” occupied by disabled people. Interactionism and Erving Goffman emphasized the stigmas faced by individual disabled people, and the ripple-effects of those stigmas. Finally, disabled activists, inspired by social constructionism, championed the social model of disability. This model purported that disability is a social condition, resulting from systemic barriers imposed upon people who do not fit the mental or physiological norm. This project, through a content analysis of 30 historical journal articles, …

Home Visitors Perceived Barriers To Practicing Self-Care In Personal And Professional Settings, Lexie Yancey

Masters Theses

Home visiting has the potential to support families in increasing their parenting skills, reducing incidents of child maltreatment, increasing school readiness, and improving financial sustainability (HRSA, 2023; Peacock et al., 2013). Retention of home visitors in programming is crucial to retaining families in home visiting (Damashek et al., 2020; Fifolt et al., 2017; Holm-Hansen et al., 2017; Ramakrishnan et al., 2022). While many home visitors struggle with burnout, research has found that self-care strategies are effective for social work students and are even used widely by home visitors (Begic et al., 2019; Siebert, 2008). This nested mixed-methods study examines answers …

Financial Well-Being Among Self-Employed Older Americans, Cal J. Halvorsen, Byeongju Ryu

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

As people live longer, there has been growing attention in recent years on extending working lives. Although many older adults fully retire, those who continue to work often turn to self-employment—a broad category that includes entrepreneurs, small business owners, consultants, contractors, gig workers, and people who take on side jobs. Rates of self-employment rise sharply with age, with nearly 30 percent of employed adults in their 70s working for themselves—approximately twice the share of those in their 60s.