Digital Commons Network^™

Covid, Cancer And Chaos, Anonymous

Community Reflections

Right before COVID, my mother was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer, and needed to undergo chemotherapy while quarantining at home. During quarantine, people’s stories were that they stayed inside all day and did nothing, but for me, it was the complete opposite. My mom was very sick and weak, which meant that me and my sisters needed to step up.

Impact Of Quarantine, Anonymous

Community Reflections

Quarantine was quite the defining moment in my life and when I reflect back on almost 3 years ago now I can recognize that their were negative and positive moments as well.

Jean Coulter V. James Coulter

2023 Decisions

USDC for the Western District of Pennsylvania

2023 Furman University Faculty Scholarship Reception Program, Kathy Hamlin, Madeline Shaw

Libraries Institutional Records

On February 10, 2023, the Libraries and the Office of the Provost hosted Furman’s sixth Faculty Scholarship Reception. The reception showcased accomplishments from the 2022 calendar year, highlighting Furman faculty members who have completed a degree, received a grant from an external funding source totaling more than $1,000, and/or published books, book chapters, journal articles, exhibits, recordings, performances, films, or other works. The following faculty provided four-minute presentations on their scholarly or creative works:

• Mahan Ellison, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures
• Bronwen Forbay, Visiting Associate Professor of Voice
• James Guth, Professor of Politics and International Affairs
• Nick Radel, …

Rebranding Batman, Alice Preminger

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

While one could reasonably characterize fan fiction as "socially contro- versial,” with some lauding the practice as a creative outlet and others meeting it with sneers, legally speaking, its position is undeniably precarious. Fan con- tent, including fan fiction and fan films, lives in the liminal space between cop- yright infringement and fair use. Fan creators argue their works are motivated by a desire to connect with beloved copyrighted expressive works—frequently popular media franchises—and are intended only for enjoyment by themselves and very small fan communities. Copyright owners find the practice of creating fan work far less innocuous, claiming the …

Never Tell Me The Odds: How To Avoid Infringement When Alluding To Copyrighted Works In Branding, Paul M. Matenaer

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

Alluding to copyrighted works in branding is common, especially among small businesses that tend to fly under the radar of the large corporations which own those copyrights. The craft beer industry, for example, is fond of such allusions, incorporating references to movies, comic books, and video games in product names and beer labels. Whether to pay homage to the creative genius found in those copyrighted works or to cash in on popular enthusiasm for them, brand allusions to copyrighted works are common. However, such homages to copyrighted works can be as dangerous as flying into an asteroid field because they …

Photoprotection For People With Skin Of Colour: Needs And Strategies, Jean Krutmann, Jaime Piquero-Casals, Daniel Morgado-Carrasco, Corinne Granger, Carles Trullàs, Thierry Passeron, Henry W. Lim

Dermatology Articles

Skin of colour or pigmented skin has unique characteristics: it has a higher eumelanin-to-pheomelanin ratio, more mature melanosomes, an increased amount of melanin distributed in the upper layers of the epidermis, and more efficient DNA repair compared with lighter skin. However, individuals with skin of colour are at a significant risk of skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation, including the development of photodermatoses and photoageing changes such as uneven skin tone, and are predisposed to pigmentary disorders. In fact, one of the most common conditions leading to dermatology consultations by patients with skin of colour is photoexacerbated pigmentary disorders. Unfortunately, …

The University Look: How Sun Belt Conference Athletic Officials View Their Standing In The Collegiate Sports World, Jake Williamson

Student Theses and Dissertations

It is a beautiful Saturday morning in October. You wake up and turn on your television to ESPN. It’s football season, and you have on your team’s gear, knowing that kickoff is just a couple hours away. As you begin to search for your team’s channel, you discover that your team won’t be airing on television today. Your team has been off to a great start, and today’s game might push you into the Associated Poll (AP) top 25 rankings. You then go to the team’s official website to figure out what channel is airing their game. The website says …

Comparisons Of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems And Agro-Terrestrial Surveys: Techniques To Determine Field Elevation Surfaces For Improved Crop And Water Management., Richard A. Pickett Jr

