Digital Commons Network^™

Beneficiation Of Low Grade Calcium Bentonite Claystone, Hijran Toama, Abdul-Wahab Al-Ajeel, Ekhlas Abdullah

Engineering and Technology Journal

The beneficiation of Ca-bentonite claystone has been studied with dispersion sedimentation technique using polyionic salts as dispersant.The claystone is located in the Western Desert of Iraq. It is of a low grade, associated with different amount of clay and non-clay mineral impurities. Calcite (CaCO3) constitutes the major proportion of these impurities. Various parameters; solid concentration, dispersant amount (e.g. sodium tripolyphosphate, and tetrasodium pyrophosphate), conditioning time, and centrifugal sedimentation speed and time on the efficiency of the beneficiation process were investigated and followed through the measurement of CaO% and cation exchange capacity (CEC) values of the upgraded claystone concentrate. Centrifugal sedimentation …

The Role And Important Of Internet Of Things In Building Sustainable City, Nahla Alwan, Muna Al-Nuaimi

Engineering and Technology Journal

Every year many people migrate from country to city to live there. This will load a big pressure on the whole living in the city, Baghdad city also suffer from this problem in addition to other found problems like energy consumption , waste accumulate , Traffic congestion, noise, environmental pollution. To offer a good sustainable future living to population without any damage to environment and to solve many problems , one can use internet of things which is the connection network of the things especially with high spread of networks now which Internet of things based on it .the purpose …

Density And Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Investigation Of Self-Compacting Carbon Fiber- Reinforced Concrete, G.A. Salman

Engineering and Technology Journal

comprehensive research has been carried out to understand the effect of adding carbon fibers to density and ultrasonic pulse velocity of self-compacting concrete. Fifteen SCC mixes were prepared with two types of mineral admixtures and carbon fibers. Metakaoline and silica fume were used as mineral admixtures while carbon fibers were used as fiber inclusions. Two different fiber length (6mm and12mm) and fiber fraction (0.1 % and 0.5 %) was used. Different parameters such as slump flow diameter, T500 time, V-funnel time, blocking ratio and filling height difference were used to evaluate fresh state properties. Air-dry density and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity …

Aluminum Concentration Drives The Structural Evolution Of Magnetron Sputtering (Ti, Al) C Thin Film, A. Al-Ghaban

Engineering and Technology Journal

The effect of deposited Al on the structural evolution of TiC films with a chemical composition variation has investigated during combinatorial magnetron sputtering of binary ceramic (Ti, Al) C. The here produced thin films have been investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction technique XRD. The structural evolution of combinatorial magnetron sputtered Ti-Al-C system deposited at room temperature fined to be located in the extent of: Ti at.%= 36.74-60.55, Al at.%= 12.05-30.61 and C at.%= 22.53-47.69. XRD results show that films are constituted of mostly cubic (Ti, Al) C phase as well as an X-ray amorphous region …

A Multiband Printed Slot Antenna Loaded With Trapezoidal Slots For Wlan And Wimax Applications, H.T. Ziboon

Engineering and Technology Journal

In this paper, a multiband printed antenna has been proposed. The antenna structure is inspired from that of the classical multi-cavity magnetron resonator. The antenna structure is composed of a slot annular ring structure etched on the ground plane of a substrate. The outer circle of the annular ring is loaded with radially arranged small trapezoidal slots. While on the other side of the substrate, the antenna is fed with a 50-Ohm microstrip line. A parametric study has been conducted to explore the effect of the different antenna dimensions on its performance. The results show that the proposed antenna offers …

“When I’M Not Heard, I Feel Like I Don’T Matter”: Advancing Equity In Disability Policy Through Critical Participatory Action Research With People With Intellectual Disability, Cris Marchionne

Student Theses

People with intellectual disability deserve a system that offers flexible, timely, and person-centered support — one that is innovative, sustainable, and holistic in enabling them to live fulfilling lives. This qualitative study, grounded in Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), examines how people with intellectual disability experience participation in decision-making within New York State's disability service system. By centering lived experience, the study identifies factors that facilitate or hinder participation in decision-making and examines structural, social, and policy-related barriers that limit agency. Through six focus groups and a Photovoice project with self-advocates receiving OPWDD services, participants described systemic barriers that limited …

