Digital Commons Network^™

Amicus Incorporated, Adam N. Eckart

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

Attorneys have long advanced change through the court system—including through high-stakes, high-profile litigation in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. Attorneys appearing before the Court often represent individuals, nonprofit organizations, or the gov-ernment, and often seek to drive social reform through the platforms of their organizations. But attorneys representing big businesses also advo-cate for change through action at the Supreme Court. While businesses are not new to speaking out in front of the Court, they have become in-creasingly active in cases focused on social issues, including by submit-ting amicus briefs to the Court in support of a …

Justice For The Accomplice: Minnesota's 2023 Accomplice Liability Amendment And Its Shortcomings, John M. Thompson

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Vicarious Liability In Sexual Misconduct Cases In Minnesota, Mike Steenson

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

Employers are vicariously liable for torts committed by their employees acting within the course and scope of their employment. The predominant test turns on whether the employee acted, at least in part, out of a desire to serve the employer’s interests. That test is problematic in cases involving intentional torts committed by an employee, particularly in sexual assault cases. Existing vicarious liability rules have been heavily criticized for the motive rule’s limiting effect, even where the nature of the employment may facilitate the tort. A minority of jurisdictions impose vicarious liability in cases where the tort is a characteristic risk …

Premium Injustice: Addressing The Harms That Cash Bail Premiums Inflict On The Non-Convicted, Jeffery L. Young

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Applying The Indian Commerce Clause To Indian Commerce, Adam Crepelle

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Indian country commerce generates tens of billions of dollars annually and is a constant source of litigation. These disputes typically revolve around jurisdictional conflicts: whether states, tribes, or both possess regulatory authority over the business operating in Indian country, particularly those involving non-Indians. Despite numerous court cases, no clear legal framework has emerged, creating pervasive uncertainty regarding fundamental issues, such as state taxation of tribal transactions and the proper forum for resolving Indian country contract disputes. Interestingly, these commercial cases overlook the Indian Commerce Clause—the constitutional provision designed to address such matters.

This Article argues the Indian Commerce Clause prohibits …

Amorphous Selenium Photodetectors For Liquid Noble Detectors, Michael Rooks

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Physics offers a way to connect deeply with the mysteries that surround us. Advances in detector physics, particularly in neutrino experiments and rare-event searches, have expanded our ability to probe phenomena that challenge how we describe the universe. Each discovery brings us closer to understanding the unknown, returning us to a sense of wonder that motivates exploration. My work on detector technology was inspired by a concept paper from Professor David Nygren, in which he noted the speculative possibility of integrating photon detection into a charge readout for pixelated liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) using the photoconductor amorphous selenium …

Lived Experiences Of Special Education Teachers Of Color In Minnesota Charter Schools: A Phenomenological Study Of Factors Influencing Retention, Gigi Krause

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Special education faces a critical shortage of licensed educators, a crisis intensified for teachers of color, who remain underrepresented and experience disproportionately high attrition rates. Although Minnesota has implemented initiatives to diversify the teaching workforce, the retention of novice special education teachers of color, particularly within charter school settings, remains underexamined. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of novice special education teachers of color in Minnesota charter schools to identify factors influencing their decisions to remain in or leave the profession. Guided by Critical Race Theory and Mentorship Theory, the study employed a transcendental phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews …

Tackling The Societal And Regulatory Challenges Of Emerging Technologies: A Case Study Of Deepfake, Jingyao Li

2026

Governing emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses enduring challenges for policymakers, industries, and societies. Early-stage governance is often hindered by limited understanding of technological implications, rapid innovation cycles, and resistance from powerful industry actors who favor minimal oversight. Yet, timely and effective governance is essential, as new technologies are most malleable in their formative stages. This dissertation examines how emerging technologies can be governed effectively by using deepfakes technology as a focal case. This dissertation comprises three interrelated studies.

The first paper reviews the literature on deepfakes and emerging technology governance, identifying the distinct characteristics of deepfake technology …

The Relationship Between Culturally Responsive Teaching (Crt) Training, Teachers’ Children’S Book Choices, And Perceptions Of Censorship In Kuwait, Norma Gina Lombardi Sciarra

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers who are culturally responsive use classroom materials that reflect their students' ethnicities, traditions, and values. Western teachers have access to diverse books and classroom tools. They have the agency to choose materials that support the curriculum. However, when Western educators work abroad, they must adapt their teaching methods and tools to local norms. Working abroad may require censoring or omitting information and content they believe in and support. As a result, teachers may feel dissonance or conflict when censoring. Censoring may impact their ability to teach comprehensively. Little research examines the relationship between culturally responsive teaching (CRT), perceptions of …

