Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Self-Regulated Thermal Management With Shape-Memory Alloy Torsional Tubes, Paula Sanjuan Espejo

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The need for dynamic thermal management that adapts to varying system needs and requirements is a growing topic of interest in different engineering disciplines, most prominently aerospace and electronics. This demand for improved thermal management systems comes from the general increase of system efficiencies leading to an increase in component energy density. Shape-memory alloy actuators, which respond with a mechanical shape recovery to variations in temperature, can be used as self-regulated thermal management actuators that are able to respond to environmental thermal changes autonomously. In this dissertation, modeling and experimental analysis of a two-way shape-memory effect trained SMA torsional tube …

Embeddable Multi-Material Wireless Micro-Sensors Utilizing Additive Manufacturing And Enhanced Microstructure, Nicholas Reed

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The development of embeddable, multi-material wireless microsensors offers transformative potential for structural health monitoring (SHM) in aerospace applications. This work integrates additive manufacturing (AM) techniques with advanced microstructural design to produce flexible, high-resolution sensors that can be directly embedded into polymer substrates. By utilizing the vat photopolymerization process, customized embedded sensors are seamlessly integrated into polymer AM structures. These sensors are then continuously refined, targeting increases in performance, both internal and external. Microstructural enhancements are explored to modify the rheological properties of the fabricated embedded sensing channels and enhance the adhesive bonding between the embedded sensor and the AM structure. …

Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos: Hip-Hop And The Carceral State In The East San Francisco Bay Area, William Maclane Hull

Theses and Dissertations

“Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos: Hip-Hop and the Carceral State in the East San Francisco Bay Area” explores the histories of urban redevelopment and deindustrialization, racialized poverty, police and the carceral system, and hip-hop culture in Oakland and other parts of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. It explores East Bay politics and urban development in the 1900s, which resulted in the flight of industries and wealthy white residents to the suburbs and the erosion of public services. Black community organizations and funk music alike articulated the damages done by these processes in the 1960s. Subsequently, politicians and …

Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Of Human Olfactory Identification Discovers Sex-Specific And Sex-Differential Genetic Variants, Johannes Frasnelli, Valentina Talevi, Honglei Chen, Christoph Engel, Michele Filosi, Myriam Fornage, Martin Gögele, Markus Löffler, Thomas H Mosley, Cristian Pattaro, Peter Pramstaller, Srishti Shrestha, N Ahmad Aziz, Monique M B Breteler, Kerstin Wirkner, Markus Scholz, Christian Fuchsberger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Smelling is a human sense, expressing strong sexual dimorphisms. We aim to improve the knowledge of the genetics of human olfactory perception by performing an exploratory genome-wide association meta-analysis of up to 21,495 individuals of European ancestry. By sex-stratified and overall analysis of the identification of twelve odours and an identification score, we discovered ten independent loci, seven of them novel, with trait-wise genome-wide significance (p <  5 × 10−8) involving five odours. Seven of these loci, including four novel ones, are also significant using a stricter study-wide significance threshold (p <  3.85 × 10−9). Loci were predominantly located within clusters of olfactory receptors. Two loci were female-specific while one was sex-differential with respective candidate genes containing androgen response elements. Two-sample Mendelian randomization was applied to search for causal relationships between sex hormones, odour identification and neurodegenerative diseases. A causal negative effect was detected for Alzheimer’s disease on the identification score. These findings deepen our understanding of the genetic basis of olfactory perception and its interaction with sex, prioritizing mechanisms for further molecular research.

A Conversation About Stare Decisis, Debra A. Livingston, John Q. Barrett

Faculty Scholarship

John Q. Barrett (“JQB”)

Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston, welcome back to St. John’s.

The Chief Judge has been a friend to us for many years. It is an honor to host someone of her talent and someone in her position: the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

We’re going to have a conversation for the first part of the program, about judging, her work, and stare decisis. But first, we need to meet you and hear a little bit about your background — where you are from — and the path that took …

Being And Becoming In The Algorithmic Age, Bernard E. Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

To change the world: the prerequisite, most often, is to change our experience of the world, to experience the world differently, to be shaken to our foundations, to have one’s sense of self shattered. That is a process of both being and becoming. In order to turn that process in our favour, in this age of artificial intelligence, it will be crucial to transform data and algorithms into bits of justice.

