Digital Commons Network^™

The Criminalization Of Black Friendship, Kinship And Belonging, Reakash Walters

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper posits that the Canadian state's attempt to target organized crime through the Criminal Code's criminal organization provisions has led to the criminalization of everyday expressions of Black life, including the criminalization of Black friendship. The statutory architecture of the regime incentivizes criminal legal actors with limited contiguity to Black culture to conflate bids for connection, association, and friendship within Black communities as gang activity.

Before the criminal organization provisions were enacted, Canada had no legacy of directly criminalizing organized crime. Localized violence in Quebec during the mid-1990s led to rushed amendments to the Criminal Code to target biker …

Making The Punishment Fit: Individualization And Parity As Principles Of Proportionality, Sonia Anand Knowlton, Sylvia Rich

Dalhousie Law Journal

Proportionality is the fundamental principle of sentencing in Canada: a sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the blameworthiness of the offender. In order for a sentence to be proportionate, the Supreme Court has stated that it must be individualized to the particular event and also that it must maintain parity with similar offences committed in similar circumstances. Parity tends to compare the relative severity of offences in the abstract, lending itself to the gravity analysis. Individualization, on the other hand, customizes the sentence to the individual’s culpability, lending itself to the blameworthiness analysis. But these …

Transnational Corporate Liability Through The Lens Of Interlegality, Jaye Ellis

Dalhousie Law Journal

Pressure is mounting on courts in Canada, as in other jurisdictions, to address harms generated within global supply chains. These entities have no formal legal personality, so attempts to trace lines of responsibility and liability within them require the development of innovative argumentative strategies. Among the challenges is the integration of a range of sources, including international law, international policy initiatives, and privately constituted standards to promote human and labour rights and environmental protection. Working with the concept of interlegality, I seek to develop approaches for navigating overlapping and intersecting legal orders, and for facilitating interactions among them. Of particular …

Are Judges Influenced By Dollar Amounts? Evidence From Tax Law, Jonathan Farrar, Thomas Farrar, Harjot Mehmi

Dalhousie Law Journal

We investigate whether idiosyncratic features of numbers in dollar amounts unconsciously bias judges. If so, appellants’ likelihood of success could depend on the dollar amount under dispute. Specifically, we examine the following: whether the first digit in a dollar amount follows the frequency distribution predicted by Benford’s Law, and, accordingly, whether the likelihood of appellants’ success varies with the first digit of their disputed dollar amount; round number bias, which is the psychological tendency to prefer round numbers (ending in 0) over other numbers; and even-odd number bias, which is the psychological tendency to ascribe different characteristics to even numbers …

Unseen Labour, Unmatched Impact: Struggles And Strategies Of Supervising Lawyers In Canadian Clinical Law Programs, Sarah Buhler, Gemma Smyth

Dalhousie Law Journal

Supervision has been described as the “beating heart” and the “core” of clinical legal education. Yet lawyers who supervise law students in clinical programs have challenging and poorly understood roles within Canadian legal education. This article analyzes interviews with lawyers who supervise students in Canadian law-school affiliated legal clinics. Supervising lawyers describe the tensions between their roles as lawyers, supervisors and mentors, university or non-profit employees, social justice advocates, members of law societies, and clinic team members. These tensions often exist within an environment of lower pay, poor job security, substandard treatment by colleagues, and inadequate training. Despite these challenges, …

Problemas Del Habla Y Lenguaje En Niños Menores De Cinco Años A Causa De La Pandemia Del Covid-19, Taisha M. Serrano Vargas

Theses and Dissertations

La disertación se centró en el impacto de la pandemia del COVID-19 en el desarrollo del habla y lenguaje en niños menores de cinco años en Puerto Rico. Se investigó cómo las restricciones de socialización y las alteraciones en las rutinas cotidianas pudieron contribuir a problemas de comunicación en esta población. El aumento en el uso de tecnologías y la disminución de interacciones cara a cara, debido a las medidas de distanciamiento social y cuarentenas, estuvieron asociados con retrasos en el desarrollo lingüístico de los niños.

