Digital Commons Network^™

Maps, Links And The Globe: Using Linked Open Data To Improve Functionality In The Digital Humanities, Sunjay Hopkins

Theses & ETDs

No abstract provided.

Upr Report Submissions: Compiled By The International Human Rights Clinic At The University Of Illinois Chicago School Of Law And The Human Rights At Home Litigation Clinic At The Saint Louis University School Of Law, Sarah Dàvila A., Lauren E. Bartlett

Faculty White Papers

This unofficial summary compiles information from reports submitted by civil society and others for the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the United States.

The authors reviewed the submissions, which are reports from civil society and others, and grouped issues thematically, using the 2020 UPR themes and recommendations as the organizing framework. Within each theme, the authors synthesized recurring issues, patterns, and concerns identified across multiple submissions. For each issue, the unofficial summary follows a structured approach that presents international obligations first, followed by United States domestic law, and then facts drawn from the submissions. However, where reports …

Evaluation Of Flt3 Inhibition With Quizartinib During Busulfan Conditioning For Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Catherine Jankovic

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is one of the only curative therapy options for many hematologic malignancies. HSCT relies on effective conditioning regimens to deplete host hematopoietic cells and enable donor engraftment. The alkylating agent Busulfan is widely used in myeloablative conditioning strategies due to its potent cytotoxic effects on hematopoietic cells and ability to clear the bone marrow. However, optimization of conditioning strategies remains an important area of investigation to improve transplant outcomes and reduce toxicity. Preliminary studies have shown that the FLT3 inhibitor Quizartinib synergizes with some chemotherapeutic agents, suggesting that targeted inhibitors may enhance conventional conditioning regimens. …

Criminalizing Curation, Duncan Hosie

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article surfaces emerging threats to artistic expression posed by the Dost test, which outlines six factors for interpreting a “lascivious exhibition of the genitals” under federal and many state child pornography laws. It argues that the present state of American politics has eroded normative inhibitions that previously prevented the ambiguities and vulnerabilities of child pornography prosecutions from being systematically exploited. By way of repair, the Article offers two jurisprudential reform proposals.

Synthesizing precedent, criticism, and theory, the Article demonstrates Dost invites selective enforcement against politically and religiously unpopular artwork by authorizing courts and prosecutors to assess polysemous visual works …

The Constitutional Penumbras Of Home Rights, Gerald S. Dickinson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Justice William Douglas’s famous parable in Griswold v. Connecticut argued that the Bill of Rights contains penumbras—implied zones of privacy protections— that emanate from the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. His penumbral conception of privacy rights has sparked extensive debate among legal scholars, reflecting both its influence and its ongoing controversy. Yet, there is more to Justice Douglas’s penumbra story to explore. In expounding on his privacy innovations in Griswold, Justice Douglas explained that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments protect against all governmental invasions of the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life. Indeed, the …

Locked And Unloaded: The Constitutional And Empirical Case For Firearm Safe Storage Advisories, Hillel Y. Levin, Kay L. Levine

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Constitutional law haunts our efforts to reduce the number of firearm deaths each year. But even with the evolving scope of individual rights, sensible regulation remains possible.

This Article proposes one such regulatory tool. State governments legally can and pragmatically should require firearm sellers to advise their customers of the association between improper gun storage and the risk of accidental death and suicide. Mandatory safe storage advisories implicate two strands of constitutional jurisprudence: the First Amendment’s protection against compelled speech and the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. While the Supreme Court has strengthened both doctrines in recent years, jurisdictions …

The Constitutional Future Of Trademark Tarnishment, Jake Linford

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article is the first to examine whether trademark anti-tarnishment laws should be deemed constitutional after the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Vidal v. Elster. Anti-tarnishment laws protect famous brands from uses that could damage their reputation, even when consumers are not confused about who makes the tarnishing product.

The Supreme Court recently declared some trademark registration restrictions unconstitutional in Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti. In these cases, the Court struck down federal laws that prevented registration of “disparaging” trademarks and “scandalous or immoral” trademarks because they categorized the registration bars as unconstitutional viewpoint-based restrictions. These …

Freedom At The Polls: Guns, Speech, And The Right To Vote, Matthew B. Russett

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Part I of this Note provides a brief overview of current firearm prohibitions at polling locations and examines the legislative justifications for these restrictions. Recently, an increasing number of states have enacted firearm prohibitions as a prophylactic measure against voter intimidation and disruption. Part II applies New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen’s history and tradition test to determine whether these prohibitions pass constitutional muster under the Second Amendment. Indeed, a critical examination of historical voting laws in America shows a compelling history of limiting firearms near polling locations. Part III examines similar themes in First Amendment …

The End Of The List: Constructive Waiver Of The Right To Counsel In Virginia, Thomas C. Squires

