Digital Commons Network^™

Birch On Fetal Sentience, Claudia Passos-Ferreira

Animal Sentience

Birch proposes that human fetuses be recognized as sentience candidates from 12 weeks, on the grounds that midbrain-centered theories fall within the zone of reasonable disagreement among theories of consciousness. I raise a methodological and a policy problem for his view. Methodologically, whether the midbrain-centered view belongs within the zone is disputed, so there is no consensus about the consensus.  Furthermore, the evidence Birch discusses for 12 weeks does not actually estimate the onset of sentience; the proposed threshold tracks anatomical rather than functional onset. On policy, the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling shows that fetal sentience is difficult to …

Msphere Of Influence: Autoantibodies During Malaria—A Historical Observation Taking The Modern Spotlight, Juan Rivera-Correa

Publications and Research

Juan Rivera-Correa works in the field of immunology of tropical infectious diseases, focusing on the role of autoimmune responses in malaria. In this mSphere of Influence article, he discusses the papers by Rosenberg and Daniel-Ribeiro, which were two of the first papers to report the presence of autoantibodies in malaria patients, changing the paradigm and blurring the line between autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.

Response Of The Eddystone Lighthouse To Storm-Wave Impacts, Davide Banfi, Alison Raby, Geoffrey Bullock, David Simmonds

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Structural response to wave action is difficult to predict due to complex wave–structure interactions, particularly for structures subject to impulsive loads from breaking waves such as rock lighthouses. This study examines the response of the exposed Eddystone Lighthouse, located some 21 km offshore from Plymouth, UK, using field measurements from geophones, video cameras and an offshore wave buoy. Accelerations and displacements are derived from geophone velocity measurements recorded just below the lantern during 3085 response events in the exceptional UK winter storms of 2013–2014. These are complemented by video records of breaking waves with estimated heights up to 10–15 m. …

Bouldering The Academic Wall, Alicja Syska

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Chapter 10: Swipe, Reward, Repeat: Gamification, Intimacy, And Emotional Labor In Digital Dating, Emma Taylor

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

The rise of online dating platforms has transformed how individuals approach romantic relationships, with many users increasingly engaging in these spaces for entertainment as well as connection. Central to this shift is the phenomenon of gamification – the integration of game-like mechanics into non-game contexts, which has redefined user behaviors, shaped romantic choices, and influenced relationship outcomes. This chapter critically examines the gamification of online dating, exploring how swiping, match notifications, rankings, and rewards reframe intimacy as entertainment, alter decision-making, and marketize romantic engagement. Drawing on psychoanalytical and ultra-realist frameworks, and using original qualitative data from interviews, the analysis reveals …

Ocean Sediments And Shifting Baselines—A Call To Revise European Habitat Classifications, Rebecca S. Turley, Shion E.A. Reynell, Sian E. Rees, Marija Sciberras, Timothy Scott, Bryce D. Stewart, Duncan Vaughan, Emma V. Sheehan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Many ocean sediment habitats on the continental shelf have been extensively trawled and dredged with bottom-towed fishing gear before scientific baselines of the seabed could be recorded. Observations of ocean sediments may reflect shifted baselines towards more mobile and homogenous environments, dominated by disturbance-tolerant, short-lived species. This will have implications for the appropriateness of existing Marine Protected Area (MPA) management. Low levels of trawling and dredging in the Isles of Scilly provide an opportunity to study a UK example of minimally impacted sediment habitats, where absence of bottom-towed fishing since 2013 has provided the chance for 10 years of ecological …

Exploring The Harmony And Turn Of Wang Guowei's Epistemological Aesthetics From The Perspective Of “Two Jingjie Concepts”, Lisha Zhao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The “Two Jingjie Concepts” in Poetry Remarks in the Human World appears prominently in both the manuscript and the article in National Essence Journal, but disappeared from the published article in Shengjing Times many years later. This textual variation reflects Wang Guowei's ideological shifts and cognitive transformation. This article investigates the reasons for the disappearance of the “Two Jingjie Concepts”by comparing the similarities and differences among the relevant “Jingjie” entries in the three versions personally written and selected by Wang Guowei over the years. It further examines Wang Guowei's aesthetic construction under the influence of diverse epistemologies in the …

