Digital Commons Network^™

Different Destinations: Clarifying And Addressing Pipeline Problems For Women In Academic Archaeology, Scott R. Hutson, Jaycee Castro, Bruno Athie Teruel

Anthropology Faculty Publications

In STEM fields, women tend to leak out of the pipeline to the professoriate. In archaeology, however, robust databases and chronological control reveal that there is no leakage from earning a PhD to tenure-track positions. Nor is there a leak from assistant professor to associate professor. Nevertheless, men get hired as faculty in PhD programs more often than women. This is important because PhD programs are research-intensive and train future leaders. Furthermore, women PhD students have women as advisers more than often men and report advantages to this arrangement. Yet with fewer women faculty in PhD programs, women mentors are …

The Morphological Affinities Of The Fossil Cranium From Kabua, Kenya, Abel Marinus Bosman, Laura Tabitha Buck, Hugo Reyes-Centeno, Marta Mirazón Lahr, Chris Stringer, Rainer Grün, Qingfeng Shao, Katerina Harvati

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Our current understanding of the origins of Homo sapiens is limited, in part, by the fragmented fossil record from Late Pleistocene and early Holocene Africa. Here, we re-examine the Kabua 1 cranium, an enigmatic and little-studied Kenyan fossil discovered in the 1950s. We compare virtual reconstructions created previously by our team with a wide range of Middle Pleistocene to Early Holocene fossils and recent African H. sapiens crania to assess Kabua 1's morphological affinities. We also provide a conservative new Uranium-series minimum date of 64.4 ± 5.4 ka. Our results highlight Kabua 1's broad similarity to derived H. sapiens, both …

Chirp Imaging In Extant Lakes And Reservoirs, Kevin L. Woller, Edward W. Woolery, Eva C. Lyon, Michael M. Mcglue

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Compressed high-intensity radiated pulse (CHIRP) acoustic reflection data acquired in lakes and other shallow water bodies can provide detailed imaging that is valuable for environmental and engineering geology applications well below the sub-bottom floors. However, it is often unclear to non-specialists which acquisition settings should be considered to achieve optimal imaging quality when beginning a new survey, particularly in an unfamiliar environment. We review fundamental concepts for optimizing signal design using coincident CHIRP lines from two extant glacial lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California: Convict Lake and June Lake. As part of the optimization process, seismic data were …

Telling God’S Story, Growing Families

Books

No abstract provided.

"Queens Of Ghost-Land" 134 Years Later: Un-Masking An Appalachian Witchcraft Accuser, Aine Norris

English Faculty Publications

In 1891, newspapers across America printed a story about witches in the Appalachian Mountains and the alleged powers they possessed to control their small farming community. The article was scathing in accusation and ultimately contributed to continued othering of the women profiled, increasing their visible vulnerabilities of class, gender, and societal status. Despite an implied familiarity with the region, the article was published with initials for its byline, an act that simultaneously identified the author to locals as historian Eva Grant while offering her anonymized national protection as a subject expert. For over five years the accusations were re‐printed in …

Moving Forward With Purpose: Aadej Adopts New Mission, Vision, And Values Statements, Jasmine Shafagh Dmd

AADEJ - The Communicator

Regular feature from the president of AADEJ, Dr. Jasmine R. Shafagh with the latest updates from AADEJ.

Little Minds, Big Emotions, Marissa Fattorusso

Entry Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects Class of 2026

Little Minds, Big Emotions is a doctoral capstone project designed to support the development of emotional regulation skills in preschool-aged children through the areas of program development, education, and clinical skills development. Emotional regulation is an essential component of children' s participation, social interactions, and overall well-being, yet many young children experience difficulties identifying emotions and using effective calming strategies. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop and implement a developmentally appropriate, play-based emotional regulation curriculum for preschool children while also providing educational resources for caregivers. This program was implemented three days a week for 14 weeks at …

Ambiguity's Final Auer: Insisting On Consistency After Loper Bright Enterprises, Shannon S. Pickrell

Emory Law Journal

Can one lose something they still have? Apart from this potential brainteaser, a common sense understanding of loss requires an item to actually be removed from its owner. Nevertheless, under the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines, an interpretive rule automatically punishes convicted defendants for money they never took by including “intended loss” in the definition of loss. This interpretive rule multiplies the number of years a defendant spends in prison due to the doctrine of Auer deference, even though such a rule is not supposed to have the weight of law. Auer deference requires courts to defer to agency interpretations …

Silver Lining In A Soap Opera: A Boon For Hospital Debtors In The Midst Of In Re Steward's Madness, Mackie S. Garwood

Emory Law Journal

Lost in the technical jargon of the Medicare Statute and Bankruptcy Code are the powers to shape the posterity of hospitals that serve the American public. Distressed health care providers are increasingly turning to Chapter 11 relief, and ultimately the deal market, to salvage their businesses and fully monetize their assets. In the frequent event of an unsuccessful reorganization, hospital failures tank the health and well-being of their surrounding communities.