El propósito de esta investigación fue identificar y documentar las posibles consecuencias que la …

A Front-End Analysis Of Teacher Retention At A High Poverty K-5 Public School, Nicole Gray

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the experiences of educators impacted by teacher retention issues at a high-poverty K-5 public school. Researchers have studied the decline in individuals entering into the education profession as well as the high rates of individuals exiting the profession. With individuals leaving the profession at high rates, and not enough entering to replace those that are leaving, there is now a massive shortage with not enough teachers to meet the needs of students in public schools. The few individuals that are entering into the profession are not being retained, especially at high-poverty schools. This study explored the thoughts …

Implementing Effective Reading Strategies To Improve Reading Comprehension Among Minority Students, Mirlene Georges Moreau

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examined teachers' perceptions of instructional strategies used to support reading comprehension among minority middle school students. The purpose of the quantitative, non-experimental correlational study was to examine relationships among teacher-reported instructional strategies, differentiated instruction, culturally responsive teaching practices, and perceived student reading comprehension outcomes. Because the study relied on survey perception data rather than direct achievement data or experimental intervention, findings were interpreted as associations rather than causal evidence. Data were collected through a researcher-developed survey administered to middle school English Language Arts, ESOL, and reading teachers. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations) summarized demographics …

Cultural Heritage Curriculum And Student Identity Development: A Mixed-Methods Study, Alexus Corley

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to examine the influence of a cultural heritage curriculum on first-grade students’ cultural knowledge, awareness, and understandings of culture. Specifically, the study investigated the extent to which participation in a 4-week cultural heritage curriculum influenced students’ knowledge of cultural history and contemporary contributors, their understandings and perspectives about culture, and the convergence of quantitative and qualitative findings.

Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods research design, the study was conducted with 19 first-grade students enrolled in a Title I elementary school in Central Florida. Quantitative data were collected using the researcher-developed cultural knowledge preintervention and postintervention assessment and …

Capacitación Docente Para Generación De Entorno De Aprendizaje En Alumnos De Preescolar, Thamara Pérez Barreto

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de este estudio es establecer la correlación si es que existe, entre la capacitación sobre la organización del aula preescolar y el conocimiento del docente antes y después de ser capacitados. Para ello, se utilizó una pre prueba antes de la capacitación y una posprueba después de participar en el proceso formativo. La investigación utilizó un diseño no experimental con enfoque cuantitativo de naturaleza correlacional. La muestra estuvo compuesta de 20 docentes de un Programa Head Start ubicado en la zona noroeste de Puerto Rico. Los participantes cuentan con alguna certificación para ejercer a nivel preescolar.

La investigadora …

Teachers’ Perceptions Towards The Impact Of Reading Plus On 10th-Grade Intensive Reading Students, Melvia Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore teachers’ experiences and perceptions regarding the impact of the Reading Plus program on 10th-grade students in intensive reading courses. The research was aimed to understand how teachers perceive the program’s effectiveness in enhancing reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary, as well as their reports about student engagement and the challenges and successes encountered during implementation. The data was gathered from semi structured interviews with 8 teachers with at least 2 years of experience teaching with Reading Plus in intensive reading programs. Themes for teachers' experiences were generated by inductive analysis.

Findings …

“Soccer Before Sex, Always” - Popular On-Screen Depictions Of Irish Masculinty During The Recession (2008 – 2020), Michael Sweeney

Masters

This thesis examines how on-screen masculinity changed from the fallout of the Celtic Tiger to Ireland's years of austerity, and why popular productions deploy “Mancession” narratives. This popularises tropes such as ‘Craic Merchant’ from key popular shows such as Hardy Bucks (2008), Love Hate (2010) and Young Offenders (2016). The term ‘Mancession’ (Perry, 2008) was coined following the global 2008 recession, which led to assumptions that men were more economically affected than women. Domestically, this was relayed in popular on-screen media through the ‘Celtic Bromance’ genre, which developed the trope of male friendships as a coping mechanism amid austerity and …

High Temperature Diffraction From Aerodynamically Levitated Materials, Chris J. Benmore, Stephen K. Wilke, David Lipke, Richard Weber

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Aerodynamic levitation combined with laser beam heating has become an established technique for studying the structure of materials at ultra-high temperatures and under non-equilibrium conditions. This article briefly highlights some recent technical and scientific advancements in understanding the relationships between a material's behavior and its structure, investigated using diffraction methods. It focuses on three evolving frontiers: sophisticated sample environments for accessing metastable states and reactive chemistries, high-flux photon and neutron probes to reveal atomic structure, and advanced computational modeling frameworks. Free from contamination, containerless processing (levitation) can minimize heterogeneous nucleation at the interface, enabling access to deeply supercooled melts or …

