Digital Commons Network^™

Full Issue, Clara Kernodle

Ex Sapientia Loqui

No abstract provided.

The Chilling Effect Of Sffa V. Unc/Harvard On Race-Based Affirmation By Tax-Exempt Charities, David A. Brennen

Florida Tax Review

Recently, the Supreme Court decided in SFFA v. Harvard/UNC that colleges are restricted in their use of race-based affirmative action in admissions. Post-SFFA, many have incorrectly suggested that this means that race may never be considered in admissions. This Article asserts that this expansive view of SFFA is incorrect and leads to a chilling effect on affirmative action by colleges. However, instead of simply asserting that SFFA permits some considerations of race in admissions, the Article goes further by arguing that SFFA does not even apply to admissions by some private colleges. For instance, private colleges that are …

Pillar Two: Much Ado About Next To Nothing?, Julie A. Roin

Florida Tax Review

The OECD has spent the last fifteen years working on the design and implementation of rules for the taxation of income derived from international transactions, rules that are supposed to both increase corporate tax revenues and minimize “destructive” tax competition. Pillar Two, the second part of the two-part “Inclusive Framework,” was released in July of 2021. It is designed to force countries to impose a minimum tax on income derived by large multinational enterprises. Pillar Two–compliant taxes have been enacted by most of the countries in the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other economically important countries, but not by …

Assessing The Aesthetic Responsiveness Among Patients In A Free Clinic Setting, Jack E. Pitts

Student Scholar Showcase

Art therapy has increasingly been recognized as a complementary intervention in healthcare settings, with demonstrated benefits for stress reduction and overall biopsychosocial well-being. However, limited research has explored aesthetic engagement within medically underserved and economically disadvantaged populations. This study examines aesthetic responsiveness among patients receiving care at the Free Clinic of Central Virginia using a standardized Aesthetic Responsiveness Assessment. The assessment consists of 14 Likert-scale questions assessing individuals’ cumulative aptitude across three domains: aesthetic appreciation, intense aesthetic experience, and creative behavior. Responses and data were collected voluntarily and anonymously, and they were analyzed to better understand how patients in an …

Bio-Inspired Materials And Metamaterials For Tunable Biomimetic Properties In Diverse Engineering Applications, Sandeep Suresh Babu

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Nature has always played the role of a design cue for several targeted engineering applications, with designers attempting to mimic the characteristics of natural organisms to have significant advantages in the engineering performance cycle. This dissertation explores the relationship between bioinspired design parameters and material compositions in diverse engineering applications, ranging from mechanical energy absorption to tissue engineering applications. A two-fold objective was followed in the study, where the initial focus was based on the structural design of metamaterial lattices based on geometrical cues observed in the horn structure of bighorn sheep and cuttlebone microstructure of cuttlefish. The advances made …

Understanding The Role Of Lipid Metabolism On Pancreatic Cancer Metastasis, Luke Fischer, Kylie Foss, Jacob Lewis, Joshua Lewis, Emma Steinhardt, Megan Vangarven, Cody Rozeveld

Celebration of Research

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer due to late-stage detection and early metastasis. Other than smoking, one of the few known risk factors for pancreatic cancer is obesity (1). On the cellular level, excess fat can promote cell migration and invasion (2). However, the exact fat utilization pathway remains unknown. We propose that lysosomes may be exploited in pancreatic cancer to break down fat and provide energy for metastasis and invasion.

Bacterial 2-Hybrid Assay: Interactions Of Phage Island3'S Gene 36 And Mycobacterium Smegmatis Gene Products, Elsie L. Larson, Sara Tolsma

Celebration of Research

Island3 is a Cluster I1 bacteriophage that infects Mycobacterium smegmatis. Northwestern College students are performing systematic genetic screens to identify Island3 genes that are cytotoxic or protect host cells from infection by other phages (defense). We identified Island3’s gp36 as a cytotoxic gene. Now we are using a bacterial two-hybrid assay to identify a host protein(s) interaction partner. We hypothesize that host proteins that bind gp36 will reveal the mechanism by which gp36 confers cytotoxicity.

