Digital Commons Network^™

How To Evaluate Non-Majority Control: What History And Statutes Tell Us—Part Ii: The Definitional Consensus, J. Travis Laster

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Article and a companion piece explore the claim that the functional school was novel and anomalous. The companion article examines the approaches that courts have historically taken when evaluating non-majority control (the “Historical Article”). The Historical Article demonstrates that functionalism has been the dominant approach since at least 1912, while the formal school is a recent innovation. Its tenets emerged in 2006 and coalesced in a recognizable framework around 2014. The Historical Article identifies the core claims of the two schools. 

This Article examines statutory definitions of control. It focuses on statutory regimes that use the concept of control …

Reevaluating Consumer Debt Enforcement: Why We Don’T Need Courts To Enforce Consumer Debt Contracts, Adam Toobin

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Enforcing consumer debt contracts against low- and middle-income borrowers, rather than making consumer debt markets work better, is inefficient and exacerbates consumer protection concerns. While consumer debt litigation—and enforcement of consumer debt contracts through wage and bank account garnishment—may have once strengthened nascent consumer debt markets, consumer credit scoring now effectively structures consumers’ incentives to repay their debt obligations. Debt enforcement is not necessary to encourage consumers to repay their debts and tends to drive borrowers into bankruptcy. Debt enforcement also undermines efforts to provide consumer protection in these markets by raising the stakes of any debt contract—where any default …

Insider Trading In Crypto Assets—Back To First Principles?, Katja Langenbucher

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Essay examines whether the traditional rationales for prohibiting insider trading, which were developed for securities markets that facilitate capital formation, translate meaningfully to the emerging regulatory landscape for crypto assets. It contrasts the U.S. duty-based regime, grounded in fraud and fiduciary or confidential relationships under Rule 10b-5, with the EU’s information-based approach under the Market Abuse Regulation, which links trading prohibitions to mandatory disclosure of inside information. The former has proven underinclusive—prompting prosecutors to rely on wire fraud in recent crypto cases such as Wahi and Chastain while the latter tends toward overinclusivity. 

Turning to the newly emerging regimes …

Antitrust And Tech Giants: Learning From United States V. Google Llc, Marcus D’Agostino

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Note addresses the evolution of antitrust regulation and enforcement in the United States, with a focus on the recent case of United States v. Google LLC. That case is used to frame the broader problem of insufficient remedies being implemented against large technology firms. The mild remedies granted to the government in Google reinforce the findings of the 2020 Congressional Report on Digital Competition. The Report recommended changes to the antitrust laws that would revive structural separation as a remedy. This Note argues that the body of evidence presented compels structural separation to be used more frequently as the …

Rewwild: Reimagining Environmental And Wildlife Wellbeing Through Innovative Lawn Design, Morgan J. Sandau, Maiya G. Roelen, Katia E. Chavez, Lydia K. Niedermeyer

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Manicured, monoculture lawns often dominate private land in urban areas for aesthetic organization. Colonialist roots are embedded in the history of turfgrass lawns and white-picket fences intended to suppress Indigenous knowledge and ways of caring for the diverse land around us. Private land misuse and homogenous lawns are not limited to the United States; the modern lawn contributes to biodiversity loss on a global scale. Humans are concentrated in cities across the world, and urban areas are known to have negative implications for wildlife and habitat, human health, and sustainable resource use. Management of private land in urban settings is …

Managing Deportation: How Docket Control Replaced Substantive Relief In Immigration Courts, Linus Chan

Articles

In the modern deportation era, immigration courts saw their ability to grant relief from deportation undergo significant restrictions, constraining individualized discretion in favor of "categorical" denials. Congress dramatically curtailed the discretionary tools available to immigration judges, with the latest being the pair of immigration reforms from 1996, shifting the locus of individualized decision-making away from the courts and toward enforcement officers and prosecutors. Immigration courts lost discretion in being able to decide who could formally be granted status and stay in the United States when facing deportation through various restrictive eligibility requirements written into the law.

This Article argues that …

No One Told Their Story: Acculturation, Faith Formation, And Belonging In Multicultural Congregations Led By African American Pastors, Alicia L. Partee

Doctor of Ministry

The search for meaning, identity coherence, and belonging often intensifies when individuals cross cultural boundaries. Faith communities can serve as sanctuaries for identity renegotiation, but congregations may also reproduce the social distance and exclusion found in the broader society. This dissertation addresses a scholarly and pastoral gap at the intersection of acculturation and Christian faith formation, and more specifically how identity, belonging, and spiritual formation are negotiated within multicultural congregations led by African American pastors in San Jose, California, and similar contexts.

