Digital Commons Network^™

Gideon'S Vuvuzela: Reconciling The Sixth Amendments Promises With The Doctrines Of Forfeiture And Implicit Waiver Of Counsel, Sarah Gerwig-Moore

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Dating back to the early decades of the twentieth century, the United States Supreme Court has articulated clear, venerable standards for the waiver of constitutional rights--and in particular the right to counsel. This is a rich area for both litigation and teaching, if only to be able to repeat phrases such as "courts indulge every reasonable presumption against waiver" and "we do not presume acquiescence in the loss of fundamental rights." A defendant must proceed with "eyes open," and a waiver will not be presumed from a "silent record." Consistently affirmed and reaffirmed by the United States Supreme Court and …

Speaking For The Dead: Voice In Last Wills And Testaments, Karen J. Sneddon

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I do now hereby give, bequeath, and devise all items of tangible personal property that I own or may own a right thereonto, which includes, but is not limited to, objet d'art, furnishings, automobiles, and silver, to my surviving issue per stirpes.

A will is arguably the most important and personal legal document an individual ever executes. As the language above illustrates, much of the typical language in a will removes all traces of the individual. This personal legal document is ostensibly the individual's-the testator's-document. For a testator, contemplating the creation and execution of a will is the contemplation of …

Unveiling The Mystery, History, And Problems Associated With The Jurisdictional Limitations Of Bankruptcy Courts Over Personal Injury Tort And Wrongful Death Claims, Ishaq Kundawala

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The current jurisdictional structure of bankruptcy courts in the United States is nothing short of a mystery. Scholars, judges, and practitioners have long struggled with finding their way through the confusing labyrinth of jurisdictional rules, exceptions, and exclusions in our current bankruptcy system. Courts spend countless hours each year considering all kinds of jurisdictional issues that arise in bankruptcy cases. This results in a diversion of judicial resources from substantive matters. Adding to this quandary is the limited scope of bankruptcy courts' jurisdiction over a small but very significant subset of claims-personal injury tort and wrongful death claims-which weaves yet …

Disclosing The President’S Role In Rulemaking: A Critique Of The Reform Proposals, Stephen M. Johnson

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Whether for want of time, expertise, or political will, Congress frequently drafts laws that leave important questions unanswered. Ever since the New Deal era, administrative agencies have resolved these questions pursuant to broad delegations of authority from Congress. For decades, academics have debated the appropriate role for the President in the process of settling such questions. In practice, the President and the President's staff often exert strong influence over agencies in their resolution of the unanswered questions. Frequently, though, the President's hand is invisible in the records created by the agencies to justify their decisions. Rather than documenting political influences, …

The Implementation Of Pre-Lecture Resources To Reduce In-Class Cognitive Load: A Case Study For Higher Education Chemistry, Michael Seery, Roisin Donnelly

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This case study describes an effective method to ameliorate the cognitive load caused by new terminology and concepts in lectures. Ten online pre-lecture resources whose design was underpinned by the principles of cognitive load theory were provided to a class of 49 first year university level chemistry students. Each resource introduced a number of key concepts to the forthcoming lecture and included a quiz for students to test understandings and identify misconceptions. The evaluation of the implementation of resources was measured by considering the difference in exam marks for in-semester test and end of module exam. These showed that the …

A High Sensitivity, Evanescent Feld Refractometric Sensor Based On Tapered Multimode Fiber Interference, Pengfei Wang, Gilberto Brambilla, Ming Ding, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu, Gerald Farrell

Articles

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an enhanced evanescent field fiber refractometer based on a tapered multimode fiber sandwiched between two single-mode fibers. Experiments show that this fiber sensor offers ultrahigh sensitivity [better than 1900 nm/RIU at a refractive index (RI) of 1.44] for RI measurements within the range of 1.33–1.44 , in agreement with the theoretical predictions. This is the highest value reported to date (to our knowledge) in the literature.

