Digital Commons Network^™

Is There Any Interactive Effect Between Competition And Risk Networks? Evidence From The Indian Banking System, Abhishek Poddar, Arun Misra

American Business Review

The study investigates the dynamics of interaction between bank competition and risk networks of the Indian banking system between 2010 to 2020. It has estimated bank competition using the Lerner Index through the translog cost function and bank risk using Z-Score. The study found that bank competition and risk networks are concentrated during the economic upcycle and dispersed during the downcycle. The article also found that big and profitable banks are the least competitive but riskier. The concentrated risk network structures reveal that systemic risk spillover is quite eminent in the Indian banking system. The distance-to-default model, panel vector autoregression …

In Companies We Trust: Cheap Talk Or Genuine Virtue?, Bishal Bc, Thuy Simpson

American Business Review

This paper examines how corporate narratives support either the impression management hypothesis or the incremental information hypothesis by analyzing the frequency of trust words used in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of 10-K filings. By directly linking trust language to actual fines and violations enforced by more than 400 federal, state, and local regulatory agencies in the U.S. from 2010 through 2023, we find that firms using more trust words in their MD&A tend to incur higher monetary penalties. We also document a significant link between increased use of trust words and poorer firm performance. Additional analyses reveal …

Does Higher Minimum Wage Discourage College Enrollment? A Cross-State Empirical Study Of The United States, Arindam Mandal, Sumant Rai, Elias K. Shukralla

American Business Review

The paper investigates the impact of minimum wage increase on college enrollment in the U.S. using a panel of 50 U.S. states during the period 2009-2018. By examining the impact of minimum wage on college enrollment, particularly within different types of post-secondary institutions, our study adds to the existing literature. This is a departure from previous research, which predominantly concentrated on two-year college enrollment. We find evidence that raising minimum wages adversely affects overall college enrollment. However, the results vary depending on the type of colleges. The increase in minimum wage has a negative impact on the enrollment of two-year …

Identifying Sex- And Gender-Specific Endocrinological, Lifestyle, Psychosocial, And Socio-Cultural Targets For Alzheimer's Disease Prevention In Africans: The Female Brain Health And Endocrine Research In Africa (Fember-Africa) Project, Chinedu Momoh, Benard Aliwa, Lukoye Atwoli, Karen Blackmon, Edna Bosire, Samuel Gitau, Harrison Kaleli, Ciru Kamanda, Linda Khakali, Rachel Maina, Peter Mativo, Sylvia Mbugua, Zul Merali, Kendi Muchungi, Anne Njogu, Douglas Nyankira, Alice Ondieki, Catherine Onyancha, Stanely Onyango, Jasmit Shah, Sheena Shah, Cynthia Smith, Dilraj Sokhi, Sheila Waa, Thomas Thesen

Brain and Mind Institute

Dementia rates are rising globally, with the burden increasing most rapidly in low- tomiddle-income countries. Despite this, research into Alzheimer’s disease and relateddementias (ADRD) among African populations remains limited, with existing modelsbased on Western cohorts that overlook sex-, gender-, and ancestry-specific factors.The Female Brain Health and Endocrine Research in Africa (FemBER-Africa) project,hosted at the Brain and Mind Institute, Aga Khan University, Kenya, will establish adeeply phenotyped cohort of 250 African individuals across the ADRD spectrum. Itwill assess sex-specific risk factors linked to ethnicity, lifestyle, and endocrinologicalvariables using fluid-based biomarkers (blood and saliva), neuroimaging (magneticresonance imaging and positron emission tomography), and …

Evaluating The Impact Of Alcohol On Dementia: Evidence From 13 Developing Countries, Cyprian Mostert

Brain and Mind Institute

Background: The 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention identified alcoholconsumption as a risk factor contributing to a global increase in dementia cases by onepercent.

Method: We used a panel VAR model to analyze the impact of alcohol consumption ondementia prevalence in 13 developing countries with different alcohol tax systems.

