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Tort Immunity Waiver For Vaccine Injuries: Ethical And Legal Perspectives, Tammy W. Cowart, Gregory L. Bock

Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, and Business-Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

The COVID pandemic highlighted the importance of vaccine development and availability worldwide. Operation Warp-Speed in the United States accelerated vaccine production by several major pharmaceutical manufacturers, averting some of the normal administrative processes. The result has been a financial windfall for those companies. Some recent data has shown that the COVID vaccine can cause negative side effects in some patients. There are provisions in U.S. law that allow victims of vaccine injuries to recover compensation through the court system. However, even then tort remedies are limited by federal law. Since the review process was rushed during the pandemic, should tort …

Pandemic-Driven Healthcare Disruptions And Their Disproportionate Impact On Patients With Diabetes: Evidence From Texas, Meryem Saygili, Gultekin Gollu, Zehra Tekin

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication of uncontrolled diabetes. The COVID-19 pandemic may have increased DKA incidences and worsened outcomes both through the potential diabetogenic effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection (direct effect) and through pandemic-related disruptions in healthcare (indirect effects,) including delays in seeking or receiving care, reduced access to routine outpatient services, and strains on hospital capacity. The objective of this study is to examine changes in the frequency and outcomes of hospitalizations with DKA in Texas hospitals following the COVID-19 pandemic and to quantify the contributions of pandemic-related healthcare disruptions and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Comparisons to patients with …

Powering Up Clinical Scholarship In Pathology, Evelyn Wang

HSLIC Faculty and Staff Instructional Resources

This presentation is designed for pathology residents and covers clinical scholarship pathways including research question design, database/resource navigation, advanced literature searching (Boolean, proximity, MeSH), literature review, evidence appraisal, systematic review workflows (PRISMA), open access publishing, data management, and HSLIC educational/research support services.

Illuminated Magazine - Fall 2025, School Of Graduate Studies, East Tennessee State University

Illuminated: Graduate Student Research Magazine

• 2: Editorial Staff
• 5: Graduate Students and Advisors
• 6: ETSU’s First Master of Music Cohort Finds Its Voice on Campus
• 9: Where Are They Now? Jacob Mitchell
• 10: Characterizing and Enhancing Carotenoid Production in Tomato Plants
• 14: Where Are They Now? Jeremiah J. Flake
• 15: In the Gaps of the System: Centering BIPOC Mothers in Maternal Mental Health
• 18: Roles of Female Musicians in Appalachian Bluegrass
• 20: Where Are They Now? Alexis Moser
• 21: From Guyana to Tennessee: Bridging Gaps in Women’s Mental Health Care
• 24: Where Are They Now? Megan Roberts
• 26: Characterizing User Experience in AI Chatbots within …

Las Mujeres Que Tejen Su Poder A Través Del Turismo: Video Documental En La Comunidad De Huilloc (Cusco, Perú), Adina Veloz-Remis

Peru: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization

This research examines how tourism has transformed the lives of Indigenous women in Huilloc, Peru, specifically through the sale of woven textiles. Through a documentary, the study analyzes how the commercialization of their crafts has expanded the economic opportunities available to the weavers, supporting their financial autonomy. It also explores women’s empowerment, including new gender dynamics, greater independence within the household, and increased recognition from the community. The use of documentary film allows the women's voices to be amplified in their own language and cultural context, reinforcing their capacity and autonomy to narrate their stories from their own perspective.

Hilos Híbridos Las Formas Duales Del Tejido De Taquile, Entre El Uso Local Y El Mercado Turístico, Dean Mcmichael

Peru: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization

Para mi ISP del programa Perú: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization, realicé una investigación sobre los tejidos de la isla de Taquile, con el objetivo principal de entender cómo han cambiado los tejidos y la práctica de tejido en respuesta al desarrollo de la economía turística y cómo se refleja este proceso en el arte textil actual de la isla. Me quedé dos semanas en la isla, para recopilar datos, usando técnicas de observación participante y realizando entrevistas. A través de análisis de mis datos, he concluido que la coyuntura actual de los tejidos se define por una demarcación muy definida …

Tejedoras Indígenas Y La Política Económica Del Turismo En Chinchero, Perú: Centrales En La Economía, Marginales En La Política, Maria Herr

