Digital Commons Network^™

An Anthology Of Snake Stories: Close Encounters From New Hampshire To Laos, Todd Swain

Appalachia

Garter snakes, copperheads, rattlesnakes, a pursuit by a Moorish viper, and more.

Appalachia Winter/Spring 2026: Complete Issue

Appalachia

Winter/Spring 2026 - Volume LXXVII, Number 1 - Issue #261. Healing and Hazards: Finding and Saving Health in Wild Places

Deliberative Intelligence, Iterative Consensus, And Outcome-Grounded ‘Wisdom’ Via Reality Backpropagation, Joseph Jm Walker

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure introduces Reality Backpropagation, a mechanism for aligning artificial intelligence systems with real-world outcomes over time. While conventional AI systems rely on internal error gradients derived from training data, the disclosed system incorporates external “reality gradients” by evaluating predictions against observed consequences and updating agent influence accordingly.

Implemented within a modular, multi-agent architecture, the system includes structured deliberation, an agreement matrix for mapping convergence and divergence, and an iterative consensus loop in which outputs are treated as provisional rather than final. A Wisdom Module performs a Reality Audit Loop that compares expected and actual outcomes across multiple temporal …

System And Method For Cross Issuer Payment Coordination, Gaurav Gupta, Ritesh Saini, Haseen Ahmad

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure relates generally to the field of payment systems, in particular to a system and method for enabling cross issuer payment coordination with real-time temporary card issuance. A merchant interface may provide a customer with an option to obtain a temporary payment card in real time to avail an offer associated with a different issuer. Upon selection, a transaction request including an indicator for temporary card issuance may be transmitted through a merchant bank to a payment network, which routes the transaction for authorization and facilitates issuance and provisioning of the temporary card with a predefined limit. The payment …

Confidentiality Of Ai Conversations: Protecting Self-Represented Litigants Who Use Chatgpt For Legal Advice, Anoo D. Vyas

Duke Law & Technology Review

When a layperson uses ChatGPT to obtain feedback on a legal matter, attorney-client privilege may not apply, as ChatGPT is not a lawyer, much less a human. Further, while lawyers are entitled to protection for their opinion work-product, it is not clear whether self-represented litigants are entitled to the same protection. Additionally, the broader duty of confidentiality binds only attorneys, not AI systems like ChatGPT. The public increasingly uses AI tools such as ChatGPT. If a layperson employs ChatGPT for legal advice, particularly in a civil matter, such communications may be discoverable and potentially admissible. This presents an access to …

Examination Of The Hiring Process: Bias In Selection, Conor Johanson

Honors Theses

Racial discrimination in the hiring process remains a persistent problem despite decades of anti-discrimination legislation and widespread bias-awareness training. The present study examined whether resume quality and candidate race jointly influence hiring evaluations among human resource professionals, a population with formal training in equitable selection practices. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, 129 HR professionals recruited through Prolific were randomly assigned to evaluate a high- or low-quality resume attributed to either a Black or White candidate. Participant evaluations were assessed across warmth-related and competence-related dimensions derived from the Stereotype Content Model, with Aversive Racism Theory guiding predictions about when …

The Story Game: Dissuading The Abolition Of Man With Narrative Intellectual Virtue & The Hunger Games, Camille Bewley

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

Relativism in modern America is leading society toward the fruition of C.S. Lewis’ warning of the abolition of man. This nation once founded on freedom inches closer to the dystopia which Suzanne Collins depicts in her Hunger Games series. This paper recognizes the growing need for humanity to realign with truth and universal values, first by reorienting itself to narratives. Through intellectual virtues of understanding and prudence as defined by Aristotle, society can translate stories into their inherent purpose; seeing truth and reality within the bottle of imagination. Stories contain the answers, narratives are the way humanity subscribes to reality. …

Glossip’S Road Map To Nowhere, Vida Johnson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Glossip v. Oklahoma was heralded as a victory for the defense. This essay argues that the 2025 Glossip decision does little to fix the myriad problems that led to Mr. Glossip’s wrongful conviction. While ultimately the Supreme Court reached the correct outcome this time, the ordinary judicial process and its purported safeguards were not what saved Mr. Glossip’s life. Rather, it was random chance that came to Mr. Glossip’s aid.