Scrolling, Following, Deciding: The Hidden Power Of Digital Influence On Wise Financial Decision, Nur Fatihah Muhamad Irwan, Wan Rasyidah Wan Nawang

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The effect of social media and digital influencers on financial behaviours has been well documented, but there is yet any solid evidence of their role in driving wise financial decision-making among Malaysians in particular. This study hence sets out to examine the impact of social media engagement and parasocial interaction in shaping financial attitudes, and the influence of financial attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on the intention to practice wise financial decision-making. The mediating role of financial attitude was also studied, specifically in the link between social media engagement, parasocial interaction, and intention. A total of 250 Malaysian …

Knowledge Spillovers, Related And Supporting Industries, And Government Intervention: An Integrated Framework For Cluster-Driven Corporate Innovation, Qinying Lei, Lai-Ying Leong, Annie Cheng San, Ng

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Late-developing inland clusters face a notable innovation paradox, in which substantial industrial capacity coexists with weak firm-level innovation. Existing research identifies knowledge spillovers, related and supporting industries, and government intervention as major external drivers of innovation, but pays limited attention to how these external conditions are transformed into corporate innovation capability. Drawing on Regional Innovation System Theory, Dynamic Capability Theory, and Porter’s Diamond Model, this study develops an integrated framework comprising seven propositions on direct effects, mediated pathways, and contextual variation. It proposes that cluster performance, defined as the effectiveness of cross-organisational coordination, mediates the relationship between external cluster conditions …

Understanding Trust As A Mediating Mechanism In Ai-Based Medical Tools And Clinical Decision Processes, Shanthi Isparan, Seow Ai Na, Chang Jing Jing, Hew Jun Jie

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has transformed clinical decision-making. Nevertheless, doctors’ engagement with AI-based tools remains hindered, particularly due to trust-related concerns. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing doctors’ engagement with AI-based medical tools, with a focus on the mediating role of trust within the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Data were collected from 197 doctors in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur through a structured survey and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software. The findings reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, …

The New Economic Liberties, Daniel B. Rodriguez

Northwestern University Law Review

Despite the lack of serious interrogation at the federal constitutional level of economic regulations, there continues to be a fairly robust, energetic attention at the level of state constitutional law to so-called economic liberties. In a number of key cases, including, for example, matters involving occupational licensing, state courts have looked to unique features of their respective state constitutions to assess whether and to what extent regulations undertaken under the police power go too far. The rationales for evaluating and, in some cases, invalidating regulations under economic liberties principles are creative, and also controversial. The development of new interpretive approaches …

Impact Of Enterprise Risk Management On Firm Performance And Value: A Panel Data Analysis Of Malaysian Firms, Zhi Beng Chew, Krishnen Kishan, Wei Chien Ng, Yu Qing Soong

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

This study investigates the impact of enterprise risk management (ERM) implementation on firm performance and firm value among Malaysian listed companies from 2010 to 2024. Empirical evidence on ERM outcomes in the Malaysian context remains limited, particularly regarding studies that simultaneously examine financial performance and firm valuation. By jointly analyzing these measures, the study seeks to determine which performance dimension is more significantly influenced by ERM and whether Malaysian investors incorporate risk management practices into firm valuation assessments. The analysis covers 11,285 firm-year observations, using a comprehensive ERM index based on the COSO ERM framework and a fixed-effects panel regression …

Analysis Of The Determinants Of Buy-Now-Pay-Later Payment Mode Among Malaysians In Klang Valley, Wai Zhi Tay, Chi Hau Tan

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service has become increasingly popular in Malaysia in recent years, especially in the Klang Valley. The BNPL service offers consumers a more convenient payment method and access to credit, raising concerns about increased household debt and financial vulnerability. In this study, this paper used financial literacy, perceived risk, credit attitude, and economic vulnerability to examine which factors influence the intention to use the BNPL payment mode. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is used to explain the factors influencing consumers’ intention to use BNPL services. This study adopts a quantitative research design and collects …