Peru: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization

This report is based on fieldwork carried out in Chinchero (Cusco, Peru) in November 2025 and examines the participation of women weavers in the local tourism economy and its relationship to municipal economic policy. It shows how Indigenous weavers, who are central to the district’s tourism, remain in a marginal position within formal spaces of economic decision-making. The study has four specific objectives: to describe the forms of participation of women weavers in Chinchero’s tourism economy; to analyze the mechanisms of collaboration between the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC) and other artisan associations with local public institutions; to …

“Il N’Y A Plus De Monstres”: A Case Study On Trans And Gender-Diverse Health In Switzerland, Sophie Lin

Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy

Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) populations experience significant health disparities, particularly in regards to mental health outcomes and quality of life. This case study employs a qualitative approach to elucidate barriers and enablers to TGD health and gender-affirming care in Switzerland. Evidence collected from semi-structured interviews with health professionals working with Swiss TGD communities provides a thorough understanding of contemporary resources and obstacles regarding gender-affirming treatment. This research seeks to contribute to scholarship by synthesizing health literature with critical queer theory. Drawing from Butler’s theory of gender performativity, a framework of gender self-determination is advanced as a core principle of health, …

Nutrition In Context: How Cultural Beliefs, Gender Norms, Social Environments, And Interventions Shape Maternal Nutrition In Nepal, Rebecca Fan

Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy

Maternal nutrition is recognized as one of the most significant and modifiable determinants of persistent inequities in maternal and neonatal health. In Nepal, what women are able to eat and how they experience pregnancy are all shaped by a complex interplay of cultural beliefs, gendered expectations, household dynamics, structural barriers, and nutrition intervention efforts. This study examines these intersecting factors through ethnographic accounts, peer-reviewed scientific literature, expert interviews, and an analysis of current interventions operating across different levels. Specifically, to understand the social environments shaping maternal nutrition, the paper explores cultural beliefs and misconceptions surrounding food, women’s limited control over …

Chapter 1: A Brief History Of Archival Appraisal. In Selecting And Appraising Archives And Manuscripts, Michelle Light

Library Staff Publications

This chapter traces the evolution of archival appraisal theory and practice in the United States, situating it within shifting technological, social, and intellectual contexts from the late nineteenth century to the present. In this roughly chronological account, the chapter underscores continuity and disruption in selecting and appraising archival records. It highlights the influence and ongoing critiques of Theodore Schellenberg’s evidential and informational values, as well as subsequent expansions by Maynard Britchford and others. It explores transformative moments such as F. Gerald Ham’s call for coordinated documentation, the development of the Black Box model, the rise of documentation strategy, and the …

Not Born A Democracy: Constitutional Preconditions, Martha Minow

William & Mary Law Review

Beneath growing perceptions of constitutional crisis and democratic fragility in the United States lies a fundamental conundrum. Critical preconditions for effective self-government are either weak or missing in action, and our constitutional system, at least for now, stands in the way of actions to strengthen or build those preconditions. This Article focuses on three essential predicates for constitutional democracy that face jeopardy: education, reliable news, and security against lethal violence. As basic as these elements may be, repeated efforts to secure a federal constitutional right to education have failed in the courts. Because of a confluence of legal, technological, and …

Anterior Cingulate Cortex Connectivity And The Role In Neuroticism: A Diffusion-Weighted-Imaging-Based Investigation Of Limbic And Prefrontal Circuits., Jake Cox Ii

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Neuroticism is a trait which has been shown to significantly predict psychopathology. Investigating its neurobiological underpinnings may uncover a brain-based relationship that allows clinicians to conceptualize a shared predispositional factor across multiple psychopathologies, implicating treatment protocols. Inter-connectivity network and structural variation has been shown to be implicated in neuroticism, more specifically the frontoparietal network, default mode network, salience networks, and limbic networks. These networks tackle executive, salience, and emotional information, respectively. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a brain region nested between and functionally related to various networks stated above that are implicated in neuroticism. As such, it was hypothesized …

Mckee Minute October 2025, Southern Adventist University

McKee Minute – McKee Library This Month

The October 2025 edition of McKee Minute includes information on International Open Access Week, National Book Month, course reserves, and the library's mid-semester break hours.