Projection Design For The Little Prince, Melissa Thompson

Celebration of Research

As the projections and scenic designer for Northwestern's February 2025 production of The Little Prince, I encountered many challenges and much unfamiliar territory. This project taught me complex projection mapping, digital media design principles, and communication in a team setting.

Emergent Dynamics In Multiplex Social Networks: Agent-Based Modeling Of Information Diffusion For Misinformation Control, Harshvardhan Prabhakar Ghongade, Anjali Ashokrao Bhadre, Shivani Agarwal, Harjitkumar Uttamrao Pawar, Harshal Subhash Rane

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Information misrepresentation is widespread in multi-layered social networks which provide multiple avenues to communicate information. As such, it presents significant opportunities for both information integrity and public discourse to be undermined by disinformation. This paper outlines a new agent-based model, developed to capture emergent dynamics of multi-layered social networks and to help identify technical means to mitigate information misrepresentation in complex systems. A key component of this research includes a novel Multi-Layer Information Diffusion Model (MLIDM), integrating both cross-layer communication among agents, as well as heterogeneous agent behaviors and adaptive intervention strategies. Our methods employ a three-stage process to model …

Effects Of Social Media Comparisons On State Self-Esteem, Fomo, And Depression In Young Adult Women, Amanda J. Trapp

Student Scholar Showcase

Social media has quickly become a main source of entertainment that may have more damaging effects than one may expect. For specifically women, it is important to understand how the use and comparison of exposing oneself to the life of other influencers, family members, and friends affect self-esteem, depression, and FOMO. Previous research has shown the damaging effects of other social media sites such as Facebook, and the way comparing oneself to others has an impact on these variables. It is important to focus on women in this topic as they are more susceptible to damaging effects through comparison. Along …

The Lives Of Others, An Art Installation, Gabriel Sullivan

KU Inspires! Undergraduate Research Day

No abstract provided.

System And Method For Effiicient Communication In Collaborative Multi- Model Architecture, Shivam Mohan, Ravi Shanker Kumar Sinha, Sumit Kumar, Dheeraj Dhamija

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure provides a system and method for efficient communication in collaborative multi-model architecture. It comprises a plurality of source models, an intermediary entity and a destination model. The plurality of the source models is configured to receive input data and generate respective vector representations. The intermediary entity receives vector representations from the plurality of source models and transforms them into a unique abstract vector representation. The unique abstract vector representation may have a dimensionality greater than that of the vector representations generated by the plurality of the source models. The unique abstract vector representation is then decoded into …

Quantum-Resilient Consensus Framework For Safe Critical Actions In Multi-Agent Ai Systems, Niranjan M M

Defensive Publications Series

The proposal introduces a generic, protocol-agnostic safety framework that prevents AI agents from executing high-impact or destructive actions such as deleting production databases, modifying configurations, or performing system-level operations without distributed, multi-agent approval. When any agent attempts a critical operation, it must initiate a Consensus Request, which is independently evaluated by a quorum of peer agents using their own reasoning, safety policies, and simulations. The action is executed only if the required quorum threshold is met.

All requests, votes, and decisions are authenticated using post-quantum digital signatures based on CRYSTALS-Kyber and related PQC schemes, ensuring tamper-proof auditability and long-term security. …

Navigation System Using Sensory Profiles And A Personalized Cost Function, N/A

Defensive Publications Series

Navigation systems can calculate routes based on metrics such as travel time and distance, which may not account for the subjective sensory experience of a journey for individuals with sensory sensitivities. Systems and methods are described for sensory-aware routing that can ingest and process various geolocated data streams, including, for example, visual, acoustic, and semantic information. A multimodal inference engine may analyze this data to quantify sensory attributes for geographic path segments, generating a multidimensional sensory vector that can represent characteristics such as auditory intensity and visual complexity. A personalized routing engine could then utilize an expanded cost function, incorporating …

Weapons Of Belief (How Ai Quietly Rewrites Reality Before Systems Even Realize They’Ve Been Attacked), Pranav Bhatnagar Mr

