Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Double Burden: A Gendered Analysis Of E-Commerce, Unpaid Care Work, And Financial Resilience In Indonesian Msmes, Mia Ajeng Alifiana, Mamduh M. Hanafi, Bowo Setiyono

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study challenges the narrative of e-commerce’s potential for empowering women in the Global South by exploring the structural barriers that women entrepreneurs face in Indonesia, both as paid and unpaid workers. The study also challenges the notion of “techno-optimism,” which suggests that digital entrepreneurship inherently empowers women, by highlighting the obstacles women face in economic engagement due to a “second shift” of domestic labor. Through a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of 158 articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, we map the intellectual structure of the literature on e-commerce and the financial performance of micro, small, and …

A Feminist Examination Of Ao Naga Practices In Relation To Gender Roles And Care Work, Limatula Ozukum, Aswathy V. K.

Journal of International Women's Studies

Food practices within Indigenous communities are important sites of caregiving, cultural identity, and knowledge transmission. This study examines the food practices of the Ao Naga Tribe in Northeast India through a feminist ethnographic lens, focusing on the gendered organization of cooking, caregiving, and traditional healing practices. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork conducted in 2025, including semi-structured interviews and oral histories with community members in Nagaland’s Mokokchung district, the study explores how everyday food preparation and care practices shape household and community life. The findings reveal that women perform most of the daily cooking and caregiving responsibilities. At the same time, men …

Home As A Workplace: Gender, Labour, And Domesticity In Homestays In Kerala, India, P P Anjusha, Prachi Thakur, Toney K Thomas

Journal of International Women's Studies

Tourism homestays are increasingly presented as an opportunity for women’s empowerment and inclusion around the world. However, this study argues that the focus on homestays as entrepreneurial opportunities for women obscures the persistence of patriarchal structures that limit women’s agency when their labour is commercialised. Grounded in theories of “doing gender” (West & Zimmerman, 1987) supplemented by role theory and critical feminist perspectives, the study highlights how gender is enacted and reproduced daily in homestays. This research draws on qualitative interviews with women hosts in the state of Kerala, India to explore how the gendered division of labour operates within …

Rural-To-Urban Migration And Household Reconfiguration In China: Lived Experiences Of Muslim Migrant Women Workers In Jinan, Ila Joshi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Rural-to-urban migration in China has profoundly reshaped Chinese society since 1979, resulting in separated families, so-called “left-behind children,” and socio-economic inequalities as part and parcel of the migration process. This paper examines the impact of rural-to-urban migration by focusing on the experiences of migrant women belonging to the Muslim (Tatar/Hui) community in Jinan, Shandong province of China. Despite the relaxation in restrictions on migration in the post-reform era, migrants—especially women migrants—face persistent legal and emotional challenges. Through ethnographic fieldwork, this study analyses the experiences of eight migrant women employed in formal, semi-formal, and informal work sectors. These in-depth interviews are …

Special Issue Editorial Introduction: Family Formation, Gender Equality, And The Gendered Division Of Labor In The Global South, Tatiana Karabchuk, Soumaya Abdellatif, Aizhan Shomotova, Malina Voicu, Muhamad Olimat

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

When You Are Done Before You Have Begun: A Focus-Group Research Study On The Perception Of Burnout In Physician Assistant Students, Iris M. Villanueva

Pacific Journal of Health

Objective: This study explored Physician Assistant (PA) students’ perceptions of burnout and underlying factors to guide program-level mitigation strategies. Participants: 28 students from the University of the Pacific’s PA program participated in this study. Methods: 5 focus group interviews were conducted. Themes were identified using inductive thematic analysis.  Results: Students described burnout as emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and loss of interest in academics, driven by internal pressures, time demands, and inconsistent assessments, and linked to strained relationships, guilt, and isolation. Coping strategies included breaks, enjoyable activities, peer connection, and exercise. Students recommended program-level strategies, such as scheduled class bonding, flexible scheduling, …

Look What You Made Me Do: The Impact Of Taylor Swift's Re-Recording Project On The Global Copyright Industry, R. Jacob Gilbert

