Digital Commons Network^™

Current Status Of Federal Law Concerning Violent Crimes Against Women And Children: Implications For Cult Victims, Robin Boyle

Faculty Publications

The author presents key provisions of The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, which is federal legislation divided into two Acts. In Parts I and II of this article, the author describes how The Violence Against Women Act of 2000 reauthorized critical grant programs created by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, established new programs, and strengthened federal laws. In Part III of this article, the author explains that The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 prevents the trafficking of women and children. In Part IV the author suggests how both Acts have implications for cult …

Clarence Thomas: The First Ten Years Looking For Consistency, Mark C. Niles

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Ten years ago, when George Herbert Walker Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, I, like many Americans and most lawyers, waited with interest to hear information about this soon-to-be-powerful man. I had a vague recollection from my recent law school days of hearing about a young, conservative, black federal judge who might be inline for a nomination to the Court. This vague reference was all that I had heard of Clarence Thomas prior to the Fall of 1991.

When stories about Thomas began to appear in the …

Past Violence, Future Danger?: Rethinking Diminished Capacity Departures Under Federal Sentencing Guidelines Section 5k2.13, Eva E. Subotnik

Faculty Publications

Under section 5K2.13 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, a judge is permitted to reduce a defendant's sentence on the grounds of diminished capacity. Most courts construing this provision have ruled that defendants whose offenses involved violence or the threat of violence are ineligible for a reduction in sentence. This Note argues that such an interpretation, which makes past violence a proxy for predicting future dangerousness, is problematic. Medically or psychologically treated, defendants may no longer pose a danger to society. This Note urges that, in accordance with section 5K2.13's language and history, courts should focus more broadly on whether the …

Two Cheers For Freedom Of Contract, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

Once, they say, freedom of contract reigned in American law. Parties could make agreements on a wide variety of subjects and choose the terms they wished. Courts would refrain from questioning the substance of bargains and would ensure only that parties had observed the proper formalities. In interpretation, objectivity was paramount. Courts would seek to ascertain, not what the parties had intended, but what a reasonable observer would understand the parties' words to mean. Contract law was a series of abstractions informed by individual autonomy and judicial deference.

This world, a classical paradise of doctrines with sharp corners, began to …

On The Hijacking Of Airplanes (And Agencies): The Faa, "Agency Capture," And Airline Security, Mark C. Niles

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

On September 11, 2001, millions of Americans watched in awe and horror as over a period of less than two hours, a succession of commercial airliners crashed first into the two World Trade Center towers in New York City, and then into the Pentagon in suburban Virginia. As government officials and news organizations scrambled in the first hours after the events to gather information, possible explanations for the crashes were offered. One theory was the obvious assumption that the planes had all been hijacked by "terrorists" using some kind of weapons (guns, bombs) that had presumably been smuggled onto …

The Rhetoric Of Judicial Critique: From Judicial Restraint To The Virtual Bill Of Rights, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

At War With Civil Rights And Civil Liberties, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

This essay looks at the Supreme Court and acquiescence to measures by the Executive Branch that limit or suspend civil liberties during times of war or threats to national security.

Reparations And The Colonial Dilemma: The Insurmountable Hurdles And Yet Transformative Benefits, Ediberto Román

Faculty Publications

The Seventh Annual Latina and Latino Critical Race Theory ("LatCrit") Conference held in May 2002 at the University of Oregon, not unlike other efforts in the movement, addressed a panoply of challenging, provocative, and controversial issues. Perhaps one the most intellectually interesting and yet troubling panels addressed reparations for the inhabitants of United States' colonial territories. Specifically, the panel was titled "Reparations, Redress, and Remedies: Undoing the Legacy of Colonialism and Imperialism." Members of the academy as well as a representative of Puerto Rico's Independence Party participated in a lively discussion and debate. Although the articles resulting from this panel …

Has The Lord Turned Bankrupt? The Attempted Sale Of The Nauvoo Temple, 1846-1850, Richard Bennett

Faculty Publications

If Joseph Smith had lived we should not have been here at this time. We should have been in some other country. We can't stay in this house but a little while. We have got to build another house. It will be a larger house than this, and a more glorious one. And we shall build a great many houses, we shall come back here and we shall go to Kirtland, and build houses all over the continent of North America. On 4 April 1999 Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, electrified millions …