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note will first give a general background on the right to counsel in the United States that stems from the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, with a focus on the right as applied in the Commonwealth of Virginia. A brief examination of the specific Virginia Code section that is relevant when discussing this issue will follow. This code section and its deficiencies collectively present potential threats to defendants’ right to counsel. An evaluation of federal case law and Virginia case law on constructive waiver will follow. This Note will conclude by offering potential solutions to head the looming …

Table Of Contents (V. 34, No. 4)

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A Full System Co-Simulation Platform For Evaluating Edge Machine Learning Inference Using Compute-In-Memory, Belsen Lee

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MS) Theses

We present a full-system co-simulation platform for evaluating embedded machine learning (ML) inference using compute-in-memory (CIM). CIM architectures aim to reduce data movement overhead by performing matrix operations in memory, but end-to-end benefits depend on system-level integration costs that are difficult to assess with isolated hardware models alone. To address this gap, we develop an integrated RISC-V QEMU-SystemC co-simulation environment that allows standard embedded Linux to interact with a transaction-level CIM accelerator model via memory-mapped I/O, direct memory access (DMA), and interrupts. To evaluate performance, we benchmark an MNIST image inference workload and a synthetic fully connected neural network, comparing …

Integrating Automated Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Into University Of Alaska Anchorage's Applied Environmental Research Center, Alec Blake

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

This project developed a custom trained artificial intelligence (AI) video‑analysis agent minimum viable product (MVP) for the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC) fisheries projects that utilize a VAKI Riverwatcher CS system. The project involved collaboration with the UAA AERC and the UAA College of Engineering (CoE) Project Management (PM) program and the Computer Science and Computer Engineering (CSCE) program. The project served as the first phase of a broader program that will expand into an all-in-one commercial product, eventually replacing the Icelandic-made VAKI Riverwatcher CS with a fully automated, American-made fish monitoring system to comply …

The Delivery And Evaluation Of The Diabetes Prevention Program Through A Distance Education Modality, Celine Siddall

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Type 2 diabetes is a significant and growing public health concern, disproportionately affecting American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing diabetes risk through lifestyle modification. However, implementation in rural and geographically isolated regions presents unique challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic further disrupted in-person delivery models, creating the need for rapid transformation to virtual formats.

This graduate project evaluated the implementation of a virtually delivered Prevent T2 at Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center program in the Tana Chiefs Conference region. This program was adapted for distance delivery using Zoom and supported by collaboration …

Human Subject Research Payments At The University Of Alaska Anchorage, Rebecca Kyle Van Wyck

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Human Subjects Research (HSR) participant payment processes are an underexamined but consequential component of research administration. At the University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA), these processes op- erate within a complex institutional environment shaped by Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting rules, and administrative procedures that remain only partially formalized. This capstone project examined how HSR participant payment processes are implemented in practice at UAA and where meaningful gaps exist between institutional policy and real-world execution.

The study used a qualitative single-institution case study design combining semi-structured interviews with five Principal Investigators (PIs), document analysis, and peer-institution …

Rising Prices, Rising Homes: How Inflation Shapes The U.S. Housing Market, Samantha Suarez

Theses & ETDs

This thesis explores the causes and consequences of inflation in the United States, with a particular focus on housing. It begins by examining the main drivers of housing inflation, including supply shortages, rising construction costs, low interest rates, and shifts in demand during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These housing-specific factors are compared to broader sources of inflation such as fiscal stimulus, monetary policy, global supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflicts. The paper also analyzes how inflation affects households across different income groups. Because housing is a large share of total expenses, rising rents and home prices tend to place …

Biopsychosocial Mechanisms And Management Of Pain And Emotional Health In Fibrous Dysplasia/Mccune-Albright Syndrome, Camryn Berry

Doctoral Dissertations

Fibrous Dysplasia (FD) is a rare disease where healthy bone is replaced by lesions of fragile, porous tissue. FD lesions may affect a single bone or occur throughout the entire skeleton and can grow rapidly. A diagnosis of McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) is made when FD is accompanied by endocrinopathies and skin hyperpigmentation. FD/MAS can cause debilitating complications, including disabilities, deformities, fractures, and chronic pain. Pain is one of the most common symptoms of FD/MAS and can have a profound impact on patients’ quality of life. However, FD/MAS pain is complex and varies substantially between patients. This complexity and a lack …

Navigating Departure: Understanding Factors Influencing Professionals Of Color In Student Affairs, Darnelle Bosquet-Fleurival

Doctoral Dissertations

Student Affairs Professionals of Color (SAPOCs) at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) navigate complex institutional environments shaped by racialized expectations, leadership structures, and systemic inequities. While existing research documents high turnover and burnout within student affairs, less is known about how mid-level to senior SAPOCs make meaning of their decisions to stay in or leave leadership roles over time. This qualitative study examines how institutional, interpersonal, and systemic dynamics shape professional sustainability and exit among SAPOCs in the Northeastern United States.Grounded in Critical Race Theory and Black Feminist Thought and informed by narrative inquiry methodology, this study draws on in-depth interviews …