Dividend Yield Modelling And Forecasting Under The Wilkie Investment Model With Inflation Effects: Evidence From Malaysia, Ilya Adlina Abd Halim, Norizarina Ishak, Siti Raihana Hamzah, Ahmad Fadly Nurullah Rasedee

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

This study uses the Wilkie Investment Model in the context of the Malaysian stock exchange, incorporating inflation as a significant factor in explaining investment behavior in line with local economic conditions. Although the Wilkie model is broadly utilised in actuarial science and has been assessed in many developed countries, its use in emerging markets such as Malaysia is still limited. Based on historical data from Malaysia, both the dividend yield and inflation series were revealed to be stationary using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test. Therefore, the series is applicable for time series analysis. The study used Malaysian data to estimate …

From Digital Readiness To Employability: Mediating Role Of Artificial Intelligence Competence And The Moderating Influence Of Policy Support Among Malaysian Graduates, Fraz Arshed Butt, Abdelhak Senadjki, Hui Nee Au Yong

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) emphasises the demand for graduates with both digital readiness and artificial intelligence (AI) skills, which are aligned with labour market demands. Although prior studies link digital skills to employability, empirical evidence is scarce, and there is little research on how digital readiness translates into employment outcomes in AI-driven, particularly developing, economies. Hence, considering AI competence as a mediating mechanism and government policy support as a moderator, this study investigates the effects of digital literacy, technological self-efficacy, and digital learning engagement on graduate employability. Grounded in human capital theory, social cognitive theory, and institutional theory, this …

Theatre Practice As A Restorative Medium For Collective Memory In The Collaborative Performance ``Install Ulang: Surawana Lewat Jalan Memutar'', Rifqi Haekal Amanullah, Wahyu Novianto

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study examines the socio-cultural estrangement between members of the Canggu Village community and the reliefs and spatial environment of Surawana Temple. It explores how theatrical practice can serve as a performative medium for reactivating and reinterpreting collective memory associated with a historical site embedded in everyday life. Focusing on the collaborative performance Install Ulang: Surawana Lewat Jalan Memutar, the study employs artistic research with a practice-based approach, with the lead author acting as director and artistic facilitator. Data were collected through interviews, observation, literature review, workshops, artistic exploration, and post-performance reflection involving temple caretakers, farmers, archaeologists, and local …

Court Reform And State Constitutions, Bryna Godar, Miriam Seifter

Northwestern University Law Review

State legislatures regularly propose and enact laws that seek to shape the substantive outcomes of state courts. These maneuvers, including court-packing, jurisdiction-stripping, and more creative changes to judicial selection or authority, would amount to legal earthquakes at the federal level. At the state level, these efforts often receive virtually no attention.

This Essay brings the potent category of outcome-shaping state court reform measures into focus and evaluates it as a question of state constitutional law. We argue that state constitutions, organized around principles of popular sovereignty, do not bar measures that align state courts with popular preferences or the public’s …

Textual (In)Difference In State Search-And-Seizure Provisions, Quinn Yeargain

Northwestern University Law Review

Over the past 250 years, state constitutional drafters have refined the scope of rights and liberties protected by their constitutions’ texts. Today, all state constitutions include a search-and-seizure provision—and though only a minority follow the layout, text, and context of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, most of them bear a striking resemblance to it. However, textual variations abound. Some of them may seem minor, like using the word “possessions” instead of “effects,” or mandating that warrants describe their intended targets “as nearly as may be” instead of requiring that they “particularly describ[e]” them. But others, like the addition …

State Constitutionalism's Fragile Wall, Adam B. Sopko

Northwestern University Law Review

The adequate and independent state grounds (AISG) doctrine has long demarcated the perimeter of the U.S. Supreme Court’s authority to review state court decisions, limiting review to questions of federal law. AISG maintains the Court’s primacy over federal law and state courts’ supremacy over state law. A comprehensive review of all filings on the Court’s docket from state courts over the last twenty years reveals that recent applications of AISG consist of subtle but significant departures from existing norms that, together, suggest a reformulation of the Court’s power over state courts that threatens their sovereign law development role. This Essay …

