Digital Commons Network^™

Law Enforcement Perceptions And Lived Experiences Concerning Homelessness, Pedro Osbaldo Preciado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

A Governance-Aware Multi-Agent Framework For Enhancing Fairness & Temporal Accuracy In Disaster Response Systems, Md. Ashfaqur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated significant potential in disaster-response decision support, however, their deployment in high-stakes humanitarian settings raises critical concerns regarding factual reliability, fairness, temporal validity, and governance compliance. Hallucinated outputs, demographic bias, and outdated recommendations can directly impact vulnerable populations and undermine public trust. This dissertation proposes a governance-aware multi-agent framework designed to enhance fairness and temporal accuracy in disaster-response systems through structured Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), verification-driven orchestration, and adaptive correction mechanisms.The proposed architecture decomposes response generation into specialized agents responsible for real-time retrieval, fact-checking, bias auditing, temporal validation, threshold-based correction, and monitoring. By embedding governance constraints …

A Three-Criteria Framework For U.S. Immigration Reform: Humane Treatment, Resource Reallocation, And Proportional Fallback, Eddie Contreras

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

This project examines how U.S. immigration enforcement could be restructured around three criteria: humane treatment, resource reallocation, and proportional consequences. The evidence, drawn from journalism, peer-reviewed research, government data, and international comparisons, consistently shows that current enforcement is poorly targeted, fiscally costly, and harmful to the community it depends on. At the same time, the picture is not one-sided: a real population of serious offenders exists, some workers benefit economically from restrictive policies, and even the strongest international models have real flaws. Administrative reforms within DHS could begin moving the system in a slightly better direction now. However, durable change …

Exploring Safety Perceptions On Campus: A Look At Student Responses To Campus Crime And Institutional Effectiveness, Edgar J. Delatorre

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

There is limited research examining safety-related programs and perceptions of Deaf and hard of hearing (HoH) students, especially in respect to how receptive these students are to resources aimed to keep them safe while they are on campus and how these resources are perceived and to what extent they are utilized. Gallaudet University is the only university in the United States established for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, with a bilingual campus where students and staff use both English and American Sign Language (ASL) – making it a unique focus of study compared to other universities that use primarily …

Virtual Matter: Architecture As A Critical Turning Point, Aden Sterchi

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The materialization of AI infrastructure has outpaced all regulatory frameworks, allowing data centers to proliferate with limited oversight despite their growing environmental and social impacts. Through a review of artificial intelligence’s technological development, the rise of big tech, and contemporary data center expansion, this thesis situates AI infrastructure within a broader pattern of deregulation, delayed accountability, and market-driven governance. Using a qualitative mixed-method approach combining historical analysis, policy critique, regional case studies, and research-through-design, the study examines how existing land use, utility, and environmental frameworks have failed to keep pace with the scale of data center sprawl; The study also …

Justice For None: How The United States’ Sexual-Offense System Fails Victims, Defendants, And The Public, Hannah J. Flannery

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

This paper argues that the United States criminal justice system fundamentally fails in its treatment of sexual offenses by retraumatizing survivors while simultaneously relying on punitive mechanisms that undermine meaningful accountability and rehabilitation. Through an examination of adversarial courtroom practices, prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, sex-offender registries, and civil commitment regimes, the paper demonstrates how American law prioritizes punishment, political performance, and moral panic over truth, dignity, and public safety. In contrast, comparative analysis of France, Canada, and the Nordic countries reveals alternative models grounded in consent-based legal frameworks, trauma-informed procedures, and rehabilitative justice. These systems emphasize proportionality, reintegration, and institutional …

Perceptions Of Correctional Staff Regarding Coping Strategies Used By Juvenile Female Offenders, Angela Pagano Johnston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Un|Veiling Walls, Olivia F. Aratea

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis explores how trauma-informed design principles can be integrated into Kennesaw State University’s Marietta Campus to promote psychological safety, emotional resilience, and reduction of trauma triggers for survivors of sexual assault. While trauma-informed approaches have been implemented in healthcare and counseling, their application within academic architecture remains limited. This gap is important to consider given the rising rates of sexual assault, which have increased 62.5% since 2020. Current data shows that four in five women (81%) and two in five men (43%) experience sexual assault in their lifetime, specifically noting that college-aged women are three times more likely to …