Turbulence And Kinetic Instabilities In The Near-Sun Solar Wind: From Theory To Observation, Nooshin Sierra Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The near-Sun solar wind provides a natural laboratory for studying the nonlinear and kinetic processes that govern the dynamics of collisionless astrophysical plasmas. This thesis investigates plasma turbulence and kinetic instabilities in the inner heliosphere using theoretical analysis, numerical modeling, and in situ observations.First, young solar wind observations collected by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) are used to examine the radial evolution of nonlinear solar wind turbulence by analyzing magnetic-field power spectra. I investigate the presence and radial evolution of the well-known 1/f spectral behavior in the energy-containing range during a single fast solar wind stream. Measurements close to the Sun …

Black Athens: Organic Intellectuals And The Civil Rights Movement In Boston, 1920–1985, Raymond Dinsmore

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the history of Boston’s civil rights movement through the lives,ideas, and accomplishments of its most influential leaders within what this study terms “Black Athens.” Despite Boston’s reputation as a premier global center of intellect and thought leadership, its Black community has rarely received due recognition for its vital contributions to the city—and particularly to its twentieth-century freedom movement. While many historians have examined the political, social, and cultural dimensions of Boston’s freedom struggle and the broader civil rights movement, few have foregrounded its intellectual history. I argue that this omission has produced an incomplete understanding of both …

Support, Collaboration, And Trust: A Mixed Methods Social Network Perspective Of Teacher Turnover, Danielle S. Donovan

Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: Despite decades of research, teacher turnover remains a consistent challenge for schools and communities. In an effort to better understand why teachers continue to leave the classroom, this dissertation focuses on support, collaboration, and trust ties as an aspect of social working conditions through a social network lens. Methodology: Guided by critical realism as an ontological and epistemological framework, this study uses a sequential research design to implement an ego-centric mixed-methods social network perspective (MMSNP). Findings: Instrumental (pedagogical and instructional resources) and expressive social capital (emotional support and a sense of belonging) exist within teacher networks. Teachers who maintain …

Computationally Probing Quantum Subgroups Via Graph Planar Algebra Embeddings, Caleb Kennedy Hill

Doctoral Dissertations

Tensor categories are algebraic objects used by physicists to describe symmetry, by computer scientists to describe programs, and by logicians to describe theorem and proof. Mathematicians invented them to capture the similarities of the representation theories of common algebraic objects including groups, algebras, and Lie algebras. In this dissertation we give presentations in terms of graphical generators and relations for two tensor categories arising from the two quantum subgroups of quantum G2.

We accomplish this by embedding a tensor-generating object's planar algebra into the graph planar algebra on that object's module fusion graph. Such an embedding allows one to explore …

Permeability And Mechanical Response Of Propped Fractured Rocks Under Varied Fluid Viscosities, Hebatalla A. Ghoneim

Doctoral Dissertations

Hydraulic fracturing relies on proppants to preserve fracture conductivity under reservoir stresses. The long-term performance of propped fractures is influenced by grain crushing, redistribution of fines, pack rearrangement, proppant–rock embedment, and shear deformation. These mechanisms are not fully understood under combined compression and shear stress paths, particularly when viscous carrier fluids interact with fractured rock and proppant packs. This dissertation provides experimental data and device development to characterize proppant and rock behavior relevant to these coupled mechanical and hydraulic processes.Proppant grain-scale strength and pack-scale mechanical response were first examined through uniaxial grain tests, crushing tests, and drained and undrained triaxial …

Leveraging Dna Intercalation For The Development Of Tunable, Versatile Supramolecular Hydrogels, Shaina Marlene Hughes

Doctoral Dissertations

Supramolecular hydrogels have emerged as a versatile class of biomaterials capable of mimicking the dynamic behavior of natural tissues due to their inherent hydrophilicity, stimuli-responsiveness, and viscoelastic behavior. However, achieving both biocompatibility and mechanical tunability remains a challenge. This work utilizes DNA intercalation to create a programmable, sustainable hydrogel platform. By utilizing the reversible insertion of planar aromatic molecules between DNA base pairs, we demonstrate that the network’s dissociation kinetics and thermodynamic response are directly governed by the intercalator structure, offering a highly tunable strategy for stimuli-responsive biomaterials.To demonstrate the versatility of double stranded DNA (dsDNA) intercalating supramolecular hydrogels (DISHs), …

Certain Hidden Stabilities Of Continued Fraction Arithmetic, With Applications To Classical Constants And Functions Of Analysis, Qian Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

