Digital Commons Network^™

Numeracy-Meets: An Innovative Professional Development Model For Adult Numeracy Practitioners In Ireland, Mark Prendergast, Annette Forster, Niamh O'Meara, Kathy O'Sullivan, Fiona Faulkner

Articles

Despite the clear and obvious need for adults to be proficient in numeracy, international studies suggest that many continue to struggle in this area. In Ireland, one of the main challenges continues to be the availability of effective adult numeracy education. This is a diverse sector, and little is known about the varied provision of adult numeracy courses and of those who teach on them. Recent research has highlighted an unmet demand for the professional development of adult numeracy practitioners with many looking for opportunities to network and further develop their practice. This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate …

Assessing Authentically – Learnings From Marketing Educators, S. Montano, L. Gill-Simmen, D. Lee, Lucia Walsh, Deirdre Duffy Dr, N. Newman

Articles

This paper demonstrates the importance and role of authentic assessments, that replicate industry practice, within Higher Education marketing programmes. We answer the call from employers, that students need to gain much-needed employability skills, and we illustrate how such assessments can be created to enable the development of employability skills. We provide an overview of four case studies, to illustrate different forms of authentic assessments, the theory which was used to underpin the designs, the skills developed during the assessments, and the outcomes of the assessments. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a move to online assessments, it …

Know An Emotion By The Company It Keeps: Word Embeddings From Reddit/Coronavirus, Alejandro García-Rudolph, David Sanchez-Pinsach, Dietmar Frey, Eloy Opisso, Katryna Cisek, John Kelleher

Articles

Social media is a crucial communication tool (e.g., with 430 million monthly active users in online forums such as Reddit), being an objective of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. One of them (word embeddings) is based on the quotation, “You shall know a word by the company it keeps,” highlighting the importance of context in NLP. Meanwhile, “Context is everything in Emotion Research.” Therefore, we aimed to train a model (W2V) for generating word associations (also known as embeddings) using a popular Coronavirus Reddit forum, validate them using public evidence and apply them to the discovery of context for specific …

Rapid Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Nucleocapsid Protein By A Label-Free Biosensor Based On Optical Fiber Cylindrical Micro-Resonator, Ru-Lei Xia, Bin Liu, Yingying Hu, Juan Liu, Yue Fu, Xing-Dao He, Ping Lu, Yingying Hu, Gerald Farrell

Articles

The current global outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to be a severe threat to human health. Rapid, low-cost, and accurate antigen detection methods are very important for disease diagnosis. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid protein (N-Protein) is often used as the diagnostic and screening for coronavirus detection. To this end, we propose and experimentally validate a highly sensitive whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical cylindrical micro-resonator (CMR) for bio immunoassay detection. To study the biokinetic process of immunoassay, the surface of the WGM micro-resonator is functionalized with N-Protein monoclonal antibody (N-Protein-m Ab), which led to the specific detection …

Hmm, You Seem Confused! Tracking Interlocutor Confusion For Situated Task-Oriented Hri, Na Li, Robert J. Ross

Articles

Our research seeks to develop a long-lasting and high-quality en- gagement between the user and the social robot, which in turn requires a more sophisticated alignment of the user and the system than is currently commonly available. Close monitoring of inter- locutors’ states, and we argue their confusion state in particular, and adjusting dialogue policies based on this state of confusion is needed for successful joint activity. In this paper, we present an ini- tial study of a human-robot conversation scenarios using a Pepper robot to investigate the confusion states of users. A Wizard-of-Oz (WoZ) HRI experiment is illustrated in …

Deregulation: Too Big For One Branch, But Maybe Not For Two, Stephen M. Johnson

Articles

When President Trump took office in 2017, he pursued a deregulatory agenda that exceeded even that of President Reagan. Environmental rules and policies were a major target of the Administration. The President deployed a mix of traditional tools, such as executive orders, guidance documents and policies, and rulemaking to suspend or reverse longstanding regulations and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of the Interior, and other environmental agencies. The Administration also utilized the Congressional Review Act as it had not been used before and aggressively sought abeyances in litigation challenging disfavored rules and policies to advance its …

Ar/Vr Teaching-Learning Experiences In Higher Education Institutions (Hei): A Systematic Literature Review, Belen Bermejo, Carlos Juiz, David Cortes, Jeroen Oskam, Teemu Moilanen, Jouko Loijas, Praneschen Govender, Jenniifer Hussey, Alexander Lennart Schmidt, Ralf Burbach, Daniel King, Colin O'Connor, David Dunlea

