Digital Commons Network^™

An Examination Of Remittance Inflow Variation In Net-Emigration Countries, Andrew Rizko

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the structural and institutional determinants of remittance inflows in a panel of 40 net-emigration countries from 2000 to 2024. By restricting the sample to countries with negative average net migration, the analysis holds migration pressure constant and isolates the role of domestic conditions in explaining cross-country variation in remittance dependence. Using fixed effects and correlated random effects (Mundlak) estimators, I find that labor force participation is the most robust within-country determinant: a one percentage point increase is associated with approximately a 2.3 percent decline in remittance inflows, consistent with remittances functioning as a structural need in contexts …

Bringing The Outdoors In Through Biophilic Design, Gabriela Miotto Leal

Architectural Studies Honors Papers

This thesis investigates the relationship between architecture, human perception, and well-being through the lens of human-centered and biophilic design. Drawing from philosophical traditions, phenomenology, and contemporary neuroscience, this thesis argues that the built environment is an active agent in shaping cognition, emotion, and lived experience. Architecture is understood as multisensory, embodied, and temporally experienced, influencing individuals in both conscious and nonconscious ways. Through a comparative analysis of three case studies, Paimio Sanatorium, AEA House, and the Amazon Spheres, this research examines how biophilic design principles are incorporated into different contexts such as healthcare, residential, and workplace. Each project demonstrates a …

Federated Data Engineering And Learning For Edge Intelligence Systems, Afsaneh Mahanipour

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

The rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and cyber–physical systems (CPS) in domains such as smart healthcare, intelligent transportation, and industrial automation has led to unprecedented volumes of heterogeneous data. While advances in deep learning and large-scale foundation models have enabled powerful data-driven decision making, their deployment in real-world distributed environments remains fundamentally constrained by limited computation, communication bandwidth, energy resources, and data privacy requirements. This dissertation addresses these challenges by developing novel federated learning frameworks and efficient federated data-processing pipelines that make large-scale artificial intelligence practical, scalable, and trustworthy in resource-constrained settings. This dissertation identifies data preprocessing …

Toward Efficient And Scalable Scientific Data Management Through Quality-Oriented Data Compression, Pu Jiao

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Scientific simulations and instruments now produce data at rates that overwhelm the storage, memory, and network subsystems of modern high-performance computing (HPC) facilities. Error-bounded lossy compression reduces data movement costs while bounding reconstruction error, yet three barriers limit its adoption in mission-critical workflows: existing compressors cannot guarantee the accuracy of domain-specific quantities of interest (QoIs) derived from compressed data; compression-induced artifacts such as posterization, blocking, and interpolation banding erode user confidence in decompressed fields; and significant compressibility in the quantization index arrays of interpolation-based pipelines remains unexploited. This dissertation addresses all three barriers through four contributions, with the artifact barrier …

Advancing Generative Methods For Multimodal Data Analysis, Rabeya Tus Sadia

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

The integration and modeling of high-dimensional, heterogeneous biological data remain central challenges in computational biology due to complex feature dependencies and pervasive missingness. This dissertation addresses these challenges by developing novel generative frameworks for multimodal data reconstruction, imputation, and interaction prediction. In generative modeling, we focus on capturing structural and causal dependencies in sparse biological systems. We first introduce CausalGeD, a causality-aware diffusion framework that leverages Granger-causal attention for biologically coherent spatial gene expression generation. Next, we propose CausalGenDiff, which combines VAE-guided latent representations with causal diffusion to enable robust reconstruction across spatial and single-cell modalities. We further present DepMicroDiff, …

Recalibrating Article 102 Tfeu In The Digital Economy: The Apple App Store (Music Streaming) Decision And The Rise Of Hybrid Platform Enforcement, Arletta M. Gorecka

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This case comment analyses the European Commission’s 2024 decision fining Apple €1.84 billion for imposing anti-steering provisions on music streaming apps in the App Store. The decision marks a significant development in the application of Article 102 TFEU to digital platform ecosystems. By characterising Apple’s conduct as an exploitative abuse of dominance, the Commission addressed restrictions that limited consumer information, increased subscription prices, and reduced user choice within the iOS environment. The case illustrates the hybrid nature of Article 102 TFEU, bridging exploitative and exclusionary theories of harm in two-sided digital markets. It also highlights structural features such as network …

Yars 19(33)

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

YARS Vol. 19(33)

'Guide The Tide' - Supervision Of International Medical Graduates In The Emergency Department: A Mixed Methods Study, Purnasankar Bhowmik

Theses

Australia’s emergency departments (EDs) have experienced significant stress since the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in the number of patient presentations, a lack of in-patient beds for the disposition of admitted patients and long waiting times are contributing factors jeopardising patient safety. In addition, the shortage of skilled staff to look after patients in the ED is the paramount concern currently and moving forward. Similarly to many other specialty areas of medicine, EDs rely on international medical graduates (IMGs) to fill the gaps in the medical workforce. However, concerns have been raised regarding IMG diversity in training requirements, clinical skills and …