Ten years earlier, the Supreme Court, with many of the same Justices on the bench now, paved the way for Mr. Glossip’s execution. The …

Responsible Authorship, Ethical Publishing, Research Integrity, Susan Garfinkel

LEAP Conference Speaker Slides

No abstract provided.

Unseen, Unheard, Uninvited: Black Fathers And School Access In Redeveloped Spaces, James Dejong Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Abstract This qualitative study examined how three Black fathers in South Memphis's Foote Park/Foote Homes redevelopment area navigated school access for their children amid community displacement. Rooted in Community Cultural Wealth Theory (Yosso, 2005), which highlights the diverse forms of capital—aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial, and resistant—that communities of color possess but are often overlooked by mainstream institutions, the research focused on three individuals: Mister Miles, Mister Otis, and Mister Langston. These pseudonyms honor Miles Davis, Otis Kaye, and Langston Hughes and position the fathers as holders of valuable community wealth whose educational navigation experiences constitute legitimate knowledge. Documentary sources …

Formative Experiences, Belief Formation, And Entrepreneurial Success: An Upstream Development Perspective For Entrepreneurship Education, Johan C.G. Eriksson

Dissertations

This research examines how formative experiences inform the formation of entrepreneurial beliefs and how those beliefs relate to a practitioner-informed understanding of entrepreneurial success. Using a mixed-methods design, the study began with semi-structured interviews with 25 experienced entrepreneurs. Participants reflected on how they define entrepreneurial success and which formative experiences they associate with achieving it. Inductive thematic analysis produced a practitioner-informed definition of entrepreneurial success and identified twelve formative experiences connected to entrepreneurial development. A subsequent two-round Delphi study engaged these expert participants to further examine the relative importance of the identified experiences and to provide insight into which formative …

Cardozo Law News Brief: April 17, 2026, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Briefs

Highlights from the April 17, 2026 Cardozo Law News Brief include:

• Professor Jessica Roth spoke to NPR about why no arrests have resulted from the Epstein files, noting the lack of context surrounding released materials.
• Professor Zalman Rothschild authored an op-ed in The Washington Post arguing that the Supreme Court should uphold childhood vaccination mandates and warning against expansive interpretations of parental rights.
• Professor Rebecca Ingber was quoted in The Washington Post on the Senate’s war powers vote, emphasizing the legal realities of U.S. involvement in Iran.
• Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat spoke to Law.com about the Supreme Court’s Cox decision and …

Agenda (4-17-2026), California State University, San Bernardino - Associated Students, Incorporated

Associated Students, Incorporated records

No abstract provided.

Humphrey's Eulogy: A Functionalist View Of Trump V. Slaughter And The Role Of The Ftc, Alex Zhang

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

Trump v. Slaughter presents the Supreme Court with a foundational question about the administrative state: whether the for-cause removal protections afforded to Federal Trade Commission Commissioners under the FTC Act are consistent with Article II's vesting of executive power in the President, and, if not, whether Humphrey's Executor v. United States should be overruled.

In March 2025, President Trump removed two FTC Commissioners without satisfying the statutory standard of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. The dismissed Commissioners sued, and the District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment in their favor, holding that Humphrey's Executor …

Using Ai To Identify National Security Threats: A Holistic Examination Of The Legal Risks And Increased Need For Regulation, Skylar Mcvicar

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

Artificial intelligence (AI) is integrating rapidly into daily practice, including in the national security sector. AI has the potential to improve bureaucratic efficiency, enhance military intelligence and threat assessment, and develop autonomous vehicles and weapons, making it a revolutionary tool in national security. Since AI implementation is a relatively recent phenomenon, there is currently limited governmental regulation in place to safeguard against potential violations of civil liberties and other legal risks. Given AI's capacity to infringe on certain civil liberties such as the Fourth Amendment right to privacy and the Fourteenth Amendment protection against discriminatory policies, establishing strong oversight measures …

Bronx Park East Housing Co. Inc. V Lazri

All Decisions

The landlord commenced a plenary action against a former tenant seeking recovery of rental arrears, damages, and legal fees. The landlord moved for summary judgment and to strike the tenant's answer. The court denied both motions, finding material issues of fact regarding the amount of debt owed. The landlord's rent ledger did not credit payments made after May 2022, whereas the tenant provided checks for payments made subsequently, creating a factual dispute requiring a trial. The motion to strike the answer was also denied due to these unresolved factual issues.

