Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Provider Diversity On Racial Health Disparities: Evidence From The Military, Michael Frakes, Jonathan Gruber

Faculty Scholarship

We assess the relationship between the racial diversity of medical providers and racial health disparities in the use of preventive care and in patient outcomes. We use unique data from the Military Health System, where we observe providers as patients so that we can identify their race, and where moves across bases change exposure to provider race in a plausibly exogenous fashion. We consider patients with four chronic, deadly, but manageable illnesses, where the relationship with the provider may have the most direct impact on health. We find striking evidence that provider racial diversity leads to reduced disparities in maintenance …

The Eighth Amendment And Prison Staff-To-Sentenced Prisoner Sexual Violence, Matthew Lyskawa

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, I provide the first comprehensive account of lower federal courts’ Eighth Amendment prison conditions jurisprudence regarding prison staff-to-sentenced prisoner sexual violence. I show that lower federal courts are systematically misunderstanding and misapplying Supreme Court case law in this context. The result is that sexually victimized prisoners must meet extremely burdensome doctrinal standards unique to sexual violence claims. Lower federal courts would faithfully follow Supreme Court precedent if they applied the excessive force standard to sexual assault claims and the conditions of confinement standard to sexual harassment claims. However, a faithful application of Supreme Court case law does …

Leveraging Ai, Iot, And Predictive Analytics For Crisis Management And Urban Resilience In Dubai, Suhail Bin Kalli

Theses

The thesis will discuss how smart technologies could be incorporated in the crisis management structures of Dubai to make the city more resilient. As Dubai grows more urbanized, it experiences increased problems with managing its crisis especially in the high population density places, traffic congestion, utility disruption, and extreme weather. This paper discusses how artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and predictive analytics can be used to ameliorate the response to emergencies, manage the allocation of resources, and enhance the coordination between different agencies. The crisis management systems at Dubai are still ineffective despite the level of technologies …

Enhanced Pulsar Timing Precision For The Era Of Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Sofia V. Sosa Fiscella

Theses

In 2023, several international collaborations comprising the International Pulsar Timing Array achieved a major scientific milestone with the first detection of a signal in pulsar timing observations consistent with the signature expected from a stochastic gravitational wave background, created by an ensemble of unresolved supermassive black hole binaries in the early Universe. The next breakthrough in the field is expected to be the first detection of a continuous wave from a single such binary, which would allow us to better understand their evolution and that of our Universe. However, this feat will require unprecedented precision in our timing measurements. To …

Predicting Student Academic Performance Using Behavioural And Parental Engagement Data From Learning Management Systems, Saeed Alfalasi

Theses

This paper explores how behavioral, academic, and parental engagement data provided within the xAPI-Edu-Data dataset can be used to predict the academic performance of students when training on machine learning models with supervised learning. Due to the developing demands of the data-driven initial selection of the learners under risk, the study will create a valid and explainable predictive model that can consider the most significant factors of student success in Learning Management System (LMS). The research is based on behavioral engagement and self-regulation learning theories; the observations included in the analysis of student interaction, i.e. resource usage, classroom engagement and …

Understanding Computer-Mediated Human Experience In Digital-Physical Hybrid Space, Jiangnan Xu

Theses

With the rapid development of mobile and immersive technologies, the boundary between the digital and real world is increasingly blurred, giving rise to hybrid spaces. Hybrid spaces have permeated daily life and reshaped spatial meaning-making and social interaction. Despite their growing prevalence, empirical understanding of human experiences in hybrid spaces remains limited. If left unexamined, hybrid spaces risk becoming technology-centered rather than human-centered environments that overlook socio-cultural dimensions, potentially leading to harmful consequences for individuals and society. To investigate human experience in hybrid spaces, this thesis comprises five studies and uses gameful systems as research probes. Prior literature identifies collaboration …