We establish a hidden stability in the continued fraction expansions of certain real sequences. Classical theory predicts only statistical regularities for the partial quotients of actually random sequences, and repeated applications of the Gauss map would seem to have a randomizing effect even on analytically defined sequences; nevertheless we show how partial quotients connected to sequences governed by asymptotic expansions with rational coefficients always display a certain kind of periodic regularity and, upon taking closures, also an unexpected topological character. Our story connects three types of related data: sequences of real numbers, sequences of continued fraction expansions, and formal Laurent …

Linking Environmental Change, Microbial Community Assembly, And Function During A Novel Marine Phytoplankton Bloom Using Multi-Omics, Madison Renée Hurley

Doctoral Dissertations

Phytoplankton are central to marine ecosystem functioning, driving primary production, nutrient cycling, and higher trophic level dynamics. In the spring and summer of 2023, the Gulf of Maine experienced an unprecedented bloom of the dinoflagellate Tripos muelleri, reaching densities exceeding 50,000 cells L-1, an order of magnitude higher than previously recorded, and disrupting the region’s typical spring diatom-dominated succession. This bloom provided a unique opportunity to examine the metabolic strategies, ecological interactions, and environmental drivers underlying the bloom persistence and decline. An integrative approach was used, combining 18S and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, pigment and image analysis, network modeling, functional …

J.R.R. Tolkien’S Creation Of The Modern Fantasy Genre As A Response To Modernity By Way Of A Return To A Past Inspired By The Middle Ages, As Revealed Through The Creatures Of Middle-Earth, Regarding Race, Gender, Empire, And Religion, Jonathan Levitt

Doctoral Dissertations

Fantasy authors existed well before and during J.R.R Tolkien’s time, but he brought a new gravitas to the genre, building upon but disposing of and reconceptualizing conventional notions (such as the presence of fairies) to earn his moniker as the father of the modern fantasy genre. Although Tolkien’s stories are inspired by Northern myths, the world he creates is to be understood as historically real, as it incorporates authentic linguistic and cultural underpinnings of a society informed by his experience as a philologist and professor of Anglo Saxon. The intensity and longevity of Tolkien’s influence on the literary world and …

Who Works From Home, What Is It Worth, And Where Do They Live? Occupational Classification, Work Arrangement Preferences, And Residential Location Choice, Logan Robert Malone

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines work-from-home (WFH) arrangements through three complementary lenses: occupational feasibility, worker preferences, and residential location choice. The first chapter develops a continuous tools-based measure of WFH potential using the Department of Labor's O*NET Tools and Technology Supplement, which documents the tools used in each occupation. By categorizing tools according to their consistency with remote work and aggregating to the occupation level, I construct a measure that closely aligns with existing classifications while offering finer-grained distinctions than the binary categorizations common in the literature. The tools-based measure agrees with a widely cited task-based measure for approximately 80% of occupations …

Neutral Giant: The United States And The Costa Rican Civil War Of 1948, James Irving

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a narrative microhistory of American diplomacy during Costa Rica’s transformative 1948 civil war. Emerging out of a contested presidential election, the war pitted the Costa Rican government of Teodoro Picado and its communist allies against an anticommunist, nationalist rebel movement led by José Figueres in a monthlong fight for political power. While existing histories of American policymaking have concluded almost unanimously that the United States intervened to support the rebels as part of its Cold War strategy in Latin America—labeling the civil war a precursor to the more infamous coup in Guatemala in 1954—this dissertation seeks to …

The Bank Of North America And The Making Of American Public Finance In The Confederation Era, Arya Georgina Martinez Arellano

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the history of the Bank of North America, the first charteredbank in the United States, as a foundational experiment in American public finance during the critical decade between the American Revolution and the founding of the Bank of the United States in 1791. Historians have often interpreted the Bank either as an extension of Robert Morris's career or as a precursor to Alexander Hamilton’s federal financial system. By shifting the focus from individual actors to institutional practice, this project demonstrates how the Bank of North America functioned as a proto-national financial institution in a political environment where …

Performance-Based Assessment Of Asphalt Overlay Cracking With Laboratory And Field Data, Meisam Khorshidi

Doctoral Dissertations

Efficient and effective rehabilitation of existing pavements is a continuing priority for transportation agencies seeking to maintain safe, reliable, and cost-effective networks. Asphalt overlays are widely used to restore ride quality and extend service life of both asphalt and concrete pavements; however, their long-term performance is often limited by thermal and reflective cracking. These distresses accelerate moisture infiltration, increase maintenance demand, and shorten overlay life, especially in cold-climate regions. Ensuring that overlay designs adequately account for structural configuration, traffic, climate, subgrade conditions, and mixture-level fracture resistance is therefore critical to avoid premature failure and excessive life-cycle costs.This dissertation advances performance-based …