Articles

During the last few years, learning techniques have changed, both in basic education and in higher education. This change has been accompanied by new technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (AR). The combination of these technologies in education has allowed a greater immersion, positively affecting the learning and teaching processes. In addition, since the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend has been growing due to the diversity of the different fields of application of these technologies, such as heterogeneity in their combination and their different experiences. It is necessary to review the state of the art to determine the …

Virtual Industry Visits, Cian Farrell

Articles

Cian Farrell of Technological University Dublin describes a virtual educational approach trialled during the Covid-19 pandemic to engage students during a period of remote learning and educate them on industry processes and practices. Virtual industry visits saw students receive online briefings and tours of manufacturing plants and construction sites from industry representatives to complement their taught modules. The virtual visits have continued since Covid restrictions eased as part of a hybrid approach to learning that increases student exposure to real-life projects. The initiative won the Institution of Structural Engineers Excellence in Structural Engineering Education Award in 2022.

Efficient 2075-Nm Laser Emission From Ho3+-Doped Fluorotellurite Glass In A Compact All-Fiber Structure, Liyuan Wang, Xiaotong Zhao, Nian Lv, Niannian Xu, Zhenrui Li, Gerald Farrell, Shunbin Wang, Pengfei Wang

Articles

In this Letter, we report an Ho3+-doped fluorotellurite glass all-fiber laser at 2075 nm. The gain fiber is pumped in-band with a 1976-nm fiber laser and connected by fusion splicing. A high-quality fusion splicing point with a loss of < 0.1 dB was obtained by finely adjusting the splicing power and offset. In addition, by optimizing the writing parameters, a third-order fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with a reflectivity of 98% was achieved at 2075 nm using the femtosecond laser direct-writing method. Using the FBG as the laser cavity mirror and a relatively short 28-cm-long home-made Ho3+-doped fluorotellurite fiber as the laser medium, a laser with a maximum unsaturated output power of 7.33 W was obtained, and the corresponding slope efficiency was as high as 93.4%. The first, to the best of our knowledge, demonstration of the fluorotellurite glass all-fiber ∼2.1-µm laser presented in this work may pave the way for a high-power 2.1-µm fiber laser with a compact structure.

The Pierce Decomposition And Pierce Embedding Of Endomorphism Rings Of Abelian P-Groups, Brendan Goldsmith, Luigi Salce

Articles

We prove that more classes of groups than those described by Pierce have the property that the map Ψ is surjective, and we furnish examples of groups which do not have this property. Several results connecting the Pierce decomposition and the Pierce embedding of End(G) are obtained that allow one to derive general conditions on a group G which ensure that the Pierce embedding of End(G) is not surjective.

An “Essential” Solution: Reworking The Essential Facilities Doctrine To Address Big Tech’S Harm To The Marketplace Of Ideas, Kaleb Byars

Articles

Google’s mission statement is undoubtedly altruistic. The Internet overflows with information, and users could not navigate the Internet if an entity did not logically organize that information. On the other hand, should democratic societies accept the convenience that Google and the other Big Tech firms provide if that convenience impairs the marketplace of ideas? Big Tech censorship is at the forefront of current news and congressional consideration. At both ends of the political spectrum, parties agree

Big Tech censorship harms the marketplace of ideas. Republican congresspersons argue Big Tech supports liberal ideas and censors conservative voices, websites, and advertisements. Democratic …

Maintaining Connections During The Pandemic: Rural Arts Festivals And Digital Practices, Enya Moore, Bernadette Quinn

Articles

During the COVID lockdowns of 2020/21, the transmission of live or recorded concerts grew exponentially as festival makers embraced digital technologies to a greater degree. Investigating how this digital pivot interrupted festival-making practices is now important given that online and hybrid modes will potentially be used in conjunction with in-person events in the future. This task has relevance for rural areas where digital infrastructures can be under-developed. Yet, place-based, community-organised festivals can play a significant role in sustaining local communities. In this context, we explore the recent digital programming practices of music festivals in West Cork, Ireland. Methodologically, the study …

The World Of International & Comparative Law Journals, Kathleen Claussen

Articles

No abstract provided.