Predicting Undergraduate Fallout And Success, Ammar Ahmed Alzarooni

Theses

Universities need to uncover students who are likely to drop out early and do something about it. It should be easy to find and use this information. This thesis evaluated interpretable machine-learning models (MLMs) for predicting three final student outcomes including Dropout, Enrolled and Graduate, using solely demographic, administrative/financial and first-semester academic variables. Study employed publicly accessible Portuguese UCI student retention dataset (4,424 records) and incorporated end-of-Semester-1 feature window to prevent look-ahead leakage and align with actual advising cycles. We trained and compared models using stratified validation, explicit class-imbalance handling and decision-threshold optimization to make dropout detection most critical factor. …

No Harm, No Foul: Investor Loss And The Future Of Sec Disgorgement, Evan Barth

Western New England Law Review

It is a foundational principle of law that no one should profit from their own wrong. In the securities context, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforces that principle through disgorgement, a remedy designed to deprive violators of unjust enrichment and deter misconduct. Although disgorgement has long played a central role in securities enforcement, its legal scope has recently become unsettled. In Liu v. SEC, the Supreme Court held that disgorgement must maintain traditional equitable principles. Shortly thereafter, Congress amended the securities laws providing the SEC its authority for disgorgement.

These developments have led to a circuit split over how …

Paying Up To Uncle Sam: Fbar Penalties, The Eighth Amendment’S Excessive Fines Clause, And A New Circuit Split, Christopher J. Nasta

Western New England Law Review

The Bank Secrecy Act requires those with foreign financial accounts to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Those who do not file are subject to a variety of criminal and civil penalties.

The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that excessive fines cannot be levied by the American government against individuals. How does this apply to those with foreign financial accounts who willfully choose not to file the required reporting forms with the United States government? A circuit split has arisen …

Tempering Trademark Tactics: Alloying Anti-Slapp Laws With Massachusetts’ Proven Petition Principles, Brian A. Pattengale

Western New England Law Review

Legitimate criticism of corporate actions or rights creates a free speech dilemma. When speech implicates or even indirectly relates to a trademark, costly litigation can arise where a plaintiff trademark holder is positioned to, or even obliged to, bury a defendant with numerous attendant claims only tangentially related to substantive trademark issues. If those claims are well-pled, the trademark holder succeeds in defeating constitutional speech rights unless the defendant mounts First Amendment defenses against the attendant claims at great cost.

Where a defendant’s speech—trademark or otherwise—is of public value, such lawsuits have been termed strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). …

Evolving Execution Methods: The Constitutionality Of Nitrogen Hypoxia Through Pain, Precedent, And Practicality, Reem Haikal

Western New England Law Review

Method-of-execution challenges have intensified as lethal injection protocols face chronic instability. This Article evaluates whether execution by nitrogen hypoxia violates the Eighth Amendment and argues that it does not. The analysis applies Baze and Glossip to two questions: whether nitrogen hypoxia presents a substantial risk of severe pain and whether a feasible and readily implemented alternative would materially reduce that risk. This Article synthesizes historical Eighth Amendment principles with the contemporary record from executions by nitrogen hypoxia, related litigation materials, medical testimony, and physiological literature on inert-gas hypoxia.

The evidence indicates that nitrogen hypoxia typically produces rapid loss of consciousness …

A Cautionary Tale: A Case For Abolishing The Addict-Inpossession Statute On Constitutional Grounds, Jonathan Bruce

Western New England Law Review

Are drug users second-class citizens under the Second Amendment? The Federal Government enacted the Gun Control Act in 1968 which imposed heaps of new regulations relating to private gun ownership, including enacting criminal statutes, namely 18 U. S. C. §922(g), which allows an individual to face charges if that individual is categorized under any of § 922(g)’s enumerated subsections. In 2010, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in District of Columbia vs. Heller, establishing the right of the people to own and possess firearms for self-defense, regardless of any association with “the militia” as described in the …

Ai Policy In Virginia Public Schools: A Comparative Analysis, Jesse Senechal, Jamelle Simmons, Jonathan D. Becker, Melissa Ware, Michael Broda, Kindy Anderson, Eric Byers, Kiana Bradford, Thea Racelis, Meleah Ellison

MERC Publications

This MERC research and policy review explores policy implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in Virginia public schools. It is part of a two part series with a companion report focused on AI implications for PK-12 teaching and learning. The report has two parts:

1. A review of the AI policy landscape around PK-12 education
2. Virginia AI policy analysis

It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations for PK-12 policy and practice.

