Digital Commons Network^™

Reflections On Comity In The Law Of American Federalism, Gil Seinfeld

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Comity is a nebulous concept familiar to us from the law of international relations. Roughly speaking, it describes a set of reciprocal norms among nations that call for one state to recognize, and sometimes defer to, the laws, judgments, or interests of another. Comity also features prominently in the law of American federalism, but in that context, it operates within limits that have received almost no attention from scholarly commentators. Specifically, although courts routinely describe duties that run from one state to another, or from the federal government to the states, as exercises in comity, they almost never rely on …

Prisoners' Rights Lawyers' Strategies For Preserving The Role Of The Courts, Margo Schlanger

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This Article is part of the University of Miami Law Review’s Leading from Below Symposium. It canvasses prisoners’ lawyers’ strategies prompted by the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”). The strategies comply with the statute’s limits yet also allow U.S. district courts to remain a forum for the vindication of the constitutional rights of at least some of the nation’s millions of prisoners. After Part I’s introduction, Part II summarizes in several charts the PLRA’s sharp impact on the prevalence and outcomes of prison litigation, but demonstrates that there are still many cases and situations in which courts continue to …

Trends In Prisoner Litigation, As The Plra Enters Adulthood, Margo Schlanger

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The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), enacted in 1996 as part of the Newt Gingrich "Contract with America," is now as old as some prisoners. In the year after the statute's passage, some commenters labeled it merely "symbolic." In fact, as was evident nearly immediately, the PLRA undermined prisoners' ability to bring, settle, and win lawsuits. The PLRA conditioned court access on prisoners' meticulously correct prior use of onerous and error-inviting prison grievance procedures. It increased filing fees, decreased attorneys' fees, and limited damages. It subjected injunctive settlements to the scope limitations usually applicable only to litigated injunctions. It made …

Undocumented No More: The Power Of State Citizenship, Peter L. Markowitz

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An estimated eleven million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. These individuals have become integral members of American families and vital components of the American economy. Yet repeated efforts to meaningfully reform the nation's immigration laws--to more fully integrate these individuals into American society-have failed to garner sufficient political support in Congress. The prospects for significant congressional action on immigration reform remain bleak into the foreseeable future as our nation's debate on immigration has been warped by powerful, but largely inaccurate, themes of criminality, lax border enforcement, and national security threats. These themes have been crafted and cemented in …

Exploring The Unknown: Electrophysiological And Behavioural Measures Of Visuospatial Learning, Brendan Quinlivan, John Butler, Abdur R. Ridwan, Ines Beiser, Laura Williams, Eavan Mcgovern, Sean O'Riordan, Michael Hutchinson, Richard B. Reilly

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Visuospatial memory describes our ability to temporarily store and manipulate visual and spatial information, and is employed for a wide variety of complex cognitive tasks. Here, a visuospatial learning task requiring fine motor control is employed to investigate visuospatial learning in a group of typically developing adults. Electrophysiological and behavioural data are collected during a target location task under two experimental conditions: Target Learning and Target Cued. Movement times (MTs) are employed as a behavioural metric of performance, while dynamic P3b amplitudes and power in the alpha band (approximately 10 Hz) are explored as electrophysiological metrics during visuospatial learning. Results …

Spectropathology For The Next Generation: Quo Vadis?, Hugh Byrne, Malgorzata Baranska, Gerwin J. Pupples, Nick Stone, Bayden Wood, Kathleen M. Gough, Peter Lasch, Phil Heraud, Josep Sulé-Suso, Ganesh Sockalingum

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Although the potential of vibrational spectroscopy for biomedical applications has been well demonstrated, translation into clinical practice has been relatively slow. This Editorial assesses the challenges facing the field and the potential way forward. While many technological challenges have been addressed to date, considerable effort is still required to gain acceptance of the techniques among the medical community, standardise protocols, extend to a clinically relevant scale, and ultimately assess the health economics underlying clinical deployment. National and international research networks can contribute much to technology development and standardisation. Ultimately, large-scale funding is required to engage in clinical trials and instrument …

Data Acquisition And Digital Instrumentation Engineering Modelling For Intelligent Learning And Recognition, Jun Qin, Lin Xu

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In data acquisition and digital instrumentation fields, it is essential to understand the learning and recognition to acquire data and information of objects to be studied. In recent years, engineering modelling and simulation contribute greatly to the understanding of intelligent learning and recognition problems. The ability to learn is one of the central features of intelligence, which makes it an important concern for both cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence. In this paper, definitions and modelling aspects of learning are discussed. Fundamentals of learning and recognition and their applications are investigated and described. Illustrations are given to demonstrate the increasing applications …

Data Acquisition And Digital Instrumentation Engineering Modelling For Intelligent Learning And Recognition, Jun Qin, Lin Xu

Articles

In data acquisition and digital instrumentation fields, it is essential to understand the learning and recognition to acquire data and information of objects to be studied. In recent years, engineering modelling and simulation contribute greatly to the understanding of intelligent learning and recognition problems. The ability to learn is one of the central features of intelligence, which makes it an important concern for both cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence. In this paper, definitions and modelling aspects of learning are discussed. Fundamentals of learning and recognition and their applications are investigated and described. Illustrations are given to demonstrate the increasing applications …