From Visual Forms To Character Values: A Conceptual Model Of Visual Meaning-Making For Character Education, Muhammad Gufran, Irsan Kadir, Lukman Ismail, Meisar Ashari

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Illustrated children's storybooks play a significant role in character education by communicating moral messages through visual narratives. Although previous studies have examined visual literacy, multimodal storytelling, and character education, limited attention has been devoted to explaining how visual forms construct visual meanings that support moral interpretation and represent character values within an integrated framework. Addressing this gap, this study investigates how visual forms in the Indonesian children's storybook Aku Bisa Lebih Baik construct visual meanings, inform moral interpretation, and represent character values. A qualitative visual content analysis was conducted on seven purposively selected illustrations using Wong's (1993) Visual Form Theory …

Material Transformation And Cultural Aesthetics In Javanese Keris Pamor: A Perspective On Sustainable Art, Kuntadi Wasi Darmojo, Iwan Budi Santoso, Ippei Suzuki

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study investigates the transformation of discarded motorcycle shock absorber material into an alternative material for producing pamor in traditional Javanese keris craftsmanship from the interdisciplinary perspectives of material culture, visual aesthetics, and sustainable craft practice. A practice-based research approach combined with descriptive qualitative methods was employed through material exploration, traditional forging experiments, pamor formation, keris production, visual observation, and cultural interpretation. The findings demonstrate that discarded motorcycle shock absorber material can be incorporated into the traditional forging process to produce stable, layered pamor patterns. The resulting pamor exhibited black, dark gray, and dull silvery-white tones, a layered surface structure, …

Visual Aesthetic Structure In East Java Temple Reliefs: A Study Of Line, Plane, Proportion, And Rhythm, Marina Wardaya

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

The temple reliefs of East Java constitute one of the main categories of the material tradition that reflects not only the aesthetic taste of Javanese culture, but also its spiritual viewpoint and the socio-cultural milieu that characterized early Javanese society. In addition to being abstract visual texts, these reliefs also embody and represent cultural identity and values. The proposed research will analyze the visual structure of temple reliefs using a visual language (Bahasa Rupa) approach and visual design theory by examining the four principal visual components (line, plane, proportion, and visual rhythm) that together form the formal structure of these …

Foreword: Fifty-One Constitutions In An Evolving Federal Order, Misha Bogdanov, Olivia Christ

Northwestern University Law Review

On November 6 and 7, 2025, the Northwestern University Law Review, along with the Brennan Center for Justice and State Court Report, convened for its annual symposium, titled The Power of State Constitutional Rights. The symposium brought together judges, practitioners, and scholars to consider the substantive rights protected by state constitutions, the institutions charged with enforcing them, and the democratic processes through which state constitutional law changes. Across conversations about reproductive freedom, criminal procedure, labor, economic liberty, LGBTQ+ rights, voting, federalism, and judicial design, one proposition repeatedly, and emphatically, came into view: American constitutional law is not exhausted by the …

Child Labor And State Constitutionalism, Andrew Hammond, Helen Hershkoff

Northwestern University Law Review

Almost ninety years after Congress banned “oppressive” child labor as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are pushing state legislatures to let them put children to work in dangerous poultry plants, at hazardous construction sites, and during late shifts on school nights. Perversely, calls to rollback federal protections are camouflaged in the rhetoric of parents’ rights, casting child labor regulation as intrusive, paternalistic, and even socialist—echoing the same corporate arguments used a century ago when the Child Labor Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went down in defeat. These arguments mask the desperate economic circumstances of a parent claiming …

State Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosure Laws And The Dormant Commerce Clause: Leveraging The State Interest In Protecting Residents From Deception To Pass The Pike Balancing Test, Matthew Macphail

Northwestern University Law Review

Misleading corporate claims about greenhouse gas emissions pose a high risk of consumer deception, as there is currently no uniform federal standard governing how companies must measure or disclose those emissions. Without a national regulatory scheme, firms can selectively report, use inconsistent methodologies, or market vague “carbon neutral” claims, making it difficult for consumers to assess accuracy or compare companies’ representations.

