Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Tampon (Menstrual Equity & Justice Certification), Rucha Kale

Masters Theses

This thesis argues that while menstruation is a common life event, experiences related to menstruation are not inherently inequitable for a range of reasons that relate to wider currents that revolve around a narrow idea of the “default” human body. One imagined as non-menstruating, uninterrupted in its activities, or endowed with social, economic, and political agency. This project asks what becomes possible when those usually excluded from this norm are no longer treated as exceptions to accommodate, but as core and central constituencies to design with and for.

Using menstruation as a critical site of inquiry, the thesis first examines …

Waterway: A Steam-Based Therapeutic Device System, Mingyuan Dong

Masters Theses

Across history and global cultures, water has played a central and often spiritual role in practices of care, from cleansing rituals to saunas and steam therapies. Yet, within contemporary product design, water is typically treated as a utility rather than as an experiential material capable of shaping perception, attention, and well-being. This thesis, Waterway, investigates how water, specifically in its steam state, can be designed as both a therapeutic medium and a ritualized experience that engages the body and mind.

Waterway proposes a steam-based wellness system that addresses physical pain and somatic discomfort while cultivating slower, more attentive interaction. Rather …

My Utopian Dream, Pingfan Que

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the author’s feelings of exclusion and marginality through a critique of mainstream social narratives, consumerism, and capitalism. Written in an autobiographical and essayistic mode, it combines personal

reflection with an exploration of the motivations behind an art practice shaped by the desire for equality, belonging and co-existence. Because the author’s artistic practice revolves strongly around personal narrative, the thesis uses subjective experience and metaphor to affect as both material and method. Through the allegorical figures of the Bluebird, the cat, and “blankness,” it explores the difficulty of social belonging, the pressure of adaptation, and the emotional struggle …

The Wall As Commons, Raveena Deshpande

Masters Theses

Collective infrastructures for informal domesticity 

As urban populations grow, access to affordable housing declines, pushing certain sections of the population to build informal settlements outside legal and formal construction systems. These settlements often lack access to basic living infrastructures - water, sanitation, and electricity- even as they house a large share of the population in developing countries.

Current models of designing for informality exist as top down planning approaches, that ignore lived realities at the scale of the home. These design models are incongruent with informal lifestyles, and undermine the sense of belonging that comes with rituals of self-authorship in …

Perceptual Heterotopia: A Spatial Experience Through Light, Media, And Textiles, Anne Yeoji Kim

Masters Theses

This study originates from sensory experience of observing sunrises and sunsets. Although the space in which these phenomena occur remains constant, it is perceived in different ways due to changes in the light that enters the space at these times. From these sensory experiences, the study began to inquire into the relationship between reality and the ideal. From this inquiry, it evolved into an exploration of how the ideal, or utopian, could be experienced through the senses within the realm of reality.

The concept of a heterotopia, as proposed by Michel Foucault, was used to expand upon these issues. A …

Learning From The Remains: Meditations On Sustainability, Julae Tan

Masters Theses

What remains when a person or material assemblage is stripped of its

component parts?

What is left is the remainder, an irreductible core.

Purely cerebral learning can be fleeting. A hybrid approach of cerebral and

visceral, “perverse” learning grounded in a familial understanding of the

remainder yields a more resilient pedagogy that endures long after leaving the

site of formal education.

This research was completed under the aegis of the 2025/26 Sustainability

Design Lab and features the subject of making with paper discards as the

primary mode of interrogation.

Via a collection of essays, a literature review, as well as …

Billiards Cosmographies, Camilla Radoyce, Camilla Radoyce

Masters Theses

The world is full of systems too large to change. Climate catastrophe, extraction, infrastructure, and property organize everyday life while remaining largely invisible in their totality. We possess the tools to alter these conditions, yet the same arrangements continue to return. The same worlds are built again and again.

Billiards Cosmographies treats billiards as a way of thinking about how humans organize around inherited systems and enduring forms. This thesis proposes the billiards table not as a fixed object, but as a gizmo: a device for imagining how new social worlds might be assembled from a constellation of what already …

Fragments Of The Grassland, Zihan Liu

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates Tibetan nomadic pastoralism in the Himalayan region, where habitation is inseparable from seasonal migration and environmental conditions. Focusing on Ganzi County in Sichuan Province, where nomadic and settled lifestyles coexist.