Reaffirming “Sensibility”: F. R. Leavis And The Critical Community, Weihua He

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

With his militant stance towards industrial civilization and mass culture, as well as his adherence to and promotion of elite culture, F. R. Leavis has become a pivotal figure in the tradition of British cultural criticism. However, as the editor-in-chief of the literary journal Scrutiny, Leavis wrote a large number of influential literary critical articles, many of which remain illuminating for contemporary literary criticism, yet they have not received sufficient attention in Chinese academia. In terms of literary criticism, Leavis opposed the application of theories in a rigid manner, emphasizing the critic's “sensibility” and unique gifts, as well as …

Regional Creative Economy Resilience Index: An Analysis Of The Creative Industry's Role In Fostering National Economic Resilience According To Asta Cita, Dks Nugraha Nugraha, Ramadhania Mumtaz Keesa

Jurnal Vokasi Indonesia

Indonesia's creative economy has survived worldwide economic shifts, especially the COVID-19 epidemic. This industry now drives innovation, culture, and technology. No systematic technique exists to quantify the creative ecosystem's impact on regional economic resilience. The Regional Creative Economy Resilience Index (IRED) is a conceptual model based on Asta Cita 2024–2029's eight strategic missions. This article uses the Asta Cita framework to describe how the creative industry strengthens national economic resilience and advances the IRED idea as a data-driven research and policy tool. This qualitative-descriptive study synthesizes 20 periodicals (2020–2025), analyzes policy, and maps themes using Asta Cita. Source triangulation …

Chancery Court Refuses To Dismiss Claim That Activision Directors Failed To Satisfy Revlon Standard Of Conduct In Sale To Microsoft, Robert S. Reder, Jae Ho Yoon

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

The Fragmentation Of Helcar: A Paratethyan Model For Rhûn, Núrnen And The Dead Marshes, Federico Manzoni

Journal of Tolkien Research

This work proposes a conjectural paleogeographic model linking the Sea of Rhûn, Núrnen and the Dead Marshes to the former Sea of Helcar. Beginning from Christopher Tolkien's suggestion that Rhûn may represent Helcar ``vastly shrunken,'' the study combines textual evidence, the Ambarkanta, Fonstad's cartographic reconstructions, and terrestrial analogues drawn from the evolution of the Paratethys, the Messinian Salinity Crisis and other endorheic basins. Helcar is interpreted not merely as an isolated body of deep water but as the centre of a broader hydrological province subsequently partitioned by relief change, sedimentary infilling, basin isolation and drainage reorganization. Within this model, Rhûn …

Cognitive Resilience At The Edge: Hyperdimensional Computing Versus Deep Learning For Hardware-Degraded Rf Classification, Adrian B. Cisneros, Jeong Yang

Military Cyber Affairs

Autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) operating in contested electromagnetic environments must classify Radio Frequency (RF) signals on edge silicon that degrades over the mission lifetime due to thermal stress, radiation, and manufacturing variation. Deep neural networks dominate RF classification on pristine hardware, but their weights are precise and interdependent, causing catastrophic accuracy collapse as the underlying chip ages. We investigate whether Hyperdimensional Computing (HDC), a brain-inspired paradigm that distributes information across thousands of dimensions, can provide a reliability floor where Deep Learning fails. Using the RadioML 2016.10A dataset filtered to five digital modulations relevant to drone command-and-control links, we trained …

Hands-On Ransomware: An Experiential Wannacry Case Study For Undergraduate Cybersecurity Education, Eli Creek Richmond, Thomas R. Devine

Military Cyber Affairs

Ransomware represents one of the most disruptive threats in the cyber landscape, yet hands-on malware analysis remains rare in undergraduate cybersecurity curricula. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an experiential learning module centered on the WannaCry ransomware case study, deployed in a senior-level course at West Virginia University. Students performed static and dynamic analysis using industry-standard tools. Pre- and post-module assessments demonstrated measurable gains in self-reported competency across seven technical dimensions. The module's competencies align directly with DoD Cyber Workforce Framework Work Role 212, Cyber Defense Forensics Analyst, supporting education-to-workforce pipeline development.

