Digital Commons Network^™

Black Lives Still Matter: The Unconstitutionality Of The Reasonableness Standard In The Doctrine Of Qualified Immunity, Angela D. Minor, Esq.

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Statehood: The Bridge To Transforming The District Of Columbia's Criminal Justice System, Shelley Broderick

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

...But Words Can Also Hurt You: How Hate Speech Contributed To Harmful Immigration Policy, Nicole Dillard, Esperanza Sanchez

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Response To 911 Calls: Defunding The Police, Now With All Of The Danger And None Of The Protection, Marcia M. Ziegler

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dobbs Was Wrong: The Liberty To Choose To Give Birth Should Be Federally Protected, Alysa J. Wiggins

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Corneal Epithelial Tissue Engineering Approaches To Treat Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency, Sasirekha K

Theses and Dissertations

A clear healthy cornea is essential for visual acuity. As a self-renewing and regenerating tissue, the corneal epithelium has a stem cell pool, the limbus that acts as its proliferative reservoir. When limbal epithelial stem cells are destroyed or become dysfunctional, a pathological state known as limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) manifests. Damaged corneas have been successfully reconstructed by transplanting the cultured limbal epithelial stem cells. Limbal stem cell transplantation (LSCT) is one of the applicable and most challenging procedures in clinical ophthalmology for the reconstruction of the stratified ocular surface epithelium in patients with LSCD. Given the above challenge, …

Our Bodies, Our Choices: Reproductive Justice And Social Embodiment, Charles Olney

Political Science Faculty Publications

Feminist scholars of reproductive justice argue for a broader model of politics organised around embodied experience. But to fully express the intersectional politics of reproductive justice, more attention must be given to the social function of embodiment—the ways that bodily markers create associative communities among strangers. This shared form of embodiment establishes connections that exceed the intimate relationship of a specific pregnancy. In particular, foetal embodiment manifests via communities with vested interest in the social meaning of life. These communities are affected, albeit indirectly, by reproductive choices and are therefore valid subjects of concern for reproductive justice. I develop the …

Combating Dehydration In The Dementia Patient, Crystal L. Widemon

MSN Capstone Projects

Dehydration is a prevalent global health issue impacting individuals across all demographics, with the elderly—especially those suffering from dementia—being particularly vulnerable. As the elderly population grows and dementia rates increase, addressing dehydration becomes crucial to reduce hospitalizations, mitigate healthcare costs, and enhance patient well-being. This executive summary outlines a proposed intervention aimed at improving fluid intake among elderly dementia patients residing in residential care facilities.

Research indicates that dehydration significantly impacts the health and financial costs associated with dementia care. Studies have shown that dehydration exacerbates cognitive decline and behavioral symptoms in dementia patients, leading to increased dependency and healthcare …

Board Of Directors For Kings Oak Terrace Coop. Apts. Inc. V Bersh

All Decisions

The landlord, Board of Directors for Kings Oak Terrace Coop. Apts. Inc., commenced a holdover licensee proceeding against the tenant, William Bersh, who was the licensee of the subject premises pursuant to an agreement with the previous shareholder, Sara Bersh. The tenant moved to dismiss the proceeding, arguing that the estate of Sara Bersh was a necessary party. The court agreed, finding that the estate of a deceased tenant is a necessary party to a holdover proceeding unless the lease has been terminated, cancelled, surrendered, or assigned. The court dismissed the proceeding without prejudice.

Exploring Human Perception In Machining Monitoring, Rui Bob Yang

Theses

Monitoring CNC machining processes ensures the satisfaction of dimensional tolerances and surface finish requirements, while minimizing tool wear and downtime caused by accidents. Sensor-based automated monitoring systems driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) trained on extensive datasets have demonstrated high accuracy and consistency in monitoring tool wear progression. However, the performance of AI-driven monitoring systems heavily relies on the available training data, often struggling with scenarios not covered in training, such as variations in tool path, feed rate, and machine models. In contrast, experienced machinists excel in monitoring machining operations across diverse tool paths, machining parameters, and machine tool models, often …

Department Of Hous. Preserv. & Dev. Of The City Of N.Y. V. Rosenfeld

All Decisions

The landlord, Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), sought an order finding that the tenant, Juda Rosenfeld, committed harassment and awarding civil penalties. The tenant moved to dismiss the harassment claims, arguing that HPD lacked standing. The court held that HPD has the authority to bring harassment claims under Administrative Code § 27-2120 (a) and that harassment is a violation of the code. The court also found that HPD is not required to serve a notice of violation before commencing the proceeding.