In 2023, California introduced legislation requiring companies doing business in the state to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to bring transparency to this area. But such state-level mandates face a constitutional obstacle: the Dormant Commerce Clause, …

New Judicial Federalism At The Crossroads: Observations Of State Constitutionalism In Rhode Island, Melissa A. Long, Geoffrey H. Cole

Northwestern University Law Review

Jurists nationwide are engaged in robust conversations about state constitutionalism and the degree to which their state constitutions are more protective of individual rights than is the United States Constitution. The Rhode Island Supreme Court, like several state supreme courts, largely adheres to the minimum standards of protection that the United States Supreme Court establishes under the federal constitution when interpreting analogous provisions under the state constitution; that is, it follows a lockstep approach with the United States Supreme Court’s interpretation of individual rights guaranteed by the federal constitution that are also protected under the Rhode Island Constitution.

Proponents of …

Geduldig's Footnote: Five-Plus Decades Of State Courts Reckoning With Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Doctrine, Martha F. Davis

Northwestern University Law Review

In Geduldig v. Aiello (1974), the U.S. Supreme Court held that pregnancy discrimination does not constitute sex discrimination. The decision’s constitutional logic has recently been applied in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and United States v. Skrmetti. Yet over five decades, state courts have overwhelmingly rejected Geduldig’s rationale—both in construing state employment discrimination statutes and in interpreting state constitutional equality provisions. Courts in at least sixteen states have rejected Geduldig’s rationale in construing state employment discrimination laws, while only four states have followed it. Of the ten states with Equal Rights Amendments that have addressed whether …

State Constitutional Rights And Judicial Power, Zachary D. Clopton

Northwestern University Law Review

On the one hand, we are in a moment when interest in state courts and state constitutional law is growing. Especially, though not exclusively, among those who question the Supreme Court of the United States, there are increasing calls for state supreme courts to rely on state constitutions to expand rights. On the other hand, we are in a moment when interest in reducing the power of the courts is growing. Especially, though not exclusively, among those who question the Supreme Court of the United States, there are increasingly calls for reining in judicial power.

This Essay is not an …

One Size Does Not Fit All: Revisiting World Models And Neurosymbolic Ai, Amit P. Sheth, Madhur Thareja, Anushka Pawar, Niyati Rawal

Publications

World models are being built twice, from opposite ends, without a shared theory of how the two halves should meet. One lineage grounds the world model in perception: a self-supervised, latent-predictive encoder – exemplified by Joint Embedding Predictive Architectures (JEPA) – that learns the structure of sensory experi-ence. A second, older lineage grounds the world model in cognition: an explicit, inspectable structure of entities, rules, and constraints, ranging from knowledge graphs to formal logic to physical law. Neither lineage alone has produced a world model that is simultane-ously adaptive and auditable. We argue this is not solved by picking a …

Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease In Pregnancy: A Rare Case With Atypical Presentation And Potential Viral Trigger, Nicole Nudelman, Ann K. Valencia, Alex Fernandez, Gustavo A. Hernandez, Jeffrey Valencia Uribe, Brian G. Nudelman

Student Publications

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD), or histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, is a rare, self-limiting condition characterized by cervical lymphadenopathy, fever, and night sweats. Although KFD is most commonly reported in young Asian women, cases have emerged globally, including among non-Asian populations. The etiology remains unclear, with viral and autoimmune triggers, such as Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), being commonly proposed. Diagnosing KFD is challenging due to its overlapping symptoms with more severe conditions like tuberculosis, malignancies, and autoimmune disorders. Diagnosis typically requires an excisional lymph node biopsy due to the insufficiency of noninvasive methods.

This case report describes a 29-year-old …

Arming The Conflict: United States’ Complicity In Mexico’S War On Drugs, Jesus Oliveros

Pace International Law Review

Mexico’s ongoing human rights crisis during the war on drugs has been driven not only by domestic factors, such as political corruption and organized crime, but also by decades of United States (U.S.) policy and strategy. The U.S. has played a central role in shaping the policy framework governing the drug war, often unilaterally, while overlooking significant drivers of the crisis within its own control. Through sustained support for militarized strategies and permissive domestic firearm regulations, the U.S. has exercised significant influence over the conditions under which violence and human rights abuses have proliferated in Mexico. Against this backdrop, this …