Digital Commons Network^™

Kason Jamison V. Chrislyn Morgan

2026 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

Risk Factors For Metabolic Syndrome Among U.S.-Born And Non-U.S.-Born Hispanics In The United States, Banessa Maldonado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current knowledge regarding risk factors for metabolic syndrome (METS) among Hispanic individuals of Mexican descent remains limited. Using data from NHANES 2017–2020, this study compared factors contributing to METS and included U.S.-born and non-U.S.-born Hispanic adults of Mexican descent aged ≥ 18 years living in the USA (N = 949) with assessed METS. Grounded in the social ecological model and social determinants of health, this research evaluated dietary habits, lifestyle patterns, and acculturation processes using multivariate logistic regression and stratified analyses. Educational attainment was associated with METS, but the association was not statistically significant in adjusted models p = 0.528. …

Strategic Organizational Growth In Nonprofit Organizations: A Swot-Based Change Management Analysis, Sharika Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations often face operational and sustainability challenges. This study examined a nonprofit serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities that was experiencing increased service demands, communication challenges, and workforce shortages. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to develop a sustainable strategic change management approach to strengthen workforce development, financial stability, stakeholder collaboration, and strategic planning. Guided by the research question, "How can the client nonprofit organization implement a sustainable change-management approach that addresses internal communication challenges and resource constraints while maintaining mission alignment?" the study used a SWOT analysis and Kotter’s eight-step change model. Data were collected …

Between Promise And Power: Artificial Intelligence, Shareholder Activism, And The Corporate Governance Of The Next Generation, Pierluigi Matera

Journal of Science & Technology Law

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to influence the dynamics of corporate governance, with shareholder activism emerging as a particularly dynamic and contested domain of transformation.

Institutional investors are already leveraging sophisticated AI-powered tools to enhance decision-making and manage risk. At the same time, AI offers new possibilities for smaller and traditionally marginalized shareholders. By enabling real-time monitoring and strategic analysis, AI can amplify the power of individual investors—especially younger cohorts who combine technological fluency with values such as environmental sustainability and diversity—to shape identity-driven proxy campaigns. Although not AI-driven, the campaign led by Engine No. 1 against ExxonMobil illustrates how …

Genetic Equity: How Crispr Gene-Editing Technology Will Reshape Society And Healthcare, Aaron Cranston

Journal of Science & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Exposing The Wizard Of Oz: Transparency And Testing Of Artificial Intelligence Systems, Henry H. Perritt

Journal of Science & Technology Law

The press and media, elected officials, some high-tech entrepreneurs, and a new breed of “ethicists” are calling loudly for governments to regulate artificial intelligence (“AI”), especially generative AI, popularized by ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Much of the clamor is ill-informed about the technology and based on exaggerated concerns about its risks. Nevertheless, the pressure for regulation is real and is already evoking governmental responses. Transparency requirements are far better than command-and-control regulation. The technology is far too new, however, for any form of command-and-control regulation. Would-be regulators need to take a deep breath and sit back for a while to …

Trademark Law: Insights From Hermès Int'l V. Rothschild For The Fashion Industry In The Metaverse, Bruna Graff

Journal of Science & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

The Advance Act: A Revival Of Nuclear Power In The United States, Or Too Little Too Late, Daniel Smith

Journal of Science & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Broadening Replication Standards For Vignette Studies: Introducing Contextually Appropriate Replications, Birgit Schyns, Gretchen Vogelgesang Lester, Michelle M. Hammond

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Vignette studies present specific challenges for replications, yet vignettes are a popular choice for replication studies in leadership. In our review of eight vignette-based leadership publications, only two were able to fully replicate the original study's findings. We suggest that part of the failure to replicate the results of vignette studies may be due to a misalignment between the vignettes and social reality at the time of data collection. This paper highlights the challenges vignettes present due to societal progression and includes recommendations regarding potential methodological artifacts including the appropriateness of the sample, vignette content, and modality. We first discuss …

In Re: Richard Murphy

2026 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

Derra V. 1155 E. 165th Llc

All Decisions

Court granted tenant-petitioner's motion for civil contempt under Judiciary Law § 753(A)(3) and Civil Court Act § 110(e), finding landlord failed to comply with an order to correct HPD violations including a pervasive pest infestation affecting the kitchen, and leaks and mold that caused the bathroom ceiling to collapse. Court entered money judgments for out-of-pocket expenses, a 25% rent abatement for the affected period, and awarded attorney's fees.

