Digital Commons Network^™

From Temporary Incentive To Perpetual Entitlement: Historical Perspective On The Evolving Nature Of Copyright In America, Evan Boyd Billingsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The original purpose of copyright legislation was to grant a temporary economic monopoly to an author of a creative work. This monopoly is meant to incentivize authors to contribute to the public good with works that promote progress in science and art. However, increases in the scope and duration of copyright terms grant overly broad protections and controls for copyright owners, while advances in technology have provided the public with the potential for near-limitless access to information. This creates a conflict between proprietary interest in creative works versus the public's right and ability to access same. Efforts to balance these …

Charter School Authorizers, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Two types of charter schools exist in Arkansas: open-enrollment charter schools, which operate independently of any district, and district conversion charter schools, which operate within an existing school district. Charter schools have more autonomy on certain rules and regulations than traditional public schools; however, charter schools are held accountable for academic results and fiscal matters, as defined by the charters contract. Charter schools are approved and held accountable by a charter authorizer. In the 2013 General Assembly, a law passed to change Arkansas’ charter authorizer from the State Board of Education to a newly created panel within the Department of …

2012-13 Arkansas Test Results, Michael L. Crouch, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In early August, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) released the 2012-2013 test score results. The following brief will highlight the results of these tests, compare achievement scores over time, and provide a glimpse of regional achievement results for the following exams:  Benchmark Exam (Grades 3-8)  End-of-Course Exam (Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, and Grade 11 Literacy).  Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Grades 1-9)

The Effects Of The Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act On The Process Of The Campaign Finance In The Presidential Nomination Process, Karen Sebold

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act increased the individual donor limit to $2,000 per candidate per election and indexed the limit for inflation every two years. The primary research question guiding this study is how has the increase in the donor limit affected donor behavior. Answering this question should allow a determination to be made about how donors have responded to the increased donor limit. Understanding how donors responded to the doubled limit is important because it provides evidence on the intersection of wealth inequality and political influence. To answer the research question this study considers how the increased donor limit …

2013 Legislative Review, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The 89th General Assembly in Arkansas convened on Monday January 14th and would file 2,640 pieces of legislation over the next 100 days. Of this legislation, there were 145 House Bills, 4 House Resolutions, and 97 Senate Bills referred to either the House or Senate Education Committees. That is a grand total of 246 pieces of “education” legislation representing roughly 9 percent of legislation filed in the session. The purpose of this policy brief is to review some of the “high -profile” education bills during the session. The highlighted bills here are split into three categories: 1) school choice, 2) …

The Effect Of Compliance With Section 404 Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act On Small Cap Technology Company's Stock Prices, Joshua Weaver

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the effect of compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also referred to as SOX, on small market cap technology firms using a comparable company analysis model. The comparable company analysis model is used to calculate and compare the average intrinsic values of 45 small and 45 large cap technology companies from the periods of January 1, 1999 to January 1, 2001 (Pre SOX era) and January 1, 2007 to January 1, 2009 (Post SOX era). The purpose of looking at large cap technology firms as a benchmark is to compare how different sized firms within …

An Analysis Of Firearms Training Performance Among Active Law Enforcement Officers, John Thomasson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Firearms proficiency is an implicit expectation, held by the public of police officers, due to presumption that the required firearm training is an adequate preparation for a deadly force encounter. However, anecdotal evidence and available data on police shootings suggest that conventional, unrealistic training methods are wholly inadequate. To present stress into firearms training, some departments have opted for exercises such as physical exertion and shoot-house training as a substitute for realistic simulation of force-on-force confrontations.