Comments On Proposed Regulations Reg-117270-25: Trump Accounts Under Section 530a, Jin Huang, Margaret Clancy, Michael Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Stephen Roll

Center for Social Development Research

In December 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department published a notice of intent to issue regulations concerning Trump Accounts (also known as 530A accounts), requesting public comments on proposed regulations for the Trump Accounts Contribution Pilot Program. This testimony presents comments submitted n response. Drawing on decades of Child Development Account research, including insights from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment (SEED OK), the authors urge Treasury to adopt automatic enrollment to ensure that all eligible children— not only those whose families actively enroll them—receive the $1,000 pilot-program contribution. They outline federal–state implementation pathways using Social Security number data, recommend layered …

Causes, Effects, And Solutions Of Wrongful Convictions, Allison B. Gobuzzi

Honors Theses

This study examines the wrongful conviction of Anthony Hinton and other examples that illustrate the causes of wrongful convictions in the United States and the effects that wrongful convictions have on the wrongfully accused and their families. This study uses research from scholarly articles and legal cases to analyze the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions and the impact on the wrongfully accused and their families. The research concludes that wrongful convictions are frequently the result of both evidentiary and procedural issues within the criminal justice system.

Silicon Dioxide Multimode Interferometer Spectrometers, James Harkness

Theses and Dissertations

Multi-mode interferometer (MMI) spectrometers are a type of reconstructive micro-spectrometer based on imaging light propagation patterns in MMI waveguides. This dissertation describes how the MMI spectrometer was implemented for the first time using a silicon dioxide core. This approach showed a 6 dB improvement in SNR over SU-8 core devices. To implement the silicon dioxide MMI spectrometer, a fabrication technique for selectively roughening the surface of the waveguide needed to be developed. SU-8, a photosensitive polymer, was etched with oxygen plasma to create grass-like nanostructures. SU-8 grass can then be used as a transfer mask to plasma etch a surface. …

Subversive Speculative Theology In Women's Stories From The Mormon Home Literature Movement, Rachel Meibos Helps

Theses and Dissertations

In the 1910s, Mormon women used sentimental speculative fiction published in official Relief Society Magazine to engage theological questions often reserved for male ecclesiastical authority. This paper examines three short stories: Edna Coray's "A Quitter–Almost." (1918), Lucy May Green's "A Whiff of Ether" (1919), and Laura Jenkins's "Beyond the Portals" (1916), each of which depicts a woman's encounter with the spirit world at the moment of death or near-death. Drawing on the Mormon Home Literature movement and the broader tradition of sentimental fiction as political and moral discourse, I argue that these authors used narrative to fill gaps in official …

An Examination Of K-12 Administrators' Philosophical Views On Music Education, Kathryn Ann Smith

Theses and Dissertations

K-12 administrators' beliefs about the purpose and value of music education have resulted in inconsistent support for students' access to music education in public schools. This study sought to examine administrators' philosophical views about music education and factors that may influence those beliefs, contributing the first known application of a praxial framework in assessing administrator belief systems. I developed a survey incorporating Song's (2025) Philosophical Beliefs Scale (Ph.B. Scale) to measure utilitarian, aesthetic, and praxial philosophical perspectives, along with key demographic and contextual characteristics. Participants (N = 65) were recruited via e-mail and K-12 administrator Facebook groups and represented a …

Tracing Microplastics From Polymer-Coated Urea: Urban To Agricultural Pathways And Environmental Fate, Caden Joseph Seely

Theses and Dissertations

Polymer-coated urea (PCU) is widely used as a slow-release nitrogen (N) fertilizer because it improves N use efficiency and reduces losses through leaching, denitrification, and volatilization. However, the polymer coating raises concerns about potential microplastic (MP) transport to surface waters following fertilizer application. This thesis evaluates the off-site transport of MPs and associated nutrient and sediment losses from PCU in both urban landscape and agricultural systems. In the urban landscape study, treatments included sod, mulched beds, and water-efficient ground cover receiving uncoated urea, PCU, or liquid slow-release N at 225 kg N ha⁻¹ (with reduced rates for beds and ground …

