Digital Commons Network^™

The Children’S Lawsuits: Building A Global Movement In Law And Society, Mary Christina Wood

Washington and Lee Law Review

This essay describes the Atmospheric Trust Litigation (ATL) campaign, spearheaded by Our Children’s Trust, consisting of climate cases brought by youth premised on the public trust principle and, later, on express constitutional rights. The essay characterizes the cases as (1) accomplishing a “rights turn” in environmental law by invoking constitutional claims rather than statutory claims that previously marked almost all environmental litigation; (2) establishing a unified global framework of climate responsibility by depicting the planet’s atmosphere as a global public trust asset which all governments have an obligation to protect; and (3) galvanizing a youth climate movement centered on the …

Child/Youth Climate Litigation: Tracking Children’S Rights And Children’S Impact, Aoife Daly, Liesl Muller

Washington and Lee Law Review

Children and youth have been engaging extensively in climate action around the world. They have been doing this by protesting in the streets, talking with governments, and most recently by taking climate litigation against governments and companies. In this Article, these climate cases are considered from a children’s rights perspective. Using the Youth Climate Justice database, fifty cases are analyzed to consider two aspects of climate litigation—the children’s rights involved in the case, and the significance of the outcomes of the cases. It is concluded that climate cases are a new form of child participation in society, and that child …

Alabama’S Ivf Immunity Law: A Constitutional License To Kill?, Dani Wasshausen

Washington and Lee Law Review

In today’s post-Dobbs world, states may freely define fetal “persons” and those fundamental rights afforded to them, but not without consequence. The Supreme Court of Alabama’s groundbreaking decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C., holding that frozen embryos are “children” under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, led fertility clinics and services across the state to close. These in vitro fertilization (IVF) providers feared liability exposure because their standard practices—including embryonic fertilization, testing, cryopreservation, and transfer—inevitably result in damage or death to embryos. The Alabama Legislature swiftly responded by enacting a law granting broad civil and criminal …

The Methane Clumped Isotope Signatures Of The Acetoclastic And Methylotrophic Methanogenesis Pathways, Mia L. Thompson

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and critical energy source for the global economy. Atmospheric methane concentrations play a critical role in global warming, while mitigating methane emissions may provide route to short-term reduction of warming effects. In order to track rates and sources of emissions, it is first necessary to understand the sources and sinks of methane; yet, there are challenges in distinguishing abiotic (water/rock), thermogenic, and biogenic methane. Traditional approaches of using the bulk isotopes of carbon (δ¹³C) and hydrogen (δD) of methane have limitations due to overlapping signatures and sensitivity to substrate isotope composition. In …

The Ghannouchi Test: The Compatibility Of Religious Ideas And Secular Democracy, Andrew P. Sheppe

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Secular, democratic societies and governments evolved out of religious societies and defined themselves partially in opposition to religious authority. This historical relationship has led to a debate about the compatibility between religious ideas and modern, secular society. Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde posited that secular, democratic societies still depend on religious foundations. Jürgen Habermas disagrees, claiming that processes of rational dialogue can provide sufficient support.

Two prominent twentieth century theologians, Reinhold Niebuhr and Abraham Joshua Heschel demonstrate that democratic systems are enriched and protected by theistic ideas, thus supporting Böckenförde’s dictum. However, they both recognize the importance of epistemic humility and a …

Investing Hysteresis In Floodplain Dynamics Of Lakes In The Middle St. Johns River Using Sentinel-1 Sar Imagery, Keenan Hubbard

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Floodplain dynamics are often complex, with hysteresis potentially affecting the temporal relationship between flood stage and flood extent during subsequent inundation phases. This study leverages Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to map flood extent in the Middle St. Johns River Lake floodplains and examine the presence of hysteresis during flood events. SAR scenes corresponding to river gauge readings were analyzed from the rising and falling limbs of a flood hydrograph. By comparing these flood maps, we assess differences in inundated areas at equivalent water levels during each stage of the flood event. The findings aim to enhance flood monitoring …

Defending The Golden Fleece: A Study Of Disruption And Resilience In The Movement To Defund Public Libraries In Louisiana, Ciel Lane Quebedeaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this moment of societal change and institutional capture, public educational institutions have become sites of contention where national ideological and political debates are carried out in local school and library board meetings across the country. In Louisiana, the creation and expansion of a statewide conservative organization has led to the defunding of public libraries sparked by accusations of grooming and inappropriate programming. In response, local library defenders have created another statewide organization to share information and organizing strategies to combat disinformation campaigns propagated by conservative organizers at local and state levels. This qualitative study includes in-depth interviews with library …

Using Decodable Books For In-Class Independent Reading To Improve Accuracy, Lindsey Meyer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Young children often receive time to read independently at school, so they can practice and apply the skills they are learning in the classroom to connected texts. It is important to be mindful of the types of books available to students during independent reading to ensure the books provide the proper amount of support for reading success and achievement. Most classrooms are filled with traditional books, which offer a wide range of text complexity, but decodable books, books that follow a phonetic scope and sequence, are being used now more than ever before, as teachers work to more closely align …

Property Values: Accounting For Racial Valorization And Stigmatization In Development, Audrey G. Mcfarlane

Articles

No abstract provided.