Expansion Of The Profit-Split Method: The Wave Of The Future, Jeffrey M. Kadet

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Recognizing the reality that multinational corporations are centrally managed and not groups of entities that operate independently of one another, the OECD base erosion and profit-shifting project is considering expanded use of the profit-split method. This article provides background on why expanded use of the profit-split method is sorely needed. In particular, resource-constrained tax authorities in many countries are unable to administer or intelligently analyze and contest transfer pricing results presented by multinational groups. Most importantly, this article suggests a simplified profit-split approach using set concrete and objective allocation keys for commonly used business models that should be welcomed by …

Reinventing The Wheel: What We Can Learn From The Tax Reform Act Of 1986, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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In 2010, when former Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus was beginning his push toward tax reform, he held a hearing featuring veterans of the great tax reform of 1986. The main conclusion from this hearing was that Congress has changed too much since then to make a repeat of 1986 likely. We are now five years later, Baucus is the U.S.ambassador to China, and no tax reform has happened yet, thus confirming what the veterans told the chair in 2010.

Review :Thirty-Three Good Men : Celibacy, Obedience And Identity By John Weafer, Eamon Maher

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No abstract provided.

Voting Squared: Quadratic Voting In Democratic Politics, Eric A. Posner, E. Glen Weyl

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No abstract provided.

Will Bringing Sales Onshore In The U.K. Lead To Higher Taxes?, Tommaso Faccio, Jeffrey M. Kadet

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The authors discuss changes to the scope of the U.K. royalty withholding tax announced in the 2016 U.K. budget, which, along with the new diverted profits tax, could cause significant increases in U.K. tax paid by multinationals. As will be seen from the example set out in the article, the U.K. royalty withholding tax announced in the 2016 U.K. budget is a major portion of this increase. This will have a major impact on the economics of profit-shifting structures involving revenues that require on-the-ground sales, marketing, and other support activities in the U.K. The U.K.’s actions should be closely examined …

Fair Approaches For Taxing Previously Untaxed Foreign Income, Jeffrey M. Kadet

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In connection with any transition to a new international tax system, we need an approach that effectively deals with the trillions of dollars of previously untaxed foreign income held by CFCs. There is logic and fairness in applying a rate on those earnings that is less than the 35 percent home country rate because the rules of the game are being changed significantly.

Many U.S. multinationals have had legitimate commercial reasons for retaining their earnings overseas. For these, I can happily accept whatever rate Congress chooses, whether it is at the lower 3.5 percent level of TRA 2014, the 14 …

In Praise Of Mary O'Donnell, Eamon Maher

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No abstract provided.

The Best For Last: The Timing Of U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, Lee Epstein, William M. Landes, Richard A. Posner

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No abstract provided.

Potential Of Biofluid Components To Modify Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity, Gordon Chambers, Anna Murphy, Kate Sheehy, Alan Casey

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Abstract

Establishing realistic exposure scenarios is critical for cytotoxic investigation of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in the gastrointestinal tract. This study investigated the potential interaction with and effect of biofluid components, namely cholic acid, deoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid, on AgNP toxicity. Two cell lines corresponding to organs related to the biofluid components were employed. These were HepG-2 a hepatocellular carcinoma derived from liver tissue and Hep2 an epithelial cell line. Physiochemical and cytotoxic screening was performed and the ability of biofluid components to modify AgNP cytotoxicity was explored. No alteration to the physiochemical characteristics of AgNP by biofluid components was …

Sequential Structural And Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Balloon-Expandable Coronary Stents: A Multivariable Statistical Analysis, David Martin, Fergal Boyle

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Several clinical studies have identified a strong correlation between neointimal hyperplasia following coronary stent deployment and both stent-induced arterial injury and altered vessel hemodynamics. As such, the sequential structural and fluid dynamics analysis of balloon-expandable stent deployment should provide a comprehensive indication of stent performance. Despite this observation, very few numerical studies of balloon-expandable coronary stents have considered both the mechanical and hemodynamic impact of stent deployment. Furthermore, in the few studies that have considered both phenomena, only a small number of stents have been considered. In this study, a sequential structural and fluid dynamics analysis methodology was employed to …

Amperometric Bioelectronic Tongue For Glucose Determination, Ian Suni

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An amperometric Bioelectronic Tongue is reported for glucose determination that contains eight sensor electrodes constructed using different metal electrodes (Pt, Au), oxidoreductase enzymes (glucose oxidase, ascorbate oxidase, uricase), and membrane coatings (Nafion, chitosan). The response to varying concentrations of glucose, ascorbic acid, uric acid, and acetaminophen was tested for two models, concentration determination by current density measurements at individual electrodes and concentration determination by a linear regression model for the entire electrode array. The reduced chi-squared for the full array model was found to be about one order of magnitude lower than that for the individualelectrode model. Discrimination of glucose …

Dealing With Human Weakness : Shusaku Endo's 'Silence', Eamon Maher

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Following on my recent presentation of the Catholic priest in some work by William Trevor, I have decided to follow up with a few articles for Spirituality dealing with what I consider to be some of the more insightful priestly portrayals that I have come across in world literature. For the first example, one must travel a long distance to find an author who has been dubbed the Japanese Graham Greene, Shusaku Endo (1923-1976). The novel we will be concentrating on is the writer's 1966 masterpiece, Silence.