Melvin Mendoza-Perez V. Attorney General United States Of America

2026 Decisions

Agency

Psoas Muscle Volume Asymmetry, Not Attachment Site Asymmetry, Is Associated With Chronic Low Back Pain Status, Kassity D. Clay

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with increasing evidence implicating neuromuscular factors such as muscle asymmetry in its pathophysiology. The psoas major muscle (PMM), a key contributor to lumbar spine stability, has been comparatively under-investigated despite its biomechanical importance. PURPOSE: To determine whether right-to-left differences in PMM volume and attachment site asymmetry are associated with CLBP; to evaluate whether ODI, IPAQ, and age are associated with PMM volume imbalance; and to assess whether combined PMM volume and attachment asymmetry are associated with CLBP. METHODS: A retrospective secondary analysis was conducted using lumbar MRI data …

Affective Archives: Friendship And Material Intimacy In The Manuscripts Of Dora Wordsworth And Maria Jane Jewsbury, Madison Elizabeth Maloney

Theses and Dissertations

Manuscripts have long been analyzed for how they circulated alongside traditionally published texts, with scholars taking an interest in both the content and material form of such documents. In a print-centric era like the early nineteenth century, the surplus of published writing was sometimes framed as impersonal and generic. As such, material elements of manuscripts like paper, ink, and handwriting were increasingly valued as affective reflections of authors' bodies and circumstances. For example, tear stains on a letter might allow for a more personal and meaningful connection between writer and reader than the homogeneity of mass-produced texts. In a project …

Implementing Power Strategy Combined With The Animated Film To Improve The Writing Ability In Narrative Text For Junior High School, Muhari Muhari, Utami Widiati, Furaidah Furaidah

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This study aimed to improve students' narrative writing by implementing POWER strategy combined with the animated film at class VIII of SMP. It was CAR design conducted in 2 cycles. The findings showed an improvement in writing ability in which 29 students achieved the minimum passing grade and the rest 6 students were in fair level of writing, and the result of teaching and learning process showed that 82.5% respond positively

National E-Criteria In Finnish Higher Education: A Tpack-Informed Policy Analysis, Ejike Okonkwo

Essays in Education

Responding to calls for a deeper understanding of contextual factors shaping learning, this paper examines the Digivisio 2030 e-criteria, a recently introduced national higher education quality framework designed to enhance digital pedagogy. Document analysis was used to examine five key features of the e-criteria: research-based, modularity, diversity, accessibility, and availability. The findings reveal that the e-criteria function as structural enablers, offering non-prescriptive guidelines that support reliable and user-friendly digital environments, flexible course design, inclusive teaching practices, equitable access to learning resources, and ongoing reflection on pedagogical processes. These findings are interpreted through a deductive approach using the Technological, Pedagogical, and …

Hurc 2026 Program, Caden W. Haustein

Ex Sapientia Loqui

The program for the 2025 session of Harding Undergraduate Research Conference (HURC), sponsored by the Harding Honors College and the Arkansas Eta chapter of Alpha Chi.

An Integrative Description Of Euscorpius Diagorasi Sp. N. From Rhodes, Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Konstantinos Kalaentzis, Francesco Frigioni, Eliza Kaitetzidou, Alessio Iannucci, Alexandros Triantafyllidis

Euscorpius

The genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 comprises a diverse and taxonomically challenging group of scorpions in the Mediterranean, with Greece representing one of its principal centers of diversity. In this study, we provide an integrative description of Euscorpius diagorasi sp. n., a new species from Rhodes Island, Greece. The new species is described on the basis of adult male and female morphology and mitochondrial COI sequence data. It is a small oligotrichous species characterized by a total length of approximately 21–25 mm, pale yellow to light brown coloration with darker reddish-brown pedipalps, pectinal tooth count of 8 in the male …

Solitude And Busyness, Eliza Kuhlmann

Ex Sapientia Loqui

This essay addresses a prevalent problem in modern society: excessive and out-of-control busyness. It outlines some of the problems of busyness and then offers a solution---namely, solitude. Along with defining the phenomena, the benefits and practical applications of solitude are shared in an attempt to counteract some of the harms of busyness.