Surface Properties And In-Vitro Bioactivity Studies Of Tio2 Nanowire Doped Transition Metal (M=Fe, Co, And Mn), Misriyani Misriyani, Enayah Enayah, Z. Ryan Tian, Andi Meutiah Ilhamjaya

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

This study investigates the influence of transition metal (Fe, Co, Mn) doping on the surface properties and in-vitro bioactivity of TiO2 nanowires. It aims to elucidate how transition-metal doping alters the surface behavior and biological response of TiO2 nanowires, enabling their potential use in biocompatible and magnetically responsive materials. Magnetic TiO2 nanowires doped with transition metals (Mx+/TiO2) were successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method using titanium dioxide in alkaline solution. Cations were added with Ti/Mx+ molar ratios of 5 to produce Fe/TNW, Co/TNW, and Mn/TNW. Characterization using SEM and XRD determine their surface properties. In-vitro bioactivity tests were conducted by …

Health Care Fraud And The End Of Chevron, Joan H. Krause

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

What do the Environmental Protection Agency’s “plantwide” definition of a “stationary” pollution source,” a National Marine Fisheries Service determination of who pays for fishing boat observers, and a Department of Health and Human Services rule governing the marketing of prescription drugs have in common? In short, a government agency’s interpretation of a federal statute. All three cases go to the heart of the administrative state: the ability of an agency, staffed by experts in the field, to interpret static statutory language to offer practical guidance to an ever-evolving industry.

The same is true of health care fraud, although it is …

Contrasting Visions Of Age: Manifestations Of Ageism In Law, Art, And Health Care, Janet L. Dolgin

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

Ageism has befuddled the law’s attempts at remediation. Each “ism” (e.g., sexism, racism) differs from the others. Ageism, however, differs fundamentally from other “isms.” That difference explains the law’s failure to limit it. This article describes the difference, and it explains why that difference has rendered ageism resistant to legal remedies. Legal scholars and gerontologists have asked why the law’s efforts to limit the bias, stigma and discrimination that stem from ageism have largely failed. A remarkable framework for responding to that query derive from literary and artistic depictions of old people over time.

This article has identified shifting visions …

Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques For Infertility: How Legal Barriers Harm Patients And Children, Kerry Lynn Macintosh

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

Recent studies show that mitochondrial replacement techniques (“MRTs”) can help women with poor egg quality and repeated IVF failures get pregnant and deliver healthy children. Unfortunately, infertile Americans can derive no hope from this promising development.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) claims jurisdiction over novel assisted reproductive technologies. Fertility clinics and doctors who want to provide MRTs must submit an investigational new drug (“IND”) application to the FDA and wait for approval before proceeding with clinical trials. However, for the past decade, Congress has enacted an annual appropriations rider that precludes the FDA from acknowledging receipt of applications …

English Only: The Increasing Problem Of National Origin Discrimination In Federally Funded Clinical Research, Sarah Reckess

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act prohibits institutions receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. The term “national origin” includes people with limited English proficiency (“LEP”). The number of LEP residents has increased in the United States to over 10% of the residents in the most populous states (Texas, California, New York, Florida, and Nevada). Executive Order 13166, issued in 2000, requires all federal agencies to comply with Title VI by establishing guidelines that remove language barriers to federal programs, services, benefits, and activities. Additionally, it allows federal agencies to withhold funding …

Community Influence In Streamlined Siting Regimes, Danielle Stokes, Uma Outka

Law Faculty Publications

Siting energy infrastructure has long been contentious, but growing local opposition to new energy projects in the U.S. – notably, wind and solar facilities – has drawn nationwide headlines. The legal context for energy siting varies across U.S. states, with local control being a dominant model. Against this backdrop, several states have adopted legislation to facilitate renewable energy siting by adjusting decisional authority between the local and state level.

This article evaluates these reforms at a time marked by change and uncertainty within the energy sector. Bipartisan support for infrastructure permitting reform generally has gained momentum in recent years, often …

Friday Night Rights: Ornamental Use In Collegiate Sports Merchandising, Isabel Mury Carvalho

Law Student Publications

University logos and insignias—once limited to athletic uniforms and official stationery—now appear on everything from high-end apparel to mass-produced mugs. Collegiate merchandising is a massive industry, generating $14.8 billion in 2023 alone. Infringers have followed close behind, producing look-alike goods that blur the line between authorized merchandise and unauthorized imitation. ...