Florida Journal of International Law

Taylor Swift redefined the relationship between artists and their labels. Although there has been discussion about the impact of these new recordings on Swift’s personal catalog, there has been no analysis of how Swift’s action will impact the global copyright industry. Taylor Swift is viewed as a trailblazer by many in the music industry. This is because many artists have rerecorded or remastered their original works out of spite, but only one other major artist even attempted to complete a rehaul of their entire discography. In the digital age of master recordings, Swift’s impact has far-reaching effects. This Note examines …

A Review Of International Surrogacy Arrangements From A Private International Law Prespective And China's Policy Response, Yingying Wu

Florida Journal of International Law

Surrogacy has risen on a global scale due to the development of medical technology. International surrogacy is intensive as a result of forum shopping out of the variety of national policies on surrogacy and laws on legal parentage, resulting in some private international law issues. For instance, the complexity of parentage in many international surrogacy cases in recent years often leads to parentless surrogate born children. To that end, the Hague Conference on Private International Law has been working on this affair in order to protect children and women in international surrogacy from a private international law perspective.

In light …

Class Struggle And The Socialist Economic Calculation Debate, Tiago Camarinha Lopes

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The socialist economic calculation debate is often portrayed as a sharp and straightforward conflict between two opposing sides. While this characterization is valid given the ideological clash between defenders of capitalism and proponents of socialism, this paper offers a more nuanced perspective on the interaction between the main schools of economic thought involved in the debate, the Marxist and the Austrian. Drawing on the humanist approach of critical pedagogy developed by Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire (1921–1997), the paper argues that the debate over socialist economic calculation is not only a clear expression of class struggle within economics. It also involves …

Democratic Economic Planning From And For Social Reproduction: Foundations For A Postcapitalist Research Agenda, Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault, Bengi Akbulut, Audrey Laurin-Lamothe

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

As ecological and social crises render the transformation of capitalist economic organization increasingly urgent, the resurgence of interest in democratic economic planning confronts a foundational blind spot: the systematic neglect of social reproduction. This paper argues that any genuinely needs-based planned economy must extend its scope beyond formally recognized productive activities to encompass the full spectrum of reproductive labor through which human and non-human life is sustained and regenerated. Drawing on feminist political economy and the Marxist-feminist tradition, the authors argue that meeting needs requires more than reorganizing production: it demands confronting the question of who does reproductive work, at …

"What's In A Name?": Authorship Without A Subject, Ownership Without A Self In The Age Of Algorithmic Fame, Mira Moldawer

Florida Entertainment and Sports Law Review

In the context of authorship, the question “What’s in a name?” has never been more urgent. As generative artificial intelligence (AI) blurs the boundaries between human and synthetic creativity, the function of an author’s name is increasingly symbolic, performative, and legally unstable in the digital age. It follows that the question “What’s in a name?” may become the key to redefining authorship itself. Lil Miquela, also known as Miquela Sousa, is a computer-generated influencer with millions of followers that embodies the shift from human authorship to algorithmic persona and might serve as a suitable test case.

As leading scholars caution …

Jurisprudences Étrangères, Poej

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

No abstract provided.

Recommerce Transaction Processing Within A Payment Network, Shivam Sharma, Sindhu Shankar Rao, Vrushali Khorgade

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure relates to a system for processing recommerce transactions within a payment network. The system includes a transaction messaging module configured to receive a transaction message from a merchant, the transaction message including a recommerce flag identifying the transaction as involving a pre-owned, refurbished, or second-hand good. The system includes a recommerce transaction processing module configured to apply predefined rules and protocols specific to recommerce transactions, and a global database storing product information including product identifiers, condition data, maintenance history, and ownership records. The system includes an artificial intelligence and machine learning fraud detection module configured to assess …

Dynamic Gravity-Deployed Rope Barrier (Dgrb) System For Passive Kinetic Mitigation And Entanglement Of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Suav), Brenden King

Defensive Publications Series

A passive, multi-layered kinetic countermeasure system is disclosed for mitigating the threat of low-altitude, high-speed first-person view (FPV) kamikaze loitering munitions within confined military environments, including trenches, bunkers, building entryways, and vehicular net tunnels. The Dynamic Gravity-Deployed Rope Barrier (DGRB) system comprises a primary horizontal support line configured to span an opening or structural corridor, from which a plurality of vertically suspended, non-uniform hanging strands depend downward to a lower boundary surface. The vertically suspended strands form a dense, spatial entanglement matrix optimized to strip an intruding aircraft of its freedom of movement through direct, mechanical disruption of rotor blade …