Evolving Ontology And The Case Against Predictive Algorithms In The U.S. Justice System, Eryn Reyes Leong

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

In the United States today, predictive algorithms, a particular form of artificial intelligence (AI), permeate all segments of society, including the criminal justice system. With the help of AI, judges are able to “plug” defendants into algorithms and generate outputs that produce a deterministic and homogenous view of defendants. Proponents of predictive algorithms cite accuracy, neutrality, fairness, and efficiency, but what is missing from their calculus is the human person, the central figure who shapes and is shaped by algorithms. Using the story of defendant Darnell Gates as a case study, this article seeks to contribute to the development of …

Foreword: Children And Constitutions In The Anthropocene Era, Catherine Smith

Washington and Lee Law Review

In Spring 2025, the Washington and Lee Law Review held its Lara D. Gass Symposium, Children and Constitutions in the Anthropocene Era. It consisted of a keynote address by Julia Olson, Co-Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel of Our Children’s Trust, and three panels: “Children, Climate Change, and State Constitutions”; “The U.S. Constitutions and the Meaning of ‘We the [Young] People’”; and “Youth-Powered Litigation and Global Constitutionalism.” The heavily attended Symposium was a tour-de-force in the field of children’s rights.

As climate chaos mounts, young people around the world are pressing courts to reconceptualize the meaning of liberty, equality, and …

Supporting On Their Own Terms: Eu Institutions’ Discourses On Mindanao, Vincent Carlo A. Legara

European Studies Department Faculty Publications

This paper critically examines the nature and dynamics of European Union (EU) engagement in Mindanao. The southern Philippines is historically home to Muslims, with a special region that is the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), formerly known as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where Muslims compose the majority of the population. Muslim Mindanao gained greater autonomy in 2019 after decades of violent conflict and the persistence of weak democratic institutions. Since the 1970s, Muslim secessionist movements have clashed against government troops for independence. These have contributed to poor human development indicators in Mindanao. The EU, previously the …

Incorporating Waste Plastics Into Pavement Materials: A Review Of Opportunities, Risks, Environmental Implications, And Monitoring Strategies, Ali Ghodrati, Nuha S. Mashaan, Themelina Paraskeva

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The integration of waste plastics into pavement materials offers a dual benefit of enhancing road performance and mitigating the environmental burden of plastic waste. This review critically examines the opportunities and challenges associated with incorporating waste plastics in pavement construction, with an emphasis on their impact on the mechanical properties, durability, and life cycle performance of pavements. Special attention is given to the environmental implications, particularly the potential generation and release of micro- and nano-plastics during the pavement life cycle. This paper further evaluates current monitoring and analytical methodologies for detecting plastic emissions from road surfaces and explores emerging approaches …

When Money Isn't Money: The Second Circuit's Gutting Of The Discharge-For-Value Defense For Erroneous Payments, Jeanne L. Schroeder

Articles

No abstract provided.

Designing A Portable And Accessible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy System For Real-Time Detection Of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia, Allison Scarbrough, Diana Moses, Tongtong Lu, Bing Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Significance: Over 80% of cervical cancer cases occur in lower-to-middle income countries (LMIC’s). This is partly because current screening techniques lack affordability, accessibility, and/or reliability for use in LMIC’s.

Aim: To develop an optical technique for cervical cancer screening that is affordable, accessible, and reliable for use in LMIC’s.