The research positions "documentation" as both method and design driver, provides a possibility that architecture can mediate cultural continuity and coexistence between Tibetan nomadic pastoralism and its surrounding culture. By transforming documentation methodology into a design methodology, the mobility of architecture has become into a spatial strategy. Through a mobile marketplace, the project enables ongoing exchange between nomadic and settled lifestyles and among diverse cultural groups, positioning …

Unleashing Material Agencies, Yahui Chen

Masters Theses

Contemporary architectural practice has come to rely on a narrow repertoire of high-energy industrial materials, giving rise to what might be called a material "hegemonic structure" in which certain substances and construction logics dominate at the expense of others. This dominance suppresses material diversity and limits architecture's capacity to align with ecological processes, producing a systemic metabolic imbalance within the built environment. At its root, this imbalance reflects a structural absence: the persistent treatment of architecture as a closed, controllable system that imposes human will upon matter while suppressing its inherent agency.

Engaging with what Jane Bennett terms "vital materialism," …

Power Consumption Prediction And Energy Forecasting Using Machine Learning Models, Sheik Mohideen Shah S Mr

Theses and Dissertations

Power consumption trends are essential to be identified in the energy grid areas to analyze the utilization, deficiency, and the measures to be taken for an effective and comfortable usage of energy. There are two scenarios in which the power consumption can be analyzed, namely identification and prediction. Identification deals with the post-utilization analysis of energy trends, whereas prediction deals with prior analysis of various factors of energy utilization, including the cost, supply details, shortages, and the need for new energy resources. In the existing models, the power consumption-related data are collected through smart meters, and the energy forecasting methods …

Security Threats And Diminishing Market Access: Implications For Chinese Investors, Audrey Faulks

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Western countries have responded to geopolitical threats associated with China's rise as a world power by restricting the presence of leading Chinese telecommunications companies and equipment in their network infrastructure. The past several years have seen a targeted and expanding effort by countries to remove Huawei, one of the largest actors in the telecommunications sector, from their national markets. Huawei has responded to these regulatory measures by threatening to bring arbitration claims under China's bilateral investment treaties with several European states. Additionally, Huawei has filed a Request for Arbitration against Sweden for its exclusion from the 5G market. This note …

Governing With Digital Platforms: A Chinese Lesson For The U.S.?, Shitong Qiao

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Can digital platforms make law and governance more efficient? Both China and the United States host some of the world's largest digital platforms, which lead in internet technologies, provide critical digital infrastructure, and mediate private communication and public discourse. While the American experiment has stalled, the Chinese government has made remarkable progress in leveraging digital platforms to enhance efficiency in law and governance.

The study highlights China's successes in streamlining court operations, curbing online piracy, and reshaping interactions between the Chinese government and its citizens. In practice, digital platforms have become co-governors, exerting substantial influence over public institutions rather than …

Journal Staff

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.

From Smallpox To Synthetic Biology: The Evolving Threat Of Biological Weapons And The Jus Ad Bellum, Sabrina I. Slagowitz

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Biological weapons are not new, but recent developments in genetic technology have fundamentally transformed their threat potential. Advances in genome sequencing, editing technologies, and CRISPR have made pathogen modification faster, cheaper, and more accessible than ever before, reinvigorating fears of large-scale biological warfare and giving rise to a new class of synthetic bioweapons. This note examines the implications of genetically modified biological weapons for the jus ad bellum, the international law governing the use of force. Drawing an analogy to cyberweapons, it argues that bioweapons share key characteristics with cyberweapons—stealth, latency, asymmetry, non-kinetic lethality, and anonymity—that will generate similar legal …

International Law Situations: Blockade, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

This Situation examines the right of belligerents to establish and enforce a blockade and the right to conduct visit and search of enemy and neutral merchant ships globally outside neutral waters.