West 144 Cluster Llc V. Ramkissoon

All Decisions

In this licensee holdover proceeding, Respondent Aaron Dancy claimed succession rights as the nephew of the former tenant and moved for summary judgment. The court granted dismissal, finding that Petitioner's failure to disclose the subject premises' regulatory status under LIHTC, the 420-c Tax Incentive, the J-51 Tax Incentive, and a regulatory agreement prejudiced Respondent by depriving him of information material to his succession claim.

``Is That What It Means?'' Performative Storytelling In Early Childhood Education: Meaning-Making Through Interaction, Fathia Anggriani Pradina, Untung Yuwono, Bernadette Kushartanti

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

Early childhood education is inextricably linked to the role of adults in every aspect of its process. In addition to formal classroom learning, storytelling with a storyteller is another activity that involves adults. The dialogic interaction between storyteller and children fosters the creation of meaning. This study examines how storytelling, as an interactional practice, can dynamically construct meaning together between storyteller and children. Sixty-one kindergarten children participated in this study during a one and half hour storytelling activity. The qualitative and interactional approach used in this study focused on moment-to-moment exchanges during the naturally occurring storytelling event. The findings indicate …

Secondary English Teacher Experiences Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching With Black Students In Maryland, Angela James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite state mandates requiring culturally responsive teaching (CRT) implementation, the problem addressed by this study was that urban high school teachers are not consistently integrating CRT practices with Black students in Reading/English language arts (RELA) courses. Guided by the CRT framework, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of urban high school teachers with incorporating CRT practices with Black high school students in RELA courses in Maryland. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 RELA teachers. Through open coding, the following three themes emerged: the need for increased and targeted professional development, structured opportunities …

On Intersecting Families Of Spanning Trees, Josias Omar Gomez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Erdös-Ko-Rado (EKR) type theorems carry the answer to the following fundamental optimization question in extremal combinatorics, given a finite family of combinatorial objects alongside a notion of intersection, what is the maximum size of a pairwise intersecting subfamily? In classical EKR type problems, the maximum subfamily is obtained by fixing one common core element or set and taking all members of the family containing it. In this dissertation, we show new results in EKR theory for families of edge intersecting spanning trees of complete bipartite graphs. We provide sharp asymptotic upper bounds for the maximum size of these t-edge intersecting …

Where Art Thou Resident? Past, Present And Future Of Tax Residency Certificates, Bijal Ajinkya, Anuraag Bukkapatnam

National Law School Business Law Review

A Tax Residency Certificate (‘TRC’) is an essential document enabling non-residents to claim tax treaty benefits in India. However, whether a TRC is sufficient in order to claim such benefits has been the subject matter of litigation, particularly in cases involving treaty shopping/tax fraud allegations. The Supreme Court in the case of Azadi Bachao Andolan endorsed the Government’s circulars, which gave primacy to TRCs while evaluating the tax residency of non-residents. However, a recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Tiger Global Investment Holdings has seemingly departed from this principle, citing a change in the underlying law …

Framing Ecclesiastical Issues As Identity Questions: A Comparative Analysis Of Digital Media In North Macedonia And Montenegro, Martin Protogjer

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines how digital media frame ecclesiastical issues as identity questions in North Macedonia and Montenegro. The analysis compares two distinct but structurally related cases: the media reception of the recognition and normalization of the status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric in North Macedonia in 2022, and the media reception of the Law on Freedom of Religion and the church processions associated with the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro in 2020. The study employs qualitative content analysis with a framing approach, based on two purposively selected digital media corpora consisting of 20 media texts from North …