An Examination Of The Factors That Affect The Recruitment And Retention Of African American Male Teachers In Public Schools, Brandon M. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative explanatory case study is to explain the underrepresentation of African American male teachers in public school education in the state of Arkansas through the lens of the teacher diversity gap and organizational commitment. Participants included 10 African American male teachers who taught in grades K-12 in public schools. The primary source of data collection was completed through the use of semi structured interviews via Zoom. Findings indicated that school districts, educational agencies and the local government should collectively increase their efforts to successfully recruit African American males to the teaching profession. Specifically, the findings suggested …

Essays In Family Economics, Margarita Podledneva

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I investigate the relationship between family structure, domestic environment, and child outcomes, with a focus on educational achievement in Russia. Chapter 1. Fertility, Marriage, and Cohabitation Across Family Types: Stylized Facts The first essay analyzes family structure in Russia, providing essential context and intuition for the rest of the thesis. Using the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), I document several stylized facts about the composition of families in Russia, with a focus on families with children. Additionally, I explore trends in cohabitation, marriage, and divorce, as well as fertility decisions among women in different family structures. I …

Extending Segment Tree For Polygon Clipping And Parallelizing Using Openmp And Openacc Compiler Directives, M. K. Buddhi Ashan, Satish Puri, Sushil K. Prasad

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A segment tree is a versatile tree-based data structure over intervals or line segments efficiently supporting several computational operations such as stabbing query, segment arrangement, and planar point location, both theoretically and practically. Polygon clipping is a basic operation in domains such as Computer Graphics, Computer-aided Design, and Geographic Information Science (GIS). Given two polygons with n vertices, polygon clipping algorithms find the geometric intersection or union in O(n2) time using Foster's all-to-all edge intersection testing and O((n + k) logn) time using Vatti's sweep line-based method, where k is the number of intersections. No known segment tree implementation, including …

China Maritime Report No. 40: Onboard Political Control - The Ship Political Commissar In Chinese Merchant Shipping, Conor M. Kennedy

CMSI China Maritime Reports

Since the creation of the People’s Republic of China’s merchant fleet, the Chinese Communist Party has implemented a system of political control aboard oceangoing vessels through ship Party branches and ship political commissars. This report focuses on the ship political commissar, a Party representative assigned to oceangoing merchant ships, particularly within state-owned shipping enterprises, to carry out political and administrative work in the management of ship crews. Having peaked in authority and power during the Cultural Revolution, the ship political commissar position has evolved over the decades following economic reforms in the 1980s. Despite years of problematic implementation, the ship …

“The Limit Does Not Exist”: Utopian And Feminist Pedagogies In 21st-Century Broadway Musicals, Stephen Reaugh

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes four Broadway musicals that are adaptations of popular films and novels: Legally Blonde, Fun Home, Waitress, and Mean Girls. These texts are performed in the 21st century and each stages either sexual assault or the fear of a sexual assault that is narrowly avoided. More narrowly, this dissertation focuses on the 2007-2018 time period in which these musicals were performed, thus leading up to and through Alyssa Milano's pivotal #metoo message on Twitter. The dissertation reads the review and marketing milieux in which these musicals existed, as well as each text in performance, to theorize how spectators …

State Of Utah, Plaintiff/ Appellee V. Daniel Macbeth, Defendant/ Appellant : Brief Of Appellant, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –)

On appeal from the Fourth Judicial District Court, Utah County, Honorable Robert C. Lunnen, District Court No. 211402124