Investigation And Experimental Measurement Of Scissor Blade Cutting Forces Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors., Dean Callaghan, Ginu Rajan, Mark Mcgrath, Eugene Dermot Coyle Professor, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell

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This paper investigated the application of FBG sensors in the measurement of scissor blade–tissue interaction forces. Sensor placement at the blade–tissue interaction site provides the basis for increased force measurement accuracy, without compromising the functionality of the instrument. This increased accuracy provided the foundation for in-depth analysis of the force components generated during typical scissor cutting cycles. Theoretical analysis and experimental investigation explored the decoupling of the major forces present during cutting. The isolation of tissue-fracture forces from inter-blade friction forces was carried out. This is useful as knowledge of the fracture properties of biological tissues can be diff cult …

Formation Of Infrared Windows Of Transparency In One-Dimensional Silicon Photonic Crystals, Anna Baldycheva, Vladmir A; Tolmachev, Tatiana S. Perova, Kevin Berwick

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The optical properties of three-component one-dimensional photonic crystal (1-D PC) structures were investigated by modeling them as two-component PCs with an additional regular t-layer, using the gap map approach and the transfer matrix method. Numerical results demonstrate that the introduction of the t-layer affects the properties of the high-order photonic band gaps, replacing them with transmission bands and creating regions of transparency over certain wavelength ranges. For the first time, a map of the transmission bands for a three-component 1-D PC was generated. This map constitutes a unique design tool for infrared optical filters for silicon-based photonic integrated …

The Influence Of Thermal Expansion Of A Composite Material On Embedded Polarimetric Sensors, Manjusha Ramakrishnan, Ginu Rajan, Yuliya Semenova, Piotr Lesiak, Andrzej Domanski, Tomasz Wolinksi, Anna Boczkowska, Gerald Farrell

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Abstract. Some of the most critical issues of the influence of the thermal expansion of composite materials on embedded polarimetric sensors for measurements of strain and temperature are studied in this paper. A composite material sample with polarimetric fiber sensors embedded in two distinct layers of a multi-layer composite structure is fabricated and characterized. The polarimetric fiber sensors used in this study are based on panda type fiber and polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM-PCF). The temperature sensitivities of polarimetric fiber sensors with acrylate buffer coated and buffer stripped polarization maintaining optical fibers are measured in free space and compared …

Fiber Refractometer Based On A Fiber Bragg Grating And Single-Mode–Multimode–Single-Mode Fiber Structure, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova, Binbin Yan, Youqiao Ma, Pengfei Wang, Chongxiu Yu, Gerald Farrell

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A refractive index (RI) sensor based on a novel fiber structure that consists of a single-mode–multimode–singlemode (SMS) fiber structure followed by a fiber Bragg grating was demonstrated. The multimode fiber in the SMS structure excites cladding modes within output single-mode fiber (SMF) and recouple the reflected cladding Bragg wavelength to the input SMF core. By measuring the relative Bragg wavelength shift between core and cladding Bragg wavelengths, the RI can be determined. Experimentally we have achieved a maximum sensitivity of 7:33nm=RIU (RI unit) at RI range from 1.324 to 1.439.

High Sensitivity Sms Fiber Structure Based Refractometer – Analysis And Experiment, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova, Pengfei Wang, Gerald Farrell

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We have investigated the influence of multimode fiber core (MMFC) diameters and lengths on the sensitivity of an SMS fiber based refractometer. We show that the MMFC diameter has significant influence on the refractive index (RI) sensitivity but the length does not. A refractometer with a lower MMFC diameter has a higher sensitivity. Experimental investigations achieved a maximum sensitivity of 1815 nm/ RIU (refractive index unit) for a refractive index range from 1.342 to 1.437 for a refractometer with a core diameter of 80 μm. The experimental results fit well with the numerical simulation results.