Cybersecurity Risk Disclosure And Regulatory Compliance: Evaluating Market Sensitivity And Disclosure Effectiveness In U.S. Public Companies, Kingsford Brakye, Abdul Basit Karim Adam

Research & Publications

This paper analyzes disclosing cybersecurity risk and regulatory compliance by the U.S. public companies, with reference to the sensitivity of the information in the market and the effectiveness of disclosure. With rising cyber threats, there is mounting pressure on firms to safeguard their financial systems and adhere to rules such as the 2011, 2018, and 2023 guidelines issued by the SEC, which require firms to report incidents in time and to disclose detailed risk management. However, the disclosure is often done in generic, boilerplate terms, and this limits its use by investors and raises the question of transparency. The study …

Ciwag Policy Papers #1: Seabed Warfare Is Here: A U.S. - Led Global Strategy To Secure The Ocean Floor, Dave Brown

CIWAG Policy Papers

Dr. Jahara Matisek, James Langan, Andrew Rolander, and CIWAG Director David A. Brown, COL (Ret.) build on discussions from CIWAG's 2025 Maritime Symposium, co-sponsored with the Naval War College Foundation, and expanding on key insights shared in "The Trident" podcast episode on maritime sabotage, this paper demonstrates why protecting critical undersea infrastructure is no longer optional—it’s urgent. "Growing numbers of incidents and the destruction of pipelines and cables in the waters around Europe and Taiwan signal a global shift: the seabed has become a contested battlespace. The combination of difficulty of detection and attribution, plus the severe consequences to economic …

Transforming Educators: Uncovering Factors In Secondary Education Premise Shift To Active Processing Structures Using A Transcendental Phenomenological Approach, Matthew J. Flugum

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The skills students will need to be successful in an unpredictable future differ from those needed to thrive today. Where the teachers of today were acculturated in systems of knowledge acquisition through systems of transmission, the future of learning requires active processing of new information. Students will need to meta-learn to upskill and reskill in an ever changing environment. Learning environments need to shift in order to support students to learn these skills requiring teachers to adjust traditional systems of structuring learning. This transcendental phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of secondary educators who have undergone a transformative shift in …

Table Of Contents (V. 32, No. 1)

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Masthead

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Border Decriminalization As A State Project: Lessons From Marijuana And Assisted Suicide Legalization Across The United States, Victor C. Romero

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

My prior work argued for the decriminalization of border crossings without proof of specific intent to violate another law (like drug trafficking), which is even less likely to happen now than it was when the piece was published, given the current presidential administration’s zealous deportation strategy and Congress’s seeming acquiescence. As such, I advocate for a second-best solution involving federal-state cooperative agreements wherein border states abutting both Mexico and Canada are given the option by the federal government to pass local legislation decriminalizing border crossings into their states as their communities desire. To the extent that the current presidential administration …

The Demonization Of America's Economic Engine, Ediberto Roman

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In a 2013 book entitled Those Damned Immigrants: America’s Hysteria Over Undocumented Immigration, I warned of a conservative political trend that I believed would lead to an all-out assault on undocumented immigrants. This trend occurred despite the fact that these immigrants are critical economic boons to our economy.

On his first day in office in 2025, President Trump made the book’s warnings prophetic. That day, President Trump issued a series of executive orders, including 10 focused on limiting entry into the United States and questioning many who previously entered the United States legally. These orders include, 1) enhanced deportation …

Behind The Prompt: The Environmental Impact Of Llm Inference, Lucy Hegenderfer, Isaac Huang

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

As the size and demand for large language models (LLMs) increase, the environmental impact of computational inference often exceeds training; yet industry lacks a standardized method of calculating this expanding environmental footprint. Complexity arises with task-specific computational demands, infrastructure overhead, and various GPU architectures, making cross-model assessments burdensome. Combining environmental engineering and computer science principles by validating Jegham et al.’s meta-model, we predict the carbon emissions and water consumption during inference, providing metrics to raise user awareness of AI’s growing environmental footprint. Additional work supports integration into a multi-agent conversational system that encourages responsible scheduling and prompting, guiding the user …

Augmented Reality Application For Real-Time Coastal Data Visualization, Nithyasri Palanisamy

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

This project aims to develop an Augmented Reality (AR) application that overlays real-time coastal environmental data onto physical landscapes when viewed through AR devices such as smartphones and mixed reality headsets. By integrating data from machine learning models, computer vision-based event detection, coastal sensors, and geospatial mapping technologies, the application will provide users with an immersive and interactive experience, enhancing their understanding of coastal dynamics and environmental changes. The application will focus on observing coastal phenomena such as rip currents, tracking endangered coastal species and marine mammals, monitoring crowd levels on beaches, etc. Data sources will include NOAA's National Data …