Incorporating Sustainable Strategies And Practices Into The City Improvements Plan Of Madisonville, Kentucky To Better Suit It For The Changing World, Cade R. Howell

Honors College Theses

This project aims to make the case for city improvements in Madisonville, Kentucky by using successful strategies implemented by other cities across the region. These strategies include sidewalk improvements, the installation of roundabouts and parking garages, increased walkability and beautification, and a restructuring of the types of cars predominantly used in the area. The strategies would be implemented from least expensive to most expensive, and in a way that gets the communities involved as much as possible. By using these strategies, Madisonville can better prepare itself for a more sustainable future.

"It Was Time To Go": A Case Study In Occupational Culture, Tiffany M. Kline Costa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abundant examples of negative community-police interactions demonstrate strained relations between marginalized community members and police across the United States. Likewise, nationwide data demonstrates discrepancies in how officers interact with People of Color versus White citizens. To gain insight into influences on officer behavior, this research shines a spotlight on the occupational culture of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police (PBP) and the ways this specific occupational culture informs officer thoughts and behaviors. Via the analysis of the experiences of four former PBP officers, this research explores how culture impacts officer perspective, thoughts, and behaviors. Utilizing an interpretative phenomenological approach, data analysis …

It’S Up To The States: The Role Of State-Based Safety Net Programs In Maternal Health Outcomes, Brooklyn Hall

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between state-based safety net programs and maternal health outcomes in the United States. Using the case studies of five states, namely Mississippi, Alabama, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California, this research examines how variations in programs such as Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Paid Family Leave (PFL) influence maternal mortality rates and overall maternal health outcomes. The analysis shows that states with more generous and comprehensive safety net programs, like California and Minnesota, tend to report lower maternal mortality rates. In contrast, states with less robust programs, such …

Designing A Collaborative Uav-Ugv System For Autonomous Challenge Completion, Ember Reysen

Honors Theses

The coordination between Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) holds significant potential for completing complex tasks such as disaster response and construction surveillance by leveraging the strengths of aerial flight and stable on-ground transportation. Unfortunately, coordination between UAVs and UGVs is extremely complex and task-dependent, leading to limited understanding of autonomous collaboration. This thesis explores the process of designing an UAV-UGV collaborative system capable of aerially scouting a target destination, relaying its coordinates to a ground vehicle, and performing a precision landing for unison travel. I utilize computer vision techniques via OpenCV for target marker identification, ROS …

Legislating With An Expiration Date & The Duty To Reevaluate: Sunset Provisions As A Safeguard In Self-Defense Laws, Samantha Morales

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

Self-defense laws have a long history in the jurisprudence of many countries around the world, reflecting the essential right to protect oneself from harm. At their core, self-defense laws seek to balance the rights of individuals against one another in threatening, violent, or high-risk scenarios, presenting a classic legal dilemma—one person’s rights end where another’s begin.

Through a comparative and analytical lens, this Note explores the origins, current state, and impact of self-defense laws, focusing specifically on the United States and the United Kingdom. Tracing the development of self-defense doctrine from its roots in the common law, the analysis highlights …

Using Forensic Psycholinguistic Analysis To Detect Dark Tetrad Traits In Police Interviews Of Murder Suspects, Amanda Janette Borman-Ballard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Solid Waste Management In Greater Khartoum City, Sudan, Roba Mahmoud

Student Theses 2015-Present

This study investigates the rising solid waste management (SWM) dilemma in Greater Khartoum City (GKC), a critical environmental and public health issue caused by fast urbanization and inadequate infrastructure, with historical linkages to Sudan's colonial and postcolonial growth. Chapter 1 describes the current problem using quantitative and qualitative data, demonstrating that GKC produces approximately 3,340 tons of waste each day, with 56% organic matter, 8% plastics, and 16% paper. Collection efficiency remains severely poor, at 31.5%. Informal recyclers known as Nakasha or Barkata collect approximately 7% of total waste, supporting roughly 3,900 people, whereas filthy open dumps and unsorted medical …