Application Of Niobium Enriched Ormosils As Thermally Stable Coatings For Aerospace Aluminium Coatings, P.C. Rajath Varma, Mohamed Oubaha, Pradeepan Periyat, Colette Mcdonagh, Brendan Duffy

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The aim of this experimental research is to study the ability of niobium rich sol-gel coatings to withstand thermal stress, while remaining impermeable to corrosive agents for the protection of aerospace alloys. The coating material is developed via polymeric sol-gel synthesis employing 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate (MAPTMS) and niobium ethoxide precursors as a source of silicon and niobium, respectively. The beneficial effect of niobium inclusion within coating was characterised spectroscopically, calorimetrically and electrochemically. The thermal cycling effects of the coating were studied using microscopic and accelerated test methods. Electrochemical tests showed that corrosion current of the material was 2 orders lower in magnitude …

Using An Adaptive Scenarios Approach To Establish Strategies For Tomorrow’S Workplace, Ruth Saurin, John Radcliffe

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This paper aims to demonstrate that it is important to have a methodological process that is reflexive and flexible to achieve fluid interactions that add rigour and energy to the overall process of a built environment project. Therefore, it outlines three phases of the Prospective Through Scenarios futures process used in a study called the “Workplace of the Future”. It also discusses how and why the methodology evolved during the course of the project with participant feedback as the main source of information for the analysis. Furthermore, novel qualitative futures techniques have been applied to a discipline that is usually …

Geolearn - Multi-Media Resources, Audrey Martin

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This paper examines the potential of pedagogically designed video demonstrations in supporting the learning requirements of students in the Spatial Information Sciences (DSIS). Currently, over three hundred full and part-time students in the College of Engineering and Built Environment undertake a module in Land Surveying each semester and although these students range in discipline and academic level (NQAI 6 - 8), they all share a need for basic information and instruction in the area of practical land-surveying techniques. To accommodate this highly practical subject area, fifty per cent of contact time is normally dedicated to group-based field exercises, the results …

Crystallisation And Phase Transition Characteristics Of Sol-Gel-Synthesized Zinc Titanates, Suresh Pillai, Michael Seery, Nicholas Nolan

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No abstract provided.

Daemon Decay And Cosmic Inflation, Emil Prodanov

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Quantum tunneling in Reissner--Nordstroem geometry is studied and the tunneling rate is determined. A possible scenario for cosmic inflation, followed by reheating phases and subsequent radiation-domination expansion, is proposed.

Natural Convection In An Internally Finned Phase Change Material Heat Sink For The Thermal Management Of Photovoltaics, M. J. Huang, P. C. Eames, Brian Norton, N. J. Hewitt

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Elevated operating temperatures reduce the solar to electrical conversion efficiency of building integrated photovoltaic devices (BIPV). Phase change materials (PCM) can be used to passively limit this temperature rise although their effectiveness is limited by their low thermal conductivities and by crystallization segregation during solidification. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the effects of convection and crystalline segregation in a PCM as a function of efficiency of heat transfer within the finned PV/PCM system. The thermal performances of bulk PCM with crystallization segregation for different internal fin arrangements are presented. It is noted that the addition of internal fins …

Eliminating Electromechanic Instablity In Dielectric Elastomers By Employing Pre-Stretch, Liang Jiang, Tony Betts, David Kennedy, Stephen Jerrams

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Electromechanical instability (EMI) is one of most common failure modes for dielectric elastomers (DEs). It has been reported that pre-stretching a DE sample can suppress EMI due to strain stiffening taking place for larger strains and a higher elastic modulus are achieved at high stretch ratios when a voltage is applied to the material. In this work, the influence of equi-biaxial stretch on DE secant modulus was studied using VHB 4910 and silicone rubber (SR) composites containing barium titanate (BaTiO₃, BT) particles and also dopamine coated BT (DP-BT) particles. The investigation of equi-biaxial deformation and EMI failure for …

Perspective: Massachusetts' Health Care Reform And Emergency Department Utilization, Christopher Chen, Gabriel Scheffler, Amitabh Chandra

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No abstract provided.

Open Government And The Implementation Of The Dodd-Frank Act, Caroline Bradley

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No abstract provided.

Transparency Is The New Opacity: Constructing Final Regulation After The Crisis, Caroline Bradley

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No abstract provided.

Terrace V. Thompson And The Legacy Of Manifest Destiny Symposium: The Worst Supreme Court Case Ever, Jean Stefancic

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No abstract provided.