Navigating Faith And Duty: A Phenomenological Study Of Christian Leadership In Public Schools, Rett Asbury

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Christian K–12 principals in public schools who encounter expectations and practices incongruent with their beliefs. The problem addressed was the limited empirical understanding of how faith‑motivated leaders navigate ethical tensions in secular educational environments and how these tensions affect their leadership and school communities. Guided by one primary research question and three sub‑research questions, the study examined (a) the challenges and ethical tensions principals face, (b) the strategies they employ to navigate value discrepancies between their Christian convictions and diverse school communities, and (c) the impact of these dynamics on leadership effectiveness, …

Mindfulness And Psychedelics: Rethinking The Fifth Precept, Ernesto Londono

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The fields of psychedelics and mindfulness have a long history of cross-pollination in the United States that dates to the counterculture movement in the 1960s. As the use of these mind-altering compounds in therapeutic and spiritual contexts has become less stigmatized and more popular in recent years, psychedelic retreats and therapies are once again drawing people who also value contemplative practices. This paper explores the historic and contemporary tension people with overlapping interests in mindfulness and psychedelics have faced as they interpreted the Fifth Precept, the Buddhist guideline that advises people to abstain from intoxicants. Taking stock of the history …

Texas’S Attempt To Compete With Delaware, Robert A. Ragazzo

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Delaware derives substantial economic benefits from attracting incorporation business. Other states have sought to receive a share of these economic benefits. Texas is among them. Part I of this article will consider Texas’s attempt to copy Delaware’s enabling philosophy. It will conclude that, although the Texas courts have not always shared Delaware’s enabling view, the Texas legislature has historically done its best to place Texas on a par with Delaware in terms of its enabling philosophy of corporate governance. In recent times, the Texas legislature has actually outdone the Delaware legislature in creating a pro-managerial corporate environment. Part II of …

Does Voluntary Manslaughter Exist In South Dakota?, Gregory Brazeal

Faculty Publications

The American legal tradition generally distinguishes between cold-blooded, premeditated intentional killing and hot-blooded, spontaneous intentional killing. The former has traditionally been categorized as murder and the latter as the lesser crime of “voluntary manslaughter.” South Dakota’s homicide statutes, interpreted based on their plain meaning, depart from this deeply rooted tradition. The closest equivalent to the crime of voluntary manslaughter appears in South Dakota’s first-degree manslaughter statute, which includes a prohibition on homicide “[w]ithout any design to effect death . . . and in a heat of passion, but in a cruel and unusual manner.” The phrase “heat of passion” suggests …

Opportunities To Address Alcohol Use With Community-Based Hiv Testing: A Parallel Mixed Methods Study, William Thomas Allen

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background: Unhealthy alcohol use (UAU), defined as alcohol consumption at a level that has caused or has the potential to cause adverse physical, psychological, or social consequences, and particularly heavy episodic drinking (HED), is a risk factor for HIV infection that is often overlooked in HIV prevention settings. UAU impacts HIV infection risk through sexual decision-making mechanisms including condom use and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence. Community-based HIV service organizations (HSO) may provide an opportunity to reach individuals with overlapping HIV risk, UAU, and low access to traditional healthcare systems. The feasibility and utility of UAU screening and intervention in the …

Two-Level Anterior Cervical Spine Intervention: A Comparative Analysis Of Existing Techniques, Philip Prakash Ratnasamy

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background/Scientific Premise: There is growing utilization of surgical intervention for two-level degenerative cervical spine pathology. Multiple treatment options exist. The gold standard remains two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), in which the degenerative or herniated cervical discs are removed through an anterior approach to decompress neural elements, followed by fusion of the two involved interspaces to restore stability and alignment. More recently, cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has emerged as a viable treatment option for two-level cervical spine pathology, in which the surgeon removes the diseased intervertebral discs and replaces them with artificial discs to reconstruct the segments following decompress …

Association Between Baseline Prostate Mri Pi-Rads And Risk Of Gleason Upgrade During Active Surveillance, Shayan Smani

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background: Active surveillance (AS) is the preferred management strategy for men with favorable-risk prostate cancer, aiming to avoid overtreatment while preserving oncologic safety. However, a meaningful proportion of patients experience Gleason Grade Group (GG) upgrading during follow-up, reflecting either biological progression or baseline misclassification. Multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), interpreted using the Prostate Imaging–Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS), is well established for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer at diagnosis, yet its prognostic role during AS remains incompletely defined. Specifically, whether baseline PI-RADS scores independently predict the risk of GG upgrading among men managed with AS has not been systematically …

“Treatment Not Tents:" The Medicalization Of Homelessness In California’S 2022-2025 Legislative Agenda, Elana R. Straus