The Landless Rural Workers Movement (Mst) And New Agrarian Questions In Brazil, Estavan Coca, Gustavo Oliveira

Geography

The Landless Rural Workers Movement of Brazil (MST) primarily organized occupations of large-scale farms, forcing the redistribution of land for creation of agrarian reform settlements. In the past 20 years, however, land occupations and the establishment of new agrarian reform settlements have consistently declined, while the MST shifted strategies to strengthening existing agrarian reform settlements, increasing marketing mechanisms through government purchasing programs and direct rural–urban connections, cultivating new financial instruments, advancing agroecological transformations to strengthen production and contesting space in governance and discourse about sustainability, rural development and socio-ecological wellbeing. We argue this shift represents not an abandonment of the …

Analytical And Empirical Data-Driven Risk-Governance Design Across The Different Phases: Creating Informed Policy Adjustments For The Transportation Project Lifecycle, Mariam A. Elazhary

Doctoral Dissertations

"Transportation infrastructure is a critical foundation for economic productivity, yet agencies still face challenges in translating the expanding transportation datasets into defensible, phase-specific risk-governance tools. This dissertation addresses this gap by developing analytical and empirical, data-driven approaches to support risk governance across the transportation project lifecycle. Module 1 uses a panel model with bid-letting data to examine how out-of-state contractor participation affects pre-award competition and to derive entry-governance rules. Module 2 analyzes nonfatal injury data through iterative multiple linear regression and fatality data through association-rule change mining to identify multi-factor safety-risk configurations and develop adaptive safety-governance provisions. Module 3 develops …

‘We Create Units, And Then Residents Are On Their Own’: Power In Evaluation Of Inclusionary Housing, Susan Halverson, Amie Thurber

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inclusionary housing (IH) programs are a popular strategy for building affordable housing, incentivizing or requiring developers to provide housing at a below-market rate for people with lower incomes. But do we know how residents experience these policies? This paper explores how municipalities and external researchers evaluate inclusionary housing programs in the US, and whose perspectives are included in those evaluations. Employing VeneKlasen & Miller’s (2002) tripart model of power, which includes visible, hidden, and invisible dimensions, we analyze key informant interviews, municipal IH reports, and a systematic review of the literature, we find that few municipalities or researchers consider residents’ …

Re-Crosslinkable Hyper-Branched Polymer Gels Based On A Transamidation Reaction, Tao Song, Baojun Bai, Thomas P. Schuman

Patents

The present invention generally relates to the field of conformance control in oil fields, particularly to a re-crosslinkable preformed particle gel system, and composition thereof. The composition of the re-crosslinkable preformed particle gel system contains monomers, crosslinkers, a polymer matrix, and additives. Components in the composition for re-crosslinkable preformed particle gel in the present invention have excellent compatibility with each other, and the obtained gel has excellent long term high-temperature resistance property. Different from prior products, in the recrosslinkable preformed particle gel compositions according to embodiments of the present invention, the components that are used to re-crosslink the particle gels …

Shaping The Future Of Family Enterprises In Egypt - Eng, Center For Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Faculty Journal Articles

Family businesses are a cornerstone of Egypt’s private sector, underpinning economic activity across industries and regions while sustaining employment and long-term value creation. Their unique ability to balance commercial objectives with legacy, continuity, and community engagement positions them as critical drivers of inclusive and resilient growth. Yet, despite their economic weight, the ecosystem supporting family enterprises remains underdeveloped, with limited coordination, insufficiently tailored policies, and gaps in institutional support mechanisms.

This white paper draws on insights from a multi-stakeholder working group and a targeted survey of ecosystem actors to provide a concise, evidence-based overview of the most pressing challenges facing …

Healthy Diet For Every Child, Every Ability: Inclusive Nutrition For Healthier Futures, Ayesha Zahid Khan, Mehwish Farooq, Kausar Waqar

Books

• ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder
• BCC: Behavior Change Communication
• CP: Cerebral Palsy DS: Down Syndrome 
• NDD: Neurodevelopmental Disorder
• OT: Occupational Therapist
• PDGN: Pakistan Dietary Guidelines for Better Nutrition
• SLT: Speech and Language Therapist TGC
• Typically Growing Children 
• WHO: World Health Organization

Improving Continuity Of Care In A Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic: A Quality Improvement Initiative., Irene Maranga