Reduction Of Neuronal Activity Mediated By Blood-Vessel Regression In The Adult Brain, Xiaofei Gao, Xing-Jun Chen, Meng Ye, Jun-Liszt Li, Nannan Lu, Di Yao, Bo Ci, Fei Chen, Lijun Zheng, Yating Yi, Shiwen Zhang, Zhanying Bi, Xinwei Gao, Yuanlei Yue, Tingbo Li, Jiafu Lin, Ying-Chao Shi, Kaibin Shi, Nicholas E Propson, Yubin Huang, Katherine Poinsatte, Zhaohuan Zhang, Dale B Bosco, Shi-Bing Yang, Ralf H Adams, Volkhard Lindner, Fen Huang, Long-Jun Wu, Hui Zheng, Simon Hippenmeyer, Ann M Stowe, Bo Peng, Marta Margeta, Qingchun Guo, Xiaoqun Wang, Qiang Liu, Jakob Körbelin, Martin Trepel, Hui Lu, Guoen Cai, Bo O Zhou, Bo Shen, Ying-Mei Lu, Wenzhi Sun, Jie-Min Jia, Feng Han, Hu Zhao, Robert M Bachoo, Woo-Ping Ge

Center on Aging Staff Publications

The brain vasculature supplies neurons with glucose and oxygen, but little is known about how vascular plasticity contributes to brain function. Using longitudinal in vivo imaging, we report that a substantial proportion of blood vessels in the adult mouse brain sporadically occlude and regress. Their regression proceeds through sequential stages of blood-flow occlusion, endothelial cell collapse, relocation or loss of pericytes, and retraction of glial endfeet. Regressing vessels are found to be widespread in mouse, monkey and human brains. We further reveal that blood vessel regression cause a reduction of neuronal activity due to a dysfunction in mitochondrial metabolism and …

Competition In The Labor Market: The Wage Effect Of Employer Concentration In China, Jianan Liu, Hongbo Cai, Carl Lin

Faculty Journal Articles

Competition in the labor market theoretically leads to higher wages, yet empirical evidence to substantiate it, particularly in developing countries, has been sparse. Our study delves into the impact of increased competition in the labor market on workers' wages using a panel dataset from Chinese industrial firms spanning 1998 to 2013. Employing OLS and IV regressions, we demonstrate that a decrease in employer concentration is significantly linked to higher wages. The elasticities of employer concentration on wages fall within the range of −0.034 and −0.107. Additionally, our findings suggest that state-owned enterprises gained the most from this upswing in competition, …

The Impact Of Instructional School Design: The 6–12 School Model As A Strategic Response To Increase Black Boys Self-Efficacy, Xavier E. Edwards

Education Doctoral

This dissertation investigated the impact of the 6–12 instructional school design on the self-efficacy of Black boys, utilizing the theoretical frameworks of Bandura's self-efficacy model and Yosso's community cultural wealth model. The research explored how this specialized school structure supports Black boys' academic achievement, aspirations, and resilience—addressing longstanding disparities in educational and social outcomes. Through qualitative interviews with Black male alumni of 6–12 school models, the study identified factors within the design that positively influence self-efficacy both within and beyond the classroom. Findings indicated that sustained relationships with supportive teachers, a keen sense of brotherhood among peers, and consistent engagement …

Manufactured Superiority: The War On Terror, United States Dominated Media, And The Global Implications Of American Exceptionalism, Ayan Mohamed

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This research examines American exceptionalism and its effects on the global perception of the United States, specifically how it shapes international narratives, marginalizes alternative perspectives, and reinforces a ruling American worldview that inhibits effective engagement and cross-cultural dialogue. The study will focus on two key areas: U.S. military interventions and media representation. First, it will analyze the War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq (2001–2021), assessing how U.S.-enforced destabilization in the region perpetuates hegemonic control. Second, it will investigate U.S.-backed, Israel-led Palestinian erasure as a case study of interventionism that positions the U.S. as the self-designated enforcer of global order. …

From Nation-Building To Collapse: Analyzing Afghanistan’S 2021 Fall And The Geopolitical Entropies Of U.S. Withdrawal, Arash Beidollahkhani, Edriss Rasa