Drawing on acculturation research in psychology, sociology, and anthropology, this study examines how culturally diverse newcomers experience culture …

Binding The Strongman: Understanding And Disarming Society's Anxious Systems, Jacob Eugene Osborne

Doctor of Ministry

Binding the Strongman seeks to address an underlying problem at the heart of western evangelicalism, an idolatry which contemporary Christianity has become enmeshed in as it relates to political figures, cultural influencers, and unhealthy spiritual leaders. The NPO examines how evangelicals engaged in politics are encountering barriers to spiritual growth largely due to systemic social and spiritual leadership issues caused by their position in a relational system that is experiencing chronic anxiety.

Binding the Strongman addresses underlying dynamics at the heart of every Christian, such as the unhealthy emotional systems they are prone to rely on as systems of truth, …

The New, New Song: Answering Decline In Mainline Communities Of Faith, Daniel Garrett Kuckuck

Doctor of Ministry

This project addresses the NPO Statement: “The practical theology of mainline congregations in decline is no longer speaking at all.” Research conducted across congregational contexts revealed that many communities of faith still believe deeply, but have lost the confidence and practice of articulating their faith story aloud. Decline is not only a matter of resources and worship size, but also of a congregation’s ability to name who they are, what God is doing among them, and why their story matters now.

The project emerges directly from my vocational context as a pastor and judicatory leader accompanying 130 worshipping communities across …

Cultivating Belonging In Church Communities: A Repeatable Model For Small Groups, Clancy Z. Kiener

Doctor of Ministry

NPO Statement for this project is as follows:

Many individuals experience a diminished sense of belonging within religious environments. This lack of belonging can lead to disengagement and limit opportunities for authentic spiritual and communal formation. Structured, repeatable, moderator-led small groups— guided by trained moderators—offer a practical approach for fostering connection and strengthening a sense of belonging within church communities.

A key insight from this project is that many people in church communities experience a persistent sense of not belonging, even when they attend, serve, and believe alongside others. The research shows that belonging is not automatically created by shared …

Digging Deep: Food Sovereignty, Belonging & Community- A Systemic Approach, Julie Lynn Gullett

Doctor of Ministry

Set in the rural, agrarian context of Lewis County, Washington, one of the poorest counties in Washington State, this project explores the following NPO: Addressing the concerns of marginalized populations by fostering care of Creation, offers an innovative path to meaningful reciprocal community connections, and a future filled with hope. Drawing on the wisdom and methodologies of Seedpod Farm, my vocational context, a key insight of the Project centered on three interrelated outcomes that my research identified as critical for success: Sovereignty through the development of food skills, belonging through mentoring and cohort relationships, and fostering community connections through service. …

Flourishing In The Wilderness: Soul Care For The Disoriented, Disillusioned, And Deconstructing, Becky Frazier

Doctor of Ministry

Seasons of disorientation, disillusionment, and deconstruction are normal parts of the Christian spiritual life. This can be seen throughout church history and is even an integral theme of scripture. Yet many churches do not prepare Christians for this possibility, leaving many to struggle more than is necessary through the loneliness, doubt, and confusion of these seasons. This experience of being “unmoored” and alone was a key insight that emerged throughout my research. It is my belief that churches should equip and support members who find themselves in a wilderness season of their faith. To that end, the NPO that this …

Photo Of Project Hope To Abolish The Death Penalty Board Of Directors, Anthony Boyd

Correspondence from the Row

Letter from Anthony Boyd to Esther Brown, complete with a photo of the then-current Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty Board of Directors, including:

• Randy Lewis
• Earl McGahee
• Jessie Phillips
• Sherman Collins
• Nicholas Smith
• Bart Johnson
• Anthony Boyd
• Jeffery Lee

Imagining South Korean Nationhood Through Remembering And Forgetting The South Korean Military In The Vietnam War, Robinson P. Lee

Pitzer Senior Theses

Little more than a decade after being victimized by the devastating Korean War, South Korea fought in another devastating civil war in Asia, the Vietnam War. How is South Korean nationhood and political identity understood and articulated in the face of existential national questions presented by the Vietnam War? This thesis uses social and oral history approaches to put a myriad of primary and secondary sources in conversation with one another, building on the existing, limited English-language literature on South Korean military involvement in the Vietnam War. These approaches include examining narratives of Vietnam War atrocities, of an organized group …

Unspoken Loving: Depictions Of Brown Latina Motherhood & Mothering Onscreen, Jennifer L. Florencio

CMC Senior Theses

This senior thesis focuses on the depictions of intergenerational relationships between Latina Mothers and daughters on film, more specifically through analyzing Spanglish (2004) and Real Women Have Curves(2002). Additionally, emphasizing the lack of healthy communication and loving presence missing from said depictions of Latina mothering. The method follows the use of a plática, as a Chicana Feminist framework in holding space for communal dialogue and sharing knowledge as a means for having a conversation about the impacts and importance of having healthy representations of Latina Motherhood and Mothering in film media.