Hospital buyers regularly acquire a debtor’s Medicare Provider Agreement (Provider Agreement), a one-page form which credentials providers to participate in Medicare. In re Steward Health Care System, LLC, the …

Remedying Labor Violations Of The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement On Both Sides Of The Border, Lourdes A. Perez

Emory Law Journal

The labor provisions of the United States’ Free Trade Agreements contain language that allows labor violations to seep through unpenalized. Parties to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) sought to rectify this by drafting the most comprehensive labor provisions of any free trade agreement to date by crafting the Facility-Specific Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM). This Mechanism provides that a particular facility found to be in violation of the USMCA labor provisions must enforce a remediation plan that preserves workers’ rights or face the threat of losing its preferential trade status. The most salient way facilities breach the USMCA’s labor provisions is …

Coerced Corporate Consent, Jason J. Jarvis

Emory Law Journal

Corporations are not human beings, but they have rights, including the constitutional right of due process. The United States Supreme Court recently held in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. that due process is satisfied when a state requires that a corporation consent to personal jurisdiction before it can conduct business in that state. The Court did not analyze, however, whether such business registration statutes can be coercive and, if so, when. These unanswered questions expose corporations to previously unexplored risks.

Involuntary consent is an oxymoron. Consent must be knowing and voluntary, and consent extracted by threat is coerced and …

Is The Gig Really Up?: Exploring Statutory Protections For Moonlighting Workers, Chiazom E. Ugo-Obi

Emory Law Journal

Moonlighting, side hustles, and part-time jobs often refer to secondary employment pursued by employees. While the terminology may vary, the underlying reality remains the same: Legal protections against an employer’s ability to restrict such activities are limited. Nothing stops employers from implementing policies or employment contracts prohibiting participation in additional employment. For many workers, holding an additional job is not a choice born of passion or professional fulfillment but a financial necessity driven by rising costs, stagnant wages, and economic instability. These workers, often already vulnerable within the labor market, face significant challenges when employers impose restrictive policies that limit …

Renormalizing The Nondelegation Doctrine, Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., Hon. A. Richard M. Blaiklock

Emory Law Journal

In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court held that with respect to regulations that involve “major questions”—meaning questions of “great political or economic significance”—the agency seeking to regulate a major question must successfully identify “clear congressional authorization” for its actions. The major questions doctrine (MQD) essentially creates a new nondelegation doctrine rule. The nondelegation doctrine requires that Congress provide an “intelligible principle” when it delegates policymaking authority to a federal administrative agency; the MQD, in turn, enforces the nondelegation doctrine by requiring Congress plainly and directly to authorize an agency to regulate major questions. It is difficult to …

Genes For Sale!, Anya E.R. Prince

Emory Law Journal

In March 2025, 23andMe, the flagship direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company, filed for bankruptcy. Just like that, the genetic information of fifteen million customers was up for sale to the highest bidder, creating a firestorm of reactions from the public, media, state attorneys general, and legislators warning of the dire outcomes that could arise from the sale of such sensitive data. The warnings seemed reasonable, as federal law does little to protect consumers from the widespread sale and misuse of their genetic data.

Yet, in retrospect, the public concerns and media frenzy could potentially be seen as excessive given the …

Unlikely Criminals: Inside The Ivf Drug Grey Market, Maybell Romero

Emory Law Journal

In this Article, I admit to committing crimes, specifically buying fertility drugs on the in vitro fertilization (IVF) drug grey market. Drawing from personal experience, I explore how people wanting to undergo IVF turn to the criminalized fertility drug grey market to access necessary but prohibitively expensive fertility medications that would otherwise be out of reach. In the absence of comprehensive insurance coverage, patients often rely on informal online communities to obtain medications at lower prices, often from other patients whose IVF cycles have been canceled or who have excess drugs. While these transactions fulfill a critical need, they also …

Making Environmental Cancer Risk Legally Visible: Legal Epidemiology, Chemical Regulation, And The Failures Of Cancer Cluster Investigations, Beverley C. Thompson

Emory Law Journal

Environmental cancer risks remain difficult to detect, investigate, and remediate despite decades of federal regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Cancer cluster investigations are designed to identify unusual patterns of cancer and their environmental causes, but fragmented authority, inconsistent methodologies, and narrow investigative frameworks routinely prevent these investigations from addressing population-level harms. By failing to detect and address cancer clusters, public health systems inadvertently perpetuate environmental injustices, disproportionately harming communities already underserved and overburdened by pollution.

