Digital Commons Network^™

Valuing Worker Authenticity, Dallan F. Flake

William & Mary Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers from discrimination because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Controversially, courts do not typically extend this protection to individual expression tied to a protected trait, such as a Black employee who wears their hair in dreadlocks or a Latino employee who speaks Spanish on the job. Judicial unwillingness to protect employee self-expression tied to a protected trait causes employees who identify with marginalized groups to suppress their identities to conform with mainstream culture—often at tremendous costs to themselves and the organizations they work for.

This Article …

Four Ways To Deconstruct Regulation And Undermine Democracy In The States, Glen Staszewski

William & Mary Law Review

A few years before the Supreme Court formally overruled Chevron, anti-administrative activists successfully prohibited judicial deference to reasonable exercises of interpretive discretion by regulatory agencies in a handful of receptive states. State governments’ treatment of this issue is likely to generate even more attention in Loper Bright’s wake. This Article presents novel case studies of four different ways in which state governments have prohibited deference to state agencies by state courts: (1) judicial decisions in Mississippi and Ohio, (2) a constitutional amendment proposed by an appointed commission and adopted pursuant to the initiative process in Florida, (3) statutes …

Evidence-Based Practices And Us State Government Civil Servants: Current Use, Challenges, And Pathways Forward, Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Leslie Thompson, Shuping Wang, Jules Marzec, Chengxin Xu, Weston Merrick, Patrick Carter

Center for Policy Design and Governance

This brief summarizes "Evidence-based practices and US state government civil servants: Current use, challenges, and pathways forward," co-authored by Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Leslie Thompson, Shuping Wang, Jules Marzec, Chengxin Xu, Weston Merrick, and Patrick Carter in Public Administration Review.

Seeing Is Believing: Exploring The Mechanisms Of Lens Regeneration, Jenna Loporcaro

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

Regeneration in Iberian ribbed newts provides hope for researchers to study the fundamental pathways of elaborate tissue renewal, especially within eye lenses. These newts maintain a rare capability to fully regenerate destroyed body parts including limbs and eye lenses, giving them a reputation as an ideal organism for regenerative studies. Completed in Dr. Sousounis’s lab at the University of New Hampshire, this investigation focuses on the cellular processes of newt lens regeneration, particularly with the impact of Yamanaka factors. Through cellular development observation, along with gene expression and signal pathway analysis, this research aspires to recognize crucial factors that drive …

Using Rna Sequencing To Investigate Cerebral Gene Expression In Cactus Mice, Sarah Nicholls

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

As extreme environments like deserts expand due to global climate change, biologists are looking to the weird and wonderful creatures that live within them to instruct conservation efforts. The cactus mouse is one of the most hardcore desert specialists: It has adapted to be able to live its entire life without drinking water, and the MacManes evolutionary genomics lab at UNH, where I’ve worked for the past three years, is dedicated to finding out how. For my Honors senior thesis in biochemistry, supported by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I conducted a transcriptomic study to investigate the root instigator of …

Low-Cost Lidar Lens Autofocus System For Cinema Cameras, Nolan Juneau

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

In the motion picture industry, one of a cinematographer’s jobs is to move the plane of focus of the camera’s lens to line up with a subject so that it is sharp and “in focus.” This job is usually fulfilled manually by an assistant cameraperson (or “focus puller”), but sometimes, manual focus pulling is impractical. This is especially true for extremely technical shots on high-end shoots or for lower-budget shoots that cannot afford extra crew members. In recent years, systems have been created to pull focus automatically (known as “autofocus”), but many of the technologies that exist for cinema equipment …

Stress, Mental Health, And Their Role In Reward-Based Decision-Making, Amanda Wittemann

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

People tend to prefer immediate rewards over rewards available only in the future, even when the latter rewards are larger. This phenomenon is known as temporal discounting. In this study, we examined how temporal discounting relates to both acute and trait level stress as well as mental health related distress (e.g., anxiety and depression symptom severity). Participants (N=120) were randomly assigned to listen to either a calming piece of music or a stress-inducing piece of music while making a series of choices between immediate and delayed rewards (e.g., $10 now or $20 in a month). After, participants completed self-report questionnaires …

Mane Pulling And Stress Response: Investigating The Welfare Impact Of An Equine Husbandry Practice, Rowan Grzeszkiewicz-O’Neill

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

This study assessed stress response in horses during mane pulling, a practice that involves using a metal comb to tear out hairs in order to create an even and thin mane for horse showing. Seven horses from the UNH equine program were tested under three conditions: the experimental condition, during which they had their manes pulled; the baseline condition, in which they were not handled during testing; and the control condition, where the horse’s manes were brushed using a hairbrush. I collected data on heart rate, how frequently horses showed certain behaviors, and the temperature of a structure of the …

Jolie Wormwood: Associate Professor Of Psychology, Brigid C. Casellini

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

Jolie Wormwood is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of New Hampshire. Below is our correspondence with Dr. Wormwood about her own research and her mentoring experiences with undergraduate students.