Muscle Changes In Critically Ill Children Following An Early Progressive Exercise In The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Pre- And Post-Intervention Study, Shaodan Qi, Yuxia Yang, Jing Hu, Weijie Shen, Hao Zhou, Jos M. Latour, Weiming Chen, Ying Gu

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Background: Most critically ill children in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are immobilised. Prolonged immobilisation in the PICU negatively affects children's physical health outcomes. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an early progressive exercise (EPE) intervention to improve the PICU-acquired muscle weakness and to assess the safety of the EPE intervention. Study Design: A single-centre pre- and post-intervention design was adopted. The intervention was the EPE starting within 48–72 h after PICU admission. Primary outcome was the 7-day difference of right rectus femoris muscle cross-sectional area (RRMCSA). Secondary outcomes were the 7-day difference …

Impact Of Digital Leadership And Organizational Intelligence On Digital Organizational Transformation: An Empirical Study, İzzet Dedeoğlu, Murat Ak, Filiz Demir, H.Tezcan Uysal

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Technological and digital developments in the current information age have brought profound transformations to organizations, especially business operations and structures. Digital organizational transformation may be more effectively managed through the combined influence of digital leadership and organizational intelligence. This study examines the impact of digital leadership and organizational intelligence on the digital organizational transformation process, addressing a clear gap in the existing literature, as few studies have empirically investigated these factors together. Data were collected via an online survey from 104 employees of a packaging company in Konya, Türkiye, using a convenience sampling method. The study was designed as an …

A Psycho-Spiritual Transformation In Covid-19 Crisis Narratives: A Comparative Study In Indonesia And Pakistan, Heru Prakosa, Nurlaela Widyarini, Johanes Seno Aditya Utama, Juan Carlos

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Although the COVID-19 pandemic ended as a global health emergency, its psychosocial legacy persists in many communities. This study examines how religion and spirituality support recovery in Indonesia and Pakistan by shaping crisis narratives. Faith-based language is treated as psychosocial data and interpreted through its functions in meaning-making, emotion regulation, social connection, value anchoring, and action commitment using Psycho-Spiritual Transformation (PST) as a guiding framework. Open-ended responses were collected from 274 participants via an online survey in July 2021 (Indonesia n = 236; Pakistan n = 38). Across both contexts, narratives typically moved from pressure and inner conflict toward spiritual …

Recruitment As Care: Building Trust With Hard-To-Reach Populations In Sensitive Health Research, Alexander N. Vera

MUSC Conference Presentations

Recruiting participants for sensitive health research on social media presents unique ethical and methodological challenges. This session shares lessons learned from a qualitative study examining how young adults in South Carolina use TikTok to seek sexual health information. The presentation highlights creative and trauma-informed recruitment strategies that successfully engaged a hard-to-reach population while maintaining participant trust and privacy. Attendees will learn how recruitment language, social media algorithms, and transparency practices shape engagement, and why building trust matters more than technology alone. The session also considers how these lessons can inform future research in health sciences librarianship, especially for librarians supporting …

Examining Whether The Relationships Between Specific Psychiatric Diagnoses And Both Adolescent Suicide And Reoffending Are Moderated By Sex, Michael T. Baglivio, Katherine Jackowski, Brooke Neupaver, Grayson Black, Bailee Perry, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

The current study examines the relationships between specific psychiatric diagnoses and both adolescent suicide and reoffending, the implications of adverse childhood experiences on these outcomes, and assesses whether these relationships are moderated by sex. Using a multilayer multiyear statewide sample of 6,515 adolescents who completed juvenile justice residential placements, logistic regression and moderation models were used to examine these relationships. Findings demonstrate that the rate of suicidal ideation was 2.5 times higher for female youth, while the recidivism rate was 1.7 times higher for males. Psychiatric diagnoses prevalence ranged from 65.9% for conduct disorder to less than 1% for personality …

Using Wellbys To Demonstrate The Social Value Of Social Prescribing At A National Level: Evidence From Green Social Prescribing In England, C Dayson, Ian Wilson, D Leather, A Foster, R Jaques, A Haywood, R Garside, C Harris, H Hunt, E Holding, Kerryn Husk, Rebecca Lovell, Katie Shearn, J Dobson, J Thompson

Peninsula Medical School

Social prescribing is a health policy initiative that aims to create closer links betweenhealth services and community activities. Despite its rapid adoption there are concernsabout efficacy and value for money. We used a WELLBY (Wellbeing Adjusted Life Year)approach to identify the social value created through a national mental health-focussedgreen social prescribing (GSP) programme in England (2021-23). We found that GSP canlead to significant wellbeing benefits for people experiencing mental ill-health, with asocial return on investment (SROI) of between £2.38-£5.90. However, we argue that theWELLBY approach should not be used uncritically. In our study WELLBYs proved to be aneffective social value …