A Terrorist In Death Only: How The Death Penalty Fills The Gap In Federal Terrorism Law, Caroline Alden Mcbride

Law Student Publications

In the absence of a federal statute criminalizing domestic terrorism, the United States turned to an unlikely proxy: the death penalty. This Comment argues that capital punishment is used to define domestic terrorism, particularly when statutory tools cannot capture white supremacist attacks. Although former President Biden commuted most federal death sentences to life imprisonment without parole, three individuals whose attacks met the legal definition of domestic terrorism were excluded from clemency. Examining several cases from Timothy McVeigh to Luigi Mangione reveals a trend of defendants whose crimes meet the legal definition of domestic terrorism receiving the death penalty, even when …

Under Pressure: Delaware, Corporate America, And Certified Questions, Derek S. Hubbard

Law Student Publications

With an advanced corporate code and a highly respected Court of Chancery, Delaware has long been America’s home for big business. But its status may be in jeopardy. Within the past year, the Court of Chancery has shattered two market practices and reminded stakeholders of the uncertain nature of fiduciary duties. Corporations have responded. Termed “DExit,” corporations are leaving Delaware for competing jurisdictions, namely Texas and Nevada. As corporations leave Delaware, so do their tax dollars. Delaware’s fiscal stability is directly tied to the continued presence of corporate charters in Delaware. Delaware residents enjoy a low tax burden, with the …

The Freedman's Savings Bank And Financial Literacy Education, Alexis Ann Ballance

Law Student Publications

In the United States, white, non-Hispanic individuals possess approximately seven times the wealth of Black individuals. One recent study found that for every 100 dollars in wealth held by a white household, a Black household holds about fifteen dollars. This disparity in wealth accumulation is referred to as the wealth gap, and it has historically stratified along racial lines. Although income inequality contributes to this disparity, the racial wealth gap is much more pronounced and continues to grow. ...

The Future Begins Today: A Case Study On Retirement And Hsa Decisions, Bonnie R. Albritton, Amy Foshee Holmes, Stephan A. Stewart

School of Business Faculty Research

This case study explores retirement and health plan decisions faced by many students who are newly hired as full-time employees. Students are drawn into the storyline of two former college classmates and friends as one accepts a full-time position after graduation and the other seeks a master's degree in accounting. The accounting student takes on the role of a consultant to research retirement and health plan options, calculate the impact on take-home pay, and estimate taxable income and related taxes. Learning objectives for the case include understanding how the tax consequences differ between retirement plans, explaining the attributes of a …

Developing Empathy In Business Students Through Humanities-Based Study Abroad: An Exploratory Empirical Study, Jorge Colazo, Makiko Fukuda, Katsuo Nishikawa Chávez

School of Business Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

International Cocoa Trading Arrangements Between Industrialised And Developing Countries 1951–1999: A Structural Gravity Analysis, John Brown, Xenia Matschke, Juan René Rojas Rodríguez

Economics

Using a state-of-the-art structural gravity model, we investigate the impact of various (post-)colonial cocoa trading arrangements on the cocoa trade between developing cocoa producer countries and rich industrial cocoa consumer nations in the time period 1951–1999. We find that in particular the trading arrangements of the European (Economic) Community (EEC/EC), such as the Association, Yaoundé and Lomé Agreements, as well as the UNCTAD International Cocoa Agreement, had a measurable positive impact on cocoa trade flows, in contrast to the British Commonwealth partnership or the GATT Generalised System of Preferences. In particular, the Yaoundé Agreement not only increased the trade between …

Rebuilding The Ship Of Theseus: Navigating Faculty-Librarian Relationships Through Changing Waters, Alan Witt

Milne Library

The Ship of Theseus is a philosophical paradox that poses a question of identity: If you repair every plank of a ship, replacing each with new wood, at what point does the ship cease to be the same ship? This is a useful metaphor for academic liaison librarians to consider when thinking about outreach to departments: your relationship to a department as a whole consists of the component connections, which change as individuals retire or leave. The goals of this chapter are to acknowledge the primacy of relationships in library outreach (and the consequences to the library of those relationships …

A Literature Review On Ethics In Medical Diagnostic Ai & Analysis Therein, Connor J. Turetzky

Master's Theses

Artificial Intelligence presents a very promising future in medicine. Being able to diagnose and recommend treatments quickly is vital in ensuring positive patient outcomes. However, the new technology is not without risk. In this narrative literature review, the risks of AI in terms of bias, ethics, and environmental impact will be explored through existing research. This paper will focus on research published between 2019 and 2026, highlighting the major ethical and systematic problems currently facing diagnostic AI. Historical bias in medical data has led to AI that share those biases, and humans inherit that bias creating a potential negative feedback …