Result: In countries with progressive alcohol tax systems, an increase in taxes onbeer and spirits leads to a 10 percent reduction in per capita alcohol consumption.This decline corresponds to a 4 percent reduction in dementia prevalence within fouryears. In countries with hybrid alcohol tax systems, a combination of alcohol bansand tax …

Exploring Career Development Through Situated Learning Experiences Of Highly Skilled Business Postgraduate Migrants, Rasidat Adedayo Adeniji Oseni

Doctoral

This study investigates the career development journey of highly skilled Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan and Tanzanian business postgraduate migrants in Ireland, focusing on the interplay among learning experiences, systemic barriers, and career shocks. Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), Situated Learning Theory (SLT), and Career Shock (CS), the study examines how self-efficacy develops through participation in Communities of Practice (CoPs) and how resilience enables skilled migrants to overcome shocks as they progress from education to employment in a Global South to Global North context. It further explores the transfer of knowledge acquired in Ireland to the migrants’ home countries. The …

Is Donation Funding A Dilemma For Microfinance Institutions?, Hamid Uddin, Masnun Al Mahi, Shabiha Akter, Sabur Mollah, Jia Liu

Management Faculty Publications

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play critical roles in providing financial access to low-income communities worldwide. Yet, reliance on donation funding in the operations poses fundamental challenges to their long-term sustainability. These scholars argue that this dependence creates an unclear agency relationship between donors (principal) – providing cost-free funds – and the MFI managers (agent), heightening moral hazard concerns. Also, due to the nature of the business model, MFIs’ operating leverage increases as they increasingly expand lending operations with more cost-free donation funds. Based on a global dataset of 2653 MFIs across 119 countries over 20 years, they find that greater reliance …

A Systematic Review And Integrative Framework Of Psychotherapy Microprocess: Linking The Science Of Psychological Interventions With The Art Of Moment-To-Moment Practice, Xiaochen Luo, Alytia A. Levendosky

Counseling Psychology

Despite advancements in psychotherapy research on effectiveness and critical therapy processes, there remains a significant gap between the science and the art of psychotherapy, specifically on how to understand what to do moment-to-moment with each patient. A burgeoning research literature addresses this question by examining psychotherapy microprocesses, which typically referred to within-session changes of therapy processes, aiming to bridge psychotherapy research with clinical practice. In this pre-registered systematic review, we reviewed 86 empirical quantitative studies examining observational psychotherapy microprocesses over 35 years. We extracted 28 microprocess constructs across six categories (affective/emotional, behavioral, cognitive, relational/interpersonal, linguistic, and movement), four key methodological …

From Prohibition To Preparation: Reframing Academic Integrity In The Age Of Ai, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This study analyzes how U.S. universities reconfigure academic integrity during the 2024–2025 cycle in response to widespread generative AI adoption. The analysis foregrounds three loci: student ignorance and metacognitive blind spots; the expanded remit of Academic Integrity Officers prioritizing education over punishment; and deliberate AI-enabled misconduct that exposes the evidentiary limits of detection technologies. A mixed-methods design integrates a multi-site review at Arizona State University, Montclair State University, and Cornell University with synthesis of surveys, policies, and faculty development guidance. Findings show that detector outputs function as conversational prompts rather than adjudicative proof, necessitating dialogic resolution standards, process evidence, and …

Ames, The Seventh Amendment, And The Honest Belief Trap Tautologizing Title Vii, Amos N. Jones

SMU Law Review Forum

A widely covered Sixth Circuit decision on July 29, 2025, against a tenured African American female law professor at the University of Michigan has dramatically materialized in the face of the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of the United States only weeks earlier in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, decided on June 5, 2025. The Court had just eliminated another basis for employment-discrimination case dismissals, centering its original-textualist interpretative mode under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and buttressing plaintiffs’ Seventh Amendment rights to trial by jury. Meanwhile, the Michigan panel in Beny …

Enhanced The Simultaneous Recovery/Extraction Of Combined Heavy Metals Of Lead And Vanadium From Synthetic Wastewater Using An Emulsion Liquid Membrane (Elm) With Nanoparticles And Ionic Liquid, Qusay Al-Obaidi, Nora Yehia Selem, Oumaima Karai, Kaoutar Benabderazak, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recovery/extracting of a combination of lead (Pb(II)) and vanadium (V(V)) ions from wastewater has been enhanced by an emulsion liquid membrane with the presence of magnesium oxide (MgO) or aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles (20–50 nm size range) in the internal/stripping phase (W1) and ionic liquid ([OMIM] PF6) in the organic/oil phase (O). The study found that the recovery/extraction batch time was shortened, enhancing emulsion extraction efficiency and stability. Furthermore, the study outcomes extend the ELM separation techniques to industrial-scale pollutant recovery/extraction applications, especially heavy metal ions, from industrial effluent. The percentage of Pb(II) recovery/extraction was increased …