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Modern homelessness emerged in the 1980s due to political choices that cut the social safety net and decreased the availability of affordable housing. Medicalized views of homelessness that frame homelessness as driven by individual pathology, particularly mental illness and addiction, emerged in research, media, and politics at this time. Homelessness has persisted since and remains particularly high in regions, including California, where the housing markets are most constrained. In this context, California advanced multiple legislative changes between 2022 and 2025 that increased pathways to involuntary treatment and criminal-legal control over people experiencing homelessness. In this thesis, I demonstrate how legislators …

Prevalence, Reporting, And Management Of Interstitial Lung Abnormalities And Incidental Findings On Lung Cancer Screening, Tian Wei Yu

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background: Low dose computed tomography for lung cancer screening frequently identifies incidental findings. The most frequent and consequential thoracic and upper abdominal incidental findings include interstitial lung disease (ILD), interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA), emphysema, coronary artery calcification, aortic calcification, aortic aneurysm, and adrenal lesions. Many of these abnormalities carry prognostic and therapeutic implications. However, the prevalence of these findings, variation in reporting practices, and downstream management within integrated health systems remain incompletely characterized, particularly for ILA and ILD.

Research Aims: We aimed to quantify the prevalence of selected incidental findings on lung cancer screening CT across a large multi-hospital health …

Phonetic Attrition As An Outcome Of L1-L2 Phonetic Interaction: Effects Of L2 Exposure In Arabic-English Bilinguals, Dema Smadi

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how length of second language (L2) exposure shapes the phonetic relationship between the first language (L1) and the L2 in adult Arabic-English bilinguals. Focusing on the production of voiced stops /b/ and /d/, the study examines how L1 Arabic and L2 English interact within a shared phonetic system and how this interaction develops as a function of increasing L2 exposure. Building on the Speech Learning Model and its revised version (SLM, SLM-r), the study adopts a relational perspective in which L1 and L2 are not treated as independent systems, but as dynamically interacting components of a shared …

Pinky Extension In American Sign Language: Evidence For A Lexically Restricted Morphological Process, Laurel Whitsett

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations

This study investigates pinky extension (PE) in American Sign Language (ASL). PE involves extending the pinky finger in signs, even though this feature is not present in standard dictionary representations of those signs. Although PE has been previously described as conveying emphasis, this account does not fully explain its distribution. This study asks whether PE reflects a meaningful part of how signs are structured in ASL, rather than a matter of individual style or variation. Focusing on adjectives, it examines whether PE interacts with sentence position. In ASL, certain adjectives may appear either before (prenominally) or after (postnominally) the noun …

Ambient Listening: Using Artificial Intelligence To Transcribe Provider Office Visits, Odia Russette

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: Electronic health record (EHR) documentation burdens contribute to increased “pajama time” or after–hours charting, reduced job satisfaction, and provider burnout. Provider burnout leads to provider and critical access point losses. Ambient–listening artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have emerged as a possible tool to reduce charting burdens; however, evidence from outpatient wellness settings remains limited.

Local Problem: At an urban adult wellness clinic in Texas with limited resources for completing tasks, in-clinic and after-hours “pajama time” charting burdens contributed to provider fatigue, job dissatisfaction, and burnout.

Methods: A quality improvement (QI) project using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework implemented an AI ambient …

Estimating Prep And Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Prevalence In Three High Hiv Burden Countries, Rose Grace Bender

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Understanding the impact of specific biomedical interventions is crucial for optimizing HIV prevention strategies. In this study, we estimate of the prevalence of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and lay out a framework for estimating preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the three high-burden sub-Saharan African countries of Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. For VMMC, we use a cohort-based simulation framework to model circumcision prevalence in all males over time, allocating VMMC count data to cohorts over time. Model outputs are compared with survey and campaign data, and two parameters, the initial background circumcision prevalence and the age distribution of VMMC procedures, …

Epidermal Differentiation Disorders Across The Lifespan: Growth, Ophthalmologic, And Perinatal Manifestations, Caroline Echeandia-Francis

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Epidermal differentiation disorders (EDDs) are a heterogeneous group of inherited skin diseases characterized by impaired epidermal barrier function, scaling, and erythema. Although substantial progress has been made in identifying the genetic causes of EDD, long-standing clinical observations—including impaired growth, ectropion, and increased rates of preterm birth—remain poorly characterized across genotypes. The prevalence, severity, and clinical significance of these manifestations have not been systematically evaluated in large, genotype-stratified cohorts, limiting the ability to provide anticipatory guidance and tailored clinical care. This thesis seeks to (1) characterize growth trajectories in children with EDD and determine genotype-specific patterns of growth impairment; (2) assess …

Associating Inflammatory Dermatoses And Gynecological Disorders Using The National Institutes Of Health’S All Of Us Research Program, Christine Myriam Hodelin

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

There remains a gap in the knowledge about the relationship between inflammatory disorders and common gynecological disorders, despite significant quality of life concerns for both. We examined the association between hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and endometriosis, and the association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and uterine leiomyomas, both with a cross-sectional study using electronic health record and survey data from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program.