Breaking The Build: Detecting Software Supply Chain Vulnerabilities In Ci/Cd Pipelines, Mercedes R. Wahl, Dr. Benjamin Yankson

Military Cyber Affairs

This study examines whether integrating structured DevSec- Ops security controls into CI/CD pipelines can reduce software supply chain risk by preventing vulnerable components from progressing through the software development lifecycle. Software supply chain attacks frequently originate from weaknesses or compromises within dependencies, build environments, and trusted development stages, making early detection essential. A controlled sandbox experiment compared two pipeline configurations: a baseline CI/CD pipeline with no automated security enforcement and a secure DevSecOps pipeline integrating automated vulnerability scanning, SBOM generation, and artifact integrity verification. A known vulnerable dependency, the Python requests package (version 2.19.0) associated with CVE-2018-18074, was intentionally introduced …

Mitigating Common Vulnerabilities And Exposures In Cobol-Based Critical Systems Using The Strangler-Fig Pattern, Lauren E. Caruso, Vincent J. Compeau, Assefaw H. Gebremedhin

Military Cyber Affairs

COBOL-based legacy systems continue to underpin critical infrastructure in banking and government sectors despite their age and associated cybersecurity risks. Originally developed through a Department of Defense–sponsored initiative to standardize business computing, COBOL remains widely used in mission-critical environments. However, these systems face increasing vulnerabilities due to outdated security architectures, workforce shortages, and rising maintenance costs. This paper examines cybersecurity and operational challenges associated with COBOL systems and evaluates the Strangler Fig pattern as a modernization strategy that enables incremental replacement while maintaining continuity. The findings highlight implications for financial institutions and public-sector organizations dependent on legacy infrastructure.

From Framework To Toolchain: Implementing Zero Trust Architecture In Cloud-Native Environments For Dow Compliance, Shelby C. Snyder

Military Cyber Affairs

Federal agencies face a fiscal year 2027 target for enterprise-wide Zero Trust deployment, but NIST SP 800-207A defines logical components without identifying the Kubernetes technologies that implement them. This paper proposes a three-tier mapping of the Policy Engine, Policy Administrator, and Policy Enforcement Point to service mesh, microsegmentation, and perimeter tooling, stating the criteria by which each component is classified. It then applies a defined rubric to six Zero Trust vendors across component alignment, Kubernetes capability, federal authorization posture, and evidence quality, finding that no single vendor covers all three tiers. The mapping is a testable architectural proposition; a Stage …

Hybrid Deep (Cnn-Bilstm) Intrusion Detection For Defense And Mission-Critical Networks, Corey A Cheng, Jermaine Anim-Addo, Asma Jakir Hussain, Zion O Smith-Fox, Sanjay Goel, Yuksel Celik

Military Cyber Affairs

This article examines how hybrid deep learning can strengthen intrusion detection for military and defense networks. Using the CSE-CIC-IDS2018 dataset, the study evaluates a CNN-BiLSTM model designed to detect benign traffic and multiple attack categories, including DDoS, DoS, botnet, brute-force, web attack, and infiltration activity. The model achieved strong multi-class detection performance, with 0.9893 accuracy and 0.9979 ROC-AUC. The findings suggest that AI-supported intrusion detection can improve cyber defense operations, analyst triage, and protection of mission-critical networks.

Are Large Language Models Safe? A Vulnerability Analysis Of Generated Source Code, James Richards-Perhatch, Mitchell Milander, James M. Halvorsen, Assefaw Gebremedhin

Military Cyber Affairs

The increasing complexity of software and demands for rapid deployment have pushed the software industry to rely more on large language models (LLMs) in developing source code. However, as this technology is still relatively recent, questions can arise about the safety of the generated code. This paper presents an analysis of seven LLMs with respect to the presence of vulnerabilities within source code. Our findings show that LLMs are more likely to produce vulnerable web applications than vulnerable C programs, and that vulnerabilities are more likely to occur when program size and complexity increases.

Journal Ida 2023 102 4

Journal IDA

The Journal IDA is a peer-reviewed, scientific periodical owned and published by the Indiana Dental Association, a constituent of the American Dental Association.

Journal IDA concentrates on the clinical aspects of dentistry, including case studies and research; practice management and business aspects of dentistry, from start up to transition; and also includes special and regular feature articles.

Journal Ida 2023 102 3

Journal IDA

The Journal IDA is a peer-reviewed, scientific periodical owned and published by the Indiana Dental Association, a constituent of the American Dental Association.

Journal IDA concentrates on the clinical aspects of dentistry, including case studies and research; practice management and business aspects of dentistry, from start up to transition; and also includes special and regular feature articles.

