Digital Commons Network^™

Exposing The Truth Behind The Stanford Prison Experiment, Leo Novack

Young Historians Conference

In 1971 Philiip Zimbardo, a Stanford University professor, designed an experiment to study human behaviors in the prison system. He sought to understand the effectiveness of the prison system, however, the experiment ended early due to the ethical concerns toward participants. It is considered one of the most important psychological experiments, not for what it helped reform, but for what it pointed out about the importance of safety for research participants. Calling upon primary sources from participants and the researchers’ findings, as well as secondary sources primarily from psychologists and research ethics, the research reveals that this study was unreliable …

The Compass, Issue 12

The Compass

No abstract provided.

The Roots And Risks Of Domestic Violence: A Holistic Review For Law Enforcement, Kiley Elsenpeter

Master of Arts in Human Services

Domestic violence (DV) is a global issue that disproportionately impacts women, producing harmful consequences for victims, families, and the community. DV involves a multifaceted interplay of individual, social, cultural, and policy elements, with intimate partner violence (IPV) representing the primary risk factor for intimate partner homicide (IPH), highlighting male-perpetrated DV as a focal concern. This review of existing literature thoroughly elucidates the predominant roots, consequences, and risk factors associated with DV, underscoring the significance of cultural awareness, trauma-informed care (TIC), and the application of evidence-based risk assessment tools within law enforcement (LE) frameworks. LE officers are uniquely positioned to detect …

Understanding The Needs Of The Intellectually And Developmentally Disabled And Autistic Population In The Criminal Justice System, Emily Sateary

Master of Arts in Human Services

This paper explores the inequitable treatment of the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled and Autistic (IDD/A) population in the criminal justice system. Although progress has been made over the past century with understanding the unique needs of this population, they still face challenges at all stages of the criminal justice system. Behavioral, social skills, and sensory challenges make it difficult for the IDD/A population to avoid criminal justice contact and to understand the criminal justice process. Insufficient training for police and attorneys harms both persons with IDD/A and criminal justice professionals. This paper examines current practices in place that are barriers …

Next Time, There Will Be No Next Time: The Short Vs. Long Term Policy Debate For Catastrophe, Analyzed Through Major Events In The United States Of America During 2020, Lauren K. Barlow

Politics Honors Papers

What accounts for citizens’ policy preferences between short-term payoff and long-term investment policies? How are these beliefs impacted by the personal construction of time horizons in relation to “end of times” experiences or disasters? In this research study, I will investigate whether the year 2020 shifted certain demographic groups either towards or away from supporting long-term investment policies in the three aforementioned areas. I compare the preferences of sample groups of Americans before, during, and after 2020, to determine whether the endurance of this time period shifted individuals towards a “Never again” or a “Not Now” mentality, and what the …

Bars, Barristers, And Bias: A Content Analysis Of Legal Plays, Evan Chartock

Media and Communication Studies Honors Papers

This content analysis paper investigates the portrayal of the legal profession onstage within legal dramas first performed in the twenty-first century. There has been no previous research that has focused on a comprehensive analysis of the specific content of legal dramas, so this study is exploratory in nature. This study emphasizes the importance of learning about the content characteristics of legal plays and legal characters. This content analysis seeks to answer two research questions. First, do playwrights of legal plays first performed between 2000-2024 belong to similar identity demographics, write about similar content, and/or have similar messaging regarding the notion …

Impact Of Restorative Practices On School-Age Students' Social-Emotional Development, Nicklaus A. Costa

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper explored the impact restorative practices have on the social-emotional development of school-age children. This topic is discussed through research on implementation, perceptions, and lived experiences with restorative practices. The participants of these studies consisted of administrators, staff, and students from elementary, middle, and high schools around the world. The administrators and staff had varying years of experience, and the student participants encompassed many different demographics. Results from the studies reveal three key aspects of social-emotional development for students. These three aspects were relationship building, empathy, and accountability. Additionally, participants generally felt restorative practices and the tools contained within …

Remaking Rulemaking: Lessons From The History Of Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 54(B), Brad Baranowski, Emery G. Lee Iii

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article uses the lost history of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) to provide a framework for rulemaking at the busy intersection of complex litigation and appellate finality. The drafters of the original civil rules spent more time thinking through how to efficiently combine claims and parties in civil actions—a promised benefit of the proposed law-equity merger—than about how combined claims should be dis-assembled. This failure would haunt the original Advisory Committee on Civil Rules for years. Nowhere was this more evident than in the first decades of Rule 54(b)’s existence.