These failures are not merely scientific but reflect legal and institutional design choices that determine which cancer risks are visible, investigable, and …

County-Level Surveillance For The American Dog Tick (Dermacentor Variabilis) And Rickettsia Species In Kentucky, Callista W. Vandegriff, Jun Seok Ryoo, Maria C. Carrasquilla, Anna Rosalee Pasternak, Wayne T. Sanderson, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis includes a group of illnesses with similar symptoms caused by Rickettsia species bacteria. While Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a well-known pathogen, other SFG Rickettsia spp. can infect ticks and occasionally contribute to human disease. We conducted county-level surveillance of Dermacentor variabilis ticks in Kentucky to characterize the distribution and diversity of SFG Rickettsia. Ticks were collected from the environment from 2019 to 2024 by dragging a white cloth and through our Kentucky Tick Submission Program. In total, 2,023 D. variabilis ticks were collected from 114 …

Evolutionary Transitions In Social Behavior Are Associated With Convergent And Partially Reversible Expansions Of Transcription Factor Binding Sites, Savanna G. Ploessl, Beryl M. Jones

Entomology Faculty Publications

The evolution of sociality involves shifts in physiology and behavior, most notably the emergence of a reproductive division of labor. Within social colonies, these distinct behavioral phenotypes arise from differential regulation of a shared genome. Changes in transcription factor (TF) binding motifs are one potential mechanism underpinning this plasticity, with prior studies suggesting that social species exhibit expansions in TF binding sites. However, it remains unclear whether motif expansions are reversed when sociality is lost. Here we analyze predicted TF motif occurrences across gene promoters in 42 bee species spanning millions of years of evolutionary divergence and multiple independent gains …

Dissolution Or Restructuring? Fiscal Implications For Taxpayers In Special Tax Districts: A Case Study Of The Reedy Creek Improvement District, Tasha Huber

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Although extensive research has examined the creation and function of special tax districts in the U.S., little research has been done regarding the fiscal and governance implications of dissolution of these entities. This study examines the fiscal outcomes of dissolution versus restructuring special districts, using the former Reedy Creek Improvement District as the primary case study. Using a qualitative approach, the analysis compares restructuring and dissolution cases in California, Vermont, and Tennessee. Drawing on publicly available material such as financial documents, media coverage, and legislative records, this research evaluates impacts on taxpayer burden. Findings suggest that dissolving large, active special …

Expenditure Management Strategies For Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability In South Korea, Jaehyun Ryu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This capstone examines strategies for managing government expenditures to secure long-term fiscal sustainability in South Korea. Although South Korea currently maintains a relatively low public debt-to-GDP ratio compared with other OECD countries, rapid population aging, slowing economic growth, and the continued expansion of mandatory expenditures pose significant long-term fiscal risks. Given the political and economic constraints associated with tax increases and growth-led debt management, this study focuses on expenditure management as a primary and feasible policy instrument for sustaining fiscal soundness.

The research combines empirical analysis with comparative case studies. First, the study examines the relationship between government debt and …

A Comparative Policy Analysis Of Lung Cancer, Maternal Mortality, And Obesity, Destiny M. Rucker, Rhonda M. Lawson, Trinity Olmstead

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky has significantly poorer outcomes than peer states across key women's health indicators. This capstone focuses on lung cancer, maternal mortality, and obesity to evaluate the structural and policy factors behind these disparities. Using a quantitative comparative research design, the study analyzes secondary data from sources including CDC WONDER, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), America’s Health Rankings, and the March of Dimes. Data were analyzed in Excel to create comparative figures, benchmarking Kentucky’s outcomes against the U.S. average and four regional peer states: Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia. These states were chosen for their demographic and geographic similarities …

Ai Data Center Boom: An Analysis Of Economic And Legislative Impacts, Shelby Jackson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The United States is currently experiencing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) data center boom due to increased demand for generative AI following the launch of models such as ChatGPT. Data centers, particularly hyperscale data centers, have become a flashpoint due to environmental and public health concerns, along with rising utility costs. Although more than 70% of Americans do not want data centers in their community, state and local governments often offer tax incentives to attract data center development with the aim of job creation and tax revenue.

This study assessed whether the financial benefits that AI data centers may offer state …

A Comparative Analysis Of Governance And Financial Frameworks In Public Transit Systems: A Case Study Of Lextran And Peer Transit Agencies, Kelin E. Beattie

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Public transportation serves as a vital community "lifeline," providing essential mobility for the 45% of Americans without private vehicle access and generating a 5-to-1 economic return on investment. This research investigates a critical fiscal paradox within Lextran, the transit authority for Lexington, Kentucky: despite achieving a cost per passenger trip 22% lower than the national peer average, the agency faces a $25.95 million unfunded capital gap over the current five-year planning horizon. Utilizing a comparative case study methodology, this paper evaluates the "rules of the game"—the hybrid governance and fiscal frameworks—that influence long-term financial sustainability.