How Different Are The Irish?, Eamon Maher

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THIS review-article sets about assessing the significance of a new collection of essays edited by Tom Inglis, Are the Irish Different?1 Tom Inglis is the foremost commentator on the factors that led to the Catholic Church in Ireland securing a 'special position' during the ninetenth and twentieth centuries.2 The Church's 'moral monopoly' has effectively been ceroded by a number of recent developments; the increased secularisation that accompanied greater prosperity, the tendency among a better educated laity to find their own answers to whatever moral dilemmas assail them, and, of course, the clerical abuse scandals. But even in the 1980s, and …

Migration, Alan Hilliard

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Third level Chaplains often come across students who have been trafficked or have made hazardous journies to find a new future. The migrant gives us a view on the world that challenges the status-quo and out inherited world view. Theirs is a valuable insight and is indeed prophetic.

An Unapologetic Defense Of The Classical Liberal Constitution, Richard A. Epstein

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No abstract provided.

Archives And Non-Humanities Students: Teaching With Primary Sources Beyond Document Analysis, Matthew J. Gorzalski

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No abstract provided.

A Clustering Approach To Domestic Electricity Load Profile Characterisation Using Smart Metering Data, Fintan Mcloughlin, Aidan Duffy, Michael Conlon

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The availability of increasing amounts of data to electricity utilities through the implementation of domestic smart metering campaigns has meant that traditional ways of analysing meter reading information such as descriptive statistics has become increasingly difficult. Key characteristic information to the data is often lost, particularly when averaging or aggregation processes are applied. Therefore, other methods of analysing data need to be used so that this information is not lost. One such method which lends itself to analysing large amounts of information is data mining. This allows for the data to be segmented before such aggregation processes are applied. Moreover, …

Lightening Strikes Twice For Dit Geomatics, Audrey Martin

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The Technological University Dublin (DIT) is rapidly becoming known as an international centre for excellence for all things geospatial. In September 2014, Kevin O'Mahony, a final-year BSc Geomatics student, won the international Trimble Geospatial Student Competition. Kevin is the second consecutive DIT student to win this prestigious award, following on from the success of David Hyland (BSc Geomatics) in 2012. Both students submitted their papers under the supervision of Dr Audrey Martin FSCSI FRICS, Chair of the recently accredited (by SCSI) DIT MSc in Geospatial Engineering. The worldwide student competition is held every two years and is open to all …

At The Fontier Of The Younger Doctrine: Reflections On Google V. Hood, Gil Seinfeld

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On December 19, 2014, long-simmering tensions between Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and the search engine giant Google boiled over into federal court when Google filed suit against the Attorney General to enjoin him from bringing civil or criminal charges against it for alleged violations of the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act. Hood had been investigating and threatening legal action against Google for over a year for its alleged failure to do enough to prevent its search engine, advertisements, and YouTube website from facilitating public access to illegal, dangerous, or copyright protected goods. The case has garnered a great deal of …

What Stick Figures Tell Us About Irish Politics: Creating A Critical And Collaborative Learning Space, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan, Paul Donnelly

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This paper focuses upon the interpretation of freehand drawings produced by a small sample of 220 first-year students taking an Irish politics introductory module in response to the question, ‘What is Irish Politics?’ By sidestepping cognitive verbal processing routes, through employing freehand drawing, we aim to create a critical and collaborative learning environment, where students develop their capacity for interpretation and critical self-reflection. This is because the freehand drawing technique, as part of a critical pedagogy, can generate a more critical and inclusive perspective, as visual representations permit us to comprehend the world differently, and understand how others also see …

All Or Nothing? The Obama Budget Proposals And Beps, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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There is a wide bipartisan consensus that the U.S. international tax regime is broken. We have the highest corporate tax in the OECD, which at 35 percent imposes a real burden on corporations earning mostly U.S.-source income. At the same time, U.S.-based multinationals pay very low effective tax rates on foreign-source income earned through their subsidiaries, leading to a strong incentive to shift profits out of the United States. Finally, the United States is among the few countries to fully tax dividends paid by foreign subsidiaries to their domestic parents, leading to the “trapped income” phenomenon in which $2 trillion …

Macular Pigment Optical Density Is Lower In Type 2 Diabetes, Compared With Type 1 Diabetes And Normal Controls., James Loughman, Grainne Scanlon, Paul Connell, Audrey Murphy, Karen O'Conner, Mathew Ratzlaff, Brittany Foerg

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Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the optical density of macular pigment in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes subjects relative to normal controls