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract

Missed appointments, also known as ‘no-shows,’ disrupt continuity of care in psychiatric outpatient settings, leading to treatment delays, symptom exacerbation, and increased risk of hospitalization. This project was implemented at an outpatient psychiatric clinic where approximately 4 of 14 patients missed scheduled appointments daily, with no systematic follow-up protocol. A quality improvement initiative designed to re-engage patients after missed appointments through follow-up phone calls was implemented using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework over two cycles from August through September 2026. Patients who missed appointments received a follow-up phone call within 24 hours. Cycle 1 included one call attempt per …

Hs 6000 Food Systems And Health, Shannon Caravello

Open Educational Resources

Within the context of the US food system, students will examine the role of urban agriculture and its impact on local communities. Students will gain the ability to critically analyze current trends in urban agriculture and apply them to societal; cultural and health issues associated with the US food system as well as develop strategies to implement healthy eating in their own lives. Issues of food justice and insecurity will be addressed. Demonstrations and workshops on the KCC Community Farm and Garden may be included.

Oligonychus Trichardti (Acari: Tetranychidae) Associated With Urochloa Grasses In Kenya: An Integrative Taxonomic Approach, Paula Espitia-Buitrago, Claudia Perea, Lavender A. Odhiambo, Rosa N. Jauregui, Frank Chidawanyika

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Spider mites represent a significant constraint to improved forage grass adoption in East Africa, particularly affecting Urochloa cultivars that are crucial for addressing the region’s 40% livestock feed gap. This study employed an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological and molecular analyses to identify a spider mite species infesting Urochloa interspecific grasses in Kenya. A colony of 80 spider mites was established from symptomatic Urochloa hybrid cv. Cayman plants collected from Mbita Point, Kenya, showing characteristic foliar chlorosis and necrotic spots. Morphological examination of 46 slide-mounted specimens using Hoyer’s medium revealed consistent morphotypical features characteristic of Oligonychus (Reckiella) trichardti Meyer, 1974. …

Effects Of Temperature On The Life-History Traits Of Myzus Persicae And Its Efficiency In Transmitting Potato Virus Y (Pvy) In Potato Crops, Bonoukpoè M. Sokame, Henri E. Tonnang, Heidy Gamarra, Pablo Carhuapoma, Jan Kreuze, Leah R. Johnson, Ali Arab, Peter A. Armbruster, Oswaldo C. Villena

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Aphids are highly sensitive to temperature changes and play a crucial role in transmitting plant viruses, accounting for the transmission of more than 50% of viruses that cause disease in crops. Among them, Myzus persicae is a major global pest, affecting over 400 plant species and transmitting more than 100 plant viruses, including potato virus Y (PVY), which poses a severe threat to potato crops. This study examines how temperature influences the life-history traits of M. persicae and its efficiency in transmitting PVY. Our research revealed that temperature significantly affects developmental duration, survival, and fecundity of M. persicae. The aphids …

Influence Of Farming Systems (Organic Vs. Conventional) With Crop Rotation And Intercropping On Weed Seedbank In Central Kenya, Obadiah Mwangi, Monicah Mucheru-Muna, Edward Karanja, Michael Kinyua, Peter Bolo, Dominic Mutambu, Martha Musyoka, Edwin Mwangi, Felix Matheri, Nancy Mwende, Tanga Chrysanthus, Noah Adamtey, David Bautze, Unternährer Anouk, Milka Kiboi, Anne Muriuki, Hottensiah Wambui, Job Kihara

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Weed seedbanks are a key driver of long-term weed pressure and are strongly shaped by farming systems, crop rotation, and intercropping. This study evaluated the influence of organic (ORG) and conventional (CONV) farming systems, each managed under high (113–145 kg N·ha⁻¹, 60–83 kg P·ha⁻¹) and low (31–45 kg N·ha⁻¹ and 13–27 kg P·ha⁻¹) fertilization levels, on weed seedbank density, composition, dominance, and diversity in two long-term trials (established in 2007) at Chuka and Thika in the Central Highlands of Kenya. From 2017 to 2019, across six cropping seasons under a three-year rotation, soil …

Omega-3 Fatty Acids And Bioactives In Aqueous-Extracted Oils From Seven Edible Insects, Xavier Cheseto, Chrysantus Mbi Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Globally, there is urgent search and research interest towards alternative sources of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FA) due to sustainability challenges faced by dependence on fish and plant-derived sources. Limited information exists on insects despite their promising potential. This work analyzed oils from seven insect species commonly consumed globally compared to commercial sesame oil using coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Oil yields from insects ranged between 11.1 mg/g to 115.3 mg/g. Over 67 fatty acids, α-tocopherol [vitamin E] and eight flavonoids were identified. All insect oils contained ω-3 FA [i.e., α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic …

Thermal Requirements And Phenology Modelling Of A Drosophila Suzukii Population: Implications For Pest Risk Under A Changing Climate, Shepard Ndlela, Abdelmutalab G.A. Azrag, Esther Owino Awuor, Ibrahim Maholidy Farid, Samira Abuelgasim Mohamed

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Drosophila suzukii (spotted-wing drosophila) is an invasive pest causing significant economic losses in soft-skinned fruit crops globally. This study presents comprehensive temperature-dependent life table data and phenology models for an African D. suzukii population collected in Kenya. Developmental time, mortality, fecundity, and adult longevity were assessed under constant temperatures from 12 to 30 °C. Using Insect Life Cycle Modelling (ILCYM) software, linear and nonlinear models were applied to characterise the effects of temperature on life history traits. Additionally, spatial risk indices including Establishment Risk Index (ERI), Generation Index (GI), and Activity Index (AI) were mapped globally for current and future …

Intensified Push-Pull Technology Enhances Above-Ground Arthropod Assemblages And Ecological Balance, Evanson R. Omuse, Honest Machekano, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Bonoukpoe M. Sokame, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Johnson O. Nyasani, Sevgan Subramanian, Frank Chidawanyika

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Agroecological intensification aims to increase farm productivity, reduce dependency on external inputs, and enhance biodiversity conservation. However, the contribution of recent sustainable agricultural practices to arthropod assemblages and their ecosystem services remains underexplored. Through a 2-year multilocation trial, we investigated the response of above-ground arthropod assemblages and their ecological functions in cowpea and maize grown under monocropping systems and diversified systems (pure and intensified push-pull technologies). Using three sampling methods (visual observations, pitfall traps, sticky traps), a total of 65, 307 arthropod specimens were collected. The most dominant arthropod taxa were Hemiptera (true bugs; 47%), followed by Thysanoptera (thrips; 17%), …

The Effectiveness Of 3d Printing Project-Based Learning In Developing Future Skills And Academic Passion Among 10th Grade Students In Physics, Asma Abdullah Alshabnuti, Salim Khamis Al Harmali, Sulaiman Mohammed Al-Balushi

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

The study aimed to explore the effectiveness of 3D Printing Project-based Learning in developing future skills, according to the Omani Future Skills Framework, and academic passion among 10th-grade students in physics in the Sultanate of Oman. A quasi-experimental research design was used, with a control and experimental group. The sample consisted of (114) male and female students. The Study instruments were the Future Skills Classroom Observation and the Academic Passion Scale, to gather data. Findings showed statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group in most of future skills, except in flexibility and adaptation skill. The effect size of …

The Effectiveness Of Employing Artificial Intelligence Applications In Developing Technological Creativity For Students Of The Higher Basic Stage In Palestine, Mahmoud Mohammed Fouad Barghout, Ahmed Mohammed Abu Olba

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

The research aimed to discover the effectiveness of implementing artificial intelligence applications in developing technological creativity for students of the higher basic stage in Palestine, the researchers used the Quasi-experimental design, and the researchers programmed and designed artificial intelligence applications for the unit (remote sensing and control) from the technology book for the eighth grade. The researchers prepared the research tool (technological creativity test). It was applied to the research sample, which consisted of eighth grade students at Saad bin Abi Waqas Basic School (B), affiliated to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, where their number reached (72) …

Advancing Management Strategies For Airport Infrastructure Development: A Holistic Project Delivery And Contractual Perspective, Ramy Ahmed Anwar Ahmed Khalef

Doctoral Dissertations

The airport sector plays a vital role in the US infrastructure. Neglecting the maintenance and improvement of such critical domain poses serious repercussions. Current initiatives within the aviation sector have fallen short in providing substantial quantitative or qualitative support for comprehensive project and risk management processes. This research fills this knowledge gap. The associated objectives include: (1) identifying a holistic set of Design-Build risk factors and providing associated research recommendations; (2) enhancing the understanding of Design-Build (DB) with respect to Design-Bid-Build (DBB) on key risks impacting schedule/cost performance in airport projects; (3) establishing a risk-based benchmarking framework to evaluate schedule/cost …