Book Review: Automobiles, Cultures And The Question Of Law, Stephen M. Young

Journal of Law and Mobility

Unsettling Colonial Automobilities: Criminalisation and Contested Sovereignties is a compelling interdisciplinary and multileveled study that sits at the intersection of law, criminology, settler colonial studies, and cultural analysis. The authors are well-suited to this task. They include Professors Harry Blagg, with expertise in First Nations community-engaged criminology; Thalia Anthony, from legal and carceral studies; Wiradjuri scholar Juanita Sherwood, who studies Indigenous health and community research; and Kieran Tranter, an expert in cultural legal theory. Together, they offer a layered interrogation of how the motor vehicle and automobility shape the settler colonial ordering of Australia.

This review is comprised of three …

Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates At A Federally Qualified Health Center: A Quality Improvement Project, Kaeli H. Mcphee

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract 

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is on the rise and is currently the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States (Wender, 2022). CRC screening rates are below national goals, particularly among underserved populations. At Lowell Community Health Center (LCHC), only 41.9% of eligible adults were up to date with CRC screening as of 2024.

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to increase CRC screening rates among average-risk adults aged 45 to 75 by implementing a multifaceted, low-burden intervention targeting both provider and patient behaviors.

Methods: Guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework, the intervention included: (1) provider and …

Stronger Isn't Always Better: 1.5 Tesla Vs 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanners, Taylor Deiter

Student Research Poster Presentations 2026

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging modality that does not use ionizing radiation. Instead, MRI uses magnetic fields, gradience, coils, and radio frequency to provide anatomic and physiologic information. The purpose of the research study is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of a 1.5 tesla to a 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Cross sectional images are produced to better visualize muscles, organs, and soft tissues for diagnostic purposes. MRI screening and safety is a crucial part of the modality. The most common magnetic strength used for clinical diagnosis are 1.5 and 3 teslas. The higher the strength …

The Effect Of Aerobic Exercise With Blood Flow Restriction On Substrate Utilization And Energy Expenditure, Jakob D. Lauver, Nathen Andrews, Chase Harris, Nelo E. Zanchi, Kelly E. Johnson, Timothy R. Rotarius, Justin P. Guilkey

Kinesiology

Purpose: This study examined the effects of intermittent blood flow restriction (LI-BFR) compared to low- (LI) and high-intensity interval exercise (HI) on substrate utilization and energy expenditure (EE). Methods: Exercise protocols consisted of 2-minute work intervals interspersed with 1-minute recovery intervals (20W), HI consisted of 5 intervals performed at a workload corresponding to 140% of ventilatory threshold intensity and LI and LI-BFR consisted of 10 intervals performed at 70% of ventilatory threshold. BFR cuffs were inflated to 80% of limb occlusion pressure during each work interval and deflated during each recovery. Following each exercise protocol subjects rested for three hours, …

Overbreadth In Medical Practice Acts: A Threat To Preventive Speech, Barbara Zabawa

Faculty Works

Many Americans consult unlicensed wellness coaches for scientifically-valid advice on diet, exercise, and lifestyle interventions. Yet state medical practice acts and ambiguous government line drawing between wellness and medical care chill the speech of these coaches as it relates to disease prevention, even though conventional medicine systematically fails to deliver the speech-heavy preventive care consumers need and want. This Article argues that medical practice acts, particularly the sixteen state statutes that include "prevention" in their definition of medical practice, are constitutionally overbroad restrictions on protected speech. Despite judicial and scholarly assumptions to the contrary, not all those working in wellness …

The Southern Roots Of Populist Rhetoric And The Growth Of Fundamentalism, Ethan Teems

Theses

The religious fundamentalism of the 1920s was a direct evolution of the Southern Populist movement of the 1890s. While populism began as a political crusade against economic exploitation, industrialization, and urbanization, it evolved into a movement that attacked modernity. The southern United States was rooted in a predominantly religiously homogeneous society. The Protestant religions that encompassed the region were unwilling to adapt to a changing society, allowing religious fundamentalism to expand.

Beginning with the cultural conflicts of the 1920s, such as the Scopes Trial and William Jennings Bryan’s activism, the study explains how fundamentalists framed their struggles against modernism as …

Paying Financial Sanctions Via Incarceration: A Case Study Of “Sitting Out”, Beth Colgan, Jordan B. Woods

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

This Article provides a comprehensive statewide study of a practice by which courts order defendants to pay financial sanctions—fines, costs, and probation fees—by serving terms of incarceration. Though several states authorize these practices, to date, very little is known about the extent to which payment via incarceration occurs and the different ways it is employed. This Article examines the use of the practice in Nebraska, where it is colloquially referred to as “sitting out.” Our study specifically focuses on all misdemeanor cases in Nebraska county courts with judgments (an adjudication of guilt and/or sentencing) during the year 2019.