System And Method For Multi-Modal Assessment Of Topical Substance Coverage And Skin Damage On Body Surfaces, Eric Zavesky

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method for assessing sunscreen coverage on human skin through multi-modal sensor fusion. The system integrates a thermal imaging module for detecting temperature differentials indicative of sunscreen coverage and potential burn areas, a high-speed optical camera for extracting photoplethysmographic signals that enable pigmentation-independent coverage detection via signal attenuation and burn detection via perfusion correlation, a three-dimensional depth mapping module for generating personalized body models with anatomical region segmentation, and a data fusion engine that spatially registers all sensor data to produce per-region coverage maps. An adaptive guidance system delivers real-time, on-demand, and post-exposure feedback through vocal and visual …

Technical Disclosure Specification: Topological Helical Embedding Constraints For Volumetric Space-Time Emergence Across Twisted Manifolds, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification formalizes a non-perturbative geometric mechanism governing the topological transformation of a two-dimensional information substrate into three-dimensional volumetric space-time metrics. Standard holographic frameworks recognize that boundary data can mathematically define a bulk volume, yet they fail to establish a dynamic physical mechanism for the emergence of mass-energy tensors and gravitational curvature without introducing free parameters or unverified dimensional compactifications.

This paper demonstrates that three-dimensional physical matter and spatial depth emerge natively when a parameter-agnostic 2D viscoelastic fluid membrane experiences localized spatial overlapping (The Fold) and asymmetric rotational torque (The Twist). By driving boundary wave configurations through an asymmetric rotational …

Generating Affective Metadata From Physiological Signals For Media Navigation, Nikita Agarwal

Defensive Publications Series

Navigating long-form media to locate scenes of a particular emotional intensity may be inefficient using conventional methods that rely on static thumbnails or broad metadata. Disclosed systems and methods can generate crowd-sourced affective metadata from physiological signals. These techniques may involve collecting anonymized physiological data, such as heart rate, from a population of consenting users via their computing devices (e.g., a smartphone, smart watch, wearable device, augmented reality glasses, etc.) during media consumption. This data can be processed and aggregated to generate a time-series representation of the collective emotional intensity for a media asset. The resulting data may then be …

Technical Commonspec: Multi-Phase Sedimentation And Capillary Infiltration Metrics For Monolithic Material Manufacturing, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification formalizes a multi-track engineering framework to validate and optimize two verified, classical physical processes used in advanced material manufacturing: Dual-Phase Centrifugal Sedimentation and Capillary Infiltration. In standard chemical engineering and metallurgical processing, modeling the structural consolidation of dense particulate suspensions and the subsequent penetration of liquid phases into porous matrices presents significant numerical and physical tracking challenges. If fluid-particle interactions are modeled using uncoupled, single-variable frameworks, localized density spikes and pressure friction variations create manufacturing defects and structural voids.

To deliver an absolute, un-biased verification of these manufacturing dynamics, this paper presents three completely air-gapped, isolated methodologies executed …

Technical Commonspec: Parallel Solutions To The Prandtl Boundary Layer Limit Crisis Via Tri-Vector Architectures, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification establishes a rigorous, multi-track mathematical framework to resolve the legacy Prandtl Boundary Layer Inviscid Limit Problem (\(Re \to \infty\)). In classical continuum mechanics, the behavior of high-velocity fluid flow past a solid wall with a no-slip boundary condition represents a severe analytical discontinuity. As kinematic viscosity approaches zero (\(\epsilon \to 0\)), classical mathematical models fracture due to the uncontrolled generation of boundary-layer vorticity, creating a mismatch between the viscous Navier-Stokes equations and the inviscid Euler equations.