The study benchmarks Lextran against …

Balancing Accountability And Efficiency: A Policy Review Of The City Of Toledo's Purchasing Contract Threshold, Jennifer L. Baskey

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Municipal procurement policies are intended to balance fiscal accountability with the efficient acquisition of goods and services necessary to support public operations. One of the primary mechanisms used to achieve this balance is the establishment of purchasing thresholds that determine when formal contracts are required. While these controls are essential for protecting public resources, procurement policies should also evolve to reflect changing economic conditions and contemporary public-sector management practices.

The City of Toledo currently requires formal contracts and legislative approval for purchases exceeding $10,000 pursuant to Toledo Municipal Code, Chapter 13, Section 228 (City of Toledo Municipal Code, 2026). This …

Allocation And Governance Of Opioid Response Funding In Rural Kentucky: A Case Study Of The Big Sandy Area Development District, Hayley M. Mccarty

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The opioid epidemic continues to present significant public health, economic, and administrative challenges throughout the United States, with rural Kentucky experiencing some of the nation's highest rates of opioid-related morbidity and mortality.

Effectively responding to this crisis requires not only adequate financial resources but also transparent governance, coordinated implementation, and accountability for how public funds are distributed.

This study examines the allocation, governance, and implementation of opioid response funding within the Big Sandy Area Development District (BSADD), a rural multi-county region in eastern Kentucky. Using a qualitative case study and policy analysis approach, the research evaluates four primary funding sources: …

Best Practices For Budgeting In Small Non-Profit Organizations: The Arts Commission Of Danville/Boyle County, Esther Rugerio

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Nonprofit arts organizations face unique financial management challenges due to limited staffing, restricted funding sources, and fluctuating revenue streams. This thesis examines the Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County located in Danville, KY. It identifies opportunities to strengthen financial oversight, accountability, and long-term sustainability. Using a qualitative research approach and document-based analysis, the study evaluated organizational budgets, governance documents, and nonprofit financial management best practices.

The findings revealed several areas for improvement, including reliance on line-item budgeting, recurring use of carry-forward funds, limited board financial oversight, fiscal sponsorship complexities, and a lack of formal financial policies. Recommendations include adopting a program-informed …

Should Kentucky Adopt A Formal Statewide Framework To Address The Local Fiscal Effects Of Tax-Exempt Public Universities On Host Communities?, Trina Shields, Catie Baumstark

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky’s public universities provide significant educational, economic, and workforce development benefits to the Commonwealth. However, because these institutions are exempt from local property taxes, questions arise about the fiscal effects on the communities that host them. While the benefits generated by universities extend beyond municipal boundaries, the fiscal effects of tax-exempt property are often concentrated within host communities. As universities expand their campuses and acquire additional property, local governments may face increased demands for public services without a corresponding increase in property tax revenue.

This study examines whether Kentucky should adopt a formal statewide framework to address the local fiscal …

Defamation, Privacy, And The First Amendment: Cases & Problems (3rd Ed.), George Biashvili

Books

I created this resource in anticipation of teaching my Torts II class, which will primarily explore defamation and privacy torts. Though I searched for a suitable coursebook, I found that none contained all of the opinions I consider essential for teaching the nuances and complexities of these subjects. Additionally, I wanted to spare my students the exorbitant price tags associated with traditional law school texts. Hence, I assembled a collection of relevant privacy and defamation cases that align with the objectives of my course. Each case is accompanied by a set of questions to further stimulate class discussion. Where I …

Calculus In Context: The Five College Calculus Project, James Callahan, Kenneth Hoffman, David Cox, Donal O'Shea, Harriet Pollatsek, Lester Senechal

Open Educational Resources: Textbooks

Calculus in Context: The Five College Calculus Project is a thorough reframing of what it means to learn calculus. It starts with a “clean slate;” there is no presumptive commitment to any aspect of the traditional course. Instead, the curriculum is guided by the following principles:

• Calculus is fundamentally a way of dealing with functional relationships that occur in scientific and mathematical contexts. The techniques of calculus must be subordinate to an overall view of the underlying questions.
• Technology radically enlarges the range of questions we can explore and the ways we can answer them. Computers can be engaged as …

Limits On Damages For Breach Of A Forum Selection Clause, Coyle, John, Monestier, Tanya

Santa Clara Law Review

When a plaintiff sues in a court other than the one designated in a forum selection clause, the defendant’s remedial options are limited. It can ask the court to dismiss the case outright. Or it can ask the court to transfer the case to the designated forum. The defendant typically cannot, however, recover money damages—in the form of attorneys’ fees and related expenses—that it incurs in the course of persuading the court that transfer or dismissal is appropriate. This is because the conventional wisdom among judges has long been that damages are not available for breach of a forum selection …