Sean Reyes, Counsel for Appellee

Freyja Johnson, Rachel Phillips Ainscough, Counsel for Appellant

Impact Of Covid-19 On Hospital Expenses Of Diabetes And Obesity Patients In Rural Eastern North Carolina, Courtney Battle-Bradley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Multiple chronic conditions have caused a significant increase in hospital expenses. Diabetes and obesity have been identified as variables that negatively impact patient outcomes, but hospital expenses for diabetes and obesity patients who had and did not have COVID-19 had not been explored. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to compare the difference in hospital expenses, if any, of diabetes and obesity patients with and without COVID-19 at a North Carolina rural health care center. The study’s design was a correlational analysis using simple linear regression guided by Andersen’s behavioral model of health service utilization. The dependent variable …

Adhd And Chronic Anhedonia: Antecedents Of Treatment-Resistant Depression And Suicidality In Adults, Tia Sternat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression is a chronic and debilitating disorder. Approximately 280 million people live with depression, and more than 700,000 lives are lost due to suicide each year. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a severe form of depression which is highly correlated with comorbid psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and associated with increased suicidality. Anhedonia, the reduced ability to experience pleasure, is associated with various psychiatric conditions, including ADHD. The theoretical framework for this study was the biopsychosocial model. Depression may be diagnosed in accordance with a defined cluster of symptoms, and/or how symptoms are experienced vary by individuals …

Relationship Between Student Physical Therapist Pain Knowledge, Beliefs, And Self-Efficacy Assessing And Treating Pain, Ryan Morgan Reed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that affects a large percentage of the population. According to recent studies, chronic pain management is best treated using a biopsychosocial (BPS) non-pharmacological approach rather than a biomedical (BM) approach. Student Physical Therapists (SPTs) trained in a BPS approach have different beliefs about pain than those trained in the BM approach. Beliefs about pain are related to pain knowledge and self-efficacy for treating pain patients. To date, no study has examined these three variables together or explored differences in BM versus BPS beliefs in relationship to the other two variables. Guided by social cognitive …

Factors That Influence Elementary School Teachers Who Refer Students To Special, La' Trina Dudley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is an overrepresentation of African American students in special education classes; placing African Americans disproportionately in special education classes lowers their self-esteem and compromises their academic performance. This study aimed to increase understanding of the meaning-making processes elementary school general education teachers use to refer African American students for special education services. I used critical race theory (CRT) to support the study, which suggests that structural racism in schools harms African American students' self-esteem and academic achievement. Two research questions directed the study: What are the decision-making processes of elementary school teachers who refer African American students for special …

Analysis Of Water Usage And Greenhouse Gas Emissions As Transition Fuel From Coal To Natural Gas In San Juan County, New Mexico, Tahereh Kookhaei

Civil Engineering ETDs

Abstract

Coal is a major contributor to various environmental issues, making the transition to alternative energy sources essential for reducing environmental impacts and combating climate change. San Juan County in New Mexico has historically depended on coal-fired power plants for producing electricity. However, due to environmental and economic pressures, there is a move to reassess energy strategies. This study explores the transition from coal to natural gas (NG) in San Juan County, with a focus on assessing changes in water usage and emissions (CO₂, NO_x, and SO₂) at the Four Corners (coal-fired) and Afton …

A Social Media Game To Increase Physical Activity Among Older Adult Women: Protocol Of A Randomized Controlled Trial To Evaluate Challenge, Michael C Robertson, Maria Chang Swartz, Karen M Basen-Engquist, Yisheng Li, Kristofer Jennings, Tom Baranowski, Elizabeth J Lyons

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Older adult women often do not engage in sufficient physical activity (PA) and can encounter biological changes that exacerbate the negative effects of inadequate activity. Wearable activity monitors can facilitate PA initiation, but evidence of sustained behavior change is lacking. Supplementing wearable technologies with intervention content that evokes enjoyment, interest, meaning, and personal values associated with PA may support long term adherence. In this paper, we present the protocol of an NIA-funded study designed to evaluate the efficacy of CHALLENGE for increasing step count and motivation for PA in insufficiently active older women (Challenges for Healthy Aging: Leveraging Limits …

Evaluating The Client Base And Housing Outcomes Of A Community Based Organization Serving Unhoused Adults, Emi Caprio

Doctoral Dissertations

There is a well-documented, bidirectional relationship between mental health and housing instability. When coupled with the complex historical, societal, and political factors contributing to houselessness, the result is a unique set of mental health needs within this community. Despite this, there is a low rate of mental health service utilization and a dearth of research on how to tailor services to meet the needs of unhoused individuals. Additionally, first-hand perspectives are often omitted, as this population is seen as “hard to reach”. The goal of this two-phase mixed-methods program evaluation was to better understand the demographic and mental health profiles …