The All of Us Research Program has a large United States-based cohort and focuses on traditionally underrepresented populations in research. We compared cases and controls, all assigned female at birth, using Pearson’s …

Facial Harmony And Gender Congruence: Patient-Reported Outcomes Of Gender-Affirming Facial Surgery Using The Gender-Q And Gpsq, Helia Hosseini

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background:Gender-affirming facial surgery (GAFS) addresses gender dysphoria by aligning facial features with gender identity, with historical emphasis on refining the upper facial third to render patients more attractive and feminine. The GENDER-Q, a novel patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), evaluates aesthetic, functional, and psychosocial outcomes, complementing the Gender Preoccupation and Stability Questionnaire (GPSQ) to assess effects of GAFS in this study. Methodology: Survey data from 86 patients was analyzed using GENDER-Q and GPSQ scores. Higher GENDER-Q scores indicated improved outcomes, whereas lower GPSQ scores reflected reduced gender dysphoria. Pre- and post-operative outcomes were compared using paired and unpaired t-tests. Spearman’s correlation …

Trends, Predictors, And Cerebrovascular Outcomes Of Vertebral Artery Injury In Cervical Fractures, Rahul Jayaram

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background and Scientific Premise: Cervical spine trauma is a common emergencydepartment presentation, and vertebral artery injury (VAI) is a potentially occult but serious complication associated with posterior circulation stroke. Identification of patients at risk remains challenging due to subtle presentations, variable screening practices, and limited prior data. Research Aims: The aims of this study were to characterize temporal trends in VAI detection among adult patients presenting to the emergency department with cervical spine fractures between 2010 and 2022, identify independent demographic, clinical, and injury-related predictors of VAI, and evaluate the association between VAI and ischemic stroke within ninety days of …

Neurophysiologic Responses To Endovascular Interventions For Delayed Cerebral Ischemia Management, Rafael Seth Maarek

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background/Scientific Premise: Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) continues to be a leading cause of poor outcomes in hospitalized aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients. In addition to cerebral vasospasm, a growing constellation of pathophysiologic processes has been implicated in the development of DCI, including impaired autoregulation, micro-thrombosis, inflammation, and cortical spreading depolarizations. However, management options for patients showing signs of emerging DCI have largely remained spasmolytic in nature, and it remains unclear if reversing cerebral vasospasm in patients with signs of emerging DCI will reliably improve underlying neurophysiology. To our knowledge, no group has reliably shown postprocedural improvements in quantitative EEG metrics …

The Deepfake Dilemma: Fake Images, Real Victims, And The Legal Void In Addressing Non-Consensual Deepfake Pornography, Elizabeth A. Safaryn

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Note evaluates the various legal remedies available to victims of non-consensual deepfake pornography. As deepfakes are a relatively new but rapidly advancing technology, it is difficult for the law to keep up with the mass creation and distribution of AI-generated images on the Internet. With the competing interest of constitutionally protected speech, current deepfake laws fail to address non-consensual intimate image sharing (NCII) explicitly and lack the necessary deterrent effect to curb their proliferation. With an initial background on deepfakes and machine learning, this Note then explores the strained relationship between the First Amendment and the available civil remedies …

The New Transgender Tipping Point: Trumpism, Medical Necessity & Gender-Affirming Care, Molly J. Nunn

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Following the rise and eventual triumph of Trumpism 2024, President Donald J. Trump and his administration have sought to discredit the internationally recognized standards of effective health care practice for gender-affirming care. Now, ten years after Time Magazine published “The Transgender Tipping Point,” the political discourse of transgender identity is tipping again. Under the second Trump Administration, transgender identity sits at the edge of an abyss. Trumpism seeks to eradicate or significantly limit access to gender-affirming care through executive actions and the judiciary, despite the plethora of medical associations stating that that care is medically necessary. Public policies that widely …

Dad On Duty: The Potential Of Paid Parental Leave Laws, Laura E. Bates

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee its citizens paid parental leave. While the Family and Medical Leave Act provides some employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave, its limitations leave most American parents without adequate support. In the absence of a national paid parental leave system, states are stepping in, enacting laws that provide fully or partially paid parental leave. Private employers are also offering paid parental leave in increasing numbers. Despite these efforts, only 27 percent of private-sector American employees have access to paid parental leave.

Men taking paternity …