May 8, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Police Accountability For Racial Justice And Equality: A Human Rights Analysis Of Perceptions Of Police Legitimacy In Orlando, Florida, Katherine Wilson Mccoy, R. Denisse Córdova Montes

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

The murder of George Floyd marked a watershed moment in the global fight against racism. In response, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 43/1, calling for a comprehensive report on systemic racism and human rights violations against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement. Despite this increased scrutiny, legislators have increasingly used laws to police poverty. Florida House Bill 1365 went into effect on October 1, 2024, prohibiting public camping and sleeping on public property without authorization. Critics argue that such measures disproportionately target marginalized groups by criminalizing life-sustaining activities. Research suggests that repeated interactions, especially …

Effects Of Increased Salinity On Mississippi Coast Bacterial Community Composition And Diversity, Clifton C. Wade

Honors Theses

Bacterial communities are important to ecosystem function in coastal environments, but the response of these communities to short term increased salinity conditions is understudied. This study utilized a microcosm setup to investigate the response of coastal seawater bacterial communities to three treatments: an unamended seawater control, a reference treatment that received reverse osmosis (RO) water, and an elevated salinity treatment that received artificial seawater dissolved in RO water. Microcosms were sampled four times over a five-day period to analyze the effects of time under different salinity conditions on the seawater bacterial community. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to analyze …

Narrating Injustice: Race, Law, And American Literature, Taylor A. Levine

Honors Scholar Theses

This project examines the relationship between race and law as it is portrayed by works of American literature. It argues that the gap between the legal system’s claims of neutrality and the lived experiences of Black individuals exposes systemic injustice that may be concealed in traditional legal discourse. Texts examined include Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Additionally, Prison Noir, an anthology of narratives written by incarcerated individuals edited by Joyce Carol Oates, is examined to emphasize how modern mass incarceration works to …

Practicing In Broken Systems: An Advanced Integrated Social Work Portfolio, Andrew Tomt

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio documents my development as an advanced integrated social worker within behavioral health and crisis response systems. Grounded in the ten CSWE competencies, it illustrates my progression from foundational generalist practice to a more complex, systems-oriented approach that integrates ethical decision-making, trauma-informed care, research-informed practice, and policy awareness. Drawing on my practicum experience in Mobile Crisis Assessment and Triage (MCAT) in Spokane, Washington, the portfolio demonstrates my ability to engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate across micro, mezzo, and macro levels. It highlights my commitment to social justice, cultural humility, and least-restrictive care, while also addressing the challenges of working …

How Ai Governance Differs Between Regime Type, Jackson T. Guillou

Honors Theses

This thesis will examine how artificial intelligence (AI) regulation and development differ across political regime types, arguing that governance outcomes are fundamentally shaped by institutional political structures. This thesis will draw on comparative frameworks analyzing democratic and authoritarian systems. This thesis will also include case studies of the European Union, the United States of America, China, and Russia. The study finds that democratic regimes tend to emphasize transparency, accountability, and rights-based regulation of AI. This often results in slow regulation of AI, but it is more ethically legitimate and constrained. In contrast, authoritarian regimes prioritize centralized control, strategic coordination, and …

Application Of Mine Tailings Flow Failure Assessment On Ccr, Zachary Fallert

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

A new geotechnical stability analysis method has been implemented for a CCR surface impoundment to aid in design for temporary cut slopes and final closure grades. Conditions have come to light after significant tailings dam failures occurred across the globe, specifically those exhibiting flow failures (i.e. failures in which tailings behave a liquid and flow out of the facility). These failures have come under intense scrutiny as the failures pose significant risk to public safety and the environment and have been observed in CCR. Additionally, static liquefaction has arisen as another potential but less well understood causative mechanism. As the …

Illinois Coal Ash Impoundment Assessment, Randy Locke

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Coal combustion residuals (CCR) present one of the most significant waste management challenges in the United States. Illinois hosts 72 coal ash impoundments at 23 facilities across 22 counties. In 2019, the state enacted Public Act 101 0171 (Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act), followed by Illinois Administrative Code Title 35, Part 845, establishing CCR surface impoundment standards. Even with federal and state requirements, significant gaps remain in identifying management options and site-specific risks. Key limitations include: (1) incomplete understanding of ash composition and variability within and among impoundments; and (2) fragmented information on impoundment physical properties, operational status, and geological …