Student Theses and Dissertations

Row crop agriculture in Arkansas relies predominantly on groundwater resources for irrigation. This places great demand on the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA), which is in a current state of decline. The Eastern Arkansas region produces commodity crops including soybeans, rice, corn, cotton, and peanuts, all of which utilize irrigation for optimal productivity. Conservation practices that reduce groundwater use include precision land leveling, multiple inlet rice irrigation, and computerized hole size selection for furrow irrigation. To collect elevation data to irrigate efficiently, these practices require precision agriculture technology, more specifically Real-Time Kinematic–Global Navigation Satellite Systems (RTK-GNSS). As RTK-GNSS technologies …

Rock Steady Boxing: Addressing Voice Disorders In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Andria Mullins

Student Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study is the first of its kind and was designed to determine if Rock Steady Boxing improves the vocal quality, loudness, and quality of life of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Individuals in this study participated in the Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) program across a 12-week period. Data collection was completed twice in a pretest/posttest design to determine if there was a significant difference between the variables. The results of this study showed that the entire group (n = 13) was impacted by Rock Steady Boxing classes in terms of intensity and perceptual vocal quality. There was no statistical …

Perceptions Of Law Enforcement Officers Regarding Eyewitness Identification Policies: A Survey Of Chief Executive Officers (Ceos) Of Arkansas Police Agencies., Chadwick Shane Henson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Eyewitness identification evidence is extremely dependent on the processes utilized by law enforcement to acquire and uphold the evidence. Unquestionably, research has led to a variety of significant findings regarding the ways in which law enforcement obtains identification evidence from eyewitnesses. Despite these findings and academics' best efforts to disseminate their results to public agencies, policymakers, and important law enforcement personnel using a variety of evidence, changes to policy and practice have been slow to come about, if they have come at all. Using a sample of Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of police agencies in Arkansas (N = 69), we …

“Let’S Have A Chat:” Applying Chatgpt And Other Large Language Models To The Practice Of Forensic Accounting, Daniel Street, Joseph Wilck

Faculty Journal Articles

ChatGPT has captured the popular imagination because of its conversational voice, its wide scope of ‘knowledge’, and far-ranging abilities. In this paper, we use an innovative interview method to introduce CPAs to ChatGPT, its development, and the current state of its capabilities. We then draw upon our own expertise to discuss the evolution of large language models, suggest applications of large language models (LLMs) in the field of accounting, critically evaluate LLMs’ current strengths and weaknesses, and propose five principles to effectively and safely leverage LLMs in the accounting domain.

Investigating Evidence-Based Practices And Interventions Using Multifaceted Learning Theory For Students In A Special Education Self-Contained Classroom, Adam Maitland

Ed.D. Dissertations

Teachers working in a special education self-contained classroom were required to implement evidence-based practices and interventions, rarely researched in a school setting, with fidelity to meet the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. Evidence-based practices and interventions for students with intellectual disabilities were researched in clinical settings with one to three student participants and without a common evaluation tool. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to use the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model General Educator Rubric to investigate how experienced teachers used multifaceted learning theory when implementing evidence-based practices and interventions in a diverse special education self-contained classroom to …

My Body, My Choice: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized In The United States For Individuals With Chronic Mental Illness?, Angelika Anderson

Texas A&M Law Review

Many individuals with mental illness wish to die because the symptoms of their illness are unbearable. They shoot, suffocate, and poison themselves to make their pain go away. Because this is a statistical reality, a more certain and less violent means of death should be legalized. This Comment advocates for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (“PAS”). As of 2022, nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized PAS for terminal illness, but this Comment argues that all fifty states should legalize PAS and not only for terminal illness, but for chronic mental illness as well. To do so, this …

Redressing Sustainable Fashion Practices: Upcycling As A Defense To Trademark Infringement, Victoria Lepesant

Texas A&M Law Review

Upcycling is a fashion trend that has recently gained popularity because it is a more sustainable option for those seeking to purchase new pieces for their wardrobes. Upcycling involves deconstructing pre-owned pieces of clothing, jewelry, and accessories and using the deconstructed materials to create “new” fashion items. While this practice is popular among those looking to make environmentally conscious shopping choices, it is incompatible with our current trademark statutes and common law doctrines. Under the Lanham Act, it is considered trademark infringement to use another’s trademark when it is likely to cause confusion among consumers. In most instances, the use …

The Archives And You: Why Your Memorabilia Matters, Ruth E. Bryan

Library Presentations

Join Ruth E. Bryan, University Archivist at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, as she describes what archives are and how your memorabilia can contribute to historical research and scholarship.