Ai In Pk-12 Education: Implications For Teaching And Learning, David Naff, Meleah Ellison, Casey Bailey, Tzu-Wei Wang, Kiana Bradford

MERC Publications

This research and policy review from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) explores the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for teaching and learning in public PK-12 education. It is part of a two part series with a companion report focused on AI implications for PK-12 policy. The report explores two questions:

1. How is AI shaping teaching and instructional practice?
2. How is AI shaping student learning and development?

It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations for PK-12 policy and practice.

Banking Vs. Tech: The Fight For The Future Of Money, Gopika Shah

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Access Over Impact: Reorienting Oira’S Meetings With The Public, Griffin S. Kenny

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Emails: The Political Economy Of Higher Education Under Executive Assault, Christopher D. Thomas

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Volume 76 Issue 4 (2026), Case Western Reserve Law Review

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Symposium - Federal Research, Academic Speech: The Legal Limits Of Executive Authority In Higher Education, Case Western Reserve Law Review

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address – Dei Executive Orders, Dear Colleague Letters, And The Constitution, Bryan Adamson

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction – Academic Freedom And Vulnerability, Elizabeth L. Rosenblatt

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Essay – Rethinking The Fund Termination Sanction, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rights In Theory, Detention In Practice: The Constitutional Paradox Of Guantánamo Bay, Fatimah A. Elghazawi

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Essay – When Disability Is Different: Reasonable Accommodations And Higher Education Dei, Katherine A. Macfarlane

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Academic Freedom’S Demise, Ruth Colker

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discrimination Through The Direct Threat Defense: A Case Study Of Healthcare Providers With Hiv, Melinda R. Week

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Banned, Burned, And Bound: Increasing Protections Surrounding Students’ Right To Receive Information In K-12 Schools, Catherine A. Mcclure

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Safeguarding Public Pensioner Standing After Thole, Evelyn L. Stein

Vanderbilt Law Review

Today, public American pension funds hold over $6 trillion dedicated to rewarding the labor and stabilizing the retirements of millions of employees. These funds are facing increased scrutiny as activists draw more awareness to controversial investment strategies, resulting in litigation by plaintiffs arguing funds inappropriately prioritize goals other than financial returns. Structurally, many public funds operate with a defined benefit (DB) model, meaning fund beneficiaries are guaranteed specific payouts based on factors such as years of service and age at retirement. Because of this DB model, such litigation has been stymied by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Thole v. …

Who Invests In Crypto? Revealed Types And Economic Drivers Of Retail Investment, Darren Aiello, Scott R. Baker, Tetyana Balyuk, Marco Di Maggio, Mark J. Johnson, Jason Kotter

Faculty Publications

Using transaction-level data from millions of U.S. households, we provide the first comprehensive characterization of retail cryptocurrency investment. Crypto investors are distinguished not by demographics but by a latent behavioral type revealed through consumption patterns—one that also predicts higher participation in traditional equity brokerages. The economic forces driving crypto investment, including income shocks, workplace peer effects, and inflation exposure, mirror those driving traditional investment. Crucially, households whose consumption matches the crypto-investor profile are more responsive to all these drivers across both asset classes, suggesting that investor type is a more relevant distinction than asset class.

When To Bite Back: Queerness, Resistance, And Reclamation Of The Monstrous Identity In Andrew Joseph White’S Hell Followed With Us, Aster J. Mehigan Mx.

English

Who gets the right to define morality? Who gets to define what is monstrous? Frankenstein’s Creature, the vampires of Lost Boys, The Craft’s head witch Nancy Downs; these characters follow a pattern through the decades of those alienated from society, in this case being written with queer subtext, being deemed as monstrous. These queer monsters become the villains of the story, causing chaos, death and destruction in their wake, seeking revenge against a world that ostracizes them. The 2022 dystopian YA horror of Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White challenges the villanized monstrous identity through its transgender protagonist …