Role Of A Phase: Change Moho In Stabilization And Preservation Of The Southern Uralide Orogen, Russia, Camelia C. Diaconescu, James H. Knapp

Faculty Publications

Geophysical (URSEIS experiment) and geological data from the Southern Uralides of central Russia provide the basis for a geodynamic model involving eclogitization of the Uralian crustal root in Late Triassic to Early Jurassic time as a mechanism for stabilization and preservation of this Paleozoic orogen. The crustal structure of the orogen implies eastward subduction of the East European continental crust, and balanced restoration implies a significant volume of crust (comprised of ~70% European crust, and ~30% accreted terranes) was carried to sub-Moho depths of up to 70 km. The lack of a clearly defined near-vertical incidence reflection Moho corroborated by …

Firm Transparency And The Costs Of Going Public, James S. Ang, James C. Brau

Faculty Publications

We demonstrate that firms that are more transparent pay less, in all components of issuance costs, to go public.We employ a sample of 334 previous leveraged buyouts and a characteristic-matched control sample to test the hypothesis that greater firm transparency before the issue decreases the flotation costs of the initial public offering. These flotation costs are divided into initial underpricing, underwriter discount, administrative expenses, and the overallotment option required to take the firm public. Our results provide further evidence of the asymmetric information hypothesis as it applies to initial public offerings.

Reflecting Latino Culture In Our Classrooms: A Quick Start For Teachers., Christine Canning, Mary Salazar-Guenther, Julio Polanco-Noboa

Faculty Publications

This paper describes how the University of Northern Iowa's San Antonio Regional Student Teaching Program developed a course to provide cultural information on Hispanic Americans for its predominantly white student teachers. The course was delivered over 2 semesters; with students doing most work in five 2-hour meetings on campus. During the student teaching semester; they implemented the ideas and activities that they had created during the course. The paper presents the course syllabus; which offers a background on Hispanics and five sessions that emphasize how to reach Hispanic students; Mexican and Mexican American culture (holidays; food; art; and music); literature …

Making Agents Secure On The Semantic Web, Csilla Farkas, Michael N. Huhns

Faculty Publications

Agents were designed to collaborate and share information. While highly desirable for interoperability, this feature is scary from the security perspective. Illegal inferences, supported by semantic Web technology and ontologies, might enable users to access unauthorized information. In addition to semantic associations and replicated data with different sensitivity, malicious agents could also exploit statistical inferences. Although each agent in a system might behave in a desired and secure way, their combined knowledge could be used to disclose sensitive data. The research community must therefore develop and implement techniques that allow control over released data. To answer the questions related to …

Estimation Of Diffusion Coefficient Of Lithium In Carbon Using Ac Impedance Technique, Qingzhi Guo, Venkat R. Subramanian, John W. Weidner, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

The validity of estimating the solid phase diffusion coefficient, D_s, of a lithium intercalation electrode from impedance measurement by a modified electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method is studied. A macroscopic porous electrode model and concentrated electrolyte theory are used to simulate the synthetic impedance data. The modified EIS method is applied for estimating D_s. The influence of parameters such as the exchange current density, radius of active material particle, solid phase conductivity, porosity, volume fraction of inert material, and thickness of the porous carbon intercalation electrode, the solution phase diffusion coefficient, and transference number, on the …

Using Sputter Deposition To Increase Co Tolerance In A Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Andrew T. Haug, Ralph E. White, John W. Weidner, Wayne Huang, Steven Shi, Narender Rana, Stephan Grunow, Timothy C. Stoner, Alain E. Kaloyeros

Faculty Publications

Placing a layer of Ru atop a Pt anode increases the carbon monoxide tolerance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells when oxygen is added to the fuel stream. Sputter-deposited Ru filter anodes composed of a single Ru layer and three Ru layers separated by Nafion-carbon ink, respectively, were compared to Pt, Pt:Ru alloy, and an ink-based Ru filter anodes. The amount of Pt in each anode was 0.15 mg/cm² and the amount of Ru in each Ru-containing anode was 0.080 mg/cm². For an anode feed consisting of hydrogen, 200 ppm CO, and 2% O₂ (in the form …