Journal of Strategic Security

The collapse of the Afghan government in 2021 and the subsequent return of the Taliban marked a significant shift in contemporary geopolitics. This paper examines the political and social dynamics surrounding the U.S. and allied forces' withdrawal, focusing on the entropic forces that contributed to the breakdown of Afghanistan’s governance system. While Afghanistan has experienced recurrent governmental collapses, the post-2021 crisis highlights deeper structural challenges within both the geopolitical and domestic spheres. The research investigates the failure of the U.S.-backed Afghan government, established through two decades of nation-building efforts, and explores how the abrupt foreign withdrawal dismantled fragile political structures, …

Taliban 1.0 And 2.0 In Afghanistan: Same Policies, Persistent Vision, Sharif Hozoori

Journal of Strategic Security

The Taliban emerged as a movement in 1994, toppled the government of the Mujahideen, and ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. They finally recaptured power in 2021 after the US withdrawal from the region. This paper refers to the first Taliban rule as Taliban 1.0 and their second as Taliban 2.0. Taliban 1.0 imposed draconian laws and regulations on women and minorities while harboring regional and international terrorist organizations. Later, the Taliban 2.0 followed its predecessor in policies regarding women, minorities, and sheltering terrorist organizations. Considering this background, this paper addresses whether Taliban 1.0 and 2.0 maintain the same policies …

Statewide Injunction: State Judicial Power And Meaningful Remedies, Constance C. Van Kley

Faculty Law Review Articles

As federal courts increasingly limit the scope of constitutional remedies, state courts have begun issuing statewide injunctions that extend protections beyond individual litigants. This article examines the doctrinal foundations and implications of such injunctions, arguing that they represent a legitimate exercise of state judicial power. By analyzing historical practices, procedural norms, and recent case law, the author contends that statewide injunctions can serve as essential tools for enforcing civil rights and ensuring meaningful relief. The piece calls for a reevaluation of remedial doctrines to better accommodate the evolving role of state courts in safeguarding constitutional guarantees.

Masthead & Table Of Contents

Dalhousie Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Christie Symposium On Law And Labour Market Inequality, Liam Mchugh-Russell

Dalhousie Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Racial Capitalism, Neocolonial Wealth Transfer, And Canadian International Student Policy, Vincent Wong, Arman Sohi

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper examines historical and contemporary trends in Canadian international student policy through the lens of racial capitalism, arguing that current policy facilitates a significant neocolonial wealth transfer from Global South families to Canada through processes of expropriation, exploitation, and expulsion. It argues that discriminatory tuition fees effectively function as “education head taxes”, which extract billions of dollars annually from international students. Meanwhile, “gauntlets” to permanent residency have emerged in an immigration landscape where working class migrants have narrower options to regularize, creating a system of labour exploitation where student-labourers face precarious conditions and structural indebtedness. Finally, the constant threat …

Re-Reading Power Inside The Aml-Ctf Regime, Sanaa Ahmed

Dalhousie Law Journal

Money laundering and money laundering controls are having a global moment. Many jurisdictions around the world—some more than others—feature regularly in news cycles for either offences to do with money laundering or sanctions avoidance or the laxity of controls that enable such activities. The mainstream media has reported on stories about banks in Canada and football clubs in Italy, about charities in the UK and the real estate industry in the US. Each revelation prompts mea culpas from offenders—TD Bank in Canada is one such example—and often, a raft of new or enhanced regulatory measures.

Critically, the point that remains …

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 …

Balancing Infrastructure Demands: Analysis Of Materials Pricing And Supply, Bethany Paris, Ying Li, Steve Waddle, Bryan Gibson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) lets around 700 contracts year valued at over $1 billion. One of KYTC’s foremost goals is to deliver projects on time and on budget. However, over the past five years achieving these twin goals has grown in difficulty due to material shortages, widespread inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the tight labor market triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although material shortages have abated and supply chain disruptions have eased, instability is seemingly a permanent feature of the national and global economies. As such, Cabinet decision makers need reliable tools that can be used to understand historical …

Enhanced Pavement Project Prioritization, Bryan Gibson, Jon Wilcoxson, Gayle Marks