Holistic Management Of Epilepsy In Adults With Intellectual Development Disorders, Elena Fonseca, Antonella Riva, Samuel López‐Maza, Malin Zaddach, Marie‐Claire Porter, Ingo Borggraefe, Lance Watkins, Andreas Schulze‐Bonhage, Rohit Shankar, Pasquale Striano, Lina Nashef

Peninsula Medical School

This seminar addresses the complexity of the management of epilepsy in adults with intellectual development disorders (IDD), advocating holistic and multidisciplinary care aligned with the learning objectives of the International League Against Epilepsy. Epilepsy is significantly more prevalent in people with IDD, presenting unique diagnostic, therapeutic, and psychosocial challenges. Accurate diagnosis is hampered by limitations in communication, necessitating reliance on caregivers' observations. In adults with IDD and epilepsy, utilization of diagnostic tools, e.g., video electroencephalograph (EEG) monitoring, is helpful but can be challenging. Management requires careful consideration of cognitive and behavioral comorbidities and the effects of antiseizure medications (ASMs) on …

Music And Spirituality: Theological Approaches, Empirical Methods, And Christian Worship, Chelle Stearns

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Music and Spirituality: Theological Approaches, Empirical Methods, and Christian Worship, edited by George Corbett and Sarah Moerman, by Chelle Stearns.

The Sound Of Vultures' Wings: The Tibetan Buddhist Chöd Ritual Practice Of The Female Buddha Machik Labdrön, Michael R. Sheehy

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for The Sound of Vultures' Wings: The Tibetan Buddhist Chöd Ritual Practice of the Female Buddha Machik Labdrön, authored by Jeffrey W. Cupchik, by Michael R. Sheehy.

The Noise Silence Makes: Secularity And Ghana's Drum Wars, Vicki L. Brennan

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for The Noise Silence Makes: Secularity and Ghana's Drum Wars, authored by Mariam Goshadze, by Vicki L. Brennan.

Cool Christianity: Hillsong And The Fashioning Of Cosmopolitan Identities, Fernando Berwig

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Cool Christianity: Hillsong and the Fashioning of Cosmopolitan Identities, authored by Cristina Rocha, by Fernando Berwig.

“About Organs”: A Lutheran Statement About Organ Music From 1597, And Its Historical Context, Markus Rathey

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

The article presents a translation of an important document about organ music, published by the Theology Department at Wittenberg University in 1597. While written in response to an ongoing controversy, the document became the authoritative statement of the Lutheran church about organs and organ music in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The article presents the first complete English translation of the text and it analyzes the historical context of the document.

Tuning The Neighborhood: Purifying People, Places, And Environments In Suburban Kolkata, Sourav Saha

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

In modern science, disciplines such as physics, mechanical and civil engineering, seismology, and acoustics have conceptualized vibration as a quantifiable mechanical phenomenon, measured through the metrics of frequency, amplitude, and resonance. In contrast, scholarship in anthropology, musicology, and sound studies has approached vibration as a socio-historical, cultural, and political phenomenon. This article examines how vibration (spandan) operates as a metaphysical, sensory, and ethico-affective force that mediates relations among people, places, and environments. Focusing on the practice of satsang adhibesan (devotional congregation), the article demonstrates how members of the Deoghar-Satsang community participate in sonic rituals of prayer, silent chanting, meditation, sacred …

Singing About Singing: Images Of Choirs In Aquitanian 'Versaria', Eva Moreda Rodriguez

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Charles Atkinson and Gunilla Iversen, among others, have noted and discussed the increased presence of terms relating to music, singing and sound in Latin-language liturgical or paraliturgical music of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Aquitanian versus and Benedicamus trope repertoires provide a prime example, with words such as cantum, carmen, chorus and others recurring frequently. The recent development of scholarly strands (Emma Dillon, Sarah Kay) that considers how music and text combines (Dillon’s “sound of song”) to shape and put forward discourses that are precisely about the nature of sound, singing and music open up new opportunities to examine …

Table Of Contents, Journal For Social Justice Editorial Board

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

This document contains the Table of Contents and editorial masthead for the current issue of the Journal for Social Justice at DePaul University College of Law. It includes the articles, essays, and other scholarly works selected for publication, as well as recognition of the Editorial Board, staff editors, faculty advisors, and contributing editors who participated in the editorial and publication process for this Volume.