A Biomimetic Fe Model Of The Human Foot For Kinematic And Footwear Analysis, Brady K. Nakamura

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The idea of the present proposal is to develop a biomimetic foot model and validate the model accuracy in predicting plantar stresses on the foot, using insole pressure sensors. The incidences of foot pain can often be coupled with uncomfortable footwear and prolonged usage of a shoe may be associated with long-term musculoskeletal disorders in the lower limb. While multiple studies have tracked the progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA) or midfoot OA and have studied the effect of orthotic treatment on the foot pain across individuals [1], there are few biomimetic models of the foot that can study and associate …

Motivation And Engagement In Outreach Activities, Aurora Geisen

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

If the four elements of motivation and engagement are present in engineering outreach activities, does this affect the desire to become an engineer? Four elements: Autonomy, Purpose, Community, Mastery.

If the four elements of motivation and engagement are present/increased, and thereby motivation and engagement increase, do more students attending an engineering outreach event want to become engineers? If yes, then those activities where the four elements are increased/present should show an increase in students who are engaged and motivated to become engineers. If no, then the design of activities is not a major deciding factor in whether a student wants …

Hands-On Vs. Critical-Thinking Labs And Engineering Pathways: A Gender-Comparative Analysis, Stacey Rodas Duarte

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The purpose of this study is to compare short-term changes in students’ interest in engineering following two instructional formats: a hands-on lab activity (metal casting) and a critical thinking based lecture/lab (bmed). Using pre and post lab surveys, we evaluated changes in student engagement, confidence, and perceptions of engineering as a potential career. We also examined whether these patterns varied by gender among middle and high school students.

Understanding The State Of Neuroinclusive Teaching, Jovita Maria Joseph

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

We build on prior work by others and by the PI investigating the needs and the state of support for neurodiverse students in STEM at the college level—beginning with the state of support at Cal Poly. Key questions we explore include institutional and peer support and belonging; neuroinclusive course design and the efficacy of syllabi; and the impact of low- versus high-stakes assessments on neurodiverse students. The project consists of three pillars: (1) theory—situating our research with respect to prior work; (2) empirical analysis—learning from the previous survey refining our research questions, and designing further experiments; and (3) institutional research—gathering …

Math+Cs Integrated Curriculum For K-12 Computer Science Education, Amogh Arora

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

This is a proposal for an activity to initiate an effort to create a series of X+CS integrated curricula for learning Computer Science (CS) in K-12. As a start, we examine Mathematics and CS standards, to find the cross-cutting concepts between the two fields. By leveraging these concepts, we bring to the foreground the ways CS can be used in the mathematical context. The goal for this research is to create a 15-week teacher training curriculum that will expose teachers to the CS concepts of Abstraction, Data Representation, Problem Comprehension and Decomposition, Control Structures, Functions and Generalization. Historically, Mathematics and …

The Lawyer: Fall 2025, Seattle University School Of Law

Lawyer

The Briefcase

Faculty Showcase

A look at the Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Institute

Out & About

The Legal Writing Program's past, present, and future

Alumni Profile: Stephanie Nichols

Alumni Profile: Kelly Vomacka

Class Notes

Governance In The Absence Of Government, Tracy H. Pearl

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at an unprecedented pace, with generative systems exerting growing influence over social, economic, and political life. While AI offers opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also poses risks ranging from misinformation and job displacement to existential threats if highly autonomous systems evade human control. Across industry, government, and civil society, there is broad consensus that AI requires oversight. Yet traditional U.S. regulatory approaches face six significant barriers: (1) technology outpacing legislation, (2) limited AI expertise among policymakers, (3) regulatory capture, (4) political gridlock, (5) outdated governance structures, and (6) the inherent complexity of AI. Combined …

Cytotoxic Effects Of Microplastics On A549 Lung Cancer Cells, Tykel Eddy

Theses (2016-Present)

Investigation of cytotoxic effects of 10μm polystyrene based microplastics on A549 lung cancer epithelial cell line utilized multiple in-vitro assays. Cell viability was analyzed and compared between the control and treated groups using MTT assay using three separate doses (25, 50, and 100 μL). Results indicated that dosage was not a factor, but mainly, a significant time dependency of exposure to microplastics for treated cells compared to control group. Live/Dead assay gave a visual representation of microplastic cytotoxic effects as over the course of three days there was an increase of dead cells withing the treated group, as confirmed by …