To determine whether such exercises are comparable, an observation of performance and heart rate levels was conducted on a group of eight police officers, …

Categorical Funding In Arkansas, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

As a result of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s Lake View v. Huckabee Decision, the Public School Funding Act of 2003 established Arkansas’ current funding system. A part of the current system allocates additional funding for districts based on need (categorical funding). In doing so, the state recognizes that it is necessary to distribute additional funding based on educational need to meet adequacy and equity standards. The system allocates funding for groups of students who face particular challenges: Alternative Learning Environment students (ALE), English-language Learners (ELL), and students in poverty (National School Lunch Act). In the current legislative session, lawmakers are …

Fifth…Or Forty-Ninth? Examining Educational Rankings In Arkansas, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Media outlets, as well as many leaders across the state, have recently been trumpeting the Natural State’s fifth-place ranking in the latest release of Education Week’s Quality Counts, which assigns letter grades to every state on a menu of education measures, to suggest that Arkansas schools “rank fifth in the country.” On the other hand, the state received a D on the Student Achievement category of Quality Counts and many Arkansans are accustomed to seeing Arkansas ranked at or near the bottom among all states on measures related to education and economic well-being. For example, on measures of college degree …

Quality Counts 2013, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In an attempt to gauge the educational progress of the nation and each state, Education Week has published state report cards since 1997 in its annual Quality Counts series. The 17 h annual report - Quality Counts 2013 - was released in January. Overall, Arkansas maintained last year’s ranking of 5 th among the 50 states and earned the highest score of the eight states in the U.S. that received a B- (dropping from a grade of ‘B’ last year). This policy brief examines Arkansas’ rank in each category of the report as well as the quality of the report …

Post Production Expenses- I Don't Care What The Rules Are, Just Tell Me What They Are, Robert M. Honea

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

2012 Update: Developments In Natural Resources Law, Thomas A. Daily

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

Unconventional Litigation In Unconventional Plays: A View From The Trenches, G. Alan Perkins

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

Mother Hubbard Clauses: Is The Cupboard Bare Or Does That Dog Hunt?, Phillip E. Norvell

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

Updates From The Aogc, Shane Khoury

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

Academic Performance Of Charter Schools In Arkansas: 2011-2012, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The 2013 legislative session is underway, and there are a number of policy changes under consideration. One hotly-debated issue involves whether the state should allow for multiple authorizers for charter schools (currently, only the State Board of Education may authorize charter schools). Moreover, several charter schools will testify before the State Board of Education in spring 2013 seeking charter reauthorization. As the issue of charter schools again takes center stage, we present an extension of our 2012 policy brief focused on charter schools. While our previous brief presented descriptive data on state’s open enrollment charter schools, this policy brief takes …

Does Proving Predicate Offenses In Arkansas Require Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt?, Brian Gallini, Britta Stamps

School of Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gangs in Arkansas became an increasing problem in the 1990s. A 1994 HBO-produced documentary titled Gang War: Bangin’ in Little Rock confirmed as much by taking viewers inside the death and destruction caused by warring gang factions. In response to the problem, the Arkansas legislature enacted the Arkansas Criminal Gang, Organization, or Enterprise Act. This Article argues that the Arkansas Supreme Court’s interpretation of the phrase “predicate criminal offense” in that Act violates the due process clause by allowing the prosecution to prove a substantive criminal offense using a burden of proof below reasonable doubt. Part I briefly discusses the …

Rethinking Schneckloth V. Bustamonte, Brian Gallini

School of Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

Why provide warnings to criminal suspects subject to custodial interrogation, but decline to require that citizens be informed of their right to refuse consent? And a related question: why did the Schneckloth majority opinion’s author, Justice Stewart, go so far as to assert that administering a right to refuse consent warning would be “thoroughly impractical”? This piece argues that Schneckloth should be overruled in light of dramatic changes in politics and our factual understanding of consent searches.

From Philly To Fayetteville: Reflections On Teaching Criminal Law In The First Year...Four Years Later, Brian Gallini

School of Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

This piece briefly explores the Criminal Law course and specifically reflects on my experience teaching the course over the past four years. Readers of this piece might first enjoy reading this piece's predecessor at 83 Temp. L. Rev. 475.