Increasing Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Catalyst Effectiveness Through Sputter Deposition, Andrew T. Haug, Ralph E. White, John W. Weidner, Wayne Huang, Steven Shi, Timothy Stoner, Narender Rana

Faculty Publications

Sputter deposition has been investigated as a tool for manufacturing proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) electrodes with improved performance and catalyst utilization vs. ink-based electrodes. Sputter-depositing a single layer of Pt on the gas diffusion layer provided better performance (0.28 A/cm² at 0.6 V) than sputtering the Pt directly onto a Nafion membrane (0.065 A/cm² at 0.6 V) and equaled the performance of the baseline for an equivalent Pt loading. Sputter-depositing alternating layers of Pt and Nafion-carbon ink (NCI) onto the membrane did not increase the performance over the baseline as measured in amperes per centimeter squared due …

Descriptive Epidemiology Of Body Mass Index Of An Urban Adult Population In Western India, H. C. Shukla, P. C. Gupta, H. C. Mehta, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Study objective: To describe height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of the adult urban population in Mumbai, western India and to estimate the prevalence and severity of thinness and overweight in this population. To describe the association of BMI with education, age, and tobacco habits in an urban Indian population. Design: Cross sectional representative survey of 99 598 adults (40 071 men and 59 527 women). Setting: The survey was carried out in the city of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) in western India. Participants: Men and women aged >35 years who were residents of the main city of …

Simulating Shape Changes During Electrodeposition: Primary And Secondary Current Distribution, Venkat R. Subramanian, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

A technique based on the analytical method of lines is presented for predicting shape changes during electrodeposition. The technique is presented for both primary and secondary current distributions. The method presented does not require iterations for nonlinear Butler-Volmer boundary conditions or changing electrode shapes. The technique is based on a semianalytical method developed earlier for predicting current distributions in electrochemical cells. This technique is attractive because it provides a symbolic solution for the Laplace equation, and hence requires less computation time to perform case studies.

Electrochemical Filtering Of Co From Fuel-Cell Reformate, Balasubramanian Lakshmanan, Wayne Huang, John W. Weidner

Faculty Publications

A proton exchange membrane fuel cell was used as a flow reactor for continuous preferential oxidation of CO over H2 from 1.0% CO in H2 under pulse-potential control. By varying the pulse profile ~e.g., on-time, off-time, pulse potential! the CO and H2 oxidation currents were varied independently. The improvement in faradaic selectivity between CO and H2 oxidation results from the promotion of CO adsorption during the off ~i.e., open-circuit! portion of the pulse. Therefore, during the on portion CO oxidation was preferred while the surface was covered with CO.

Anodic Behavior Of Ti In Koh Solutions: Ellipsometric And Micro-Raman Spectroscopy Studies, A. Prusi, Lj. Arsov, Bala Haran, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

Anodic formation of oxide films on titanium surfaces, in various concentrations of aqueous KOH solutions, have been studied using ellipsometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy. By in situ ellipsometric measurements the coefficient of film thickness growth and indexes of refraction of anodic oxide films have been determined. The voltage at which the oxide film breaks down is strongly dependent on the KOH concentration. Further, the solution concentration strongly influences the potential at which the oxide film is transformed from the amorphous state to crystalline form. Using micro-Raman spectroscopy four crystalline forms of titanium oxides, namely, anatase, brookite, corundum, and rutile, have been …

Study Of Sn-Coated Graphite As Anode Material For Secondary Lithium-Ion Batteries, Basker Veeraraghavan, Anand Durairajan, Bala Haran, Branko N. Popov, Ronald Guidotti

Faculty Publications

Tin-graphite composites have been developed as an alternate anode material for Li-ion batteries using an autocatalytic deposition technique. The specific discharge capacity, coulombic efficiency, rate capability behavior, and cycle life of Sn-C composites has been studied using a variety of electrochemical methods. The amount of tin loading and the heating temperature have a significant effect on the composite performance. The synthesis conditions and Sn loading on graphite have been optimized to obtain the maximum reversible capacity for the composite electrode. Heating the composite converts it from amorphous to crystalline form. Apart from higher capacity, Sn-graphite composites possesses higher coulombic efficiency, …