To achieve absolute verification without analytical bias, this paper presents three completely air-gapped, isolated methodologies executed in separate computational sandboxes:

1. A Discrete …

Technical Hardware Specification: The Solid-State Acoustofluidic Boundary Demultiplexer (Reality Implementation), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification formalizes an isolated, tri-parallel hardware validation framework for the engineering, execution, and real-world deployment of the Solid-State Acoustofluidic Boundary Demultiplexer. Traditional fluid mechanics and microfluidic transit networks face severe performance degradation at solid-fluid interfaces, where sub-millimeter boundary layer friction and viscous drag spike uncontrollably. These forces generate localized turbulent eddies, signal attenuation, and catastrophic thermal hotspots (Δ T).

To deliver an absolute, un-biased verification of a non-invasive, zero-drag acoustic boundary layer shield, this paper details three completely air-gapped, isolated methodologies executed in separate computational sandboxes:

1. A Discrete Control Firmware Sandbox implementing a Gallium Nitride (GaN) switching array driven …

Technical Disclosure Specification: Reconciling Global Regularity In Three-Dimensional Navier-Stokes Systems Via Topological Helical Embedding Constraints, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This specification establishes a rigorous mathematical framework that proves global regularity and the absence of finite-time blowup singularities in the three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on \(\mathbb{R}^{3}\). Traditional approaches in classical fluid mechanics struggle to constrain the non-linear convective acceleration term, leading to unverified energy cascades where velocity gradients can theoretically diverge toward infinity (\(\lim_{t \to t^*} \Vert{}\mathbf{u}(\cdot, t)\Vert{}_{\infty} = \infty\)).

This paper demonstrates that by applying the Universal Sine Field Template (DEHP) as a strict, topologically protected geometric embedding constraint, the 3D velocity field is restricted to an orthogonal, phase-locked helical manifold. This structural configuration causes the non-linear convective acceleration …

Gesture-Gated Transaction System For Media Displays Using A Proximity-Aware Companion Device, Rohit Jain

Defensive Publications Series

Existing methods for making purchases through media displays, such as connected televisions, can introduce user interaction friction that may lead to transaction abandonment. A system can utilize a primary media display device to broadcast encrypted commerce information using short-range wireless protocols, for example, ultra-wideband or Bluetooth low energy, when media playback is paused. A secondary companion computing device (e.g., a smartphone, wearable device, tablet computer, or augmented reality glasses) can receive this information. A transactional user interface may be presented on the companion device upon detection of both the broadcasted information and a specific physical user gesture, which can act …

Spatial Pointing Architecture Using Fused Inertial And Ultra-Wideband Data, Rohit Jain

Defensive Publications Series

Navigating user interfaces on connected displays with conventional remote controls or motion-sensor-based pointers may present issues such as cursor drift, instability from hand tremors, and user fatigue. Described systems and techniques can use a companion computing device (e.g., a smartphone, smart watch, wearable device, etc.) as a six-degrees-of-freedom spatial pointer by fusing sensor data. High-frequency relative motion data from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) can be combined with lower-frequency absolute spatial positioning data from an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio that communicates with a display system. This fusion process may use the UWB data as a periodic reference to correct for cumulative …

A Hybrid Metamaterial-Based System For 3d Anisotropic Printed Circuit Board Material Characterization, N/A

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure relates to a hybrid metamaterial-based system for three-dimensional anisotropic printed circuit board material characterization. The system utilizes a vertical zeroth-order resonator integrated alongside differential-length transmission lines to extract out-of-plane anisotropy and low-frequency permittivity parameters. Operating at a zeroth-order mode allows for a compact footprint, while sub-gigahertz operation assists in isolating intrinsic material loss from surface roughness effects.

Keywords: Metamaterial, Zeroth-Order Resonator, Printed Circuit Board, Characterization, Anisotropy, Permittivity, Loss Tangent.

Non-Contact Control Of Drumhead Resonance Decay By A Proximity Acoustical Resistor, Calvin Rose

Defensive Publications Series

A method is disclosed for shortening and tuning the decay time of a drumhead’s resonant modes — including selectively shortening the overtones — using an acoustically resistive element held in close proximity to, but not touching, the drumhead. A porous or perforated material (open-cell foam, cloth, fiber, or perforated metal or plastic) is positioned within a distance small compared with the wavelength of the mode of interest. The oscillating near-field air motion driven by the vibrating membrane is forced through the resistive material, where viscous and thermal losses convert modal energy to heat, raising the modal damping and shortening the …