Alabama's Water Crisis Essay: Alabama Legal Issues Series, Heather Elliott

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Alabama faces a major and expanding water crisis. Population growth and economic development are putting more pressure on water resources already strained by recent droughts, and such droughts are likely to become more frequent and more severe in the future. Disputes with neighboring states over shared water resources threaten Alabama's use of interstate waters to meet future needs. And Alabama's current legal regime is wholly inadequate to meet these challenges. The failures of Alabama's state water law could be corrected with one statute. The State Legislature should act swiftly to adopt a comprehensive water management statute based on the Regulated …

Clement Clay Torbert And Alabama Law Reform Alabama Legal Issues Series, Tony A. Freyer, Paul M. Pruitt Jr., Volney Riser

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No abstract provided.

Ask And What Shall Ye Receive? A Guide For Using And Interpreting What Jurors Tell Us, Barbara O'Brien, Samuel R. Sommers, Phoebe C. Ellsworth

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We review the extensive body of studies relying on jurors' self-reports in interviews or questionnaires, with a focus on potential threats to validity for researchers seeking to answer particularly provocative questions such as the influence of race in jury decision-making. We then offer a more focused case study comparison of interview and questionnaire data with behavioral data in the domain of race and juror decision-making. Our review suggests that the utility of data obtained from juror interviews and questionnaire responses varies considerably depending on the question under investigation. We close with an evaluation of the types of empirical questions most …

Rural Hospital Ownership: Medical Service Provision, Market Mix, And Spillover Effects, Jill R. Horwitz, Austin Nichols

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Objective. To test whether nonprofit, for-profit, or government hospital ownership affects medical service provision in rural hospital markets, either directly or through the spillover effects of ownership mix. Data Sources/Study Setting. Data are from the American Hospital Association, U.S. Census, CMS Healthcare Cost Report Information System and Prospective Payment System Minimum Data File, and primary data collection for geographic coordinates. The sample includes all nonfederal, general medical, and surgical hospitals located outside of metropolitan statistical areas and within the continental United States from 1988 to 2005. Study Design. We estimate multivariate regression models to examine the effects of (1) hospital …

The Jury's Second Coming, Jenny E. Carroll

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This article explores the controversial issue of jury nullification by reconceptualizing nullification through the lens of the Supreme Court's recent decisions beginning with Apprendi v New Jersey Apprendi's embrace of the jury's historical powers "” require a rejection of the formalized and static paradigm in favor of a more fluid vision of the law Despite extensive scholarship surrounding Apprendi an innovative though admittedly counterintuitive reading of the case line has been overlooked This reading draws on Apprendi's embrace of a vision of the law constructed and completed through jury interpretation and verdict Interpreted in this way the Apprendi case line …

The Security Council As A Legal Hegemon, Daniel H. Joyner

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This article will examine the United Nations Security Council's efforts to implement preserve and universalize the obligations of the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty This discussion will lead to questions regarding the Security Council's role and authority in the international legal system and ultimately to a consideration of how the international legal system can better guarantee that the Security Council does not exercise an unwarranted degree of legal power at the expense of the member states of the United Nations

The Case For Dividend Deduction, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Amir C. Chenchinski

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The December 2010 compromise between President Barack Obama and the Republicans extended the 15% tax rate on dividends through the end of 2012. At that point, however, the rate may revert to the Clinton administration rate-39.6%-or be raised to 20%-as proposed by the Obama Administration. Thus, the United States may either abandon corporate-shareholder integration, maintain partial integration, or perhaps even adopt the George W Bush administration's 2003 proposal to exempt dividends altogether-as advocated by some Republicans in Congress. Given this uncertainty and the likelihood of additional Congressional action, now may be a good time to revisit the integration issue. Another …

Tax Policy And The Efficiency Of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad, Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley, James R. Hines Jr.

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Deferral of U.S. taxes on foreign source income is commonly characterized as a subsidy to foreign investment, as reflected in its inclusion among “tax expenditures” and occasional calls for its repeal. This paper analyzes the extent to which tax deferral and other policies inefficiently subsidize U.S. direct investment abroad. Investments are dynamically inefficient if they consistently generate less in returns to investors than they absorb in new investment funds. From 1982–2010, repatriated earnings from foreign affiliates exceeded net capital investments by $1.1 trillion in 2010 dollars, and from 1950–2010, repatriated earnings and net interest from foreign affiliates exceeded net equity …