Promulgated in 1938, Rule 54(b) was designed to …

Using Gamification To Teach Cybersecurity In A Social Science Course: An Experience Paper, Roderick Graham, Medina Williams

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Meta-reviews of gamification suggest that gamifying course instruction can positively impact learners' behaviors and attitudes, leading to improved learning outcomes. However, there is a lack of literature relaying concrete experiences with developing and deploying gamified content. This experience paper contributes to filling that gap by describing the deployment of gamified instruction to students enrolled in a mid-level university social science course. These experiences are organized around four more or less chronological questions the project team needed to answer: (1) why gamify – or what is the rationale for undertaking such an endeavor, (2) what content should be gamified, (3) what …

The Impact Of Erlinger V. United States On State Recidivist Sentencing Laws, Chad Flanders

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

In Erlinger v. United States, the United States Supreme Court ruled that finding that an offender had committed two felonies “on separate occasions” under the Armed Career Criminal Act had to be done by a jury, not a judge. In one respect, the decision is narrow: it is an extension of the Court’s Apprendi jurisprudence. But in another respect, the decision is far-reaching. As some state appeals courts have already realized, the decision makes unconstitutional state laws that give the judge—rather than the jury—the power to decide whether someone is a “persistent” or “habitual” offender based on whether a …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 04.28.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School Hosts Inaugural Affinity Alumni Reunion Weekend
• Yusef Salaam shares message of justice, faith, and legacy at Notre Dame Law School
• American Constitution Society selects ND Law's Varun Cidambi as a 2025 Next Generation Leader
• Faculty profile: Professor Svitlana Khyliuk, leading expert in criminal justice and the European human rights system

Faculty Briefs

• Last week, Paolo Carozza was interviewed by a variety of news outlets in connection with 11 new published decisions by the Meta Oversight Board.
• Carter Snead appeared over the weekend on LiveNOW from FOX in a ten-minute interview about the direction …

The Unwanted Child: A Historical Note, Lawrence M. Friedman

Cleveland State Law Review

Historically, the illegitimate child was unwanted: was "filius nullius," or nobody's child—a child without rights, and socially stigmatized. In many ways, both law and society conspired against these children. But both literature and the living law demonstrated that, in the 19th century, there were pockets of sympathy and understanding for these children. And the status of the illegitimate child changed over the years: both with regard to inheritance rights, and to position in society. Adoption law also made the unwanted, wanted—at least by the adopting parents. The marital status of parents became legally and socially more and more irrelevant over …

Wound Ballistics With The Focus On Projectile Deformation, Nikita Khanov

D.U.Quark

Terminal ballistics, also called wound ballistics, is a field of ballistics that studies the projectile behaviour upon impact with a target. While the physical damage induced by the projectiles (typically bullets) and its medical treatment is well-researched, the deformation that the projectile itself undergoes is often underestimated in importance, and the research on this topic is lacking, although such changes can be a valuable source of forensic evidence. This review evaluates the deformation that occurs to non-fragmenting and various fragmenting bullets upon impact, as well as the effect that the body decomposition has on the bullets. The knowledge and understanding …

How To Be Unique: A Guide To The Law School Admissions Process, Abigail E. Bjerke

Master's Projects

The law school admissions process can be a difficult thing to navigate, especially with updates that occur each year throughout the process. Therefore, this guide to law school admissions aims at making said admissions process easier to understand for all law school candidates. In the guide, there are several chapters regarding specific steps in the admissions process alongside an extended literature review of already existing guides or relevant articles.