Imi 2023 Digest, Padmaja Sankaridurg, David A. Berntsen, Mark A. Bullimore, Pauline Cho, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, Timothy J. Gawne, Kate Gifford, Monica Jong, Lisa A. Ostrin Lisa A. Ostrin, Jacinto Santodomingo-Rubido, Christine Wildsoet, James S. Wolffsohn

Articles

Myopia is a dynamic and rapidly moving field, with ongoing research providing a better understanding of the etiology leading to novel myopia control strategies. In 2019, the International Myopia Institute (IMI) assembled and published a series of white papers across relevant topics and updated the evidence with a digest in 2021. Here, we summarize findings across key topics from the previous 2 years. Studies in animal models have continued to explore how wavelength and intensity of light influence eye growth and have examined new pharmacologic agents and scleral cross-linking as potential strategies for slowing myopia. In children, the term premyopia …

Review Of The International Play Policies And Their Contribution To Supporting A Child's Right To Play, Fiona Armstrong, David Gaul

Articles

Play is recognised as a fundamental children's right protected by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite legal and constitutional requirements for ensuring children's right to play, there are few international policies dedicated to play. This paper seeks to use a critical discourse analysis lens to compare the current international policies dedicated to play and identify examples of good practice and perceived barriers to the successful development and implementation of play policies.

Horizontal Collusion And Parallel Wage Setting In Labor Markets, Jonathan S. Masur, Eric A. Posner

Articles

Horizontal collusion among employers to suppress wages has received almost no attention in the academic literature, in contrast with its more familiar cousin, product-market collusion. The similar economic analysis of labor and product markets might suggest that antitrust should regulate labor and product markets in the same way. But product markets and labor markets do not operate identically: people behave differently as employees and as consumers. Unlike consumers who can switch products relatively easily, employees face significant frictions in changing jobs. Other labor market frictions are created by the pay equity norm and downward nominal wage rigidity. These and related …

The 2023 Scalia Lecture: Beyond Textualism?, William Baude

Articles

No abstract provided.

Hidden Value Transfers In Public Utilities, Aneil Kovvali, Joshua Macey

Articles

This Article describes strategies vertically integrated electric utilities use to transfer value from rate-regulated affiliates to non-rate regulated affiliates. First, regulated utilities directly subsidize non-regulated affiliates by entering into favorable contracts with affiliates that participate in competitive markets. These contractual value transfers include favorable purchase agreements such as long-term contracts to buy coal at above-market prices and cross-affiliate debt guarantees that allow non- rate regulated affiliates to borrow at a discount. Second, utilities receive regulatory authorization to pass costs incurred by their non-rate regulated affiliates onto captive ratepayers. Examples of regulatorily approved value transfers are fuel adjustment clauses that authorize …

Privacy Protection, At What Cost? Exploring The Regulatory Resistance To Data Technology In Auto Insurance, Omri Ben-Shahar

Articles

Regulatory and sociological resistance to new market-driven technologies, particularly to those that rely on collection and analysis of personal data, is prevalent even in cases where the technology creates large social value and saves lives. This article is a case study of such tragic technology resistance, focusing on tracking devices in cars which allow auto insurers to monitor how policyholders drive and adjust the premiums accordingly. Growing empirical work reveals that such “usage-based insurance” induces safer driving, reducing fatal accidents by almost one third, and resulting in more affordable and fair premiums. Yet, California prohibits this technology and other states …

Private Enforcement In The States, Austin Peters, Diego Zambrano, Neel Guha, Jeffrey Xia

Articles

Scholarship on U.S. litigation and civil procedure has scarcely studied the role of private enforcement in the states. Over the past two decades, scholars have established that, almost uniquely in the world, the U.S. often relies on private parties rather than administrative agencies to enforce important statutory provisions. Take your pick of any area in American governance, and you will find private rights of action: environmental law, civil rights, employment discrimination, antitrust, consumer protection, business competition, securities fraud, and so on. In each of these areas, Congress has deliberately empowered private plaintiffs instead of, or in addition to, government agencies. …

Lessons From Disease And Economic Surveillance During Covid-19, Anup Malani

Articles

This paper describes disease and economic surveillance during COVID, along with the uses of that surveillance, and lessons learned about the pandemic from that surveillance. It ends with policy suggestions on how to gather intelligence during the next pandemic in India and how surveillance informs suppression policy. The important themes that I stress are the value of population-level surveillance, understanding the incentives and disincentives for surveillance and reporting, and tailoring policy to the results of surveillance.