Modeling The Effects Of Electrode Composition And Pore Structure On The Performance Of Electrochemical Capacitors, Changqing Lin, Branko N. Popov, Harry J. Ploehn

Faculty Publications

This work presents a mathematical model for charge/discharge of electrochemical capacitors that explicitly accounts for particle-packing effects in a composite electrochemical capacitor consisting of hydrous RuO₂ nanoparticles dispersed within porous activated carbon. The model is also used to investigate the effect of nonuniform distributions of salt in the electrolyte phase of the electrode in the context of dilute solution theory. We use the model to compare the performance of capacitors with electrodes made from different activated carbons and to investigate the effects of varying carbon content and discharge current density. Even at low discharge current density, concentration polarization in …

Modeling The Effects Of Electrode Composition And Pore Structure On The Performance Of Electrochemical Capacitors, Changqing Lin, Branko N. Popov, Harry J. Ploehn

Faculty Publications

This work presents a mathematical model for charge/discharge of electrochemical capacitors that explicitly accounts for particle-packing effects in a composite electrochemical capacitor consisting of hydrous RuO₂ nanoparticles dispersed within porous activated carbon. The model is also used to investigate the effect of nonuniform distributions of salt in the electrolyte phase of the electrode in the context of dilute solution theory. We use the model to compare the performance of capacitors with electrodes made from different activated carbons and to investigate the effects of varying carbon content and discharge current density. Even at low discharge current density, concentration polarization in …

A Metropolitan Transaction-Based Commercial Price Index: A Time-Varying Parameter Approach, Henry J. Munneke, Barrett A. Slade

Faculty Publications

This study examines the usefulness of time-varying parameter techniques for constructing reliable transaction-based commercial price indices for metropolitan areas. Time-varying parameter techniques allow the implicit prices of differing quality characteristics to vary intertemporally, overcoming the potential bias imposed by holding implicit prices fixed and simply interpreting time dummy variables as in a conventional hedonic approach. This paper empirically investigates three time-varying parameter methods (Chained, Laspeyres, and Paasche) and considers the potential for sample selection bias. Precision measures are constructed to examine the reliability of the respective indices.

An Accrual/Multi-Factor Approach To Intestate Inheritance Rights For Unmarried Committed Partners, E. Gary Spitko

Faculty Publications

As cohabitation among unmarried couples becomes more common in the United States, a most pressing challenge facing inheritance law scholars, practitioners and others who concern themselves with the development of inheritance law is to craft reforms that would, if implemented, better serve non-marital families while at the same time maintain a reasonable ease of administration of estates. One area in urgent need of such reform is intestacy law. Current intestacy law generally does not reflect as well as it could the way Americans today structure their family lives. For example, the intestacy statutes of forty-seven states make no provision for …

Hard-Nosed Idealism And U.S. Human Rights Policy, David Sloss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

International Agreements And The Political Safeguards Of Federalism, David Sloss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fighting Fire With Fire: A Reflection On The Ethics Of Clarence Darrow, Gerald F. Uelmen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Interracial Intimacy And The Potential For Social Change, Stephanie M. Wildman

Faculty Publications

In her review essay Interracial Intimacy and the Potential for Social Change, Stephanie Wildman examines Interracial Intimacy: The Regulation of Race and Romance by Rachel F. Moran. Moran's book investigates the so-called private landscape of race in the context of interracial intimacy. Moran urges the connection between our personal, private views of race and racial issues and the policy decisions society makes in the public realm. Moran explores historic antimiscegenation laws and their role in establishing societal norms and customs, the significance of race in daily life, the legal decisions leading to Loving v. Virginia, and the role of race …

Interspousal Tort Immunity And Insurance "Family Member Exclusions": Shared Assumptions, Relational And Liberal Feminist Challenges, Jennifer Wriggins

Faculty Publications

Interspousal tort immunity persists de facto through the mechanism of private insurance, the article explains. Although interspousal tort immunity has been eliminated as a doctrinal matter, it endures as a reality. Liability insurance is inseparable from tort liability and drives the tort litigation system in this as well as other contexts. The insurance family member exclusion and the insurance intentional acts exclusion operate together to ensure that interspousal tort claims such as domestic violence tort claims will not be brought. These are reasonably considered to be gender-specific harms and the exclusion of them from tort compensation is a failing of …