Fixture-Resolved Water Monitoring And Leak Localization Via Transmission-Line Modeling And Active Time-Domain Reflectometry Of Residential Plumbing, Calvin Rose

Defensive Publications Series

We describe a method for inferring, from a single instrumented point on a dwelling’s main water supply, (i) which plumbing fixture is drawing water and (ii) the presence and physical location of leaks. The dwelling’s pipe network is modeled as a branched acoustic transmission line: pressure and volumetric flow play the roles of voltage and current, the distributed inertance and compliance of the water-filled pipe set a characteristic impedance and wave speed, viscous friction sets the attenuation, and a leak appears as a shunt admittance to a pressure sink at a specific location. Each fixture terminates a branch of distinct …

Industrial Silencer Pre-Dimensioning And Rapid Quotation Software, Deian St Tachev

Defensive Publications Series

Industrial Silencer Pre-Dimensioning and Rapid Quotation Software

The invention relates to standalone software for the rapid pre-dimensioning, optimization, and cost estimation of industrial silencers used in HVAC, power generation, process industries, and environmental noise control.

Current practice relies either on empirical methods, which are fast but inaccurate, or on CFD/FEM/BEM simulation tools, which require specialist engineers and long computation times. These approaches are unsuitable for preparing competitive quotations within short deadlines.

The invention provides a physics-based calculation engine that generates technically reliable silencer designs in seconds without requiring CFD software or external dependencies. The software combines analytical and semi-analytical acoustic …

Caldwell Roadside Vortex-Disk Fire Suppression Platform (Rvfd-1.0) A Tandem-Deployed, High-Wind Mobile Perimeter Shield And Kinetic Extinguishing Engine Using A Rotating Hollow-Shaft Gyroid-Balanced Fluid Manifold For Autonomous Roadside Wildfire Defense, Michael Victor Caldwell Mr.

Defensive Publications Series

The Caldwell Roadside Vortex-Disk Fire Suppression Platform (RVFD-1.0) is a public-domain, open-hardware engineering architecture designed to replace hazardous manual roadside fire-hose crews during high-wind, zero-visibility wildfire events. Mounted on a heavy-duty rear flatbed trailer towed by a high-capacity 6,000–10,000-gallon water tanker truck, the system utilizes an elevated, folding 12–16-foot rotating vortex-disk applicator (with optional telescoping mast to 30–50 ft). Fed by a high-pressure independent auxiliary pump via a hollow-shaft central rotary swivel, the disk discharges pre-conditioned water through circumferential vortex injector nozzles, optionally enhanced with electrostatic charging rings and/or compressed air injection to form coherent, wind-resistant vortex rings. Operating in …

Energy Accounting For Pfas Treatment: Endpoint Definition, Concentration Dependence, And The Service-Equivalence Constraint, Ernest N. Sumrall

Defensive Publications Series

Energy performance in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) treatment is often reported on a volumetric basis, in kilowatt-hours per cubic metre of water processed. Volumetric energy is necessary for hydraulic design and utility sizing, but it is insufficient by itself for cross-study comparison because it does not reference the quantity of contaminant addressed. This paper develops the mass-normalised complement and, more importantly, establishes the conditions under which either metric may be used comparatively.

Three results are presented. First, a taxonomy separating five distinct endpoints — transfer, removal, degradation, defluorination, and mineralisation — that are not interchangeable, and a corresponding pair …

Technical Disclosure Specification: Spherical Harmonic Field Modulation And Acoustofluidic Propagation Manifolds With Closed-Loop Sub-Wavelength Optical Sensing Feedback (Rev4), Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure specifies a complete engineering blueprint for a solid-state, contactless microparticle transport, positioning, and tracking system utilizing an integrated asymmetric acoustic radiation pressure matrix and sub-wavelength photonic sensor array. Traditional microfluidic handling architectures rely on intrusive physical channels, mechanical actuators, or unmonitored acoustic standing waves, which restrict material handling dynamics to preset geometric nodes and introduce severe operational boundary friction.

Operating under a completely integrated hardware-software architecture, this system maps three-dimensional spatial translation onto an ambient fluidic medium or localized dense plasma wake. The physical actuation layer consists of a surface-mounted grid of Gallium Nitride (GaN) piezoelectric transducers operating …