Breaking Free From Gender Norms: Adolescent Constructions Of Femininity Through The Patriarchy And High School Musical, Ina Tolentino

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Ina is a double major in nursing and psychology from Elk Grove, CA. Ina “always had trouble embracing myself with the way masculinity and femininity are pitted against each other” and found meaning in writing this essay, as they believe “there’s so much value in painting ourselves however we want … regardless of the expectations of gendered roles.” As a non-binary individual, Ina feels that writing this piece was a healing experience and a reminder to embrace all aspects of who they are. They love reading and writing, which has led to a bedroom flooded with different kinds of books. …

Rage Against The Machine: How Screen Time Is Impairing Our Intelligence And What We Can Do About It, Jillian Steeves

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Jillian is a history major from Danvers, MA. Her essay was inspired by an article she read in her composition class about how screens could damage cognitive functioning, and she thinks that “for a lot of people, myself included, overindulgence in tech is increasingly affecting our quality of life.” Jillian noted the irony of a history major writing about a current topic, but she “found there to be a lot of overlap between my history studies and the topic of my essay,” and she was able to “take many of the skills I’ve picked up as a historian — research, …

Fake News’ Negation Of A Useful Education, Vance Naftal

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Vance is an international relations Major from Baltimore, MD. Vance chose to write about the negative effects that misleading/false news stories can have on an individual, especially when in college, because he “sees society moving farther and farther away from truth and leaning more into sentiments based on emotions — which is directly at odds with the point of a higher education.” Vance started college at 16 years old. At 17, he decided to take a gap year (which became a gap of 4 years) to enter the workforce. At 21, he found himself yearning to be a part of …

Your Teachers Are Bullshitting You, Kylie Medeiros

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Kylie is a biology major from Fairhaven, MA. Because she was specifically told for this assignment that students “couldn’t bullshit this essay,” she was reminded of all the times throughout her academic career when other teachers said things of a similar nature. “Being short on time, and desperately in need of a research topic,” she found that it would be “incredibly ironic to bullshit my paper in the form of a research on the topic of BS itself.” While writing her essay Kylie found it interesting how much creative freedom she was given to research and write about something she …

Moral Punishment, Anna Krasnoslobodtseva

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Anna is a biochemistry major from Milton, MA. She decided to write about the prison system and punishment because of conversations about morality during her Composition II class, and because she believes “the prison system in the United States is often discriminatory and does not work toward the rehabilitation of people like it should.” She felt that writing this was “more free than a traditional structured high school essay” and that it “involved a lot of learning, by means of stepping outside of what I am comfortable with writing and exploring new research methods, going to the library, and taking …

What’S In A Name?: A Discussion Of The Nature Of Bilingual Education In The United States, Emma Kennedy

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Emma is a Latin American and Iberian Studies major with a minor in Secondary Education from Ipswich, MA. She has always been intrigued by languages, language barriers, and language learning throughout her studies. She was intrigued to “read about people who have the opposite perspective, who oppose multilingual education, and want their children to focus on perfecting their English.” Emma wants to be a teacher, focusing on multilingual students. She feels that her paper’s connection to her career “made the researching and writing process feel more interesting and relevant to her real life.” Emma enjoys reading and uses it as …

Textism And The Shift In English Writing, Alex Der-Kazaryan

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Alex is a management major with a concentration in accounting from Belmont, MA. While writing this essay, Alex wanted to investigate “how our writing has evolved over the last thirty years or so.” Noticing a “retraction of socialization from other people,” since we introduced ourselves to new technologies, Alex focused this essay on the common complaint that “texting has only done damage to formal writing.” Alex has also come to enjoy writing as a way of self-expression and writes that it “can now be used in a way that benefits me.” Alex is also a huge history buff and has …

2022 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

No abstract provided.

From Static Frameworks To Adaptive Evaluation: Piloting An Ai-Powered Evaluation Planner For Media Literacy And Digital Skills Interventions, Natalia Edisherashvili, Marit Puusepp, Leen D'Haenens, Tania Azadi, Łukasz Tomczyk, Gemma Martinez Fernández, Miguel Ángel Casado Del Río, Diego Martinez-Castro

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

Evaluating media literacy and digital skills (ML&DS) interventions remains challenging due to limited methodological capacity, time, and resources. Existing frameworks offer valuable guidance but are static and require expert adaptation. This pilot study tested an AI-powered Evaluation Planner developed within the REMEDIS project to support practitioners in designing feasible, evidence-informed evaluation plans. Using a mixed-methods design, 56 participants from 12 countries assessed the tool’s usability, clarity, and perceived utility after completing the Planner and an online survey. Findings showed high perceived ease of use, cognitive clarity, utility, and multilingual functionality. Associations between clarity, ease of use, and intention to reuse …

Dysphagia Risk And Oral Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults And Residents Of Long-Term Care Facilities, Lin-Yang Chi

Articles in Press

No abstract provided.