Roots Of Turmoil: Exploring The Causes Behind Fano Force's Struggle Against Abiy Ahmed's Administration, Agenagn Dagnew Mr

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

The struggle between Abiy's administration and the Fano had led to other-round chaos and violence in the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia, after the conflict between the Tigray People Liberation Front’s (TPLF) and the federal government of Ethiopia took place from 2020 to 2022. In regard to this, the researcher explored the causes that resulted in Fano's struggle with Abiy Ahmed's administration. The research design was an exploratory case study. Document review, audio-visual sources, and a semi-structured interview were employed to look into the reasons for Fano Force's conflict with Abiy’s administration. The Oromo nationalist movement attacks on Amhara, the …

Application Of New Media In Peace Building And Conflict Resolution In Nigeria, Eric Msughter Aondover, Ademolu Patrick Okuneye, Timothy Ekeledirichukwu Onyejelem

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

The role of new media in conflict prevention, resolution and escalation is now a global concern to both peace and conflict scholars and public policy makers. The kind of information the media disseminate is critical to sustaining peace and harmony in society and vice versa. New media has a long history. The media have suffered deprivation in the hands of both military and civilian regimes. However, this has not in anywhere diminished the growth of the media in all its ramifications. Traditional media genre like newspaper, radio and television has received much recognition and seminal attention, but social or new …

Burundi: Building Democracy On An "Ethnically" Divided Society, Elias Sentamba

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

Pre-colonial Burundi was a homogeneous society: Burundians shared the same language, culture, religion, history, etc. and lived harmoniously on the same hills. This population was made up of a multitude of clans and Hutu, Tutsi, Ganwa and Twa social components of very secondary social importance. Even the monarchy reflected the various segments of such a nation.

It was this harmony that Belgian colonisation definitively ruined, with the policy of divide et impera. By claiming that the Ganwa and the Tutsi were the superior races and the Hutu and Twa the inferior ones, a whole process of political and administrative manipulation …

Strategic Governance To “Silence The Guns” In Africa: Urban Sub-Saharan African Perceptions On War's Root Causes., Peter Tresor Miyalou, Chun Yan Hu

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

Despite the African Union’s campaign to silence the guns in Africa by 2020 (STGIA 2020), many African countries are suffering from wars and political instability, the primary causes of underdevelopment in Africa. This paper examines the roots causes of wars in Africa and provide a strategic governance to silence the guns beyond 2020. To accomplish this, we gathered data from 169 questionnaire responses administered across 25 African countries, to capture African people’s perceptions on the root causes of wars and whether employing strategic governance would help silence the guns in these countries. The results showed that political power struggle (47.9%), …

Challenges Of Peacebuilding In The Global South: Taking Sudan As A Case Study, Wallelign Zelalem Getie

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

This paper examines the challenges faced in peacebuilding practices within the Global South, focusing specifically on Sudan, an East African state. Despite a long-standing peacebuilding history, the Global South's contributions to international peace and security often go unnoticed. Instead, these contributions are frequently overshadowed by numerous challenges. In particular, the post-independence era in Africa has been characterized by fragmented peace and security, primarily due to civil wars and internal conflicts. The study highlights that numerous regional and international actors have been involved in Sudan's peace agreements since the outbreak of the first major intra-state conflict in 1972. The study employed …

The Pretoria Agreement: Reflections On Its Essence, Implementation Status And The Way-Forward, Assefa Leake Gebru Dr.

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

In 2018, the political landscape of Ethiopia experienced a profound metamorphosis with the ascension of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, igniting aspirations for democracy and enduring peace. Yet, this promise was soon overshadowed by escalating tensions between the new leadership and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), ultimately plunging the nation into the tragic depths of the Tigray war, which erupted in November 2020. This war reached a pivotal moment with the signing of the Pretoria Agreement on November 2, 2022.

This study endeavors to critically assess the efficacy of the Pretoria Agreement and its implementation, scrutinizing its alignment with the …