Approach: We developed a portable diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) system, which costs < $2500 USD to manufacture, and employs a Raspberry Pi to extract the absorption (μ_a) and reduced scattering (μ'_s) coefficients of biological tissue. The system was subject to travel and intentional rough handling. It was further used to capture 320 DRS spectra taken from 64 tissue-mimicking phantoms. Two …

A Comparative Study Of The Pullout Strength Of Geostraps And Geogrids In Reinforced Soil, Kshitij Gaur, Ashutosh Trivedi, Sanjay Kumar Shukla

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The sustainable development of geotechnical infrastructure necessitates using durable, efficient, and environmentally resilient reinforcement materials. This study investigates the pullout performance of geostraps to assess their potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional geosynthetics. This study focuses on the pullout performance of geostraps, flexible, polymeric reinforcement materials. There has not been a thorough study of their pullout resistance, which directly affects the stability and durability of reinforced soil structures. Pullout tests were conducted on sandy soil in a controlled environment. The experimental findings from the pullout test were then validated in a numerical model. The model was used to determine …

A Critical Analysis Of Sme Cybersecurity Policies And Practices, Alex Clark, Stephen Mujeye

Faculty Publications – Technology

This study examines the cybersecurity policies, practices, and preparedness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Central Illinois, focusing on how they align with established standards. Through a detailed literature review and a survey, the research identifies common cyber threats faced by SMEs and evaluates their current cybersecurity measures. Key findings reveal that many SMEs, despite being vulnerable due to their integration of Industry 4.0 technologies, lack comprehensive incident detection and response systems. The study underscores the necessity for improved cybersecurity awareness among all levels of SME staff, including CEOs, managers, and employees. Recommendations are proposed to enhance collective cybersecurity …

Engage & Empower: Foundations Of Social Work Practice, Elhanan Marvit

Open Touro Created

2025

Engage & Empower: Foundations of Social Work Practice is an open educational resource for social work students in “foundations of social work practice” courses. It begins by explaining Open Educational Resources and their benefits. Students then explore social work fundamentals, including the diverse roles of social workers.

With this foundation, students engage with the NASW Code of Ethics’ key terms, and principles. This ethical grounding prepares them for the “growth work” needed to develop cultural competence and cross-cultural awareness. They then learn to apply various Generalist Practice skills across different-sized systems to empower client populations.

Next, the book explores …

Translating The Hba1c Lab Test Name And Results From English To Arabic For Enhanced Patient Access And Workflow Efficiency, Aiman M. Alrawabdeh

Translational Projects (Open Access)

In Jordan, where the healthcare system primarily operates in English, Arabic-speaking patients encounter significant challenges in understanding laboratory test names and results, including Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), an essential diagnostic indicator for diabetes management. The lack of multilingual access to medical information limits health literacy and patient autonomy, increasing dependence on healthcare staff for translation assistance. This translational informatics project addressed these challenges by developing and implementing an Arabic translation process for the HbA1c lab test name and results. HbA1c was selected as it is a standard lab test among patients with diabetes in Jordan; nearly 30% of Jordanians had type …

Earth Day 2025: Albuquerque, Nm, Clifford Villa

Faculty Scholarship

This Earth Day 2025, I was at home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I was born and raised, where we measure time in family generations. For too long, I’ve been away. But returning home, I have new perspectives—and new technology. You may laugh, but I’ve discovered Merlin.

From "Proletariat" To President:The Educational History Of Dr. Cleveland L. Sellers, Jr., Franklin J. Gause

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of my study is the life of Dr. Cleveland L. Sellers, Jr. as a Black activist educator. Using oral history interviews, autobiographical, and biographical resources, alongside a thorough examination of Sellers’ (1973) published works, speeches, and archival materials, I explore how his formative experiences and his experiences as a student activist during the 1954 - 1968 Civil Rights Movement shaped his understanding of education as a tool for liberation. Sellers was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He later became a faculty member in the History department and the chair of the …

Esports Audience Segmentation: Means-End Chain Approach, Deokkyung Ock

Theses and Dissertations

As live-streaming platforms have fueled esports’ rapid growth, they have also diversified content from competitive matches to casual gameplay, creating a complex audience landscape. To capture this diversity, the present study applied means-end chain (MEC) theory to: (1) examine how esports audiences cognitively associate different content attributes with their expected consequences and underlying personal values; (2) segment esports audiences based on these unique MEC structures; and (3) compare consumption frequency of both watching and playing esports across the identified segments.

The current study adopted exploratory sequential mixed methods to achieve the study’s objectives. In Study One, in-depth interviews with 22 …

From Chalk Dust To Destiny: Race, Gender, Hair, And The Making Of My Stem Identity, Angela Gaines Hill

Theses and Dissertations

This critical autoethnography explored the evolving STEM identity of myself as a Black female student and educator and examined how race, gender, and hair politics intersected to shape experiences within predominantly white institutions. Guided by a two-fold framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Transformative Leadership Theory (TLT) , I posed two research questions: 1) How has my STEM identity as a Black woman evolved over time through my experiences as a student and educator?; 2) In what ways does my current STEM identity as a Black woman, as understood through reflective practices, inform my pedagogical approaches and mentoring of …