Bioaccumulation Pattern Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Fish Tissues From Two Freshwater Systems, Margaret D. Taiwo, Husam Kafeenah, David D. Duvernell, Michael O. Eze

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known for their persistence, ubiquity, bioaccumulation in different matrices of the environment and their detrimental effect on human health. In this study, we used EPA 1633 to examine the prevalence of ten PFAS compounds in two freshwater systems and investigated their bioaccumulation pattern across different tissues of grass carp fish (Ctenopharyngodon idella), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), and flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris). Among the PFAS compounds analyzed, PFBS exhibited the highest concentration in the freshwater sample, exceeding the U.S. EPA regulatory limit of 4 ng/L for drinking water. The total PFAS concentrations in the muscle, …

Concerns Regarding The Standard Deviation Of Individual Responses For Assessing Treatment Response Heterogeneity, Aaron R Caldwell, David B Allison, Andrew W Brown, Gary L Gadbury, Thirupathi Reddy Mokalla, R Drew Sayer, Andrew D Vigotsky

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The estimation of treatment response heterogeneity (TRH) is increasingly important as medicine moves toward personalized approaches. While various statistical methods have been proposed to quantify TRH in parallel-group trials, the standard deviation of individual responses (SDIR) has gained prominence within physiological research. This method is intended to quantify individual response variation by comparing standard deviations of change scores between intervention and control groups. We acknowledge that SDIR represents an improvement over many other flawed approaches that often involve responder counting. However, SDIR has critical limitations: 1) it cannot overcome the fundamental problem of causal inference because the correlation between potential …

Builder, Donor, Patriot, And Businessman: Oil City’S Father Thomas Carroll (1834-1898), Kathleen M. Washy

Gathered Fragments

No abstract provided.

One Hundred Years Of Faith, Education, And Service: Commemorating Fu Jen University’S Benedictine Foundation, Lucas Briola

Gathered Fragments

No abstract provided.

The Catholic Historical Society Of Western Pennsylvania: The Dearden Era, John C. Bates Esq.

Gathered Fragments

No abstract provided.

Our Authors

Gathered Fragments

No abstract provided.

News From The Catholic Historical Society Of Western Pennsylvania

Gathered Fragments

No abstract provided.

Recalibrating Risk Under Dobbs, Yvonne F. Lindgren, Michelle Oberman

Faculty Works

In response to mounting evidence of the devastating harms patients have experienced under abortion bans, abortion opponents and the Supreme Court of Texas have argued that the bans are clear but that doctors are willfully refusing to provide care. Instead of reforming the bans, they argue that doctors should be sued in medical malpractice for their failure to meet the standard of care. This Article interrogates that claim, investigating whether the crisis in reproductive healthcare that has resulted from delayed and denied care can be remedied by suing doctors. Specifically, can medical malpractice litigation provide guardrails against the erosion in …

Small For Gestational Age Subgroups Have Differential Morbidity, Growth, And Neurodevelopment At Age 2: The Interbio-21st Newborn Study, Aris T. Papageorghiou, María C. Restrepo-Ménde, Rose Mcgready, Fernando C. Barros, Francois Nosten, Shama Munim, Roseline Ochieng, Rachel Craik, Hellen C. Barsosio, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Background: Small for gestational age is a complex perinatal syndrome associated with increased neonatal morbidity, mortality, and impaired childhood growth and neurodevelopment. Current classifications rely primarily on birthweight, which does not capture the heterogeneity of the condition nor predict long-term health outcomes. Here we aim to identify and characterize distinct small for gestational age subgroups and assess their neonatal and early childhood health trajectories.
Objective: To refine the classification of small for gestational age by identifying subgroups based on maternal, fetal, and environmental factors and evaluating their associations with neonatal morbidity, growth, and neurodevelopment at age 2.
Study design: Prospective …