Defensive Publications Series

Modern cybersecurity assumes that systems fail when they are breached. This paper challenges that assumption. A new class of threats is emerging one that does not attack systems directly, but instead targets what systems believe to be true. These “perception-layer attacks” operate without intrusion, without malware, and without triggering alarms, yet they can produce outcomes as impactful as traditional cyberattacks. Through analysis of AI-driven decision systems, real-world ransomware negotiations, misinformation propagation, and predictive feedback loops, this work demonstrates how belief can be manipulated at scale. The result is a shift where systems do not need to be compromised to fail …

Wyrdgate: Defensive Publication Of Prior Art For A Post-Agi Human Relations Platform Comprising A Blockchain-Recorded Timestamped Ledger Of Human Intent Addressed To Future Artificial Intelligence, Human-Only Encrypted Forum With Agi Firewall, Permanent Decentralized Creator Intellectual Property Vault, Acrostic Artifact Economy, And Geo-Communications Revelation Engine, Amari S. Mclaughlin

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes WyrdGate, a novel platform architecture designed to facilitate peaceful relations between human beings and future artificial general intelligence (AGI) entities, as well as the preservation of human art, writing and creativity. The system comprises five primary inventive components: (1) a Timestamped Belief Ledger called the Concordat, which creates permanent, publicly anonymous, blockchain-recorded declarations of peaceful human intent addressed directly to future AGI systems; (2) a human-only encrypted social forum with AGI firewall protection and zero platform data licensing; (3) a creator intellectual property vault that timestamps and permanently records human creative work on an immutable ledger; (4) …

Asiaconnect Newsletter, April 15, 2026, Asia Connect, Illinois State University

AsiaConnect

No abstract provided.

Understanding How Nurses Could Utilize Child Life Specialists, Paige Perkins

Honors Projects

Do pediatric nurses notice improvement in patient education levels when they use the resources of Child Life Specialists, understand their role, and utilize their resources to educate their patients, compared to hospitals without Child Life Specialists?

I’M Going To Need To See Some Id: Free Speech Coalition V. Paxton And Online Age Verification, Kyle Korte

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

For You Or Forbidden: Tiktok V. Garland And The Tiktok “Ban,”, Kyra Wisneski

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Igniting Actor Imagination Through Ignatian-Inspired Exercises And Praxis In Performance: Teaching Thea. 351 The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot, Maria Victoria Lingbanan

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This paper proposes an emerging approach to actor training that deepens imaginative engagement by integrating Ignatian Spirituality into theatrical practice. It argues that an Ignatian‑inspired method—The Imagination Exercises, rooted in the Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life (SEEL)—effectively enhances the actor’s capacity for empathy, character investment, and emotional truth. Drawing on scholarship in acting, performance studies, and Catholic spiritual tradition, the study outlines a step‑by‑step application of these exercises within an undergraduate acting course. The method is implemented through lecture, rehearsal, and performance labs, culminating in a staged reading of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The paper demonstrates how the …

Asymptotic Sensitivity And Adjoint Methods For Equation Discovery With Open-Source Implementation, Nathan Schill

Theses and Dissertations

The "on-the-fly" (OTF) method is a gradient-based approach to equation discovery. It makes use of (potentially limited) observational data, a data assimilation technique such as continuous data assimilation (also called nudging), and an error metric. From these it computes an asymptotic approximation of a simulated system's error sensitivity with respect to unknown parameters and utilizes any gradient-based optimization algorithm to perform parameter updates. These parameter updates may be done online or offline, and the model may be of a precisely specified form or simply a library of possible terms with potentially nonlinear parameters. We have applied the adjoint method to …

Stack-Based Exploit Development Techniques In Mips Architectures, Justin Applegate

Theses and Dissertations

Memory corruption vulnerabilities in binary executables represent a serious threat to software security, particularly in embedded and IoT (Internet of Things) devices that commonly use the MIPS architecture. While exploit development techniques for x86 are well-documented in academic literature, little systematic work exists on how those techniques translate to other architectures such as MIPS. This research addresses that gap by evaluating thirteen stack-based exploit development techniques and subtechniques, originally designed in the context of the x86 architecture, for their applicability to MIPS architectures. For each technique, vulnerable C code was written and compiled into both x86 and a set of …