Maintaining Connections During The Pandemic: Rural Arts Festivals And Digital Practices, Enya Moore, Bernadette Quinn

Articles

During the COVID lockdowns of 2020/21, the transmission of live or recorded concerts grew exponentially as festival makers embraced digital technologies to a greater degree. Investigating how this digital pivot interrupted festival-making practices is now important given that online and hybrid modes will potentially be used in conjunction with in-person events in the future. This task has relevance for rural areas where digital infrastructures can be under-developed. Yet, place-based, community-organised festivals can play a significant role in sustaining local communities. In this context, we explore the recent digital programming practices of music festivals in West Cork, Ireland. Methodologically, the study …

Capacity Building For Organizational Resilience: Integrating Standards On Risk, Disruption And Continuity In The Curriculum, Lisa Greenwood, Dawn Hess, Yewande S. Abraham, Jennifer Schneider

Articles

Disruption is an inevitable factor in business and society, while inability to mitigate and manage risk can cause irreparable damage to business, the economy, and our ways of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened interest in standards-based strategies for risk management and crisis preparedness to enhance organizational and societal resilience. University curricula that integrate national and international standards offer students a rich skill-set for effective performance in their careers. Moving forward, we must cultivate capable professionals who understand the challenges and risks facing society, and who grasp standards and systems for strategic planning, response, and recovery to promote organizational resilience …

Has The Idaho Supreme Court Wrongly Limited Wrongful Discharge In Contravention Of Public Policy Claims?, John E. Rumel

Articles

No abstract provided.

Rulemaking 3.0: Incorporating Ai And Chatgpt Into Notice And Comment Rulemaking, Stephen M. Johnson

Articles

Technological innovations since the turn of the century have created opportunities to increase public participation in notice and comment rulemaking, increase the efficiency of the process, and increase the quality of the rules adopted by agencies. For some rules, online rulemaking and social media have facilitated increased public participation, but have not necessarily facilitated improvements in the quality of public comments. In addition, in some cases, the transformation of the process has created new challenges for government agencies by making it easier for supporters or opponents of rules to flood agencies with duplicative and potentially false comments to which the …

Vulnerable Customers' Perception Of Corporate Social Responsibility In The Banking Sector In A Post-Crisis Context, Diego Monferrer Tirado, Lidia Vidal-Melia, John Cardiff, Keith Quille

Articles

This research aims to determine to what extent corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions developed by bank entities in Spain improve the vulnerable customers' emotions and quality perception of the banking service. Consequently, this increases the quality of their relationship regarding satisfaction, trust and engagement.

The Corporate Governance Of Public Utilities, Aneil Kovvali, Joshua A. Macey

Articles

Rate-regulated public utilities own and operate one-third of U.S generators and nearly all the transmission and distribution system. These firms receive special regulatory treatment because they are protected from competition and subject to rate caps. In the past decade, they also have been at the center of high- profile corporate scandals. They have bribed regulators to secure subsidies for coal-fired generators and nuclear reactors. They have caused wildfires and coal- ash spills that resulted in hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in liability. Their failure to maintain reliable electric service has contributed to catastrophic blackouts. Perhaps most consequentially, they …

Book Review: The “Common-Good” Manifesto, William Baude, Stephen E. Sachs

Articles

In Common Good Constitutionalism, Professor Adrian Vermeule expounds a constitutional vision that might “direct persons, associations, and society generally toward the common good.” The book must be taken seriously as an intellectual challenge, particularly to leading theories of originalism.

That said, the challenge fails. The book fails to support its hostility toward originalism, to motivate its surprising claims about outcomes, or even to offer an account of constitutionalism at all. Its chief objections to originalism are unpersuasive and already answered in the literature it cites. The book does highlight important points of history and jurisprudence, of which originalists and others …

The Long Hand Of Anti-Corruption: Israeli Judicial Reform In Comparative Perspective, Tom Ginsburg

Articles

There are many ways in which to examine the current Israeli constitutional crisis. This article uses the lens of anti-corruption, a global movement which has changed politics in many countries. The long empowerment of the legal system in Israel arguably has its origins in policing corruption, which may be a particularly powerful motivator for the current governing coalition’s efforts to assert more control over the Supreme Court. The dynamics of anti-corruption in Israel are somewhat distinct from those of other countries in ways that may bode well for the Court in its confrontation with the government.

Severability First Principles, William Baude

Articles

The United States Supreme Court has decided a number of cases involving severability in the last decade, from NFIB v. Sebelius and Murphy v. NCAA to Seila Law v. CFPB, Barr v. AAPC, United States v. Arthrex, California v. Texas, and Collins v. Yellen. The analysis has not been consistent, the Justices have not been able to agree, and the results have not been intuitive. Some of the Justices have proposed a revisionist approach, but they too have been unable to agree on what it requires.

This Article proposes a return to first principles. Severability is a question of what …