The Diamond, February 10, 2023, Dordt University

Dordt Diamond

• Front Page: Dordt Students Travel to Capitol Hill for Conference; Theatre Students to Nationals; HLC Accreditation Achieved - ACSI Accreditation Pursued
• News: English Department's Search for New Professor; Battle it out at NC/DC; Capital Campaign Hits the Ground
• Feature: PLIA Trips Over Spring; Mary Returns to the Commons; Into the Jungle - A Boy's Comic Strip History of World War II
• Opinion: The Weekly, or the Weak-ly?; The Pros of Tinder (as a Woman); Advice for the Distant Valentine
• Arts & Entertainment: Student Capstone to Replace Mainstage in February; Broadway and Desserts and NC/DC Collide; …

We Are Rock Steady: Fighting Together Against Parkinson’S Disease (An Oral History Of The First Six Months Of The Rock Steady Boxing Program At The First Baptist Church In Hot Springs, Arkansas), Michael Alan White

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system due to a lack of the neurotransmitter, dopamine. There are many potential symptoms, the most common involve movement, balance, walking, twitching, rigidity, and speech. There is no cure but there are numerous treatments for the symptoms which often have serious side effects. Rigorous exercise has been found to delay and, in some cases, reverse the severity of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. One of the more successful exercise programs is Rock Steady Boxing, which was established in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2006 and currently has over 700 affiliated programs worldwide. In …

Is Anything Left Of The Debate About The Sources Of Growth In East Asia Thirty Years Later?, Jesus Felipe, John Mccombie

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The year 2023 commemorates the 30th anniversary of the publication of the influential, yet controversial, study The East Asian Miracle report by the World Bank (1993). An important part of the report’s analysis was concerned with the sources of growth in East Asia. This was based on the neoclassical decomposition of growth into productivity and factor accumulation. At about the same time, the publication of Alwyn Young’s (1992, 1995) and J-I Kim and Lawrence Lau’s (1994) studies, and Paul Krugman’s (1994) popularization of the “zero total factor productivity growth” thesis, led to a very important debate within the profession, on …

The Colonial Origins Of Institutions In Mauritanina, Mahfoudha Sidelemine

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

This paper examines and evaluates the state of development in Mauritania, a former French colony in West Africa. The drivers of (under)development that the paper focuses on are institutions. By focusing on institutions as the main factors that determine the development process of the country, I also focus on the colonial origins of institutions. Hence, in this paper, I draw on Acemoglu and colleagues’ argument on the origin of colonial origins of institutions as they identify two types of colonial institutions—Inclusive and Exclusive (Acemoglu et.al.2001). However, in this research, I argue that there is a third type of institution the …

Machine Learning Methods For Computational Phenotyping Using Patient Healthcare Data With Noisy Labels, Praveen Kumar

Computer Science ETDs

Positive and Unlabeled (PU) learning problems abound in many real-world applications. In healthcare informatics, diagnosed patients are considered labeled positive for a specific disease, but being undiagnosed does not mean they can be labeled negative. PU learning can improve classification performance, and estimate the positive fraction, α, among unlabeled samples. However, algorithms based on the Selected Completely At Random (SCAR) assumption are inadequate when the SCAR assumption fails (e.g., severe cases overrepresented), and when class imbalance is substantial. This dissertation presents and evaluates new algorithms to overcome these limitations. The proposed methods outperform the state-of-art for α-estimation, enhance classification performance, …

Agriculture Water Use And Economic Value In The Great Salt Lake Basin, Cody Zesiger, Burdette Barker, Sarah Null, Earl Creech, Matt Yost, Ryan Larsen, Joshua Dallin

All Current Publications

This fact sheet briefly describes human impacts on GSL water volume, human population growth, surface water withdrawals, and agricultural water use from 1985 and 2015 in the GSL Basin. Finally, agriculture’s economic impact and food production in the GSL Basin are summarized.