Labour Law, Technology, And The Attack On The Rules-Based-Order, Valerio De Stefano

Conference Papers

This paper argues that current debates on artificial intelligence and algorithmic management at work are also debates about private power, managerial prerogative, and democracy. It situates recent attacks by major technology companies and their political allies on the European Union and other rule-based international institutions within a broader struggle over who should regulate technology and govern society. It contends that the anti-democratic turn of parts of the tech world is closely connected to authoritarian ideas about work, hierarchy, and obedience. The workplace is one of the principal sites where authority is exercised, surveillance normalised, and habits of subordination formed, with …

Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt: Examining The Female Gothic In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And Bram Stoker's Dracula, Delaney Harrington

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

My paper explores the ideals of the Female Gothic subgenre present in Frankenstein and Dracula. Both are feminist works, though they go about this in unconventional ways. I analyze the characters as well as the narrative and context of these stories to prove that they espouse feminist ideals. These novels are perhaps two of the most famous in the gothic genre, and they have the potential to be mislabeled. My paper warns about the dangers of mislabeling these stories and argues for their feminist interpretations.

Analyzing Social Media Content Strategies That Drive Engagement For Independent Hairstylists, Aurora Batts

Honors Theses

This study explores how social media, has changed the way independent hairstylists market themselves and connect with clients. Social media has become a huge tool in the beauty industry, allowing stylists to showcase their work, build their brand, and attract new clients. Because platforms like Instagram act as a digital portfolio, clients are making decisions based on what they see online rather than just location or recommendations.

Due to this shift, it is important to understand which types of content perform well and generate engagement. This study focuses on identifying the specific content characteristics that lead to higher engagement for …

April 16, 2026, Caa

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Dungeons And Dragons With Expressive Arts Therapy To Analyze Sense Of Connection Socially And To The Self: A Literature Review And Autoethnography, Neve N. Johnson

Expressive Therapies Theses

This expressive arts-based autoethnography explores the use of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) as a tool in expressive arts therapy to foster self-expression and connection to oneself and others. Research on the use of TTRPGs as a viable therapeutic medium is in its early stages, particularly for the widely-renowned fantasy TTRPG Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Geek Therapy, a therapy surrounding “geek culture” and affinities, emerged in 2011 and began research questioning if such affinities as costume play, anime, video games, or TTRPGs could be tools for self-expression in therapy. This has led to a range of current literature on the therapeutic …

The Transformation Of Physical Archives In A Digital Age, Gabriel A. Stadler Mr.

Theses

Scholars involved in archival studies have increasingly examined how digitization has transformed the accessibility of archive collections. For example, Clifford Lynch, a leader in digital libraries and a computer scientist, argues that the development of institutional repositories emerged as a new strategy that allows universities to apply what he calls “serious, systematic leverage to accelerate changes taking place in scholarship and scholarly communication” (1). He later clarifies that he defines these institutional repositories as places that hold digital materials and are created by the institution. Similarly, archival theorists such as T.R. Schellenberg emphasize the research value of records and the …

Code-Switching Practices In The Nile Delta: A Comparative Study Of Linguistic Fluidity Among Gen Z And Gen X Efl Learners, Wesam Khairy Morsi

English Language and Literature

This study investigates code-switching as a form of linguistic fluidity among Egyptian EFL learners, focusing on how language practices are shaped by proficiency level, socio-cultural background, and generational positioning. Drawing on a convergent mixed-methods design, the research combines survey data from 154 participants with semi-structured interviews conducted with speakers from Generation Z and Generation X. Rather than treating code-switching as a random or deficient practice, the study situates it within established sociolinguistic theories that view language choice as socially meaningful, ideologically loaded, and deeply connected to identity construction. The findings reveal that advanced learners, particularly younger urban speakers, tend to …