Spring 2025 Inquiry Journal: Table Of Contents, Brigid C. Casellini

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

No abstract provided.

Tales Of The Seres And Silk: Roman Perceptions Of The Far East And Silk Within The Empire, Karter Mingze Hanley

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

Research into the social, economic, and political impacts of the Silk Road, a former network of international trade routes linking the Roman and Chinese empires, has proliferated since the late nineteenth century. However, there is no comprehensive, modern examination of Roman portrayals of the Seres, the people producing silk in the east, or attitudes towards silk in Roman society. To examine these two topics, I worked closely with seven passages discussing the Seres or silk. These passages, all coming from different Roman authors, spanned diverse ancient genres and various timeframes from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE …

Vervet Monkey Orphans Raised Via Surrogacy And How Their Behaviors Differ From Those Of Vervet Monkeys Born And Raised Biologically, Morgan Breen

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

Increasingly higher rates of orphan Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are ending up in rehabilitation centers all over Africa. This species is viewed as a pest and is often hunted or killed by humans, however, they play a vital role in their ecosystem. They also have extremely complex social hierarchies, living in large matriarchal troops which makes them difficult to rehabilitate. Through the use of surrogate mothers, orphans can learn survival skills and be reared without relying solely on human care. This study aims to assess how to provide these orphaned monkeys with the best chance of survival once released by …

Understanding The Conceptions Of “Fascism” In Our Contemporary Political Climate, Travis Dean-Ploof

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

The prominent “checklist” and analogical approaches of trying to pin down the characteristics that do and do not constitute fascism cause consistent disagreement around the meaning of the term (e.g., How many traits make a regime fascist?). This distracts us from understanding what fascism is and recognizing its potential presence and implications in our modern politics. Without developing a critical understanding of the term, I fear that its use will develop into an empty political smear that distracts from genuine concern about oppressive politics. In this project, funded by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I geared my inquiry toward the …

The Short-Term Effects Of Fluctuating Sleep Timing On Cardiovascular And Metabolic Health, Gabe Dennett

Inquiry Journal Spring 2025

This study investigates the short-term effects of an acute circadian fluctuation protocol on the cardiovascular and metabolic health of young recreationally active college students. While the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation on a person’s health are wide reaching and well established, circadian misalignment—the discrepancy between biological clocks and external cues—remain under investigated. This research highlights “social jet lag,” a common phenomenon among young people wherein inconsistent sleep and wake times driven by social, school, work, or other commitments creates irregularity in hormonal rhythms, autonomic, and metabolic processes; emphasizing the emerging recognition that not just how much we sleep, but when …

Experimental Investigation Of Heat Transfer To Tightly Packed Cylinder Arrays, Cameron M. Sexsmith

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

With the increased emphasis on the development of hybrid electric aircraft and other electric driven vehicles, the thermal demand on batteries is increasing. Unique to the aviation sector is the combined need of high battery thermal loads and a light-weight thermal management system. A proposed configuration is an array of batteries directly cooled with a dielectric coolant. The knowledge of heat transfer characteristics of battery cooling is becoming an ever pressing issue due to the need to optimize volume and mass in a safe manner. Tighter spacings between batteries provide higher pack densities, however, at the cost of increased cooling …

Frequency Of Variants In Mendelian Alzheimer’S Disease Genes Within The Alzheimer’S Disease Sequencing Project, Dongyu Wang, Alexandra Scalici, Yanbing Wang, Honghuang Lin, Achilleas Pitsillides, Nancy Heard-Costa, Carlos Cruchaga, Ellen Ziegemeier, Joshua C Bis, Myriam Fornage, Eric Boerwinkle, Philip L De Jager, Ellen Wijsman, Josée Dupuis, Alan E Renton, Sudha Seshadri, Alison M Goate, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Adni), The Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project, Anita L Destefano, Gina M Peloso

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background:

Prior studies examined variants within presenilin-2 (PSEN2), presenilin-1 (PSEN1), and amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes. However, previously-reported clinically-relevant variants and other predicted damaging missense (DM) variants have not been characterized in a newer release of the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP).

Objective:

To characterize previously-reported clinically-relevant variants and DM variants in PSEN2, PSEN1, APP within the participants from the ADSP.