Dissertation Chapters Underway: 10,000 Shards, Or Opening And Activating Depth: Handicraft, Value, And The Work Of Art (Shards 00000-00001), Christopher Southward, Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty and Student Scholarship

Dissertation Chapters Underway: 10,000 Shards, Or Opening and Activating Depth: Handicraft, Value, and the Work of Art (Shards 00000-00001), Christopher Southward

Evidence-Based Inventory Of Criminal Justice Programs In Nebraska, Katelynn Towne, Christopher Campbell, Monica Miles-Steffens, Brian Gildea, John Ursino, Ryan E. Spohn, Zachary Hamilton, Michael Campagna, Addison Kobie, Taylor L. Claxton, Laura Dueland, Tara Grell

Reports

This report is the product of collaborative efforts from the Nebraska Center for Justice Research, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Criminology and Criminal Justice department at Portland State University. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the importance of using evidence-based practices and programs, examine the quantity and needs addressed by adult criminal justice programs, and provide a snapshot of operating evidence-based programs throughout Nebraska. This report provides findings related to the discovery of programs and a review of branded programs operating in Nebraska. Product 1 – Inventory …

: Changing Education And Workforce Demographics Impacting Nebraska, Josie Gatti Schafer

Presentations

Information on changing education and workforce demographics.

Evidence Of Sea Level Rise At The Peruvian Coast (1942-2019), Bismarck Jigena-Antelo, Carol Estrada-Ludeña, Stephan Howden, Wilmer Rey, Jorge Paz-Acosta, Patricia Lopez-García, Eric Salazar-Rodriguez, Nieves Endrina, Juan J. Muñoz-Pérez

Faculty Publications

The present work aims to analyze the variability of the sea level of the Peruvian coast with time series over a long observation period (Seventy-eight years, from 1942 to 2019). Data came from the Talara, Callao and Matarani tide gauge stations located at the north, center and south of the coast. Variations of sea level as well as air and seawater surface temperature were analyzed. Among the different scenarios studied, a sea level rise of 6.79, 4.21 and 5.16 mm/year for Talara, Callao and Matarani, respectively was found during the 1979–1997 nodal cycle. However, these results decreased significantly during the …

Nato Persistence & The Iron Law Model, Ronald Okoye

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The centrality of NATO to the progression of the war is one of the fundamental issues in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict. Analysts generally agree that Russia's motivations for starting the conflict stem from Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO, as Moscow sees such a move as a flagrant encroachment of Western Europe onto its territory. Special scrutiny of NATO as a regional alliance and its ongoing stability that has survived the cold war is necessary in light of the developments in Ukraine. In order to justify the scientific study of NATO's persistence, one must consider the war vis-a-vis the Ukraine-NATO issue …

Surface Characterization Of Particulate Dust Subjected To Dew-Induced Cementation, Mohamed Adawi

Student Theses and Dissertations

Accumulation of soils and other particulate matter on the front cover glass of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules results in transmission losses that detrimentally affect the power output of PV installations. Cementation reactions occur due to interactions between the dust and the glass surface in the presence of temperature, humidity, and ph. In this study, accelerated soiling and cementation tests on glass coupons were performed using a custom instrumented soiling chamber and several standardized soils (Arizona Test Dust, Aramco Test Dust, and China Test Dust) to assess soil adhesion and cementation behaviors. Water contact angle (WCA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) …

Extinction Or Bust: Improving Species Recovery Under The Endangered Species Act By Amending The Funding Allocation And Recovery Planning Processes, Max Hayashi

Texas A&M Law Review

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (“ESA”) is among the most powerful environmental statutes passed in U.S. history and serves as a blueprint for government-sanctioned conservation efforts globally. At its core, the ESA seeks to protect listed plant and animal species by prohibiting actions that harm their chances of survival. While the ESA has generally succeeded in pursuing this goal as implemented, it has also led to a host of problems that undermine its effectiveness and generated widespread discontent among conflicting, disparate stakeholders, including environmentalists, industry groups, government agencies, and private landowners. Criticisms of the ESA generally focus on several …

An Imperfect Solution: The Due Process Case For Providing Court-Appointed Interpreters For Pro Se Plaintiffs, Abdullah Z. Khalil

Texas A&M Law Review

A federal law, the Court Interpreters Act, provides litigants with complimentary access to a qualified or professionally certified interpreter in actions instituted by the United States. The majority of pro se civil litigation in federal courts is initiated by the United States, and thus, those pro se litigants who speak little-to-no English need not pay for access to an exceptional interpreter. Indeed, federal courts offer interpreters proficient in a multitude of languages, and the courts work hard to ensure adequate interpretation in proceedings brought by the United States.

However, those limited-English-proficient pro se plaintiffs initiating their own lawsuits face a …