The Effects Of A Traffic Enforcement Team: A Case Study, Jordan Cline

Criminology and Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations

Traffic enforcement represents the most frequent form of police-initiated contact and serves as a convergence point where discretion and legal authority are enacted. Despite its prominence, little research examines how specialized traffic enforcement units themselves shape enforcement patterns. These units, typically staffed by officers with focused training and mandates, may influence stop frequency and outcomes differently than typical patrol officers. This study analyzes a unique case in which a traffic unit in a mid-sized Midwestern police department was effectively disbanded in the early 2020’s. Three intervention points were identified; a de facto (2021), de jure (2022), and later reported intervention …

Proactive Violence Prevention: A Universal Bi-Annual Violence-Needs Assessment Tool For Grades K-12, Millie Fritzler, Emily Linehan

Criminology and Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations

“Violence prevention begins in the high chair, not the electric chair” (Reiner, as cited in Davis et al., 2002). Two elements are essential to successful violence prevention: interventions that start early and interventions that are consistent (Davis et al., 2002; Dodge et al., 2015). The first five years are crucial for development; therefore, violence prevention needs to happen as early as possible to identify and address potential risk factors before harmful behaviors become reinforced (Davis et al., 2002). Despite this knowledge for the need for early violence prevention, schools still lack a truly proactive, universal system for identifying violence-related risk …

Crowding, Capacity, And Reform: Exploring The Dynamics Of Correctional Policy, John Ursino

Criminology and Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the dynamic mechanisms that drive correctional population change and evaluates strategies for sustainable decarceration. Despite widespread calls for evidence-based corrections, methodological tools such as time series analysis remain underutilized for understanding population management. This dissertation addresses this gap through a three-paper design that applies advanced time-series methods to key stages of the correctional continuum. Chapter Two uses interrupted time-series analysis to evaluate the impacts of both proactive (policy-driven) and reactive (COVID-19 and court mandate-related) decarceration events in Washington State on admissions, technical violations, and recidivism outcomes, clarifying how policy design affects prison admission flows. Chapter Three employs …

Trapped By Immunity: Women, Prisons, And The Need For Obvious Clarity, Alexandria E. Hatten

Mercer Law Review

For many Americans, the mere thought of the prison system evokes great fear and uncertainty. The fear is justified and reflected through rampant reports of sexual abuse, exploitation, and abuse of power by prison officials. Lack of privacy in prisons is largely supported and expected. The general population of prisons have unique safety concerns which require closer surveillance and diligent observation by correctional officers. Prison officers are tasked with ensuring that all contraband stays out of inmate possession—notwithstanding the constant changes of the general population. The security interests of a prison also extend to prison visitors. The known security concerns …

Finally, A Fair Shot: Supreme Court Shoots Down The Moment-Of-Threat Doctrine In Barnes V. Felix, Noah Ring

Mercer Law Review

The Framers designed America’s legal system with the belief that no one, not even the government, is above the law. The right to hold government officials accountable before a court reflects the Framers’ vision that justice resides in the people themselves. Unfortunately, countless citizens who suffer excessive force are barred from presenting their stories to the jury. Nowhere is the clash between liberty and authority more visible than in encounters between police and citizens. Every day, those who wear the badge are forced to make difficult judgment calls in volatile situations.

In 2024, 147 officers lost their lives in the …

Georgia’S New Direct Action Landscape For Motor Carriers, William M. Davis

Mercer Law Review

A direct action is a lawsuit in which an injured claimant sues the alleged tortfeasor’s liability insurer directly—often joining the insurer as a defendant alongside—or instead of—the insured. Such suits are typically based on a statute or policy provision that authorizes that suit before the claimant has obtained a judgment against the insured.

Direct actions are generally not allowed in Georgia; however, there are specific statutory exceptions permitting direct actions under certain circumstances. One such statutory exemption was made for direct actions against liability insurers of motor carriers. Until the enactment of S.B. 426 in 2024, direct actions against the …

Labor And Employment, W. Jonathan Martin Ii

Mercer Law Review

This Article focuses on recent cases concerning federal labor and employment laws. The following is a discussion of those opinions.