Methods:

We identified rare variants (MAF< 1%) in PSEN2, PSEN1, and APP in 14,641 individuals with whole genome sequencing and 16,849 individuals with whole exome sequencing available (Ntotal = 31,490). We additionally curated …

Graduate Studies Newsletter (Spring 2025), Csusb - Office Of Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Grief Into Growth: Msw Portfolio, Shelby Ann Lampi

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Meridians 24:1, Ginetta Candelario, Basuli Deb

Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism

No abstract provided.

Insights From The Field: An Exploration Of Approaches And Trends Utilized By Illinois School Social Workers., Rachel Jenkins

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

School social workers (SSWers) support students facing adversity by advocating for their social-emotional well-being while navigating academic mandates. SSWers address behavioral and emotional challenges that impede student success, often rooted in trauma, mental health, disabilities, or challenging circumstances. However, less is known about the array of approaches SSWers utilize when working with students. As such, this study aimed to understand the current approaches and trends of SSWers in Illinois when working with youth who face adversity. Researchers utilized a cross-sectional mixed methods approach employing survey research with scaled and open-ended questions. The Illinois School Social Workers Association (IASSW) aided recruitment …

Harnessing Habeas Corpus: Women's Battles Against Coercive Psychiatric Institutionalization, Andy Knopik

Digital Legal Research Lab

No abstract provided.

Vol 70 #2, Rebecca Chavez

MPLA Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Arts & Literature: Another Roadside Attraction: Pol Pot's Pyre, Craig C. Etcheson

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This piece summarizes the author’s 2001 trip to Anlong Veng, Cambodia, to visit the location of Pol Pot’s cremation near the former headquarters of the Khmer Rouge guerilla movement. The paper describes the terrain that must be traversed in order to get there, and the individuals one encounters along the way. In the process, aspects of Cambodian history and culture are revealed.

Seasonal Wages And Program Outcomes In Wisconsin’S Non-Profit Outdoor Education Industry, Michael H. Schneck

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Non-profit outdoor education is an important tool that helps participants build meaningful relationships and positive perspectives of the natural world. Many non-profit outdoor education programs in Wisconsin rely on seasonal staff to fulfill the mission and vision of their programming through meaningful and tedious work. Because these staff are asked to help facilitate ideal program outcomes, it is important to analyze how seasonal wages for these roles influences staff effectiveness. This case-study analyzes the relationships between wages and program outcomes through the lens of human capital and workforce development and equity theory to better understand what most notably influences seasonal …

Medicaid Patient Experiences With Nurse Practitioners And Other Providers: A Big Data Analysis, Deanna Jan Emory, Thomas A. Kippenbrock

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is a current and ongoing shortage of primary care providers that is projected to increase through 2034. Over the last decade, this shortage has resulted in increased reliance on nurse practitioners and physician assistants to fill the gap. The pur-pose of this study was to investigate Medicaid recipients’ experiences with their respective primary care providers using responses from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems database with a focus on nurse practitioners compared to other provider types identified. Responses from 68,761 Medicaid recipients were analyzed. The results showed that Medicaid recipients’ scores for nurse practitioners were comparable to …

Full Issue 18.3

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Women’S Access To Transitional Justice In Timor-Leste: The Blind Letters, Sheena M. Harris

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

How Does Adult Foster Care Affect Mental Health Outcomes In California?, Christopher A. Stanley

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Mental health in adult foster care is an important threat to the overall mental health of the citizens of California. Mental health has challenged professionals and recipients of adult foster care. Although mental health and adult foster care have had some connections (i.e., people with mental health issues typically live in adult foster care), the mental health effects of living in an adult foster care have been overlooked. In particular, mental health has been separated from general medical issues and has been overlooked as a necessary part of a person's overall health. This capstone paper will draw upon the literature …

How Michigan Can Leverage Early College High School Programs To Increase Post-Secondary Enrollment And Graduation Rates, Jason W. O'Connor

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Michigan has experienced a significant and sustained decline in postsecondary enrollment rates. A continued shortage of college graduates poses serious implications for the state’s economic future and workforce preparedness. In response to this trend, Early College High School (ECHS) programs have emerged as a promising strategy to increase college enrollment and degree attainment by reducing financial barriers and supporting traditionally underrepresented populations. This capstone paper draws on document analysis and a quantitative survey of student interests to advocate for the expansion of ECHS programs in Michigan.

Key Factors That Influence The Successful Implementation And Sustainment Of Dei Within Probation Departments, Natalie Martinez

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

The successful implementation and sustainment of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives within probation departments is essential to create a fair and just criminal justice system. This paper examines the principal elements that impact the implementation and sustainability of DEI practices in probation settings. This research identifies best practices and challenges in integrating DEI principles into organizational structures by analyzing existing literature, case studies, and policy frameworks. The findings highlight the importance of leadership commitment, policy integration, and measurement, as well as an environment that fosters an inclusive culture. Additionally, the study examines barriers such as resistance to change, policy …