This study …

Formal Vs. Informal Disclosure Of Campus Sexual Assault: Social Reactions, Institutional Responses, And Associated Posttraumatic Stress, Karyna Fowler

Honors Theses

With research demonstrating increasing rates of sexual victimization on college campuses (Koss et al., 1987; Koss et al., 2022), sexual assault disclosure has become a critical construct with implications for victim-survivors’ posttraumatic stress (PTS) and healing. In the present mixed-methods study, college students (N = 558) at Bucknell University completed a survey assessing sexual victimization, disclosure, peer responses, institutional betrayal and support, and PTS; a subset (n = 9) participated in qualitative interviews examining social reactions, barriers to disclosure, and present functioning. Consistent with hypotheses, women reported significantly higher rates of sexual victimization than men; disclosure was relatively infrequent (26.5%) …

Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Catholic Legal Tradition Perspective, David Mina Ibrahim

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Finding Freudenfreude: Deriving Subjective Well-Being From Passive Observation Of A Relational Tie’S Happiness Via Social Media Post, Alfred Kwabena Obiri, Deborah Aku Shika Pappoe, Elvis Kofi Otoo, Caleb T. Carr

Faculty Publications - Communications

Social media are known for their overly-positive contents posted by diverse network members; but little research has directly explored the effects of individual happy posts on receivers’ well-being. Two original online experiments (Study 1: N = 326 adults in English-speaking countries; Study 2: N = 111 undergraduates in the United States) tested the effects of the desirability of a post’s content on subjective well-being, as well as direct and moderating effects of the relational tie, and additionally moderated by the perceived selective self-presentation of the post. Results of the 2 (envy: high v. low) × 2 (relational closeness: close v. …

Sibling Relationships Within The Context Of Chronic Conditions, Megan M. Sulak

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation explored how siblings and caregivers experience family life when one or more children have a chronic condition, with specific attention to examining what promotes connection, bonadaptation, and resilience among sibling pairs. Interviews with 10 members of 4 families contributed to the development of a grounded theory whose core theme centered on how knowledge often drove sibling relationship quality.  When individuals with chronic conditions, along with their siblings and parents, were able to access accurate knowledge and understanding about their condition, how to navigate fluctuations in health or illness, and the health care system, they reported being better able …

Turnover Talk: Organizational Turnover Communication And Its Effects On Turnover Intention, Organizational Identification, And Job Satisfaction, Ethan L. Carroll

Theses and Dissertations

Employee turnover intention has been a focus of organizational research within the field of communication. Communication can affect organizational culture, relational dynamics, and even information flow throughout organizations, which all have influence over employee decisions. The body of literature that pertains to turnover is vast; however, the gap that this study aimed to fill was looking at communication about turnover. The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore communication related to turnover within organizational practices and interactions. This study used a mixed methods approach that first explored the concept of turnover talk and, second, investigated the impact of …

Leading The Temporary Workforce: Leadership Communication And Adaptation Among Seasonal Employees, Alfred Kwabena Obiri

Theses and Dissertations

Seasonal employees constitute an essential yet understudied workforce sustaining organizational operations during peak demand periods across industries. Despite the growing organizational reliance on temporary employees, organizational communication studies have primary focused on permanent employees with extended socialization periods, leaving important questions about how leadership communication operates in compressed timeframes inadequately addressed. This qualitative study examined how leadership communication practices shape seasonal employees’ adaptation, belonging, and morale within the temporal constraints characteristic of temporary employment. Drawing on organizational socialization theory, leader-member exchange theory and cultural dimensions, this study employed semi-structured interviews with 19 seasonal employees across hospitality, camp, retail, and education …

Constructing And Deconstructing Homelessness: Challenging The Stigmatization Of The Unhoused Through Lived Experience, Brenna Jones

Theses and Dissertations

As homelessness rises across the United States, public discourse plays an important role in shaping how the housing crisis is understood and addressed. This study examines how homelessness is constructed through local media narratives and how these constructions shape the experiences of unhoused individuals. Using a case study of Greater Bangor, Maine, this research combines a critical content analysis of 315 news articles from the Bangor Daily News (2020-2025) with in-depth interviews with 18 unhoused and precariously housed individuals. The findings demonstrate how media portrayals construct homelessness as a stigmatized identity associated with disorder, addiction, and danger. These narratives contribute …

One Size Doesn’T Fit All: Critical Issues Facing The Wnba Collective Bargaining Agreement, Caroline A. Staff

Student Works

No abstract provided.