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is responsible for inspecting, maintaining, and improving 27,000 centerline miles of pavement. Given the vastness of the state’s transportation network, KYTC needs a robust method for prioritizing pavement preservation projects. The Cabinet has relied on pavement condition ratings, data collected using Laser Crack Measurement Systems, and input from district-level staff to prioritize these types of projects. But this approach overlooks information that should be considered, such as factors related to safety, mobility, and geographic context. To resolve these shortcomings, Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers worked with KYTC subject-matter experts to develop the Enhanced Pavement Prioritization …

Digital Stress Scale (Dsc): Development And Psychometric Validation Of A Measure Of Stress In The Digital Age, Agathi Argyriadi, Dimitra Katsarou, Athina Patelarou, Kalliopi Megari, Evridiki Patelarou, Stiliani Kotrotsiou, Konstantinos Giakoumidakis, Shabnam Abdoola, Evangelos Mantsos, Efthymia Efthymiou, Alexandros Argyriadis

All Works

(1) Background: The integration of digital technologies such as electronic health records (EHRs), telepsychiatry, and communication platforms has transformed the mental health sector a lot compared to in previous years. While these tools enhance service delivery, they also introduce unique stressors. Despite growing concerns, there is no validated instrument specifically designed to measure the digital stress experienced by mental health professionals. (2) Methods: This study involved the development and psychometric validation of the Digital Stress Scale (DSC). The process included item generation through a literature review and qualitative interviews, expert panel validation, and a two-phase statistical evaluation. Exploratory Factor Analysis …

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 …

The Aggregate Welfare And Trade Implications Of Contracting Frictions In Global Sourcing, Davin Chor, Lin Ma

Research Collection School Of Economics

How much do contracting frictions between global firms and their suppliers impact country welfare and trade? We answer this by developing a model of global sourcing under partial contractibility, where firm-supplier relationships are exposed to a bilateral holdup problem. Sourcing decisions aggregate into a gravity equation for trade flows by organizational mode (intrafirm vs. arm’s length), which we take to structural estimation. We can then evaluate welfare changes with an extended Arkolakis, Costinot and Rodriguez-Clare (2012) formula that incorporates these contracting frictions. Our counterfactual analysis reveals a sizeable average country welfare gain of 9.2% from eliminating contracting frictions in global …

Superhypersoft Set For Selection Strategies For Achieving Human Rights In Artificial Intelligence Through Civil Public Interest Litigation, Juan Zhao

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Measuring Teaching Success In College Foreign Literature Programs: An Evaluation Perspective Using Double Framed Superhypersoft Set, Lingling Chen

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

On Data Envelopment Analysis Framework For Optimizing Two-Stage Systems Under Neutrosophic Environment, Basma E. El- Demerdash, A. Almutairi, Sultan S. Alodhaibi, Hamiden Abd El- Wahed Khalifa, Heba Ghareb Goma

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Arbitrating With Indian Tribes: Separability, Tribal Sovereign Immunity, And Exhaustion Of Tribal Remedies, Paul F. Kirgis

Faculty Law Review Articles

Indian tribes have emerged as significant contributors to the national and regional economies, notably through industries such as gaming, natural resource extraction, technology, and consumer lending. This increasing commercial activity brings with it increasing commercial disputes. Both Indian tribes and their nonmember counterparts need a fair and reliable forum to ensure that agreements are performed, loans repaid, and avoidable harms compensated. But the complex legal landscape of tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction complicates dispute resolution involving tribes. Tribes’ status as sovereign entities raises challenging issues of federal and state court jurisdiction, tribal sovereign immunity, and exhaustion of tribal remedies. Arbitration offers …

Engraving Goddesses: Hendrick Goltzius’S Mannerist Prints, Emily Seils

Theses

This project analyzes the reception of Hendrick Goltzius’s (1558-1617) prints within the court of Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612), specifically how his technical expertise in his mythological compositions presented bodily transformation as an alchemical act. He produced images that were intellectually coded for a sophisticated audience while simultaneously capturing the viewer’s gaze and emotions. In doing so he created, alongside his contemporaries, a niche market of high demand art and enabled the "viral" circulation of collectable prints among Northern European elites. Three main topics structured my approach. First, the distinctive development of Rudolf II of Prague’s prestigious art collection, the Kunstkammer, …