Critical Themes From Nyls’S Education Justice Symposium, Samantha C. Pownall

NYLS Community News

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Artificial Intelligence On Trial Courts, Alexys Zellner

Honors Projects

Artificial Intelligence has quickly entered the realm of everyday life. Without extensive testing, there have been issues surrounding transparency, accountability, and biased decisions made by Artificial Intelligence decision-making algorithms. When a political institution—such as the courts—uses these types of tools, there is a chance that the negative attributes will impact the institutions and actors using them. The court system relies on legitimacy and public approval to enforce its laws and decisions. This study aimed to determine whether the use of Artificial Intelligence would lead to a decrease in public approval and legitimacy of the courts, as well as diminish perceptions …

The Implementation Of Higher Education In The Prison System In Mississippi: The Challenges And Benefits, Elizabeth F. Ratliff

Honors Theses

Growing support for higher education in prison has sparked much conversation regarding the challenges and benefits of the programs and their implementation. In Mississippi, this has become an increasingly prevalent issue as the incarcerated population continues to grow and programs continue to be limited in accessibility. Mississippi’s incarcerated population deserves the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through higher education to better themselves individually and better their communities upon release. However, Mississippi faces unique challenges in its prison system, preventing the benefits of these programs from showing. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the challenges and …

Improve Your Tomorrow Advocates, Lala Mosqueda, Alicia M. Aldana

Service Learning Showcase

This project attempts to improve the awareness of our program, Improve Your Tomorrow, to more schools, communities and parents. With Improve Your Tomorrow, we work to enhance the chances of young men of color of getting into college and furthering their education. The program addresses the systemic barriers and opportunity gaps that often limit educational access for underrepresented groups particularly in underserved communities. By promoting IYT’s mission and services more broadly, this project seeks to build stronger partnerships with local schools, engage parents and guardians, and connect with community leaders who can help guide students toward success. Through survey's and …

Bridging The Gap: Empowering Young Men Of Color In Higher Education, Jay Wang, Aleecia Silva, Dari Tran

Service Learning Showcase

Our service site, Improve Your Tomorrow, is dedicated to creating a future where young men of color are overrepresented in higher education and underrepresented in the criminal justice system. In contributing our part to seeing this mission through, we have explored the systemic barriers that make college inaccessible to this demographic of students. Based on our experiences working with primarily African American and Hispanic students at Improve Your Tomorrow, we have observed firsthand the challenges they face in navigating high school and pursuing higher education. Our research has identified four key barriers that contribute to these challenges, which are highlighted …

The Fellows Food Pantry, Alexis N. Mcadams, Evangelina Sanchez, Mario Sanchez, Sebastian Cruz

Service Learning Showcase

This project focuses on creating a sustainable food pantry for the Boys and Girls Club to address food insecurity among youth and their families. For many students, the meals they receive at school are their primary or only source of daily nutrition, highlighting the urgent need for accessible food resources outside of educational settings. By partnering with local organizations such as the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton, the pantry aims to provide consistent access to nutritious food. The goal is to create a lasting resource that supports the well-being of children while strengthening community ties.

Pathway To Focus: Creating A Space For Regulation And Learning, Michaella Queen Allen, Jessica Baldo, Ticho Castillo

Service Learning Showcase

As part of the University of the Pacific's College Corps, our group decided to create a project to help improve student focus, emotional regulation, and well-being through structured movement. Inspired by observing the teacher aides at Colonial Heights taking short walks with students and the research on the benefits of movement-based learning, we developed the sensory hallway project at Colonial Heights to provide an inclusive and engaging space where students can regulate their energy levels and emotions while also enhancing their concentration.

A sensory hallway specifically refers to a designated pathway created by placing interactive panels and tactile surfaces with …

Presiding Over A Legal Desert: The Disappearance Of The Rural Attorney, Emilio J. Chavez

Idaho Law Review

No abstract provided.