Substitutive And Augmentative Delegation In Genai-Assisted Shopping: Perceived Benefits, Constraints, And Consumer Tension, Kexin Meng, Monsumi Singha Mahapatra, Jing Jian Xiao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping consumer shopping by introducing new forms of decision support while also creating new tensions. Using the technology paradox perspective as a sensitizing theoretical lens alongside delegation theory, this study examines how perceived GenAI benefits (process efficiency, personalization, creative discovery, and immersive experience) and constraints (hallucination potential, privacy intrusiveness, algorithmic opacity, and information biases) are associated with performance ambiguity, emotional ambivalence, and autonomy threat through substitutive and augmentative delegation-related use patterns. Using survey data from 438 Chinese consumers, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) showed that process efficiency was negatively associated with substitutive delegation …

Ritual Transformation, Deity Embodiment, And Nagualism In Formative Period Oaxaca, Mexico, Jeffrey S. Brzezinski, Guy David Hepp

Anthropology Faculty Publications

A hallmark of ancient Mesoamerican art and religion is the ability of ritual practitioners, sometimes called “shamans,” to transform. The Olmec were-jaguar is a well-known example of the phenomenon. Artifacts from different regions demonstrate that these beliefs involved many animal and spiritual entities and a porous boundary between humans and other beings. In this article, we examine the archaeology of ritual transformation in Preclassic or Formative period (2000 BC–AD 250) Oaxaca, Mexico. As links between the physical world and other dimensions, altered bodies reflect negotiated relationships among people, animals, ancestors, deities, and landforms. Traditional interpretations of transformational art have oversimplified …

Ask Me 3® In Action: Advancing Health Literacy In Pediatric Acute Care, Yaseming Medina

2026

This evidence-based practice project evaluated the implementation of the Ask Me 3® health literacy tool in a pediatric perioperative setting to improve caregiver understanding of medical information and communication with healthcare providers. Findings suggest that Ask Me 3® supports health literacy and caregiver engagement, while patient experience measures related to nurse communication, listening, and caregiver comfort improved following implementation.

Precision In Practice: Subject Matter Expert Integration To Support Excellence In Population-Specific Documentation, Sara Pump, Mary Hawes, Lauren Spain, Virginia Kasenic, Meagan Talent, Alivia Stewart, Carrin Shaw, Chad Gautreaux, Dori Cousin, Ponesea Allen, Jonathan Rowe

2026

This poster describes a quality improvement initiative that integrated psychiatric resource nurses as subject matter experts (SMEs) into clinical documentation workflows to improve documentation compliance for high-risk behavioral health patients. The intervention resulted in substantial improvements in charting accuracy and compliance, including an increase in emergency department documentation compliance from 28% to 95% over seven months, while enhancing staff education, collaboration, and patient safety.

Occupational Human Papillomavirus Exposure Risks For Laryngeal Surgeons And Phoniatricians: A Joint European Laryngological Society (Els) And Union Of European Phoniatricians (Uep) Delphi Clinical Consensus Statement, Shiying Hey, Alberto Maria Saibene, Milan Amin, Jennifer Anderson, Christoph Arens, Simon Best, Guillermo Campos, Craig Derkay, Gauthier Desuter, Frederik G. Dikkers, Isabel Garcia-Lopez, Ahmed Geneid, Anastasios Hantzakos, Markus Hess, Yakubu Karagama, Marina Mat Baki, Napur Kapoor Nerurkar, Daniel Novakovic, Haldun Oguz, Shazia Peer, Jasmine Prasad, Carlo Robotti, David Vokes, Chi-Te Wang, Malgorzata Wierzbicka, Michal Zabrodsky, Nicolien Van Der Poel

Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) Faculty Publications

Purpose

Laser surgical management of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related disease, such as recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), in the upper aerodigestive tract generates surgical smoke, which may represent a source of occupational viral exposure for laryngeal surgeons, phoniatricians, anesthesia providers and scrub nurses. Despite growing awareness, protective measures remain inconsistently implemented. This study aimed to develop an evidence-informed clinical consensus statement (CCS) to guide occupational HPV risk management in laryngology.

Methods

A modified Delphi consensus process was conducted under the auspices of the European Laryngological Society (ELS) and the Union of the European Phoniatricians (UEP). A panel of 26 international experts undertook …

Insuring Algorithmic Liability: A Response To Artificial Intelligence, Judicial Evolution, And Insurance, Daniel Schwarcz

Articles

No abstract provided.

Responding To Social Isolation: The Tole Of Chaplaincy In Addressing Social Determinants Of Health (Sdoh) In Pediatric Contexts, Adam Lubbers, Forest Melton, Simbarashe Sigauke, Sophie Le

2026

This poster describes a pilot program that integrated chaplaincy services into the care pathway for pediatric patients and families who screened positive for low social support, a key social determinant of health. The findings suggest chaplain-led interventions provide effective emotional, spiritual, and practical support, helping address social isolation, caregiver burden, financial insecurity, and other health equity concerns while offering culturally responsive care.