Myth, Spirituality, And Thought Patterns In Two African And Brazilian Ritual Dramas, Dele Layiwola

Global Africa: Journal of African and African Diaspora Studies

This essay conceptualizes and historicizes the phenomena of religion, custom, and belief systems by utilizing two celebrated dramatic texts and performances as practical illustrations of the complex roles they play in the social, political, and cultural lives of human beings, irrespective of their geographical locations. The arguments demonstrate that religion or spirituality is a given phenomenon in the personal and public lives of the denizens of various societies. It possesses its own logic and rules, which may not be mutually compatible, nevertheless constitute a constant universal principle. The paper employs dramatized examples to show that in classical or modern times, …

Situating Everybody Hates Chris (Ehc): The Appeal Of The Show, Elizabeth Johnson, Donald Culverson

Global Africa: Journal of African and African Diaspora Studies

"Everybody Hates Chris" (EHC) achieved critical success by employing comedy to address significant social issues, distinguishing itself in early-2000s television. Unlike earlier and contemporary series such as "Moesha," "The Hughleys," and "The Cosby Show," EHC offered a nuanced portrayal of Black family life, engaging an audience often overlooked or misrepresented by mainstream media. This article examines shifts in the television industry from the late 1990s to the early 2000s that facilitated EHC's innovative approach. The series departed from traditional family sitcoms, functioning not merely as entertainment but as a social commentary on the complexities of the family as a societal …

Christian Missions’ Medical Work In The Colonial Ilorin Province, 1900 To 1960, Rasheed Onagun

Global Africa: Journal of African and African Diaspora Studies

A scarcity of labor and the pursuit of optimal profit maximization led to the colonial government's collaboration with Christian missions to disseminate and expand Western healthcare to the populace. In Ilorin Province and Nigeria as a whole, missions undertook the majority of colonial medical work and public health initiatives. For the first time in the history of Ilorin Province, missionary endeavors introduced Western medicine as an alternative healthcare source to many, necessitating a historical examination. This paper explores existing literature, oral testimonies, and extensive archival documents to analyze the impacts of missionary medical work on the well-being of the people …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Student Awards

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Awards for Outstanding Papers Written in 2025

“No Hen Should Herald The Dawn Lest Misfortune Follow”: Gender, History, And Power Sima Guang’S Comprehensive Mirror, Zoe Ngan

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

It was not a particularly notable occasion when Emperor Gaozong 高宗 of the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907) established Wu Zetian 武則天 as a mid-ranked concubine in 654. Emperors, throughout Chinese history, were polygamous rulers who acquired no shortage of concubines per the Rites of Zhou 周禮, an ancient ritual text which proposed that rulers obtain 121 wives and consorts. Wu’s nomination signified the unpredictability of imperial favour and almost certainly did not turn heads when her appointment occurred.

Christianity Behind The Iron Curtain: How Creative Arts Gave A Voice To The Voiceless, Riana Johnson Wills

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1988, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) held celebrations across the Soviet Union to mark the Millennium of Christianity in Russia, commemorating a thousand years since the baptism of Rus in 988. While this was a monumental day for Christians, many believers across the Soviet Union felt a sense of dissonance. For decades, religious freedom and worship had not been privileges they enjoyed. Thousands of Christians suffered for their belief. The communist regime began in 1922 with Vladimir Lenin. The USSR built upon Marxist ideology where atheism is a fundamental and they expected nationwide compliance to these ideologies. …

“It Was The Women Who Kept It On”: The 1984–85 National Union Of Mineworkers Strike In Wales, Brett Bodily