Descending Asymmetry In Proximate, Mobile And Digital Care: Chinese Older People Grandparenting Across Distance Within China And Overseas, Catriona Stevens, Rachel Murphy, Yu Huang, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article juxtaposes cases of grandparents who provide care for their grandchildren in two broad types of migrant families: (1) families where some members have migrated from the Chinese countryside to larger cities and (2) families where some members have migrated from China to Australia. By examining the proximate, mobile and digital forms of their grandparenting care labour, this article demonstrates the surprising durability and stability of care repertoires across distance and class. Despite the great differences of their migration geographies and family resources, these families nonetheless all demonstrate remarkably similar repertoires of caregiving articulated with reference to similar cultural …

Climate Fiction Of The Anthropocene, Joseph Paul Ferguson, Cassandra Tytler, Peta J. White, Susan Oliver

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

No abstract provided.

Models Of Care For Indigenous Children In Rural And Remote Settings: A Global Scoping Review, Joseph Freeman, Thomas Stubbs, Verity Chadwick, Anita Pickard, Tuguy Esgin, Elizabeth J. Elliott, Alexandra Martiniuk

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Indigenous communities internationally have demonstrated remarkable strength despite significant challenges. Health disparities among Indigenous peoples persist due to historical injustices and ongoing racial discrimination, not inherent vulnerabilities. Disparities are rooted in a legacy of colonisation, systemic exclusion, and socio-economic inequities impacting access to healthcare, education, and employment. Preliminary searches show limited literature on models of care for remote living Indigenous children. This review aimed to identify internationally, effective models of care for Indigenous children in rural and remote areas. A scoping review was conducted, analysing literature on models of care for remote Indigenous children. This study followed the JBI’s Scoping …

Assessing The Benefits Of Simulations And War Games For The Homeland Security Enterprise Workforce, David Schanzer, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Jessica Sperling, Victoria Lee, Elena Johanson, Eleanor Ross

Reports, Projects, and Research

In recent years, there has been great interest across government, academia, and the private sector in experiential learning, and in particular the use of simulation and game-based methodologies. The purpose of this project is to use rigorous social science research to assess the educational value of simulation-based experiential learning and provide a replicable evaluation model that allows for validation and extension by other scholars and practitioners.

This report helps to fill the gaps in understanding the specific educational and training advantages offered by games, as well as the best practices for employing games to train or educate members of the …

Time Alters Distinct Memories Driven By Sensory Prediction Errors And Task Errors In Sensorimotor Adaptation, Li Ann Leow, Welber Marinovic, Scott Albert, Timothy J. Carroll

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Prior learning can impair future learning when the requirements of the two memories conflict, a phenomenon termed anterograde interference. In sensorimotor adaptation, the passage of time between initial and future learning can reduce such interference effects, leading to the interpretation that time consolidates motor memories, protecting motor memories from interference. However, we still do not fully understand how time affects learning, as some studies found no effects of time on interference. One possible explanation for such inconclusive findings is that time has distinct effects on the multiple processes underpinning sensorimotor adaptation, and these processes may compensate for each other's effects …

Human Rights Perspectives In Social Work Practice With African Immigrants In Australia: 'It Starts With Respecting Them And Making Them Feel Like Humans', Obed Adonteng-Kissi, Frank Darkwa Baffour, Matthew Mabefam, Nnaemeka Meribe, Elizabeth Archibong

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Increasing restrictionism and xenophobic policies in Western host countries curtail and endanger immigrants' civil and political rights as well as socio-economic well-being. This study is guided by the critical race theory (CRT), which provides a very important structure to critique social work practice with immigrants from a human rights lens and unpack the intersections of race, racism, and power. The objective of this study is to explore immigrants' perspectives on social work practices that prioritize human rights in Australia. To achieve this, a total of twenty-seven participants were interviewed, including eight social workers and nineteen immigrants of African background service …

Post-Anthropocene Provocations: Human-Sized Scholars’ Rocks, Cronenbergian Flesh Caves And Zen Garden Design Cues For A Future Proof Re(Image)Ining, Brenton Rossow, Darren Tynan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This research explores concertinaing past, present and future interventional creative and pedagogical practices to address the challenges of the Post-Anthropocene era. We argue that the Post-Anthropocene is marked by biotechnological entanglements, environmental violence and digital overstimulation. The discussions herein critique a hyperattentive achievement society characterised by a scattering of attention, a near-constant screen-mediated stream of digital material and tasks and the commodification of leisure time. Enlisting Byung-Chul Han’s concept of hyperattention and themes and motifs from David Cronenberg’s films, the authors propose “FUTURE PROOF re(image)ining” as a collaborative Cli-Fi narrative concept. The project reimagines objects from an initial art installation …