Child Rape And The Death Penalty, Rosemary Ardman

Idaho Law Review

The act of rape on an eight-year-old body is a matter of the needle giving because the camel can’t. The child gives, because the body can, and the mind of the violator cannot.

- Maya Angelou

In May 2023, Florida authorized the death penalty for the sexual battery of a child under twelve. This policy quickly sparked a wave of similar legislation. Tennessee capitalized child rape in May 2024, followed by Idaho in March 2025. These laws—passed with strong bipartisan support in each state—challenge the Supreme Court to overrule Kennedy v. Louisiana, a controversial 2008 decision holding that the …

How Science Denial And Christian Perceptions Shape Policy, Isabella Mednis, Caroline Byrne

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This presentation will focus on the public perceptions of Christianity and how they differ from how Christians believe they are perceived, compared to a rising disregard for the scientific consensus. Over the 2025 Spring semester, we worked in a group of two students, in pursuit to understanding the undeniably related uptick in faith based executive orders and science denying policies. We were able to demonstrate the importance in societal acknowledgment of science and different ways of thinking because polarity cause misleading public policy. Through this project, we fortified our understanding of the complexity of science denial and religion.

How Political Instability Affects Migration Crises And Refugees' Risk For Human Trafficking: A Chicago Case Study, Emily Mordeson

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

“[A] student from the Congo, his mom, while she was fleeing their village, had to hide under a bush and birth him and then just … keep going” (F, 2r). Political turmoil in countries around the globe has dramatically increased the likelihood of forced migration among numerous populations,1 playing a role in their increased risk of victimization by human trafficking (HT).2 In recent years, Chicago, IL, has received an influx of migrants coming into the country at unprecedented rates, worsening issues such as acquiring legal status and inhibiting access to resources. This study explores the relationship between political instability, migration …

Missing The Mark: Uncovering Gaps In Young Adults Investment Knowledge, Sophia Mayo

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

Food Insecurity And Racism, Grace Casey, Kerri Feuilly, Samantha Martel, Shamika Saint-Hilaire, Ella Smith

Academic Festival

Throughout the United States, food insecurity is a growing issue. Poor or disrupted eating can have severe consequences on mental and physical health. Food insecurity can lead to malnutrition, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression, and even PTSD. There are various factors that can increase the chances of experiencing food insecurity including socioeconomic status, education levels, household size, gender, race, ethnicity, and disability (Feeding America, n.d.). Certain races, ethnicities, and genders are more likely to experience food insecurity leading to questions about the impact of discrimination. Racism and racial discrimination are experienced throughout various institutions, organizations, and aspects of life …

The Effect Of Self-Affirmation On Emotional Memory, Chloe Briggins, Madison Conklin, Cassidy Williams

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

Black, Asian, And First-Generation Students Report Fewer Opportunities To Belong In College, Gabriela Gomez, Aleksandra Kozak, Jenna Costa

Academic Festival

A sense of belonging in college is essential for students’ academic success, yet opportunities to belong may be inequitable along racial-ethnic and social class lines. We asked two questions: (1) How do belonging opportunities vary within and across (a) higher education institutions and (b) racial-ethnic and social-class groups? (2) What predicts opportunities for belonging? We gathered data from a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a social-belonging intervention at 22 U.S. colleges and analyzed 15,143 control-group students’ belonging opportunities. Students were classified into one of 374 local-identity groups (LIGs) based on their race-ethnicity, first-generation status, cohort, and college. We measured their …

Family And Caregiver Reports Of Their Child With Autism’S Interactions With First Responders: A Pilot Study, Taylor C. Sadewic, Addison P. Oneill, Sophia L. Boughey

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors. Current prevalence rates indicate 1 in 36 people have ASD, accounting for around 30,000 Montanans. With increasing rates of diagnoses, it is inevitable that first responders will encounter individuals with ASD. Due to differences in communication styles and reactions in high stress social situations, interactions can look different than with other members of the community. Research shows that interactions between individuals with autism and first responders are often unsatisfactory from the perspective of their parents and/or caregivers. There is a lack of training …