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On March 3rd, 1984, more than 140,000 miners, all members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) walked out on strike in protest of proposed colliery, or “pit” closures. Years of disputes culminated in a major showdown between the largest labor union in the United Kingdom and a resurgent national conservatism led by Margaret Thatcher— leader of the Tory party. The communities built around coal mining recognized the Tory pit closure plan for what it was—an existential threat to their way of life. Women within these communities rose to the occasion and took on leadership and organizational responsibilities, many for …

Leasing Land, Losing Sovereignty: Us Military Land Leasing In Okinawa, Japan, Kathryn Blau

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Military land leasing in Okinawa has played a central role in limiting Okinawan political sovereignty since the end of World War II by fostering economic dependence on US military bases and enabling policies that override local opposition. Tracing the evolution of the leasing system under both American occupation and Japanese administration reveals how land expropriation, compensation policies, and increasingly generous financial incentives encouraged reliance on base-related income while discouraging advocacy for land reversion and base reduction. The analysis further demonstrates how the Japanese government's legal enforcement of mandatory lease renewals, particularly during the 1996 Okinawa land dispute, curtailed the rights …

Method, System, And Computer Program Product For Fairness-Aware Test-Time Prompt Tuning, Kamalaruban Parameswaran, Michael William (Tom) Kempton, Stuart Burrell, David Sutton, Yoann L. Launay

Defensive Publications Series

Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for fairness-aware, test-time prompt tuning of a vision-language machine learning model. An example method includes receiving text prompts and images, inputting the text prompts and the images to a vision-language machine learning model, generating text embeddings based on the text prompts and image embeddings based on the images, calculating target similarity scores between the target text embeddings and the image embeddings and spurious similarity scores between the spurious text embeddings and the image embeddings, calculating a measure of target entropy loss based on the target similarity scores and a measure of spurious …

Image Fusion Based On Deep Learning With Different Locations And Sizes Of Objects, Baneen Al-Kalabi, Tawfiq Al-Assadi

Journal of Intelligent Informatics, Networking, and Cybersecurity

Multi-focus image fusion combines partially focused images into a single all-in-focus composite. Existing object-based methods assume precise spatial and scale alignment across source images, an assumption that frequently fails in Misaligned Multi-Focus Dataset scenarios due to camera displacement and focal length variation. This paper proposes a novel training-free, object-aware fusion framework to address this limitation through a five-stage pipeline: YOLOv8x detection, SAM2-L segmentation, LoFTR correspondence matching, a novel Scale-Aware Area Resize Algorithm, and GLCM-guided MSB/LSB bit-level fusion. The framework was evaluated on the EDMF benchmark (20 image pairs, synthetically modified to simulate Misaligned Multi-Focus Dataset shifts) and a Misaligned Multi-Focus …

Upright: Zheng 正 And The Semantics Of Political Legitimacy, Kaz Wegmuller

Open Educational Resources

This article examines the semantic structure of the left-right political binary in contemporary Anglophone discourse. It argues that the fusion of “right” as directional orientation with “right” as moral correctness produces a form of semantic over-determination that complicates the articulation of democratic legitimacy in periods of political crisis. The claim is not that directional metaphors determine political outcomes, but that they furnish a discursive resource that can be mobilized in struggles over authority, order, and rectitude. To illuminate the contingency of this fusion, the article turns to the East Asian concept of zheng 正 (uprightness), whose semantic independence from handedness …

Entrepreneurship Ecosystems, Desire, And Convergence, Kyle Scott

Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship ecosystem research explains convergence through mechanisms such as informational cascades, institutional isomorphism, herding, clustering, and knowledge spillovers. While these perspectives account for how convergence occurs, they provide a more limited explanation of why entrepreneurs, investors, and other ecosystem participants come to pursue the same ventures, industries, and measures of success. This paper argues that convergence reflects the social mediation of desire. Drawing on René Girard's theory of mimetic desire, it develops a conceptual framework explaining how entrepreneurial desire becomes aligned within shared evaluative environments. The paper advances three propositions. First, ecosystems characterized by evaluative monism are more likely to …