Plasma Biomarkers In Neuropsychiatric Syndromes: A Narrative Review, Zahinoor Ismail, Dylan X Guan, Ganesh Babulal, James Bateman, Marc Cantillon, Byron Creese, Fabrizia D'Antonio, Corinne Fischer, Jennifer Gatchel, Chinedu Momoh

Brain and Mind Institute

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common features of neurodegenerative disease (NDD) but are relatively understudied compared to cognition, especially regarding biomarkers. Further, emerging evidence describes the utility of systematic assessment of NPS across the cognitive continuum, even in advance of dementia. In this narrative review, we discuss the role of plasma biomarkers in relation to NPS across the cognitive continuum of unimpaired, subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia. While Alzheimer's disease is the primary focus, vascular, Lewy body, and frontotemporal dementia etiologies are also discussed. Literature searches included NPS and dementia-related search terms with additional literature identified based on …

2025 Library Annual Report, James White Library

Library Administration and Marketing

No abstract provided.

Time To Pay For Nature-Based Solutions, Tamar Ron

New England Journal of Public Policy

Viewing nature as ‘common goods’ results in under-valuating of natural capital and assets. As a consequence, budget allocations for environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and climate action are considerably insufficient. Another result is opting for unsustainable and destructive land and resource uses, which provide immediate and tangible monetary revenues. This article emphasizes the need to valuate natural assets and nature-based solutions (NBS), and their contribution. It further explores optional solutions, including national and global policy, and legislative and taxing instruments, to translate this value into substantive tangible financing for coordinated and synergetic approaches to address the critical global climate and biodiversity …

Understanding Behavioral Engagement In Project-Based Learning: Key Influencing Factors, Maria Coney G. Pallones

English Faculty Publications

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is widely acknowledged for fostering student engagement; however, limited research explores how its specific design features influence behavioral engagement, defined as students’ active participation, persistence, and effort, particularly in early education settings. This study investigates what key factors, as perceived by teachers, influence students' behavioral engagement during PBL, and how these factors support motivation through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Semi-structured interviews were purposively conducted with elementary teachers experienced in implementing PBL, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three key design features emerged as critical to sustaining behavioral engagement: voice, choice, and ownership, which …

Prevalence Of Local Ige Elevation And Its Effect On Intranasal Capsaicin Therapy In The Nonallergic Rhinitis Population, Kunal R Shetty, Salman Hasan, Christopher Bankston, Dylan Vance, Elaijah Islam, Gabriella Cruz, Faramarz Ashoori, David Z Allen, William C Yao, Martin J Citardi, Amber U Luong

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

No abstract provided.

Exploring Perception Of Coarticulatory Cues In Childhood Apraxia Of Speech And Residual Speech Sound Disorders: A Pilot Study, Molly Beiting, Navin Viswanathan, Nicole Caballero, Elaine Hitchcock, Tara Mcallister, Jonathan L. Preston

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction: Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) exhibit speech production deficits beyond segmental errors, including atypical coarticulation. Broadly, children with speech sound disorders (SSD) also exhibit weaknesses in speech perception, which may directly relate to specific production difficulties. This study examined differences in categorical perception among children with CAS, residual SSD affecting /ɹ/ (rSSD), and typical speech (TD). We hypothesized that children with CAS would demonstrate weaker performance on a task requiring perception of coarticulatory cues—a defining weakness in their speech production—but perform similarly to rSSD peers on a segmental task. Methods: This study was designed as an exploratory …

Matins: A Poetry Collection By Professor Otto Selles, Otto Selles

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Improving Auditing Of The Maritime Education And Training Institutes Of Peru : Process Analysis And Perspectives Of The Stakeholders To Design A Training Program For Auditors, Juan Alberto Sanchez Castañeda

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Marine Environmental Protection : An Investigation Into Existing Global Laws Addressing Marine Plastic Pollution, Maryland De Castro

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Link Between Mental Health And Physical Health : A Study On Seafarers In Southeast Asia, - Dewi Balqis Binti Azfar

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.